Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling hemoglobin and hemoglobin:haptoglobin complex clearance in a non-rodent species–pharmacokinetic and therapeutic implications

Background: Haptoglobin (Hp) prevents hemoglobin (Hb) extravasation and attenuates Hb induced tissue oxidation and vasoconstriction. Small animal models such as mouse, rat and guinea pig appear to demonstrate proof-of-concept for Hb neutralization by Hp in diverse pre-clinical conditions. However, these species differ significantly from humans in the clearance of Hb:Hp and demonstrate long persistence of circulating Hb:Hp complexes. Objective: The focus of this study is to understand Hb:Hp clearance in a non-rodent species. In contrast to rodents, dogs maintain high plasma Hp concentrations comparable to humans and demonstrate more rapid clearance of Hb:Hp when compared to rodent species, therefore dogs may represent a relevant species to evaluate Hb:Hp pharmacokinetics and cellular clearance. Results: In this study we show, that like human macrophages, dog peripheral blood monocyte derived macrophages express a glucocorticoid inducible endocytic clearance pathways with a high specificity for the Hb:Hp complex. Evaluating the Beagle dog as a non-rodent model species we provide the first pharmacokinetic parameter estimates of free Hb and Hb:Hp complexes. The data demonstrate a significantly reduced volume of distribution (Vc) for Hb:Hp compared to free Hb, increased maximum plasma concentrations and areas under plasma concentration time curves (Cmax and AUC). Significantly reduced total body clearance (CL) and a longer terminal half-life (t1/2) of approximately 12 h were also observed for the Hb:Hp complex. Distribution and clearance were identical for dimeric and multimeric Hb:Hp complexes. We found no significant effect of a high-dose glucocorticoid treatment protocol on Hb:Hp pharmacokinetic parameter estimates. Conclusion: Collectively, our study supports the dog as a non-rodent animal model to study pharmacological and pharmacokinetic aspects of Hb clearance systems and apply the model to studying Hp as a therapeutic in diseases of hemolysis.
Properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy composites fabricated by using sonication and shear mixing

Multi-walled carbon nanotube reinforced epoxy composites were fabricated using shear mixing and sonication. The mechanical, viscoelastic, thermal, and electrical properties of the fabricated specimens were measured and evaluated. From the images and the results of the measurements of tensile strengths, the specimens having 0.6 wt% nanotube content showed better dispersion and higher strength than those of the other specimens. The Young’s moduli of the specimens increased as the nanotube filler content was increased in the matrix. As the concentrations of nanotubes filler were increased in the composite specimens, their storage and loss moduli also tended to increase. The specimen having a nanotube filler content of 0.6 wt% showed higher thermal conductivity than that of the other specimens. On the other hand, in the measurement of thermal expansion, specimens having 0.4 and 0.6 wt% filler contents showed a lower value than that of the other specimens. The electrical conductivities also increased with increasing content of nanotube filler. Based on the measured and evaluated properties of the composites, it is believed that the simple and efficient fabrication process used in this study was sufficient to obtain improved properties in the specimens
Automatic system for electroporation of adherent cells growing in standard multi-well plates

In this study an automatic system is presented to perform electroporation, also known as electropermeabilization, on adherent cells. It is an intention of this system to apply electric field pulses directly to cells growing in standard multi-well plates as a step forward to include this technique in standard laboratory protocols. An interdigitated microelectrode assembly constructed with Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is placed closely above the cell monolayer, and in order to avoid direct contact with cells, small micro-separators were included in the structure. Additionally, distribution of current density was modified by filling the gap between adjacent electrodes with a non conductive material as predicted by electric field simulations. This modification helps to concentrate the electric field intensity in the region where cells are present. The device was tested using C2C12 cell line growing adhered in 24 multi-well plates and fluorescent labeled dextran FD20S as the molecule to be delivered. Successful transfection was observed with minimal invasiveness of the operation reducing the stress caused to cells.
Spermiogenesis and sperm ultrastructure of Carmyerius endopapillatus (Digenea, Gastrothylacidae), a parasite of Bos taurus in Senegal

