Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of Specific Chondroitin Sulfate Species in Cutaneous Autoimmune Disease

Cutaneous lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis (DM) are chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin with accumulated dermal mucin. Earlier work has shown chondroitin sulfate (CS) accumulation within the dermis of discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE), and DM lesions compared with control skin. Immunohistochemistry for C4S revealed a greater density in DLE and DM lesions, whereas SCLE lesions did not differ from controls. Scleredema and scleromyxedema are attributed to increased hyaluronic acid, and lesional samples from these diseases also demonstrated accumulated dermal C4S. Interferon-γ and interleukin-1α, but not interferon-α, treatment of cultured dermal fibroblasts induced mRNA expression of CHST-11, which attaches sulfates to the 4-position of unsulfated chondroitin. These studies on possible CS core proteins revealed that serglycin, known to have C6S side chains in endothelial cells, had greater density within DM dermal endothelia but not in DLE or SCLE, following the pattern of C6S overexpression reported previously. CD44 variants expand the CS binding repertoire of the glycoprotein; CD44v7 co-localized to the distribution of C4S in DLE lesions, a finding not observed in DM, SCLE lesions, or controls. Because C4S and C6S have immunologic effects, their dysregulation in cutaneous mucinoses may contribute to the pathogenesis of these disorders.
Pbx4 is Required for the Temporal Onset of Zebrafish Myocardial Differentiation

Proper control of the temporal onset of cellular differentiation is critical for regulating cell lineage decisions and morphogenesis during development. Pbx homeodomain transcription factors have emerged as important regulators of cellular differentiation. We previously showed, by using antisense morpholino knockdown, that Pbx factors are needed for the timely activation of myocardial differentiation in zebrafish. In order to gain further insight into the roles of Pbx factors in heart development, we show here that zebrafish pbx4 mutant embryos exhibit delayed onset of myocardial differentiation, such as delayed activation of tnnt2a expression in early cardiomyocytes in the anterior lateral plate mesoderm. We also observe delayed myocardial morphogenesis and dysmorphic patterning of the ventricle and atrium, consistent with our previous Pbx knock-down studies. In addition, we find that pbx4 mutant larvae have aberrant outflow tracts and defective expression of the proepicardial marker tbx18. Finally, we present evidence for Pbx expression in cardiomyocyte precursors as well as heterogeneous Pbx expression among the pan-cytokeratin-expressing proepicardial cells near the developing ventricle. In summary, our data show that Pbx4 is required for the proper temporal activation of myocardial differentiation and establish a basis for studying additional roles of Pbx factors in heart development.
Double blind investigation of the effects of oral supplementation of combined glucosamine hydrochloride (GHCL) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) on stride characteristics of veteran horses.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY Oral chondroprotective supplements are commercially popular for veteran (and other athletic or arthritic) horses prone to joint degeneration, yet lack conclusive scientific support. OBJECTIVES To quantify the effects of an oral joint supplement (combination glucosamine hydrochloride (GHCL), chondroitin sulphate (CS) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine) in vivo on stride parameters of veteran horses. METHODS Twenty veteran horses were randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 15) or placebo group (n = 5). Pre-treatment gait characteristics were recorded at trot using digital video footage (50 Hz). The range of joint motion, stride length, and swing and stance duration were assessed using 2-dimensional motion analysis. Treatment (or placebo) was administered daily for 12 weeks at the manufacturer's recommended dosage. Gait was reassessed every 4 weeks using the pre-treatment protocol. Double blind procedure was implemented throughout. Relationships between variables were analysed using General Linear Model. RESULTS Differences occurred in the treated horses by week 8. Range of joint motion increased significantly in the elbow (P<0.05), stifle and hind fetlock (P<0.01). Stride length increased significantly (P<0.05) with treatment. Swing duration was significantly increased at week 12 (P<0.05), whilst stance duration remained constant. CONCLUSION The oral chondroprotective offered symptomatic relief to veteran horses, evidenced by improved stride characteristics. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE Oral GHCL and CS supplementation may improve welfare by alleviating symptoms of degenerative joint disease.
The energetic implications of the time discretization in implementations of the A.L.E. equations

