Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trajectory planning using optimum solution of variational problem

A new method of trajectory planning for robot manipulators is proposed, in which the reference in joint space is expressed as a B-spline curve, and is optimized by the variational method. This has an advantage in less required memory for the reference path. The performance index includes the trajectory position error and the acceleration term of each joint with weight coefficients. The characteristics of optimized trajectory is determined by weight coefficients. A new design method is proposed to set up the weight coefficients. Through calculations and experiments, it is verified that the proposed design method is both useful and effective. <<ETX>>
Molecular evidence for a terrestrial origin of snakes

Biologists have debated the origin of snakes since the nineteenth century. One hypothesis suggests that snakes are most closely related to terrestrial lizards, and reduced their limbs on land. An alternative hypothesis proposes that snakes are most closely related to Cretaceous marine lizards, such as mosasaurs, and reduced their limbs in water. A presumed close relationship between living monitor lizards, believed to be close relatives of the extinct mosasaurs, and snakes has bolstered the marine origin hypothesis. Here, we show that DNA sequence evidence does not support a close relationship between snakes and monitor lizards, and thus supports a terrestrial origin of snakes.
Regulatory dynamics of 11p13 suggest a role for EHF in modifying CF lung disease severity

Abstract Mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene cause cystic fibrosis (CF), but are not good predictors of lung phenotype. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) previously identified additional genomic sites associated with CF lung disease severity. One of these, at chromosome 11p13, is an intergenic region between Ets homologous factor (EHF) and Apaf-1 interacting protein (APIP). Our goal was to determine the functional significance of this region, which being intergenic is probably regulatory. To identify cis-acting elements, we used DNase-seq and H3K4me1 and H3K27Ac ChIP-seq to map open and active chromatin respectively, in lung epithelial cells. Two elements showed strong enhancer activity for the promoters of EHF and the 5′ adjacent gene E47 like ETS transcription factor 5 (ELF5) in reporter gene assays. No enhancers of the APIP promoter were found. Circular chromosome conformation capture (4C-seq) identified direct physical interactions of elements within 11p13. This confirmed the enhancer-promoter associations, identified additional interacting elements and defined topologically associating domain (TAD) boundaries, enriched for CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF). No strong interactions were observed with the APIP promoter, which lies outside the main TAD encompassing the GWAS signal. These results focus attention on the role of EHF in modifying CF lung disease severity.
Posttranslational control of Ty1 retrotransposition occurs at the level of protein processing

High-level expression of a transpositionally competent Ty1 element fused to the inducible GAL1 promoter on a 2 microns plasmid (pGTy1) overcomes transpositional dormancy in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To investigate the mechanisms controlling the rate of Ty1 retrotransposition, we quantitated transposition and Ty1 gene products in cells induced and uninduced for expression of pGTy1. The increase in Ty1 transposition was 45- to 125-fold greater than the increase in Ty1 RNA effected by pGTy1 induction. Translational efficiency of Ty1 RNA was not altered in transposition-induced cells, since p190TYA1-TYB1 protein synthesis increased in proportion to steady-state Ty1 RNA levels. Therefore, expression of a pGTy1 element increases the efficiency of Ty1 transposition at a posttranslational level. Galactose induction of pGTy1 enhanced TYA1 protein processing and allowed detection of processed TYB1 proteins, which are normally present at very low levels in uninduced cells. When the ability of genomic Ty1 elements to complement defined mutations in HIS3-marked pGTy1 elements was examined, mutations in the protease domain or certain mutations in the integrase domain failed to be complemented, but mutations in the reverse transcriptase domain were partially complemented by genomic Ty1 elements. Therefore, the activity of Ty1 elements in yeast cells may be limited by the availability of Ty1 protease and possibly integrase. These results suggest that Ty1 transposition is regulated at the level of protein processing and that this regulation is overcome by expression of a pGTy1 element.
Economics of Agricultural Supply Chain Design: A Portfolio Selection Approach

