Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Persistent decline in estimated but not measured glomerular filtration rate on tenofovir may reflect tubular rather than glomerular toxicity

Background:Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been associated with proximal renal tubulopathy and reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), without accounting for the tubular secretion of creatinine. Methods:A substudy was performed among 19 participants of a randomized 48-week trial, comparing continuing first-line zidovudine/lamivudine (ZDV/3TC) with switching to TDF/emtricitabine (FTC). GFR was measured with [125I]-iothalamate (mGFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) with [131I]-hippuran. eGFR and tubular effects were assessed using plasma and urine samples. Results:Of the 19 patients, 18 were men, 15 whites, mean (SD) age 46.0 (8.9) years, plasma HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies/ml in all. After 48 weeks, eGFR using Cockcroft–Gault equation and ERPF, but not mGFR, had significantly decreased, and urinary &agr;1-microglobulin/creatinine and microalbumin/creatinine significantly increased in patients on TDF. Although phosphate metabolism on TDF was affected at week 4, differences between groups disappeared during follow-up. Conclusion:Replacing ZDV/3TC with TDF/FTC in this limited sample of virologically suppressed HIV-1-infected adults was associated with mild persistent tubular but not glomerular dysfunction over 48 weeks. The observed persistent decrease in Cockcroft–Gault-based eGFR, but not mGFR, rather than being indicative of glomerular dysfunction may be explained by TDF inhibiting tubular creatinine excretion.
Delta-Color Adjustment (DCA) for Spatial Modulated Color Backlight Algorithm on High Dynamic Range LCD TVs

A high-dynamic-range liquid crystal display (HDR-LCD) which studies as a dual-panel display can much enhance the contrast ratio of image and reduce the power consumption upon the locally controlled dynamic backlight. A simple modulated algorithm, Delta-Color Adjustment (DCA) method, was proposed to determine the RGB-LEDs backlight modulation for high image quality. By implementing the DCA method on a 37¿ HDR-LCD TV with 8 × 8 backlight zones, the contrast ratio of a high contrast image can reach ~ 40000:1 with clear image detail and 40% power reduction. Furthermore, by controlling the R, G, and B LEDs individually , the color gamut can be enlarged to 125% NTSC.
Extraction and Tracking Moving Objects in Detail Considering Visual Feature Constraint and Structure Constraint

SUMMARY Detailed tracking is required for many vision applications. A visual feature-based constraint underlies most conventional motion estimation methods. For example, optical ﬂow methods assume that the brightness of each pixel is constant in two consecutive frames. However, it is di ﬃ cult to realize accurate extraction and tracking using only visual feature information, because viewpoint changes and inconsistent illumination cause the visual features of some regions of objects to appear di ﬀ erent in consecutive frames. A structure-based constraint of objects is also necessary for tracking. In the proposed method, both visual feature matching and structure matching are formulated as a linear assignment problem and then integrated.
TWiN: A Turn-Guided Reliable Routing Scheme for Wireless 3D NoCs

Network-on-chip (NoC) is a major communication technique for 3D integrated circuits (ICs). In order to achieve higher throughput and lower latency with less system cost, horizontal and vertical wireless links are adopted to apply in the 3D NoCs. So far, the reliable routing scheme has been regarded as a lightweight and high-efficiency mechanism to guarantee the performance of the faulty 2D/3D NoCs. In this paper, we propose a low-overhead turn-guided reliable routing scheme named TWiN for the vertical link faults in wireless 3D NoCs. TWiN is deadlock-free without any virtual channels (VCs). Experimental results show that TWiN possesses higher performance, improved reliability and lower overhead compared with the state-of-the-art reliable routing scheme for wireless 3D NoCs.
Clinical assessment of heart-type fatty acid binding protein in early diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome

