Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficient Transduction by an Amphotropic Retrovirus Vector Is Dependent on High-Level Expression of the Cell Surface Virus Receptor

ABSTRACT Transduction by murine leukemia virus-based retrovirus vectors is limited in certain cell types, particularly in nondividing cells. But transduction can be inefficient even in cells that divide rapidly. For example, exposure of 208F rat embryo fibroblasts to an excess of an amphotropic retrovirus vector encoding alkaline phosphatase results in a transduction efficiency of only about 10%, even though these cells divide rapidly. Here we show that transduction of 208F cells is limited by cell surface retrovirus receptor levels; overexpression of the amphotropic retrovirus receptor Pit2 markedly improved the transduction efficiency to 50%. To characterize receptor levels and binding affinity, we synthesized a fusion protein that joins the amino terminus of the amphotropic envelope protein to the Fc region of a human immunoglobulin G1 molecule for use in binding assays. In comparison to the parental cell line, the modified cell line showed an order of magnitude increase in binding sites of from 18,000 to 150,000 per cell. Thus, efficient transduction by an amphotropic retrovirus vector requires high-level expression of the retrovirus receptor Pit2. These results provide the rationale for further examination of the role of receptor levels in inefficient transduction, especially with regard to target cells for gene therapy, where a high transduction rate is often crucial.
Wild-type and mutated nicastrins do not display aminopeptidase M- and B-like activities.

Nicastrin is a recently discovered protein interacting with presenilins and the beta-amyloid precursor protein, the proteins playing key roles in Alzheimer's disease and which, when mutated, appear responsible for early-onset familial forms of Alzheimer's disease. Nicastrin was reported to modulate beta-amyloid production, a phenotype affected differently by missense mutations or deletions of a conserved hydrophilic domain. In addition to such a function, nicastrin was recently suggested to possess putative catalytic activity based on its sequence homology with enzymes of the aminopeptidase family. We set up stably transfected human HEK293 cells expressing either wild-type or mutated nicastrins and we show that these proteins do not exhibit aminopeptidase M- and B-like activities.
Application of transferable belief model to navigation system

In general, navigation systems estimating a vehicle position is done either by using the Global Positioning System (GPS) or the Dead Reckoning (DR) systems. Other modern estimations are based on the combination of the two systems (GPS/DR). However, the position of a vehicle determined by GPS/DR is far from being perfect since it produces many errors. To solve this problem, a map-matching method is proposed in order to reduce the errors of localization caused by GPS/DR. This algorithm, which uses a digital road map, allows the detection of the correct road where a vehicle moves. In this paper, we introduce a new map-matching algorithm that employs the Transferable Belief Model (TBM). The TBM presents a general justification of belief theory and provides a flexible and adapted representation to manage uncertainty and imprecision. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the utilization of the TBM to the vehicle navigation system.
Diabetes Mellitus and Hyperhomocysteinemia

Patients with diabetes mellitus are prone to cardiovascular disease and risk factors presumably unrelated to diabetes, such as hyperhomocysteinemia, may be involved in the atherothrombotic process in these subjects. Plasma homocysteine levels are usually normal in diabetes, although both lower and higher levels have been reported. This has been ascribed to hyperfiltration and renal dysfunction or low folate status, respectively. Insulin resistance does not appear to be a major determinant of plasma homocysteine level. Hyperhomocysteinemia has been associated with microalbuminuria and retinopathy in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In patients with type 2 diabetes, plasma homocysteine concentration has also been shown to be related to macrovascular disease and death. This relation seems to be stronger in diabetics than in subjects without diabetes. The underlying pathophysiological mechanism of this increased vascular risk remains unexplained but may relate to worsening of endothelial dysfunction or structural vessel properties. Because homocysteine and diabetes have an apparent synergistic negative vascular effect, patients with diabetes are good candidates for screening and treatment with folic acid until the results of ongoing clinical trials are available.
Molecular cloning of lungfish proopiomelanocortin cDNA.

