Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Angiogenic Activities of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived from Young and Old Mice

Advanced age is associated with decreased stem cell activity. However, the effect of aging on the differentiation capacity of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into cardiovascular cells has not been fully clarified. We investigated whether iPS cells derived from young and old mice are equally capable of differentiating into vascular progenitor cells, and whether these cells regulate vascular responses in vivo. iPS cells from mouse embryonic fibroblasts (young) or 21 month-old mouse bone marrow (old) were used. Fetal liver kinase-1 positive (Flk-1+) cells, as a vascular progenitor marker, were induced after 3 to 4 days of culture from iPS cells derived from young and old mice. These Flk-1+ cells were sorted and shown to differentiate into VE-cadherin+ endothelial cells and α-SMA+ smooth muscle cells. Tube-like formation was also successfully induced in both young and old murine Flk-1+ cells. Next, hindlimb ischemia was surgically induced, and purified Flk-1+ cells were directly injected into ischemic hindlimbs of nude mice. Revascularization of the ischemic hindlimb was significantly accelerated in mice transplanted with Flk-1+ cells derived from iPS cells from either young or old mice, as compared to control mice as evaluated by laser Doppler blood flowmetry. The degree of revascularization was similar in the two groups of ischemic mice injected with iPS cell-derived Flk-1+ cells from young or old mice. Transplantation of Flk-1+ cells from both young and old murine iPS cells also increased the expression of VEGF, HGF and IGF mRNA in ischemic tissue as compared to controls. iPS cell-derived Flk-1+ cells differentiated into vascular progenitor cells, and regulated angiogenic vascular responses both in vitro and in vivo. These properties of iPS cells derived from old mice are essentially the same as those of iPS cells from young mice, suggesting the functionality of generated iPS cells themselves to be unaffected by aging.
Competitive Integration of Visual and Preparatory Signals in the Superior Colliculus during Saccadic Programming

Efficient behavior requires that internally specified motor plans be integrated with incoming sensory information. Motor preparation and visual signals converge in the intermediate and deep layers of the superior colliculus (SC) to influence saccade planning and execution; however, the mechanism by which these sometimes conflicting signals are combined remains unclear. We studied this issue by presenting visual distractors as monkeys prepared saccades toward an upcoming target whose timing and location were fully predictable. Monkeys made more distractor-directed errors when the spatial location of visual distractors more closely coincided with the saccadic goal. Concomitant pretarget activity of SC visuomotor neurons, whose response fields were centered on the saccadic goal, was similarly increased by the presentation of nearby distractors and inhibited by the presentation of distant distractors. Finally, subthreshold microstimulation of the SC shifted the pattern of distractor-directed errors away from the saccadic goal toward that specified by the site of stimulation. Together, our results suggest that the likelihood of saccade generation is influenced by the spatial register of internal motor preparation signals and external sensory signals across the topographically organized SC map.
Suppression of jitter effects in A/D converters through sigma-delta sampling

This paper describes a new sampling circuit topology that shapes clock jitter induced sampling noise in much the same way a /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ analog-to-digital converter (ADC) shapes quantization noise. The sampling circuit consists of a continuous-time (CT) integrator followed by two switches. One for the output and one for the feedback. Its intended use is as a front-end for ADCs where jitter is a concern, e.g. wideband or bandpass /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ ADCs. The main benefit of this converter is that its sampling noise due to jitter is, to a large extent, independent of the signal frequency. This means that as the signal frequency increases, and traditional sampling circuits' performance deteriorates, the proposed /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ sampler offers a maintained high sampling accuracy. Calculations and simulations in this paper show that the /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ sampler has higher performance than a traditional sampling circuit (circuit noise not included), if the main part of the signal power is in the upper portion of the frequency band. The maximum benefit, assuming the input is a single sinusoidal tone, is approximately 4.75 dB in signal-to-jitter-noise ratio (SJNR).
Testable Implications of Linear Structural Equation Models

In causal inference, all methods of model learning rely on testable implications, namely, properties of the joint distribution that are dictated by the model structure. These constraints, if not satisfied in the data, allow us to reject or modify the model. Most common methods of testing a linear structural equation model (SEM) rely on the likelihood ratio or chi-square test which simultaneously tests all of the restrictions implied by the model. Local constraints, on the other hand, offer increased power (Bollen and Pearl, 2013; McDonald, 2002) and, in the case of failure, provide the modeler with insight for revising the model specification. One strategy of uncovering local constraints in linear SEMs is to search for overidentified path coefficients. While these overidentifying constraints are well known, no method has been given for systematically discovering them. In this paper, we extend the half-trek criterion of (Foygel et al., 2012) to identify a larger set of structural coefficients and use it to systematically discover overidentifying constraints. Still open is the question of whether our algorithm is complete.
Cross-Sectional Detection of Acute HIV Infection: Timing of Transmission, Inflammation and Antiretroviral Therapy

