Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Selection of a Relevant In Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Model to Investigate Pro-Metastatic Features of Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Around 7–17% of metastatic breast cancer patients will develop brain metastases, associated with a poor prognosis. To reach the brain parenchyma, cancer cells need to cross the highly restrictive endothelium of the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). As treatments for brain metastases are mostly inefficient, preventing cancer cells to reach the brain could provide a relevant and important strategy. For that purpose an in vitro approach is required to identify cellular and molecular interaction mechanisms between breast cancer cells and BBB endothelium, notably at the early steps of the interaction. However, while numerous studies are performed with in vitro models, the heterogeneity and the quality of BBB models used is a limitation to the extrapolation of the obtained results to in vivo context, showing that the choice of a model that fulfills the biological BBB characteristics is essential. Therefore, we compared pre-established and currently used in vitro models from different origins (bovine, mice, human) in order to define the most appropriate tool to study interactions between breast cancer cells and the BBB. On each model, the BBB properties and the adhesion capacities of breast cancer cell lines were evaluated. As endothelial cells represent the physical restriction site of the BBB, all the models consisted of endothelial cells from animal or human origins. Among these models, only the in vitro BBB model derived from human stem cells both displayed BBB properties and allowed measurement of meaningful different interaction capacities of the cancer cell lines. Importantly, the measured adhesion and transmigration were found to be in accordance with the cancer cell lines molecular subtypes. In addition, at a molecular level, the inhibition of ganglioside biosynthesis highlights the potential role of glycosylation in breast cancer cells adhesion capacities.
Research on snubber circuit for high-power IGCT Based On Cur Rent Source Inverter

For IGCT higher switching loss in an instant hard-switching, we propose a new snubber circuit used in three-phase current source inverter and a kind of small auxiliary pulse buffer control strategy in this paper. The working principle of snubber circuit has carried out a detailed analysis, each work stage of snubber circuit was described and the parameters of the buffer components are given by the authors in the article. Finally, the simulation experiments based on three-phase current source inverter with snubber circuit and without snubber circuit verify the working effect of the snubber circuit. Experiments show that the snubber circuit not only can reduce the switching loss, effective protect for IGCT, but also can inhibit the inverter the voltage spike of the output waveform, in order to make the output waveform better.
Running performance metrics for evolutionary multi-objective optimizations

It is now well established that more than one performance metrics are necessary for evaluating a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA). Although there exist a number of performance metrics in the MOEA literature, most of them are applied to the final non-dominated set obtained by an MOEA to evaluate its performance. In this paper, we suggest a couple of running metrics-one for measuring the convergence to a reference set and other for measuring the diversity in population members at every generation of an MOEA run. Either using a known Pareto-optimal front or an agglomeration of generation-wise populations, the suggested metrics reveal important insights and interesting dynamics of the working of an MOEA or help provide a comparative evaluation of two or more MOEAs.
Haptic feedback in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery

Purpose of review Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) holds great promise for improving the accuracy and dexterity of a surgeon and minimizing trauma to the patient. However, widespread clinical success with RMIS has been marginal. It is hypothesized that the lack of haptic (force and tactile) feedback presented to the surgeon is a limiting factor. This review explains the technical challenges of creating haptic feedback for robot-assisted surgery and provides recent results that evaluate the effectiveness of haptic feedback in mock surgical tasks. Recent findings Haptic feedback systems for RMIS are still under development and evaluation. Most provide only force feedback, with limited fidelity. The major challenge at this time is sensing forces applied to the patient. A few tactile feedback systems for RMIS have been created, but their practicality for clinical implementation needs to be shown. It is particularly difficult to sense and display spatially distributed tactile information. The cost–benefit ratio for haptic feedback in RMIS has not been established. Summary The designs of existing commercial RMIS systems are not conducive for force feedback, and creative solutions are needed to create compelling tactile feedback systems. Surgeons, engineers, and neuroscientists should work together to develop effective solutions for haptic feedback in RMIS.
Distances from Stellar Kinematics for Peculiar Virgo Cluster Spiral Galaxies

