Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loss of T Cell and B Cell Quiescence Precedes the Onset of Microbial Flora-Dependent Wasting Disease and Intestinal Inflammation in Gimap5-Deficient Mice

Homeostatic control of the immune system involves mechanisms that ensure the self-tolerance, survival and quiescence of hematopoietic-derived cells. In this study, we demonstrate that the GTPase of immunity associated protein (Gimap)5 regulates these processes in lymphocytes and hematopoietic progenitor cells. As a consequence of a recessive N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea–induced germline mutation in the P-loop of Gimap5, lymphopenia, hepatic extramedullary hematopoiesis, weight loss, and intestinal inflammation occur in homozygous mutant mice. Irradiated fetal liver chimeric mice reconstituted with Gimap5-deficient cells lose weight and become lymphopenic, demonstrating a hematopoietic cell-intrinsic function for Gimap5. Although Gimap5-deficient CD4+ T cells and B cells appear to undergo normal development, they fail to proliferate upon Ag-receptor stimulation although NF-κB, MAP kinase and Akt activation occur normally. In addition, in Gimap5-deficient mice, CD4+ T cells adopt a CD44highCD62LlowCD69low phenotype and show reduced IL-7rα expression, and T-dependent and T-independent B cell responses are abrogated. Thus, Gimap5-deficiency affects a noncanonical signaling pathway required for Ag-receptor–induced proliferation and lymphocyte quiescence. Antibiotic-treatment or the adoptive transfer of Rag-sufficient splenocytes ameliorates intestinal inflammation and weight loss, suggesting that immune responses triggered by microbial flora causes the morbidity in Gimap5-deficient mice. These data establish Gimap5 as a key regulator of hematopoietic integrity and lymphocyte homeostasis.
Digital Darwinism : seven breakthrough business srategies for surviving in the cuttroat Web economy

Build a brand that stands for solving prblems allow your prices to fluctuate freely with supply and demand let affiliate partners do your marketing for you create valueable bundles of information and services sell custom-made products online, then manufacture them add new value to transactions between buyers and sellers integrate digital commerce with absolutely everything. Appendix: a directory of business smodels.
Identification of Immunodominant Epitopes Derived from the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Protein That Are Recognized by Human CD4 T Cells

ABSTRACT Memory CD4 T-cell responses against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy blood donors with gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot (Elispot) assays. RSV-specific responses were detected in every donor at levels varying between 0.05 and 0.3% of CD4 T cells. For all donors tested, a considerable component of the CD4 T-cell response was directed against the fusion (F) protein of RSV. We characterized a set of 31 immunodominant antigenic peptides targeted by CD4 T cells in the context of the most prevalent HLA class II molecules within the Caucasian population. Most antigenic peptides were HLA-DR restricted, whereas two dominant DQ peptides were also identified. The antigenic peptides identified were located across the entire sequence of the F protein. Several peptides were presented by more than one major histocompatibility complex class II molecule. Furthermore, most donors recognized several F peptides. Detailed knowledge about immunodominant antigenic peptides will facilitate the ability to monitor CD4 T-cell responses in patients and the measurement of correlates of protection in vaccinated subjects.
Performance Analysis of Improved Component based Software Reliability Model

Software reliability engineering techniques focus on development and maintenance of software systems. This paper presents a improved component model. The model is used to estimate the reliability of software systems and the usage ration of each component. A component impact analysis which helps in focusing of testing is presented . The proposed method exhibits considerable improvement when compared against conventional methods.
Aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis with severe left ventricular dysfunction. Prognostic indicators.

