Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of binding of fibronectin to matrix assembly sites by anti- integrin (alpha 5 beta 1) antibodies

Fibroblasts have cell surface sites that mediate assembly of plasma and cellular fibronectin into the extracellular matrix. Cell adhesion to fibronectin can be mediated by the interaction of an integrin (alpha 5 beta 1) with the Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS)-containing cell adhesion region of fibronectin. We have attempted to elucidate the role of the alpha 5 beta 1 fibronectin receptor in assembly of fibronectin in matrices. Rat monoclonal antibody mAb 13, which recognizes the integrin beta 1 subunit, completely blocked binding and matrix assembly of 125I- fibronectin as well as binding of the 125I-70-kD amino-terminal fragment of fibronectin (70 kD) to fibroblast cell layers. Fab fragments of the anti-beta 1 antibody were also inhibitory. Antibody mAb 16, which recognizes the integrin alpha 5 subunit, partially blocked binding of 125I-fibronectin and 125I-70-kD. When cell layers were coincubated with fluoresceinated fibronectin and either anti-beta 1 or anti-alpha 5, anti-beta 1 was a more effective inhibitor than anti- alpha 5 of binding of labeled fibronectin to the cell layer. Inhibition of 125I-fibronectin binding by anti-beta 1 IgG occurred within 20 min. Inhibition of 125I-fibronectin binding by anti-beta 1 Fab fragments or IgG could not be overcome with increasing concentrations of fibronectin, suggesting that anti-beta 1 and exogenous fibronectin may not compete for the same binding site. No beta 1-containing integrin bound to immobilized 70 kD. These data indicate that the beta 1 subunit plays an important role in binding and assembly of exogenous fibronectin, perhaps by participation in the organization, regeneration, or cycling of the assembly site rather than by a direct interaction with fibronectin.
Refinement of the chromosome 16 locus for benign familial infantile convulsions

Benign familial infantile convulsions (BFIC) is an autosomal dominantly inherited partial epilepsy syndrome of early childhood with remission before the age of 3 years. The syndrome has been linked to loci on chromosomes 1q23, 2q24, 16p12‐q12, and 19q in various families. The aim of this study was to identify the responsible locus in four unrelated Dutch families with BFIC. Two of the tested families had pure BFIC; in one family, affected individuals had BFIC followed by paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesias at later age, and in one family, BFIC was accompanied by later‐onset focal epilepsy in older generations. Linkage analysis was performed for the known loci on chromosomes 1q23, 2q24, 16p12‐q12, and 19q. The two families with pure BFIC were linked to chromosome 16p12‐q12. Using recombinants from these and other published families, the chromosome 16‐candidate gene region was reduced from 21.4 Mb (4.3 cm) to 2.7 Mb (0.0 cm). For the other two families, linkage to any of the known loci was unlikely. In conclusion, we confirm the linkage of pure BFIC to chromosome 16p12‐q12, with further refinement of the locus. Furthermore, the lack of involvement of the known loci in two of the families indicates further genetic heterogeneity for BFIC.
Complementary Mean Square Analysis of Augmented CLMS for Second-Order Noncircular Gaussian Signals

A novel physical insight is provided into the behavior and performance of the augmented complex least mean square (ACLMS) algorithm for widely linear adaptive estimation of general second-order noncircular (improper) Gaussian signals, whereby the off-diagonal elements of the covariance and complementary covariance matrices are nonzero. This is achieved through a novel complementary mean square analysis, a counterpart to the standard mean square analysis, and which focuses on the behavior of the complementary second-order statistics of the output error and the augmented weight error vector. We next establish the effect of the degree of input noncircularity on the evolution for these two key parameters that govern the ACLMS. Both transient and steady-state performances are addressed and a stability bound on the step-size for their convergence is established. Simulations in the system identification setting support the analysis.
LEARNING THE OPTIMAL BUFFER-STOCK CONSUMPTION RULE OF CARROLL

