Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the mouse FTZ-F1 gene, which encodes a key regulator of steroid hydroxylase gene expression.

The cytochrome P450 steroid hydroxylases are coordinately regulated by steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1), a protein expressed selectively in steroidogenic cells. Based on its expression in steroidogenic tissues and DNA-binding specificity, we isolated a putative SF-1 cDNA from an adrenocortical cDNA library. As evidence that this cDNA encodes SF-1, we now show that it is selectively expressed in steroidogenic cells, that an antiserum against its protein product specifically abolishes the SF-1-related gel-shift complex, and that its coexpression increases promoter activity of the 21-hydroxylase 5'-flanking region in transfection experiments. Sequence analyses of the SF-1 cDNA revealed that it is the mouse homolog of fushi tarazu factor I (FTZ-F1), a nuclear receptor that regulates the fushi tarazu homeobox gene in Drosophila. A second FTZ-F1 homolog, embryonal long terminal repeat-binding protein (ELP), was recently isolated from embryonal carcinoma cells. SF-1 and ELP cDNAs are virtually identical for 1017 base pairs, including putative DNA-binding domains, but diverge at their 5'- and 3'-ends. One genomic clone contained both SF-1- and ELP-specific sequences, confirming their origin from a single gene. Characterization of this gene defined shared exons encoding common regions and alternative promoters and 3'-exons leading to differences between the two FTZ-F1 transcripts. We used in situ hybridization with transcript-specific probes to study the ontogeny of SF-1 and ELP expression. ELP transcripts were not detected from embryonic day 8 to adult, consistent with its previous isolation from embryonal carcinoma cells and its postulated role in early embryonic development. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A new, low cost, locking plate for the long-term fixation of a critical size bone defect in the ratfemur: in vivo performance, biomechanical and finite element analysis.

BACKGROUND The optimum fixation device for the critical size bone defect is not established yet. OBJECTIVE A reliable, feasible and low-cost fixation device for the long-term maintenance of a critical bone defect. METHODS A custom-made plate made of poly-methyl-methacrylate was used for the fixation of a critical defect of rats' femurs. The screws were securely fixing both on the plate and the bone. A three point bending test, aimed to resemble the in vivo loading pattern, a Finite Element Analysis and a 24-week in vivo monitoring of the integrity of the plate fixation were utilized. RESULTS The plate has linear and reproducible behavior. It presents no discontinuities in the stress field of the fixation. Its properties are attributed to the material and the locking principle. It fails beyond the level of magnitude of the normal ambulatory loads. In vivo, 100% of the plates maintained the bone defect intact up to 12 weeks and 85% of them at 24 weeks. CONCLUSION This novel locking plate shows optimal biomechanical performance and reliability with high long-term in vivo survival rate. It is fully implantable, inexpensive and easily manufactured. It can be qualified for long term critical defect fixation in bone regeneration studies.
Perfusion computed tomography in prediction of functional outcome in patients with acute ischaemic stroke.

PURPOSE To determine the value of perfusion computed tomography (CT) in prediction of the clinical course and late functional outcome in patients with acute ischaemic stroke who had unremarkable initial brain CT examination. MATERIAL AND METHODS Single slice perfusion CT was performed in 55 consecutive patients (27 women, mean age 67 +/- 11 years) with acute ischaemic stroke within 6 hours (median 2.26 hours) from onset of symptoms. Values of cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and mean transit time (MTT) obtained from affected hemisphere were compared to respective values in non-affected hemisphere (relative parameters). Initial neurological deficits were estimated using NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score and correlated with perfusion CT values, employing Spearman rank correlation coefficient (r). Values of perfusion CT parameters in prediction of functional outcome were determined by comparing against scores on modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) after three months of onset of stroke. RESULTS All perfusion CT parameters significantly correlated with initial neurological deficit. The highest correlation with the NIHSS was found for relative CBF, which correlated better than absolute CBF (rCBF r = 0.69; CBF r = 0.50, P < 0.001). In prediction of favourable outcome (mRS <or= 2) the commonly employed thresholds (in parentheses) and associated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were: 87%, 44%, 79%, and 58% for CBF (10 ml/min/100 g), 59%, 81%, 88%, and 49% for rCBF (48%), 49%, 56%, 73%, and 31% for CBV (2 ml/100 g), 87%, 44%, 79% and 58% for rCBV (60%), 41%, 81%, 84% and 36% for MTT (6 s) and 54%, 81%, 87% and 49% for rMTT (145%), respectively, while for prediction of excellent outcome (mRS <or= 1), the only statistically significant respective accuracy measures were for rCBV, 90%, 35%, 60%, 75%, and for rCBF, 62%, 69%, 69% and 62%. CONCLUSIONS In patients within the first 6 hours from stroke onset, and without a hypodensity sign on initial routine CT examination, perfusion CT provides quantitative parameters that correlate well with initial neurological status and late functional outcome.
Analysis of Injury Incidences in Male Professional Adult and Elite Youth Soccer Players: A Systematic Review.

