Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Starch Digestion and Patients With Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency

Fig. 5B), results in an inactive protein. Proline is added in the middle of an a-helix and likely disrupts the helix and associated secondary structure. The mutation is 21.2 Å away from the catalytic nucleophile, but it is in the interior of the protein where proline is found only infrequently because this residue typically lies on the surface of globular proteins. The disorder of the active site caused by this mutation likely affects function and causes the inactivity of the protein. In addition to the specifics of inhibitor-enzyme interactions, there are some important questions that can be addressed by future structural analyses. The roles of portions of the enzyme module structures that are distal to the active sites have not been investigated. In particular, the structure identified a b-trefoil region, a fold that has been associated with both carbohydrate-binding modules of microbial glycoside hydrolases and protein–protein interactions. Furthermore, although studies of individual modules have been critical in studying their characteristics, MGAM and SI both exist physiologically as dienzyme complexes. How do the modules interact within the intact complex? To what extent is this interaction important for their activities? Finally, what is the basis for the altered activity or trafficking of mutated SI domains in patients with CSID? Structural studies of intact MGAM and SI enzymes can contribute to answering these questions.
Treatment of multiple myeloma by antibody mediated immunotherapy and induction of myeloma selective antigens.

BACKGROUND In view of the successful use of serotherapy in many B-cell malignancies, we and others have sought to identify tumor selective antigens for the serotherapy of plasma cell dyscrasias (PCD) including multiple myeloma (MM), and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM). We recently identified Muc-1 core protein as a MM selective antigen. Though Muc-1 core protein is abundantly expressed on most MM plasma cells, expression of this antigen can be absent, or weak on some plasma cells which could potentially result in the selection of Muc-1 core protein negative clones following serotherapy of PCD. In addition to Muc-1 core protein, we have also been examining the use of CD20 directed serotherapy for PCD. DESIGN As part of these efforts, we recently initiated a phase II clinical trial examining the use of Rituximab (Rituxan, MabThera) as a single agent in MM patients; as well several WM patients have been treated with Rituximab at our Institutions. RESULTS In previous studies, we have shown that CD20 is abundantly expressed on the plasma cells of most WM patients; in contrast, CD20 is expressed on plasma cells from a minority of MM patients, and in these patients expression of CD20 can be weak or heterogeneous with both CD20+ and CD20- plasma cells present. As such, we have sought out clinically useful inducers of Muc-1 core protein, and of CD20 on malignant plasma cells. CONCLUSIONS These efforts resulted in the identification of dexamethasone (Dex) as a potent inducer of Muc-1 core protein on MM plasma cells, and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) as a potent inducer of CD20 on MM plasma cells and B-cells. Importantly, these agents induced their respective antigens at pharmacologically achievable doses.
Machine Translation-where are we going ?

The 50 years of machine translation history have seen the development of several major approaches and, more recently, of a new enabling paradigm of statistical processing. Still, today, there is no dominant approach. Despite the commercial success of many MT systems, tools, and other products, the main problem remains unsolved, and the various ways of combining approaches and paradigms are only beginning to be explored.
Multicenter, placebo-controlled study of fluoxetine in seasonal affective disorder.

OBJECTIVE The authors investigated the efficacy and safety of fluoxetine in the treatment of winter seasonal affective disorder. METHOD Sixty-eight outpatients who met the DSM-III-R criteria for recurrent major depressive episodes, seasonal (winter) pattern, were randomly assigned to 5 weeks of treatment with fluoxetine, 20 mg/day (N = 36), or placebo (N = 32). The outcome measures included the 29-item modified Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, administered by experienced clinicians, and the self-rated Beck Depression Inventory; adverse events and safety data were also recorded. Clinical response was defined as a greater than 50% reduction in depression score between baseline and study termination. RESULTS Both groups showed significant improvement. The fluoxetine group had lower depression scores at termination than the placebo group, but these differences did not achieve statistical significance. However, the rate of clinical response in the fluoxetine group (59%) was superior to that in the placebo group (34%). Post hoc analyses showed that the greatest fluoxetine responses were in the most markedly depressed patients and that overall response was greater for patients studied later in the season. Fluoxetine was well tolerated, and few subjects dropped out because of adverse events. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of clinical response rate, fluoxetine appears to be an effective, well-tolerated treatment for seasonal affective disorder. Because the differences between fluoxetine and placebo in the continuous outcome measures did not reach statistical significance, further studies with larger study groups and longer treatment periods are required to conclusively demonstrate efficacy of fluoxetine for seasonal affective disorder.
Association Between Subclinical Cardiac Biomarkers and Clinically Manifest Cardiac Diseases With Cortical Cerebral Microinfarcts

