Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Complex of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein with Mammalian Verprolins Plays an Important Role in Monocyte Chemotaxis1

The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) is a product of the gene defective in an Xid disorder, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. WASP expression is limited to hemopoietic cells, and WASP regulates the actin cytoskeleton. It has been reported that monocytes/macrophages from WASP-deficient Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome patients are severely defective in chemotaxis, resulting in recurrent infection. However, the molecular basis of such chemotactic defects is not understood. Recently, the WASP N-terminal region was found to bind to the three mammalian verprolin homologs: WASP interacting protein (WIP); WIP and CR16 homologous protein (WICH)/WIP-related protein (WIRE); and CR16. Verprolin was originally found to play an important role in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton in yeast. We have shown that WASP, WIP, and WICH/WIRE are expressed predominantly in the human monocyte cell line THP-1 and that WIP and WICH/WIRE are involved in monocyte chemotaxis. When WASP binding to verprolins was blocked, chemotactic migration of monocytes was impaired in both THP-1 cells and primary human monocytes. Increased expression of WASP and WIP enhanced monocyte chemotaxis. Blocking WASP binding to verprolins impaired cell polarization but not actin polymerization. These results indicate that a complex of WASP with mammalian verprolins plays an important role in chemotaxis of monocytes. Our results suggest that WASP and mammalian verprolins function as a unit in monocyte chemotaxis and that the activity of this unit is critical to establish cell polarization. In addition, our results also indicate that the WASP-verprolin complex is involved in other functions such as podosome formation and phagocytosis.
Communication topology design for large-scale interconnected systems with time delay

Communication networks provide a larger flexibility with respect to the control design of large-scale interconnected systems by allowing the information exchange between the local controllers of the subsystems. The use of communication networks comes, however, at the price of non ideal signal transmission such as time delay which is a source of instability and deteriorates the control performance. This paper introduces an approach for the design of the communication topology for the distributed control of large-scale interconnected systems in order to optimize the whole system's performance in the presence of constant time delay. First, a decentralized control law that stabilizes the overall interconnected system is designed. Then the performance is improved by designing the distributed control law, i.e. allowing the controller of the subsystems to exchange information, by considering the time delay in the networks. As a novelty in this paper, the design of the communication topology between the controllers is also considered. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer optimization problem. Furthermore, a method based on matrix perturbation theory is discussed to design the topology which also captures the relation between the time delay, controller gain and performance of the overall system. In addition, it is shown that the proposed strategy also guarantees the stability of the overall system under the permanent communication link failure. The results are validated through a numerical example.
Sign Pattern Matrices that Admit P0 Matrices

A P0-matrix is a real square matrix all of whose principle minors are nonnegative. In this paper, we consider the class of P0-matrix. Our main aim is to determine which sign pattern matrices are admissible for this class of real matrices. Keywords—Sign pattern matrices, P0 matrices, graph, digraph
Integrated-optic 1*128 power splitter with multifunnel waveguide

An integrated-optic 1*128 power splitter is demonstrated. It is composed of a slab waveguide, funnel-shaped waveguides, and output waveguides. Input light from a fiber is diffracted in the slab waveguide and received by funnel waveguides. To achieve uniform power splitting, the width of the funnel waveguides is designed based on the Gaussian diffraction pattern; that is the funnel widths increase progressively away from the center. The splitter is fabricated with GeO/sub 2/-doped silica waveguides on silicon. The 1*128 splitting is achieved with a low excess loss of 2.3 dB and a small standard deviation of 0.63 dB. <<ETX>>
Trajectory-based scene retrieval system for close monitoring

The recent attentions on video analysis have led to the extensive enhancement of computer vision technologies. However, it is still necessary to closely monitor the results of video analysis by human operators. This paper introduces a trajectory-based scene retrieval system that can help human operators look closely at desired scenes based on a trajectory query. The system includes the index and mapper construction stage to prepare requests, and the scene retrieval stage to find relevant scenes.
Comparison of amplitude estimates in the single trial estimation of evoked potentials

