Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aminoglycoside-induced increase of intracellular calcium in LLC-PK1 cells due to an artifact caused by trypsin and EDTA

Dietary calcium supplements attenuate experimental aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity. In cultured renal tubular cells, intracellular calcium levels have been reported to rise with aminoglycoside addition to the culture medium. In experiments designed to verify the in vitro influence of calcium on cultured kidney cells, we detected an unexpected artifact. When we resuspended cultured LLC-PK1 cells with trypsin and EDTA to measure intracellular calcium levels, our results correlated well with previously reported values. However, we saw no increase in intracellular calcium levels when we measured them by digital imaging video microscopy unless trypsin-EDTA exposure preceded aminoglycoside exposure. This apparent artifact should be considered in any study of the effects of various agents on intracellular calcium levels.
Rorα, a pivotal nuclear receptor for Purkinje neuron survival and differentiation: From development to ageing

RORα (Retinoid-relatedOrphanReceptor) is a transcription factor belonging to the superfamily of nuclear receptors. The spontaneousstaggerer (sg) mutation, which consists of a deletion in theRora gene, has been shown to cause the loss of function of the RORα protein. The total loss of RORα expression leads to cerebellar developmental defects, particularly to a dramatic decreased survival of Purkinje cells and an early block in the differentiation process. This review focuses on recent studies which position RORα as a pivotal factor controlling Purkinje cell survival and differentiation, from development to ageing
Energy Efficient Driving and Operation Strategies Based on Situation Awareness and Reasoning

Abstract A vehicle´s basic energy consumption is determined by its design, but the driving behavior is another important factor having a major influence on the overall consumption. In this work we show how information technology can be used to gain an understanding of the whole traffic situation and use it to derive energy optimal behavior. It can be used to optimize operation strategies and in cooperation with the driver helping him to maximize fuel saving by anticipatory driving. We summarize the research challenges that need to be solved to create energy efficiency assistance systems and present an overview of our solutions. Zusammenfassung Der Basis-Energieverbrauch eines Fahrzeugs wird durch dessen Design festgelegt, aber das Fahrverhalten hat ebenfalls einen großen Einfluss auf den Gesamtverbrauch. In dieser Arbeit zeigen wir, wie Informationstechnik eingesetzt werden kann, um ein Gesamtverständnis der Verkehrssituation aufzubauen und davon ausgehend energieoptimales Verhalten abzuleiten. Transparent für den Fahrer wird es zur Optimierung von Betriebsstrategien des Fahrzeugs eingesetzt oder in Kooperation mit dem Fahrer als Hilfestellungen zum vorausschauenden Fahren angeboten. Wir fassen die wissenschaftlichen Herausforderungen zusammen, die bei der Realisierung energieeffizienter Assistenzsysteme gelöst werden müssen und geben einen Überblick über unsere Lösungen.
Service Arms with Unconventional Robotic Parameters for Intricate Workstations: Optimal Number and Dimensional Synthesis

A task-oriented design strategy is presented in this paper for service manipulators. The tasks are normally defined in the form of working locations where the end-effector can work while avoiding the obstacles. To acquire feasible solutions in cluttered environments, the robotic parameters D-H parameters are allowed to take unconventional values. This enhances the solution space and it is observed that, by inducing this flexibility, the required number of degrees of freedom for fulfilling a given task can be reduced. A bilevel optimization problem is formulated with the outer layer utilizing the binary search method for minimizing the number of degrees of freedom. To enlarge the applicability domain of the proposed strategy, the upper limit of the number of joints is kept more than six. These allowable redundant joints would help in providing solution for intricate workcells. For each iteration of the upper level, a constrained nonlinear problem is solved for dimensional synthesis of the manipulator. The methodology is demonstrated through a case study of a realistic environment of a cluttered server room. A 7-link service arm, synthesized using the proposed method, is able to fulfill two different tasks effectively.
Non‐invasive first trimester determination of fetal gender: a new approach for prenatal diagnosis of haemophilia

Ten carriers of haemophilia referred for prenatal diagnosis were offered first trimester non‐invasive fetal gender determination by ultrasound and analysis of free fetal DNA (ffDNA) in maternal plasma in an attempt to reduce the need for an invasive diagnostic procedure in female pregnancies. Although repeat testing was required in three cases, fetal gender was determined correctly in all cases (four females, six males) at a median gestation of 12+3 (11+2 to 14+1) using both methods. In all cases of a female fetus, the mothers opted not to have invasive testing. Both methods provide a reliable option of avoiding invasive testing in female pregnancies.
Amorphous Silicon Sensors for Single and Multicolor Detection of Biomolecules