Background Early identification of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the emergency room is still a difficult task. The objective of this study is to estimate the reliability of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in identifying ACS in the early stage of chest pain onset. Methods In a prospective multicentre study in emergency room patients with suspected ACS lasting less than 3 h, heart heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) was compared with conventional biomarkers. Protein levels >7 ng/ml were considered positive results. Results A total of 419 patients were analyzed. Acute myocardial infarction was diagnosed in 148 patients (35%). H-FABP sensitivity was 60% (89 out of 148 patients), significantly higher than troponin T [19% (28 out of 148 patients); P<0,05]. Specificity of troponin T, however, [99% (270 out of 271 patients)] was better than H-FABP [88% (237 out of 271 patients)], though this was not statistically significant. Conclusion H-FABP can be a useful early diagnostic biochemical marker, particularly within the first 6 h of symptoms, in patients attending the emergency department.
3D Footwear Model Matching System using Two Cameras

The technique of Human Motion Analysis is generally used for applications such as games, movies and 3D animations. This technique is based upon analyzing human movements to make 3D figures move more life-like. In this paper, we will explain how this technique works. Two cameras are used to display a 3D image on the screen, in this case a foot of a human. Each camera starts receiving information the moment the foot enters a scene. When the position of the foot is changed the camera immediately updates the changed position on to the screen. Programs such as Maya or 3D Max are then used for further editing.
Approches d’apprentissage et réussite en première année commune des études de santé (PACES) en France

Contexte : Mise en place en France en septembre 2010, la Premiere Annee Commune des Etudes de Sante (PACES) est caracterisee par un enseignement de masse, un concours tres selectif et une grande quantite d’information a memoriser. Dans ce contexte tres particulier, nous avons, pour la premiere fois, determine les approches d’apprentissage specifiquement adoptees par les etudiants et etudie leur impact sur la reussite au concours. Materiel et methodes : Une version francaise du questionnaire R-SPQ-2F de Biggs a ete administree aux etudiants de PACES 2011-2012 avant les partiels en decembre. Les approches d’apprentissage specifiques ont ete determinees apres analyse factorielle exploratoire du R-SPQ-2F et selection des items pertinents dans ce contexte. L’association entre les approches et la bonne reussite aux partiels a ete etudiee par un modele de regression binomiale. Resultats : Au total, 1977 etudiants sont inclus dans l’analyse. Les etudiants qui ont le plus de chance de reussir sont i) ceux qui s’interessent a leurs etudes (risque relatif (RR) de reussite de 1,5) et ii) ceux qui se limitent au contenu du cours (approche de surface, RR = 1,4). Les etudiants qui apprennent par cœur (approche de surface) ont 1,6 plus de risque d’echouer que les autres. Conclusion : Ce concours de PACES tres selectif et tres stressant a pour effet d’encourager une certaine approche de surface tres forte en vue de la reussite au concours au detriment d’une approche plus en profondeur indispensable a une formation solide.
Reactions of Religious Fundamentalists to Taboo Images and Words

Some view religious fundamentalism as inclusive of fear of the world as a dangerous place. Fundamentalists are known to have extensive taboo lists, but research concerning their reactions to taboo stimuli is sparse. If fear is a basic component of fundamentalism, then reactions to taboo stimuli should be somewhat similar to common fear reactions, including subjective appraisal of discomfort, psychophysiological arousal, cognitive interference, and behavioral avoidance. The current research addressed some of these questions with three studies to examine subjective discomfort to religiously-taboo and religiously-neutral words and photographs (N = 160), physiological arousal to these same photographs (N = 129), and attentional bias on a modified Stroop test of these same words (N = 182). Although subjective appraisals of discomfort to taboo words and photographs among fundamentalists were confirmed, this research did not find that physiological responses or cognitive interference to taboo stimuli were elevated in those scoring high in religious fundamentalism.
Análisis multicriterio para la óptima ubicación de una central de energía a partir de biomasa en Andalucía