BACKGROUND Aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis (AS) carries an increased risk in the presence of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. Few data are available on the outcome of such patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Between 1985 and 1992, 154 consecutive patients (107 men and 47 women) with LV systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction [EF] < or = 35%) underwent aortic valve replacement for AS. The mean preoperative characteristics included EF, 27 +/- 6%; aortic valve mean gradient, 44 +/- 18 mm Hg; aortic valve area, 0.6 +/- 0.2 cm2; and cardiac output, 4.1 +/- 1.5 L/min. Simultaneous coronary artery bypass graft surgery was performed in 78 patients (51%). Perioperative (30-day) mortality was 9% (14 of 154 patients). Fifty patients died during follow-up. Coronary artery disease (P = .002) and a reduced preoperative cardiac output (P = .03) were significantly related to reduced overall survival rate by multivariate analysis. Postoperative improvement occurred in most patients; 88% were New York Heart Association class III or IV before surgery versus 7% after surgery. Postoperative EF was assessed in 76% of survivors; 76% of these demonstrated improvement. By multivariate analysis, change in EF was inversely related to coronary disease (P = .002) and preoperative aortic valve area (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS Despite LV dysfunction, the risk of aortic valve replacement for AS was acceptable and related to coronary artery disease and mean aortic gradient, and long-term survival was related to coronary disease and cardiac output. Improvement in symptoms and EF occurred in most patients.
AN IMPROVED LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODEL USING ROUGH SETS-A CASE OF INTERNET BANKING ADOPTION

At the booming age of the Internet, banking enterprises have to find a way to expand their market shares and to improve the both way communication with customers. Internet is an ideal place to fulfill the goal. It has the characteristic of 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Without the limitation of time and space, the internet offers a great potential for banking businesses. In order to reveal the gold from the dust, classification or prediction is a must tool.
Use of Cognitive Aids in a Simulated Anesthetic Crisis

We evaluated empirically the extent to which the use of a cognitive aid during a high-fidelity simulation of a malignant hyperthermia (MH) event facilitated the correct and prompt treatment of MH. We reviewed the management of 48 simulated adult MH scenarios; 24 involving CA 1 and 24 involving CA 2 residents. In the CA 1 group, 19 of the 24 teams (79%) used a cognitive aid, but only 8 of the 19 teams used it frequently or extensively. In the CA 2 group, 18 of the 23 teams (78%) used a cognitive aid but only 6 of them used it frequently or extensively. The frequency of cognitive aid use correlated significantly with the MH treatment score for the CA 1 group (Spearman r = 0.59, P < 0.01) and CA 2 group (Spearman r = 0.68, P < 0.001). The teams that performed the best in treating MH used a cognitive aid extensively throughout the simulation. Although the effect was less pronounced in the more experienced CA 2 cohort, there was still a strong correlation between performance and cognitive aid use. We were able to show a strong correlation between the use of a cognitive aid and the correct treatment of MH.
A study on security framework against advanced persistent threat

Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) and traditional cyber attacks are different in kinds of aspects, which make the traditional defense is difficult to detect APT and protect the network. Therefore, an APT detection framework based on OpenIOC is established for the characteristics of APT system attack. Firstly, real-time attack data related to APT from massive fragmented threat data is output. Secondly, the data is transformed into real-time OpenIOC threat information by IOC which is used to measure the similarity with the history APT organization's OpenIOC threat information. Finally, the relationship between real-time attack characteristics and APT organization is analyzed, and history APT organization's attack behavior will be discovered.
Low Complexity Joint Channel Estimation and Decoding for LDPC Coded MIMO-OFDM Systems

In this paper, a joint iterative channel estimation and low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoding algorithm based on factor graphs and the sum-product algorithm is proposed for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems employing multiple transmit and receive antennas (MIMO). By modeling time-varying frequency-selective fading channels as autoregressive processes and approximating messages as Gaussian pdf, this receiver algorithm is able to maintain a low complexity. Moreover, with the help of strong channel coding and proper pilot allocation, the signal overhead can be significantly reduced.
On the Complete Instability of Empirically Implemented Dynamic Leontief Models