A method for the single trial estimation of the evoked potentials is presented. The method is based on the regularized least squares scheme. An approach to single trial estimation of multichannel evoked potentials is derived by applying additional information of the spatial correlation of the channels to the estimation. Amplitude estimates obtained with these methods are compared. The performance of the methods is evaluated using real data of target responses in the P300 test. The multi channel approach is shown to give realistic and comparable information about the amplitude differences of the P300 peak between different channels.
Assessing health outcomes after extraction of third molars: the postoperative symptom severity (PoSSe) scale.

A postoperative symptom severity (PoSSe) scale was devised from questions commonly used in the clinical assessment of patients who have had third molars extracted, and divided into subscales corresponding to seven main adverse effects that had been identified in a previous study. Ninety-seven patients completed the 15-item questionnaire at one week, and 71 patients at four weeks, after extraction of impacted third molars. After statistical testing, four items were discarded and the final PoSSe scale achieved a high level of internal reliability. Patients' PoSSe scores were highly correlated with scales that measured six distinct health dimensions. The level of social functioning, together with the number of impacted teeth and number of painkillers taken, explained 62% of the variation in PoSSe scores between patients one week postoperatively. The PoSSe was more responsive than the Short Form 36-item Health Survey. In conclusion, we found the PoSSe Scale to be a reliable, valid and responsive measure of the severity of symptoms after extraction of third molars, and of the impact of those symptoms on patients' perceived health.
Isolation and nucleotide sequence analysis of tRNAAlaGGC from Escherichia coli K-12

An alanine tRNA with the anticodon 5'-GGC-3' has been identified in Escherichia coli K-12. It is the first sequenced alanine tRNA with G in the 5' position of the anticodon. tRNAAlaGGC has A in the "semi-invariant" position 32. At the "invariant" position 8 we observed both U and another, unknown, nucleoside.
Burden of Acute Sore Throat and Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis in School-aged Children and Their Families in Australia

OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence, transmission, carriage, and risk factors for group A streptococcal pharyngitis in school-aged children and their families. METHODS. A 16-month, prospective, family-based cohort study was undertaken from August 2001 through December 2002 in Melbourne, Australia. A total of 202 families (853 people) with at least 1 child aged 3 to 12 years were randomly selected from 3 primary care practices across suburban Melbourne to collect surveillance data for acute group A streptococcal pharyngitis, including serology for index and secondary cases and intermittent carriage data. Cohort retention was 97% for 16 months. RESULTS. The incidence of acute sore throat, group A streptococcal swab–positive pharyngitis, and serologically confirmed group A streptococcal pharyngitis was 33, 13, and 8 per 100 child-years, respectively, for school-aged children (5–12 years) and 60, 20, and 15 per 100 family-years, respectively. Sore throat was less common in adults than children, but adults with sore throat were as likely as children to have group A streptococcal culture–positive or serologically proven pharyngitis. In families who had a primary case, 43% had at least 1 secondary case, and in family members who were at risk, 13% contracted a secondary case. The spring, summer, and winter carriage rates for children were 13%, 8%, and 16%, respectively, and for adults the rate was 2% across all seasons. CONCLUSIONS. Group A streptococcal pharyngitis is still common, and the peak incidence occurs in school-aged children. However, the incidence in adults is higher than expected, and the number of secondary cases in families may be an important factor when considering the potential benefits of treatment.
Normal range of intracranial translucency (IT) assessed by three-dimensional ultrasound at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks in a Chinese population