This article questions the rather pessimistic conclusions of Allen and Carroll [Macroeconomic Dynamics 5 (2001), 255–271] about the ability of consumers to learn the optimal buffer-stock-based consumption rule. To this end, we develop an agent-based model in which alternative learning schemes can be compared in terms of the consumption behavior that they yield. We show that neither purely adaptive learning nor social learning based on imitation can ensure satisfactory consumption behavior. In contrast, if the agents can form adaptive expectations, based on an evolving individual mental model, their behavior becomes much more interesting in terms of its regularity and its ability to improve performance (which is a clear manifestation of learning). Our results indicate that assumptions on bounded rationality and on adaptive expectations are perfectly compatible with sound and realistic economic behavior, which, in some cases, can even converge to the optimal solution. This framework may therefore be used to develop macroeconomic models with adaptive dynamics.
Pre-processing of Car Geometry Data for Crash Simulation and Visualization

In this paper we focus on a visualization tool for car crash simulations. By means of some examples we show how various data pre-processing features can facilitate the engineer’s work. For example, parts can be assembled, replaced, welded, bonded, or deformed. Data pre-processing within the visualization tool means that some modifications can be done directly on the finite element mesh which is the input for the crash simulation. Some of the features are new within a crash visualization environment and some operations needed new algorithms to be developed: We present the generation of curved spotweld lines and adhesive bondings along flanges. Further we show how modern hardware features like textures and alpha blending can be employed for efficient visualization in the context of data pre-processing. The new features allow crash simulations in an early development phase, they also allow to test the impact of a potential improvement or to remove some shortcomings due to mesh generation out of CAD data. Thanks to these new features, the crash simulation engineer needs no longer to return the model data back to the CAD department for minor modification and re-meshing.
Local Learning-ARIMA adaptive hybrid architecture for hourly electricity price forecasting

The paper proposes a hybrid architecture for electricity price forecasting. The proposed architecture combines the advantages of the easy-to-use and relatively easy-to-tune Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models and the approximation power of local learning techniques. The architecture is robust and more accurate than the individual forecasting methodologies on which it is based, since it combines a reliable built-in linear model (ARIMA) with an adaptive dynamic corrector (Lazy Learning algorithm). The corrector model is sequentially updated, in order to adapt the whole architecture to varying market conditions. Detailed simulation studies show the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid learning methods for forecasting the volatile Hourly Ontario Energy Prices (HOEPs) of the Ontario, Canada, electricity market.
Deficient activation of the motor cortical network in patients with writer’s cramp

Objective: To study regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in patients with simple writer’s cramp using PET to identify regions that malfunction. Background: Several lines of evidence indicate impaired cortical function in patients with focal dystonia, but the precise pathophysiology is still unknown. Methods: Seven patients with writer’s cramp were compared with seven age- and sex-matched control subjects. Control subjects and patients were scanned during sustained contraction, tapping, and writing with the right hand. After realignment and stereotactic normalization of the scans, all tasks were compared with a rest condition. For each task, an intra- and intergroup comparison was performed using statistical parametric mapping. For each condition and within groups, rCBF correlation analysis was performed between some selected regions that were activated during movement. Results: In control subjects and patients, significant increases of rCBF were observed for each task in areas already known to be activated in motor paradigms. The intergroup comparison disclosed less activation in writer’s cramp patients for several areas for all three tasks. This decrease reached significance for the sensorimotor cortex during the sustained contraction task and for the premotor cortex during writing. rCBF correlation analysis showed different patterns between control subjects and patients. At rest and during writing, the correlations between the putamen and premotor cortical regions and between the premotor cortical regions themselves were stronger in control subjects. Conclusions: Deficient activation of premotor cortex and decreased correlation between premotor cortical regions and putamen suggest a dysfunction of the premotor cortical network in patients with writer’s cramp possibly arising in the basal ganglia. The dysfunction is compatible with a loss of inhibition during the generation of motor commands, which in turn could be responsible for the dystonic movements.
Challenges to the New Network Management Protocol: NETCONF