Importance Subclinical and clinical cardiac diseases have been previously linked to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) manifestations of cerebrovascular disease, such as lacunes and white matter hyperintensities, as well as dementia. Cortical cerebral microinfarcts (CMIs), a novel MRI marker of cerebral vascular disease, have not been studied, to date, in relation to subclinical and clinical cardiac diseases. Objective To examine the association of blood biomarkers of subclinical cardiac disease and clinically manifest cardiac diseases with CMIs graded on 3-T MRI in a memory clinic population. Design, Setting, and Participants This baseline cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study performed from August 12, 2010, to July 28, 2015, included 464 memory clinic participants. All participants underwent collection of blood samples, neuropsychological assessment, and 3-T MRI. Exposures N-terminal pro–brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) concentrations were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. Cardiac disease was defined as a history of atrial fibrillation, ischemic heart diseases, or congestive heart failure. Main Outcomes and Measures The CMIs were graded according to a previously validated protocol. Results Of 464 participants, 124 had insufficient blood plasma samples and 97 had no CMI grading (none, incomplete, or ungradable MRI), leaving a sample size of 243 for final analysis (mean [SD] age, 72.8 [9.1] years; 116 men [42.9%]). Seventy participants (28.8%) had cortical CMIs (median, 1; range, 0-43). Compared with participants with no CMIs, those with CMIs had a significantly higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation (rate ratio [RR], 1.62; 95% CI, 1.20-21.8), ischemic heart disease (RR, 4.31; 95% CI, 3.38-5.49), and congestive heart failure (RR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.29-3.25). Significantly higher levels of NT-proBNP (RR, 3.16; 95% CI, 2.33-4.27) and hs-cTnT (RR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.00-4.74) were found in participants with CMIs. In multivariate models adjusted for demographics and vascular risk factors, higher levels of NT-proBNP (RR, 3.19; 95% CI, 2.62-3.90) and hs-cTnT (RR, 4.86; 95% CI, 3.03-7.08) were associated with CMIs. These associations persisted even after excluding patients with clinically manifest cardiac disease. Conclusions and Relevance This study found that biomarkers of subclinical cardiac disease and clinically manifest cardiac diseases were associated with CMIs on 3-T MRI in patients attending a memory clinic, suggesting that cardiac disease may contribute to the development of CMIs. Hence, cardiac dysfunction should be targeted as a potentially modifiable factor to prevent CMI-related brain injury.
Stavudine-induced pancreatitis followed by lopinavir-ritonavir-induced pancreatitis.

A 50-year-old south Indian male weighing 50 kg was admitted to the hospital with fever, loose stools, cough, breathlessness and upper abdomen tenderness over the preceding week. Three years back he was diagnosed to have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection with pulmonary tuberculosis. Following the completion of tuberculosis treatment for six months, he was initiated on antiretroviral treatment with zidovudine 300 mg BD, lamivudine 150 mg BD and nevirapine 200 mg BD. At the time of initiating the antiretroviral treatment, his CD4 + count was 289 cells/mm3. After 18 months, his antiretroviral therapy was changed to nevirapine 200 mg BD, lamivudine 150 mg BD and
Causes and Implications of the Disappearance of Rifampin Resistance in a Rat Model of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Foreign Body Osteomyelitis

ABSTRACT Orthopedic foreign body-associated infections are often treated with rifampin-based combination antimicrobial therapy. We previously observed that rifampin-resistant and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates were present 2 days after cessation of rifampin therapy in experimental foreign body osteomyelitis. Unexpectedly, only rifampin-susceptible isolates were detected 14 days after the completion of treatment. We studied two rifampin-resistant isolates recovered 2 days after treatment and one rifampin-susceptible isolate recovered 14 days after treatment. Growing these isolates alone in vitro or in vivo demonstrated no fitness defects; however, in mixed culture, rifampin-susceptible bacteria outcompeted rifampin-resistant bacteria. In vivo, two courses of rifampin treatment (25 mg/kg of body weight every 12 h for 21 days) yielded a greater decrease in bacterial quantity in the bones of treated animals 14 days following treatment than that in animals receiving a single course of treatment (P = 0.0398). In infections established with equal numbers of rifampin-resistant and rifampin-susceptible bacteria, one course of rifampin treatment did not affect bacterial quantities. Rifampin-resistant and rifampin-susceptible isolates were recovered both 2 days and 14 days following treatment completion; however, the proportion of animals with rifampin-resistant isolates was lower at 14 days than that at 2 days following treatment completion (P = 0.024). In untreated animals infected with equal numbers of rifampin-resistant and rifampin-susceptible bacteria for 4 weeks, rifampin-susceptible isolates were exclusively recovered, indicating the outcompetition of rifampin-resistant by rifampin-susceptible isolates. The data presented imply that although there is no apparent fitness defect in rifampin-resistant bacteria when grown alone, they are outcompeted by rifampin-susceptible bacteria when the two are present together. The findings also suggest that selected rifampin resistance may not persist in initially rifampin-susceptible infections following the discontinuation of rifampin.
Sensitization to Radiation and Alkylating Agents by Inhibitors of Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Is Enhanced in Cells Deficient in DNA Double-Strand Break Repair