Agrifood firms in a globalizing and competitive market, both in developing and developed countries, often undertake innovations in products and technologies. Innovators such as firms and other agents develop supply chains to accommodate the nature of the innovations. In this article we analyze an innovator’s supply chain design problem. The design of the supply chain involves three sets of decisions. The first is how much to produce. The second involves how to undertake production, and how many resources to allocate to the production of feedstock (agricultural products that are inputs for processing), processing, and marketing. The third set involves deciding on the amount of feedstock to be obtained through contracts with farmers. We show that the innovator determines its overall level of production by taking advantage of its monopoly power, derived from the innovation in the output market, and behaves as a monopsony in buying feedstock from contractors. These decisions are constrained by the marginal cost of capital and the properties of production and marketing technologies. When the innovator is risk averse, risks in farm production, processing, and marketing will affect both processed output and the share of feedstock bought through contracts.
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone action on the prolactin promoter is mediated by the POU protein pit-1.

TRH is known to regulate transcription of the PRL gene in pituitary cells, but little is known about the mechanism involved. We have characterized TRH response elements (TRHREs) in the promoter region of the rat PRL gene and the gene-proximal protein that transmits the TRH signal to these elements. Exposure of GH3 rat pituitary cells to TRH yielded a large specific stimulation of transient expression of a PRL-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (PRL-CAT) construct containing the PRL promoter region [(-204)PRL-CAT]. Analysis of 5' deletions of this construct implied that regions -174/-113 and -75/+38 each contain a TRHRE. GH3 cell nuclear extracts are known to footprint four sites, termed, respectively, 1P-4P, on the PRL promoter region. The TRHRE between positions -75/+38 was identified as element 1P, residing at -63/-39, since two copies of a 1P oligodeoxynucleotide transferred a TRH response to either (-39)PRL-CAT or mouse metallothionein-CAT construct (-39)mMT-CAT. Similarly, the more proximal TRHRE may be element 3P, residing at -167/-144, since two copies of this element also transferred a TRH response to (-39)PRL-CAT. Binding of pit-1 to site 1P is known to be capable of activating pituitary cell-specific PRL gene expression. To investigate whether pit-1 can also transduce a TRH signal to this site, oligodeoxynucleotides were prepared corresponding to mutations in either or both of two consensus sequences in site 1P. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
3D prostate elastography: algorithm, simulations and experiments

A multi-resolution hybrid strain estimator is presented. The estimator is locally initialized by the B-mode tracking stage. Nonlinear and linear stretching regimes are applied in successive RF tracking stages for refining the estimated axial and lateral displacements. A staggering operator is used to derive the strain images from the reconstructed axial displacements. Simulations and experiments, conducted at a center frequency of 12 MHz, 40% fractional bandwidth, on a 128 element transducer with 0.2 mm pitch, with elastographic window length of 2 mm and overlap of 90%, demonstrate a 3–6 dB improvement in the elastographic contrast-to-noise ratio over the results obtained using conventional multi-stage stretching based strain estimators. The average image cross-correlation coefficient obtained using the proposed algorithm was improved by 6–8%. 3D elastographic simulations conducted to study the performance of a 3D elastographic imaging framework predict achievable axial and lateral resolutions of approximately five and ten wavelengths, respectively. A close correspondence between inclusions reconstructed from experimental elastograms and the known physical shape of actual 3D inclusions demonstrates the potential application of 3D elastography for identifying and classifying the detected lesions (invisible in sonograms) on the basis of their shape.
Seeking Out Non-Public Information: Sell-Side Analysts and the Freedom of Information Act

A number of sell-side healthcare analysts gain access to information outside the purview of management through Freedom of Information Act requests to the Food and Drug Administration for records on factory inspections, complaints, and drug and medical device applications. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that buy (sell) recommendations and upgrades (downgrades) earn higher (lower) stock returns over the year following the receipt of FDA records. We also examine the type of information revealed in FDA factory inspection reports, and find that analysts are less likely to downgrade and are less pessimistic in their recommendations than the consensus recommendation when the information contained in the FDA report is not particularly severe. Our findings are consistent with a subset of analysts utilizing non-public information channels independent of management to gain value-relevant information about their covered firms.
Comparison of the Seattle Heart Failure Model and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Capacity for Prediction of Death in Patients With Chronic Ischemic Heart Failure and Intracoronary Progenitor Cell Application