We present distance estimates for 11 peculiar Virgo Cluster spiral galaxies based on measurements of the stellar kinematics of their central 2 kpc. Stellar circular velocities were obtained using two-integral dynamical models. Distances were obtained by comparing, at each radius, the stellar circular velocities with synthetic Hα rotation curves derived from NIR Tully-Fisher relations. The results show that most of our galaxies are located within 4 Mpc of the core of the cluster. Three of these galaxies, previously classified as “low rotator galaxies” or with “truncated/compact” Hα radial distributions, have stellar kinematics-based distances that are discrepant with H I-based distances by at least 60% and are likely to be located within the virial radius of the cluster. These discrepancies appear due to very truncated gas distributions plus noncircular gas motions or gas motions not in the plane of the stellar disk, perhaps as the result of gravitational interactions. Our results show that environmental effects can significantly reduce the measured H I line widths for some disturbed cluster galaxies, thus affecting the accurate determination of distances based on gas kinematics methods.
Sec2p Mediates Nucleotide Exchange on Sec4p and Is Involved in Polarized Delivery of Post-Golgi Vesicles

The small GTPase Sec4p is required for vesicular transport at the post-Golgi stage of yeast secretion. Here we present evidence that mutations in SEC2, itself an essential gene that acts at the same stage of the secretory pathway, cause Sec4p to mislocalize as a result of a random rather than a polarized accumulation of vesicles. Sec2p and Sec4p interact directly, with the nucleotide-free conformation of Sec4p being the preferred state for interaction with Sec2p. Sec2p functions as an exchange protein, catalyzing the dissociation of GDP from Sec4 and promoting the binding of GTP. We propose that Sec2p functions to couple the activation of Sec4p to the polarized delivery of vesicles to the site of exocytosis.
A Compact Cascode Power Amplifier in 45-nm CMOS for 60-GHz Wireless Systems

This paper presents a power amplifier in 45nm CMOS technology operating in the 50 to 60-GHz frequency range. It uses a single-ended topology with two cascode stages. A gain of 19.6 dB is obtained at 54 GHz where the gain peaks, and 17 dB at 60 GHz. The measured output-referred 1-dB compression point is 8.7 dBm at 60 GHz and a supply voltage of 2.1 V, and the saturated output power is 13.5 dBm. The bias conditions are shown to be reliable through lifetime measurements. The active chip-area measures 160 mu m x 110 mu m.
A Spectroscopic Study of Field and Runaway OB Stars

Identifying binaries among runaway O- and B-type stars offers valuable insight into the evolution of open clusters and close binary stars. Here we present a spectroscopic investigation of 12 known or suspected binaries among field and runaway OB stars. We find new orbital solutions for five single-lined spectroscopic binaries (HD 1976, HD 14633, HD 15137, HD 37737, and HD 52533), and we classify two stars thought to be binaries (HD 30614 and HD 188001) as single stars. In addition, we reinvestigate their runaway status using our new radial velocity data with the UCAC2 proper-motion catalogs. Seven stars in our study appear to have been ejected from their birthplaces, and at least three of these runaways are spectroscopic binaries and are of great interest for future study.
Intuitionistic fuzzy set approach for color region extraction

An improvised technique is proposed in detecting and extracting color regions of an image using intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) theory. This will be very useful especially for remotely sensed images where different types of regions (agricultural, watery, or volcanic) are to be extracted. Comparing with non-fuzzy and fuzzy method, results of an extracted image were found better due to consideration of uncertainty in the form of a hesitation degree while defining membership function in IFS.
Ishikawa Iterative Process for a Pair of Single-valued and Multivalued Nonexpansive Mappings in Banach Spaces

Let be a nonempty compact convex subset of a uniformly convex Banach space , and let and be a single-valued nonexpansive mapping and a multivalued nonexpansive mapping, respectively. Assume in addition that and for all . We prove that the sequence of the modified Ishikawa iteration method generated from an arbitrary by , , where and , are sequences of positive numbers satisfying , , converges strongly to a common fixed point of and ; that is, there exists such that .
COMP 621 U Project Proposal

People have remarkably diverse tastes in music, which reflect diversity in personalities, cultures and age groups. Recently Yahoo! Music offers a wealth of information and services related to many aspects of music, such as user ratings, which can be utilized to analyze the encoded information on how songs are grouped, which artists complement each other, and which songs users would like to listen to. Such an exciting analysis introduces new scientific challenges and also stimulates KDD Cup contest to releases two tracks:
The Monetary Geography of Africa