SUMMARY A class of arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (A.L.E.) time discretizations which inherit key energetic properties (non-linear dissipation in the absence of forcing and long-term stability under conditions of time-dependent loading), irrespective of the time increment employed, is established in this work. These properties are intrinsic to real flows and the conventional Navier‐Stokes equations. A description of an incompressible, Newtonian fluid, which reconciles the differences between the various schools of A.L. E. thought in the literature, is derived for the purposes of this investigation. The issue of whether these equations automatically inherit the aforementioned energetic properties must first be resolved. In this way natural notions of non-linear, exponential-type dissipation in the absence of forcing and long-term stability under conditions of time-dependent loading are also formulated. The findings of this analysis have profound consequences for the use of certain classes of finite difference schemes in the context of deforming references. It is significant that many algorithms presently in use do not automatically inherit the fundamental qualitative features of the dynamics. The main conclusions are drawn on in the simulation of a driven cavity flow, a driven cavity flow with various, included rigid bodies, a die-swell problem and a Stokes second-order wave. The improved, second-order accuracy of a new scheme for the linearized approximation of the convective term is proved for the purposes of these simulations. A method of generating finite element meshes automatically about included rigid bodies, which is thought to be somewhat novel and involves finite element mappings, is also described. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Cerebral Glucose Utilization During Aerobic Metabolism in Fetal Sheep

Extract: The relative utilization rates of glucose and oxygen by the fetal brain were evaluated by measuring simultaneously arteriovenous differences of glucose (Δ glucose) and oxygen (Δ oxygen) across the cerebral circulation of 10 fetal sheep. The mean ± 1 SEM Δ glucose was 0.197 ± 0.012 mM, and the Δ oxygen was 1.11 ± 0.08 mM. Preductal arterial blood was obtained from the brachiocephalic artery; cerebral venous blood was obtained from the fetal sagittal sinus up to 6 days following surgery. A glucose/oxygen quotient was calculated to determine the fraction of cerebral oxygen consumption required to metabolize the glucose utilized by the brain to CO2 and H2O. This quotient was 1.06 with 95% confidence limits of 1.12 and 1.02. These data indicate that glucose can supply all the aerobic metabolic requirements of the fetal brain.Speculation: Although glucose seems to be the primary substrate of cerebral metabolism, the amount of glucose acquired by the fetal lamb via the umbilical circulation can satisfy, at most, one-half of the total fetal aerobic needs. Thus the fetal brain seems much more dependent on glucose than do other fetal organs, and may be particularly vulnerable to periods of hypoglycemia.
YPD-A database for the proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

YPD is a database for the proteins of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. YPD has two formats: (i) a spreadsheet which tabulates many of the physical and functional properties of yeast proteins, and (ii) the YPD Protein Reports which are formatted pages containing the protein properties, annotations gathered from the literature, and references with titles. YPD is available through the World-Wide Web, through an Email server, and by anonymous FTP. New releases of the YPD spreadsheet are produced every two to four months, and the on-line information is updated daily.
Cross Table Cubing: Mining Iceberg Cubes from Data Warehouses

All of the existing (iceberg) cube computation algorithms assume that the data is stored in a single base table, however, in practice, a data warehouse is often organized in a schema of multiple tables, such as star schema and snowflake schema. In terms of both computation time and space, materializing a universal base table by joining multiple tables is often very expensive or even unaffordable in real data warehouses. In this paper, we investigate the problem of computing iceberg cubes from data warehouses. Surprisingly, our study shows that computing iceberg cube from multiple tables directly can be even more efficient in both space and runtime than computing from a materialized universal base table. We develop an efficient algorithm, CTC (for Cross Table Cubing) to tackle the problem. An extensive performance study on synthetic data sets demonstrates that our new approach is efficient and scalable for large data warehouses.
Equivalence class transformation based mining of frequent itemsets from uncertain data

