Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deletion analysis of ors12, a centromeric, early activated, mammalian origin of DNA replication

We have generated a panel of deletion mutants of ors12 (812‐bp), a mammalian origin of DNA replication previously isolated by nascent strand extrusion from early replicating African Green monkey (CV‐1) DNA. The deletion mutants were tested for their replication activity in vivo by the bromodeoxyuridine substitution assay, after transfection into HeLa cells, and in vitro by the DpnI resistance assay, using extracts from HeLa cells. We identified a 215‐bp internal fragment as essential for the autonomous replication activity of ors12. When subcloned into the vector pML2 and similarly tested, this subfragment was capable of autonomous replication in vivo and in vitro. Several repeated sequence motifs are present in this 215‐bp fragment, such as TGGG(A) and G(A)AG (repeated four times each); TTTC, AGG, and CTTA (repeated 3 times each); the motifs CACACA and CTCTCT, and two imperfect inverted repeats, 22 and 16 bp long, respectively. The overall sequence of the 215‐bp fragment is G/C‐rich (50.2%), by comparison to the 186‐bp (33.5% G/C‐rich) minimal sequence required for the autonomous replication activity of ors8, another functional ors that was similarly isolated and characterized. J. Cell. Biochem. 66:87–97, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Open versus Arthroscopic Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stiff Elbow

Thirty three patients with post-traumatic stiff elbow were divided into two groups. The first group included 18 patients with an average age of 31.05 years treated by open arthrolysis. The second included 15 patients with an average age of 31.66 years treated by arthroscopic method. The results were evaluated using the Mayo clinic score and DASH score for elbow function. In the open group, after an average period of follow-up 19.33 months, the average range of flexion-extension movement improved from 51.11° to 103.94°. The average Mayo clinic score improved from 63.38 to 92.83 and the average DASH score improved from 68.1 to 40.23. There were 13 cases (72.22%) excellent, 4 cases (22.22%) good and 1 case (5.55%) with the poor result. In the arthroscopic group, after an average period of follow-up 17.73 months, the average range of flexion-extension movement improved from 59.46° to 101.53°. The average Mayo clinic score improved from 62.93 to 92.73 and the average DASH score improved from 69.25 to 46.4. There were 10 cases (66.66%) excellent, 3 cases (20%) good and 2 cases (13.33%) with the poor result. Both open and arthro-scopic treatment can be effective in treatment of post-traumatic stiff elbow. Arthroscopic treatment is associated with less post-operative pain and morbidity. However, open treatment provides better range of motion and marked improvement of elbow function.
Factors Influencing Quality of Life in Patients with Ménière's Disease, Identified by a Multidimensional Approach

Purpose To evaluate self-reported quality of life in Ménière's disease patients by a multidimensional approach and to identify predictors of the results. Study Design Cross-sectional. Setting Tertiary referral hospital centers. Patients One hundred-twelve patients with Ménière's Disease. Main Outcome Measure Questionnaires concerning quality of life: Short Form 12 (SF-12) including the Mental Component Summary (MCS-12) and the Physical Component Summary (PCS-12), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD), Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), the Function Level Scale (FLS) from the American Association of Otology's criteria for reporting results of treatment of Ménière's Disease, Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS), Hearing Disability Handicap scale (HDHS), Tinnitus Severity Questionnaire (TSQ), and Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale. Results The Ménière's patients rated their quality of life significantly worse than did healthy reference groups in both the physical and the psychosocial dimensions. The SOC affected the results of the HAD, the MCS-12, and the psychosocial dimension of the SIP. The VSS affected the results of PCS-12, both dimensions of the SIP, and the FLS. The speech perception subscale of the HDHS affected the MCS-12, and tinnitus severity affected the HAD anxiety subscale. The results of the FLS correlated with the physical dimension of quality of life. Conclusion The Ménière's patients experienced a worse quality of life than did healthy subjects. Vertigo mainly influenced the physical dimension, whereas tinnitus and hearing loss influenced the psychosocial dimension. Sense of coherence had an impact on the psychosocial dimension. The FLS was not sensitive enough to serve as an outcome of treatment results but needed to be complemented by quality of life instruments.
Phase three studies of biologics for severe asthma: could do better?

