Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
T Cells Expressing CD19/CD20 Bispecific Chimeric Antigen Receptors Prevent Antigen Escape by Malignant B Cells

Bispecific chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) have been systematically optimized to simultaneously target two clinically relevant antigens, CD19 and CD20, presenting a clinically applicable solution to antigen escape and facilitating the rational design of receptors with higher-level complexities. The adoptive transfer of T cells expressing anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has shown remarkable curative potential against advanced B-cell malignancies, but multiple trials have also reported patient relapses due to the emergence of CD19-negative leukemic cells. Here, we report the design and optimization of single-chain, bispecific CARs that trigger robust cytotoxicity against target cells expressing either CD19 or CD20, two clinically validated targets for B-cell malignancies. We determined the structural parameters required for efficient dual-antigen recognition, and we demonstrate that optimized bispecific CARs can control both wild-type B-cell lymphoma and CD19– mutants with equal efficiency in vivo. To our knowledge, this is the first bispecific CAR capable of preventing antigen escape by performing true OR-gate signal computation on a clinically relevant pair of tumor-associated antigens. The CD19-OR-CD20 CAR is fully compatible with existing T-cell manufacturing procedures and implementable by current clinical protocols. These results present an effective solution to the challenge of antigen escape in CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, and they highlight the utility of structure-based rational design in the development of receptors with higher-level complexity. Cancer Immunol Res; 4(6); 498–508. ©2016 AACR. See related Spotlight by Sadelain, p. 473. An addendum has been published.
Brussel An Electrical-Balance Duplexer for In-Band Full-Duplex with <-85 dBm In-Band Distortion at + 10 dBm TX-power

When using electrical-balance duplexers (EBDs) to provide RF self-interference cancellation for in-band full-duplex, in-band distortion produced by nonlinear CMOS switches in the duplexer cause distortion that limits the headroom for additional self-interference cancellation in subsequent cancellation schemes in the transceiver. A prototype EBD is fabricated in 0. 18μm SOI CMOS to investigate the dynamic range limitations of a transceiver architecture for next-generation wireless systems that supports in-band full-duplex and legacy FDD. Measurements show -85dBm in-band distortion at +10dBm TX input power, enough for short-range links at 10MHz BW. Index Terms — In-band full-duplex, electrical-balance duplexer, multi-tone test, self-interference, cancellation.
Cumulative Point—L1 Between Two Positively Charged Plasma Structures (3-D Strata)

Values of a cathode potential drop (CD) are estimated in nanosecond argon discharges with a hollow cathode over total number of strata in the discharge gap (n ~ 10). The CD dependence on the discharge parameters has been studied. The structurization of this discharge in experiments is analytically analyzed. It is proved that the strata in the nanosecond discharges are caused by the electron drift and the electron impact direct ionization forming the ionization-drift waves. The drift removal of electrons leads to formation of positively charged layers of a space charge, a significant increase of the peripheral ionization. At that the cumulation of the electron flow in to the plasma focuses takes place similar to cumulation of neural particle flows in to the Lagrange-Euler libration points L1. The cumulative points L1 arise between the attractors of any nature.
Involvement of Jasmonic Acid in Elicitor-Induced Phytoalexin Production in Suspension-Cultured Rice Cells

It has been suggested that jasmonic acid (JA) could be an integral part of a general signal transduction system regulating inducible defense genes in plants. It was reported that treatment with an elicitor (N-acetylchitoheptaose) induced production of phytoalexin in suspension-cultured rice (Oryza sativa L.) cells. In this study, the role of JA in the induction of phytoalexin production by N-acetylchitoheptaose was investigated. Exogenously applied ([plus or minus])-JA (10–4 M) clearly induced the production of momilactone A, a major phytoalexin, in suspension-cultured rice cells. On the other hand, in rice cells treated with N-acetylchitoheptaose, endogenous JA was rapidly and transiently accumulated prior to accumulation of momilactone A. Treatment with ibuprofen, an inhibitor of JA biosynthesis, reduced production of momilactone A in the cells treated with N-acetylchitoheptaose, but the addition of ([plus or minus])-JA increased production of momilactone A to levels higher than those in the elicited rice cells. These results strongly suggest that JA functions as a signal transducer in the induction of biosynthesis of momilactone A by N-acetylchitoheptaose in suspension-cultured rice cells.
Outer membrane vesicles displaying engineered glycotopes elicit protective antibodies