Ultrastructural study of spermiogenesis and of the spermatozoon of Carmyerius endopapillatus has enabled to describe some characteristics of this digenea. The intercentriolar body situated between the two striated roots and the two centrioles, presents a symmetric organization. Both external bands of this intercentriolar body are made up of a row of granules. During spermiogenesis, a flagellar rotation of 90° is described. The old spermatid does not present external ornamentations. The spermatozoon is characterized, in its anterior region, by the presence of a lateral expansion exhibiting one spinelike body. In C. endopapillatus, external ornamentations are localized only at the level where the lateral expansion appears. The posterior extremity of spermatozoon exhibits a nucleus surrounded by a plasmic membrane lacking microtubules, but presenting a small lateral expansion. This is the first species of Gastrothylacidae family studied by transmission electron microscopy.
The Importance of Bottlenecks in Protein Networks: Correlation with Gene Essentiality and Expression Dynamics

It has been a long-standing goal in systems biology to find relations between the topological properties and functional features of protein networks. However, most of the focus in network studies has been on highly connected proteins (“hubs”). As a complementary notion, it is possible to define bottlenecks as proteins with a high betweenness centrality (i.e., network nodes that have many “shortest paths” going through them, analogous to major bridges and tunnels on a highway map). Bottlenecks are, in fact, key connector proteins with surprising functional and dynamic properties. In particular, they are more likely to be essential proteins. In fact, in regulatory and other directed networks, betweenness (i.e., “bottleneck-ness”) is a much more significant indicator of essentiality than degree (i.e., “hub-ness”). Furthermore, bottlenecks correspond to the dynamic components of the interaction network—they are significantly less well coexpressed with their neighbors than nonbottlenecks, implying that expression dynamics is wired into the network topology.
Improved Signs, Symptoms, and Quality of Life Associated With Dry Eye Syndrome: Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Ophthalmic Insert Patient Registry

Objectives: To evaluate the acceptability, ease of use, and efficacy of hydroxypropyl cellulose ophthalmic inserts in reducing signs and symptoms of moderate-to-severe dry eye syndrome (DES), and improving quality of life (QoL) and activities of daily living (ADL). Methods: The multicenter, prospective, open-label, 4-week registry comprised 520 patients with bilateral DES and a history of artificial tear use, or a desire to use artificial tears within the previous week. Visit 1 encompassed a clinical evaluation and symptom and QoL questionnaires, including the Ocular Surface Disease Index. Patients were trained to use inserts, which were used once daily, thereafter, as monotherapy or with existing therapy. At visit 2, clinical evaluation and questionnaires evaluated changes in signs, symptoms, ADL, and QoL. Adverse events were monitored throughout the registry. Results: There were 418 (80.4%) completers. Statistically significant improvements in discomfort, burning, dryness, grittiness, stinging, and light sensitivity, as well as clinical signs of keratitis, conjunctival staining, and tear volume were seen (P<0.05). Mean Ocular Surface Disease Index total scores improved by 21.3% (P<0.05). Blurred vision, affecting 8.7% of patients, was the most commonly reported adverse event leading to discontinuation. Conclusions: Hydroxypropyl cellulose ophthalmic inserts significantly improved signs and symptoms of moderate-to-severe DES, as well as ADL and QoL. Benefits were additive to those seen with patients' existing care.
Isolation and Selection of Microalgal Strains from Natural Water Sources in Viet Nam with Potential for Edible Oil Production