It is an exciting time for those of us treating patients with severe asthma. We now have more effective ways of assessing patients, monitoring adherence, and defining airway inflammation [1–5]. Current trials should inform on the role of biomarkers in determining treatment response [6], as we move away from a one-size-fits-all approach with oral prednisolone as the best alternative available. We can now select patients for intervention with biologics. We need to reconsider how we assess biologics for severe asthma http://ow.ly/j7Mw30efCHb
An Experimental Study of Nonlinear Stiffness, Hysteresis, and Friction Effects in Robot Joints with Harmonic Drives and Torque Sensors

Despite widespread industrial applicatzon of harmonic drives, the source of some elastokinetic phenomena and their impact on overall system behavior has not been fully addressed thus far. Some of these phenomena severely influence the behavior of robot arms, both in free and constrained motions, when the end effector is in contact with an environment. The primary goal of this study is to derive an effective, control-oriented model of a harmonic-drive-based robot joint. Systematic observations of an experimental robot with harmonic drives has revealed that the harmonic drive could not entirely transmit the input torque to the output shaft, due to a nonlinear meshing process between the flexible and circular spline teeth. The torque transmitted to the output shaft might saturate at a much lower value than expected (e.g., motor torque multiplied by the gear ratio). This phenomenon may severely influence the system behavior, par ticularly in force/impedance control tasks when full joint-torque capacity and wide bandwidth are needed. To understand the harmonic-drive behavior, as well as to derive a convenient form of its model, we have shown restrained motion experi ments to be much more useful than free-motion experiments. In this article, we also introduce mathematical models and describe experiments related to other physical phenomena, such as nonlinear stiffness, hysteresis, and soft windup. The goal of our modeling strategy was not to develop a precise and possi bly complicated model, but to generate an appropriate model that could be easily used by control engineers to improve joint behavior To visualize the developed model, equivalent mechan ical and electrical schemes of the joint are introduced. Finally, a simple and reliable estimation procedure has been established for obtaining joint parameters, to ascertain the integrity of the proposed model.
Integer-to-integer complex extended lapped transform

Exponentially-modulated filter bank (EMFB) is an extension of odd-stacked cosine-modulated filter bank (CMFB) for subband processing of complex-valued signals. Paraunitary EMFB can be implemented using complex extended lapped transform (CELT) which is structurally critically sampled perfect reconstruction system. In this paper we introduce the necessary modifications to make the CELT algorithm suitable for invertible complex-valued integer-to-integer transform. The effect of alternative scaling approaches are compared in terms of subsignal integer range growth and maintaining pulse waveform in signal synthesis.
Hormonal interventions to prevent hormonal cancers: breast and prostate cancers

In 1998, the concept of breast cancer prevention became a reality with the approval of tamoxifen to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer in women at increased risk for the disease. This approval was based on decades of research on selective estrogen receptor modulators providing an understanding of the role of the estrogen receptor in breast cell growth, and an appreciation of the carcinogenic process. Although results from the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial demonstrated a 49% reduction in breast cancer in women at increased risk, there were associated toxicities related to the estrogenic effects of tamoxifen; that is, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and endometrial cancer. In an effort to improve its benefit–risk profile, tamoxifen is now being compared with raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator approved for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis. This equivalency prevention Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene completed accrual of 19 747 high-risk postmenopausal women in November 2004. Meanwhile, another class of estrogen-directed drugs, the aromatase inhibitors, have shown efficacy in breast cancer adjuvant trials, spawning a number of prevention trials that have recently been initiated. As with breast cancer the hormonal contribution to prostate carcinogenesis was the basis for the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial which showed that finasteride, an androgen antagonist, reduces the incidence of prostate cancer compared to placebo.
Following the Wandering Mind in the Eyes : Tracking Distraction by the Self in a Complex Working Memory Task

Do you recognize the experience of being distracted by your own thoughts? Your answer is very likely to be ‘yes’. Indeed, a self-report study by Killingsworth and Gilbert (2010) has shown that people spent on average half of their daily activities on thought processes that distract them from their current task. This phenomenon is commonly known as mind-wandering and refers to a process of self-generated thought, uncoupled from the external (task) environment (e.g. Smallwood & Schooler, 2015). Although prominent in our lives, cognitive scientists have long ignored it as a subject of study. Until recently, mind-wandering was viewed as a contamination of data and has only been considered as noise in cognitive models (see Vandekerckhove & Tuerlinckx, 2007). This negative view, however, is not entirely ungrounded. According to Smallwood (2015), there are three core challenges that complicate investigating mind-wandering. First of all, it is difficult to experimentally induce due to its, oftentimes, spontaneous occurrence. Moreover, when you do have a working manipulation, the occurrence of mind-wandering is hard to track as it produces little observable overt behavior. Lastly, because it is difficult to measure, self-report is oftentimes resorted to as the only ‘valid’ measuring technique. However, with mental states such as mindwandering, there is always a risk that the introspection involved in self-report changes it as well, effectively reducing the validity of this introspection measure (Schooler, 2002). From these three core challenges, we conclude that there is demand for valid experimental manipulations to induce mind-wandering, and for objective measures to capture it. In this paper, we introduce a novel experimental method to track mind-wandering, which can help to validate the specific predictions of a PRIMs model of this process.
A comparative assessment of Web accessibility and technical standards conformance in four EU states

