Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vitro study of macrophages from patients with sarcoidosis.

Cultures of leukocytes from patients with sarcoidosis were stimulated with Kveim antigen or PPD-S and the macrophage reactions were compared with those obtained under similar conditions with leukocyte cultures from healthy tuberculin reactors. The non-stimulated control cultures of Kveim-positive sarcoid patients showed signs of macrophage activation, namely an increase in cytoplasmic pyroninophilia in small and enlarged macrophages, together with a higher than normal rate of lymphoblast transformation. In the presence of Kveim antigen this activation was more marked, even in cases where the blast response to the antigen was of low magnitude. Stimulation with tuberculoproteins produced a slight activation of macrophages only in cultures from Kveim reactors who had also shown positive tuberculin reactions.These observations suggest that the study of lymphocyte transformation together with that of macrophage activation will improve the immunocytological assessment of sarcoidosis.
Preferential Bayesian Optimization

Bayesian optimization (BO) has emerged during the last few years as an effective approach to optimizing black-box functions where direct queries of the objective are expensive. In this paper we consider the case where direct access to the function is not possible, but information about user preferences is. Such scenarios arise in problems where human preferences are modeled, such as A/B tests or recommender systems. We present a new framework for this scenario that we call Preferential Bayesian Optimization (PBO) which allows us to find the optimum of a latent function that can only be queried through pairwise comparisons, the so-called duels. PBO extends the applicability of standard BO ideas and generalizes previous discrete dueling approaches by modeling the probability of the winner of each duel by means of a Gaussian process model with a Bernoulli likelihood. The latent preference function is used to define a family of acquisition functions that extend usual policies used in BO. We illustrate the benefits of PBO in a variety of experiments, showing that PBO needs drastically fewer comparisons for finding the optimum. According to our experiments, the way of modeling correlations in PBO is key in obtaining this advantage.
High-performance 40nm gate length InSb p-channel compressively strained quantum well field effect transistors for low-power (VCC=0.5V) logic applications

This paper describes for the first time, a high-speed and low-power III-V p-channel QWFET using a compressively strained InSb QW structure. The InSb p-channel QW device structure, grown using solid source MBE, demonstrates a high hole mobility of 1,230 cm2/V-s. The shortest 40 nm gate length (LG) transistors achieve peak transconductance (Gm) of 510 muS/mum and cut-off frequency (fT) of 140 GHz at supply voltage of 0.5V. These represent the highest Gm and fT ever reported for III-V p-channel FETs. In addition, effective hole velocity of this device has been measured and compared to that of the standard strained Si p-channel MOSFET.
Two sets of perfect syllogisms

Since Aristotle the categorical syllogisms have been divided into these two groups. Examination of the 256 possible categorical syllogisms reveals that there are not one but two sets of perfect syllogisms. When the Venn diagram is adapted to the concepts of the new mathematics, cf. [2], two sets of perfect syllogisms can be defined. In this examination the Venn diagram with its three overlapping circles was replaced by a diagram in which three or more discs may or may not overlap.
Terminal epidermal differentiation is regulated by the interaction of Fra-2/AP-1 with Ezh2 and ERK1/2

Wurm et al. identified Fra-2/AP-1 as a key regulator of terminal epidermal differentiation. Loss of Fra-2 in suprabasal keratinocytes is sufficient to cause skin barrier defects due to reduced expression of differentiation genes. The induction of epidermal differentiation by Fra-2 is controlled by a dual mechanism involving Ezh2-dependent methylation and activation by ERK1/2-dependent phosphorylation.
Non-bilayer Lipids Stimulate the Activity of the Reconstituted Bacterial Protein Translocase*