Numerous frequent itemset mining algorithms have been proposed over the past two decades. Most of them mine traditional databases of precise data. However, there are many real-life applications for which data are uncertain. This leads to the mining of uncertain data. In this paper, we propose an equivalence class transformation based algorithm---called UV-Eclat---which transforms probabilistic databases of uncertain data from their usual horizontal format into a vertical format, from which frequent itemsets are mined.
L-DACS1 laboratory demonstrator development and compatibility measurement set-up

In this paper, the L-DACS1 physical layer laboratory demonstrator development is described which has been recently carried out by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The main goal of the lab demonstrator is to perform first compatibility measurements between L-DACS1 and legacy L-band systems where interference from L-DACS1 towards the legacy systems as well as interference from the legacy systems onto the L-DACS1 receiver is considered. In addition to the demonstrator description, results from functional tests of the lab demonstrator as well as the measurement scenarios foreseen for compatibility testing are presented. The compatibility measurements will take place at the labs of the Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) — the German ATC provider — in fall this year.
A standardized protocol for ruler-based measurement of wing length in monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus L. (Nymphalidae, Danainae).

Standardized measurements using well-defined landmarks are the most effective means to reduce measurement error. We describe such a protocol for monarch forewings based on single measurements with a ruler to the nearest 1.0 mm. Analysis of this protocol showed that it provides excellent intra-observer repeatability, excellent to substantial inter-observer repeatability, and similar wing length estimates as those of calipers at 0.1 mm, as long as sample sizes are > 30. In addition, our study showed that males and females differ in wing length; different observers differ in their measurements and in their measurement error; and wings shrink slightly when dried. We make these recommendations for study of monarch wing lengths: 1) males and females should be analyzed separately; 2) live butterflies should be measured after cooling and dead butterflies should be measured before they are dried; 3) measurements should be restricted to the right forewing; 4) the standard protocol should be practiced and calibrated until measurements are repeatable within and among measurers; 5) the samples should be mixed among all observers when possible to mitigate relative biases; and 6) names, handedness, measurement error, and archived raw data should be reported. Widespread adoption of this protocol will increase the comparability of wing length data from various investigators. Similarly based standardization of measurement would benefit wing measurement of all Lepidoptera.
Paediatric echocardiography by telemedicine-nine years' experience

In 1987 we established a realtime echocardiography service by telemedicine from the paediatric cardiology department of a tertiary-care hospital in Halifax. The service was initially provided to a single regional hospital but was expanded to six regional hospitals in the three Canadian Maritime Provinces. The system used a dialup broadband video-transmission service provided by the telephone companies. Records of all transmissions were kept prospectively and reviewed to January 1997. A total of 324 transmissions were made. During 1995- 96 there were 135 studies: 69 51 were urgent examinations of newborn children and 30 22 were urgent examinations of older children; repeat studies and postoperative checks usually for pericardial effusion accounted for the other 36 studies 27 . The images were of broadcast quality except in five cases where problems with transmission or poor sedation occurred. A comparison of 26 transmitted studies with repeat, in person' studies showed no important discrepancies in diagnosis. During the two-year study period, the cost of the network equipment leasing costs and telecommunications costs was C 90,000. Use of the telemedicine network saved unnecessary patient transfer in 31 cases. The cost of the transportation avoided was C 100,000-C 118,000. This review confirms our preliminary findings that broadband echocardiography transmission provides a service comparable in availability and accuracy to that provided in our paediatric cardiology division.
Collaboration through superposition: How the IT artifact as an object of collaboration affords technical interdependence without organizational interdependence