In 2006, the IETF released its latest effort, NETCONF, a brand new network management protocol, which is based on the XML encoding method. The NETCONF protocol is thought to be able to meet the requirement of configuration management which SNMP fails to do well. The NETCONF protocol also performs better in other fields such as the efficiency, more flexible operations, etc. But, as a new protocol, NETCONF is not perfect either and it also has some shortcomings in several aspects. In this paper, some common problems and challenges in the field of network management which NETCONF has not efficiently solved are reviewed and a few pieces of suggestion will be given out.
Developing research awareness in students: an action research project explored

This paper examines a change designed to effect improvement in an honours level management accounting module using action research methodology. First, the appropriateness of action research to the research in question is discussed. Secondly, the context within which the research took place is explored. Thirdly, the action research project is examined in detail. The action research question posed was how students could be encouraged to increase their awareness and reading of quality research articles. A change was introduced into some tutorial sessions requiring students to search for and present a research article. Finally, reflections are offered on both the research reported here and on the action research process itself.
Immune Activities of Polycationic Vectors for Gene Delivery

Polycationic vectors are used widely in the field of gene delivery, while currently their immune activities in vivo are poorly understood. In this comprehensive review, we aim to present an overview of existing mechanisms of adverse immune responses induced by the polycation/gene complexes, which includes the polycations themselves, the gene sequences and the ROS produced by them. These causes can induce pro-inflammatory cytokines, hypersensitivity as well as the activation of toll-like receptors, and finally the immunostimulation occur. In addition, we introduce some different opinions and research results on the immunogenicity of classical polycations such as polylysine (PLL), polyethyleneimine (PEI), polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM), chitosan and gelatin, most of which have immunogenicity and can induce immunoreactions in vivo. The methods now used to adjust their immunogenicity are shown in the final part of this review. Nowadays, there is still no accurate conclusion on immunogenicity of polycations, which confuses researchers seriously in in vivo test. We conclude that further research is needed in order to skillfully utilize or inhibit the immunogenicity of these polycationic vectors.
Parenteral Injections

This unit describes the techniques for the following routes of injection for mice, rats, hamsters and rabbits: intramuscular, intradermal, subcutaneous, intravenous, intraperitoneal, footpad, and intrathymic. Guidelines are also given regarding injection volumes and temperatures, and the use of proper restraints.
Tumor and Stem Cell Biology Prediction and Genetic Demonstration of a Role for Activator E 2 Fs in Myc-Induced Tumors

Advances in genomic signatures have begun to dissect breast cancer heterogeneity and application of these signatures will allow the prediction of which pathways are important in tumor development. Here we used genomic signatures to predict involvement of specific E2F transcription factors in Myc-induced tumors. We genetically tested this prediction by interbreeding Myc transgenics with mice lacking various activator E2F alleles. Tumor latency decreased in the E2F1 mutant background and significantly increased in both the E2F2 and E2F3 mutants. Investigating the mechanism behind these changes revealed a reduction in apoptosis in the E2F1 knockout strain. E2F2 and E2F3 mutant backgrounds alleviated Myc proliferative effects on the pregnant mammary gland, reducing the susceptible tumor target population. Gene expression data from tumors revealed that the E2F2 knockout background resulted in fewer tumors with EMT, corresponding with a reduction in probability of Ras activation. In human breast cancer we found that a low probability of E2F2 pathway activation was associated with increased relapse-free survival time. Together these data illustrate the predictive utility of genomic signatures in deciphering the heterogeneity within breast cancer and illustrate the unique genetic requirements for individual E2Fs in mediating tumorigenesis in both mouse models and human breast cancer. Cancer Res; 71(5); 1924–32. 2011 AACR.
Dynamical Mean Field Model of a Neural-Glial Mass

