Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of IL-12 encoding plasmid administration on tight-skin mouse.

The tight-skin (Tsk/+) mutant mice, a putative murine model of scleroderma, are characterized by the excessive deposition of collagen and the presence of antinuclear antibodies. Type 2 cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-6, are capable of regulating the synthesis of various matrix molecules, including type I collagen, by fibroblasts. IL-12 is well known to induce type 1 cytokine production and to reduce type 2 activity. Here, we examined the effect of IL-12 encoding plasmid (pCAGGSIL-12) on the disease progression of Tsk/+ mice. pCAGGSIL-12 plasmid or pCAGGS parental vector was injected intramuscularly 7 times at 3 week intervals into Tsk/+ mice. One week after the last injection, pCAGGSIL-12 administered Tsk/+ mice exhibited a marked decrease in the skin thickness compared with the mice treated with pCAGGS vector. The serum levels of antinuclear antibodies were diminished in pCAGGSIL-12 treated mice. IL-4 production by spleen cells from pCAGGSIL-12 plasmid treated mice was significantly lower than that from vector treated mice. These results indicate that pCAGGSIL-12 administration into Tsk/+ mice had beneficial effects in preventing the collagen accumulation in the skin and suppressing the autoimmunity via improvement of Th1/Th2 balance. The present study suggests that the IL-12 encoding plasmid administration might have a therapeutic effect on systemic sclerosis.
INFLUENCE OF GIBBSITE SURFACE AREA AND CITRATE ON Ni SORPTION MECHANISMS AT pH 7 . 5 N

We investigated the sorption of Ni to gibbsite of two different surface areas at pH 7.5, in the presence and absence of citrate, over a time period of 180 days. Extended X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy was employed to elucidate the sorption mechanisms at the molecular level. In agreement with former results, Ni-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) formed in the presence of gibbsite of low surface area. However, gibbsite of high surface area suppressed the formation of the surface precipitate. Instead, two Al atoms neighboring Ni at distances of 2.95 ­ 2.98 AÊ indicated formation of an inner-sphere sorption complex, where each NiO6-octahedron shares edges with two AlO6-octahedra. Focused multiple scattering arising from Al atoms at a distance of 6 AÊ suggest that sorbed Ni(OH)2(OH2)4 monomers epitaxially extend the hexagonal arrangement of Al atoms in gibbsite. Only after 30 days or more was a small amount of LDH formed. The presence of citrate prevented the formation of LDH, while maintaining the formation of inner-sphere sorption complexes. Key Words—Citrate, EXAFS, Gibbsite, Layered Double Hydroxide, Ni, Sorption, Surface Area, Surface Precipitate .
A 40nm 2Gb 7Gb/s/pin GDDR5 SDRAM with a programmable DQ ordering crosstalk equalizer and adjustable clock-tracking BW

Most DRAM interfaces such as GDDR5 and DDR3 use parallel single-ended signaling due to pin-count restriction and backward compatibility. Notwithstanding poor signal and power integrity issues, GDDR5 speed reached beyond 5Gb/s in recent years by utilizing data bus inversion, error-detection coding, data training and channel equalization [1–3]. However, channel crosstalk is becoming a major barrier to further speed improvement. A common solution for channel crosstalk reduction at the system level is to use a shielding line or wide spacing between signal lines, but increasing the number of layers in a chip package and PCB increase system cost. To remove the shielding lines and increase speed, this paper presents a channel crosstalk equalizer with programmable signal ordering capability for the DRAM transmitter. In addition, this paper addresses tri-mode clocking to reduce the system jitter for better timing margin: PLL off, LC-PLL and injection-locked oscillator.
Integration of Clinical and Genetic Data in the i2b2 Architecture

The Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) is one of the sponsored initiatives of the NIH Roadmap National Centers for Biomedical Computing (http://www.bisti.nih.gov/ncbc/). One of the goals of i2b2 is to provide clinical investigators broadly with the software tools necessary to collect and manage project-related clinical research data in the genomics age as a cohesive entity - a software suite to construct and manage the modern clinical research chart.
Ultra-low latency 5G CHARISMA architecture for secure intelligent transportation verticals