As single agents, chemical inhibitors of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) are nontoxic and have clinical efficacy against BRCA1- and BRCA2-deficient tumors. PARP inhibitors also enhance the cytotoxicity of ionizing radiation and alkylating agents but will only improve clinical outcomes if tumor sensitization exceeds effects on normal tissues. It is unclear how tumor DNA repair proficiency affects the degree of sensitization. We have previously shown that the radiosensitizing effect of PARP inhibition requires DNA replication and will therefore affect rapidly proliferating tumors more than normal tissues. Because many tumors exhibit defective DNA repair, we investigated the impact of double-strand break (DSB) repair integrity on the sensitizing effects of the PARP inhibitor olaparib. Sensitization to ionizing radiation and the alkylating agent methylmethane sulfonate was enhanced in DSB repair–deficient cells. In Artemis−/− and ATM−/− mouse embryo fibroblasts, sensitization was replication dependent and associated with defective repair of replication-associated damage. Radiosensitization of Ligase IV−/− mouse embryo fibroblasts was independent of DNA replication and is explained by inhibition of "alternative" end joining. After methylmethane sulfonate treatment, PARP inhibition promoted replication-independent accumulation of DSB, repair of which required Ligase IV. Our findings predict that the sensitizing effects of PARP inhibitors will be more pronounced in rapidly dividing and/or DNA repair defective tumors than normal tissues and show their potential to enhance the therapeutic ratio achieved by conventional DNA-damaging agents. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(6); 1775–87. ©2010 AACR.
Modeling and Measuring Information Asymmetry in the Context of Senegalese Migrants' Remittances

Much optimism has been invested in the developmental role of migrants’ remittances as altruism and frequent interactions should facilitate investments by migrants in their countries of origin. But geographical dispersion can foster strategic behavior. We develop a model of transfers from the Senegalese diaspora based on socio– anthropological evidence of remittances earmarked by migrants for investments or expenditures by their households of origin, especially durable assets. The model allows for information asymmetry and monitoring by the migrant. It shows that it may be optimal for recipients to behave strategically and we may observe systematic discrepancies between recipients’ and senders’ reports of the goods to be financed by transfers. Novel matched data enable us to test and find support for the model’s predictions.
Computational analytics for venture finance

This thesis investigates the application of computational analytics to the domain of venture finance – the deployment of capital to high-risk ventures in pursuit of maximising financial return. Traditional venture finance is laborious and highly inefficient. Whilst high street banks approve (or reject) personal loans in a matter of minutes It takes an early-stage venture capital (VC) firm months to put a term sheet in front of a fledgling new venture. Whilst these are fundamentally different forms of finance (longer return period, larger investments, different risk profiles) a more data-informed and analytical approach to venture finance is foreseeable. We have surveyed existing software tools in relation to the venture capital investment process and stage of investment. We find that analytical tools are nascent and use of analytics in industry is limited. To date only a small handful of venture capital firms have publicly declared their use of computational analytical methods in their decision making and investment selection process. This research has been undertaken with several industry partners including venture capital firms, seed accelerators, universities and other related organisations. Within our research we have developed a prototype software tool NVANA: New Venture Analytics – for assessing new ventures and screening prospective deal flow. Over £20,000 in early-stage funding was distributed with hundreds of new ventures assessed using the system. Both the limitations of our prototype and extensions are discussed. We have focused on computational analytics in the context of three sub-components of the NVANA system. Firstly, improving the classification of private companies using supervised and multi-label classification techniques to develop a novel form of industry classification. Secondly, we have investigated the potential to benchmark private company performance based upon a company's ``digital footprint''. Finally, the novel application of collaborative filtering and content-based recommendation techniques to the domain of venture finance. We conclude by discussing the future potential for computational analytics to increase efficiency and performance within the venture finance domain. We believe there is clear scope for assisting the venture capital investment process. However, we have identified limitations and challenges in terms of access to data, stage of investment and adoption by industry.
Measurement of brain activation during an upright stepping reaction task using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy

Functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non‐invasive brain imaging technology that uses light to measure changes in cortical hemoglobin concentrations. FNIRS measurements are recorded through fiber optic cables, which allow the participant to wear the fNIRS sensors while standing upright. Thus, fNIRS technology is well suited to study cortical brain activity during upright balance, stepping, and gait tasks. In this study, fNIRS was used to measure changes in brain activation from the frontal, motor, and premotor brain regions during an upright step task that required subjects to step laterally in response to visual cues that required executive function control. We hypothesized that cognitive processing during complex stepping cues would elicit brain activation of the frontal cortex in areas involved in cognition. Our results show increased prefrontal activation associated with the processing of the stepping cues. Moreover, these results demonstrate the potential to use fNIRS to investigate cognitive processing during cognitively demanding balance and gait studies. Hum Brain Mapp 34:2817–2828, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within

Square Pictures' Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within defines the current state of the art in fully synthetic moviemaking. FF:TSWbreaks new ground by presenting a fully computer-rendered world populated not by insects, robots, or toys but by realistic humancharacters who can act and directly involve the audience. Ambitious use of new modeling and procedural animation methods,high-quality rendering, and new forms of special effects have been combined with traditional character animation and innovativemotion-capture technology to create a theatre experience unlike anything movie audiences have yet seen, and which is likelyto spawn an entirely new genre. Copyright held by creator.
Inhibitory Serpins from Wheat Grain with Reactive Centers Resembling Glutamine-rich Repeats of Prolamin Storage Proteins

Genes encoding proteins of the serpin superfamily are widespread in the plant kingdom, but the properties of very few plant serpins have been studied, and physiological functions have not been elucidated. Six distinct serpins have been identified in grains of hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by partial purification and amino acid sequencing. The reactive centers of all but one of the serpins resemble the glutamine-rich repetitive sequences in prolamin storage proteins of wheat grain. Five of the serpins, classified into two protein Z subfamilies, WSZ1 and WSZ2, have been cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, and purified. Inhibitory specificity toward 17 proteinases of mammalian, plant, and microbial origin was studied. All five serpins were suicide substrate inhibitors of chymotrypsin and cathepsin G. WSZ1a and WSZ1b inhibited at the unusual reactive center P1-P1′ Gln-Gln, and WSZ2b at P2-P1 Leu-Arg—one of two overlapping reactive centers. WSZ1c with P1-P1′ Leu-Gln was the fastest inhibitor of chymotrypsin (k a = 1.3 × 106 m −1 s−1). WSZ1a was as efficient an inhibitor of chymotrypsin as WSZ2a (k a∼105 m −1 s−1), which has P1-P1′ Leu-Ser—a reactive center common in animal serpins. WSZ2b inhibited plasmin at P1-P1′ Arg-Gln (k a∼103 m −1 s−1). None of the five serpins inhibited Bacillus subtilisin A,Fusarium trypsin, or two subtilisin-like plant serine proteinases, hordolisin from barley green malt and cucumisin D from honeydew melon. Possible functions involving interactions with endogenous or exogenous proteinases adapted to prolamin degradation are discussed.
Automatic Facial Spots and Acnes Detection System

Recently medical cosmetic has attracted significant business opportunity. Micro cosmetic surgery usually involves invasive cosmetic procedures such as non-ablative laser procedure for skin rejuvenation. However, to select an appropriate treatment for skin relies on accurate preoperative evaluations. In this paper, an automatic facial skin defects detection and recognition method is proposed. The system first locates the facial region from the input image. Then, the shapes of faces were recognized using a contour descriptor. The facial features are extracted to define regions of interest and an image segment method is used to extract potential defect. A support-vector-machine-based classifier is then used to classify the potential defects into spots, acnes and normal skin. Experimental results demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed method.
Conservation value of degraded habitats for forest birds in southern Peninsular Malaysia

Clearance of tropical forest for agricultural purposes is generally assumed to seriously threaten the survival of forest species. In this study, we quantified the conservation value, for forest bird species, of three degraded habitat types in Peninsular Malaysia, namely rubber tree plantations, oil palm plantations, and open areas. We surveyed these degraded habitats using point counts to estimate their forest bird species richness and abundance. We assessed whether richness, abundance, and activities of different avian dietary groups (i.e. insectivores and frugivores) varied among the habitats. We identified the critical habitat elements that accounted for the distribution of forest avifauna in these degraded habitats. Our results showed that these habitats harboured a moderate fraction of forest avifauna (approximately 46–76 species) and their functions were complementary (i.e. rubber tree plantations for moving; open habitats for perching; shrubs in oil palm plantations for foraging). In terms of species richness and abundance, rubber tree plantations were more important than oil palm plantations and open habitats. The relatively high species richness of this agricultural landscape was partly due to the contiguity of our study areas with extensive forest areas. Forecasts of forest‐species presence under various canopy cover scenarios suggest that leaving isolated trees among non‐arboreal crops could greatly attract relatively tolerant species that require tree canopy. The conservation value of degraded habitats in agricultural landscapes seems to depend on factors such as the type of crops planted and distance to primary forest remnants.