Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endotoxemia shifts neutrophils with TIMP-free gelatinase B/MMP-9 from bone marrow to the periphery and induces systematic upregulation of TIMP-1

Lipopolysaccharides or endotoxins elicit an excessive host inflammatory response and lead to life-threatening conditions such as endotoxemia and septic shock. Lipopolysaccharides trigger mobilization and stimulation of leukocytes and exaggerated production of pro-inflammatory molecules including cytokines and proteolytic enzymes. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) or gelatinase B, a protease stored in the tertiary granules of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, has been implicated in such inflammatory reactions. Moreover, several studies even pinpointed MMP-9 as a potential target molecule to counter excessive inflammation in endotoxemia. Whereas the early effect of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in vivo on the expression of MMP-9 in various peripheral organs has been described, the effects on the bone marrow and during late stage endotoxemia remain elusive. We demonstrate that TIMP-free MMP-9 is a major factor in bone marrow physiology and pathology. By using a mouse model for late-stage endotoxemia, we show that lipopolysaccharides elicited a depletion of neutrophil MMP-9 in the bone marrow and a shift of MMP-9 and MMP-9-containing cells towards peripheral organs, a pattern which was primarily associated with a relocation of CD11bhighGr-1high cells. In contrast, analysis of the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases was in line with a natural, systematic upregulation of TIMP-1, the main tissue inhibitor of TIMP-free MMP-9, and a general shift toward control of matrix metalloproteinase activity by tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases.
Automatic Genre Classification of MIDI Recordings

A software system that automatically classifies MIDI files into hierarchically organized taxonomies of musical genres is presented. This extensible software includes an easy to use and flexible GUI. An extensive library of high-level musical features is compiled, including many original features. A novel hybrid classification system is used that makes use of hierarchical, flat and round robin classification. Both k-nearest neighbour and neural network-based classifiers are used, and feature selection and weighting are performed using genetic algorithms. A thorough review of previous research in automatic genre classification is presented, along with an overview of automatic feature selection and classification techniques. Also included is a discussion of the theoretical issues relating to musical genre, including but not limited to what mechanisms humans use to classify music by genre and how realistic genre taxonomies can be constructed.
Hardness of Learning Halfspaces with Noise

Learning an unknown halfspace (also called a perceptron) from, labeled examples is one of the classic problems in machine learning. In the noise-free case, when a half-space consistent with all the training examples exists, the problem can be solved in polynomial time using linear programming. However, under the promise that a halfspace consistent with a fraction (1 - epsiv) of the examples exists (for some small constant epsiv > 0), it was not known how to efficiently find a halfspace that is correct on even 51% of the examples. Nor was a hardness result that ruled out getting agreement on more than 99.9% of the examples known. In this work, we close this gap in our understanding, and prove that even a tiny amount of worst-case noise makes the problem of learning halfspaces intractable in a strong sense. Specifically, for arbitrary epsiv,delta > 0, we prove that given a set of examples-label pairs from the hypercube a fraction (1 - epsiv) of which can be explained by a halfspace, it is NP-hard to find a halfspace that correctly labels a fraction (frac12 + delta) of the examples. The hardness result is tight since it is trivial to get agreement on frac12 the examples. In learning theory parlance, we prove that weak proper agnostic learning of halfspaces is hard. This settles a question that was raised by Blum et. al in their work on learning halfspaces in the presence of random classification noise (A. Blum et. al, 1996), and in some more recent works as well. Along the way, we also obtain a strong hardness for another basic computational problem: solving a linear system over the rationals
The role of meat in the expression of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by inflammation of the synovial tissues in the joints. A number of papers related to dietary components that are associated with this inflammation are reviewed. In addition, the ecological approach is used to study the links between diet and RA. Multi-country data for prevalence of RA for females from eight and fifteen countries were compared statistically with components of national dietary supply. Fat from meat and offal for the period 2 years before the prevalence data was found to have the highest statistical association with the prevalence of RA (r2 0·877, P<0·001 for eight countries). The statistical correlations for meat and offal were almost as high as those for their fat. Similar correlations were found for temporal changes in indices of effects of RA in several European countries between 1968 and 1978 as more meat was added to the national diets, although the correlations were higher for meat than for fat. It is hypothesized that meat and offal may be a major factor contributing to the inflammation in RA. In the present short review, the author examines some of the data that associate meat consumption with RA and the possible factors, e.g. fat, Fe and nitrite, which may contribute to the inflammation.
A Ka-band digitally-controlled phase shifter with sub-degree phase precision