To determine the phospholipid requirement of the preprotein translocase in vitro, the Escherichia coli SecYEG complex was purified in a delipidated form using the detergent dodecyl maltoside. SecYEG was reconstituted into liposomes composed of defined synthetic phospholipids, and proteoliposomes were analyzed for their preprotein translocation and SecA translocation ATPase activity. The activity strictly required the presence of anionic phospholipids, whereas the non-bilayer lipid phosphatidylethanolamine was found stimulatory. The latter effect could also be induced by dioleoylglycerol, a lipid that adopts a non-bilayer conformation. Phosphatidylethanolamine derivatives that prefer the bilayer state were unable to stimulate translocation. In the absence of SecG, activity was reduced, but the phospholipid requirement was unaltered. Remarkably, non-bilayer lipids were found essential for the activity of the Bacillus subtilis SecYEG complex. Optimal activity required a mixture of anionic and non-bilayer lipids at concentrations that correspond to concentrations found in the natural membrane.
Construction and characterization of recombinant Vibrio cholerae strains producing inactive cholera toxin analogs

The catalytic A subunit of cholera toxin (CT-A) is capable of ADP-ribosylating the guanine nucleotide-binding protein, which regulates cell adenylyl cyclase, leading to the life-threatening diarrhea of cholera. Amino acids involved in the enzymatic activity of CT-A have previously been identified. By means of site-directed mutagenesis, an analog of the CT-A subunit gene was created with codon substitutions for both Arg-7 and Glu-112, each of which has been shown to produce subunits lacking ADP-ribosyltransferase activity. The mutated gene fragment was exchanged for the wild-type copy in the previously cloned ctxAB operon from El Tor biotype, Ogawa serotype Vibrio cholerae strain 3083, which produces CT-2. Further, the zonula occludens toxin gene, zot, was inactivated by an insertional mutation to create the new plasmid construct pCT-2*. Additionally, a DNA fragment encoding the B subunit of CT-1 (CT produced by classical biotype, Inaba serotype V. cholerae strain 569B) was exchanged for the homologous part in pCT-2*, resulting in the creation of pCT-1*. These plasmid constructs were introduced into the CT-negative V. cholerae mutant strain JBK70 (E1 Tor biotype, Inaba serotype); CT-A-B+ derivatives CVD101 and CVD103 of classical biotype Ogawa and Inaba serotype strains 395 and 569B, respectively; El Tor biotype Inaba and Ogawa serotype strains C6706 and C7258, respectively, recently isolated in Peru; and O139 (synonym Bengal) strain SG25-1 from the current epidemic in India. Recombinant toxins (CT-1* and CT-2*), partially purified from culture supernatants of transformed JBK70, were shown to be inactive on mouse Y1 adrenal tumor cells and in an in vitro ADP-ribosyltransferase assay. CT-1* and CT-2* reacted with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against both A and B subunits of CT. The toxin analogs reacted with antibodies against CT-A and CT-B on cellulose acetate strips and in a GM1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; they reacted appropriately with B-subunit epitype-specific monoclonal antibodies in checkerboard immunoblots, and they formed precipitin bands with GM1-ganglioside in Ouchterlony tests. However, the reactions of the modified proteins with anti-A-subunit monoclonal antibodies were weaker than the reactions with wild-type holotoxins. V, cholerae strains carrying ctxA*, with either ctxB-1 or ctxB-2, and inactivated zot genes were created by homologous recombination. The recombinant strains and the purified toxin analogs were inactive in the infant rabbit animal model. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Patch antenna design for full-duplex transceivers

We present the design, implementation and validation (by measurements) of a two-element antenna array for inband full-duplex (FD) applications. The antenna array is designed to provide large isolation between its transmission and reception ports by changing the polarization of the channels and by designing a suitable radiation pattern for the transmission antennas. Especially, the design of the antenna array is developed by tuning the characteristic S-parameters of the antenna elements so that isolation levels larger than 55 dB are achieved without degrading the far-field transmission pattern. Simulation and measurement results show that the proposed antenna design could be a promising solution for full-duplex applications, i.e., FD access points and/or FD sensing nodes in cognitive radio systems.
CGHnormaliter: a Bioconductor package for normalization of array CGH data with many CNAs

