Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sox‐4, an Sry‐like HMG box protein, is a transcriptional activator in lymphocytes.

Previous studies in lymphocytes have described two DNA‐binding HMG box proteins, TCF‐1 and LEF‐1, with affinity for the A/TA/TCAAAG motif found in several T cell‐specific enhancers. Evaluation of cotransfection experiments in non‐T cells and the observed inactivity of an AACAAAG concatamer in the TCF‐1/LEF‐1‐expressing T cell line BW5147, led us to conclude that these two proteins did not mediate the observed enhancer effect. We therefore searched for additional HMG box proteins. By a PCR‐aided strategy, we cloned Sox‐4, a gene with homology to the HMG box region of the sex determining gene SRY. Sox‐4 was expressed in T and pre‐B lymphocyte lines and in the murine thymus. Significantly, BW5147 T cells did not express Sox‐4. Recombinant Sox‐4 bound with high affinity (Kd 3 × 10(−11) M) to the minor groove of the AACAAAG motif, most likely contacting all seven base pairs. In contrast with observations on TCF‐1 and LEF‐1, cotransfection with Sox‐4 unveiled a transactivating capacity, which mapped to its serine‐rich C terminus. This region remained functional upon grafting onto a GAL4 DNA‐binding domain. Sox‐4 is thus the first ‘classical’ transcription factor in the Sox gene family with separable DNA‐binding and transactivation domains. Our observations indicate that a detailed understanding of T cell‐specific gene control must integrate the concerted activity of at least three tissue‐specific HMG box genes.
The Strength of the Orienting Response during Blocking

In two experiments rats initially received appetitive Pavlovian conditioning with an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS). Subsequently this stimulus was presented in compound with a novel light and paired with the same appetitive reinforcer. In keeping with the outcome of many such experiments on blocking, there was very little evidence of appetitive conditioning during subsequent independent presentations of the light. Of main concern in the present experiments, however, was the influence of this training on the strength of the orienting response directed towards the light. When the light was first presented it elicited a strong orienting response. The strength of this response declined rapidly when the light was presented in compound with the previously trained auditory CS but more slowly when it was paired with the reinforcer either by itself or in conjunction with an initially neutral auditory stimulus. It is suggested that the extent to which the events following the light are accurately predicted determines the strength of orientation towards this stimulus.
Identification of Bartonella henselae in an Aborted Equine Fetus

This report describes the characterization of a Bartonella henselae abortion in an equine fetus by gross, histologic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and molecular methods. Bartonella henselae can cause cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, bacillary peliosis, and endocarditis in humans and other animals. The bacterium has been isolated from several mammalian species but only recently from equids; however, it has not been linked to abortion in equids. An aborted equine fetus exhibited necrosis and vasculitis in multiple tissues, with intralesional Gram-negative short-to-spirillar bacteria. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplified from the DNA extracted from fetal tissues revealed 99.9% homology to that of B. henselae. The presence of B. henselae in the fetal tissues was further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction amplification and nucleotide sequence analysis of other Bartonella species-specific genes. Microorganisms were immunohistochemically labeled with a monoclonal antibody to B. henselae and were ultrastructurally characterized. Attempts to detect known causative agents of equine abortion were unsuccessful. Given the severity of vasculitis and the presence of intralesional bacteria, we concluded that B. henselae infection caused the abortion of this foal.
The Contribution of SIASGE Radar Data Integrated With Optical Images to Support Thematic Mapping at Regional Scale