En la actualidad, a nivel global, pero sobre todo en el ambito europeo, nos encontramos en un contexto de decidida promocion de las energias renovables (ER). En este sentido el Protocolo de Kioto acordado en 1997, establece procedimientos economicamente eficientes con la intencion de neutralizar parcialmente las emisiones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero. Ante la demora en la ratificacion del mismo, muchos paises han resuelto apoyar las ER como medida preventiva del calentamiento global, de modo que ha significado un importante punto de inflexion en el esfuerzo de promover mundialmente este tipo de energias. Resulta pues obligatorio para aquellas empresas o equipos de investigacion interesados en las ER, seguir muy de cerca la evolucion de las negociaciones del Protocolo en general y de los estudios de cambio climatico en particular. A pesar de que la ejecucion de las medidas propuestas en Kioto plantea incertidumbres en los proximos anos, la promocion de tecnologias de energias renovables (TER) ofrece una doble ventaja: la diversificacion energetica y una formula de credito para evitar una potencial crisis global del clima. Como medida para materializar el compromiso de Kioto adquirido por la Union Europea para el periodo 2008-12, el Libro Blanco de la Comision Europea (COM,
Whole‐body magnetic resonance imaging (WB‐MRI) as surveillance for subsequent malignancies in survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma: A pilot study

Individuals with hereditary retinoblastoma (RB) are at very high risk of developing subsequent malignant neoplasms (SMNs) of which osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most common. We hypothesized that annual surveillance using whole‐body magnetic resonance imaging (WB‐MRI) in asymptomatic survivors of hereditary RB would detect SMN of the bone and soft tissues at an early stage.
Prolactin-Releasing Peptides Do Not Stimulate Prolactin Release in vivo

The prolactin (PRL)-releasing activity of the novel prolactin-releasing peptides (PrRPs) was studied in vivo using male and lactating female rats. Whereas thyrotropin-releasing hormone effectively stimulated PRL and thyrotropin release as expected, PrRP in both animal models neither stimulated PRL secretion nor affected the release of other pituitary hormones. At the anterior pituitary level, in situ hybridization (ISH) histochemistry and Northern blot analysis revealed significantly higher expression levels of PrRP receptor (UHR-1) transcripts in female compared to male rats but not between lactating and nonlactating animals. By ISH, expression of UHR-1 mRNA was also detected in the intermediate lobe but not in the posterior pituitary. UHR-1 transcripts were also readily detectable in various hypothalamic brain areas whereas expression of PrRP mRNA was restricted to the ventral part of the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus but was not detected in neuroendocrine hypothalamic nuclei (e.g. PVN, SON). We thus assume that in the central nervous system, PrRP may likely have functions as a neuromodulator. However, together with the detailed cytochemical studies of various investigators that failed to detect PrRP-immunopositive nerve endings in the median eminence, our results strongly suggest that the hypothalamic PrRPs cannot be classified as hypophysiotrophic factors.
Late Cardiac Preconditioning by Exercise in Dogs Is Mediated by Mitochondrial Potassium Channels

We previously showed that exercise induces myocardial preconditioning in dogs and that early preconditioning is mediated through mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels. We decided to study if late preconditioning by exercise is also mediated through these channels. Forty-eight dogs, surgically instrumented and trained to run daily, were randomly assigned to 4 groups: (1) Nonpreconditioned dogs: under anesthesia, the coronary artery was occluded during 1 hour and then reperfused during 4.5 hours. (2) Late preconditioned dogs: similar to group 1, but the dogs run on the treadmill for 5 periods of 5 minutes each, 24 hours before the coronary occlusion. (3) Late preconditioned dogs plus 5-hydroxydecanoate (5HD): similar to group 2, but 5HD was administered before the coronary occlusion. (4) Nonpreconditioned dogs plus 5HD: similar to group 1, but 5HD was administered before the coronary occlusion. Infarct size (percent of the risk region) decreased by effect of exercise by 56% (P < 0.05), and this effect was abolished with 5HD. 5HD by itself did not modify infarct size. Exercise did not induce myocardial ischemia, and the hemodynamics during ischemia-reperfusion period did not differ among groups. These effects were independent of changes in collateral flow to the ischemic region. We concluded that late cardiac preconditioning by exercise is mediated through mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels.
Drivable Road Reconstruction for Intelligent Vehicles Based on Two-View Geometry