To investigate the evolution of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) from fish to tetrapods, nucleotide sequence of POMC cDNA from a lobe-finned fish, the African lungfish, was determined. POMC cDNA was prepared from lungfish pituitary glands. The POMC cDNA is composed of 1114 bp, excluding a poly-A tail, and encodes 255 amino acids (aa) including a signal peptide of 25 aa. The lungfish POMC contains the segment corresponding to gamma-melanotropin (MSH), corticotropin, alpha-MSH, beta-MSH, and beta-endorphin at positions (50-61), (108-146), (108-120), (178-194), and (197-230), respectively. The lungfish POMC shows greater sequence identity on average with amphibian (62%), ancient ray-finned fishes including acipenseriformes and semionotiformes (62%), and mammalian POMC (52%) than with teleostean (49%), elasmobranch (46%), and agnathan POMC (31%). Thus, the overall structural feature of lungfish POMC is close to the tetrapod POMCs which contain gamma-MSH and the ancient ray-finned fishes POMCs containing gamma-MSH-like sequence. However, amino acid sequence of lungfish beta-endorphin exhibits properties which are specifically observed in the ray-finned fishes and the elasmobranchs.
Triboelectrostatic Phenomena in Suction-type Dilute-phase Pneumatic Transport Systems

Pulverulent and granular materials processed in any suction-type dilute-phase pneumatic transport system tribocharge the pipes they move through. The aim of this study is to refine the understanding of the triboelectrostatic phenomena involved. A laboratory installation was employed for the investigation of the charging and discharging of various zones of an insulating pipe during and after the suction of a well-defined quantity of fine, dust-like, particles. The amount and the sign of the charge that was measured using several custom-designed electrostatic induction probes depended on the nature of the processed powders and varied from one zone of the pipe to another. Surface potential decay measurements confirmed that the insulating pipe retains high levels of charge for several hours after the cease of the suction. These observations point out the need of thorough laboratory modelling of any new pneumatic transport system, in order to avoid the electrostatic hazards related to electric charge build-up in various parts of the installation during operation.
Vitamin D receptor gene alleles and osteoporosis: An affirmative view

These relationships can be considered in three steps. First, the evidence that the variance in bone mass and bone turnover are genetically determined. Second, the evidence for, and against, the involvement of polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor gene in the determination of this variance in bone mass and bone turnover. Third, evidence for the involvement of the vilamin D receptor in response to therapy.
Genetic Characterization of Rare Genotype GII.5 Sapovirus Strain Detected from a Suspected Food-Borne Gastroenteritis Outbreak among Adults in Japan in 2010.

Accepted November 29, 2016. J-STAGE Advance Publication December 22, 2016. DOI: 10.7883/yoken.JJID. 2016.468 *Corresponding author: Mailing address: Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Gakuen 4-7-1, Musashi-murayama, Tokyo 208-0011, Japan. Tel: +81-42-561-0771, E-mail: oka-t@nih.go. jp Fig. 1. Phylogenetic tree of SaV based on partial capsid nucleotide sequences (approximately 350 nucleotides [nt]). The newly determined GII.5 SaV Kashiwa1 strain (GenBank accession no. LC190463) is shown in bold letters with an arrow. Representative reference strains for human SaVs (GI.1-7, GII.1-7, GIV.1, and GV.1 and 2), and porcine SaV (GIII) are indicated, and the GII.5 strains discussed in this manuscript are boxed with dotted line. The nucleotide alignment was generated by MAFFT ver. 7 using default settings <http:// mafft.cbrc. jp/alignment/server/>. The tree was constructed using the maximum likelihood method that is included in the MEGA6 software package with bootstrap values after 1,000 replicate trials based on the Kimura 2-parameter +G model. The genetic distance is indicated. Percent bootstrap support is indicated by the value at each node when the value was 95z or larger. Jpn. J. Infect. Dis. , 70, 223–224, 2017
VISUALLY INDUCED MOTION SICKNESS : AN INSIGHT FROM NEUROSCIENCE

Most empirical studies on visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) have cited the sensory rearrangement theory to explain the generation of VIMS. However, since 1990, there has been a surge of competing theories for VIMS (e.g., postural stability theory; nystagmus theory; and subjective vertical conflict theory). This has sparked off much intellectual debate on the possible mechanisms and etiologies of VIMS. On the other hands, neuroscience experiments have advanced our understanding of the neural mechanisms behind vection perception and vertigo sensation. This paper seeks to identify the possible neural pathways concerning the etiologies of VIMS.
An Inhibitory Septum to Lateral Hypothalamus Circuit That Suppresses Feeding

