Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vivo Identification of Regulators of Cell Invasion Across Basement Membranes

A Caenorhabditis elegans screen provides insight into cell invasion and metastasis. Crossing the Basement Membrane The basement membrane is a fibrous, sheet-like layer of the extracellular matrix located underneath epithelial or endothelial cell layers. Cell invasion through basement membranes is required during development and also during metastasis, when tumor cells leave their tissue of origin and enter lymphatic or blood vessels to migrate to secondary sites. During development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a specialized gonadal cell known as the anchor cell invades the gonadal and ventral epidermal basement membranes to initiate the formation of the female reproductive tract. Matus et al. identified and characterized genes encoding factors that promoted the ability of the anchor cell to invade basement membranes in C. elegans, most of which had not been previously implicated in cell invasion. Two of these genes, cct-5 (encoding a member of a chaperonin complex) and lit-1 (encoding a NEMO-like kinase), have human orthologs that, when knocked down in breast or colon carcinoma cells, prevented basement membrane invasion in an ex vivo system. Thus, the pro-invasive genes identified in this nematode screen could be therapeutically targeted in the treatment of metastatic cancer. Cell invasion through basement membranes during development, immune surveillance, and metastasis remains poorly understood. To gain further insight into this key cellular behavior, we performed an in vivo screen for regulators of cell invasion through basement membranes, using the simple model of Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell invasion, and identified 99 genes that promote invasion, including the genes encoding the chaperonin complex cct. Notably, most of these genes have not been previously implicated in invasive cell behavior. We characterized members of the cct complex and 11 other gene products, determining the distinct aspects of the invasive cascade that they regulate, including formation of a specialized invasive cell membrane and its ability to breach the basement membrane. RNA interference–mediated knockdown of the human orthologs of cct-5 and lit-1, which had not previously been implicated in cell invasion, reduced the invasiveness of metastatic carcinoma cells, suggesting that a conserved genetic program underlies cell invasion. These results increase our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of cell invasion and also provide new potential therapeutic targets to limit this behavior.
Inflammatory Markers and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Obese Children: The NANOS Study

Introduction. Obesity and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) are common coexisting conditions associated with a chronic low-grade inflammatory state underlying some of the cognitive, metabolic, and cardiovascular morbidities. Aim. To examine the levels of inflammatory markers in obese community-dwelling children with OSA, as compared to no-OSA, and their association with clinical and polysomnographic (PSG) variables. Methods. In this cross-sectional, prospective multicenter study, healthy obese Spanish children (ages 4–15 years) were randomly selected and underwent nocturnal PSG followed by a morning fasting blood draw. Plasma samples were assayed for multiple inflammatory markers. Results. 204 children were enrolled in the study; 75 had OSA, defined by an obstructive respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of 3 events/hour total sleep time (TST). BMI, gender, and age were similar in OSA and no-OSA children. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels were significantly higher in OSA children, with interleukin-6 concentrations being higher in moderate-severe OSA (i.e., AHI > 5/hrTST; P < 0.01), while MCP-1 levels were associated with more prolonged nocturnal hypercapnia (P < 0.001). Conclusion. IL-6, MCP-1, and PAI-1 are altered in the context of OSA among community-based obese children further reinforcing the proinflammatory effects of sleep disorders such as OSA. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01322763.
Modelling activity global temporal dependencies using Time Delayed Probabilistic Graphical Model

We present a novel approach for detecting global behaviour anomalies in multiple disjoint cameras by learning time delayed dependencies between activities cross camera views. Specifically, we propose to model multi-camera activities using a Time Delayed Probabilistic Graphical Model (TD-PGM) with different nodes representing activities in different semantically decomposed regions from different camera views, and the directed links between nodes encoding causal relationships between the activities. A novel two-stage structure learning algorithm is formulated to learn globally optimised time-delayed dependencies. A new cumulative abnormality score is also introduced to replace the conventional log-likelihood score for gaining significantly more robust and reliable real-time anomaly detection. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated using a camera network installed at a busy underground station.
ON THE DOUBLE NATURED SOLUTIONS OF THE TWO-TEMPERATURE EXTERNAL SOFT PHOTON COMPTONIZED ACCRETION DISKS

We have analyzed pair production in the innermost region of a two-temperature external soft photon Comptonized accretion disk. We have shown that, if the viscosity parameter is greater than a critical value αc, the solution to the disk equation is double valued: one, advection dominated, and the other, radiation dominated. When α ⩽ αc, the accretion rate has to satisfy in order to have two steady-state solutions. It is shown that these critical parameters are functions of r, α, and θe, and αc is a function of r and θe. Depending on the combination of the parameters, the advection-dominated solution may not be physically consistent. It is also shown that the electronic temperature is maximum at the onset of the thermal instability, from which results this inner region. These solutions are stable against perturbations in the electron temperature and in the density of pairs.
Factors affecting bleeding during percutaneous nephrolithotomy: single surgeon experience.