This paper aims to assess the potential of radar data combined with optical data to support local administrations in the knowledge of the land use and land cover at regional scale. The work starts from the actual available thematic maps owned by two different regional administrations in Italy to assess at what extent they can be improved or reproduced by Earth Observation data. In particular, the contribution of data available in the future through the Sistema Italo-Argentino di Satelliti per la Gestione delle Emergenze (SIASGE) project, combining L-band and X-band radar imagery, is assessed in order to produce thematic maps of the regions. Moreover, the further contribution brought by C-band and especially by optical bands has been evaluated. The classification problem is driven by the legend of already existing maps and quality checked against the same maps in order to tackle the real needs of the land managing authorities. As the combination of data from optical imagery is fundamental to achieve good thematic accuracy, the work has exploited the support vector machine (SVM) learning technique, which is more suitable than standard statistical parametric approaches in this respect. Concerning the classification steps, some algorithmic issues have been faced to improve the results, such as training set selection strategy and data fusion techniques. The work has proved that the multisource dataset (radar and optical) is fairly suitable to produce thematic maps comparable to what is already in use at local administrative level, allowing one to achieve classification accuracy in the order of 90%.
Single-stage treatment of chronic osteomyelitis with a new absorbable, gentamicin-loaded, calcium sulphate/hydroxyapatite biocomposite: a prospective series of 100 cases.

AIMS Chronic osteomyelitis may recur if dead space management, after excision of infected bone, is inadequate. This study describes the results of a strategy for the management of deep bone infection and evaluates a new antibiotic-loaded biocomposite in the eradication of infection from bone defects. PATIENTS AND METHODS We report a prospective study of 100 patients with chronic osteomyelitis, in 105 bones. Osteomyelitis followed injury or surgery in 81 patients. Nine had concomitant septic arthritis. 80 patients had comorbidities (Cierny-Mader (C-M) Class B hosts). Ten had infected nonunions. All patients were treated by a multidisciplinary team with a single-stage protocol including debridement, multiple sampling, culture-specific systemic antibiotics, stabilisation, dead space filling with the biocomposite and primary skin closure. RESULTS Patients were followed up for a mean of 19.5 months (12 to 34). Infection was eradicated in 96 patients with a single procedure and all four recurrences were successfully managed with repeat surgery. Adverse events were uncommon, with three fractures, six wound leaks and three unrelated deaths. Outcome was not dependant on C-M host class, microbial culture, wound leakage or presence of nonunion. CONCLUSION This single-stage protocol, facilitated by the absorbable local antibiotic, is effective in the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis. It offers a more patient-friendly treatment compared with other published treatment options. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1289-96.
Breastfeeding Information in Pediatric Textbooks Needs Improvement

The objective of this study is to determine if breastfeeding information in general pediatric textbooks used in the United States is accurate and up-to-date. Seven pediatric textbooks published between 1999 and 2002 were reviewed. Three reviewers examined breastfeeding content in each text independently. Using a standardized scoring sheet, each book was evaluated for inclusion of 15 basic breastfeeding criteria. Of the 15 criteria scored, the mean number present in each textbook was 11. The mean number of criteria that were correct was 7.6 (3.4 for incorrect or inconsistent criteria). The mean number of criteria omitted was 4. For each of the texts, the number of correct responses divided by the number of criteria present was 7/11 (64%), 11/14 (79%), 5/11 (45%), 9/11 (82%), 11/13 (85%), 8/9 (89%), and 2/8 (25%). Thus, breastfeeding information in these texts, when not omitted, is highly variable and at times inaccurate and inconsistent.
An improved active SLAM algorithm for multi-robot exploration

For robot exploration that is subject to pose uncertainty, combining multi-robot cooperative exploration strategy and active simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm can efficiently explore the environment while building the map from the observed data. In the paper, the exploration is stated as a constrained optimization problem and a two-phase approach is proposed. In the first phase, robots with low pose uncertainties coordinate with one another to minimize the exploration time while taking into account the uncertainties of the robot poses. Whenever the pose uncertainty of a robot exceeds a pre-defined threshold, the robot switches to the second phase by revisiting previously seen landmarks or meeting other robots. During the exploration/SLAM process, robots switch between the two phases to minimize the exploration time while maintaining the accuracy of robot poses and map. An adaptive strategy is employed to automatically adjust the threshold of the robot pose uncertainty constraints in order to prevent the robots from oscillating between the two phases. To deal with the limited communication problem, rendezvous technique is utilized by allowing robots to temporarily move out of the communication range and rejoin the group later. Simulation results are provided to verify the proposed approach.
Behavioral patterns in voltage transformer for ferroresonance detection