Our goal is to model the behavior of an ensemble of interacting neurons and astrocytes (the neural-glial mass). For this, a model describing N tripartite synapses is proposed. Each tripartite synapse consists of presynaptic and postsynaptic nerve terminals, as well as the synaptically associated astrocytic microdomain, and is described by a system of 13 stochastic differential equations. Then, by applying the dynamical mean field approximation (DMA) (Hasegawa, 2003a, 2003b) the system of 13N equations is reduced to 13(13 2) 195 deterministic differential equations for the means and the second-order moments of local and global variables. Simulations are carried out for studying the response of the neural-glial mass to external inputs applied to either the presynaptic terminals or the astrocytes. Three cases were considered: the astrocytes influence only the presynaptic terminal, only the postsynaptic terminal, or both the presynaptic and postsynaptic terminals. As a result, a wide range of responses varying from singles spikes to train of spikes was evoked on presynaptic and postsynaptic terminals. The experimentally observed phenomenon of spontaneous activity in astrocytes was replicated on the neural-glial mass. The model predicts that astrocytes can have a strong and activity-dependent influence on synaptic transmission. Finally, simulations show that the dynamics of astrocytes influences the synchronization ratio between neurons, predicting a peak in the synchronization for specific values of the astrocytes parameters.
Feasibility of motion-corrected planar projection imaging of single photon emitters: A phantom study

The kinetics of single photon emitting macromolecules (e.g. antibodies) are typically slower than small molecules, necessitating long or repeat acquisitions. We previously proposed the use of motion tracking and limited angle tomographic reconstruction to characterise tracer kinetics over extended periods in awake rodents. In this study, we explored this approach by imaging a contrast phantom, moved with 6 degrees of freedom, using a prototype preclinical SPECT scanner with parallel-hole collimation and a fixed detector located at 0 and 90 degrees. The position of the phantom was tracked and data were acquired in list mode. Each event was motion-corrected and reconstructed using LM-MLEM. Planar projections were created by summing the reconstructed volume along the x-axis. Line profiles of the contrast phantom were compared for a planar reference projection and projections generated from the motion-free, motion-corrupted and motion-corrected reconstructions. Projections created from the motion-corrected agreed well with the planar reference projection of the stationary object and exhibited similar contrast. Whilst this initial study was limited to rigid motion, it demonstrates the feasibility of motion-corrected planar projections of a moving object.
Mapping the dynamics of science and technology : sociology of science in the real world

List of Figures - List of Tables - Acknowledgements - PART 1 INTRODUCTION - Introduction: How to Study the Force of Science M.Callon, J.Law and A.Rip - PART 2 THE POWER OF TEXTS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - The Sociology of an Actor-Network: The Case of the Electric Vehicle M.Callon - Laboratories and Texts J.Law - Writing Science: Fact and Fiction: The Analysis of the Process of Reality Construction through the Application of Socio-Semiotic Methods to Scientific Texts B.Latour and F.Bastide - The Heterogeneity of Texts J.Law - Mobilising Resources through Texts A.Rip - PART 3 MAPPING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Qualitative Scientometrics M.Callon, A.Rip and J.Law - Aquaculture: A Field by Bureaucratic Fiat S.Bauin - State Intervention in Academic and Industrial Research: The Case of Macromolecular Chemistry in France W.Turner and M.Callon - Pinpointing Industrial Invention: An Exploration of Quantitative Methods for the Analysis of Patents M.Callon - Technical Issues and Developments in Methodology J-P.Courtial - Future Developments M.Callon, J-P.Courtial and W.Turner - PART 4 CONCLUSIONS - Putting Texts in their Place M.Callon, J.Law and A.Rip - Glossary - Bibliography - Index
Ectopic expression of the erythrocyte band 3 anion exchange protein, using a new avian retrovirus vector

