Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knee Joint Loads and Surrounding Muscle Forces during Stair Ascent in Patients with Total Knee Replacement

Total knee replacement (TKR) is commonly used to correct end-stage knee osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, difficulty with stair climbing often persists and prolongs the challenges of TKR patents. Complete understanding of loading at the knee is of great interest in order to aid patient populations, implant manufacturers, rehabilitation, and future healthcare research. Musculoskeletal modeling and simulation approximates joint loading and corresponding muscle forces during a movement. The purpose of this study was to determine if knee joint loadings following TKR are recovered to the level of healthy individuals, and determine the differences in muscle forces causing those loadings. Data from five healthy and five TKR patients were selected for musculoskeletal simulation. Variables of interest included knee joint reaction forces (JRF) and the corresponding muscle forces. A paired samples t-test was used to detect differences between groups for each variable of interest (p<0.05). No differences were observed for peak joint compressive forces between groups. Some muscle force compensatory strategies appear to be present in both the loading and push-off phases. Evidence from knee extension moment and muscle forces during the loading response phase indicates the presence of deficits in TKR in quadriceps muscle force production during stair ascent. This result combined with greater flexor muscle forces resulted in similar compressive JRF during loading response between groups.
IL‐10 and TGF‐β Immunoregulatory Cytokines rather than Natural Regulatory T Cells are Associated with the Resolution Phase of Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada (VKH) Syndrome

The pro‐inflammatory cytokines play a critical role in the initiation and propagation of ocular autoimmune diseases. Regulation of these cytokines is generally mediated by the immunoregulatory cytokine such as IL‐10 or TGF‐β. In this study, we investigated the immunoregulatory cytokine profile and frequency of natural regulatory T cells (nTregs) in patients with Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada (VKH). We obtained the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with VKH and healthy controls. The cytokine profile from supernatants of PBMC cultured with or without phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) was measured by ELISA, the percentage of CD4+ Foxp3+ and CD25highFoxp3+ T regulatory cells were analysed by flow cytometry, and the transcriptional level of Foxp3 expression was analysed by real‐time quantitative PCR. The immunoregulatory cytokines, TGF‐β and IL‐10, increased in patients with VKH in the inactive stage of the disease. We observed no significant difference in the CD4+ Foxp3+ and CD25highFoxp3+ T cells as well as no reduction in FOXP3 mRNA expression in the patients with VKH when compared to healthy controls. We showed in our work, an increase in IFN‐γ secretion by PBMC of patients with VKH in the active stage of the disease when compared to healthy controls and patients in the inactive stage. Our data suggest that IL‐10 and TGF‐β cytokines, rather than nTregs are associated with the resolution phase of the disease and may have a more relevant role in controlling this disease.
ERMO3/MVP1/GOLD36 Is Involved in a Cell Type-Specific Mechanism for Maintaining ER Morphology in Arabidopsis thaliana

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has a unique, network-like morphology. The ER structures are composed of tubules, cisternae, and three-way junctions. This morphology is highly conserved among eukaryotes, but the molecular mechanism that maintains ER morphology has not yet been elucidated. In addition, certain Brassicaceae plants develop a unique ER-derived organelle called the ER body. This organelle accumulates large amounts of PYK10, a β-glucosidase, but its physiological functions are still obscure. We aimed to identify a novel factor required for maintaining the morphology of the ER, including ER bodies, and employed a forward-genetic approach using transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana (GFP-h) with fluorescently-labeled ER. We isolated and investigated a mutant (designated endoplasmic reticulum morphology3, ermo3) with huge aggregates and abnormal punctate structures of ER. ERMO3 encodes a GDSL-lipase/esterase family protein, also known as MVP1. Here, we showed that, although ERMO3/MVP1/GOLD36 was expressed ubiquitously, the morphological defects of ermo3 were specifically seen in a certain type of cells where ER bodies developed. Coimmunoprecipitation analysis combined with mass spectrometry revealed that ERMO3/MVP1/GOLD36 interacts with the PYK10 complex, a huge protein complex that is thought to be important for ER body-related defense systems. We also found that the depletion of transcription factor NAI1, a master regulator for ER body formation, suppressed the formation of ER-aggregates in ermo3 cells, suggesting that NAI1 expression plays an important role in the abnormal aggregation of ER. Our results suggest that ERMO3/MVP1/GOLD36 is required for preventing ER and other organelles from abnormal aggregation and for maintaining proper ER morphology in a coordinated manner with NAI1.
SLL: Statistical Conditions and Algebraic Properties