We describe low end-to-end latencies of 6.69 ms in the 5G CHARISMA network, that has been optimised for both device and system technologies speed, as well as with its virtualised, hierarchical and distributed, edge-centric architecture, that processes data as near as possible to their source and destination. Such an ultra-high speed 5G network can be utilised in intelligent transport system (ITS) applications, and we describe a public transport bus-based use case that takes advantage of the CHARISMA capabilities.
A Multi Join Algorithm Utilizing Double Indices

Join has always been one of the most expensive queries to carry out in terms of the amount of time to process. This paper introduces a novel multi join algorithm to join multiple relations. The novel algorithm is based on a hashed-based join of two relations to produce a double index. This is done by scanning the two relations once. Instead of moving the records into buckets, a double index is built. This will eliminate collision as a result of a complete hash algorithm. The double index will be divided into join buckets of similar categories from the two relations. Buckets with similar keys are joined to produce joined buckets. This will lead at the end to a complete join index of the two relations without actually joining the actual relations. The time complexity required to build the join index of two categories is O(m log m) where m is the size of each category. The proposed algorithm has a time complexity of O (n log m) for all buckets where n is the number of buckets. The join index will be used to materialize the joined relation if required. Otherwise, along with other join indices of other relations, the join index builds a lattice to be used in multi-join operations with minimal I/O requirements. The lattice of the join indices can be fitted into the main memory to reduce time complexity of the multi join algorithm.
Effects of pinealectomy and melatonin on the retrograde degeneration of retinal ganglion cells in a novel model of intraorbital optic nerve transection in mice

The effects of pinealectomy and of intraperitoneally administered melatonin on the retrograde degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) were examined in a novel model of optic nerve (ON) transection in C57BL/6J mice. RGCs were prelabeled with the fluorescent tracer 1,1′‐dioctadecyl‐3,3,3′,3′‐tetramethyl indocarbocyanine perchlorate (Di‐I), and the ON was cut inside the orbital cavity 7 days later. The degree of RGC injury was assessed by counting viable Di‐I labeled RGCs in various locations of the retina. In unlesioned control eyes, a mean ganglion cell density of 1891 ± 30/mm2 (mean ± S.E.M.) was determined. The cell density markedly declined at 14 days after axotomy (295 ± 9 cells/mm2; 15.6% of contralateral). Sham‐pinealectomy did not influence the density of RGCs at 14 days after ON transection (382 ± 37 cells/mm2). In pinealectomized animals, on the other hand, the RGC number was significantly reduced as compared with untreated and sham‐pinealectomized animals (91 ± 33 RGCs/mm2). The effect of pinealectomy was reversed after i.p. administration of melatonin (4 mg/kg bw bolus followed by continuous infusion of 8 mg/kg bw/day) (286 ± 27 cells/mm2). In nonpinealectomized animals, on the contrary, i.p. melatonin did not influence the RGC density (344 ± 20 cells/mm2). The present results suggest that endogenous melatonin prevents the delayed degeneration of adult central nervous system (CNS) neurons in vivo, and that exogenous substitution of melatonin may be useful to protect injured neurons against cell death under conditions of melatonin deficiency, e.g. in the aged brain, when melatonin synthesis and secretion have decreased.
Encoding Subjects : Evidence from Retrieval Interference