This paper presents a road reconstruction algorithm based on two-view geometry. A general geometric model for both planar and nonplanar scenes is proposed with respect to a reference plane. Then, points in the scene can be described geometrically by the projective parallax with respect to the reference plane. In practice, the grounding plane of the vehicle is selected as the reference plane. A row-wise image registration method is proposed to estimate the parallax information effectively. Based on the geometric model, points in the scene can be reconstructed as relative position and height information with respect to the reference plane. For road detection, the scene can be segmented where the height changes abruptly. Then, the road region is obtained by a diffusion strategy. The road surface can be reconstructed using the proposed model. Experiments are conducted to show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach. The proposed approach is general in the sense that it does not rely on the priors of road appearance and structure, and it is not restricted to specific stereo camera configurations making it extendable to other multicamera systems.
In Vivo Generation of Cytotoxic T Cells from Epitopes Displayed on Peptide-Based Delivery Vehicles1

The development of nonviral, peptide-based constructs able to elicit protective in vivo CTL responses represents a major challenge in the design of future vaccines. We report the design of branched peptide delivery vehicles, termed loligomers, that facilitate the import, processing, and presentation of CTL epitopes onto nascent MHC class I molecules. These complexes are then effectively displayed on the surface of APCs. The intracellular delivery of CTL epitopes by loligomers prolonged the expression of Ag-MHC class I complexes on the surface of APCs in comparison with free CTL epitope alone. Furthermore, the injection of CTL epitope-containing loligomers into mice led to the generation of in vivo CTL responses and the induction of autoimmune disease in an animal model. Synthetic epitope-carrying, peptide-based delivery vehicles may represent useful components to be included in the formulation of future vaccines.
Concurrency without Locking in Parallel Hash Structures used for Data Processing

— Various mechanisms providing mutual exclusion and thread synchronization can be used to support parallel processing within a single computer. Instead of using locks, semaphores, barriers or other traditional approaches in this paper we focus on alternative ways for making better use of modern multithreaded architectures and preparing hash tables for concurrent accesses. Hash structures will be used to demonstrate and compare two entirely different approaches (rule based cooperation and hardware synchronization support) to an efficient parallel implementation using traditional locks. Comparison includes implementation details, performance ranking and scalability issues. We aim at understanding the effects the parallelization schemes have on the execution environment with special focus on the memory system and memory access characteristics.
Régulation de trafic urbain multimodal : une modélisation multi-agents. (Cooperative system for multimodal traffic regulation : a multiagent model)

Depuis plusieurs decennies, la congestion urbaine est de plus en plus repandue et degrade la qualite de vie des habitants des villes. Plusieurs methodes sont utilisees pour diminuer la congestion urbaine, notamment la regulation du trafic et la valorisation des transports en commun. Depuis les annees 1990 l'utilisation d‘outils issus de l'intelligence artificielle, et en particulier des methodes distribuees et les systemes multi-agents, a permis de concevoir de nouvelles methodes de regulation du trafic. Parallelement, l'amelioration des capacites de communication des vehicules et des conducteurs et l'arrivee de voitures autonomes permettent d'envisager de nouvelles approches en matiere de regulation. Le travail de recherche propose dans le cadre de cette these est structure en deux volets. Nous proposons d'abord une methode de regulation du trafic a une intersection s'appuyant sur la negociation automatique. Notre methode se fonde sur un systeme d'argumentation decrivant l'etat du trafic et les preferences de chacun, appuye par des methodes de raisonnement pour les vehicules et les infrastructures. Dans le deuxieme volet de cette these, nous proposons une methode de coordination des bus avec le reste du trafic. Celle-ci permet a un bus de se coordonner de maniere anticipative avec les prochaines intersections qu'il prevoit de traverser, afin de mettre en place une politique commune de regulation qui permet au bus d'atteindre son prochain arret en subissant le minimum de congestions potentielles
Efficient Doubled Haploid Production in Brassica napus via Microspore Colchicine Treatment in vitro and Ploidy Determination by Flow Cytometry

