Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structure-Function-Immunogenicity Studies of PfEMP1 Domain DBL2βPF11_0521, a Malaria Parasite Ligand for ICAM-1

Plasmodium falciparum virulence has been ascribed to its ability to sequester in deep vascular beds, mediated by the variant surface antigen family PfEMP1 binding endothelial receptors like ICAM-1. We previously observed that naturally-acquired antibodies that block a PfEMP1 domain, DBL2β of PF11_0521 allele, from binding to the human ICAM1 receptor, reduce the risk of malaria hospitalization in children. Here, we find that DBL2βPF11_0521 binds ICAM-1 in the low nM range and relate the structure of this domain with its function and immunogenicity. We demonstrate that the interaction with ICAM-1 is not impaired by point mutations in the N-terminal subdomain or in the flexible Loop 4 of DBL2βPF11_0521, although both substructures were previously implicated in binding ICAM-1. These data will help to refine the existing model of DBLβ::ICAM-1 interactions. Antibodies raised against full-length DBL2βPF11_0521, but not truncated forms lacking the N terminal fragment, block its interaction with ICAM-1. Our data suggest that full length domain is optimal for displaying functional epitopes and has a broad surface of interaction with ICAM-1 that is not disrupted by individual amino acid substitutions at putative key residues. This information might be important for the future design of anti-malarial vaccines based on PfEMP1 antigens.
Perfectionism in Gifted High-School Students: Responses to Academic Challenge

Through a qualitative interview design, this study investigated how participation in a rigorous academic environment may influence gifted students who demonstrate high levels of perfectionism. The study also examined how their responses to a rigorous academic and residential environment may differ according to the type of perfectionism. Findings indicated that some socially prescribed perfectionists reported an increase in perfectionism, whereas some self-oriented perfectionists reported an increase followed by a decrease in their perfectionism. Overall, the majority of the participants, regardless of their type of perfectionism, indicated a decrease in their perfectionism as a result of their new academic environment. Reactions to experiencing imperfections ranged from calm to guilt or even anger, depending on the type of perfectionism. Implications for working with gifted students who show high levels of perfectionism are discussed.
Gait Recognition Using Wearable Motion Recording Sensors

This paper presents an alternative approach, where gait is collected by the sensors attached to the person's body. Such wearable sensors record motion (e.g. acceleration) of the body parts during walking. The recorded motion signals are then investigated for person recognition purposes. We analyzed acceleration signals from the foot, hip, pocket and arm. Applying various methods, the best EER obtained for foot-, pocket-, arm- and hip- based user authentication were 5%, 7%, 10% and 13%, respectively. Furthermore, we present the results of our analysis on security assessment of gait. Studying gait-based user authentication (in case of hip motion) under three attack scenarios, we revealed that a minimal effort mimicking does not help to improve the acceptance chances of impostors. However, impostors who know their closest person in the database or the genders of the users can be a threat to gait-based authentication. We also provide some new insights toward the uniqueness of gait in case of foot motion. In particular, we revealed the following: a sideway motion of the foot provides the most discrimination, compared to an up-down or forward-backward directions; and different segments of the gait cycle provide different level of discrimination.
Extrinsic Motivations: Relevance and Significance for Exercise Adherence

Self-determination theory has demonstrated the importance of intrinsic motivation for exercise adherence, however, extrinsic motivations have received less research attention, and research has demonstrated that many people are extrinsically motivated for exercise. With a focus on extrinsic motivations, this study compared participant ratings of a series of common psychological, physical, health and social exercise motivations and examined how the motivations (including extrinsic and intrinsic) were associated with exercise adherence. Participants (812 college students) completed an online survey detailing their exercise patterns and motivations. Total exercise scores were calculated by assigning MET values to exercise bouts using the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and the Borg measure. The Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 dimensions were used to measure exercise motivations. The top rated motivations were strength and endurance, positive health, appearance, and weight management. Linear regression analysis revealed weight management, stress management, enjoyment, and competition as predictors of exercise for the sample group. With the exception of weight management, the motivations that predicted exercise adherence were not within the most important motivations for the participant sample. Enjoyment, which by definition is an intrinsic motivation, was predictive of exercise adherence, but rated lower than other health, psychological and physical motivations. Appearance was identified as a highly rated, yet negative predictor of exercise for female participants. Participants demonstrated strong extrinsic motivations for exercise. Further research is needed to determine how those prominent extrinsic motivations can be developed into more self-determined reasons for exercise.
Effect of radiation therapy on survival in surgically resected retroperitoneal sarcoma: a propensity score-adjusted SEER analysis.