Common approaches for indoor positioning based on cellular communication systems use the received signal strength (RSS) as measurements. In order to work properly, such a system often requires many calibration points before its start. Applying simultaneous localization and learning (SLL) a self-calibrating RSS-based positioning system can be realized. Clearly, SLL avoids the requirement for manually obtained reference measurements. This paper explores the algebraic and statistical conditions required to perform the SLL approach. Firstly, as basis of the analysis a closed form of SLL is introduced. As main result of this paper the algebraic and statistical conditions are revealed that need to be satisfied such that SLL can successfully be utilized, leading to a self-calibration of RSS-based positioning systems. While the analysis is restricted to the one-dimensional case and although the extension of the analysis to higher dimensions is more complex, the results can straightforwardly be extended to the more-dimensional cases.
A Finite-Time Analysis of Multi-armed Bandits Problems with Kullback-Leibler Divergences

We consider a Kullback-Leibler-based algorithm for the stochastic multi-armed bandit problem in the case of distributions with finite supports (not necessarily known beforehand), whose asymptotic regret matches the lower bound of \cite{Burnetas96}. Our contribution is to provide a finite-time analysis of this algorithm; we get bounds whose main terms are smaller than the ones of previously known algorithms with finite-time analyses (like UCB-type algorithms).
Knowledge collection for natural language spoken dialog systems

The development of natural language spoken dialog systems requires collection and labeling of a large set of user-system interactions (knowledge). Ideally, it should be collected from live traffic in the field, since scripted scenarios in a lab typically result in unnatural phraseology. To achieve this, we introduce an extension of the "Wizard of Oz", a hidden human agent who oversees the machine side of the interaction in collaboration with the automated dialog manager, unbeknownst to the user. The Wizard can provide a continuum of supervision ranging from explicitly controlling every step to a Wizardoverride mode where the machine operates semi-autonomously and the human overrides only when necessary. All interactions are instrumented and entered directly into a database using a standard interface and SQL. The collected data will typically be analyzed in the laboratory to quantify system performance, and to introduce algorithmic improvements prior to a new set of experiments. Over the course of system development iterations, the nature of the Wizard evolves over a continuum of functions from actual control (in the absence of any system knowledge) to passive observer. The user cannot tell the difference.
Through different eyes: assessing multiple conceptual views for querying web services

We present enhancements for UDDI / DAML-S registries allow-ing cooperative discovery and selection of Web services with a focus on personalization. To find the most useful service in each instance of a request, not only explicit parameters of the request have to be matched against the service offers. Also user preferences or implicit assumptions of a user with respect to common knowledge in a certain domain have to be considered to improve the quality of service provisioning. In the area of Web services the notion of service ontologies together with cooperative answering techniques can take a lot of this responsibility. However, without quality assessments for the relaxation of service requests and queries a personalized service discovery and selection is virtually impossible. This paper focuses on assessing the semantic meaning of query relaxation plans over multiple conceptual views of the service ontology, each one representing a soft query constraint of the user request. Our focus is on the question what constitutes a minimum amount of necessary relaxation to answer each individual request in a cooperative manner. Incorporating such assessments as early as possible we propose to integrate ontology-based discovery directly into UDDI directories or query facilities in service provisioning portals. Using the quality assessments presented here, this integration promises to propel today's Web services towards an intuitive user-centered service provisioning.
The integrase family of site‐specific recombinases: regional similarities and global diversity.

A combination of two methods for detecting distant relationships in protein primary sequences was used to compare the site‐specific recombination proteins encoded by bacteriophage lambda, phi 80, P22, P2, 186, P4 and P1. This group of proteins exhibits an unexpectedly large diversity of sequences. Despite this diversity, all of the recombinases can be aligned in their C‐terminal halves. A 40‐residue region near the C terminus is particularly well conserved in all the proteins and is homologous to a region near the C terminus of the yeast 2 mu plasmid Flp protein. This family of recombinases does not appear to be related to any other site‐specific recombinases. Three positions are perfectly conserved within this family: histidine, arginine and tyrosine are found at respective alignment positions 396, 399 and 433 within the well‐conserved C‐terminal region. We speculate that these residues contribute to the active site of this family of recombinases, and suggest that tyrosine‐433 forms a transient covalent linkage to DNA during strand cleavage and rejoining.
Labiaplasty of the labia minora: patients' indications for pursuing surgery.