Ferroresonance can severely affect voltage transformers, causing quality and security problems. The possibility of appearing a ferroresonance phenomenon is mainly based on an existing series connected capacitance and a nonlinear inductance. However, factors that may influence on it are not only limited to these considerations, but also to several constructive, design, operation and protective parameters. This paper analyses the process of obtaining the ferroresonant behaviour of a medium voltage (MV) phase-to-phase voltage transformer under different operation conditions. The study is developed by software simulation in order to characterize several ferroresonant behavioral patterns of the voltage transformer. This characterization may be essential for future methodologies to detect and suppress this phenomenon, frequently regarded as an unpredictable or random.
Collaborative Crowdsourcing for the Diagnosis of Rare Genetic Syndromes: The DYSCERNE Experience

The big-data revolution is creating a challenge for the provision of services in the health sector to keep pace with the expectations of the general population. Utilization of crowdsourcing can impact positively on the quality, cost and speed of healthcare by involving large sections of professionals and the public and creating novel science within an ethical framework. In 2007, the DYSCERNE project was funded by the European Commission Public Health Executive Agency (EU DG Sanco) aimed at setting up a network of expertise for rare dysmorphic disorders. As part of DYSCERNE, a Dysmorphology Diagnostic System was set up to enable clinicians throughout the EU to submit cases electronically for diagnosis using a secure, web-based interface, hosted at specified access points (submitting nodes), in 26 different European countries. DYSCERNE utilized the process of crowdsourcing international expertise for the clinical diagnosis of very rare genetic syndromes of multiple congenital anomalies. This is the first reported account of collaborative crowd sourcing in dysmorphology, as part of a clinical genetics service.
Effect of Protein Kinase C Modulators on 14,15‐Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acid Incorporation into Astroglial Phospholipids

Abstract: Our previous studies have shown that 14,15‐epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15‐EET) is a major product of arachidonic acid metabolism in astrocytes. The purpose of this study was to investigate cellular regulation of 14,15‐EET incorporation, distribution, and metabolism in primary cultures of rat brain cortical astrocytes. Incorporation of 14,15‐EET into astrocytes was lower (93,390 ± 11,121 dpm/5 × 106 cells) than incorporation of 8,9‐EET (226,500 ± 5,567 dpm/5 × 106 cells) and arachidonic acid (321,600 ± 1,200 dpm/5 × 106 cells). 14,15‐EET was distributed in the order neutral lipids and free fatty acids (solvent front) ≫ phosphatidylcholine (PC) > phosphatidylinositol (PI) > phosphatidylethanolamine. In contrast, 8,9‐EET and arachidonic acid were exclusively incorporated into PC. During incubation, astroglial epoxide hydrolase selectively metabolized 14,15‐EET, but not 8,9‐EET, to its vic‐diol. Although 4‐phenylchalcone oxide, a potent inhibitor of epoxide hydrolase, completely inhibited 14,15‐EET metabolism, a large amount of cell‐incorporated radioactivity remained as free 14,15‐EET. Long‐term exposure of astrocytes to 4β‐phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (4β‐PMA) resulted in a time‐dependent incorporation of 14,15‐EET into PI but not in control cells exposed to 4α‐phorbol 12,13‐didecanoate. PKC down‐regulation completely inhibited epoxide hydrolase metabolism of 14,15‐EET. Following recovery of down‐regulated PKC, 1 week after treatment with 4β‐PMA, astrocytes regained their normal pattern of low incorporation of 14,15‐EET. Protein kinase C (PKC) inhibition by staurosporine enhanced 14,15‐EET incorporation without affecting its metabolism to 14,15‐dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid. Incorporation of 14,15‐EET by PKC‐down‐regulated cells was inhibited by thimerosal, a known inhibitor of fatty acyl‐CoA synthase. Our results suggest that the lower incorporation of 14,15‐EET into astroglial cells may be due to modulation of PKC‐mediated cellular mechanism(s).
Renal type I inositol 1 , 4 , 5-trisphosphate receptor is reduced in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and mice