Feeding behavior is orchestrated by neural circuits primarily residing in the hypothalamus and hindbrain. However, the relative influence of cognitive and emotional brain circuits to the feeding circuitry in the hypothalamus and hindbrain remains unclear. Here, using the cell-type selectivity of genetic methods, circuit mapping, and behavior assays, we sought to decipher neural circuits emanating from the septal nucleus to the lateral hypothalamus (LH) that contribute to neural regulation of food intake in mice. We found that chemogenetic and optogenetic activation of septal vesicular GABA transporter (vGAT)-containing neurons or their projections in the LH reduced food intake in mice. Consistently, chemogenetic inhibition of septal vGAT neurons increased food intake. Furthermore, we investigated a previously unknown neural circuit originating from septal vGAT neurons to a subset of vGAT neurons in the LH, an area involved in homeostatic and hedonic control of energy states. Collectively, our data reveal an inhibitory septohypothalamic feeding circuit that might serve as a therapeutic target for the treatment of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Our results demonstrate that top-down projections from the septum to the hypothalamus control food intake negatively. Given the known role for both of these brain regions in the control of feeding and emotion-related behaviors, these findings reveal previously unknown neural circuitry that is likely implicated in emotional aspects of food intake and provide new insights into the development of therapeutic targets for the treatment of eating disorders.
Extension of continuummechanics to the nanoscale

This is an extension of continuum mechanics to the nanoscale (not the molecular scale). In the context of continuum mechanics, nanoscale problems always involve the immediate neighborhood of a phase interface or the immediate neighborhood of a three-phase line of contact or common line. While the presentation is new, it is based upon a long history of important developments beginning with that of Hamaker (Physica 4 (1937) 1058). We test this theory by using it to predict both the surface tensions of the n-alkanes and the static contact angles for the n-alkanes on PTFE and for several liquids on polydimethylsiloxane. In the case of surface tension and like the best previous theory, one adjustable parameter is required. For the contact angle predictions, no adjustable parameters are used. In both cases, the results are compared with previously published experimental data. The results for the contact angle analysis also provide a successful test of a previously derived form of Young’s equation for the true, rather than apparent, common line. 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Risk factors for long-term homelessness: findings from a longitudinal study of first-time homeless single adults.

OBJECTIVES We examined risk factors for long-term homelessness among newly homeless men and women who were admitted to New York City shelters in 2001 and 2002. METHODS Interviews were conducted with 377 study participants upon entry into the shelter and at 6-month intervals for 18 months. Standardized assessments of psychiatric diagnosis, symptoms, and coping skills; social and family history; and service use were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression were used to examine the association between baseline assessments and duration of homelessness. RESULTS Eighty-one percent of participants returned to community housing during the follow-up period; the median duration of homelessness was 190 days. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that a shorter duration of homelessness was associated with younger age, current or recent employment, earned income, good coping skills, adequate family support, absence of a substance abuse treatment history, and absence of an arrest history. Cox regression showed that older age group P<. 05) and arrest history (P<.01) were the strongest predictors of a longer duration of homelessness. CONCLUSIONS Identification of risk factors for long-term homelessness can guide efforts to reduce lengths of stay in homeless shelters and to develop new preventive interventions.
Discrete Hopf fibration in the design of four-dimensional modulations

In this work we demonstrate how the formalism of Hopf fibration can be useful in the context of classical coherent optical communications. We have found that the Hopf maps can provide complementary information on the geometry of four-dimensional signal space through explicit and concise relations. Using the sampled discrete Hopf fibration, we designed a dense 4D modulation called 14PolSK-8QAM and for practical purposes we demonstrate the close relationship between the Hopf maps and the transfer function of the Polarization Multiplexed Quadrature Mach-Zehnder modulators.
TAKIM SPORLARI AÇISINDAN EMPATİ VE TAKIM BİRLİKTELİĞİ İLİŞKİSİ