INTRODUCTION Limited information is available regarding patients' indication for seeking labiaplasty of the labia minora. AIM The aim of this article is to investigate a patient's indications for seeking labiaplasty of the labia minora. METHODS This is a retrospective review of the medical records of all patients undergoing labiaplasty at our clinic over a 27-month period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Indications for surgery were assessed using standardized questionnaires during the patients' initial history and physical. Patients were divided into three groups as based on the questionnaire, including: Group I-patients seeking the procedure strictly for aesthetic reasons; Group II-patients seeking the procedure strictly for functional impairment (i.e., pain and discomfort); and Group III-patients who feel they are having the surgery for both aesthetic and functional reasons. Patients undergoing the surgery for aesthetic reasons were also asked whether this was strictly a personal decision or was influenced by either another man or woman whether a friend, spouse, or partner. RESULTS The review revealed 131 patients had undergone a labia reduction surgery: Group I-those who received labia reduction surgery for strictly aesthetic reasons equaled 37% (49/131); Group II-those seeking the surgery strictly for functional impairment equaled 32% (42/131); and Group III-those seeking the surgery for both functional and aesthetic reasons equaled 31% (40/131). CONCLUSION The majority of patients undergoing reduction of the labia minora do so for functional reasons with minimal outside influences affecting their decision for treatment.
Absorption of intact albumin across rat alveolar epithelial cell monolayers.

Transport characteristics of intact albumin were investigated using primary cultured rat alveolar epithelial cell monolayers. The apical-to-basolateral (ab) flux of intact fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled albumin (F-Alb) is greater than basolateral-to-apical (ba) flux at the same upstream [F-Alb]. Net absorption of intact F-Alb occurs with half-maximal concentration of approximately 1.6 microM and maximal transport rate of approximately 0.15 fmol.cm(-2). s(-1). At 15 and 4 degrees C, both ab and ba F-Alb fluxes are not different from zero, collapsing net absorption. The presence of excess unlabeled albumin (but not other macromolecule species) in either the apical or basolateral fluid significantly reduces both ab and ba unidirectional F-Alb fluxes. Photoaffinity labeling of apical cell membranes revealed an approximately 60-kDa protein that exhibits specificity for albumin. These data indicate that net absorption of intact albumin takes place via saturable receptor-mediated transcellular endocytotic processes recognizing albumin, but not other macromolecules, that may play an important role in alveolar homeostasis in the mammalian lung.
Internal Cholinergic Regulation of Learning and Recall in a Model of Olfactory Processing

In the olfactory system, cholinergic modulation has been associated with contrast modulation and changes in receptive fields in the olfactory bulb, as well the learning of odor associations in olfactory cortex. Computational modeling and behavioral studies suggest that cholinergic modulation could improve sensory processing and learning while preventing pro-active interference when task demands are high. However, how sensory inputs and/or learning regulate incoming modulation has not yet been elucidated. We here use a computational model of the olfactory bulb, piriform cortex (PC) and horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca (HDB) to explore how olfactory learning could regulate cholinergic inputs to the system in a closed feedback loop. In our model, the novelty of an odor is reflected in firing rates and sparseness of cortical neurons in response to that odor and these firing rates can directly regulate learning in the system by modifying cholinergic inputs to the system. In the model, cholinergic neurons reduce their firing in response to familiar odors—reducing plasticity in the PC, but increase their firing in response to novel odor—increasing PC plasticity. Recordings from HDB neurons in awake behaving rats reflect predictions from the model by showing that a subset of neurons decrease their firing as an odor becomes familiar.
Census and Survey of the Visible Internet ( extended ) 0 USC

Prior measurement studies of the Internet have explored traffic and topology, but have largely ignored edge hosts. While the number of Internet hosts is very large, and many are hidden behind firewalls or in private address space, there is much to be learned from examining the population of visible hosts, those with public unicast addresses that respond to messages. In this paper we introduce two new approaches to explore the visible Internet. Applying statistical population sampling, we use censuses to walk the entire Internet address space, and surveys to probe frequently a fraction of that space. We then use these tools to evaluate address usage, where we find that only 3.6% of allocated addresses are actually occupied by visible hosts, and that occupancy is unevenly distributed, with a quarter of responsive /24 address blocks (subnets) less than 5% full, and only 9% of blocks more than half full. We show about 34 million addresses are very stable and visible to our probes (about 16% of responsive addresses), and we project from this up to 60 million stable Internet-accessible computers. The remainder of allocated addresses are used intermittently, with a median occupancy of 81 minutes. Finally, we show that many firewalls are visible, measuring significant diversity in the distribution of firewalled block size. To our knowledge, we are the first to take a census of edge hosts in the visible Internet since 1982, to evaluate the accuracy of active probing for address census and survey, and to quantify these aspects of the Internet.
Integration of Gene Expression Data and Methylation Reveals Genetic Networks for Glioblastoma