Despite many therapeutic advances, the prognosis of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) remains poor. Therefore, reliable identification of high‐risk patients with poor prognosis is of utmost importance. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) provides important prognostic information by peak O2 uptake (peak VO2), maximal oxygen pulse (O2 Pmax), O2 uptake efficiency slope (OUES), and VE/VCO2 slope (VE/VCO2). A different approach for prognostic assessment is the Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM), which is based on clinical data and calculates the estimated annual mortality.
Tension-Free Vaginal Tape and Laparoscopic Mesh Colposuspension for Stress Urinary Incontinence

OBJECTIVE: To compare objective and subjective outcomes after the tension-free vaginal tape procedure (TVT) with laparoscopic mesh colposuspension as a primary treatment for female stress urinary incontinence. Objective outcome measures were stress test and 48-hour pad test. METHODS: In 6 departments of gynecology in Finland, including 4 university teaching hospitals and 2 central hospitals, 128 women with urodynamic stress incontinence were randomly allocated to 2 treatment groups. Seventy were treated with TVT and 51 by means of laparoscopic mesh colposuspension. There were 7 dropouts. Inclusion criteria were history of stress incontinence, positive stress test, and urodynamic conformation of stress incontinence. Exclusion criteria were age older than 70 years, previous incontinence surgery, more than 3 episodes of urinary tract infection within the last 2 years, coincident other gynecological surgery, body mass index more than 32 kg/m2, urethral closure pressure less than 20 cm H2O, and residual volume more than 100 mL in preoperative urodynamic evaluation. Assessment took place before treatment and at 12 months postoperatively with the cough stress test, Urge Score, 48-hour pad test, King's College Health Questionnaire, Visual Analog Scale, and Urinary Incontinence Severity Score. RESULTS: When negative stress test was used as criteria for cure, 85.7% of women in the TVT group and 56.9% in the laparoscopic mesh colposuspension group were objectively cured. Subject satisfaction was significantly better after the TVT procedure than after laparoscopic mesh colposuspension. CONCLUSION: Treatment with TVT results in higher objective and subjective cure rates at 1 year than treatment by means of laparoscopic mesh colposuspension. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I
Surveillance for foodborne-disease outbreaks--United States, 1993-1997.

PROBLEM/CONDITION Since 1973, CDC has maintained a collaborative surveillance program for collection and periodic reporting of data on the occurrence and causes of foodborne-disease outbreaks (FBDOs) in the United States. REPORTING PERIOD COVERED This summary reviews data from January 1993 through December 1997. DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM The Foodborne-Disease Outbreak Surveillance System reviews data concerning FBDOs, defined as the occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a common food. State and local public health departments have primary responsibility for identifying and investigating FBDOs. State, local, and territorial health departments use a standard form to report these outbreaks to CDC. RESULTS During 1993-1997, a total of 2,751 outbreaks of foodborne disease were reported (489 in 1993, 653 in 1994, 628 in 1995, 477 in 1996, and 504 in 1997). These outbreaks caused a reported 86,058 persons to become ill. Among outbreaks for which the etiology was determined, bacterial pathogens caused the largest percentage of outbreaks (75%) and the largest percentage of cases (86%). Salmonella serotype Enteritidis accounted for the largest number of outbreaks, cases, and deaths; most of these outbreaks were attributed to eating eggs. Chemical agents caused 17% of outbreaks and 1% of cases; viruses, 6% of outbreaks and 8% of cases; and parasites, 2% of outbreaks and 5% of cases. INTERPRETATION The annual number of FBDOs reported to CDC did not change substantially during this period or from previous years. During this reporting period, S. Enteritidis continued to be a major cause of illness and death. In addition, multistate outbreaks caused by contaminated produce and outbreaks caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 remained prominent. ACTIONS TAKEN Current methods to detect FBDOs are improving, and several changes to improve the ease and timeliness of reporting FBDO data are occurring (e.g., a revised form to simplify FBDO reporting by state health departments and electronic reporting methods). State and local health departments continue to investigate and report FBDOs as part of efforts to better understand and define the epidemiology of foodborne disease in the United States. At the regional and national levels, surveillance data provide an indication of the etiologic agents, vehicles of transmission, and contributing factors associated with FBDOs and help direct public health actions to reduce illness and death caused by FBDOs.
Generation of Lrp6 conditional gene‐targeting mouse line for modeling and dissecting multiple birth defects/congenital anomalies