The Internet is playing a progressively more important part in our day–to–day life, through its power of making information universally available. People with disabilities have particular opportunities to benefit. Using the Internet in conjunction with dedicated assistive technologies, tasks that were very difficult if not impossible to achieve for people with various types of disability can now be made fully accessible — at least, in principle. However, in practice, many online resources and services are still poorly accessible to those with disability due to unsatisfactory Web content design. Design of accessible Web content is codified in standards and guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Conformance with W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG) (and/or similar, derivative guidelines) is now the subject of considerable activity, both legal and technical, in many different jurisdictions. This paper presents results of a comparative survey of Web accessibility guidelines and HTML standards conformance for samples of Web sites drawn from Ireland, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. It also gives some recommendations on how to improve the accessibility level of Web content. A particular conclusion of the study is that the general level of Web accessibility guidelines and HTML standards conformance in all of the samples studied is very poor; and that the pattern of failure is strikingly consistent in the four samples. Although considerable efforts are being made to promote Web accessibility for users with disabilities, this is certainly not yet manifesting itself in improving Web accessibility and HTML validity.
Genetic Analysis of Isolates of Rickettsia rickettsii That Differ in Virulence

Abstract: We examined the degree of intraspecies genetic polymorphisms present among 13 R. rickettsii strains isolated from the blood of patients and ixodid ticks from North and South America. Preliminary confirmation of these isolates as R. rickettsii was done by evaluating RsaI and PstI restriction fragment length polymorphic (RFLP) sites in a 631 bp fragment of the rOmpA gene amplified with primers encompassing the Rr190.70‐701 nt region. All isolates had the same profile, which was identical to that previously described for strain Bitterroot. The AluI RFLP analysis of the rOmpA fragment differentiated only Hlp#2 isolate from the other strains. Two types of RFLP patterns were obtained for a 381 bp gltA fragment. Strains Bitterroot, Sheila Smith, Lost Horse Canyon, and Morgan contained an additional AluI fragment of 40 bp, compared to the four‐band profile of 122, 87, 81, and 43 bp determined for other isolates. These differences correlated with the absence of a CGC insert in the former isolates as determined by comparative DNA sequence analysis. To measure the levels of deletion/mutation events among isolates of R. rickettsii, DNA sequence analysis was performed on a portion of a 2,672 bp region spanning the 3′‐end of polA to the 5′‐end of dnaE. Except for Hlp#2 strain these isolates were highly conserved in the regions sequenced.
Control of Muscle Size During Disuse, Disease, and Aging

Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue. For example, muscle hypertrophies during strength training and increases its oxidative capacity in response to endurance training. Conditions associated with disuse, however, are also accompanied by adaptations, of which atrophy and a slow-to-fast transition are most prominent. Fast and slow muscles respond differently to disuse. The different response of muscle to different models of disuse reveals that loading is most important, but that also activity level, neurotrophic factors, and ageing play a part in determining the mass, morphology, contractile properties, and fatigability of a muscle. Muscle loss during disuse is a result, at least in part, of apoptosis. Finally, skeletal muscle wasting and remodelling during ageing and chronic disorders, such as chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are not entirely attributable to disuse, but are also related to secondary consequences of the disease, most notably inflammation. Besides activating other pathways, we present evidence that inflammation during ageing and chronic disorders causes muscle wasting via alterations in abundance and/or activity of muscle specific transcription factors and induction of apoptosis, and that systemic inflammation rather than disuse is the primary cause of muscle wasting during ageing and chronic disorders.
S 100B Protein as a Screening Tool for the Early Assessment of Minor Head Injury

From the Service des Urgences Adultes (Zongo, Ribéreau-Gayon), the Service d’Anesthésie-Réanimation (Masson), the Service de Neuroradiologie diagnostique et thérapeutique, the Laboratoire de Biochimie (Montaudon), the Service de Neuroimagerie (Meurin, Dousset), and the Service de Neurochirurgie (Loiseau), Hôpital Pellegrin, and the Service d’information médicale (Salmi), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France; the Institut de Santé Publique, d’Epidémiologie et de Développement, Université Bordeaux Segalen, Bordeaux, France (Zongo, Laborey, Contrand, Salmi, Lagarde); the Equipe “Prévention et Prise en Charge des Traumatismes,” Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 897, Bordeaux, France (Zongo, Ribéreau-Gayon, Masson, Laborey, Contrand, Salmi, Lagarde); and the Laboratoire de Biochimie, Hôpital Charles Foix (APHP), Paris, France (Beaudeux).
Pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from biofouling on commercial vessels and harbor structures