Motivation: The consistent amount of different types of omics data requires novel methods of analysis and data integration. In this work we describe Regression2Net, a computational approach to analyse gene expression and methylation profiles via regression analysis and network-based techniques. Results: We identified 284 and 447 unique candidate genes potentially associated to the Glioblastoma pathology from two networks inferred from mixed genetic datasets. In-depth biological analysis of these networks reveals genes that are related to energy metabolism, cell cycle control (AATF), immune system response and several types of cancer. Importantly, we observed significant over- representation of cancer related pathways including glioma especially in the methylation network. This confirms the strong link between methylation and glioblastomas. Potential glioma suppressor genes ACCN3 and ACCN4 linked to NBPF1 neuroblastoma breakpoint family have been identified in our expression network. Numerous ABC transporter genes (ABCA1, ABCB1) present in the expression network suggest drug resistance of glioblastoma tumors.
The Effects of Metabolic Work Rate and Ambient Environment on Physiological Tolerance Times While Wearing Explosive and Chemical Personal Protective Equipment

This study evaluated the physiological tolerance times when wearing explosive and chemical (>35 kg) personal protective equipment (PPE) in simulated environmental extremes across a range of differing work intensities. Twelve healthy males undertook nine trials which involved walking on a treadmill at 2.5, 4, and 5.5 km·h−1 in the following environmental conditions, 21, 30, and 37°C wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). Participants exercised for 60 min or until volitional fatigue, core temperature reached 39°C, or heart rate exceeded 90% of maximum. Tolerance time, core temperature, skin temperature, mean body temperature, heart rate, and body mass loss were measured. Exercise time was reduced in the higher WBGT environments (WBGT37 < WBGT30 < WBGT21; P < 0.05) and work intensities (5.5 < 4 < 2.5 km·h−1; P < 0.001). The majority of trials (85/108; 78.7%) were terminated due to participant's heart rate exceeding 90% of their maximum. A total of eight trials (7.4%) lasted the full duration. Only nine (8.3%) trials were terminated due to volitional fatigue and six (5.6%) due to core temperatures in excess of 39°C. These results demonstrate that physiological tolerance times are influenced by the external environment and workload and that cardiovascular strain is the limiting factor to work tolerance when wearing this heavy multilayered PPE.
The correlation between the length of repetitive domain and mechanical properties of the recombinant flagelliform spidroin

ABSTRACT Spider silk is an attractive biopolymer with numerous potential applications due to its remarkable characteristics. Among the six categories of spider silks, flagelliform (Flag) spider silk possesses longer and more repetitive core domains than others, therefore performing the highest extensibility. To investigate the correlation between the recombinant spidroin size and the synthetic fiber properties, four recombinant proteins with different sizes [N-Scn-C (n=1-4)] were constructed and expressed using IMPACT system. Subsequently, different recombinant spidroins were spun into fibers through wet-spinning via a custom-made continuous post-drawing device. Mechanical tests of the synthetic fibers with four parameters (maximum stress, maximum extension, Young's modulus and toughness) demonstrated that the extensibility of the fibers showed a positive correlation with spidroin size, consequently resulting in the extensibility of N-Sc4-C fiber ranked the highest (58.76%) among four fibers. Raman data revealed the relationship between secondary structure content and mechanical properties. The data here provide a deeper insight into the relationship between the function and structure of Flag silk for future design of artificial fibers. Summary: A study of the relationship between the structure and property of synthetic spider silk-like fibers, which aims to aid with the designing of functional artificial fibers.
Helcococcus ovis, an Emerging Pathogen in Bovine Valvular Endocarditis

ABSTRACT The initial isolation of Helcococcus ovis from a valvular thrombus prompted us to investigate the prevalence of this bacterium in bovine valvular endocarditis. Specimens from 55 affected hearts were examined by culture using Columbia blood agar and cross streaking the inoculated plate with a Staphylococcus aureus strain. As confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, H. ovis was isolated with an unexpectedly high frequency of 33%, predominantly as heavy growth and pure culture. The majority of H. ovis isolates showed distinct satellitism around S. aureus and pyridoxal dependency, resembling “nutritionally variant streptococci” (now assigned to the genera Abiotrophia and Granulicatella). Using the API rapid ID 32 Strep, API ZYM, and Rosco Diatabs systems, incongruent results were obtained for alkaline phosphatase, β-galactosidase, β-glucuronidase, and leucine aminopeptidase activities. Based on the satellitism/pyridoxal dependency; hemolysis on blood agar; the API rapid ID 32 Strep results for arginine dihydrolase, α-galactosidase, β-galactosidase, β-glucuronidase, and pyroglutamic acid arylamidase activities; hippurate hydrolysis; and acidification of sucrose, a scheme for the identification of H. ovis and its differentiation from other members of the Helcococcus genus and the pyridoxal-dependent species Abiotrophia defectiva, Granulicatella adiacens, and Granulicatella elegans is proposed. By establishing specific fluorescence in situ hybridization, large H. ovis aggregates were specifically detected within the fibrinous exudate of the valvular thrombi. Our results demonstrate for the first time that H. ovis represents an emerging pathogen in bovine valvular endocarditis that is frequently isolated if appropriate culture conditions are used.