Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fibrin, &ggr;′-Fibrinogen, and Transclot Pressure Gradient Control Hemostatic Clot Growth During Human Blood Flow Over a Collagen/Tissue Factor Wound

Objective— Biological and physical factors interact to modulate blood response in a wounded vessel, resulting in a hemostatic clot or an occlusive thrombus. Flow and pressure differential (&Dgr;P) across the wound from the lumen to the extravascular compartment may impact hemostasis and the observed core/shell architecture. We examined physical and biological factors responsible for regulating thrombin-mediated clot growth. Approach and Results— Using factor XIIa-inhibited human whole blood perfused in a microfluidic device over collagen/tissue factor at controlled wall shear rate and &Dgr;P, we found thrombin to be highly localized in the P-selectin+ core of hemostatic clots. Increasing &Dgr;P from 9 to 29 mm Hg (wall shear rate=400 s−1) reduced P-selectin+ core size and total clot size because of enhanced extravasation of thrombin. Blockade of fibrin polymerization with 5 mmol/L Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro dysregulated hemostasis by enhancing both P-selectin+ core size and clot size at 400 s−1 (20 mm Hg). For whole-blood flow (no Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro), the thickness of the P-selectin-negative shell was reduced under arterial conditions (2000 s−1, 20 mm Hg). Consistent with the antithrombin-1 activity of fibrin implicated with Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro, anti-&ggr;′-fibrinogen antibody enhanced core-localized thrombin, core size, and overall clot size, especially at venous (100 s−1) but not arterial wall shear rates (2000 s−1). Pathological shear (15 000 s−1) and Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro synergized to exacerbate clot growth. Conclusions— Hemostatic clotting was dependent on core-localized thrombin that (1) triggered platelet P-selectin display and (2) was highly regulated by fibrin and the transclot &Dgr;P. Also, &ggr;′-fibrinogen had a role in venous but not arterial conditions.
Inference of multiple fiber orientations in high angular resolution diffusion imaging

A method is presented that is capable of determining more than one fiber orientation within a single voxel in high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) data sets. This method is an extension of the Markov chain method recently introduced to diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analysis, allowing the probability density function of up to 2 intra‐voxel fiber orientations to be inferred. The multiple fiber architecture within a voxel is then assessed by calculating the relative probabilities of a 1 and 2 fiber model. It is demonstrated that for realistic signal to noise ratios, it is possible to accurately characterize the directions of 2 intersecting fibers using a 2 fiber model. The shortcomings of under‐fitting a 2 fiber model, or over‐fitting a 1 fiber model, are explored. This new algorithm enhances the tools available for fiber tracking. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
5‐azacytidine supports the long‐term repopulating activity of cord blood CD34+ cells

DNA methylation plays important roles in a wide range of biological phenomena, especially in the embryonic development and tumorigenesis. However, correlations between differentiation and DNA methylation have not been clarified well in each differentiation system. In this study, we focused our attention on regulatory roles of DNA methylation in normal hematopoietic differentiation using a demethylating reagent, 5‐azacytidine (5‐AzaC). As a source of hematopoietic progenitor cells, we used CD34+ cells prepared from human umbilical cord blood and examined the effects of 5‐AzaC on the colony‐forming activity and the long‐term culture‐initiating (LTC‐IC) activity of these cells. 5‐AzaC treatment increased LTC‐IC frequency 1.57‐ to 2.50‐fold as compared to the nontreated control. In parallel to this, immunoblotting analysis showed that the intensity of overall DNA methylation decreased after 5‐AzaC treatment. These results indicated the involvement of DNA methylation and demethylation in controlling immaturity of hematopoietic progenitor cells and the usefulness of 5‐AzaC for regulating this immaturity. Am. J. Hematol. 77:313–315, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Designing a Fusion-Driven Sensor Network to Selectively Track Mobile Targets