SUMMARY CGHnormaliter is a package for normalization of array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) data. It uses an iterative procedure that effectively eliminates the influence of imbalanced copy numbers. This leads to a more reliable assessment of copy number alterations (CNAs). CGHnormaliter is integrated in the Bioconductor environment allowing a smooth link to visualization tools and further data analysis. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The CGHnormaliter package is implemented in R and under GPL 3.0 license available at Bioconductor: http://www.bioconductor. org CONTACT heringa@few.vu. nl
The Effect of Compression Stockings on Physiological and Psychological Responses after 5-km Performance in Recreationally Active Females

Abstract Treseler, C, Bixby, WR, and Nepocatych, S. The effect of compression stockings on physiological and psychological responses after 5-Km performance in recreationally active females. J Strength Cond Res 30(7): 1985–1991, 2016—The purpose of the study was to examine the physiological and perceptual responses to wearing below-the-knee compression stockings (CS) after a 5-km running performance in recreationally active women. Nineteen women were recruited to participate in the study (20 ± 1 year, 61.4 ± 5.3 kg, 22.6 ± 3.9% body fat). Each participant completed two 5-km performance time trials with CS or regular socks in a counterbalanced order separated by 1 week. For each session, 5-km time, heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), pain pressure threshold, muscle soreness (MS), and rate of perceived recovery were measured. There was no significant difference in average 5-km times between CS and regular socks (p = 0.74) and HR response (p = 0.42). However, significantly higher RPE and lower gain scores (%) for lower extremity MS but not for calf were observed with CS when compared with regular socks (p = 0.05, p = 0.01, and p = 0.3, respectively). Based on the results of this study, there were no significant improvements in average 5-km running time, heart rate, or perceived calf MS. However, participants perceived less MS in lower extremities and working harder with CS compared with regular socks. Compression stockings may not cause significant physiological improvements; however, there might be psychological benefits positively affecting postexercise recovery.
Effects of Interrupting Children's Sedentary Behaviors With Activity on Metabolic Function: A Randomized Trial.

CONTEXT Limited data suggest that interrupting sedentary behaviors with activity improves metabolic parameters in adults. OBJECTIVE We tested whether interrupting sitting with short, moderate-intensity walking bouts improved glucose tolerance in children. DESIGN Participants underwent two experimental conditions in random order on different days: continuous sitting for 3 hours or sitting interrupted by walking (3 min of moderate-intensity walking every 30 min). Insulin, C-peptide, glucose, and free fatty acids were measured every 30 minutes for 3 hours during an oral glucose tolerance test. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated from hormone and substrate measurements. Children were given a buffet meal after each condition. SETTING The study was conducted at the National Institutes of Health Hatfield Clinical Research Center. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-eight normal-weight 7-11 year olds participated. MAIN OUTCOMES Patterns of substrate/hormone secretion and AUC, as well as energy intake, were examined by experimental condition. RESULTS Interrupting sitting resulted in a 32% lower insulin AUC (P < .001), 17% lower C-peptide AUC (P < .001), and 7% lower glucose AUC (P = .018) vs continuous sitting. Mixed model results indicated that insulin (P = .036) and free fatty acid concentrations (P = .009) were significantly lower in the interrupted vs the continuous sitting condition. Lunchtime buffet meal energy intake did not significantly differ between the conditions (975 ± 387 vs 963 ± 309 kcal; P = .85). CONCLUSIONS Interrupting sedentary time with brief moderate-intensity walking improved short-term metabolic function in non-overweight children without increasing subsequent energy intake. These findings suggest that interrupting sedentary behavior may be a promising prevention strategy for reducing cardiometabolic risk in children.
Durations and domains of daily aerobic activity: evidence from the 2010 Canadian time-use survey.