Objectives: To establish the reference range of intracranial translucency (IT) in the first trimester in a Chinese population. Methods: In a prospective study from March 2007 to June 2007, three-dimensional (3D) volumes of the fetal profile in the mid-sagittal plane were recorded from 102 normal pregnancies screened for trisomy 21 by the combination of fetal nuchal translucency (NT) thickness, maternal serum free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6 weeks. 3D volumes were examined using multiplanar techniques. In the mid-sagittal plane the fourth ventricle presents as an (IT between the brain stem and choroid plexus. The anteroposterior diameter of IT in each case was measured. The relationship between IT with the other parameter was also examined. Results: The IT at first trimester ranged from 1.35 to 2.6 mm. There was no significant association between IT with NT, and serum biochemistry. The intraobserver and interobserver agreement was assessed in 20 (19.6%) normal cases. Mean (SD) differences of two observers was −0.015 (0.132) mm (p > 0.05). For each observer, mean (SD) between the 2 paired measurements were −0.001 (0.097) mm, and 0.010 (0.085) mm, respectively (p > 0.05). Conclusions: In the first trimester, the reference range of IT in Chinese fetuses has been established. The assessment of IT is feasible and reproducible.
A Petunia cDNA Encoding S-Adenosylmethionine Synthetase

The biosynthesis of SAM from ATP and Met is catalyzed by SAM-S (EC 2.5.1.6). SAM has been found to participate in a large number of biological processes. It acts as a methyl group donor in numerous highly specific transmethylations involving various kinds of acceptor macromolecules, such as proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids. It also serves as a propylamine group donor in the biosynthesis of polyamines (Peleman et al., 1989b). In plants, SAM also functions as a precursor in the biosynthesis of the phytohormone ethylene (Yang and Hoffman, 1984). SAM-S genomic and cDNA clones have been isolated from several plant species, including Arabidopsis tkaliana, carnation, parsley, poplar, and rice (van Breusegem et al., 1994). The saml gene of A . tkaliana is expressed primarily in the vascular tissue (Peleman et al., 1989a). The level of expression of this gene in stems and roots is 10 to 20 times higher than in leaves or flowers (Peleman et al., 1989b). In rice, a s im i la r level of sam expression has been found in leaves and roots (van Breusegem et al., 1994). In parsley leaves, a funga1 elicitor induces the expression of the gene (Kawalleck et al., 1992). Here we report the isolation, sequencing, and expression characteristics of a Petunia kybrida cDNA clone coding for SAM-S (Table I). A cDNA library prepared from mRNA isolated from petunia corollas at developmental stage 4 (Weiss and Halevy, 1989) was differentially screened using cDNA probes from corollas at stages 1 and 4. After several rounds of purification and differential hybridization one clone was obtained. Using this clone as a probe on a corolla cDNA library, we obtained several cDNAs. The nucleotide sequence of the longest cDNA was determined. Translation of this sequence revealed an open reading frame of 1173 bp corresponding to a polypeptide of 391 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed 88% identity with the saml sequence of A. thaliana and 86% with the sam2 gene from carnation (Larsen and Woodson, 1991). A conserved amino acid sequence involved in ATP binding (GAGDQG; Kamps et al., 1984) is located at positions 119 to 124. An expression study of the sam2 gene in carnation flowers shows a decrease in the steady-state mRNA level during senescence (Woodson et al., 1992). An analysis of sam expression during petunia corolla maturation showed that
Interventionist causal models in psychiatry: repositioning the mind–body problem

Background The diversity of research methods applied to psychiatric disorders results in a confusing plethora of causal claims. To help make sense of these claims, the interventionist model (IM) of causality has several attractive features. First, it connects causation with the practical interests of psychiatry, defining causation in terms of ‘what would happen under interventions’, a question of key interest to those of us whose interest is ultimately in intervening to prevent and treat illness. Second, it distinguishes between predictive-correlative and true causal relationships, an essential issue cutting across many areas in psychiatric research. Third, the IM is non-reductive and agnostic to issues of mind–body problem. Fourth, the IM model cleanly separates issues of causation from questions about the underlying mechanism. Clarifying causal influences can usefully structure the search for underlying mechanisms. Fifth, it provides a sorely needed conceptual rigor to multi-level modeling, thereby avoiding a return to uncritical holistic approaches that ‘everything is relevant’ to psychiatric illness. Sixth, the IM provides a clear way to judge both the generality and depth of explanations. In conclusion, the IM can provide a single, clear empirical framework for the evaluation of all causal claims of relevance to psychiatry and presents psychiatry with a method of avoiding the sterile metaphysical arguments about mind and brain which have preoccupied our field but yielded little of practical benefit.
Economic Dispatch with Environmental Considerations using Particle Swarm Optimization