Sensor networks that can support time-critical operations pose challenging problems for tracking events of interest. We propose an architecture for a sensor network that autonomously adapts in real-time to data fusion requirements so as not to miss events of interest and provides accurate real-time mobile target tracking. In the proposed architecture, the sensed data is processed in an abstract space called Information Space and the communication between nodes is modeled as an abstract space called Network Design Space. The two abstract spaces are connected through an interaction interface called InfoNet, that seamlessly translates the messages between the two. The proposed architecture is validated experimentally on a laboratory testbed for multiple scenarios.
The viral protein gp120 decreases the acetylation of neuronal tubulin: potential mechanism of neurotoxicity

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope protein gp120 promotes axonal damage and neurite pruning, similar to that observed in HIV‐positive subjects with neurocognitive disorders. Thus, gp120 has been used to examine molecular and cellular pathways underlying HIV‐mediated neuronal dysfunction. Gp120 binds to tubulin beta III, a component of neuronal microtubules. Microtubule function, which modulates the homeostasis of neurons, is regulated by polymerization and post‐translational modifications. Based on these considerations, we tested the hypothesis that gp120 induces dynamic instability of neuronal microtubules. We first observed that gp120 prevents the normal polymerization of tubulin in vitro. We then tested whether gp120 alters the post‐translational modifications in tubulin by examining the ability of gp120 to change the levels of acetylated tubulin in primary rat neuronal cultures. Gp120 elicited a time‐dependent decrease in tubulin acetylation that was reversed by Helix‐A peptide, a compound that competitively displaces the binding of gp120 to neuronal microtubules. To determine whether post‐translational modifications in tubulin also occur in vivo, we measured acetylated tubulin in the cerebral cortex of HIV transgenic rats (HIV‐tg). We observed a decrease in tubulin acetylation in 5‐ and 9‐month‐old HIV‐tg rats when compared to age‐matched wild type. Neither changes in microglia morphology nor alterations in mRNA levels for interleukin‐1β and tumor necrosis factor α were detected in 5‐month‐old animals. Our findings propose neuronal microtubule instability as a novel mechanism of HIV neurotoxicity, without evidence of enhanced inflammation.
Multi-dimensional workload analysis and synthesis for modern storage systems

Modern computer systems produce and process an overwhelming amount of data at an increasing rates. The performance of storage hardware components, however, cannot keep up with the required speed at a practical cost. To mitigate this discrepancy, storage vendors incorporate many workload-driven optimizations in their products. Emerging applications cause workload patterns to change rapidly and significantly. One of the prominent examples is a rapid shift towards virtualized environments. Virtual machines mix I/O streams from different applications and perturb applications' access patterns. In addition, modern users demand more convenience features, such as deduplication, snapshotting, and encryption. Stringent performance requirements, changing I/O patterns, and the growing feature list increase the complexity of storage systems. The complexity of design, in turn, makes the evaluation of the storage systems a difficult task. Storage community needs practical evaluation tools and techniques to resolve this task timely and efficiently. This thesis first explores the complexity of evaluating storage systems. Second, the thesis proposes a Multi-Dimensional Histogram (MDH) workload analysis as a basis for designing a variety of evaluation tools. I/O traces are good sources of information about real-world workloads but are inflexible in representing more than the exact system conditions at the point the traces were captured. We demonstrate how MDH techniques can accurately convert I/O traces to workload models. Historically, most I/O optimizations focused on the metadata: e.g., I/O access patterns, arrival times, read/write sizes. Increasingly, storage systems must also consider the data and not just the metadata. For example, deduplication systems eliminate duplicates in the data to increase logical storage capacity. We use MDH techniques to generate realistic datasets for deduplication systems. The shift from physical to virtual clients drastically changes the I/O workloads seen by Network Attached Storage (NAS). Using MDH techniques we study workload changes caused by virtualization and synthesize a set of versatile NAS benchmarks. It is our thesis that MDH techniques are powerful for both workload analysis and synthesis. MDH analysis bridges the gap between the complexity of storage systems and the availability of practical evaluations tools.
Fracture resistance of immature teeth filled with mineral trioxide aggregate, bioaggregate, and biodentine