Realtime sentence comprehension is an incremental process, involving the rapid establishment of a syntactic representation and dependencies over that representation. This requires previously encountered linguistic material to be retrieved from memory. Following much recent work, we assume a content-addressable retrieval mechanism: constituent encodings are retrieved based on their inherent features (e.g. [+PL]), rather than relations between encodings, such as c-command (McElree et al., 2003). Recent research has shown that the outcome of this retrieval is not always sensitive to the syntactic representation and, so, not grammatically appropriate. For instance, during subject-verb attachment, subjects outside of the current clause make retrieval more difficult ((1); Van Dyke and Lewis (2003)). There are also cases where only the grammatically appropriate dependency is formed, arguing for structure-sensitive search (Sturt, 2003; Wagers and Phillips, 2009). However, within content-addressable retrieval, the properties of encodings that serve to guide retrieval can yield grammatical outcomes, without reference to structural information. Thus, if there is content-addressable retrieval, we need a theory of retrieval cues. These issues can be addressed by probing the extent to which the presence of subjects within the nominal domain makes subject-verb dependencies more difficult. Subjects in the nominal and clausal domain are similar along some dimensions: they c-command other DPs within their domain, and they are the DPs to which the external argument is linked. They are dissimilar in that they occur in different domains and are assigned Case by distinct heads. In particular, the prediction is that if cue-based search targets features these elements share, the parser will be unable to distinguish between subjects in the nominal and clausal domain. By comparing subject-verb attachment in the presence of nominal interveners, we are testing the set of retrieval cues the parser uses in the face of a number of choices.
Arabidopsis H+-PPase AVP1 Regulates Auxin-Mediated Organ Development

The transport of auxin controls developmental events in plants. Here, we report that in addition to maintaining vacuolar pH, the H+-pyrophosphatase, AVP1, controls auxin transport and consequently auxin-dependent development. AVP1 overexpression results in increased cell division at the onset of organ formation, hyperplasia, and increased auxin transport. In contrast, avp1-1 null mutants have severely disrupted root and shoot development and reduced auxin transport. Changes in the expression of AVP1 affect the distribution and abundance of the P–adenosine triphosphatase and Pinformed 1 auxin efflux facilitator, two proteins implicated in auxin distribution. Thus, AVP1 facilitates the auxin fluxes that regulate organogenesis.
A New Clinical Scale for the Staging of Dementia

Summary Accurate clinical staging of dementia in older subjects has not previously been achieved despite the use of such methods as psychometric testing, behavioural rating, and various combinations of simpler psychometric and behavioural evaluations. The Clinical Dementia Rating (CRD), a global rating device, was developed for a prospective study of mild senile dementia—Alzheimer type (SDAT). Reliability, validity, and correlational data are discussed. The CDR was found to distinguish unambiguously among older subjects with a wide range of cognitive function, from healthy to severely impaired.
Risks of newly onset hemorrhagic stroke in patients with neovascular age‐related macular degeneration

Age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease causing blindness in the elderly. It shares many common possible pathogenic mechanisms with cardiovascular diseases. Many studies have discussed the association between AMD and stroke, but the results were inconsistent. Our aim was to determine the associations between neovascular AMD and the risk of stroke in the Taiwanese population.
The case for randomized controlled trials to assess the impact of clinical information systems

There is a persistent view of a significant minority in the medical informatics community that the randomized controlled trial (RCT) has a limited role to play in evaluating clinical information systems. A common reason voiced by skeptics is that these systems are fundamentally different from drug interventions, so the RCT is irrelevant. There is an urgent need to promote the use of RCTs, given the shift to evidence-based policy and the need to demonstrate cost-effectiveness of these systems. The authors suggest returning to first principles and argue that what is required is clarity about how to match methods to evaluation questions. The authors address common concerns about RCTs, and the extent to which they are fallacious, and also discuss the challenges of conducting RCTs in informatics and alternative study designs when randomized trials are infeasible. While neither a perfect nor universal evaluation method, RCTs form an important part of an evaluator's toolkit.
MLK3 Is Part of a Feedback Mechanism That Regulates Different Cellular Responses to Reactive Oxygen Species