Significance Conjugate vaccines have proven to be an effective and safe strategy for reducing the incidence of disease caused by bacterial pathogens. However, the manufacture of these vaccines is technically demanding, inefficient, and expensive, thereby limiting their widespread use. Here, we describe an alternative methodology for generating glycoconjugate vaccines whereby recombinant polysaccharide biosynthesis is coordinated with vesicle formation in nonpathogenic Escherichia coli, resulting in glycosylated outer membrane vesicles (glycOMVs) that can effectively deliver pathogen-mimetic glycotopes to the immune system. An attractive feature of our approach is the fact that different plasmid-encoded polysaccharide biosynthetic pathways can be readily transformed into E. coli, enabling a “plug-and-play” platform for the on-demand creation of glycOMV vaccine candidates that carry heterologous glycotopes from numerous pathogenic bacteria. The O-antigen polysaccharide (O-PS) component of lipopolysaccharides on the surface of gram-negative bacteria is both a virulence factor and a B-cell antigen. Antibodies elicited by O-PS often confer protection against infection; therefore, O-PS glycoconjugate vaccines have proven useful against a number of different pathogenic bacteria. However, conventional methods for natural extraction or chemical synthesis of O-PS are technically demanding, inefficient, and expensive. Here, we describe an alternative methodology for producing glycoconjugate vaccines whereby recombinant O-PS biosynthesis is coordinated with vesiculation in laboratory strains of Escherichia coli to yield glycosylated outer membrane vesicles (glycOMVs) decorated with pathogen-mimetic glycotopes. Using this approach, glycOMVs corresponding to eight different pathogenic bacteria were generated. For example, expression of a 17-kb O-PS gene cluster from the highly virulent Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis (type A) strain Schu S4 in hypervesiculating E. coli cells yielded glycOMVs that displayed F. tularensis O-PS. Immunization of BALB/c mice with glycOMVs elicited significant titers of O-PS–specific serum IgG antibodies as well as vaginal and bronchoalveolar IgA antibodies. Importantly, glycOMVs significantly prolonged survival upon subsequent challenge with F. tularensis Schu S4 and provided complete protection against challenge with two different F. tularensis subsp. holarctica (type B) live vaccine strains, thereby demonstrating the vaccine potential of glycOMVs. Given the ease with which recombinant glycotopes can be expressed on OMVs, the strategy described here could be readily adapted for developing vaccines against many other bacterial pathogens.
Learning to See Where and What: Training a Net to Make Saccades and Recognize Handwritten Characters

This paper describes an approach to integrated segmentation and recognition of hand-printed characters. The approach, called Saccade, integrates ballistic and corrective saccades (eye movements) with character recognition. A single backpropagation net is trained to make a classification decision on a character centered in its input window, as well as to estimate the distance of the current and next character from the center of the input window. The net learns to accurately estimate these distances regardless of variations in character width, spacing between characters, writing style and other factors. During testing, the system uses the net-extracted classification and distance information, along with a set of jumping rules, to jump from character to character.
Octagonal geometry Hall plate designed for the PiezoHall effect measurement