Background Acute HIV infection (AHI) is a critical phase of infection when irreparable damage to the immune system occurs and subjects are very infectious. We studied subjects with AHI prospectively to develop better treatment and public health interventions. Methods Cross-sectional screening was employed to detect HIV RNA positive, antibody negative subjects. Date of HIV acquisition was estimated from clinical history and correlated with sequence diversity assessed by single genome amplification (SGA). Twenty-two cytokines/chemokines were measured from enrollment through week 24. Results Thirty-seven AHI subjects were studied. In 7 participants with limited exposure windows, the median exposure to HIV occurred 14 days before symptom onset. Lack of viral sequence diversification confirmed the short duration of infection. Transmission dates estimated by SGA/sequencing using molecular clock models correlated with transmission dates estimated by symptom onset in individuals infected with single HIV variants (mean of 28 versus 33 days). Only 10 of 22 cytokines/chemokines were significantly elevated among AHI participants at enrollment compared to uninfected controls, and only 4 participants remained seronegative at enrollment. Discussion The results emphasize the difficulty in recruiting subjects early in AHI. Viral sequence diversity proved accurate in estimating time of infection. Regardless of aggressive screening, peak viremia and inflammation occurred before enrollment and potential intervention. Given the personal and public health importance, improved AHI detection is urgently needed.
Long-Term Evaluation of Treatment of Chronic, Therapeutically Refractory Tinnitus by Neurostimulation

Objective: Long-term evaluation of treatment of chronic, therapeutically refractory tinnitus by means of chronic electrical stimulation of the vestibulocochlear nerve. Patients: Inclusion criteria were severe, chronic, therapeutically refractory, unilateral tinnitus and severe hearing loss at the ipsilateral site. Out of 6 patients, 4 patients were selected for long-term evaluation. Two patients were not evaluated because of premature dropout. Material and Methods: A stimulation electrode was placed around the vestibulocochlear nerve through a retrosigmoid approach and connected to a subcutaneously positioned pulse generator via an extension cable. Follow-up was performed 3 months and 42.5 months after implantation. Three measures for treatment outcome were used. First, effect sizes were determined by means of the total Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) score using Cohen’s formula. Second, general and tinnitus-specific audiometric tests were performed in on and off conditions of the neurostimulation system. Third, recordings were noted for tinnitus severity and treatment success on a visual analogue scale. Results: All 4 patients reported successful treatment with neurostimulation. The effect size after 3 months was 0.7, indicating an average effect, while the effect size measured during long-term follow-up was 1.75, indicating a substantial effect with major clinical implications. No changes in hearing level for both ears were measured. The neurostimulation system did not change the tinnitus pitch in any of the patients, and resulted in a minimal reduction of tinnitus loudness in only 2 patients. In all 4 patients the original tinnitus sound was replaced by another, pleasantly perceived sound. The average VAS score of perceived tinnitus severity was reduced from 8 to 3.25. The average VAS score for treatment success was 7.25. Conclusions: The long-term follow-up of neurostimulation treatment for chronic tinnitus shows promising results. Long-term results were better than those determined after a 3-month follow-up. In all patients the tinnitus was replaced by another sound, which was perceived as pleasant. Further studies are needed before accepting neurostimulation as a treatment modality for chronic, therapeutically refractory tinnitus.
Penile traction therapy for treatment of Peyronie's disease: a single-center pilot study.

INTRODUCTION Peyronie's disease (PD) is a fibrotic disorder of the penis whose etiopathophysiology remains unclear. At this time, there is no known reliable nonsurgical treatment. This study reviews our experience with external penile traction therapy to correct the deformity associated with this disorder. AIM To evaluate prolonged external penile traction as a nonsurgical treatment for PD. METHODS Ten men with PD completed this noncontrolled pilot study of traction therapy using the FastSize Penile Extender. Nearly all (90%) had failed prior medical therapy. Traction was applied as the only treatment for 2-8 hours/day for 6 months. All subjects underwent pre- and post-treatment physical examination including measurement of stretched flaccid penile length (SPL) and biothesiometry. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Curvature and girth were measured during erection before and after treatment with dynamic duplex ultrasound. Assessment of erectile and sexual function was further assessed with the International Index of Erectile Function and Quality of Life Specific to Male Erection Difficulties (QOL-MED) questionnaires. At 3 and 6 months post-treatment, SPL was measured and subjective assessment of deformity by the patient was recorded. RESULTS Subjectively all men noted reduced curvature estimated at 10-40 degrees, increased penile length (1-2.5 cm) and enhanced girth in areas of indentation or narrowing. Objective measures demonstrated reduced curvature in all men from 10-45 degrees; average reduction for the group was 33% (51-34 degrees). SPL increased 0.5-2.0 cm and erect girth increased 0.5-1.0 cm with correction of hinge effect in four out of four men. International Index of Erectile Function-erectile function domain increased from 18.3-23.6 for the group. Changes in quality of life by QOL-MED were not found to be statistically significant in this small series. There were no adverse events including skin changes, ulcerations, hypoesthesia or diminished rigidity. CONCLUSION Prolonged daily external penile traction therapy is a new approach for the nonsurgical treatment of PD. Further study appears warranted given the response noted in this pilot study.
Integrated Short-Haul Airline Crew Scheduling Using Multiobjective Optimization Genetic Algorithms