PURPOSE To investigate variables that affect bleeding during percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), focusing on the experience of a single surgeon. PATIENTS AND METHODS The records of 649 PCNL procedures that were performed by the same surgeon were reviewed retrospectively. The effect of surgical experience; patient and stone-related factors, including age, sex, hypertension, and diabetes, serum creatinine level, history of ipsilateral renal procedures, stone surface area and type, degree of hydronephrosis, preoperative hemoglobin level; operative factors, such as the calix of puncture, number of accesses, operative time; and intraoperative complications, such as pelvicaliceal system perforation on bleeding (described as decrease in hemoglobin level and need for blood transfusion), were investigated. For statistical assessment, univariate analyses and multivariate stepwise regression analyses were used. RESULTS A 92.3% success rate was achieved after one session PCNL. The overall blood transfusion rate was 10.8%. The number of accesses, stone type, diabetes, preoperative hemoglobin level, and operative time were the most important factors for blood transfusion requirement. In the receiver operating characteristic curve, the best cutoff point of operative time was 58 minutes for the blood transfusion requirement. Multivariate stepwise regression analyses showed that there was an association between diabetes, operative time, number of accesses, and stone type with the decrease in hemoglobin levels. No correlation between surgical experience and decrease in hemoglobin level as well as blood transfusion necessity was found. CONCLUSIONS Depending on the results achieved by a single surgeon, multiple access tracts, staghorn calculi, presence of diabetes, and prolonged operative time, but not surgical experience, significantly increased blood loss during PCNL.
Exactly Conservative Integrators

Traditional explicit numerical discretizations of conservative systems generically predict artificial secular drifts of any nonlinear invariants. In this work we present a general approach for developing explicit nontraditional algorithms that conserve such invariants exactly. We illustrate the method by applying it to the three-wave truncation of the Euler equations, the Lotka--Volterra predator-prey model, and the Kepler problem. The ideas are discussed in the context of symplectic (phase--space-conserving) integration methods as well as nonsymplectic conservative methods. We comment on the application of our method to general conservative systems.
Critical symplectic connections on surfaces

The space of symplectic connections on a symplectic manifold is a symplectic affine space. M. Cahen and S. Gutt showed that the action of the group of Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms on this space is Hamiltonian and calculated the moment map. This is analogous to, but distinct from, the action of Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms on the space of compatible almost complex structures that motivates study of extremal Kahler metrics. In particular, moment constant connections are critical, where a symplectic connection is \textit{critical} if it is critical, with respect to arbitrary variations, for the $L^{2}$-norm of the Cahen-Gutt moment map. This occurs if and only if the Hamiltonian vector field generated by its moment map image is an infinitesimal automorphism of the symplectic connection. This paper develops the study of moment constant and critical symplectic connections, following, to the extent possible, the analogy with the similar, but different, setting of constant scalar curvature and extremal Kahler metrics. It focuses on the special context of critical symplectic connections on surfaces, for which general structural results are obtained, although some results about the higher-dimensional case are included as well. For surfaces, projectively flat and preferred symplectic connections are critical, and the relations between these and other related conditions are examined in detail. The relation between the Cahen-Gutt moment map and the Goldman moment map for projective structures is explained.
Meditation effects on cognitive function and cerebral blood flow in subjects with memory loss: a preliminary study

Meditation has long been defined as a potential technique for improving memory and lowering levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. Until now, there have been a few treatment options for patients with early cognitive impairment. Several medications and vaccine trials are underway. In one of the studies conducted Lutz and their team showed that expert meditators were able to induce changes in their brain activity during meditation with the help of electroencephalography. doi : 10.5214/ans.0972. 7531.12190207
Nanocrystalline Silicon Carrier Collectors for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells and Impact on Low-Temperature Device Characteristics

Silicon heterojunction solar cells typically use stacks of hydrogenated intrinsic/doped amorphous silicon layers as carrier selective contacts. However, the use of these layers may cause parasitic optical absorption losses and moderate fill factor (FF) values due to a high contact resistivity. In this study, we show that the replacement of doped amorphous silicon with nanocrystalline silicon is beneficial for device performance. Optically, we observe an improved short-circuit current density when these layers are applied to the front side of the device. Electrically, we observe a lower contact resistivity, as well as higher FF. Importantly, our cell parameter analysis, performed in a temperature range from -100 to +80 °C, reveals that the use of hole-collecting p-type nanocrystalline layer suppresses the carrier transport barrier, maintaining FF s in the range of 70% at -100 °C, whereas it drops to 40% for standard amorphous doped layers. The same analysis also reveals a saturation onset of the open-circuit voltage at -100 °C using doped nanocrystalline layers, compared with saturation onset at -60 °C for doped amorphous layers. These findings hint at a reduced importance of the parasitic Schottky barrier at the interface between the transparent electrodes and the selective contact in the case of nanocrystalline layer implementation.
Caveolins: targeting pro-survival signaling in the heart and brain