We present a passive digital-to-phase converter with sub-degree phase precision for phased array frontends. The phase tuning approach is based on manipulating the electromagnetic properties of an artificially constructed transmission line. By simultaneously controlling dispersion, characteristic impedance, and loss across the structure, the phase shifter minimizes phase imprecisions while ensuring a flat amplitude response across different phase settings. The chip prototype is fabricated in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS process, occupies an area of 0.18mm2, and consumes no power. The insertion loss is -9.3 dB ± 0.25 dB at 28 GHz. The phase control operates with 4.75 degree steps while maintaining an RMS phase error of 0.6 degrees across multiple chips and temperatures, demonstrating the best phase and amplitude accuracy when compared to state-of-the-art integrated microwave and mm-wave phase shifters.
Experimental investigation of the impacts of virtual reality on discrete-event simulation

This paper presents the results of experimental studies that were undertaken to test the impacts of virtual reality (VR) on discrete event simulation (DES). The experiments focused on spotting errors in the DES model. The models were developed in 2D and 3D/VR displays using WITNESS. The 2D display used icons and other visualization techniques that confine its scope to essentially flat 2D surface. On the other hand, the 3D display was represented by means of a three-axis spatial position (XYZ) plots, but appeared on a two-dimensionally mappings, otherwise known as 2.5D. The experiments involved paid participants who were recruited from amongst the staff and students of Lancaster University, UK. The results showed that it is easier, and faster to spot errors in 3D/VR model than in 2D. The findings also indicated that users can easily understand the modeled operation of 3D/VR display compared to 2D, irrespective of background or technical ability.
Elevation of heart-femoral pulse wave velocity by short-term low sodium diet followed by high sodium diet in hypertensive patients with sodium sensitivity

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES We compared changes in heart-femoral pulse wave velocity (hfPWV) in response to low sodium and high sodium diet between individuals with sodium sensitivity (SS) and resistance (SR) to evaluate the influence of sodium intake on arterial stiffness. SUBJECTS/METHODS Thirty-one hypertensive and 70 normotensive individuals were given 7 days of low sodium dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH) diet (LSD, 100 mmol NaCl/day) followed by 7 days of high sodium DASH diet (HSD, 300 mmol NaCl/day) during 2 weeks of hospitalization. The hfPWV was measured and compared after the LSD and HSD. RESULTS The hfPWV was significantly elevated from LSD to HSD in individuals with SS (P = 0.001) independently of changes in mean arterial pressure (P = 0.037). Conversely, there was no significant elevation of hfPWV from LSD to HSD in individuals with SR. The percent change in hfPWV from the LSD to the HSD in individuals with SS was higher than that in individuals with SR. Subgroup analysis revealed that individuals with both SS and hypertension showed significant elevation of hfPWV from LSD to HSD upon adjusted analysis using changes of the means arterial pressure (P = 0.040). However, there was no significant elevation of hfPWV in individuals with SS and normotension. CONCLUSION High sodium intake elevated hfPWV in hypertensive individuals with SS, suggesting that high sodium intake increases aortic stiffness, and may contribute to enhanced cardiovascular risk in hypertensive individuals with SS.
Study on Extrusion Characteristics of the Tri-Screw Extruder