BACKGROUND Currently no prospective randomized trial has measured the efficacy of radiation therapy for resected retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS). Our objective was to determine the effect of radiation therapy on disease-specific and overall survival between propensity score-matched surgically resected RPS patients using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study population consisted of patients with histologically confirmed RPS who underwent surgical resection between 1988 and 2006. Exclusion criteria included multiple malignancies, distant metastasis, and unknown grade or stage. Cox modeling was used to determine covariate associations with disease-specific survival. Propensity score methods were used to perform survival analysis in patients who received radiation matched with patients who underwent surgery alone. RESULTS Prior to matching, there were 762 patients (558 surgery only, 204 surgery with radiation). Factors independently associated with radiation therapy were age (P = 0.037), geographic region (P = 0.041), grade (P = 0.047), stage (P = 0.003), and surgery type (P = 0.01). Cox modeling demonstrated that age, sex, grade, and stage were independently associated with survival. Propensity scoring (309 matched pairs) and survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier methods demonstrated no difference between propensity score-matched patients receiving radiation therapy and those who did not (P = 0.35). CONCLUSION At present, SEER patients with surgically resected RPS who received radiation therapy did not demonstrate survival benefit.
Characteristics of Hypokinetic Dysarthria Patients' Speech based on Sustained Vowel Phonation and Connected Speech

This study investigated the characteristics of Parkinson's disease patients' speech through difference of measured cepstral values of speech assignment (sustained vowel phonation, connected speech) between normal adults and patient's with Parkinson's disease in Korea. Subjects of the study were 17 males with Parkinson's disease and control group was 28 healthy male adults without cranial nerve damage or disorder. Speech was collected in sustained vowel phonation and connected speech respectively. The cepstral analysis was used to Analysis of Dysphonia in Speech and Voice (ADSV) Model 5109 of KayPENTAX Corp. Difference of measured value between the groups was confirmed with independent t-test. As the result of independent t-test, there was significant difference in CPP, L/H ratio and CSID of sustained vowel phonation between groups. In contrast, in connected speech, all the measured values have no significant difference between the two groups except CPP. Parkinson's disease patients had difference in speech characteristics depending on speech assignment (sustained vowel phonation, connected speech). Based on the results of this study, analysis on connected speech other than sustained vowel phonation is essentially required in order to precisely identify the speech characteristics Parkinson's disease patients.
Phase II and pharmacokinetic study of aziridinylbenzoquinone [2,5-diaziridinyl-3,6-bis(carboethoxyamino)-1,4-benzoquinone, diaziquone, NSC 182986] in high-grade gliomas.

2,5-Diaziridinyl-3,6-bis(carboethoxyamino)-1,4-benzoquinone (AZQ; Diaziquone, NSC 182986) is a rationally designed antitumor drug possessing sufficient lipid solubility to allow penetration into the central nervous system. Thirty-one patients with high-grade glioma and progressive disease following radiation, with or without previous chemotherapy, have been treated with 144 cycles of drug, consisting of 20 mg/sq m given as an i.v. infusion on Days 1 and 8 of a 28-day cycle. Responses were measured by serial computer tomography scanning. Of the 28 evaluable patients, 6 (21%) had limited improvement (10 to 40% reduction in tumor size) on computer tomography scan, 10 (36%) had disease stabilization, and 12 (43%) had progressive disease. The drug was well tolerated clinically, with little acute toxicity. The major toxicity was myelosuppression, which appeared cumulative, using this dose regimen. AZQ was measurable in both tumor tissue and tumor cyst fluid in patients on therapy. Plasma samples taken during the period of infusion confirm that 50% or more of the total AZQ exposure occurs during the infusion period. AZQ behaves as intended by design and demonstrates activity in this poor-prognosis group of patients.
Force‐Directed Edge Bundling for Graph Visualization