The present review discusses intracellular signaling moieties specific to membrane lipid rafts (MLRs) and the scaffolding proteins caveolin and introduces current data promoting their potential role in the treatment of pathologies of the heart and brain. MLRs are discreet microdomains of the plasma membrane enriched in gylcosphingolipids and cholesterol that concentrate and localize signaling molecules. Caveolin proteins are necessary for the formation of MLRs, and are responsible for coordinating signaling events by scaffolding and enriching numerous signaling moieties in close proximity. Specifically in the heart and brain, caveolins are necessary for the cytoprotective phenomenon termed ischemic and anesthetic preconditioning. Targeted overexpression of caveolin in the heart and brain leads to induction of multiple pro-survival and pro-growth signaling pathways; thus, caveolins represent a potential novel therapeutic target for cardiac and neurological pathologies.
Utility of animal models for identification of potential therapeutics for rheumatoid arthritis

Animal models of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are widely used for testing potential new therapies for RA. However, the question of which animal model is most predictive of therapeutic efficacy in human RA commonly arises in data evaluation. A retrospective review of the animal models used to evaluate approved, pending RA therapies, and compounds that were discontinued during phase II or III clinical trials found that the three most commonly used models were adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) in rats and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats and mice. Limited data were found for more recently developed genetically modified animal models. Examination of the efficacy of various compounds in these animal models revealed that a compound’s therapeutic efficacy, rather than prophylactic efficacy, in AIA and CIA models was more predictive of clinical efficacy in human RA than data from either model alone.
Problems with Tachyon Inflation

We consider cosmological consequences of string theory tachyon condensation. We show that it is very difficult to obtain inflation in the simplest versions of this theory. Typically, inflation in these theories could occur only at super-Planckian densities, where the effective 4D field theory is inapplicable. Reheating and creation of matter in models where the minimum of the tachyon potential V(T) is at T? is problematic because the tachyon field in such theories does not oscillate. If the universe after inflation is dominated by the energy density of the tachyon condensate, it will always remain dominated by the tachyons. It might happen that the tachyon condensation is responsible for a short stage of inflation at a nearly Planckian density, but one would need to have a second stage of inflation after that. This would imply that the tachyon played no role in the post-inflationary universe until the very late stages of its evolution. These problems do not appear in the recently proposed models of hybrid inflation where the complex tachyon field has a minimum at T << Mp.
Patterns of intimate partner homicide suicide in later life: Strategies for prevention

Intimate partner homicide suicide (IPHS) constitutes the most violent domestic abuse outcome, devastating individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities. This research used content analysis to analyze 225 murder suicide events (444 deaths) among dyads with at least one member 60 or older. Data were collected from newspaper articles, television news transcripts, police reports and obituaries published between 1999 and 2005. Findings suggest the most dangerous setting was the home and the majority of perpetrators were men. Firearms were most often employed in the violence. Relationship strife was present in some cases, but only slightly higher than the divorce rate for that age group. Illness was cited in just over half of the cases, but 30% of sick elderly couples had only a perpetrator who was ill. Evidence of suicide pacts and mercy killings were very rare and practitioners are encouraged to properly investigate these events. Suicidal men in this age range must be recognized as a potential threat to others, primarily their partner. Homicide was sometimes the primary motive, and the perpetrators in those cases resembled the “intimate terrorist. ” Victims in those cases were often terrorized before the murder. Clinicians are educated about the patterns of fatal violence in later life dyads and provided with strategies for prevention.
Appendixes for “ The Strategic Role Firms ’ Political Connections Play in Access to Finance : Coercion of Domestic Banks or Implicit Property Rights Protections ? ”

What role does political influence play in access to finance? Does this role differ across markets? Using a comprehensive cross-country dataset, I characterize how and why domestic political connections affect firms’ propensities to cross-list securities abroad. Connected firms have better access to foreign capital markets; moreover, the effect of connections is magnified for firms located in countries with weak property rights. Hence, domestic political connections, at the firm-level, serve as a strategic substitute for strong national property rights protections. This paper extends the interdisciplinary literature on political influence, institutions, and finance, as its findings require us to update our understanding from existing single-country studies: (i) political connections matter not only in domestic financial markets, but also in foreign financial markets; and, (ii) the primary reason politically connected firms receive better access to finance is not governmentownership or coercion of domestic banks, but rather implicit firm-level property rights protections that reduce privileged firms’ risk premiums vis-à-vis unconnected peers.
A joint-channel diagonalization for multiuser MIMO antenna systems