A novel kind of extruding machinery is proposed—a tri-screw extruder (TRISE), in which three intermeshed screws are arranged in the three corners of a triangle; three meshing regions and a center zone also comprise the special construction. The flow rate and the pressure-generating ability of the melt in the thread-zone flow field of the tri-screw extruder, especially the pumping formed by the action of taking in and sending out melt in the unique center zone, are also described. The results of simulation and experiments clearly show that the tri-screw extruder has stronger conveying capacity. The shear frequency of material in the tri-screw extruder is higher than that in the twin-screw extruder, which means that filler could be loaded to a much higher point in the TRISE than in the twin-screw. Results from the TRISE also show that energy consumption of the TRISE is lower than that of the twin-screw extruder.
Conformational Changes in Cell Surface HIV-1 Envelope Glycoproteins Are Triggered by Cooperation between Cell Surface CD4 and Co-receptors*

We have continuously measured CD4-induced conformational changes of cell surface-expressed human immunodeficiency virus type-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120-gp41 in situ using 4,4′-dianilino-1,1′-binaphthyl-5,5′-disulfonic acid, a fluorescent probe that binds to hydrophobic groups. CD4-expressing human T cell lines induced significant and rapid conformational changes (<1 min delay) in gp120-gp41 from T cell-tropic strains, and little conformational changes in gp120-gp41 from macrophage-tropic strains, with equivalent levels of envelope expression. Conversely, CD4-expressing human macrophages induced significant and rapid conformational changes in gp120-gp41 from macrophage-tropic strains, and little conformational changes in gp120-gp41 from T cell-tropic strains. Thus, the conformational changes undergone by gp120-gp41, which lead to membrane fusion, are highly cooperative and require both receptor and co-receptor. We used a dye transfer assay to show that neither membrane lipid fusion or fusion pore formation can occur with host cells having different tropism from the envelope.
Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV in Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor–Associated Angioedema

Angioedema is a potentially life-threatening adverse effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Bradykinin and substance P, substrates of angiotensin-converting enzyme, increase vascular permeability and cause tissue edema in animals. Studies indicate that amino-terminal degradation of these peptides, by aminopeptidase P and dipeptidyl peptidase IV, may be impaired in individuals with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor–associated angioedema. This case-control study tested the hypothesis that dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity and antigen are decreased in sera of patients with a history of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor–associated angioedema. Fifty subjects with a history of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor–associated angioedema and 176 angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor–exposed control subjects were ascertained. Sera were assayed for angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, aminopeptidase P activity, aminopeptidase N activity, dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity, and antigen and the ex vivo degradation half-lives of bradykinin, des-Arg9-bradykinin, and substance P in a subset. The prevalence of smoking was increased and of diabetes decreased in case versus control subjects. Overall, dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity (26.6±7.8 versus 29.6±7.3 nmol/mL per minute; P=0.026) and antigen (465.8±260.8 versus 563.1±208.6 ng/mL; P=0.017) were decreased in sera from individuals with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor–associated angioedema compared with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor–exposed control subjects without angioedema. Dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity (21.5±4.9 versus 29.8±6.7 nmol/mL per minute; P=0.001) and antigen (354.4±124.7 versus 559.8±163.2 ng/mL; P=0.003) were decreased in sera from cases collected during angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition but not in the absence of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition. The degradation half-life of substance P correlated inversely with dipeptidyl peptidase IV antigen during angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition. Environmental or genetic factors that reduce dipeptidyl peptidase IV activity may predispose individuals to angioedema.
High resolution dynamic electrostatic force microscopy technique: quantifying electrical properties at the nanoscale.

In electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), a conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip is electrically biased against a grounded sample and electrostatic forces are investigated. This methodology has been broadly used in the scientific community to characterize dielectric properties of samples at the nanoscale. Two are the main operating conditions associated with this technique. The oscillation amplitude is usually kept to very small values to allow a linearized approach to the force reconstruction and the tip-sample distance is maintained elevated. However, this latter condition negatively affects the lateral resolution of the technique. Thus, electrostatic interaction should be probed in the vicinity of the sample. Theoretically, in this region the force can be linearized using oscillation amplitudes in the order of A. This might cause the trapping of the tip on the surface (snap-in). Furthermore, at small distances, short-range forces (i.e. Van� der� Waals’)� might� reach� values� comparable� to� electrostatic� forces. � Here we present a framework that combines EFM and dynamic amplitude modulation AFM to achieve decoupled reconstruction of forces. It permits reconstructing the real shape of the electrostatic force and the capacitance of the tip-sample system even in the vicinity of the surface. This is done using a technique proposed in literature by Sader and Katan to reconstruct the force without the linearization approximation. The steps needed to decouple short-range and electrostatic forces are explained in detail. This data can be employed to derive the electrical properties of thin films with enhanced lateral resolution with respect to the commonly used EFM techniques.
IMMUNOGLOBULINS AND VIRAL ANTIBODIES IN DEPRESSIVE PATIENTS

SUMMMARY Patterns of serum and C.S. F. IgG, IgA and IgM, and haemagglutination inhibiting (HI) antibodies and complement fixing (CF) antibodies against rubella and cytomegaloviruses respectively and total CSF protein were investigated in 30 depressives, 20 each in neurological and surgical patients. Significant changes in total CSF protein and immunoglobulins in depressives and neurological patients in comparison to surgical subjects indicate an etiological similarity between the two groups. Failure to detect antibodies in C.S. F. of these subjects and statistically insignificant seropositivity refute the claim of viral hypothesis for depression but similar alterations in these body proteins in depressives and neurological patients raise other aetiological possibilities.
The Absence of Tssc6, a Member of the Tetraspanin Superfamily, Does Not Affect Lymphoid Development but Enhances In Vitro T-Cell Proliferative Responses

ABSTRACT The tetraspanins are a family of integral membrane proteins with four transmembrane domains. These molecules form multimolecular networks on the surfaces of many different cell types. Gene-targeting studies have revealed a role for tetraspanins in B- and T-lymphocyte function. We have isolated and deleted a novel tetraspanin, Tssc6, which is expressed exclusively in hematopoietic and lymphoid organs. Using a gene-trapping strategy, we generated an embryonic stem (ES) cell line with an insertion in the Tssc6 locus. Mice were derived from these ES cells and, using RNase protection and reverse transcription-PCR, we demonstrated that the insertion resulted in a null mutation of the Tssc6 allele. Mice homozygous for the gene trap insertion (Tssc6gt/gt mice) were viable and fertile, with normal steady-state hematopoiesis. Furthermore, responses to hemolysis and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-induced granulopoiesis were equivalent to those of wild-type mice. Lymphoid development was normal in Tssc6gt/gt mice. Whereas Tssc6gt/gt B cells responded normally to lipopolysaccharide, anti-CD40, and anti-immunoglobulin M stimulation, Tssc6gt/gt T cells showed enhanced responses to concanavalin A, anti-CD3, and anti-CD28. This increased proliferation by Tssc6-deleted T lymphocytes was due to increased interleukin 2 production following T-cell receptor stimulation. These results demonstrate that Tssc6 is not required for normal development of the hematopoietic system but may play a role in the negative regulation of peripheral T-lymphocyte proliferation.
Registration of multiple range views for automatic 3-D model building

Building integrated models of existing 3-D objects is a key requirement for both reverse engineering and object recognition systems. An automatic 3-D model builder goes through three main steps: i) surface sampling from many views, ii) registration of the sampled views, and iii) integration of the registered views. The accuracy obtained depends on the acquisition and registration errors. The latter is critical since a misalignment of the range views causes their noise distributions to be centered around different means, which makes it difficult to reduce the effect of the acquisition error by simple averaging. In this paper, we propose a general algorithm that reduces significantly the level of the registration errors between all pairs in a set of range views. This algorithm refines initial estimates of the transformation matrices obtained from the calibrated acquisition setup. It considers the network of views as a whole and minimizes the registration errors of all views simultaneously. This leads to a well-balanced network of views in which the registration errors are equally distributed. Experimental results show an improvement of both the calibrated registrations and integrated models. <<ETX>>
Error masking in self-testable circuits