CONTEXT The incidence of injury for elite youth and professional adult soccer players is an important concern, but the risk factors for these groups are different. OBJECTIVE To summarize and compare the injury incidences and injury characteristics of male professional adult and elite youth soccer players. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE and Web of Science using the search terms elite, international, European, soccer, football, injury, injuries, epidemiology, incidence, prevalence, not female, not American football, and not rugby. We also used the search terms professional for studies on professional adult soccer players and high-level, soccer academy, youth, adolescent, and young for studies on elite youth soccer players. STUDY SELECTION Eligible studies were published in English, had a prospective cohort design, and had a minimum study period of 6 months. To ensure that injury data were assessed in relationship to the athlete's individual exposure, we included only studies that reported on injuries and documented exposure volume. DATA EXTRACTION Two independent reviewers applied the selection criteria and assessed the quality of the studies. DATA SYNTHESIS A total of 676 studies were retrieved from the literature search. Eighteen articles met the inclusion criteria: 6 for elite youth and 12 for professional adult soccer players. CONCLUSIONS Injury rates were higher for matches than for training for both youth and adult players. Youth players had a higher incidence of training injuries than professionals. Efforts must be made to reduce the overall injury rate in matches. Therefore, preventive interventions, such as adequately enforcing rules and focusing on fair play, must be analyzed and developed to reduce match-related injury incidences. Reducing training injuries should be a particular focus for youth soccer players.
Polycrystalline thin-film CuInSe2/CdZnS solar cells

The fabrication and properties of polycrystalline, CuInSe2thin-film solar cells based upon a heterojunction device structure of P-type CuInSe2and N-type CdS or mixed CdZnS are described. A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 11 percent is reported for a CuInSe2/ CdZnS cell of 1-cm2area when tested under simulated AM1 illumination (ELH lamp). While the highest efficiency cells have been prepared on Mo-metallized, polycrystalline alumina substrates, good cell performance is also presented for cells fabricated on low-cost glass substrates. The vacuum deposited selenide and sulfide films are reported to exhibit strong columnar growth features throughout the critical junction region. The spectral response of the cells is described as being relatively flat from 1100 to 600 nm with very high quantum yields(> 0.8). Photoluminescence emission data on the CuInSe2thin-film excited with a He-Ne laser is presented. In general, selenide films producing a good cell performance are reported to exhibit spectra with two or three major broad-band emissions.
An Improved k Nearest Neighbor Classifier Using Interestingness Measures for Medical Image Mining

— The exponential increase in the volume of medical image database has imposed new challenges to clinical routine in maintaining patient history, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. With the advent of data mining and machine learning techniques it is possible to automate and/or assist physicians in clinical diagnosis. In this research a medical image classification framework using data mining techniques is proposed. It involves feature extraction, feature selection, feature discretization and classification. In the classification phase, the performance of the traditional kNN k nearest neighbor classifier is improved using a feature weighting scheme and a distance weighted voting instead of simple majority voting. Feature weights are calculated using the interestingness measures used in association rule mining. Experiments on the retinal fundus images show that the proposed framework improves the classification accuracy of traditional kNN from 78.57 % to 92.85 %.
Keyword Search for Building Service-Based Systems