An efficient microspore culture protocol was used to rapidly produce homozygous doubled haploid (DH) progeny of crosses between low erucic canola and high erucic resynthesized rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Microspores of Canadian cultivars ‘Excel’ and ‘Profit’ as well as three F1 hybrids with the resynthetic line RS239 were treated with colchicine immediately after isolation. Flow cytometry was applied for early identification of DH regenerants. The diploidization rate was subsequently verified by scoring flower morphology . In vitro colchicine treatment had a positive effect on induced diploidization in dependence on the frequency of preliminary spontaneous diploidization which was, however, determined by the genotype. In addition, effects of colchicine treatment on embryoid formation and regeneration have been evaluated. The method presented is feasible for commercial large-scale production of DH lines in oilseed rape since the genotype-specific diploidization can be efficiently balanced by in vitro colchicine treatment. In addition, the use of flow cytometry immediately after in vitro culture allows to efficiently select for doubled haploids thus saving labor and cost and in the laboratory and subsequent greenhouse phase.
A reactive scheduling approach to combat remote interference in TDMA-based Wireless Mesh Networks

In the context of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), distributed scheduling solutions, where nodes coordinate transmissions locally, are particularly appealing because they require less signaling overhead and are more reactive than centralized solutions. However, they are also more subject to interference from nodes that lie outside the local neighborhood where transmissions are scheduled. In this paper, we first provide numerical evidence that this phenomenon, which is often disregarded in the context of TDMA scheduling for WMNs, can severely affect the network performance. Secondly, we propose a distributed reactive approach to counterbalance the negative effects of interference, based on scheduling re-negotiation, and we compare the results obtained with different allocation algorithms through simulation.
Rickettsial hemolysis: adsorption, desorption, readsorption, and hemagglutination

The energy-dependent adsorption of radioiodinated rickettsiae to sheep erythrocytes was demonstrated. The iodination procedure, however, decreased the hemolytic activity of the rickettsiae. No desorption of rickettsiae from isolated rickettsia-erythrocyte complexes (prevented from lysing by NaF) could be measured. On the other hand, rickettsiae desorbed from this complex during or after lysis and readsorbed and lysed other erythrocytes. Thus, the usual hemolytic assay measures multiple rounds of adsorption and lysis. Although lysis of the rickettsia-erythrocyte complex was insensitive to anti-rickettsial rabbit serum, adsorption and readsorption were completely inhibited by such antiserum. Hemagglutination of erythrocytes by rickettsiae was observed (in the presence of NaF to prevent lysis) and was sensitive to the same inhibitors as adsorption.
Fbh1 Limits Rad51-Dependent Recombination at Blocked Replication Forks

ABSTRACT Controlling the loading of Rad51 onto DNA is important for governing when and how homologous recombination is used. Here we use a combination of genetic assays and indirect immunofluorescence to show that the F-box DNA helicase (Fbh1) functions in direct opposition to the Rad52 orthologue Rad22 to curb Rad51 loading onto DNA in fission yeast. Surprisingly, this activity is unnecessary for limiting spontaneous direct-repeat recombination. Instead it appears to play an important role in preventing recombination when replication forks are blocked and/or broken. When overexpressed, Fbh1 specifically reduces replication fork block-induced recombination, as well as the number of Rad51 nuclear foci that are induced by replicative stress. These abilities are dependent on its DNA helicase/translocase activity, suggesting that Fbh1 exerts its control on recombination by acting as a Rad51 disruptase. In accord with this, overexpression of Fbh1 also suppresses the high levels of recombinant formation and Rad51 accumulation at a site-specific replication fork barrier in a strain lacking the Rad51 disruptase Srs2. Similarly overexpression of Srs2 suppresses replication fork block-induced gene conversion events in an fbh1Δ mutant, although an inability to suppress deletion events suggests that Fbh1 has a distinct functionality, which is not readily substituted by Srs2.