On theoretical grounds, real world implementations of forward-looking dynamic Leontief systems were expected to be stable. Empirical work, however, showed the opposite to be true: all investigated systems proved to be unstable. In fact, an extreme form of instability ('complete instability') appeared to be the rule. In contrast to this, backward-looking models and dynamic inverse versions appeared to be exceptionally stable. For this stability-instability switch a number of arguments have been put forward, none of which was convincing. Dual (in)stability theorems only seemed to complicate matters even more. In this paper we offer an explanation. We show that in the balanced growth case--under certain conditions--the spectrum of eigenvalues of matrix D equivalent to (I - A)-1B, where A stands for the matrix of intermediate input coefficients and B for the capital matrix, will closely approximate the spectrum of a positive matrix of rank one. From this property the observed instability properties are easily derived. We argue that the employed approximations are not unrealistic in view of the data available up to now.
Multiple Users Cloud Integrity by Public Auditing and Re-signed proxy-signature using third party auditor viva Public verifiers

Adscititiously, a public adherent may well be shopper UN agency can utilize cloud erudition for explicit functions or a 3rd party auditor is in a position to supply verification accommodations on cognizance integrity to users. Thoroughly different from these works, many recent works on a way to preserve identity privacy from public verifiers once auditing the integrity of shared cognizance.
The isolation of antibiotic-resistant salmonella from retail ground meats.

BACKGROUND Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness. The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant salmonella is associated with the use of antibiotics in animals raised for food; resistant bacteria can be transmitted to humans through foods, particularly those of animal origin. We identified and characterized strains of salmonella isolated from ground meats purchased in the Washington, D.C., area. METHODS Salmonella was isolated from samples of ground chicken, beef, turkey, and pork purchased at three supermarkets. The isolates were characterized by serotyping, antimicrobial-susceptibility testing, phage typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing were used to identify resistance integrons and extended spectrum beta-lactamase genes. RESULTS Of 200 meat samples, 41 (20 percent) contained salmonella, with a total of 13 serotypes. Eighty-four percent of the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, and 53 percent were resistant to at least three antibiotics. Sixteen percent of the isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, the drug of choice for treating salmonellosis in children. Bacteriophage typing identified four isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium definitive type 104 (DT104), one of DT104b, and two of DT208. Five isolates of S. enterica serotype agona had resistance to 9 antibiotics, and the two isolates of serotype typhimurium DT208 were resistant to 12 antibiotics. Electrophoretic patterns of DNA that were indistinguishable from one another were repeatedly found in isolates from different meat samples and different stores. Eighteen isolates, representing four serotypes, had integrons with genes conferring resistance to aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, trimethoprim, and beta-lactams. CONCLUSIONS Resistant strains of salmonella are common in retail ground meats. These findings provide support for the adoption of guidelines for the prudent use of antibiotics in food animals and for a reduction in the number of pathogens present on farms and in slaughterhouses. National surveillance for antimicrobial-resistant salmonella should be extended to include retail meats.
Microscopic Visualisation of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors on the Surface of Living Cells using Bifunctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Probes†

A series of bimodal metabotropic glutamate-receptor targeted MRI contrast agents has been developed and evaluated, based on established competitive metabotropic Glu receptor subtype 5 (mGluR 5 ) antagonists. In order to directly visualise mGluR 5 binding of these agents on the surface of live astrocytes, variations in the core structure were made. A set of gadolinium conjugates containing either a cyanine dye or a fluorescein moiety was accordingly prepared, to allow visualisation by optical microscopy in cellulo . In each case, surface receptor binding was compromised and cell internalisation observed. Another approach, examining the location of a terbium analog via sensitised emission also exhibited non-specific cell uptake in neuronal cell line models. Finally, biotin derivatives of two lead compounds were prepared, and the specificity of binding to the mGluR 5 cell surface receptors was demonstrated with the aid of their fluorescently labelled avidin conjugates, using both total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) and confocal microscopy.
A Current-Sensing Circuit for DC–DC Converters With Bootstrap Characteristics