BACKGROUND This study employs national time-diary data to evaluate how much aerobic activity Canadians engage in on a daily basis, how that activity is apportioned by activity domain, and how subgroups within the population vary in their aerobic attainment. METHODS The study employs time-use data from the 2010 General Social Survey of Canada, for 15,390 respondents aged 15 and older. To estimate effort levels, the authors harmonized survey codes with those in the Compendium of Physical Activities. Aerobic activity was defined as moderate or vigorous effort at 3.5 Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) or higher. RESULTS Among the 4 activity domains, aerobic participation is highest in leisure activities, followed by chores, paid work, and active transportation (AT). Only a minority (42%) of respondents recorded at least 20 mins/day of aerobic activity. Aerobic totals were particularly low for women and those in poor or fair health, and low for students, 15- to 24-year-olds, and those residing in Quebec, Ontario, and larger cities. CONCLUSIONS The majority of Canadian adults are failing to meet recommended aerobic activity levels. However, there is considerable opportunity to increase aerobic participation for some groups, particularly women and young adults, especially in the leisure and AT domains.
Planning and Optimal Allocation of Agriucltural Production Resources under Uncertainty; Application of Multi- Objective Fuzzy Goal Programming approach

Uncertainty is an unavoidable aspect of decisions in agricultural planning. Inclusion of uncertainty in the optimization of crop planning and soil and water resources management has been provided by means of fuzzy mathematical programming approaches. Optimization procedures have been receiving much attention in agricultural economic research over several decades. LP is a single objective optimization technique and most of the farm planning problems are multi-objective in nature. Crop area planning or agricultural planning arenas involve multiple, conflicting and non-commensurable criteria and a satisfying decision is desired. Issues of risk, resources conservation and sustainability, environmental quality and social aspects of farming systems are as important as economic efficiency. It is clearly impossible to develop a single objective that satisfies all interests, all adversities and all political and social viewpoints. These are called multiple-criteria decision problems (MCDM), where the decision maker generally follows a satisfying solution rather than the maximization of objectives. Hence, decisions in the real world are often made on the basis of vague
Increased circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with bacterial pneumonia: evidence that bone marrow derived cells contribute to lung repair

Background: Tissue repair often occurs in organs damaged by various inflammatory diseases including pneumonia. Inflammatory stimuli induce a rapid and massive release of inflammatory cells from the bone marrow. Recent studies have suggested that bone marrow cells have the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types. It has been shown that administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to murine lungs induces a rapid release of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) into the circulation, and that bone marrow derived progenitor cells including EPCs contribute to lung repair after lung injury in mice. This study was undertaken to investigate the mobilisation of EPCs in humans following acute pneumonia. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from venous blood taken from 23 patients with pneumonia during both the acute and convalescent phase. 1×106 PBMCs were plated on fibronectin coated culture slides and cultured in culture medium for endothelium. The numbers of EPCs were counted 8 days after plating. Results: The number of circulating EPCs significantly increased in patients with pneumonia (p<0.0001). Patients with low EPC counts tended to have persistent fibrotic changes in their lungs even after their recovery from pneumonia. Conclusions: Inflammatory stimuli induce a rapid release of EPCs into the circulation in humans. A sufficient number of EPCs is necessary for proper lung repair following bacterial pneumonia.
Successful Treatment of Periungual Warts with Diluted Bleomycin Using Translesional Multipuncture Technique: A Pilot Prospective Study

BACKGROUND The treatment of periungual warts is a therapeutic challenge. Various treatment modalities can be ineffective and may cause scarring and permanent nail changes. OBJECTIVES A prospective pilot study to investigate the efficacy and safety of a low concentration (0.1 U/mL) of bleomycin in the treatment of periungual warts. METHODS Periungual warts were injected with bleomycin (0.1 U/mL) every 4 weeks until elimination of the lesions or until the injections were discontinued because of adverse effects. Bleomycin was administered using the translesional multipuncture technique. RESULTS We recruited 15 patients with periungual warts from March 2007 to March 2008. Thirteen patients were male (86.6%); median age was 30. Seven patients (46.6%) demonstrated complete clearance 1 month after the first injection; two required two treatment sessions. Thirteen (86.6%) patients had complete clearance of the treated wart at the 6‐month follow‐up with only one injection. Wart recurrence was observed in two patients. All patients were followed for 6 months after the initial treatment. No significant long‐term adverse effects were noted. Only one patient demonstrated mild postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, which resolved after 1 month, and nine (60%) had localized moderate pain for 2 to 3 days after the injection. CONCLUSION Translesional multipuncture treatment with a low concentration (0.1 U/mL) of bleomycin is an effective modality for periungual warts that results in minimal side effects. Larger controlled studies are needed. The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.
The Impact of Strategy and IS Flexibility on Performance in the Supply Chain Context: A Path Analysis