This paper proposes an evolutionary alternative to conventional two-phase planning methods for solving the integrated crew scheduling (ICS) problem. The approach models and formulates the ICS problem as a combinational optimization problem with multiple constraints and objectives. An integrated evolutionary framework is proposed for simultaneously considering crew pairing and crew rostering subproblems. To improve the efficiency of the Pareto set explorer, the solution methodology applies a novel variant of the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), one of the most popular multiobjective optimization evolutionary algorithms. The proposed variant features problem-dependent constraint handling and a bounded front policy to reserve diverse individuals. The proposed approach is verified and validated in a case study of a real-world short-haul airline crew scheduling problem. The experimental results obtained by the proposed integrated approach are then compared with a real-world airline plan generated by the conventional sequential method. An aircraft schedule recovery problem is also studied to compare solution performance between the conventional NSGA-II method and the proposed NSGA-II variant. The comparison results confirm that the proposed variant obtains solutions that are superior in two aspects: First, the proposed NSGA-II variant obtains better convergence in the studied problems compared with the original version; second, the results explored by the variant enable decision makers to select from multiple crew schedules, which are superior to the real-world airline crew plan while considering the same objectives and constraints.
Analyzing AODV Control Packets and Throughput for Different Mobility Degrees and Multiflow Traffic

There is an increasing interest in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) for their potential use in several fields such as collaborative computing, tactical networks and multimedia communications. Thus, MANETs need to support multiple communication flows in the network, while guaranteeing a good performance. In this paper, we analyze the performance of a MANET by simulations, considering multiple flows in the network. We use Random Waypoint Mobility (RWM) model and investigate the effect of AODV's Hello packets in the network performance. We consider environments with different mobility degrees and different node densities to evaluate our simulations. From simulation results, we show that the number of HELLO packets in the network is not affected by speed, but it increases when the number of nodes in the network increases. Also, throughput values decrease a little in general, but they become unaffected by the speed of movement, because of HELLO packets.
Using routers to build logic circuits: How powerful is BGP?

Because of its practical relevance, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) has been the target of a huge research effort since more than a decade. In particular, many contributions aimed at characterizing the computational complexity of BGP-related problems. In this paper, we answer computational complexity questions by unveiling a fundamental mapping between BGP configurations and logic circuits. Namely, we describe simple networks containing routers with elementary BGP configurations that simulate logic gates, clocks, and flip-flops, and we show how to interconnect them to simulate arbitrary logic circuits. We then investigate the implications of such a mapping on the feasibility of solving BGP fundamental problems, and prove that, under realistic assumptions, BGP has the same computing power as a Turing Machine. We also investigate the impact of restrictions on the expressiveness of BGP policies and route propagation (e.g., route propagation rules in iBGP and Local Transit Policies in eBGP) and the impact of different message timing models. Finally, we show that the mapping is not limited to BGP and can be applied to generic routing protocols that use several metrics.
A Family of Delayed Rectifier Kv1 cDNAs Showing Cell Type-Specific Expression in the Squid Stellate Ganglion/Giant Fiber Lobe Complex