With the fast growth of applications of service-oriented architecture (SOA) in software engineering, there has been a rapid increase in demand for building service-based systems (SBSs) by composing existing Web services. Finding appropriate component services to compose is a key step in the SBS engineering process. Existing approaches require that system engineers have detailed knowledge of SOA techniques which is often too demanding. To address this issue, we propose Keyword Search for Service-based Systems (KS3), a novel approach that integrates and automates the system planning, service discovery and service selection operations for building SBSs based on keyword search. KS3 assists system engineers without detailed knowledge of SOA techniques in searching for component services to build SBSs by typing a few keywords that represent the tasks of the SBSs with quality constraints and optimisation goals for system quality, e.g., reliability, throughput and cost. KS3 offers a new paradigm for SBS engineering that can significantly save the time and effort during the system engineering process. We conducted large-scale experiments using two real-world Web service datasets to demonstrate the practicality, effectiveness and efficiency of KS3.
A multi-camera system for underwater real-time 3D fish detection and tracking

Analyzing fish and fish schools behavior can help in studying fish-fish interaction, analyzing characteristics of fish species, studying prey avoidance maneuvers of fish schools, etc. Such analysis requires the estimation of each fish's 3D location, 3D pose, and 3D shape over time. Moreover if we are interested in studying the interaction of fish by injecting visual / acoustic stimuli artificially according to their motions, this information is required in real-time. In this context, our goal is to track in 3D each fish location and pose, accurately, in real-time, and in the future we foresee the use of underwater vehicles with multiple cameras for 3D fish school behavior analysis. As a step in this direction, in the current paper we propose the use of a calibrated multi-camera system, where each camera captures images through a flat surface, and the cameras observe a common region from different point of views (through one or more flat surfaces). The proposed system allows to detect and track in 3D each fish location in real-time, while taking into account light refraction though flat surfaces. We test the proposed approach using a fish tank with flat surfaces and present validation results and obtained processing times.
Safety and Efficacy of Suction-Assisted Lipectomy on Irradiated Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue

Reconstruction of soft tissue defects with standard myocutaneous or fasciocutaneous flaps often results in contour deformities due either to intrinsic characteristics of the flap or due to initial overcorrection of the defect when postoperative radiation therapy is planned. In such cases, revision with suction-assisted lipectomy is often necessary to achieve optimal cosmetic results. Since liposuction has been associated with decreased tissue perfusion, there remains significant concern that revision of irradiated flaps with liposuction places the patient at high risk for tissue necrosis and wound healing difficulty. To determine the safety of liposuction on irradiated tissue, the authors reviewed our experience of 9 patients treated for cancer with extirpation of tumor and immediate reconstruction with a free or pedicle flap. All patients required radiation therapy and ultimately underwent revision with liposuction due to contour irregularity. Flaps were treated with 60 to 64 Gy and between 30 and 300 mL of fat was removed at 6 weeks to 9 months after final dose of radiation therapy. All patients achieved improvement in contour with no significant fat or skin necrosis. We conclude that suction-assisted lipectomy of irradiated tissue is safe and effective for flap revision following conventional doses of radiation therapy.
Drag reduction of an Unibumped airfoil using CFD

The work focuses on the improvement of aerodynamic characteristics by providing bumps on the upper surface of the airfoil. The investigation of an Eppler airfoil and fully bumped airfoil sections also carried out at low altitude, which generates stability disturbances over airfoil and the flow gets detached. This detachment of flow leads to increase in drag and reduces the lift generation. CFD analysis is carried out to investigate the effect of different angle of attack for the velocity 100 m/s. The result determined from this investigation shows that, the Coefficient of Lift in Unibumped airfoil increases with 6%-8% compared to Eppler airfoil and 3%-5% compared to Full Bumpy airfoil. Similarly Coefficient of Drag in Unibumped airfoil decreases to 5%-7% compared with Full Bumpy airfoil and increases with 1%-3% of Eppler airfoil.
An autophagic mechanism is involved in apoptotic death of rat striatal neurons induced by the non-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor agonist kainic acid