Africa is working toward the goal of creating a common currency that would serve as a symbol of African unity. The advantages of a common currency include lower transaction costs, increased stability, and greater insulation of central banks from pressures to provide monetary financing. Disadvantages relate to asymmetries among countries, especially in their terms of trade and in the degree of fiscal discipline. More disciplined countries will not want to form a union with countries whose excessive spending puts upward pressure on the central bank's monetary expansion. In The Monetary Geography of Africa , Paul Masson and Catherine Pattillo review the history of monetary arrangements on the continent and analyze the current situation and prospects for further integration. They apply lessons from both experience and theory that lead to a number of conclusions. To begin with, West Africa faces a major problem because Nigeria has both asymmetric terms of trade --it is a large oil exporter while its potential partners are oil importers --and most important, large fiscal imbalances. Secondly, a monetary union among all eastern or southern African countries seems infeasible at this stage, since a number of countries suffer from the effects of civil conflicts and drought and are far from achieving the macroeconomic stability of South Africa. Lastly, the plan by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to create a common currency seems to be generally compatible with other initiatives that could contribute to greater regional solidarity. However, economic gains would likely favor Kenya, which, unlike the other two countries, has substantial exports to its neighbors, and this may constrain the political will needed to proceed. A more promising strategy for monetary integration would be to build on existing monetary unions --the CFA franc zone in western and central Africa and the Common Monetary Area in southern Africa. Masson and Pattillo argue that the goal of a creating a single African currency is probably beyond reach. Economic realities suggest that grand new projects for African monetary unions are unlikely to be successful. More important for Africa's economic well-being will be to attack the more fundamental problems of corruption and governance.
Managing Corporate Real Estate Assets: Current Executive Attitudes and Prospects for an Emergent Management Discipline

In 1987 MIT conducted a study of the management of buildings and land in large organizations not primarily in the real estate business. Senior real estate executives at 284 large US corporations and institutions were surveyed. The research shows that despite their great value, corporate real estate assets are seriously undermanaged. One of the most significant factors in this undermanagement is that many corporate real estate managers do not maintain adequate information about their real estate assets. The study attempted to identify key factors in the "effectiveness" of real estate management in various organizations. The strongest factor appeared to be the attitudes of managers in regard to the importance and value of the real estate function within their organizations. The corporate real estate decisionmaking process is driven most strongly by the mission and operational needs of the corporation. Corporate real estate management as a field has been inhabited by the low prestige and priority accorded it in companies, in management consultant groups, and in business schools. However, characteristics of a distinct management discipline are emerging professional organizations, publications, and most importantly, the recognition of real estate's potential for increasing company profits. Corporate real estate management must move toward developing a strategic approach involving principles and practices of general management to develop a proactive, comprehensive, and portfolio-wide decisionmaking process.
An Empirical Investigation of Fiscal Policy in New Zealand

This paper examines the effects of fiscal policy, measured by changes in government spending and net tax (government tax revenue less transfer payments), on New Zealand GDP. The framework of analysis is a structural vector autoregression (VAR) model of the New Zealand economy, employing and extending estimation techniques used by Blanchard and Perotti (2002). This model is then used to examine the dynamic effects of changes in government spending, taxes and transfers on GDP and the contributions of discretionary fiscal policy to New Zealand business cycles.
Influence of Physical Activity Participation on the Associations between Eating Behaviour Traits and Body Mass Index in Healthy Postmenopausal Women

Available data reveals inconsistent relationships between eating behaviour traits and markers of adiposity level. It is thus relevant to investigate whether other factors also need to be considered when interpreting the relationship between eating behaviour traits and adiposity. The objective of this cross-sectional study was thus to examine whether the associations between variables of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) and adiposity are influenced by the level of physical activity participation. Information from the TFEQ and physical activity was obtained from 113 postmenopausal women (56.7 ± 4.2 years; 28.5 ± 5.9 kg/m2). BMI was compared between four groups formed on the basis of the physical activity participation and eating behaviour traits medians. In groups of women with higher physical activity participation, BMI was significantly lower in women who presented higher dietary restraint when compared to women who had lower dietary restraint (25.5 ± 0.5 versus 30.3 ± 1.7 kg/m2, P < .05). In addition, among women with lower physical activity participation, BMI was significantly lower in women presenting a lower external hunger than in those with a higher external hunger (27.5 ± 0.8 versus 32.4 ± 1.1 kg/m2, P < .001). Our results suggest that physical activity participation should also be taken into account when interpreting the relationship between adiposity and eating behaviour traits.
New Insights into FoxE1 Functions: Identification of Direct FoxE1 Targets in Thyroid Cells