In this paper, we report on a system for single and multicolor detection of biomolecules based on amorphous silicon photosensors. The system promises to be compact, portable, and low cost. It allows the quantitative detection without using optics for focusing both the excitation and the emitted radiation. The revealed biomolecules can be chemi- or naturally luminescent or can be labeled with fluorochromes. Here, we focus on the detection of DNA molecules labeled with a single or with two fluorochromes by using a p-i-n and a p-i-n-i-p amorphous silicon stacked structure, respectively. The device design has been optimized in order to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio and to match the sensor spectral response with the emission spectra of the fluorochromes. This optimization process has been carried out by means of a numerical device simulator, which takes into account the optical and electrical properties of the amorphous silicon. Detection limit in the order of a few nmol/l have been achieved for both the single and the two-color photosensors. Comparison with commercial measurement equipment shows the suitability of our system for practical applications.
PERIPHERAL VASCULAR DISEASE Original Studies Controlled Blunt Microdissection for Percutaneous Recanalization of Lower Limb Arterial Chronic Total Occlusions: A Single Center Experience

Background: Percutaneous techniques for the revascularization of symptomatic lower limb arterial chronic total occlusions (CTOs) remain suboptimal due to difficulty in safely and reliably crossing these heavily calcified lesions using standard guidewire and balloon technology. Objectives: The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the technical success and safety of controlled blunt microdissection (CMD) for the treatment of resistant peripheral CTOs. Methods: This series enrolled 36 patients (26 men; mean age 67 6 12 years), with 44 symptomatic CTOs (2 terminal aortic, 24 iliac, 16 femoral, and 2 popliteal), which had previously failed conventional percutaneous revascularization. CMD was carried out using a specialized prototype catheter. Actuation of the hinged jaws of this CMD catheter created a channel within the occluded arterial segment for guidewire passage, and subsequent angioplasty and stenting using standard procedures. The problem of subintimal CMD catheter passage, creating an eccentric channel, was addressed using a second novel device, the truelumen reentry (LRE) catheter, which allowed reentry into the downstream lumen. Results: Procedural success, evaluated angiographically, was achieved in 40 (91%) of the 44 CTOs. Fourteen (35%) of these 40 successful recanalizations required guidewire redirection, using the LRE catheter for lesion traversal. There were no complications related to CMD per se; although one patient experienced acute in-stent thrombosis, managed successfully with intra-arterial thrombolysis. Conclusions: We therefore conclude that CMD can be used safely and successfully to facilitate recanalization of resistant CTOs in the pelvic and lower limb arteries. ' 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Lesion topography and outcome after thermocapsulotomy or gamma knife capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: relevance of the right hemisphere.

OBJECTIVES Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a common mental disorder, notorious for its chronicity and intractability. Stereotactic lesions within the anterior limb of the internal capsule have been shown to provide symptomatic relief in such refractory cases, but only few systematic evaluations have correlated anatomic lesion location with individual postoperative outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1976 and 1989, extremely disabled and otherwise intractable patients with a chronic deteriorating clinical course of obsessive-compulsive disorder underwent bilateral thermocapsulotomy (n = 22) or radiosurgical gamma knife capsulotomy (n = 13) at the Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm. Clinical morbidity was monitored prospectively pre- and postoperatively by using standardized psychiatric rating scales. In 29 patients (thermocapsulotomy, n = 19; gamma knife capsulotomy, n = 10), both psychiatric and magnetic resonance imaging follow-up data (median, 8.4 yr) were available. RESULTS A right-sided anatomically defined lesion volume was identified in all successfully treated patients. This common topographic denominator was defined in the approximate middle of the anterior limb of the internal capsule on the plane parallel to the anterior commissure-posterior commissure line at the level of the foramen of Monro and 4 mm above on the plane defined by the internal cerebral vein. This region was unaffected in patients with poor outcomes. On the left side, no particular lesion topography was associated with clinical outcome. Topographic differences of lesion overlap between good and poor outcome groups were significant for the right side (Fisher's exact test, P < 0.005). CONCLUSION The current anatomic long-term analysis after thermocapsulotomy or gamma knife capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder reveals common topographic features within the right-sided anterior limb of the internal capsule independent of treatment modality.
OptimalPartitioning forMulti-Vehicle SystemsUsing QuadraticPerformanceCriteria ⋆