Industrial vegetable oil production in Viet Nam depends on oil seeds and crude plant oils that are currently more than 90% imported. As the first step in investigating the feasibility of using microalgae to provide Viet Nam with a domestic source of oil for food and edible oil industries, fifty lipid-producing microalgae were isolated and characterized. The microalgae were isolated from water sources ranging from freshwater to brackish and marine waters from a wide geographic distribution in Viet Nam. Initial analyses showed that 20 of the 50 strains had good growth rates, produced high biomass and had high lipid content, ranging up to 50% of dry weight biomass. 18S rRNA gene sequence analyses of the 50 strains showed a great diversity in this assemblage of microalgae, comprising at least 38 species and representatives of 25 genera: Chlamydomonas, Poterioochromonas, Scenedesmus, Desmodesmus, Chlorella, Bracteacoccus, Monoraphidium, Selenastrum, Acutodesmus, Mychonastes, Ankistrodesmus, Kirchneriella, Raphidocelis, Dictyosphaerium, Coelastrella, Schizochlamydella, Oocystidium, Nannochloris, Auxenochlorella, Chlorosarcinopsis, Stichococcus, Picochlorum, Prasinoderma, Chlorococcum, and Marvania. Some of the species are closely related to well-known lipid producers such as Chlorella sorokiniana, but some other strains are not closely related to the strains found in public sequence databases and likely represent new species. Analysis of oil quality showed that fatty acid profiles of the microalgal strains were very diverse and strain-dependent. Fatty acids in the microalgal oils comprised saturated fatty acids (SFAs), poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs). The main SFA was palmitic acid. MUFAs and PUFAs were dominated by oleic acid, and linoleic and linolenic acids, respectively. Some strains were especially rich in the essential fatty acid α-linolenic acid (ALA), which comprised more than 20% of the fatty acids in these strains. Other strains had fatty acid compositions similar to that of palm oil. Several strains have been selected on the basis of their suitable fatty acid profiles and high lipid content for further chemical and physical characterization, toxicity and organoleptic tests of their oils, and for scale-up.
Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Morphable Models for Representation of complex movements for Imitation Learning

Imitation learning is a promising technique for teaching robots complex movement sequences. One key problem in this area is the transfer of perceived movement characteristics from perception to action. For the solution of this problem, representations are required that are suitable for the analysis and the synthesis of complex action sequences. We describe the method of Hierarchical Spatio-Temporal Morphable Models that allows an automatic segmentation of movements sequences into movement primitives, and a modeling of these primitives by morphing between a set of prototypical trajectories. We use HSTMMs in an imitation learning task for human writing movements. The models are learned from recorded trajectories and transferred to a human-like robot arm. Due to the generalization properties of our movement representation, the arm is capable of synthesizing new writing movements with only a few learning examples.
High pressure-resistant SU-8 microchannels for monolithic porous structure integration

Integrated lab-on-chip (LOC) microsystems dedicated to proteomic analysis require specific pretreatment steps such as protein trypsic digestion, concentration, desalting or separation of biological samples. These steps can be achieved thanks to porous monolithic polymers. This paper deals with the integration of such a polymer into SU-8 microchannels by using a multi-material technology (SU-8, Pyrex and silicon). A solution for the fabrication of complete polymer microchannels which are high pressure- and solvents-resistant is proposed. This technique uses the negative photoresist SU-8 which is compatible with the protein analysis performed here. Our process requires a novel technological step using a silane coupling agent. This modification of the SU-8/Pyrex interface leads to the fabrication of a 100 µm × 160 µm section microchannel (length of 3 cm), closed with a Pyrex® lid by SU-8 bonding resistant to 80 bar. An improvement of the SU-8/monolithic structure is also demonstrated thanks to a specific treatment of the polymer enabling good anchoring of the monolith in the microchannels, and the pressure-resistance tests were also achieved with the monolithic structure integrated in the microchannels. A digestion step of a protein sample of benzoylarginine ethyl ester in a SU-8 microchannel was achieved after the functionalization of a monolith anchored in the microchannel. Analysis by UV/VIS spectroscopy of this in situ digestion has been reported.
Recognition of fingerprints enhanced by contourlet transform with artificial neural networks