Previous studies found that kainic acid (KA)-induced apoptosis involved the lysosomal enzyme cathepsin B, suggesting a possible mechanism of autophagy in excitotoxicity. The present study was sought to investigate activation and contribution of autophagy to excitotoxic neuronal injury mediated by KA receptors. The formation of autophagosomes was observed with transmission electron microscope after excitotoxin exposure. The contribution of autophagic mechanisms to KA-induced up-regulation of microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B light chain 3 (LC3), lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) and cathepsin B, release of cytochrome c, activation of caspase-3, down-regulation of Bcl-2, up-regulation of Bax, p53, puma and apoptotic death of striatal neurons were assessed with co-administration of the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). These studies showed that KA brought about an increase in the formation of autophagosomes and autolysosomes in the cytoplasm of striatal cells. KA-induced increases in the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I, LAMP2, cathepsin B, release of cytochrome c and activation of caspase-3 were blocked by pre-treatment with 3-MA. 3-MA also reversed KA-induced down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax protein levels, LC3, p53 and puma mRNA levels in the striatum. KA-induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and loss of striatal neurons were robustly inhibited by 3-MA. These results suggest that over-stimulation of KA receptors can activate autophagy. The autophagic mechanism participates in programmed cell death through regulating the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway.
Non‐bronchoscopic sampling and culture of bronchial epithelial cells in children

Background The bronchial epithelium is likely to play a vital role in airway diseases in children, such as asthma and viral‐associated wheeze. In adults, studies with primary bronchial epithelial cells cultured from samples obtained by fibre‐optic bronchoscopy have provided key insights into the role of the epithelial cell. However, it is difficult to justify bronchoscopy in children to obtain epithelial cells for research purposes.
Prevention of cisplatin-induced emesis by the oral neurokinin-1 antagonist, MK-869, in combination with granisetron and dexamethasone or with dexamethasone alone.

PURPOSE The NK1-receptor antagonist MK-869 (L-754,030) has demonstrated antiemetic activity in humans receiving chemotherapy. Objectives of the present trial included the first assessment of oral MK-869 plus dexamethasone compared with a 5HT(3) antagonist plus dexamethasone for prevention of acute and delayed emesis after high-dose cisplatin. Furthermore, the study sought to confirm that addition of MK-869 to a 5HT(3) antagonist plus dexamethasone was more effective than just the 5HT(3) antagonist plus dexamethasone for prevention of acute and delayed emesis. METHODS This multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group trial in 351 cisplatin-naïve patients evaluated prevention of acute (0 to 24 hours) and delayed emesis (primary efficacy parameter; days 2 to 5) after cisplatin (> or =70 mg/m(2)). Patients were randomized to four groups (I to IV) (n = number randomized; number evaluable): granisetron (10 microg/kg intravenously) pre-cisplatin followed by placebo on days 2 to 5 (group I) (n = 90; 90); granisetron and MK-869 (400 mg PO [by mouth]) pre-cisplatin, followed by MK-869 (300 mg PO) on days 2 to 5 (group II) (n = 86; 84); MK-869 (400 mg PO) the evening before and pre-cisplatin, followed by MK-869 (300 mg PO) on days 2 to 5 (group III) (n = 89; 88); or MK-869 (400 mg PO) pre-cisplatin, followed by MK-869 (300 mg PO) on days 2 to 5 (group IV) (n = 86; 84). All patients also received dexamethasone (20 mg PO) before cisplatin. Additional medication was available to treat emesis or nausea at any time. RESULTS In the acute period, 57%, 80%, 46%, and 43% of patients were without emesis in groups I, II, III, and IV, respectively (P <.01 for group II v group I). In the delayed period, the proportion of patients without emesis in groups I, II, III, and IV was 29%, 63%, 51%, and 57%, respectively (P <.01 for groups II, III, and IV v group I). The distribution of nausea scores in the delayed period was lower when comparing group II with group I (P <.05 for days 1 to 5 and days 2 to 5). One serious adverse event (dizziness) was rated as possibly related to MK-869. CONCLUSION Once daily oral administration of MK-869 was effective in reducing delayed emesis and nausea after high-dose cisplatin. However, the combination of the 5HT3 antagonist plus dexamethasone was numerically superior to MK-869 plus dexamethasone in reducing acute emesis. Confirming and extending previous findings, the triple combination of a 5HT(3) antagonist, MK-869, and dexamethasone provided the best control of acute emesis.
Improvement of multiple robots' self-localization by using perspective positional information