We consider the problem of characterizing a generalized Voronoi diagram that is relevant to a special class of area assignment problems for multi-vehicle systems. It is assumed that the motion of each vehicle is described by a second order mechanical system with time-varying linear or affine dynamics. The proposed generalized Voronoi diagram encodes information regarding the proximity relations between the vehicles and arbitrary target points in the plane. These proximity relations are induced by an anisotropic (generalized) distance function that incorporates the vehicle dynamics. In particular, the generalized distance is taken to be the minimum square integral control associated with the transition of a vehicle to an arbitrary target point with a small terminal velocity at a fixed final time. The space we wish to partition corresponds to the union of all the terminal positions that can be attained by each vehicle using finite control effort. Consequently, the partition space has lower dimension than the state space of each vehicle. We show that, in the general case, the solution to the proposed partitioning problem can be associated with a power Voronoi diagram generated by a set of spheres in a five-dimensional Euclidean space for the computation of which efficient techniques exist in the relevant literature.
Mutational analyses of RB and BRCA2 as candidate tumour suppressor genes in parathyroid carcinoma

objective Strong evidence indicates that at least one key tumour suppressor gene important for the development of malignant parathyroid tumours is located on chromosome 13, but the critical target gene remains unknown. Importantly, the region of acquired DNA loss includes two established tumour suppressor genes, the retinoblastoma gene, RB (RB1) and BRCA2. Resolution of whether RB or BRCA2 is the critical 13q tumour suppressor gene in parathyroid cancer requires analysis of these genes’ sequences for intragenic inactivating mutations. Therefore, RB and BRCA2 were analysed in a group of parathyroid carcinomas in which mutations of these genes should be most readily detectable.
Airway wall thickening and emphysema show independent familial aggregation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE It is unclear whether airway wall thickening and emphysema make independent contributions to airflow limitation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and whether these phenotypes cluster within families. OBJECTIVES To determine whether airway wall thickening and emphysema (1) make independent contributions to the severity of COPD and (2) show independent aggregation in families of individuals with COPD. METHODS Index cases with COPD and their smoking siblings underwent spirometry and were offered high-resolution computed tomography scans of the thorax to assess the severity of airway wall thickening and emphysema. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 3,096 individuals were recruited to the study, of whom 1,159 (519 probands and 640 siblings) had technically adequate high-resolution computed tomography scans without significant non-COPD-related thoracic disease. Airway wall thickness correlated with pack-years smoked (P < or = 0.001) and symptoms of chronic bronchitis (P < 0.001). FEV(1) (expressed as % predicted) was independently associated with airway wall thickness at a lumen perimeter of 10 mm (P = 0.0001) and 20 mm (P = 0.0013) and emphysema at -950 Hounsfield units (P < 0.0001). There was independent familial aggregation of both the emphysema (adjusted odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.0; P < or = 0.02) and airway disease phenotypes (P < 0.0001) of COPD. CONCLUSIONS Airway wall thickening and emphysema make independent contributions to airflow obstruction in COPD. These phenotypes show independent aggregation within families of individuals with COPD, suggesting that different genetic factors influence these disease processes.
Crosstalk in Coupled Microstrip Lines With a Top Cover

In this paper, we investigate the influence of the excitation of improper radiating modes (leaky modes) in the propagation characteristics of coupled microstrip transmission lines. We calculate the crosstalk noise excited in the victim line and evaluate the impact of the presence of a metallic top cover due to the circuit packaging. The time domain propagation of pulses of different widths and rise times are computed in order to study the effect of the separation between the coupled strips on the crosstalk noise currents. We show that both even and odd leaky modes can be simultaneously excited on the covered microstrip structure at low frequencies. This can seriously compromise the signal integrity on the line because of the appearance of effects such as radiation, power loss, and interference, which are usually found in microstrip transmission lines at high frequencies. Our results are compared with those provided by a conventional analysis based on the quasi-TEM approximation and transmission line theory. For an open microstrip structure, we have found that the transmission line model accounts properly for the crosstalk current on the victim line. However, on covered coupled microstrip lines with a sufficiently low top-cover height, the crosstalk noise is higher than expected and cannot be accurately predicted by the transmission line model, even at frequencies where the cross section of the line is much smaller than the wavelength.
Design and Analysis of a Linear Permanent- Magnet Vernier Machine With Improved Force Density

This paper proposes a novel linear permanent-magnet (PM) vernier machine, which offers high force density, high efficiency, simple structure, and low cost. The novelty of the proposed machine is substantiated by integrating appropriate magnetization directions of PMs in the armature core. First, the structure and the operation principle of the proposed machine are descried. The machine is subsequently designed for a given set of specifications and its electromagnetic performances are analyzed by time-stepped transient finite-element method. An analytical equation is derived for evaluation of the thrust force ripple. Finally, experiments on a prototype of the proposed machine are carried out for validation.
Optimal Control for Polynomial Systems Using Matrix Sum of Squares Relaxations

This note deals with a computational approach to an optimal control problem for input-affine polynomial systems based on a state-dependent linear matrix inequality (SDLMI) from the Hamilton-Jacobi inequality. The design follows a two-step procedure to obtain an upper bound on the optimal value and a state feedback law. In the first step, a direct usage of the matrix sum of squares relaxations and semidefinite programming gives a feasible solution to the SDLMI. In the second step, two kinds of polynomial annihilators decrease the conservativeness of the first design. The note also deals with a control-oriented structural reduction method to reduce the computational effort. Numerical examples illustrate the resulting design method.
Gamete segregation in female carriers of Robertsonian translocations