This paper develops a theory of collaboration through superposition: the process of depositing separate layers on top of each other over time. The theory is developed in a study of development of community-based Free and Open Source Software (FLOSS), through a research arc of discovery (participant observation), replication (two archival case studies) and formalization (a model of developer choices). The theory explains two key findings: 1) the overwhelming majority of work is accomplished with only a single programmer working on a task and 2) when tasks appear too large for an individual they are more likely to be deferred until they are easier, rather than being undertaken through structured teamwork. It is theorized that this way of organizing is key to successful open collaboration where the IT artifact is the object of collaboration, because it allows the co-production of technically interdependent artifacts through motivationally interdependent work. The affordances of software as an object of collaboration are used as a framework to analyze efforts to learn from FLOSS in other domains of work and in the IS function of for-profit organizations. This research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants 04–14468, 05-27457 and 07–08437. Howison and Crowston Collaboration through superposition Working Paper—Not for citation 1 COLLABORATION THROUGH SUPERPOSITION: HOW THE IT ARTIFACT AS AN OBJECT OF COLLABORATION AFFORDS TECHNICAL INTERDEPENDENCE WITHOUT ORGANIZATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCE James Howison Kevin Crowston Carnegie Mellon University Syracuse University jhowison@cs.cmu. edu crowston@syr.edu
Cardiac Metabolic Alterations in Hypertensive Obese Pigs

Obesity and hypertension are major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and their growing coexistence accounts for an increase in adverse cardiac events, but the mechanisms are yet to be determined. We hypothesized that obesity exacerbates mitochondrial dysregulation imposed by hypertension and augments left ventricular dysfunction. Obesity-prone Ossabaw pigs were randomized to lean (standard diet) and obese (high-fat diet), without (Lean-sham and Obese-sham) or with renovascular hypertension (Lean-hypertension and Obese-hypertension), induced after 12 weeks of diet (n=7 each). Cardiac function, myocardial perfusion and oxygenation, and microvascular remodeling were assessed 4 weeks later. Mitochondrial biogenesis signals and structural proteins, respiratory chain complex activities, and mitochondrial self-degradation were examined, as was fibrosis. Obesity alone exerted no apparent effect on mitochondrial dynamics, but aggravated in hypertensive hearts the reduction of mitochondrial proteins, deoxyribonucleic acid content, and respiratory chain complex IV subunits activity, and amplified mitochondrial self-degradation. Synergistic interaction of obesity with hypertension also exacerbated myocardial fibrosis and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Mitochondrial content, respiratory chain complex IV subunits activity, and mitophagy were correlated with myocardial fibrosis. These findings suggest that obesity aggravates in renovascular hypertension cardiac mitochondrial aberrations. Mitochondrial function may regulate the progression of cardiac injury and functional deterioration in hypertension concomitant with obesity.
From Statistics to Meaning

Infants are highly sensitive to statistical patterns in their auditory language input that mark word categories (e.g., noun and verb). However, it is unknown whether experience with these cues facilitates the acquisition of semantic properties of word categories. In a study testing this hypothesis, infants first listened to an artificial language in which word categories were reliably distinguished by statistical cues (experimental group) or in which these properties did not cue category membership (control group). Both groups were then trained on identical pairings between the words and pictures from two categories (animals and vehicles). Only infants in the experimental group learned the trained associations between specific words and pictures. Moreover, these infants generalized the pattern to include novel pairings. These results suggest that experience with statistical cues marking lexical categories sets the stage for learning the meanings of individual words and for generalizing meanings to new category members.
Dynamics and stability of polymorphic human telomeric G-quadruplex under tension