In order to ensure that the performance of a fingerprint recognition system will be powerful with respect to the quality of input fingerprint images, it is essential which requires the enhancement of fingerprint images. Two methods are proposed for fingerprint image enhancement in this study. The first one is performed using local histogram equalization and noise reduction filters. In the second method a wavelet transform and a contourlet transform which is a new extension of the wavelet transform in two dimensions are applied. A method is also developed to recognize fingerprints by using artificial neural network (ANN) which is trained by dataset, called FingerCode, obtained from a filterbank. For every fingerprint, fixed length feature vectors are obtained and these vectors are applied a matching process by using ANN. Experimental results show that the recognition rate of ANN using the obtained feature vectors after enhanced by contourlet transform is 99.6%
A procedure of adaptive kernel combination with kernel-target alignment for object classification

In order to achieve good performance in object classification problems, it is necessary to combine information from various image features. Because the large margin classifiers are constructed based on similarity measures between samples called kernels, finding appropriate feature combinations boils down to designing good kernels among a set of candidates, for example, positive mixtures of predetermined base kernels. There are a couple of ways to determine the mixing weights of multiple kernels: (a) uniform weights, (b) a brute force search over a validation set and (c) multiple kernel learning (MKL). MKL is theoretically and technically very attractive, because it learns the kernel weights and the classifier simultaneously based on the margin criterion. However, we often observe that the support vector machine (SVM) with the average kernel works at least as good as MKL. In this paper, we propose as an alternative, a two-step approach: at first, the kernel weights are determined by optimizing the kernel-target alignment score and then the combined kernel is used by the standard SVM with a single kernel. The experimental results with the VOC 2008 data set [8] show that our simple procedure outperforms the average kernel and MKL.
Methyl 2-[2-(6-chloropyrimidin-4-yloxy)phenyl]-3,3-dimethoxypropanoate

In the title compound, C16H17ClN2O5, the dihedral angle between the aromatic rings is 77.36 (4)°. An intramolecular C—H⋯O interaction results in the formation of a planar [r.m.s. deviation = 0.103 (2) Å] five-membered ring, which is oriented at a dihedral angle of 4.84 (4)° with respect to the adjacent benzene ring. In the crystal structure, weak intermolecular C—H⋯π interactions are found.
Antigen-Engaged B Cells Undergo Chemotaxis toward the T Zone and Form Motile Conjugates with Helper T Cells

Interactions between B and T cells are essential for most antibody responses, but the dynamics of these interactions are poorly understood. By two-photon microscopy of intact lymph nodes, we show that upon exposure to antigen, B cells migrate with directional preference toward the B-zone–T-zone boundary in a CCR7-dependent manner, through a region that exhibits a CCR7-ligand gradient. Initially the B cells show reduced motility, but after 1 d, motility is increased to approximately 9 μm/min. Antigen-engaged B cells pair with antigen-specific helper T cells for 10 to more than 60 min, whereas non-antigen-specific interactions last less than 10 min. B cell–T cell conjugates are highly dynamic and migrate extensively, being led by B cells. B cells occasionally contact more than one T cell, whereas T cells are strictly monogamous in their interactions. These findings provide evidence of lymphocyte chemotaxis in vivo, and they begin to define the spatiotemporal cellular dynamics associated with T cell–dependent antibody responses.
Criteria Evaluation for Fatigue Life Estimation under Proportional and Non-Proportional Loadings

The paper presents the fatigue criteria, representing the integral criteria, most frequently reported in literature. They were verified for uniaxial loadings and for combined: tension-compression with torsion both proportional and non-proportional. The verification involved a comparison of the fatigue life reported based on the criterion with the experimental fatigue life.
Molecular and Physiological Diversity of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Midbrain Dopaminergic Nuclei