Computational analysis of signaling networks reveals how cells can choose between proliferation and death in response to oxidative stress. Balancing Responses to ROS Low concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by mitochondria during oxidative metabolism symbolize fitness and signal cells to proliferate. In contrast, cell stress induces the production of high concentrations of ROS, which damage cellular proteins, lipids, and DNA and lead to cell death. Lee et al. found that two families of related kinases responded to low or high concentrations of ROS: low concentrations of ROS activated the extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) family, and high concentrations of ROS activated the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) family. Mathematical modeling of the protein interaction network surrounding these two related kinase families revealed a system of feedback loops, including one involving the kinase MLK3, that balanced the relative activation of ERKs and JNKs by ROS. In cancer cells, inhibition or loss of MLK3 increased the concentration of ROS at which cells switched from activation of ERK to activation of JNK and cell death. Thus, MLK3-mediated feedback may enable cells to execute a different cellular response (proliferation or death) to different concentrations of the same stimulus (ROS). Understanding this crosstalk between kinase cascades could inform therapies that target these pathways in cancer and other diseases. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) influence diverse cellular processes, including proliferation and apoptosis. Both endogenous and exogenous ROS activate signaling through mitogen-activated proteins kinase (MAPK) pathways, including those involving extracellular signal–regulated kinases (ERKs) or c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs). Whereas low concentrations of ROS generally stimulate proliferation, high concentrations result in cell death. We found that low concentrations of ROS induced activating phosphorylation of ERKs, whereas high concentrations of ROS induced activating phosphorylation of JNKs. Mixed lineage kinase 3 (MLK3, also known as MAP3K11) directly phosphorylates JNKs and may control activation of ERKs. Mathematical modeling of MAPK networks revealed a positive feedback loop involving MLK3 that determined the relative phosphorylation of ERKs and JNKs by ROS. Cells exposed to an MLK3 inhibitor or cells in which MLK3 was knocked down showed increased activation of ERKs and decreased activation of JNKs and were resistant to cell death when exposed to high concentrations of ROS. Thus, the data indicated that MLK3 is a critical factor controlling the activity of kinase networks that control the cellular responses to different concentrations of ROS.
Characterization of the Bacterial Community of the Chemically Defended Hawaiian Sacoglossan Elysia rufescens

ABSTRACT Sacoglossans are characterized by the ability to sequester functional chloroplasts from their algal diet through a process called kleptoplasty, enabling them to photosynthesize. The bacterial diversity associated with sacoglossans is not well understood. In this study, we coupled traditional cultivation-based methods with 454 pyrosequencing to examine the bacterial communities of the chemically defended Hawaiian sacoglossan Elysia rufescens and its secreted mucus. E. rufescens contains a defense molecule, kahalalide F, that is possibly of bacterial origin and is of interest because of its antifungal and anticancer properties. Our results showed that there is a diverse bacterial assemblage associated with E. rufescens and its mucus, with secreted mucus harboring higher bacterial richness than entire-E. rufescens samples. The most-abundant bacterial groups affiliated with E. rufescens and its mucus are Mycoplasma spp. and Vibrio spp. , respectively. Our analyses revealed that the Vibrio spp. that were highly represented in the cultivable assemblage were also abundant in the culture-independent community. Epifluorescence microscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption–ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) were utilized to detect the chemical defense molecule kahalalide F on a longitudinal section of the sacoglossan.
Suicidal Disclosures among Friends

A robust literature suggests that suicide is socially contagious; however, we know little about how and why suicide spreads. Using network data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examine the effects of alter’s (1) disclosed and (2) undisclosed suicide attempts, (3) suicide ideation, and (4) emotional distress on ego’s mental health one year later to gain insights into the emotional and cultural mechanisms that underlie suicide contagion. We find that when egos know about alter’s suicide attempt, they report significantly higher levels of emotional distress and are more likely to report suicidality, net of extensive controls; however, alter’s undisclosed suicide attempts and ideation have no significant effect on ego’s mental health. Finally, we find evidence that emotional distress is contagious in adolescence, though it does not seem to promote suicidality. We discuss the implications of our findings for suicide contagion specifically and sociology more generally.
A 1.9 GHz Si active LC filter with on-chip automatic tuning

The achievable quality factors (Q) of on-chip inductors fabricated with standard Si technology are limited. Inductor Q factors can be enhanced by active means, resulting in GHz-range filters with adequate dynamic range for certain applications. One such application is the replacement of off-chip filters in the transmit part of a wireless transceiver, following a mixer. The limits of the technique are tested here by using it in a filter for the entire band used in the PCS 1.9 GHz standard. A tuning-friendly filter can be built with magnetically coupled LC resonators. Two identical Q-enhanced LC resonators, together with the loading impedances, are used form a balanced 4th-order bandpass filter. The filter and its tuning system are implemented in a 0.25 /spl mu/m BiCMOS technology.
Haplotype analysis of the estrogen receptor 1 gene in male genital and reproductive abnormalities.