Bu calismanin amaci, takim sporu yapan sporcularin takim birlikteligi ve empati arasindaki iliskisi ile, bu sporcularin farkli degiskenler acisindan takim birlikteligi ve empati duzeylerinin belirlenmesidir. Calismaya yaslari 15 ve 43 arasinda; Basketbol, Hentbol, Voleybol, Futbol branslarinda, 216 erkek, 189 bayan toplam 405 kisi katilmistir. “ Spor Ortaminda Empati” ve “Takim Birlikteligi” olcekleri kullanilmistir. Verilerin istatistiksel analizinde; toplam puanlar arasinda Pearson Korelasyon Katsayisi, Tek Yonlu Varyans Analizi ve TukeyHSD Post- Hoc testi yapilmistir. Arastirmanin sonuclarina gore; takim birlikteligi ve empati arasinda %30’luk oranda dogrusal bir iliski oldugu bulunmustur. Voleybol ve Basketbol oyuncularinin empati duzeyi Hentbol ve Futbol oyuncularindan daha yuksek bulunmustur ( F (3,401) 6,5673; p< 0.05). Voleybol oyuncularinin takim birlikteligi, Hentbol oyuncularinin takim birlikteliginden yuksektir. Ayrica Futbol oyuncularinin da takim birlikteligi, Hentbol ve Basketbol oyuncularindan yuksek oldugu gorulmustur ( F (3,401) 7,8710;p<0.05). Bayan sporcularin empati duzeyi erkeklerden daha yuksek bulunmustur ( F(1,403) 4,4753;p<0.05). Deneyimsiz sporcularin takim birlikteligi deneyimli sporculardan daha yuksek bulunmustur ( F(2,402) 3,4533; p<0.05). Anne egitimi yuksek olan takim sporcularinin empati ve takim birlikteligi duzeyleri anne egitimi dusuk olan takim sporcularindan daha yuksek bulunmustur ( F(3,401) 4,3122; p<0.05. F(3,401) 2,9418;p<0.05)
07 9 v 1 8 M ay 2 00 6 Geometrical aspects of entanglement

Jon Magne Leinaas , Jan Myrheim and Eirik Ovrum (a) Department of Physics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1048 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway (b) Centre of Mathematics for Applications, P.O. Box 1053 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway and (c) Department of Physics, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway (Dated: May 8, 2006) Abstract We study geometrical aspects of entanglement, with the Hilb ert–Schmidt norm defining the metric on the set of density matrices. We focus first on the simplest cas e of two two-level systems and show that a “relativistic” formulation leads to a complete analysis of the question of separability. Our approach is based on Schmidt decomposition of density matrices for a composit e system and non-unitary transformations to a standard form. The positivity of the density matrices is cru cial for the method to work. A similar approach works to some extent in higher dimensions, but is a less power ful tool. We further present a numerical method for examining separability, and illustrate the meth od by a numerical study of bound entanglement in a composite system of two three-level systems.
Causes of the excess mortality of schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND The excess mortality of schizophrenia is well recognised, but its precise causes are not well understood. AIMS To measure the standardised mortality ratio (SMR) and examine the reasons for any excess mortality in a community cohort with schizophrenia. METHOD We carried out a 13-year follow-up of 370 patients with schizophrenia, identifying those who died and their circumstances. RESULTS Ninety-six per cent of the cohort was traced. There were 79 deaths. The SMRs for all causes (298), for natural (232) and for unnatural causes (1273), were significantly higher than those to be expected in the general population, as were the SMRs for disease of the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, nervous and respiratory systems, suicide and undetermined death. Smoking-related fatal disease was more prominent than in the general population. CONCLUSIONS Some of the excess mortality of schizophrenia could be lessened by reducing patients' smoking and exposure to other environmental risk factors and by improving the management of medical disease, mood disturbance and psychosis.
Survival and fate of transplanted embryonic neural stem cells by Atoh1 gene transfer in guinea pigs cochlea

Embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) were isolated from the neuroepithelium of the dorsal telencephalon of embryonic rats and infected by Ad5-Atoh1-enhanced green fluorescent protein. These NSCs were then delivered into neurosphere culture medium or transplanted into the endolymphatic space of the normal guinea pig cochlea through cochleostomy. Embryonic NSC phenotype of these isolated cells was determined by immunohistochemical detection of cell-specific protein markers. Survival, location and hair cell (HC) differentiation of the implanted NSCs were determined by the expression of the report gene, enhanced green fluorescent protein, and a specific marker for HCs, Myosin VIIa. These implanted cells can survive in the endolymphatic space of the cochlea. Some of the surviving cells differentiated into HCs by Atoh1 gene transfer.
Motivating an Intergenerational Workforce: Scenarios for Success

Although much has been written about the challenge of having four generations in the workplace simultaneously, problems of conflict, misunderstanding, and divisiveness continue. This article provides a snapshot of each generation as context. A series of scenarios based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs are then presented with insights into how each generation might approach the situation, along with hints for successfully managing toward positive outcomes. The expected outcome is a technique for each generation to look at workplace situations from all perspectives.
Impact of Regular Collaboration Between Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Practitioners on Antimicrobial Utilization and Patient Outcome*

Objective:Antimicrobial stewardship programs have been shown to help reduce the use of unnecessary antimicrobial agents in the hospital setting. To date, there has been very little data focusing on high-use areas, such as the medical ICU. A prospective intervention was done to assess guideline compliance, antimicrobial expenditure, and healthcare cost when an infectious disease fellow interacts regularly with the medical ICU team. Design:A 3-month retrospective chart review was followed by a 3-month prospective intervention the following year. Two hundred forty-six total charts were reviewed to assess generally accepted guideline compliance, demographics, and microbiologic results. Setting:Twenty-four-bed medical ICU at an 861-bed tertiary care, university teaching hospital in North Carolina. Subjects:Patients receiving antibiotics in the medical ICU. Intervention:During the intervention period, the infectious disease fellow reviewed the charts, including physician notes and microbiology data, and discussed antimicrobial use with the medical ICU team. Measurements and Main Results:Antimicrobial use, treatment duration, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores, length of stay, mechanical ventilation days, and mortality rates were compared during the two periods. Results:No baseline statistically significant differences in the two groups were noted (i.e., age, gender, race, or Acute Physiology and Chronic Healthcare Evaluation II scores). Indications for antibiotics included healthcare-associated (53%) and community-acquired pneumonias (17%). Significant reductions were seen in extended-spectrum penicillins (p = 0.0080), carbapenems (p = 0.0013), vancomycin (p = 0.0040), and metronidazole (p = 0.0004) following the intervention. Antimicrobial modification led to an increase in narrow-spectrum penicillins (p = 0.0322). The intervention group had a significantly lower rate of treatments that did not correspond to guidelines (p < 0.0001). There was a reduction in mechanical ventilation days (p = 0.0053), length of stay (p = 0.0188), and hospital mortality (p = 0.0367). The annual calculated healthcare savings was $89,944 in early antibiotic cessation alone. Conclusion:Active communication with an infectious disease practitioner can significantly reduce medical ICU antibiotic overuse by earlier modification or cessation of antibiotics without increasing mortality. This in turn can reduce healthcare costs, foster prodigious education, and strengthen relations between the subspecialties.
Correlation-sum-deviation ranging method for vehicular node based on IEEE 802.11p short preamble

Growth of the traffic flow and traffic accident has raised more and more demands on wireless communication and positioning technologies that can provide new services such as vehicle collision warning and traffic management. Currently, the global navigation satellite system such as global positioning system and BeiDou satellite positioning system is widely used in vehicles and is fairly accurate in flat open areas. However, the global navigation satellite system can only work in line of sight environment, and it fails to operate in non-line of sight tunnels or downtown areas where blockage of satellite signals is frequent. Because of the shortages of global navigation satellite system, the wireless ranging or positioning system using the short preamble of IEEE 802.11p is provided. Typically, accurate time of arrival estimation is very important for positioning estimation. In order to improve the precision of the time of arrival estimation, a correlation-sum-deviation method for ranging using the IEEE 802.11p short preamble is proposed. Simulation results are presented which show that in both the additive white Gaussian noise channel and the international telecommunications union multipath channel for vehicular environments, the proposed method provides better precision and is less complex than other techniques, particularly when the signal-to-noise ratio is low.