This paper presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to solve an economic-emission dispatch problem (EED). This problem has been getting more attention recently due to the deregulation of the power industry and strict environmental regulations. It is formulated as a highly nonlinear constrained multiobjective optimization problem with conflicting objective functions. PSO algorithm is used to solve the formulated problem on two standard test systems, namely the 30-bus and 14-bus systems. Results obtained show that PSO algorithm outperformed most previously proposed algorithms used to solve the same EED problem. These algorithms included evolutionary algorithm, stochastic search technique, linear programming, and adaptive Hopfield neural network. PSO was able to find the Pareto optimal solution set for the multiobjective problem. In addition, PSO results were compared to LINGO software outcomes. Comparison results signify the effectiveness and robustness of PSO as a promising optimization tool for this specific problem
EVALUATION OF HORIZONTAL GENE TRANSFER MONITORING EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED IN NEW ZEALAND BETWEEN 2004 AND 2009

In 2002, the Environmental Risk Management Authority of New Zealand (ERMANZ or the Authority) approved an application by the company AgResearch, Ltd. to create and dispose of GM bovine. As part of its risk management strategy, the Authority imposed a requirement for monitoring soil microorganisms for uptake of transgenes by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). HGT is routinely considered in biosafety risk assessment because it may be a process that underpins eventual adverse effects to human health or the environment. While granting approval to the company to make GM bovine, the Authority considered that HGT-related risks were potentially non-negligible and therefore approval was contingent upon meeting regulatory controls that made the risk negligible through risk mitigation. ERMANZ’s requirements placed upon AgResearch the burden to conduct a monitoring effort capable of delivering the risk mitigating activity that the Authority sought. Using colony hybridisation and PCR, AgResearch monitored antibiotic resistance phenotypes in soil bacteria cultured from samples of soil taken from offal pits containing the carcasses of genetically modified (GM) bovine and surrounding control sites between 2004 and 2009 in an attempt to determine if any of the antibiotic resistance in soil bacteria was caused by the uptake of transgenes originally from the GM animals. The Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety (INBI) at the University of Canterbury has reviewed AgResearch’s reports of these monitoring efforts released to GE Free New Zealand (in Food and Environment) under the Official Information Act. In summary, AgResearch undertook a challenging project at the forefront of theory and practice in microbial science. However, their experiments suffered from a design that was incapable of detecting HGT with the sensitivity necessary to detect bacteria that might cause the adverse effects of concern to the Authority, including but not restricted to bacteria developing traits antibiotic resistance because they acquired a resistance gene used in the production of GM bovine. Notably, the sampling depth in all but one year was in the range of 2-6 m above the soil interface with the carcasses. Importantly, no study confirmed that the samples were taken from soil in contact with carcasses. Moreover, the suitability of control sites and the efficacy of the sampling were not demonstrated. Not just the design but the standards of follow-up on observations and determining causes of negative results (e.g. particularly from routine molecular work such as sequencing and PCR) was below what we would expect, and what we would expect to be sufficient for assurance that risk management controls were met. INBI finds that these experiments were irretrievably flawed for providing baseline data for future soil analysis, effectively monitoring HGT as a risk management strategy or influencing the assessment of the risk of HGT in future applications. We suggest ways AgResearch could have chosen to improve experimental designs and lead to more confidence-building outcomes.
Baseline disability in activities of daily living predicts dementia risk even after controlling for baseline global cognitive ability and depressive symptoms