Graphs depicted as node‐link diagrams are widely used to show relationships between entities. However, node‐link diagrams comprised of a large number of nodes and edges often suffer from visual clutter. The use of edge bundling remedies this and reveals high‐level edge patterns. Previous methods require the graph to contain a hierarchy for this, or they construct a control mesh to guide the edge bundling process, which often results in bundles that show considerable variation in curvature along the overall bundle direction. We present a new edge bundling method that uses a self‐organizing approach to bundling in which edges are modeled as flexible springs that can attract each other. In contrast to previous methods, no hierarchy is used and no control mesh. The resulting bundled graphs show significant clutter reduction and clearly visible high‐level edge patterns. Curvature variation is furthermore minimized, resulting in smooth bundles that are easy to follow. Finally, we present a rendering technique that can be used to emphasize the bundling.
The Timing of Asset Sales: Evidence of Earnings Management?

This paper presents empirical evidence from a sample of publicly traded Singaporean firms on the question: to what extent do firms manage earnings through the timing of asset sales? Previous studies have focused on accounting motives behind asset sales, ignoring the need to also consider economic motives. Some empirical evidence is provided to support the hypothesis that managers of firms with decreasing net earnings-per-share smooth earnings upwards using asset sales. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.
Detection of roads in aerial images by using edge information

In this manuscript, a system which automatically detects roads in the aerial image is proposed. The proposed method detects parallel lines in the image and calculates their centers as road centers. By examining color, width, and size-to-length ratio of detected road centers, the proposed method corrects some mislabeled objects. Besides that, the proposed method further extends road centers to make possible links between them so that broken roads can be reconnected. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detect most of the roads in the aerial image.
On the Oscillations of the Tensor Spin Structure Function

The smallness of the deuteron tensor spin structure function is the necessary condition to extract neutron $g_1$ function neglecting the nuclear effects. The oscillating behavior of the quark tensor spin structure function leading to the zero first moment is shown to be the straightforward consequence of the factorization property and Lorentz covariance. For the singlet contribution the momentum conservation leads to the zero second moment also. The deviations from zero directly measure the gluon contribution.
Evaluating the Impact of Oxygen Concentration and Plating Density on Human Wharton's Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Isolates of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) contain a mixed cell population of stem cells, multipotent and unipotent progenitors, and differentiated cells. It is speculated that the useful subpopulation for tissue engineering and cell therapy will be the multipotent progenitor cells or the stem cells. The colony forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) assay is an in vitro assay for clonogenicity, which is one property of the stem/progenitor cell population of MSCs. Our goal was to generate standard protocols that would permit the expansion and maintenance of CFU-F. Previous work reported that low plating density and/or exposure to 5% oxygen vs. 21% oxygen increased proliferation rate and enhanced expansion of MSCs. Here, we characterized the effect of both plating density and oxygen concentration on MSCs derived from Wharton's jelly (WJCs). We found that reducing oxygen concentration from 21% (room air) to 5% during expansion increased cell yield and maintained CFU-F, without affecting the expression of surface markers or the differentiation capacity of WJCs. In addition, reducing plating density from 100 cells/cm 2 to 10 cells/cm 2 increased CFU-F frequency. Therefore, plating density and oxygen concentration are two important variables that affect the expansion rate and frequency of CFU-F of WJCs. These results suggest that these two variables might be used to produce different input populations for tissue engineering or cellular therapy.
Soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen-G5 Activates Extracellular Signal-Regulated Protein Kinase Signaling and Stimulates Trophoblast Invasion