As critical DNA structures capping the human chromosome ends, the stability and structural polymorphism of human telomeric G-quadruplex (G4) have drawn increasing attention in recent years. This work characterizes the equilibrium transitions of single-molecule telomeric G4 at physiological K+ concentration. We report three folded states of telomeric G4 with markedly different lifetime and mechanical stability. Our results show that the kinetically favored folding pathway is through a short-lived intermediate state to a longer-lived state. By examining the force dependence of transition rates, the force-dependent transition free energy landscape for this pathway is determined. In addition, an ultra-long-lived form of telomeric G4 structure with a much stronger mechanical stability is identified.
Reciprocal altered expression of T‐cadherin and P‐cadherin in psoriasis vulgaris

Summary Background The most characteristic change in psoriasis vulgaris is markedly increased, persistent keratinocyte proliferation. The underlying mechanism of excessive epidermal growth is controversial. We previously found and reported that T‐cadherin was expressed in keratinocytes and confined to the basal layer of mouse and human skin. Invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma showed a loss of T‐cadherin expression. Another study showed that T‐cadherin was a negative growth regulator of epidermal growth factor in T‐cadherin transfectant neuroblastoma cells.
Regional cardiac motion and strain estimation in three-dimensional echocardiography: a validation study in thick-walled univentricular phantoms

Automatic quantification of regional left ventricular deformation in volumetric ultrasound data remains challenging. Many methods have been proposed to extract myocardial motion, including techniques using block matching, phase-based correlation, differential optical flow methods, and image registration. Our lab previously presented an approach based on elastic registration of subsequent volumes using a B-spline representation of the underlying transformation field. Encouraging results were obtained for the assessment of global left ventricular function, but a thorough validation on a regional level was still lacking. For this purpose, univentricular thick-walled cardiac phantoms were deformed in an experimental setup to locally assess strain accuracy against sonomicrometry as a reference method and to assess whether regions containing stiff inclusions could be detected. Our method showed good correlations against sonomicrometry: r2 was 0.96, 0.92, and 0.84 for the radial (εRR), longitudinal (εLL), and circumferential (εCC) strain, respectively. Absolute strain errors and strain drift were low for εLL (absolute mean error: 2.42%, drift: -1.05%) and εCC (error: 1.79%, drift: -1.33%) and slightly higher for εRR (error: 3.37%, drift: 3.05%). The discriminative power of our methodology was adequate to resolve full transmural inclusions down to 17 mm in diameter, although the inclusion-to-surrounding tissue stiffness ratio was required to be at least 5:2 (absolute difference of 39.42 kPa). When the inclusion-to-surrounding tissue stiffness ratio was lowered to approximately 2:1 (absolute difference of 22.63 kPa), only larger inclusions down to 27 mm in diameter could still be identified. Radial strain was found not to be reliable in identifying dysfunctional regions.
Plasma antioxidant status in septic critically ill patients: a decrease over time

Severe septic states in humans are responsible for intense intravascular oxidative stress, which induces numerous adaptive mechanisms. We determined time sequence changes in total plasma antioxidant capacity (TAC) and major plasma antioxidant concentrations, which have not been fully explained in septic conditions. A cohort of 56 consecutive septic patients (septic shock n = 37, severe sepsis n = 19) and six healthy volunteers. We compared TAC and antioxidant levels in patients with one of two degrees of septic states, at the onset of illness, to those of healthy volunteers. Thereafter, over a 10‐day follow‐up, we observed daily the time sequence changes of the two septic populations in terms of TAC and antioxidants. At the onset, there was no difference between the three groups in terms of TAC values (healthy subjects 2.18 ± 0.04; severe sepsis 2.03 ± 0.07; septic shock 2.09 ± 0.09), then an equivalent time decline was observed in the two septic populations whatever the severity. TAC was statistically linked to uric acid, proteins in particular albumin and bilirubin (multivariate analysis), but no correlation was found with any vitamin (A, C and E). A sharp and persistent decrease in vitamin C concentrations was underlined. TAC, unaffected at first, deteriorated over time whatever the severity of the infection in these critically ill patients. TAC, unable to distinguish severe sepsis and septic shock, is unlikely to be a particularly useful outcome measure.