Squid giant axons are formed by giant fiber lobe (GFL) neurons of the stellate ganglion (SG). Other large motoneurons in the SG form a parallel system. A small family of cDNAs (SqKv1A–D) encoding Kv1 α-subunits was identified in a squid (Loligo opalescens) SG/GFL library. Members have distinct 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) and initial coding regions, but beyond a certain point (nucleotide 34 of SqKv1A) only nine differences exist. 3′ UTRs are identical. Predicted α-subunits are nearly identical, and only the N termini differ significantly, primarily in length. RNase protection assays that use RNA isolated from specific SG regions show that SqKv1A mRNA is expressed prominently in the GFL but not in the SG proper. SqKv1B yields the opposite pattern. SqKv1D also is expressed only in the SG. SqKv1C expression was not detectable. In situ hybridizations confirm these results and reveal that SqKv1B mRNA is abundant in many large neurons of the SG, whereas SqKv1D expression is limited to small isolated clusters of neurons. SqKv1A and B are thus the predominant Kv1 mRNAs in the SG/GFL complex. Activation properties of SqKv1A and B channels expressed in oocytes are very similar to one another and compare favorably with properties of native delayed rectifier channels in GFL neurons and large SG neurons. The Kv1 complement in these squid neurons thus seems to be relatively simple. Several differences exist between cloned and native channels, however, and may reflect differences in the cellular environments of oocytes and neurons.
Compaction Characteristics and Bearing Ratio of Pond Ash Stabilized with Lime and Phosphogypsum

Recycling of waste material is one of the effective solutions of its disposal problem. Fly ash produced by coal-based thermal power plants and phosphogypsum (PG) produced by fertilizer plants producing phosphoric acid as constituent of fertilizers, take huge disposal area and creates environmental problems. Stabilization/solidification of fly ash improves the engineering properties and reduces the environmental problem like leaching and dusting. This paper presents the laboratory test results of a Class F pond ash alone and stabilized with varying percentages of lime (4, 6, and 10%) and PG (0.5, and 1.0), to study the suitability of stabilized pond ash for road base and subbase construction. Standard and modified Proctor compaction tests have been conducted to reveal the compaction characteristics of the stabilized pond ash. Bearing ratio tests have been conducted on specimens, compacted at maximum dry density and optimum moisture content obtained from standard Proctor compaction tests, cured for 7, 28, and 45 days. Both unsoaked and soaked bearing ratio tests have been conducted. This paper highlights the influence of lime content, PG content, and curing period on the bearing ratio of stabilized pond ash. The empirical model has been developed to estimate the bearing ratio for the stabilized mixes through multiple regression analysis. Linear empirical relationship has been presented herein to estimate soaked bearing ratio from unsoaked bearing ratio of stabilized pond ash. The experimental results indicate that pond ash-lime-PG mixes have potential for applications as road base and subbase materials.
Source of variation of isoflavone concentrations in perennial clover species

Introduction: Clover has attracted considerable interest not only as a valuable livestock forage plant, but also as an important source of isoflavones. The current study was aimed to assess the variation of concentration of three isoflavones in clover species grown under a cool temperate climate environment in Lithuania. Materials and Methods: Isoflavone contents were quantified in the plant parts of 21 accessions belonging to five perennial species of genus Trifolium (T. pratense, T. repens, T. medium, T. rubens, and T. pannonicum). Daidzein, formononetin, and genistein concentrations were quantified in separate plant parts by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The analyte extraction was performed from dried and ground leaves, stems, flowers, and roots. The procedure included acid hydrolysis of isoflavone glycosides to aglycones. Results: According to the averaged sum of the three isoflavones quantified in leaves-stems-flowers, the five clover species ranked as follows: T. medium (7.54-3.62-2.31 mg/g) >T. pratense> T. rubens> T. pannonicum> T. repens (0.191-0.204-0.171 mg/g). The contribution of individual compound to the total isoflavone content depended on the species, accession, and plant part. The major part of the isoflavones is concentrated in leaves or stems; however, there is a great variation also. Conclusion: There exists a large variation in the total as well as in individual concentration of isoflavones among the clover species and plant parts and within species. With regard to isoflavone concentration and variability within species, some accessions of T. medium and T. pratense can be considered a highly promising source of phytoestrogens.
Device simulation of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors: Radiation damage effects

Vertexing for the future International Linear Collider represents a challenging goal because of the high spatial resolution required. CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) represent a good potential solution for this purpose. Up to now many MAPS sensors have been developed. They are based on various architectures and manufactured in different processes. However, up so far, the diode sensor has not been the subject of deep investigation. This is a cause for concern because the physical basis of such sensor is the partially depleted diode hit by minimum ionizing particles, in which the physical mechanisms for signal formation are not rigorously established. This is partly due to the presence of an important diffusion component in the charge transport. We present here simulations mainly based on the S-PISCES code, in which physical mechanisms affecting transport are taken into account. Diffusion, influence of residual carrier concentration due to the background doping level, and more importantly charge trapping due to deep levels in the active (detecting) layer are studied together with geometric aspects. The effect of neutron irradiation is studied to assess the effects of deep traps. A comparison with available experimental data, obtained on processed MAPS before or after neutron irradiation will be introduced. Simulated reconstruction of the Minimum Ionizing Particle (MIP) point of impact in two dimensions was also investigated. For further steps, guidelines for process choices of next Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors are introduced.