The effects of error masking in a number of signature registers are analyzed. It is shown that a self-test can always be scheduled such that evaluating signatures only at the end of the complete test execution is sufficient. A method for computing the probability of a fault leading to at least one faulty signature in a set of self-test registers is presented. This method allows the computation of the fault coverage with respect to the complete test execution. A minimal subset of all self-test registers can be selected so that only the signatures of these self-test registers have to be evaluated and the fault coverage is almost not affected. The benefits of this approach are a smaller number of self-test registers in the scan path, a smaller number of signatures to be evaluated, a simplified test control unit, and hence a significant reduction in tie hardware required for built-in self-test structures. The proposed method is illustrated by an example and validated by simulation. <<ETX>>
Use of the noninvasive components of the mayo score to assess clinical response in Ulcerative Colitis

Background: The Mayo score and a noninvasive 9‐point partial Mayo score are used as outcome measures for clinical trials assessing therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC). There are limited data assessing what defines a clinically relevant change in these indices. We sought to assess what constitutes a clinically meaningful change in these indices using data from a recently completed placebo‐controlled clinical trial. Methods: In all, 105 patients were enrolled in a 12‐week randomized, placebo‐controlled trial assessing rosiglitazone for treatment of mild to moderate UC. We compared the change in the Mayo score, the partial Mayo score, and a 6‐point score composed just of the stool frequency and bleeding components of the Mayo score to the patient's perception of disease activity at week 0 and week 12. Optimal cutpoints were calculated as the maximal product of sensitivity and specificity. Results: Each index was strongly correlated with the patient's rating of disease activity at week 12 (Spearman correlations 0.61–0.71, P < 0.0001 for all correlations). The maximal product of sensitivity and specificity to identify patient reported improvement of disease activity was achieved using cutpoints for change of 2.5 for the Mayo score (sensitivity 88%, specificity 80%), 2.5 for the partial Mayo score (sensitivity 88%, specificity 87%), and 1.5 for the 6‐point score (sensitivity 88%, specificity 80%). Conclusions: The partial Mayo score and the 6‐point score composed solely of the stool frequency and bleeding components performed as well as the full Mayo score to identify patient perceived clinical response.
Postoperative renal function in patients is unaltered after robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy

Background Pneumoperitoneum with an intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) of 14 mmHg is known to decrease renal function. Robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) requires an IAP of more than 15 mmHg for operation. Therefore, we retrospectively investigated whether patients who underwent RARP experienced renal insufficiency during the postoperative period (at postoperative days 7 and 30). Methods One hundred patients who underwent RARP were enrolled in this study. Preoperative serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Cr) levels were measured. Creatinine clearance (CrCl) was calculated using the Cockcroft and Gault formula. CrCl was calculated at 1 day before surgery (baseline), 2 hr postoperatively, and at 1, 3, 7, and 30 days postoperatively (POD 1, POD 3, POP 7, and POD 30). Patients were assigned to abnormal CrCl (n = 52) or normal CrCl groups (n = 48) on the basis of these measurements. Results Significant inter-group differences in BUN, Cr, and CrCl were observed at all postoperative time points. BUN and Cr decreased significantly at postoperative 2 hr and POD 1, 3, and 7 versus baseline in both groups, whereas CrCl increased significantly at postoperative 2 hr and POD 1, 3, and 7 versus baseline in both groups. However, BUN, Cr, and CrCl were similar at POD 30 and preoperatively in the two groups. Conclusions RAPR, which requires an IAP of 15-20 mmHg for more than 4 hr, does not induce renal dysfunction during the postoperative period, and even in those patients with an abnormal CrCl.