Little is known about the interrelationships among flexibility, strategy, and performance in the supply chain context. This paper reports the effect of various types of strategy and information systems flexibility (ISF) on performance in the supply chain. Using the data collected from 175 smalland medium-sized manufacturing (SME) firms in Canada, we examine the effect that three different strategies with ISF have on performance. The study produced three main conclusions. First, the findings provide evidence of the direct effects of strategy on ISF. Second, the total effect of strategy and ISF positively impacted non-financial performance. Third, the total effect strategy and ISF have no impact on financial performance. The main implication is that the investment in ISF should be involved in the strategic decision-making.
Bulk-Micromachined VCSEL At 1.55  $\mu$m With 76-nm Single-Mode Continuous Tuning Range

A single-mode continuous tuning range of 76 nm is realized using a bulk-micromachined vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) operating at wavelengths around 1.55 mum. The bulk-micromachined upper mirror is optimized for dielectric material and manufactured separately from the half-VCSEL. The VCSEL is tuned by an electrothermal actuation of a concave bended membrane. The tuning range characteristics in dependence on the bias of the VCSEL are investigated. It is determined that the tuning range saturates by increasing the current of the VCSEL and a further increase causes a multimode behavior within the tuning range.
Toward Better Mapping between Regulations and Operations of Enterprises Using Vocabularies and Semantic Similarity

Industry governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solutions stand to gain from various analyses offered by formal compliance checking approaches. Such adoption is made difficult by the fact that most formal approaches assume that a mapping between concepts of regulations and models of operational specifics exists. Industry solutions offer tagging mechanisms to map regulations to operational specifics; however, they are mostly semi-formal in nature and tend to rely extensively on experts. We propose to use Semantics of Business Vocabularies and Rules along with similarity measures to create an explicit mapping between concepts of regulations and models of operational specifics of the enterprise. We believe that our work-in-progress takes a step toward adapting and leveraging formal compliance checking approaches in industry GRC solutions.
Reconstruction of the proximal humerus after extensive extraarticular resection for osteosarcoma: A report of two cases with clavicula pro humero reconstruction

Two cases with clavicula pro humero reconstruction are described after extensive extraarticular wide resection of osteosarcoma due to the aggressive invasion, pre-operative pathological fracture, and relatively resistant to preoperative chemotherapy. Each patient had proximal humeral osteosarcoma and needed extraarticular resection. One necessitated more than two-third of humeral resection and reconstructed with rotated clavicle reconstruction with use of pasteurized intercalary autogenous bone graft. The other necessitated wide scapular resection, preserving acromio-clavicular joint, could be reconstructed with rotated clavicle. Both had soft tissue reconstruction with pedicled lattissimus dorsi muscle flap for soft tissue defect. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score was 73% and 87%, comparable for a previous report with clavicle pro humero reconstruction after conventional resection of proximal humerus or other reconstructive procedures. One had postoperative complication of prominent acromion with skin perforation. Both patients are alive with no evidence of disease, and no local recurrence. Clavicula pro humero reconstruction should be considered in selected patients for whom acromio-clavicular joint could be preserved after extensive resection of humerus or glenoid to obtain wide surgical margin.
Robust PID controller design for the magnetic levitation system: Frequency domain approach

The paper deals with the frequency domain design of a robust PID controller for unstable SISO systems. The approach applied is based on performance specification in terms of phase and gain margins; to guarantee the desired performance a modification of the Neimark D-partition is used. In the case study a PID controller has been designed for the laboratory Magnetic Levitation System.