Current sensing in dc-dc converters is critical for protection and operation purposes of the system. This paper proposes a novel lossless current-sensing technique based on the matching complementary filter topology whose main idea is to transform the current signal to voltage signal. This new technique introduces a thermal compensation block to improve its accuracy, an error elimination block to solve the problem of its floating output voltage, and a bootstrap block to allow this technique to be applied in high-voltage systems. Finally, some experimental results of this novel technique for dc-dc converters are presented, and applications on synchronous rectification are analyzed.
Channel Estimation Methods Based on Volterra Kernels for MLSD in Optical Communication Systems

Maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) is the most effective electrical domain equalization scheme for mitigating dispersive optical channel impairments such as chromatic dispersion or polarization-mode dispersion. Parameter estimation for MLSD is not straightforward in optical communication systems due to the square-law nature of photodiodes. We propose a simple and efficient channel parameter estimation scheme for MLSD based on Volterra kernel modeling of the nonlinear distortion of the electrical postdetection signals.
Network Coded LDPC Code Design for a Multi-Source Relaying System

We investigate LDPC code design for a multi-source single-relay system, with uniform phase-fading Gaussian channels. We specifically consider the asymmetric channels for multiple sources, where the channel condition for each source in the system is different. We focus on LDPC code design when network coding (NC) at the relay is utilized. For the asymmetric sources, we firstly introduce a binary field rate splitting theorem which is used to discover an appropriate NC scheme at the relay. This NC scheme is then used to determine the achievable rates of each source and the whole system. These steps assist us in the development of the main contribution of our work, namely, network coded multi-edge type LDPC (NCMET-LDPC) code design. Extrinsic mutual information transfer (EXIT) chart analysis is utilized to optimize the code profiles. Our results demonstrate two key points. (1) From the whole system point of view, our NCMET-LDPC codes achieve better error performance than that of LDPC codes designed for the system without NC. (2) As a consequence of the binary field rate-splitting theorem, our NCMET-LDPC codes also guarantee better error performance of each asymmetric source. The improvement in error performance is typically about 0.3 dB relative to a system without NC.
Air-Borne Allergens

Hay fever occurs in some 0.5 per cent. of the population of Great Britain and pollen asthma develops in some 40 per cent. of cases of grass pollen hay fever (Williams, 1958). In London, Pearson (1958) found sensitivity to grass pollen in i8 per cent. of 625 asthmatics. At Cardiff, grass pollen hay fever preceded asthma in 5 per cent. of 487 asthmatics (Williams et aL, 1958), and a further 6 per cent. developed grass pollen hay fever after the onset of their asthma. Mould spores were a dominant cause of asthma at Cardiff in some 5 per cent. of 627 adult asthmatics, and it was considered that they might play a subsidiary part in many others (Hyde, Richards and Williams, I956). The mould sensitive cases were all patients worse in the summer and in many their asthma was confined to the summer months. In asthma and hay fever the most important group of allergens are the inhalants, and none lend themselves better to careful clinical and scientific study than air-borne pollens and fungus spores. Before clinicians can investigate which pollens or fungus spores are causing allergic symptoms, they must know which kinds occur in the air and at what seasons: the selection of extracts for skin testing depends on this knowledge. Moreover, skin tests will only indicate the presence or absence of skin-sensitizing antibodies, and their results can only be correctly interpreted therefore in the light of an attempted correlation between the times of occurrence or of exacerbation of symptoms and the times of occurrence or abundance of some of any of the various kinds of pollen or fungus spores in the air. Numerous aerobiological studies of pollen and fungus spores have been made during the past 20 years, in Great Britain (and other countries), to this end.
Public-Private Partnerships: Principles of Policy and Finance