Late‐life disability in activities of daily living (ADL) is theorized to be driven by underlying cognitive and/or physical impairment, interacting with psychological and environmental factors. Although we expect that cognitive deficits would explain associations between ADL disability and dementia risk, the current study examined ADL as a predictor of future dementia after controlling for global cognitive status.
Characterization of a cDNA containing trinucleotide repeat sequences that is highly enriched in spermatogenic cells

Trinucleotide repeat sequences have become of great interest due to their association with specific genetic disorders. Here we report the identification of a cDNA containing opa trinucleotide repeats from mouse testis, termed t‐OPA. The opa repeat is contained within the longest open reading frame within the cDNA. Northern analysis demonstrated that four distinct t‐OPA transcripts (1.6, 2.5, 3.6, 4.0 kilobases) are preferentially expressed in mouse and rat testis, with low expression in the pituitary, brain, and adrenal gland. Further, t‐OPA RNAs were highly abundant in both pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids and decreased in cytoplasts. Polysome profile analysis indicated that t‐OPA mRNAs are translated in mouse testis with efficiencies similar to other transcripts expressed in late meiotic/early post‐meiotic spermatogenic cells. These findings thus suggest a role for cell‐specific mRNAs containing opa repeats during mouse spermatogenesis. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 46:476–481, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A batch-mode active learning SVM method based on semi-supervised clustering

A batch-mode active learning technique taking advantage of the cluster assumption was proposed. It focused on binary classification tasks adopting SVM support vector machine. In each active learning iteration, unlabeled instances in the SVM margin were first grouped into two clusters. Then from each cluster, points most similar to the other cluster were selected for labeling. Such points lying near the boundary between clusters were expected to become support vectors in the final classification model with high probability. The clustering process was performed in the same kernel space as SVM. With semi-supervised K-medoids, labeled instances were also used to improve the clustering performance. Experiments showed that the proposed method was efficient and robust to poor initial samples.
Emulating manual welding process by two cooperative robots

The problem of how to emulate a manual welding process by two cooperative robotic manipulators is investigated in this paper. The emulating process is intrinsically a trajectory planning process for the two cooperative robots. Experience of skilled welders and technical requirements in a welding process have been modeled and integrated into the robot trajectory planning model. Mathematic model of trajectory planing for two cooperative robots doing a welding task is in a constrained optimization form. A Genetic Algorithm solver has been adopted to solve such an optimization problem. Pipe-connect-pipe welding experiment has been carried out at the end of the paper and the weld results verified the effectiveness of our method.
ADA3, a putative transcriptional adaptor, consists of two separable domains and interacts with ADA2 and GCN5 in a trimeric complex

Mutations in yeast ADA2, ADA3, and GCN5 weaken the activation potential of a subset of acidic activation domains. In this report, we show that their gene products form a heterotrimeric complex in vitro, with ADA2 as the linchpin holding ADA3 and GCN5 together. Further, activation by LexA-ADA3 fusions in vivo are regulated by the levels of ADA2. Combined with a prior observation that LexA-ADA2 fusions are regulated by the levels of ADA3 (N. Silverman, J. Agapite, and L. Guarente, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:11665-11668, 1994), this finding suggests that these proteins also form a complex in cells. ADA3 can be separated into two nonoverlapping domains, an amino-terminal domain and a carboxyl-terminal domain, which do not separately complement the slow-growth phenotype or transcriptional defect of a delta ada3 strain but together supply full complementation. The carboxyl-terminal domain of ADA3 alone suffices for heterotrimeric complex formation in vitro and activation of LexA-ADA2 in vivo. We present a model depicting the ADA complex as a coactivator in which the ADA3 amino-terminal domain mediates an interaction between activation domains and the ADA complex.