Background FoxE1 is a thyroid-specific forkhead transcription factor essential for thyroid gland development, as well as for the maintenance of the thyroid differentiated state in adults. FoxE1 recognizes and binds to a short DNA sequence present in thyroglobulin (Tg) and thyroperoxidase (Tpo) promoters, but FoxE1 binding to regulatory regions other than Tg and Tpo promoters remains almost unexplored. Improving knowledge of the regulatory functions of FoxE1 is necessary to clarify its role in endocrine syndromes and cancer susceptibility. Methodology/Principal Finding In order to further investigate downstream FoxE1 targets, we performed a genome-wide expression screening after knocking-down FoxE1 and obtained new insights into FoxE1 transcriptional networks in thyroid follicular cells. After validation, we confirmed Adamts9, Cdh1, Duox2 and S100a4 as upregulated genes and Casp4, Creld2, Dusp5, Etv5, Hsp5a, Nr4a2 and Tm4sf1 as downregulated genes when FoxE1 was silenced. In promoter regions of putative FoxE1-regulated genes and also in the promoters of the classical thyroid genes Nis, Pax8 and Titf1, we performed an in silico search of the FoxE1 binding motif that was in close proximity to the NF1/CTF binding sequence, as previously described for other forkhead factors. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation we detected specific in vivo FoxE1 binding to novel regulatory regions in two relevant thyroid genes, Nis and Duox2. Moreover, we demonstrated simultaneous binding of FoxE1 and NF1/CTF to the Nis upstream enhancer region, as well as a clear functional activation of the Nis promoter by both transcription factors. Conclusions/Significance In search for potential downstream mediators of FoxE1 function in thyroid cells, we identified two novel direct FoxE1 target genes. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence regarding the implication of Nis and Duox2 in executing the transcriptional program triggered by FoxE1. Furthermore, this study points out the important role of FoxE1 in the regulation of a large number of genes in thyroid cells.
100 nm AlSb/InAs HEMT for Ultra-Low-Power Consumption, Low-Noise Applications

We report on high frequency (HF) and noise performances of AlSb/InAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) with 100 nm gate length at room temperature in low-power regime. Extrinsic cut-off frequencies f T/f max of 100/125 GHz together with minimum noise figure NFmin = 0.5 dB and associated gain G ass = 12 dB at 12 GHz have been obtained at drain bias of only 80 mV, corresponding to 4 mW/mm DC power dissipation. This demonstrates the great ability of AlSb/InAs HEMT for high-frequency operation combined with low-noise performances in ultra-low-power regime.
A 70–80-GHz SiGe Amplifier With Peak Output Power of 27.3 dBm

This paper presents a fully integrated 16-way power-combining amplifier for 67-92-GHz applications in an advanced 90-nm silicon germanium HBT technology. The 16-way amplifier is implemented using three-stage commonemitter single-ended power amplifiers (PAs) as building blocks, and reactive λ/4 impedance transformation networks are used for power combining. The three-stage single PA breakout has a small-signal gain of 22 dB at 74 GHz, and saturation output power (Psat) of 14.3-16.4 dBm at 68-99 GHz. The powercombining PA achieves a small-signal gain of 19.3 dB at 74 GHz, and Psat of 25.3-27.3 dBm at 68-88 GHz with a maximum power added efficiency of 12.4%. The 16-way amplifier occupies 6.48 mm2 (including pads) and consumes a maximum current of 2.1 A from a 1.8 V supply. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest power silicon-based E-band amplifier to date.
Cost-effectiveness of a European ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction network: results from the Catalan Codi Infart network

Objectives To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) network of Catalonia (Codi Infart). Design Cost-utility analysis. Setting The analysis was from the Catalonian Autonomous Community in Spain, with a population of about 7.5 million people. Participants Patients with STEMI treated within the autonomous community of Catalonia (Spain) included in the IAM CAT II-IV and Codi Infart registries. Outcome measures Costs included hospitalisation, procedures and additional personnel and were obtained according to the reperfusion strategy. Clinical outcomes were defined as 30-day avoided mortality and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), before (N=356) and after network implementation (N=2140). Results A substitution effect and a technology effect were observed; aggregate costs increased by 2.6%. The substitution effect resulted from increased use of primary coronary angioplasty, a relatively expensive procedure and a decrease in fibrinolysis. Primary coronary angioplasty increased from 31% to 89% with the network, and fibrinolysis decreased from 37% to 3%. Rescue coronary angioplasty declined from 11% to 4%, and no reperfusion from 21% to 4%. The technological effect was related to improvements in the percutaneous coronary intervention procedure that increased efficiency, reducing the average length of the hospital stay. Mean costs per patient decreased from €8306 to €7874 for patients with primary coronary angioplasty. Clinical outcomes in patients treated with primary coronary angioplasty did not change significantly, although 30-day mortality decreased from 7.5% to 5.6%. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio resulted in an extra cost of €4355 per life saved (30-day mortality) and €495 per QALY. Below a cost threshold of €30 000, results were sensitive to variations in costs and outcomes. Conclusions The Catalan STEMI network (Codi Infart) is cost-efficient. Further studies are needed in geopolitical different scenarios.