Sharma, Kumar, Lewei Wang, Yanqing Zhu, Aurora DeGuzman, Gao-Yuan Cao, Richard B. Lynn, and Suresh K. Joseph. Renal type I inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor is reduced in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and mice. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Renal Physiol. 45): F54–F61, 1999. —The mechanisms underlying glomerular hypertrophy and hyperfiltration in diabetes remain unclear. We have previously demonstrated that the cytokine transforming growth factor-b1 (TGF-b1) is increased in early diabetic kidney disease and TGF-b1 inhibits the expression of the inositol 1,4,5trisphosphate (IP3)-gated calcium channel, the type I IP3 receptor (IP3R), in mesangial cells. To test the hypothesis that reduced type I IP3R may be important in diabetic kidney disease, we evaluated type I IP3R expression in the kidney of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and mice. Two-week-old diabetic rats have decreased renal type I IP3R protein and mRNA levels. Immunostaining of normal rat kidney demonstrated presence of type I IP3R in glomerular and vascular smooth muscle cells, whereas diabetic rats had reduced staining in both compartments. Reduction of type I IP3R also occurred in parallel with renal hypertrophy, increased creatinine clearance, and increased renal TGF-b1 expression in the diabetic rats. Two-week-old diabetic mice also had reduced renal type I IP3R protein and mRNA expression in association with renal hypertrophy and increased TGF-b1 mRNA expression. These findings demonstrate that there is reduced type I IP3R in glomerular and vascular smooth muscle cells in the diabetic kidney, which may contribute to the altered renal vasoregulation and renal hypertrophy of diabetes.
An improved referrer-based session identification algorithm using MapReduce

Session identification is an important process in web log mining for predictive prefetching of users' next request based on their navigation behavior. However, there are mainly two challenges towards this problem: one is how to effectively deal with the huge dataset and the other is how to accurately identify user's session boundaries. To meet the challenges, we proposed a novel session identification algorithm which combines the time based algorithm with the referrer based algorithm and implemented it in the popular MapReduce framework on Hadoop platform to achieve higher performance. Experimental evidence using real-world data reveals that, compared to the traditional session identification methods, the algorithm we proposed is more effective and can identify more long sessions which makes it achieve a higher accuracy.
A Critical Interrogation of Murphy's Call for a New Center of Gravity in Educational Administration

In an invited address at the 1999 annual meeting of AERA, Joseph Murphy called for “a new center of gravity for the profession” of educational administration. This “call” was later issued as a formal publication of the University Council of Educational Administration. This article is a critical appraisal of Murphy's portrayal and analysis of the state of educational administration.
Information loss recovery for block-based image coding techniques: a fuzzy logic approach

A new technique to recover the information loss in a block-based image coding system is developed in this paper. The proposed scheme is based on the fuzzy logic reasoning and can be divided into three main steps: (1) hierarchical compass interpolation/extrapolation in the spatial domain for initial recovery of lost blocks that mainly contain low-frequency information such as smooth background; (2) coarse spectra interpretation by fuzzy logic reasoning for recovery of lost blocks that contain high-frequency information such as complex textures and fine features; (3) sliding window iteration in both spatial and spectral domains to efficiently integrate the results obtained in step (1) and (2) such that optimal results can be achieved in terms of surface continuities on block boundaries and the established inference rules. The proposed method, suitable for recovering both isolated and contiguous block losses, provides a new approach for error concealment of block-based image coding systems such as the JPEG coding standard and vector quantization based coding algorithms. The principle of the proposed scheme can also be applied to block-based video compression schemes such as the H.261, MPEG, and HDTV standards. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Development of a Vector Display System Based on a Surface-Micromachined Micromirror