In this paper, we address the problem of improving the performance of multiuser space-division multiplexing (SDM) systems where multiple independent signal streams can be transmitted in the same frequency and time slot. The problem is important in multiuser multiple-input multiple-output systems where communication from one base station to many mobile stations can occur simultaneously. Our objective is to devise a multiuser linear space-time precoder for simultaneous channel diagonalization of the multiuser channels enabling SDM. Our new approach is based on diagonalizing the multiuser channel matrices and we use a variation of successive Jacobi rotations. In addition to the diagonalization, our approach attempts to optimize the resultant channel gains for performance enhancement. Our method is valid for both frequency-flat and frequency-selective fading channels but we assume that the base station knows all the channels and that they are quasi-stationary.
Secreted factors from ventral telencephalon induce the differentiation of GABAergic neurons in cortical cultures

It is widely believed that the pyramidal cells and interneurons of the cerebral cortex are distinct in their origin, lineage and genetic make up. In view of these findings, the current thesis is that the phenotype determination of cortical neurons is primarily directed by genetic mechanisms. Using in vitro assays, the present study demonstrates that secreted factors from ganglionic eminence (GE) of the ventral telencephalon have the potency to induce the differentiation of a subset of cortical neurons towards γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic lineage. Characterization of cortical cultures that were exposed to medium derived from GE illustrated a significant increase in the number of GABA‐, calretinin‐ and calbindin‐positive neurons. Calcium imaging together with pharmacological studies showed that the application of exogenous medium significantly elevated the intracellular calcium transients in cortical neurons through the activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors. The increase in GABA+ neurons appeared to be associated with the elevated calcium activity; treatment with blockers specific for glutamate receptors abolished both the synchronized transients and reduced the differentiation of GABAergic neurons. Such studies demonstrate that although intrinsic mechanisms determine the fate of cortical interneurons, extrinsic factors have the potency to influence their neurochemical differentiation and contribute towards their molecular diversity.
Scheduling Time Warp processes using adaptive control techniques

Optimistic techniques using the Time Warp mechanism has shown great promise in speeding up parallel discrete event simulations. However, Time Warp has been plagued by problems such as excessive rollbacks, memory usage, and wasted lookahead computation. In particular, excessive rollbacks can result in a deterioration of the advancement of the simulation. Consequently, techniques to properly control the optimism in Time Warp are needed to alleviate nonproductive lookahead. This paper presents a logical process (LP) scheduling algorithm based on concepts from adaptive control theory. In particular, we develop a performance index called 'useful work'. The useful work parameter represents the amount of productive work done by the process and it is used by our scheduling algorithm to aid in LP scheduling decisions. The scheduling algorithm presented in this paper is compared with the widely used 'smallest timestamp first' scheduling algorithm to show its usefulness in a Time Warp simulation.
Significant Improvement of Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Properties by Incorporating Thiophene in a Solution-Processable D–A–D Modular Chromophore

Through the incorporation of a thiophene functionality, a novel solution-processable small organic chromophore was designed, synthesized and characterized for application in bulk-heterojunction solar cells. The new chromophore, (2Z,2′Z)-2,2′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(3-(5-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)thiophen-2-yl)acrylonitrile) (coded as AS2), was based on a donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) module where a simple triphenylamine unit served as an electron donor, 1,4-phenylenediacetonitrile as an electron acceptor, and a thiophene ring as the π-bridge embedded between the donor and acceptor functionalities. AS2 was isolated as brick-red, needle-shaped crystals, and was fully characterized by 1H- and 13C-NMR, IR, mass spectrometry and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties of AS2 were compared with those of a structural analogue, (2Z,2′Z)-2,2′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(3-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)-acrylonitrile) (AS1). Benefiting from the covalent thiophene bridges, compared to AS1 thin solid film, the AS2 film showed: (1) an enhancement of light-harvesting ability by 20%; (2) an increase in wavelength of the longest wavelength absorption maximum (497 nm vs. 470 nm) and (3) a narrower optical band-gap (1.93 eV vs. 2.17 eV). Studies on the photovoltaic properties revealed that the best AS2-[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM)-based device showed an impressive enhanced power conversion efficiency of 4.10%, an approx. 3-fold increase with respect to the efficiency of the best AS1-based device (1.23%). These results clearly indicated that embodiment of thiophene functionality extended the molecular conjugation, thus enhancing the light-harvesting ability and short-circuit current density, while further improving the bulk-heterojunction device performance. To our knowledge, AS2 is the first example in the literature where a thiophene unit has been used in conjunction with a 1,4-phenylenediacetonitrile accepting functionality to extend the π-conjugation in a given D–A–D motif for bulk-heterojunction solar cell applications.