Ballast water is a significant vector of microbial dissemination; however, biofouling on commercial vessel hulls has been poorly studied with regard to pathogenic bacteria transport. Biofouling on three commercial vessels and seven port structures in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, was examined by qPCR to identify and quantify Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a worldwide recognized food-borne human pathogen. Pathogenic variants (trh+, tdh+) of V. parahaemolyticus were detected in biofouling homogenates samples from several docks in Ensenada and on the hulls of ships with Japanese and South Korean homeports, but not in reference sampling stations. A total of 26 tdh+ V. parahaemolyticus colonies and 1 ORF8+/O3:K6 strain were also isolated from enriched biofouling homogenate samples confirming the qPCR analysis. Our results suggest that biofouling is an important reservoir of pathogenic vibrios. Thus, ship biofouling might be an overlooked vector with regard to the dissemination of pathogens, primarily pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus.
A High Speed Image Transmission System for Ultra-Wideband Wireless Links by

Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication is an emerging technology that offers short range, high data rate wireless transmission, with low power consumption and low consumer cost. Operating in the 3.1 GHz 10.6 GHz frequency band with bandwidth above 500 MHz, it is an overlay technology that can co-exist with other narrowband services in the same frequency range, thus alleviating the problem of over-crowded spectrum. In particular, pulse-based UWB technologies allows for building of ultra-low power, mediumto long-range transceivers, at the expense of data transmission rate. This thesis presents a pulse-based, non-coherent UWB wireless image transmission platform. The system features a one-way wireless link. On the transmitter side, a host PC processes the images into transmittable packets in MATLAB, and sends them to the UWB radio through an interfacing FPGA module. On the receiver side, the UWB receiver radio receivers the packets, decodes the bits, and passes them back to the receiver host PC through another interfacing FPGA module. The receiver host PC collects the decoded bits and reconstructs the original image in MATLAB. The unidirectional wireless channel is complemented by a feedback path, provided through internet connection between the two host PCs. To improve usability, graphical user interfaces are setup on both host PCs. The overall system transmits 120 x 160 uncompressed bitmap images. It achieves a maximum payload data rate of 8 Mb/s. It is able to transmit data reliably, with above 95% packet reception rate and below 2 x 10-5 bit error rate, for distances up to 16 meters. At 16 meters, the system has a maximum transmission data rate of 2.67 Mbps. Thesis Supervisor: Anantha Chandrakasan Title: Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Electrical Engineering
CALCULO DEL RIESGO DE ADVERSIDADES CLIMATICAS PARA LOS CULTIVOS: LOS CEREALES DE VERANO EN MONEGROS

El mayor o menor riesgo de que ocurran adversidades climaticas en un territorio determina la rentabilidad y la posibilidad de establecimiento en este de diversas especies y variedades de cultivo. Este trabajo presenta un metodo para calcular el riesgo de que se produzcan fenomenos climaticos adversos a lo largo del ciclo vegetativo de los cultivos, poniendo como ejemplo el caso de los cereales de verano en Monegros. El metodo se basa en la valoracion del grado de vulnerabilidad del cultivo ante ciertas variables climaticas y de la probabilidad de ocurrencia de dichas variables.
Impact of Behavioral Aspects of Autism on Cognitive Abilities in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

: Cognitive symptoms and behavioral symptoms may, in fact, overlap and be related to the level of the general cognitive function. We have measured the behavioral aspects of autism and its correlation to the cognitive ability in 30 ASDs children who …. In this study, we used a neuropsychological battery to evaluate children with ASDs who received the AAC intervention compared to the ASD group who did not since cognitive computerized batteries provide a better assessment of cognitive ability in this study. Five visual memory tests of Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) including Big/little circle (BLC), Motor screening (MOT), Intra/Extra dimensional set shift (IED), Simple Reaction Time (SRT), and Spatial recognition memory (SRM) were administered to 30 children with ASD and behavioral problems aged 6 to11 who did not receive the AAC with an IQ mean of 62. Individuals with ASD and challenging behaviors showed significant correlation between Lethargy and big little circle (BLC), Lethargy and Intra/Extra set shift (IED). Significant correlation was also found between Hyperactivity, Simple Reaction Time (SRT), and Intra/Extra set shift (IED). With regards to stereotypy and Motor (MOT), there was a significant correlation between both of them. There was also a significant correlation between Inappropriate Speech and Motor (MOT). Based on these findings, we can conclude that the behavioral problems in autism affect specific cognitive abilities in ASDs comprehension, learning, reversal, acquisition, attention set shifting, and speed of reaction to one stimulus.