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on dopaminergic (DA) and GABAergic (Gaba) projection neurons of the substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) are characterized by single-cell RT-PCR and patch-clamp recordings in slices of rat and wild-type, β2−/−, α4−/−, and α7−/− mice. The eight nAChR subunits expressed in these nuclei, α3–7 and β2–4, contribute to four different types of nAChR-mediated currents. Most DA neurons in the SN and VTA express two nAChR subtypes. One is inhibited by dihydro-β-erythroidine (2 μm), α-conotoxin MII (10 nm), and methyllycaconitine (1 nm) but does not contain the α7 subunit; it possesses a putative α4α6α5(β2)2 composition. The other subtype is inhibited by dihydro-β-erythroidine (2 μm) and has a putative α4α5(β2)2 composition. Gaba neurons in the VTA exhibit a third subtype with a putative (α4)2(β2)3 composition, whereas Gaba neurons in the SN have either the putative (α4)2(β2)3 oligomer or the putative α4α6α5(β2)2 oligomer. The fourth subtype, a putative (α7)5 homomer, is encountered in less than half of DA and Gaba neurons, in the SN as well as in the VTA. Neurons in the DA nuclei thus exhibit a diversity of nAChRs that might differentially modulate reinforcement and motor behavior.
Takeover time curves in random and small-world structured populations

We present discrete stochastic mathematical models for the growth curves of synchronous and synchronous evolutionary algorithms with populations structured ccording to a random graph. We show that, to good approximation, randomly structured and panmictic populations have the some growth behavior. Furthermore, we show that global selection intensity depends on the update policy. The validity of the models is confirmed by comparison with experimental results of simulations. We also present experimental results on small-world nd scale-free population graph topologies. We show that they lead to qualitatively similar results. However, the different nature of the nodes can be exploited to obtain more varied evolutionary behavior.
Spatial Typologies of Care: Understanding the Implications of the Spatial Distribution of Off-Base Civilian Behavioral Health Providers Who Accept TRICARE Prime to Service Persons and Their Dependents

Over the last decade, demand for services from military treatment facilities (MTFs) has frequently exceeded capacity resulting in increased usage of off-base civilian Tricare providers (OCTP). This capacity shortage has been particularly acute for mental health care. At many installations, OCTPs are the main source of mental health care for military personnel and their families. Utilizing data on the location of mental health OCTPs and demographic data, we examine the spatial accessibility of mental health OCTPs around ﬁ ve military installations. Variation exists in the spatial accessibility of mental health OCTPs depending on the geographic context of an installation. There is a mild correlation between the number of mental health OTCPs proximate to a base and the bene ﬁ ciaries enrolled in an MTF. There is a strong correlation between the size of the general population proximate to an installation and the number of mental health OCTMPs present. Installations located in densely populated areas had high ratios of mental health OCTPs to the MTF bene ﬁ ciary population but not when the civilian demand on these providers was accounted for. This study ’ s ﬁ ndings open several avenues for future research and policy aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the mental health OCTP network.
Improved Approximation Guarantees for Weighted Matching in the Semi-streaming Model

We study the maximum weight matching problem in the semi-streaming model, and improve on the currently best one-pass algorithm due to Zelke (Proc.\ STACS~'08, pages 669--680) by devising a deterministic approach whose performance guarantee is $4.91 + \eps$. In addition, we study {\em preemptive} online algorithms, a sub-class of one-pass algorithms where we are only allowed to maintain a feasible matching in memory at any point in time. All known results prior to Zelke's belong to this sub-class. We provide a lower bound of $4.967$ on the competitive ratio of any such deterministic algorithm, and hence show that future improvements will have to store in memory a set of edges which is not necessarily a feasible matching. We conclude by presenting an empirical study, conducted in order to compare the practical performance of our approach to that of previously suggested algorithms.
A novel framework for intrusion detection in cloud

One of the major security challenges in cloud computing is the detection and prevention of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. In order to detect and prevent DoS attacks as well as other malicious activities at the network layer, we propose a framework which integrates a network intrusion detection system (NIDS) in the Cloud infrastructure. We use snort and decision tree (DT) classifier to implement this framework. It aims to detect network attacks in Cloud by monitoring network traffic, while maintaining performance and service quality. To validate our approach, we evaluate the performance and detection efficiency by using the freely available NSL-KDD and KDD experimental intrusion datasets. The results show that the proposed framework has a higher detection rate with low false positives at an affordable computational cost.