Hall Effect transducers are the most popular kind of magnetic sensor; however, the offset voltage and drift of their characteristic have limited their usability. The main source of variation is the remaining mechanical stress in the crystalline silicon structure, related to the piezoresistive effect of the semiconductor materials, which can influence the offset and also the sensitivity of the device. This work is going to introduce an eight terminal hall plate fabricated using a commercial CMOS process, which can be used to study the different effects in the hall sensor in the main crystallographic directions. We also applied an offset reduction based in current spinning technique using the 8 terminals device and an on-chip control circuit. Finally, we show the design of the Hall plate over a silicon membrane which is suitable to measure the cross side effect between both hall and piezoeffect, which is called PiezoHall effect.
Borrelia burgdorferi HtrA: evidence for twofold proteolysis of outer membrane protein p66

In prokaryotes, members of the High Temperature Requirement A (HtrA) family of serine proteases function in the periplasm to degrade damaged or improperly folded membrane proteins. Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, codes for a single HtrA homolog. Two‐dimensional electrophoresis analysis of B. burgdorferi B31A3 and a strain that overexpresses HtrA (A3HtrAOE) identified a downregulated protein in A3HtrAOE with a mass, pI and MALDI‐TOF spectrum consistent with outer membrane protein p66. P66 and HtrA from cellular lysates partitioned into detergent‐resistant membranes, which contain cholesterol‐glycolipid‐rich membrane regions known as lipid rafts, suggesting that HtrA and p66 may reside together in lipid rafts also. This agrees with previous work from our laboratory, which showed that HtrA and p66 are constituents of B. burgdorferi outer membrane vesicles. HtrA degraded p66 in vitro and A3HtrAOE expressed reduced levels of p66 in vivo. Fluorescence confocal microscopy revealed that HtrA and p66 colocalize in the membrane. The association of HtrA and p66 establishes that they could interact efficiently and their protease/substrate relationship provides functional relevance to this interaction. A3HtrAOE also showed reduced levels of p66 transcript in comparison with wild‐type B31A3, indicating that HtrA‐mediated regulation of p66 may occur at multiple levels.
Velocity modulation and rhythmic synchronization of gait in Huntington's disease

This study analyzed the ability of patients with Huntington's disease (HD) to modulate gait velocity without external sensory cues and in response to an auditory rhythmic cue within a frequency entrainment design. Uncued gait patterns of 27 patients were first assessed during normal, slower, and faster self‐paced walking. During rhythmic trials, metronome and musical beat patterns were delivered at rates 10% slower and 10–20% faster than baseline cadence to cue gait patterns. After the rhythmic trials, patients were retested at normal gait speed without rhythm. Gait velocities in the patients with HD were below normal reference values in all ranges. Patients were able to significantly (p <0.05) modulate their gait velocity during self‐paced and rhythmic metronome cueing but not during music. The ability to modulate gait velocity was retained regardless of the severity of the disease. Gait velocity declined with an increase in disability and chorea score. The disability score differentiated better between gait velocity of moderately and severe patients than chorea score. Slowness of gait was significantly correlated only with disability score and not with chorea. Patients had more difficulty producing adequate step rates than stride lengths during normal and fast walking speeds. After the rhythmic trials, unpaced gait velocity remained significantly (p <0.05) higher than baseline. This carry‐over effect was not seen after the uncued trials. Synchronization ability was deficient in all patients, deteriorated with severity of disease, and was already compromised in patients with soft disease signs. Rhythmic tracking of music declined more with severity of disease than metronome tracking. In summary, patients were able to modulate velocity with and without external cues. Velocity adaptations to the external rhythm in music and metronome were achieved without exact synchronization between step cadence and rhythmic stimulus.
Rituxan in the treatment of cold agglutinin disease.