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate fracture resistance of teeth with immature apices treated with coronal placement of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), bioaggregate (BA), and Biodentine. Materials and Methods: Forty-one freshly extracted, single-rooted human premolar teeth were used for the study. At first, the root length was standardized to 9 mm. The crown-down technique was used for the preparation of the root canals using the rotary ProTaper system (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) of F3 (30). Peeso reamer no. 6 was stepped out from the apex to simulate an incompletely formed root. The prepared roots were randomly assigned to one control (n = 5) and three experimental (n = 12) groups, as described below. Group 1: White MTA (Angelus, Londrina, Brazil) was prepared as per the manufacturer's instructions and compacted into the root canal using MAP system (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) and condensed by pluggers (Angelus, Londrina, Brazil). Group 2: The canals were filled with DiaRoot-BA (DiaDent Group International, Canada). Group 3: Biodentine (Septodont, Saint Maur des Fosses, France) solution was mixed with the capsule powder and condensed using pluggers. Instron was used to determine the maximum horizontal load to fracture the tooth, placing the tip 3 mm incisal to the cementoenamel junction. Mean values of the fracture strength were compared by ANOVA followed by a post hoc test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: No significant difference was observed among the MTA, BA, and biodentine experimental groups. Conclusion: All the three materials tested, may be used as effective strengthening agents for immature teeth.
Frontal Sinus Accuracy in Identification as Measured by False Positives in Kin Groups

Abstract: The aims of this study were to verify if frontal sinuses can uniquely identify individuals belonging to family groups using Cameriere methods and to test if kinship can affect the proportion of erroneous identifications. For this purpose, we compared the proportion of false‐positive identifications in a sample of 99 individuals within 20 families with a control sample of 98 other individuals without kinship. The results show that the combined use of SOR and the Yoshino code number allows personal identification with a small probability of false positives (p < 10−6), even when kinship is taken into account. The present research confirms the importance of studying anthropological frameworks for identification, which leads to reliable methods and allows for both quick and economic procedures.
Musculoskeletal modeling and simulation of three various Sit-to-Stand strategies: An evaluation of the biomechanical effects of the chair-rise strategy modification.

BACKGROUND The human chair-rise ability reduces according to various factors such as; Age, Incidents, diseases and etc. The Sit-to-Stand (STS) movement strategy modification is a way chosen to compensate the STS inabilities. OBJECTIVE Musculoskeletal evaluation of the effects of standing up strategy modification is beneficial for correct selection. The aim of this study is to compute, compare, and classify the biomechanical effects of each STS movement strategy. METHODS A full-body human who stands up from seat with three various strategies are modeled and simulated with commercial musculoskeletal simulation software, AnyBody (Anybody Technology, Aalborg, Denmark). A specific algorithm is employed to compute time-histories of the reaction forces between body and seat. RESULTS Time-histories of joint moments, joint loads and muscles forces are computed and compared between strategies. Two statistical analyses (Pearson product-moment correlation and paired-samples t-test) are also employed to compare the effects of strategy modification in various aspects. The major finding is that the body joints and muscles reactions to strategy modification are different or even antithetical to each other. CONCLUSION A table is derived which depicts the sequences of the body joints and muscles affected from strategy modification from the most to the least. This table could be practical for therapists, physicians, and rehabilitation devices experts.
Conformational and thermodynamic properties modulate the nucleotide excision repair of 2-aminofluorene and 2-acetylaminofluorene dG adducts in the NarI sequence

Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a major repair pathway that recognizes and corrects various lesions in cellular DNA. We hypothesize that damage recognition is an initial step in NER that senses conformational anomalies in the DNA caused by lesions. We prepared three DNA duplexes containing the carcinogen adduct N-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-7-fluoro-2-acetylaminofluorene (FAAF) at G1, G2 or G3 of NarI sequence (5′-CCG1G2CG3CC-3′). Our 19F-NMR/ICD results showed that FAAF at G1 and G3 prefer syn S- and W-conformers, whereas anti B-conformer was predominant for G2. We found that the repair of FAAF occurs in a conformation-specific manner, i.e. the highly S/W-conformeric G3 and -G1 duplexes incised more efficiently than the B-type G2 duplex (G3∼G1 > G2). The melting and thermodynamic data indicate that the S- and W-conformers produce greater DNA distortion and thermodynamic destabilization. The N-deacetylated N-(2′-deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-7-fluoro-2-aminofluorene (FAF) adducts in the same NarI sequence are repaired 2- to 3-fold less than FAAF: however, the incision efficiency was in order of G2∼G1 > G3, a reverse trend of the FAAF case. We have envisioned the so-called N-acetyl factor as it could raise conformational barriers of FAAF versus FAF. The present results provide valuable conformational insight into the sequence-dependent UvrABC incisions of the bulky aminofluorene DNA adducts.
Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Aspalathus linearis and Cyclopia spp. Extracts in a UVB/Keratinocyte (HaCaT) Model Utilising Interleukin-1α Accumulation as Biomarker

Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is one of the major predisposing risk factors of skin cancer. The anticancer and photoprotective effects of unoxidized rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) and honeybush (Cyclopia) herbal teas, containing high levels of dihydrochalones and xanthones, respectively, have been demonstrated in skin cancer models in vivo. In the current study, the anti-inflammatory effects of methanol and aqueous extracts of these herbal teas were investigated in a UVB/HaCaT keratinocyte model with intracellular interleukin-1α (icIL-1α) accumulation as a biomarker. Extracts of green tea (Camellia sinensis) served as benchmark. Both extracts of green tea and rooibos, as well as the aqueous extract of C. intermedia, enhanced UVB-induced inhibition of cell viability, proliferation and induction of apoptosis, facilitating the removal of icIL-1α. The underlying mechanisms may involve mitochondrial dysfunction exhibiting pro-oxidant responses via polyphenol-iron interactions. The methanol extracts of honeybush, however, protected against UVB-induced reduction of cell growth parameters, presumably via antioxidant mechanisms that prevented the removal of highly inflamed icIL-1α-containing keratinocytes via apoptosis. The dual antioxidant and/or pro-oxidant role of the polyphenolic herbal tea constituents should be considered in developing preventive strategies against UVB-induced skin carcinogenesis. The indirect removal of UVB damaged keratinocytes by herbal tea extracts via apoptosis may find application in the prevention of photo-induced inflammation.
Disruptive Effects of Colorful vs. Non-colorful Play Area on Structured Play—A Pilot Study with Preschoolers

To contribute to young children's development, sensory enrichment is often provided via colorful play areas. However, little is known about the effects of colorful environments on children while they engage in age-appropriate tasks and games. Studies in adults suggest that aspects of color can distract attention and impair performance, and children are known to have less developed attentional and executive abilities than adults. Preliminary studies conducted in children aged 5–8 suggest that the colorfulness of both distal (e.g., wall decorations) and proximal (e.g., the surface of the desktop) environments can have a disruptive effect on children's performance. The present research seeks to extend the previous studies to an even younger age group and focus on proximal colorfulness. With a sample of 15 pre-schoolers (3–4 years old) we examined whether a colorful play surface compared to a non-colorful (white) play surface would affect engagement in developmentally appropriate structured play. Our pilot findings suggest that a colorful play surface interfered with preschoolers' structured play, inducing more behaviors indicating disruption in task execution compared with a non-colorful play surface. The implications of the current study for practice and further research are discussed.
Intestinal Insulin Resistance and Aberrant Production of Apolipoprotein B48 Lipoproteins in an Animal Model of Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Dyslipidemia