Soluble human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) is a non-classical class Ib HLA molecule that is secreted from blastocysts. Soluble HLA-G modulates the immune tolerance of the mother and can be used as a prognostic factor for the clinical pregnancy rate. However, the underlying mechanism of how soluble HLA-G5 affects pregnancy remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that soluble HLA-G5 promotes successful implantation and pregnancy by modulating trophoblast invasion through receptor binding and activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Recombinant HLA-G5 protein over-expressed in E. coli BL21 was purified to near homogeneity. We studied the expression of HLA-G5 and its receptors, the leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor subfamily B1 (LILRB1) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 2DL4 (KIR2DL4), in primary trophoblasts and trophoblastic (JAr and JEG-3) cell lines by florescence-labeled HLA-G5. HLA-G5 was detected in the primary trophoblasts and JEG-3 cells. The LILRB1 and KIR2DL4 receptors were expressed in both primary trophoblasts and trophoblastic cell lines. HLA-G5 stimulated cell invasion (p<0.05) and increased urokinase (uPA) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) transcripts and their activity (p<0.05) in trophoblastic cells. HLA-G5 activated the ERK signaling pathway and induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the trophoblastic cell lines. Addition of ERK inhibitors (U0126 and PD98059) nullified the stimulatory effect of HLA-G5 on trophoblastic cell invasion. Taken together, HLA-G5 induced trophoblast invasion by binding to KIR2DL4 and LILRB1, by increasing uPA and MMPs expressions and by activating the ERK signaling pathway.
Mitochondrial respiratory chain and creatine kinase activities in mdx mouse brain

In this study we investigated energy metabolism in the mdx mouse brain.To this end, prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, striatum, and cortex were analyzed. There was a decrease in Complex I but not in Complex II activity in all structures. There was an increase in Complex III activity in striatum and a decrease in Complex IV activity in prefrontal cortex and striatum. Mitochondrial creatine kinase activity was increased in hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, cortex, and striatum. Our results indicate that there is energy metabolism dysfunction in the mdx mouse brain. Muscle Nerve, 2010
What do patients with scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDD) have? New evidence and continuing controversies

The term SWEDD (scans without evidence for dopaminergic deficit) refers to the absence, rather than the presence, of an imaging abnormality in patients clinically presumed to have Parkinson's disease (PD). However, such a term has since been widely used in the medical literature, even as a diagnostic label. While many authors have suggested that different disorders of PD lookalikes may account for a proportion of SWEDD cases, others have claimed that some of them may have a benign subtype of PD. Thus, there has been ensuing controversy and confusion and the use of this term continues without clarity of what it represents. We have systematically reviewed all the studies involving patients with SWEDD with the aim of shedding light on what these patients actually have. It becomes clear from this systematic review that while most ‘SWEDD’ cases are due to a clinical misdiagnosis of PD, there exists a small proportion of patients with SWEDD who may have PD on the basis of a positive levodopa response, clinical progression, imaging and/or genetic evidence. The latter challenge the seemingly incontrovertible relationship between dopaminergic tracer binding and the diagnosis of nigrostriatal parkinsonism, particularly PD. Patients with SWEDD are unlikely to reflect a single clinical entity and we suggest that the term SWEDD should be abandoned.
Space diffusion: an improved parallel halftoning technique using space-filling curves

Dotdiffusionhasbeenproposedasawayofcombiningthestrengthsoforderedditheringanderrordiffusiontocreateaparallelizable halftoning technique. However, dot diffusion pays a price in image quality in order to achieve parallelizability. Space-ﬁlling curves have been used to improve error diffusion. We show that by combining dot diffusion with a space-ﬁlling curve traversal technique, a parallelizable halftoning techniqueresults that doesnot pay a cost in image quality. This new technique we call space diffusion .
Muscle Biopsy Findings in Combination With Myositis‐Specific Autoantibodies Aid Prediction of Outcomes in Juvenile Dermatomyositis