To the Editor: The use of the monoclonal antibody C2B8 (Rituxan; IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp, San Diego, CA) directed at CD20 has been shown to be of benefit to patients with relapsed/refractory low-grade lymphomas of B-cell origin. [1][1] We report a case of a patient with evidence of a non-Hodgkin
THE EMERGENCE OF UNIVERSITY GRADUATE ENTREPRENEURS : WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE ? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCES FROM A RESEARCH IN ARGENTINA

In the context of the knowledge society new ventures founded by graduates are called to play a critical role as agents of change. This potential role is especially crucial in emergent countries such as Argentina where existing firms do not play an important role as “organizational incubators” for new entrepreneurs. By the other hand, recent research in Latin American countries has found that half of the most dynamic entrepreneurs have an university degree. These evidences have led us to formulate some questions about the process of emergence of these university-based entrepreneurs: Which are the distinctive characteristics of it to be considered by those who promote entrepreneurship in universities? What is the contribution of universities to the emergence of entrepreneurs? The results contribute to enlarge the knowledge about the entrepreneurial process in Latin America with especial focus in the more distinctive aspects differentiating the emergence of university degree founded new ventures.
Male calling song provides a reliable signal of immune function in a cricket

A critical prediction of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis is that the expression of secondary sexual traits should be positively correlated with pathogen resistance ability. This correlation is necessary if females are to be able to use a particular sexual trait as an indicator of a male's resistance ability. In this study we document a positive correlation between a sexually selected component of the calling song of male house crickets (the number of syllables per chirp) and haemocyte load, an important determinant of the ability to encapsulate pathogens in insects. The results indicate that, by favouring males which produce more syllables per chirp, females may also select males with higher pathogen resistance ability, potentially generating either direct or indirect selection on female mating preferences.
Rotor-side converter reconfiguration using four-switch three-phase topology in dfig-wt for fault-tolerant purpose

A four-switch three-phase (FSTP) rotor-side converter (RSC) is proposed in this paper for doubly-fed induction generator based wind turbines (DFIG-WT) to increase the system reliability. The proposed converter topology has satisfactory robustness to open-circuit faults, and it is demonstrated to be feasible under the circumstance of wind speed change. According to different current flow directions, the model of FSTP RSC is set up. In addition, the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) technique is simplified in FSTP RSC to get rid of sector identification and complex trigonometric calculations when a converter fault occurs. Besides that, the amplification of DC-bus voltage is reduced by using the proposed modulation technique. The overall performances are analyzed for both the six-switch three-phase (SSTP) and FSTP RSC based DFIG-WTs with wind speed step changes in Matlab/Simulink. The validity of the proposed FSTP RSC is demonstrated and it has the potential to be applied in practice.
Accurate solution of the volume integral equation for high-permittivity scatterers

We present a formalism based on the method of moment to solve the volume integral equation using tetrahedral (3-D) and triangular (2-D) elements. We introduce a regularization scheme to handle the strong singularity of the Green's tensor. This regularization scheme is extended to neighboring elements, which dramatically improves the accuracy and the convergence of the technique. Scattering by high-permittivity scatterers, like semiconductors, can be accurately computed. Furthermore, plasmon-polariton resonances in dispersive materials can also be reproduced.
The role of solute accumulation, osmotic adjustment and changes in cell wall elasticity in drought tolerance in Ziziphus mauritiana (Lamk.)