Lrp6 is a key coreceptor in the canonical Wnt pathway that is widely involved in tissue/organ morphogenesis. We generated a loxP‐floxed Lrp6 mouse line. Crossing with a general Cre deleter, we obtained the Lrp6‐floxdel mice, in which the loxP‐floxed exon 2 of Lrp6 gene has been deleted ubiquitously. The homozygotes of Lrp6‐floxdel mice reproduced typical defects as seen in the conventional Lrp6‐deficient mice, such as defects in eye, limb, and neural tube, and die around birth. We also found new phenotypes including cleft palate and agenesis of external genitalia in the Lrp6‐floxdel mice. In addition, the Lrp6‐deficient embryos are known to be defective in other systems and internal organs including the heart and brain. Thus, by selectively crossing with a lineage‐specific or inducible Cre mouse line, the Lrp6 conditional gene‐targeting mice will allow us to model specific types of birth defects for mechanism and prevention studies. Developmental Dynamics 239:318–326, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An academic, clinical and industrial update on electrospun, additive manufactured and imprinted medical devices

Electrospinning, additive manufacturing and imprint lithography scaffold fabrication technologies have attracted great attention in biomedicine, as they allow production of two- and three- dimensional constructs with tuneable topographical and geometrical features. In vitro data demonstrate that electrospun and imprinted substrates offer control over permanently differentiated and stem cell function. Advancements in functionalisation strategies have further enhanced the bioactivity and reparative capacity of electrospun and additive manufactured devices, as has been evidenced in several preclinical models. Despite this overwhelming success in academic setting, only a few technologies have reached the clinic and only a fraction of them have become commercially available products.
PRELIMINARY SELECTION OF BASIC PARAMETERS OF DIFFERENT TORSIONAL VIBRATION DAMPERS INTENDED FOR USE IN MEDIUM-SPEED DIESEL ENGINES

In the development and application of highly dynamic mechanical systems, major problems can arise from usually unwanted accompanying processes, such as torsional vibrations. The internal combustion engine is a typical dynamic system with a high probability of fracture of a system part due to the effects of torsional vibrations. In engineering practice, the IC engine crankshaft fracture due to torsional vibrations is prevented by using additional devices that allow the transfer of critical vibration modes of the crankshaft out of the IC engine operating range, or devices damping the resulting twist angle amplitudes. This paper presents a possible approach to defining parameters of torsional oscillatory systems of IC engines needed for a preliminary selection of basic parameters of various types of torsional vibration dampers, such as the elastic damper, the balance weight damper and the dual mass flywheel. The proposed physical and mathematical models and methods of defining the input parameters were compared with experimental results.
The cardiac glycoside binding site on the Na,K-ATPase α2 isoform plays a role in the dynamic regulation of active transport in skeletal muscle