Juvenile dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare and severe autoimmune condition characterized by rash and proximal muscle weakness. While some patients respond to standard treatment, others do not. This study was carried out to investigate whether histopathologic findings and myositis‐specific autoantibodies (MSAs) have prognostic significance in juvenile DM.
Harmonic deformations of hyperbolic 3-manifolds

This paper gives an exposition of the authors' harmonic deformation theory for 3-dimensional hyperbolic cone-manifolds. We discuss topological applications to hyperbolic Dehn surgery as well as recent applications to Kleinian group theory. A central idea is that local rigidity results (for deformations fixing cone angles) can be turned into effective control on the deformations that do exist. This leads to precise analytic and geometric versions of the idea that hyperbolic structures with short geodesics are close to hyperbolic structures with cusps. The paper also outlines a new harmonic deformation theory which applies whenever there is a sufficiently large embedded tube around the singular locus, removing the previous restriction to cone angles at most 2pi.
Amphetamine Distorts Stimulation-Dependent Dopamine Overflow: Effects on D2 Autoreceptors, Transporters, and Synaptic Vesicle Stores

Amphetamine (AMPH) is known to raise extracellular dopamine (DA) levels by inducing stimulation-independent DA efflux via reverse transport through the DA transporter and by inhibiting DA re-uptake. In contrast, recent studies indicate that AMPH decreases stimulation-dependent vesicular DA release. One candidate mechanism for this effect is the AMPH-mediated redistribution of DA from vesicles to the cytosol. In addition, the inhibition of stimulation-dependent release may occur because of D2 autoreceptor activation by DA that is released via reverse transport. We used the D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride and mice lacking the D2 receptor to address this issue. To evaluate carefully AMPH effects on release and uptake, we recorded stimulated DA overflow in striatal slices by using continuous amperometry and cyclic voltammetry. Recordings were fit by a random walk simulation of DA diffusion, including uptake with Michaelis–Menten kinetics, that provided estimates of DA concentration and uptake parameters. AMPH (10 μm) promoted the overflow of synaptically released DA by decreasing the apparent affinity for DA uptake (Km increase from 0.8 to 32 μm). The amount of DA released per pulse, however, was decreased by 82%. This release inhibition was prevented partly by superfusion with sulpiride (47% inhibition) and was reduced in D2 mutant mice (23% inhibition). When D2 autoreceptor activation was minimal, the combined effects of AMPH on DA release and uptake resulted in an enhanced overflow of exocytically released DA. Such enhancement of stimulation-dependent DA overflow may occur under conditions of low D2 receptor activity or expression, for example as a result of AMPH sensitization.
Université de Montréal-Thèse numérique

iv Table des matières. v Liste des tableaux . vii Liste des figures . ix Symboles et abréviations . xiii 1Introduction . 1 1.1 Industrie pétrolière . 1 1.1.1 Exploitation des sables bitumineux.1 1.1.2 Problèmes environnementaux.4 1.1.3Traitement des résidus miniers.6 1.2 Phénomène de floculation . 8 1.2.1 Mécanismes de floculation.8 1.2.2 Polymères utilisés comme floculants.12 1.3 Projet de recherche . 15 1.3. 1 Stratégies. 15 1.3. 2 Objectifs . 16 2 Partie expérimentale . 18 2.1 Matériel . 18 2.2 Synthèses des polymères et copolymères . 18 2.3 Caractérisation des polymères . 32 2.4 Efficacité de floculation . 36 2.5 Déshydratation de résidus miniers . 38 2.6 Caractérisation des systèmes de suspensions colloïdales . 40 2.6. 1 Échantillons miniers des sables bitumineux . 40 2.6. 2 Système modèle . 45