This paper presents a small-size low-power portable vector display system. The display system uses a micromirror which consists of a simple two-thin-film structure and is fabricated using a surface-micromachining process, i.e., Polysilicon Multi User MEMS Processes. The micromirror exhibits rotational motion around two axes as well as translational motion through four repulsive-force electrostatic actuating units. The micromirror is free of the “pull-in” effect which is associated with conventional micro electrostatic actuators. The micromirror is operated in a nonresonant mode and is capable of static positioning. Measured data show that the micromirror can achieve an optical scanning angle of ±2.5° in each axis. The measured bandwidth (-3 dB) for each driving unit is 2000 Hz operating at a sinusoidal input voltage of 0-200 V. The settling times of the actuating unit are 2.75 and 3.32 ms with overshoots of 5% and 48% for step inputs of 200 to 0 V and 0 to 200 V, respectively. The portable vector display system is developed through integrating the micromirror, a laser source, the optics, and a microcontroller and is shown to be very effective in displaying complex geometries. Open-loop control methods using lookup table searching, spot dwelling, and scan speed control were developed to control the integrated portable device.
Cognitive reserve and cognitive function in healthy older people: a meta-analysis

The associations between proxy measures of cognitive reserve (CR) and cognition vary across studies and cognitive domains. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the relationship between CR and cognition in multiple domains (memory, executive function, visuospatial ability, and language). CR was considered in terms of three key proxy measures – educational level, occupational status, and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities – individually and in combination. One-hundred and thirty-five studies representing 128,328 participants were included. Of these, 109 used a measure of education, 19 used a measure of occupation, 31 used a measure of participation in cognitively stimulating activities, and 6 used a combination of these. All three proxy measures had a modest positive association with cognition; occupational status and cognitive activities showed the most variation across cognitive domains. This supports the view that the commonly used proxy measures of CR share an underlying process but that each additionally provides a unique contribution to CR.
Genome Sequences of Oceanicola granulosus HTCC2516T and Oceanicola batsensis HTCC2597T

ABSTRACT Genome sequences from the prolific Roseobacter clade in the Alphaproteobacteria are beginning to reveal the genetic basis for the diverse lifestyles of these organisms. Here we present the genome sequences of Oceanicola granulosus HTCC2516T and O ceanicola batsensis HTCC2597T, two marine Roseobacter species isolated from the Sargasso Sea using dilution-to-extinction culturing, whose genomes encode for significant differences in metabolic potential.
The effects of graded levels of calorie restriction: XI. Evaluation of the main hypotheses underpinning the life extension effects of CR using the hepatic transcriptome

Calorie restriction (CR) may extend longevity by modulating the mechanisms involved in aging. Different hypotheses have been proposed for its main mode of action. We quantified hepatic transcripts of male C57BL/6 mice exposed to graded levels of CR (0% to 40% CR) for three months, and evaluated the responses relative to these various hypotheses. Of the four main signaling pathways implied to be linked to the impact of CR on lifespan (insulin/insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-ĸB), mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) and sirtuins (SIRTs)), all the pathways except SIRT were altered in a manner consistent with increased lifespan. However, the expression levels of SIRT4 and SIRT7 were decreased with increasing levels of CR. Changes consistent with altered fuel utilization under CR may reduce reactive oxygen species production, which was paralleled by reduced protection. Downregulated major urinary protein (MUP) transcription suggested reduced reproductive investment. Graded CR had a positive effect on autophagy and xenobiotic metabolism, and was protective with respect to cancer signaling. CR had no significant effect on fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) transcription but affected transcription in the hydrogen sulfide production pathway. Responses to CR were consistent with several different hypotheses, and the benefits of CR on lifespan likely reflect the combined impact on multiple aging related processes.