Postprandial dyslipidemia is recognized as an important complication of insulin-resistant states, and recent evidence implicates intestinal lipoprotein overproduction as a causative factor. The mechanisms linking intestinal lipoprotein overproduction and aberrant insulin signaling in intestinal enterocytes are currently unknown. Intestinal insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism were studied in a fructose-fed hamster model of insulin resistance and metabolic dyslipidemia. Intestinal lipoprotein production in chow-fed hamsters was responsive to the inhibitory effects of insulin, and a decrease in circulating levels of triglyceride-rich apolipoprotein (apo)B48-containing lipoproteins occurred 60 min after insulin administration. However, fructose-fed hamster intestine was not responsive to the insulin-induced downregulation of apoB48-lipoprotein production, suggesting insulin insensitivity at the level of the intestine. Enterocytes from the fructose-fed hamster exhibited normal activity of the insulin receptor but reduced levels of insulin receptor substrate-1 phosphorylation and mass and Akt protein mass. Conversely, the protein mass of the p110 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B, and basal levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal–related kinase (ERK) were significantly increased in the fructose-fed hamster intestine. Modulating the ERK pathway through in vivo inhibition of mitogen-activated protein/ERK kinase 1/2, the upstream activator of ERK1/2, we observed a significant decrease in intestinal apoB48 synthesis and secretion. Interestingly, enhanced basal ERK activity in the fructose-fed hamster intestine was accompanied by an increased activation of sterol regulatory element–binding protein. In summary, these data suggest that insulin insensitivity at the level of the intestine and aberrant insulin signaling are important underlying factors in intestinal overproduction of highly atherogenic apoB48-containing lipoproteins in the insulin-resistant state. Basal activation of the ERK pathway may be an important contributor to the aberrant insulin signaling and lipoprotein overproduction in this model.
Corpus-based L2 phonological data and semi-automatic perceptual analysis: the case of nasal vowels produced by beginner Japanese learners of French

Processing large amounts of non-native (L2) phonological data for acquisition-related research remains a challenging task, especially when acoustic analyses are not straightforward as is the case with nasal vowels. Within the InterPhonologie du Français Contemporain project (IPFC), we have developed a perceptual coding procedure and a piece of dedicated software aimed at providing an intermediate stage between fine-grained acoustic analyses and coarse-grained phonological categorization, such as ‘substitution’ or ‘deletion’, of non-native productions. Our code allows us to examine the left and right phonological contexts of the segment under scrutiny and assess the nasality, quality and potential consonantal excrescences of the non-native nasal vowels. We have applied this procedure to Japanese data collected in a longitudinal study of French interphonology, focusing on the vowels /A~/, /O~/, /E~/ produced by 22 beginner university students in a wordlist repetition and reading task. Our study reveals an overall good production rate in terms of nasality for such beginner learners but also a lower rate of quality accuracy for the three vowels, as well as better performances in the repetition task. We discuss our results in light of current L2 learning theories and the phonetic-phonological characteristics of Japanese.
High Resolution Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) in Multiple Sclerosis: The First Follow Up Study over Two Years

Background “Non-invasive, faster and less expensive than MRI” and “the eye is a window to the brain” are recent slogans promoting optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a new surrogate marker in multiple sclerosis (MS). Indeed, OCT allows for the first time a non-invasive visualization of axons of the central nervous system (CNS). Reduction of retina nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness was suggested to correlate with disease activity and duration. However, several issues are unclear: Do a few million axons, which build up both optic nerves, really resemble billions of CNS neurons? Does global CNS damage really result in global RNFL reduction? And if so, does global RNFL reduction really exist in all MS patients, and follow a slowly but steadily ongoing pattern? How can these (hypothesized) subtle global RNFL changes be reliably measured and separated from the rather gross RNFL changes caused by optic neuritis? Before generally being accepted, this interpretation needs further critical and objective validation. Methodology We prospectively studied 37 MS patients with relapsing remitting (n = 27) and secondary progressive (n = 10) course on two occasions with a median interval of 22.4±0.5 months [range 19–27]. We used the high resolution spectral domain (SD-)OCT with the Spectralis 3.5 mm circle scan protocol with locked reference images and eye tracking mode. Patients with an attack of optic neuritis within 12 months prior to the onset of the study were excluded. Principal Findings Although the disease was highly active over the observation period in more than half of the included relapsing remitting MS patients (19 patients/32 relapses) and the initial RNFL pattern showed a broad range, from normal to markedly reduced thickness, no significant changes between baseline and follow-up examinations could be detected. Conclusions These results show that caution is required when using OCT for monitoring disease activity and global axonal injury in MS.