A retrovirus vector was constructed from the genome of avian erythroblastosis virus ES4. The v-erbA sequences of avian erythroblastosis virus were replaced by those coding for neomycin phosphotransferase, creating a gag-neo fusion protein which provides G418 resistance as a selectable marker. The v-erbB sequences following the splice acceptor were replaced by a cloning linker allowing insertion of foreign genes. The vector has been tested in conjunction with several helper viruses for the transmission of G418 resistance, titer, stability, transcription, and the transduction and expression of foreign genes in both chicken embryo fibroblasts and the QT6 quail cell line. The results show that the vector is capable of producing high titers of Neor virus from stably integrated proviruses. These proviruses express a balanced ratio of genome length to spliced transcripts which are efficiently translated into protein. Using the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene cloned into the vector as a test construct, expression of enzyme activity could be detected in 90 to 95% of transfected target cells and in 80 to 85% of subsequently infected cells. In addition, a cDNA encoding the avian erythrocyte band 3 anion exchange protein has been expressed from the vector in both chicken embryo fibroblasts and QT6 cells and appears to function as an active, plasma membrane-based anion transporter. The ectopic expression of band 3 protein provides a visual marker for vector function in these cells.
Feature-based Opinion Summarization: A Survey

: Significant advancement in e-commerce and Web 2.0 has led to the invention of several websites selling products online. These websites also facilitate the buyers to express their opinions about the products & their features in the form of reviews. Knowing these opinions and the related sentiments plays a vital role in decision making processes involving regular customers to executive managers. But these reviews are available in huge numbers hence referring them becomes a practically impossible task to achieve. Thus a new orientation of natural language processing called Opinion Mining & Summarization has emerged to deal with the problem. Feature-based Opinion Summarization is one of these summarization techniques which provide brief yet most relevant information about different features related to the target product. This paper represents an in-depth literature survey of various techniques for Feature-based Opinion Summarization.
Model predictive control using Adaptive Task Allocation for optimization of networks with traffic lights

This paper presents the implementation of a controller based on Adaptive Task Allocation Algorithm (ATAA) for a traffic network with signalized intersections, where it is required to decrease waiting times of vehicles at every intersection. The main contributions of this work are the implementation of ATAA controller under a Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme and the use of an estimator which does not require an explicit model of the system to predict its future behavior. Two case studies are presented and implementation results are compared for scenarios using both ATAA with open loop controller and the MPC proposed. For both case studies improvements up to 31.3% were obtained for vehicles' mean delay time with the MPC approach in contrast to a network with no traffic light control.
Random Decomposition Forests

We present an effective image representation based on a new tree-structured coding technique called `random decomposition forests' (RDFs). Our method combines the merits of visual-word representations and random forests. The proposed RDF is able to decompose a local descriptor into multiple sets of visual words in a recursive and randomized manner. We show that, when combined with standard multiscale and spatial pooling strategies, the code vectors generated by RDF yield a powerful representation for image categorization. We are able to achieve state-of-the-art performance on several popular benchmark datasets.
In vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of some Lamiaceae species

The methanolic extracts, infusions, decoctions and hydrosols of six plants were investigated for their total phenolic contents, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities: Mentha piperita (Peppermint), Thymus vulgaris (thyme), Melissa officinalis (lemon balm), Ocimum basilicum (basil), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) and Salvia officinalis (sage) (Lamiaceae). Total phenolic contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu procedure and ranged from 111.03 ± 0.6 (sage methanolic extract) to 19.07 ± 0.0 mg (basil methanolic extract) gallic acid equivalent /g extract. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by two methods, DPPH and phosphomolybdenum assays. The decoction of rosemary showed the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 8.36 µg/mL). The methanolic extract of Peppermint showed the highest total antioxidant activity (241.85 ± 1.9 mg ascorbic acid equivalent /g extract) measured by phosphomolybdenum assay. The antimicrobial activities of herbs were tested against eight bacteria and two yeasts.