Eleven female carriers of either 45,XX,der(13;14) (q10;q10) or 45,XX,der(14;21)(q10;q10) underwent hormonal stimulation with the purpose of producing enough oocytes for in-vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Polar body biopsy was performed in those oocytes and FISH with painting probes was applied in their metaphase-like first polar body chromosomes. In this way, unbalanced, normal and balanced oocytes could be distinguished and segregation modes ascertained. der(14;21)(q10;q10) produced 42% unbalanced, 37% normal and 21% balanced oocytes (n = 86) while der(13;14)(q10;q10) generated 33% unbalanced, 51% normal and 16% balanced oocytes (n = 69). In both translocations the number of normal oocytes was significantly higher than the number of balanced oocytes. However, while the frequency of unbalanced events involving chromosome 13 and 14 was similar in der(13;14)(q10;q10), there were significantly more abnormalities involving chromosome 21 than 14 in the der(14;21) (q10;q10) cases. When comparing survival rates to term, trisomies from Robertsonian origin seem to survive more often than those originated by non-disjunction in non-translocation carriers. The meiotic segregation patterns found in female Robertsonian translocations are different from those described in male carriers, with higher rates of unbalanced gametes in females than in males.
Scalability of PCMO-based resistive switch device in DSM technologies

This work systematically explores the relationship between the resistive switching properties of Pr0.7Ca0. 3MnO3 (PCMO) thin film element and its geometry dimensions in deep submicron (DSM) technologies. A series of PCMO-based resistive switch devices (RSDs) with different geometry sizes were fabricated. Our E-test results show that by reducing the PCMO layer thickness from the normal value of about 200nm to 30nm, a low switching voltage (within ±2.5V) can be achieved. The reduction of PCMO layer thickness does not incur visible impact on device reliability: no significant degradation of two resistance states was observed after 1500 programming cycles. Based on the extrapolation from the measured electrical parameters of PCMO-based devices, we analyzed the design requirements of PCMO-based resistive memory with different cell structures in sub-100nm technologies. Our simulations show that one-transistor-one-RSD (1T1R) cell structure can be successfully scaled down to 22nm technology node. However, the scaling of one-non-ohmicdevice-one-RSD (1N1R) cell structure is significantly limited by the low driving ability of current non-ohmic device technology.
Metal Artifacts From Posterior Mandibular Implants as Seen in CBCT

Purpose:Metal artifacts from dental implants have not been clarified in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images in previous studies. Hence, only mesiodistal metal artifacts from dental implants in the posterior mandibular region were assessed using CBCT. Materials and Methods:Twenty-two patients with a total of 61 dental implants in posterior mandibular sites were enrolled. The pixel values surrounding dental implants were measured using CBCT and rotational panoramic radiography, and then the means were calculated. Results:The mean pixel values between dental implants, between dental implants and neighboring teeth, and posterior to dental implants were significantly lower than between neighboring teeth in CBCT. In addition, the mean pixel value between dental implants did not significantly differ from that between neighboring teeth in rotational panoramic radiography. Conclusions:It was concluded that mesiodistal metal artifacts surrounding dental implants are demonstrated on CBCT.
Prognostic indicators in ocular hypertension.

Data from the initial examination of 12 patients who developed glaucomatous field loss while under observation were examined to determine which parameters showed an increased prevalence in the population. These parameters were then tested in a prospective manner to learn their predictive value in 50 patients with ocular hypertension (intraocular pressure ≥ 22 mm Hg and no field loss) who were followed up without therapy for a minimum of five years. The individual parameters were not good predictive indicators. The use of several parameters together, however, improved the ability to predict in which eyes field loss would develop.
Virtual Walls in Microchannels

Microfluidic channels were studied, in which the surface is modified from a solid/liquid interface into solid/liquid and air/liquid alternating interface, creating the equivalent of a superhydrophobic surface on the interior of the channel. The composite microchannel can be easily fabricated using embossing or cast molding of PDMS. The channels are stable under typical microfluidic conditions. For the most part, fluid flow behavior is not significantly changed; however, interesting mass transport effects can be observed in such channels under appropriate conditions. An application example of a microvalve based on the mass transport effect is demonstrated, showing advantages of simple design, fabrication, no moving part and zero dead volume
Limit sets, zero dynamics, and internal models in the problem of nonlinear output regulation

In this paper, we lay the foundations for a nonequilibrium theory of nonlinear output regulation, giving a more general (nonequilibrium) definition of the problem, deriving necessary conditions, and, using these necessary conditions, we present a set of sufficient conditions and a design methodology for the solution of the problem in question. Our analysis leads to a nonequilibrium enhancement of the internal model principle.