bulk tissue elastic modulus (wall rigidity) which resulted in turgor loss at the same h in both stressed Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) is a major fruit tree and unstressed leaves. The possible ecological signicrop of the north-west Indian arid zone. In a study of ficance of maintenance of turgor potential and cell the physiological basis of drought tolerance in this volume at low water potentials for drought tolerance species, two glasshouse experiments were conducted in Ziziphus is discussed. in which trees were droughted during single stresscycles. In the first experiment, during a 13 d drying Key words: Ziziphus mauritiana, drought, solute accumulacycle, pre-dawn leaf water (Y leaf ) and osmotic (Y p ) tion, osmotic adjustment, proline. potentials in droughted trees declined from ’0.5 and ’1.4 MPa to ’1.7 and ’2.2 MPa, respectively, for a decrease in relative water content (h) of 14%. During Introduction drought stress, changes in sugar metabolism were associated with significant increases in concentra- Drought is probably the most important factor limiting tions of hexose sugars (3.8-fold), cyclitol (scyllo- crop productivity world-wide (Jones and Corlett, 1992). inositol; 1.5-fold), and proline (35-fold; expressed per In semi-arid regions, where the amounts and patterns of unit dry weight), suggesting that altered solute parti- seasonal rainfall are often erratic and unpredictable, deeptioning may be an important factor in drought toler- rooting perennial species may exploit deep soil water ance of Ziziphus. On rewatering, pre-dawn Y leaf and h reserves. This facilitates production of yields in situations recovered fully, but Y p remained depressed by 0.4 MPa of high light coupled with drought, where shallow-rooted relative to control values, indicating that solute con- annual crops would normally fail. The use of perennials centration per unit water content had changed during may help buVer farmers’ production against year-to-year the drought cycle. fluctuations in yields from annual crop species. Under Evidence for osmotic adjustment was provided from such conditions, an ability to maintain cell water status a second study during which a gradual drought (e.g. through osmotic adjustment and/or leaf area adjustwas imposed. Pressure‐volume analysis revealed a ment) and cell integrity (by protecting cells against photo0.7 MPa reduction in osmotic potential at full turgor, and chemical oxidation) may be an advantage. There are with Y leaf at turgor loss depressed by ~1 MPa in many cases where plants growing in hostile environments drought-stressed leaves. Coupled with osmotic adjust- exhibit increased oxy-stress enzyme activities to combat lipid peroxidation by free radicals, hydrogen peroxide
A Novel Hybrid Genetic Local Search Algorithm for Feature Selection and Weighting with an Application in Strategic Decision Making in Innovation Management

In some applications, one needs not only to determine the relevant features but also provide a preferential ordering among the set of relevant features by weights. This paper presents a novel Hybrid Genetic Local Search Algorithm (HGA) in combination with the k-nearest neighbor classifier for simultaneous feature subset selection and feature weighting, particularly for medium-sized data sets. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with the performance of alternative feature subset selection algorithms and classifiers through experimental analyses in the various benchmark data sets publicly available on the UCI database. The developed HGA is then applied to a data set gathered from 184 manufacturing firms in the context of innovation management. The data set consists of scores of manufacturing firms in terms of various factors that are known to influence the innovation performance of manufacturing firms and referred to as innovation determinants, and their innovation performances. HGA is used to determine the relative significance of the innovation determinants. Our results demonstrated that the developed HGA is capable of eliminating the irrelevant features and successfully assess feature weights. Moreover, our work is an example how data mining can play a role in the context of strategic management decision making.
Finite-Memory Suboptimal Design for Partially Observed Markov Decision Processes

We develop bounds on the value function and a suboptimal design for the partially observed Markov decision process. These bounds and suboptimal design are based on the M most recent observations and actions. An a priori measure of the quality of these bounds is given. We show that larger M implies tighter bounds. An operations count analysis indicates that ( # A # Z ) M +1 ( # S ) multiplications and additions are required per successive approximations iteration of the suboptimal design algorithm, where A , Z , and S are the action, observation, and state spaces, respectively, suggesting the algorithm is of potential use for problems with large state spaces. A preliminary numerical study indicates that the quality of the suboptimal design can be excellent.
Evaluation of fusion at different levels for face recognition

Biometrie systems face several limitations like low accuracy, less robustness, low applicability and non-universality which can be minimized by the adoption of Fusion at different levels of Biometric systems. Fusion can be applied at sensor level, features level, score level as well as decision level. In this paper, we have compared the performance of a Face Recognition system without fusion and with fusion applied at different levels. Weighted majority voting, Concatenation, Borda Count and Weighted averaging have been applied at sensor, features, score and decision levels respectively for comparison of Recognition rate results. For effective comparison study, all experiments have been performed on face images using two different publically available FERET database and MORPH2 database. It has been reported that Fusion always improves the performance of the system. Moreover, Score level fusion improves the accuracy of the system to the maximum rate followed by features level fusion. Sensor level fusion is the next preference and the least preferred fusion is at Decision level having minimum recognition accuracy on both FERET and MORPH2 database.