The physiological significance of the cardiac glycoside-binding site on the Na,K-ATPase remains incompletely understood. This study used a gene-targeted mouse (α2R/R) which expresses a ouabain-insensitive α2 isoform of the Na,K-ATPase to investigate whether the cardiac glycoside-binding site plays any physiological role in active Na+/K+ transport in skeletal muscles or in exercise performance. Skeletal muscles express the Na,K-ATPase α2 isoform at high abundance and regulate its transport over a wide dynamic range under control of muscle activity. Na,K-ATPase active transport in the isolated extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle of α2R/R mice was lower at rest and significantly enhanced after muscle contraction, compared with WT. During the first 60 s after a 30-s contraction, the EDL of α2R/R mice transported 70.0 nmol/g·min more 86Rb than WT. Acute sequestration of endogenous ligand(s) in WT mice infused with Digibind to sequester endogenous cardiac glycoside(s) produced similar effects on both resting and contraction-induced 86Rb transport. Additionally, the α2R/R mice exhibit an enhanced ability to perform physical exercise, showing a 2.1- to 2.8-fold lower failure rate than WT within minutes of the onset of moderate-intensity treadmill running. Their enhanced exercise performance is consistent with their enhanced contraction-induced Na,K-ATPase transport in the skeletal muscles. These results demonstrate that the Na,K-ATPase α2 isozyme in skeletal muscle is regulated dynamically by a mechanism that utilizes the cardiac glycoside-binding site and an endogenous ligand(s) and that its cardiac glycoside-binding site can play a physiological role in the dynamic adaptations to exercise.
A Novel Low Phase Noise Oscillator Using Stubs Loaded Nested Split-Ring Resonator

In this letter, a novel low phase noise oscillator based on stubs loaded nested split-ring resonator (SLNSRR) is proposed. The SLNSRR consists of a nested split-ring resonator (NSRR) and two short-circuited stubs loaded symmetrically at the NSRR bottom. It possesses a compact size about <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.094\,\,\lambda _{g} \times 0.129\,\,\lambda _{g}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\lambda _{g}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> is the guided wavelength at the center frequency). Based on the proposed SLNSRR, a close-to-upper passband transmission zero has been realized in a bandpass filter. The filter has a sharp phase variation and leads to a steep group delay, which can obtain better phase noise performance in an oscillation circuit. For verifying the design, an L-band oscillator has been fabricated and measured. The measured results show that at the oscillation frequency of 1.98 GHz with 9.5-dBm output power, the phase noise is −127.22 and −145.43 dBc/Hz at 100-kHz and 1-MHz frequency offset, respectively. The figure-of-merit at 100-kHz frequency offset is −198.4 dBc/Hz.
Fault detection in atomic clock frequency standards affected by mean and variance changes and by an additive periodic component: the GLRT approach

Atomic clocks are measurement instruments widely employed for satellite navigation purposes, that need to be constantly monitored in order to guarantee high accuracy of the end-user application. Many research activities successfully investigated techniques for increasing clocks accuracy. However, more demanding specifications require the analysis of new efficient techniques for monitoring the behavior on-board and for revealing eventual faults of atomic clocks. In this paper a statistical fault detection method is described and validated. The presented method could be employed for designing technical parameters of an algorithm for fault detection of on-board atomic clock and could be a good candidate as clock monitoring algorithm in the next space missions.
Treatment of botulism with guanidine. Early neurophysiologic studies.

Abstract Studies in the serum confirmed the presence of Type A botulinum toxin of a 43-year-old woman. Guanidine treatment was followed by clinical and electrophysiologic improvement. This is the second case of botulism treated with guanidine hydrochloride. Early diagnosis provided an opportunity to perform neurophysiologic studies as soon as 40 hours after ingestion of the contaminated food. At first, the expected electrical abnormality of increase of the muscle-action potential, with rapid repetitive stimulation of the motor nerve, was not seen. Later, the characteristic electrical abnormality appeared. Important from a diagnostic point of view is the fact that the typical electrical abnormality may not have evolved at a time when the patient had major clinical weakness. The experience reported here also indicates that guanidine can be a useful adjunct in the treatment of botulism.
Systematic Design Centering of Continuous Time Oversampling Converters

We address the practical problem of determining the loop filter component values in a single-loop continuous-time delta sigma modulator. Conventional techniques to design center the converter to achieve a desired noise transfer function are cumbersome and not numerically stable. We present a robust procedure that can be used to determine the loop filter coefficients when real opamps (with finite gain, arbitrary Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) pulse, and multiple internal poles/zeros) are used. The method can also account for excess loop delay. We illustrate our technique with second-order low-pass and fourth-order bandpass examples.