BACKGROUND We have recently suggested that homozygosity for a specific 'AGATA' haplotype within a approximately 50 kb linkage disequilibrium (LD) block of the gene for estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) may raise the susceptibility to cryptorchidism by enhancing estrogenic effects of environmental endocrine disruptors (EEDs). METHODS Haplotype analysis of ESR1 was performed in 328 Japanese subjects, i.e. 70 patients with micropenis (MP), 43 patients with hypospadias (HS), 80 patients with spermatogenic failure (SF) and 135 control males. Genotyping was performed by the 5' nuclease assay. RESULTS The LD block was identified in each of the patient groups and in the control males. The frequency of homozygotes for the specific 'AGATA' haplotype was markedly higher in the HS patients [P = 0.0000033, odds ratio [OR] = 11.26] and slightly higher in the MP patients (P = 0.034, OR = 3.64) than in the control males, and the 'AGATA' haplotype was strongly associated with HS (P = 0.0000022, OR = 11.26) and weakly associated with MP (P = 0.040, OR = 3.64) in a recessive mode. There was no significant difference between the SF patients and the control males. CONCLUSIONS Our results support the hypothesis that homozygosity for the specific ESR1 'AGATA' haplotype may increase the susceptibility to the development of male genital abnormalities in response to estrogenic EEDs.
A multiresolution based method for recognizing weeds in corn fields

In order to reduce the quantities of herbicides applied to cereals, we have to detect and localize by image processing the places where weeds are located. The herbicide spray is only performed if the weed density is sufficient, otherwise spraying is not performed because the weeds will lose the competition with the cereal. A color camera provides 4 images red (R), green (G), blue (B) and infrared (IR) bands of agronomic scenes. The resolution is 2036/spl times/3060 pixels. The color images (R,G,B) are filtered by L-filters. We have studied a lot of color representations and find that the most efficient one was (L, a, b). For separating vegetation and soil, the components a and IR are fused after thresholding from histograms. The recognition of weeds is based on the skeletons of leaves. A method which provides 4-connected skeletons gives good results. Finally, a small expert system based on color and geometrical features enables us to recognize the classes of the different parts of the skeletons of connected components. A conditional dilation using these labeled parts of skeletons and the binary image vegetation/soil is carried out. On a few connected components, we obtain a mixture of different labels. In order to solve these ambiguities, we compute geometrical features and topological relationships of leaves and the decision is taken with the technique of Bayesian nets. On images with small quantities of overlapping, vegetal species are well recognized. At the and, we compute the covers and locations of maize and weeds in order to get the densities of vegetal species. When the corn and weeds are not at an earlier stage, the vegetal species recognition process is much more complex, a multiresolution technique based on wavelets is performed in order to classify weeds and corn with a better accuracy.
A Preliminary Study on the Cost Implications and Validity of Executing a Control Strategy on Individual Appliance Usage

This study evaluates a number of power-saving measures that were applied on individual electric appliances to investigate their contributions to energy savings of the electricity network. In order to carry out the study, power-saving measures were applied on all appliances under study for certain period periods at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). The appliances are the air conditioner (AC), computers, lightings and closed-circuit television (CCTV). As a means of validating the accuracy of models developed for electricity costs, a comparison of was done between measurements taken from the electricity network and those taken from PowerLogic PM5350 power meter (PM5350) installed for the purpose of this research. The results from model analysis show significant cost savings of 39.9%, 20.3%, 8% and 0.6% when control strategies were applied to AC, lightings, computers and CCTV.