This study aimed to improve the precision of multiple robots' self-localization in the standard platform league of RoboCup, i.e. a robotic soccer competition. For improving the precision of the self-localization, we proposed a new technique that uses an external camera out of the field for assistance. Robots in the field use the unscented particle filter that estimates their position from some landmarks. When a robot equipped with the filter cannot recognize any landmarks exactly, particles spread and the precision of the self-localization decreases. Therefore, the overlooking camera out of the field observes each robot's position. When particles spread, the external camera estimates the foot position of the robot, and then the robot sprinkles particles on the neighborhood again. In this way, even if a robot cannot recognize landmarks exactly, assists of the external camera revise the position of particles and improve the precision.
Measuring cardiac output in one-lung ventilation: a comparison of pulmonary artery and transpulmonary aortic measurements in pigs.

OBJECTIVE The agreement between cardiac output measurements via pulmonary artery thermodilution (CO[PA]) and transpulmonary aortic thermodilution (CO[AT]) during one-lung ventilation was studied. DESIGN Animal study with repeated simultaneous measurements comparing 2 cardiac output measurement techniques. SETTING Experimental animal facility of a university department. PARTICIPANTS Forty-eight female pigs (26-42 kg). INTERVENTIONS The pigs were anesthetized, tracheally intubated, and mechanically ventilated. After placement of an aortic thermistor catheter via the femoral artery and a pulmonary artery catheter, a double-lumen tube was placed via tracheotomy. During one-lung ventilation in each animal, 3 measurements with pulmonary artery thermodilution and transpulmonary aortic thermodilution were performed in different hemodynamic states. Both thermistors were connected to 1 computer system, and 144 simultaneous cardiac output measurements were analyzed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Linear regression analyses revealed a close relationship between the 2 methods: CO(AT) = 0.81 CO(PA) + 1.04 (L/min) (r = 0.96, p < 0.0001). Bland-Altman analysis showed that CO(AT) was slightly higher than the CO(PA) with a bias of 0.2 +/- 0.5 L/min. However, in higher CO states, an inversion of this relationship was found, possibly because of indicator loss and recirculation. CONCLUSIONS The pulmonary artery thermodilution and the transpulmonary aortic thermodilution techniques both accurately measure cardiac output during one-lung ventilation.
Mouse fibroblast activation protein: Molecular cloning, alternative splicing and expression in the reactive stroma of epithelial cancers

The growth of solid neoplasms requires the recruitment of a supporting stroma. In most epithelial cancers, this stromal compartment comprises newly formed blood vessels and abundant, reactive stromal fibroblasts. Tumor stromal fibroblasts are not transformed but differ from resting fibrocytes in normal adult tissues by an altered pattern of gene expression. In human cancers, this includes induction of the cell‐surface‐bound fibroblast‐activation protein (FAP), a member of the serine protease family encoded by the FAP gene on chromosome 2. In this study, we have cloned a complementary DNA for Fap, the murine homologue of FAP. The predicted murine FAP protein, mFAP, shares 89% amino‐acid‐sequence identity with human FAP, including a perfectly conserved catalytic triad. Cultured mouse embryo fibroblasts and mouse embryonic tissues were found to express Fap transcripts. In addition, the host‐derived, fibroblast‐rich stroma of human epithelial‐cancer xenografts grown in immunodeficient mice also expresses Fap. Sequencing of reverse‐transcription‐PCR products indicates that 3 distinct Fap splice variants can be detected in tissues. Our findings suggest a close similarity in structure and tissue expression of FAP in different species. By extending the analysis of FAP to the mouse, new in vivo test systems become available for genetic and therapeutic manipulations and for the study of FAP regulation and function in embryonic development and in epithelial cancers. Int. J. Cancer 71:383‐389, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss Inc.