Over the last decade or so, private-sector financing through public-private partnerships (PPPs) has become increasingly popular around the world as a way of procuring and maintaining public-sector infrastructure, in sectors such as transportation (roads, bridges, tunnels, railways, ports, airports), social infrastructure (hospitals, schools, prisons, social housing) public utilities (water supply, waste water treatment, waste disposal), government offices and other accommodation, and other specialised services (communications networks or defence equipment). This book, based on the author's practical experience on the public- and private-sector sides of the table, reviews the key policy issues which arise for the public sector in considering whether to adopt the PPP procurement route, and the specific application of this policy approach in PPP contracts, comparing international practices in this respect. It offers a systematic and integrated approach to financing PPPs within this public-policy framework, and explains the project-finance techniques used for this purpose. The book deals with both the Concession and PFI models of PPP, and provides a structured introduction for those who are new to the subject, whether in the academic, public-sector, investment, finance or contracting fields, as well as an aide memoire for those developing PPP policies or negotiating PPPs. The author focuses on practical concepts, issues and techniques, and does not assume any prior knowledge of PPP policy issues or financing techniques. The book describes and explains: the different types of PPPs and how these have developed; why PPPs are attractive to governments; general policy issues for the public sector in developing a PPP programme; PPP procurement procedures and bid evaluation; the use of project-finance techniques for PPPs; sources of funding; typical PPP contracts and sub-contracts, and their relationship with the project's financial structure; risk assessment from the points of view of the public sector, investors, lenders and other project parties; structuring the investment and debt financing; and, the key issues in negotiating a project-finance debt facility. In addition, the book includes an extensive glossary, as well as cross-referencing. It reviews the PPP policy framework and development from an international perspective. It covers public- and private-sector financial analysis, structuring and investment in PPPs. No prior knowledge of project financing required.
Effects of VX-2 carcinoma implanted in bone in rabbits.

This report presents the natural history of the VX-2 carcinoma of the rabbit when implanted in bone (tibia). Tumor cells embolize about the fifth postimplant day and metastasize through the blood to the lung where cells may be identified on the tenth postimplant day; the mean survival interval is 33 days. Radiographic changes occur by the ninth postimplant day, while pathologic fracture is seen between the seventeenth and twenty-eighth days. The tumor induces elevation in the serum levels of calcium and ceruloplasmin, and depresses the serum level of phosphorus. Histologic studies suggest local hyperparathyroid-like resorption of bone about the tumor implants. The report furnishes data from which further investigations in experimental intraosseous neoplasia may be conducted.
Outbreak of Vancomycin-Susceptible Enterococcus faecium Containing the Wild-Type vanA Gene

ABSTRACT Accurate detection of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is essential in preventing transmission in health care settings. Chromogenic media are widely used for screening VRE because of fast turnaround times (TAT) and high sensitivity. We report an outbreak of Enterococcus faecium bearing vanA yet susceptible to vancomycin (vancomycin-variable Enterococcus [VVE]). Between October 2009 to March 2011, clinical and screening specimens (n = 14,747) were screened for VRE using VRE-selective medium and/or PCR. VVE isolates were genotyped to determine relatedness. Plasmids from these isolates were characterized by sequencing. Overall, 52 VVE isolates were identified, comprising 15% of all VRE isolates identified. Isolates demonstrated growth on Brilliance VRE agar (Oxoid) at 24 h of incubation but did not grow on brain heart infusion agar with 6 μg/ml vancomycin (Oxoid) or bile esculin azide agar with 6 μg/ml vancomycin (Oxoid) and were susceptible to vancomycin. Genotyping of 20 randomly selected VVE isolates revealed that 15/20 were identical, while 5 were highly related. PCR of the VVE transposon confirmed the presence of vanHAXY gene cluster; however, vanS (sensor) and vanR (regulator) genes were absent. The outbreak was controlled through routine infection control measures. We report an emergence of a fit strain of E. faecium containing vanA yet susceptible to vancomycin. Whether this new strain represents VRE has yet to be determined; however, unique testing procedures are required for reliable identification of VVE.