Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Le corps à l'effort : un instrument du pouvoir d'agir

Le corps est un objet pluriel et polysemique, c'est a dire une realite construite pour partie par differents systemes symboliques et/ou rationnels. De nombreux travaux concernant le corps dans le champ des sciences humaines et sociales se sont attaches a souligner cette caracteristique de la realite corporelle, ou l'alterite apparait centrale : le regard et le discours d'autrui, les normes sociales et culturelles sont determinants. La posture sociale de cet autrui est egalement importante : proches, collegues de travail, chercheurs, historiens, photographe, etc. Tous contribuent a differents degres a la construction d'une realite du corps, plus ou moins partagee, culturellement et socialement plus ou moins acceptee, voire acceptable. Les pratiques corporelles sont ainsi porteuses de dimensions identitaires, culturelles et sociales majeures, qui, par exemple, resistent aux innovations technologiques Il nous semble important de souligner ici le mouvement inverse : celui qui va du corps individuel vers son monde. L'effort peut alors etre considere comme cet etat particulier de mise en jeu corporelle ou le corps devient l'instrument subjectif d'un rapport au monde complexe (physique, social et culturel), dans lequel l'individu tente de developper ses capacites d'action. Le developpement du pouvoir d'agir releve d'une tendance normalisatrice qui caracterise la vie et la sante humaines.
The Apoptotic Response to Pneumolysin Is Toll-Like Receptor 4 Dependent and Protects against Pneumococcal Disease

ABSTRACT Pneumolysin, the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin of Streptococcus pneumoniae, induces inflammatory and apoptotic events in mammalian cells. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) confers resistance to pneumococcal infection via its interaction with pneumolysin, but the underlying mechanisms remain to be identified. In the present study, we found that pneumolysin-induced apoptosis is also mediated by TLR4 and confers protection against invasive disease. The interaction between TLR4 and pneumolysin is direct and specific; ligand-binding studies demonstrated that pneumolysin binds to TLR4 but not to TLR2. Involvement of TLR4 in pneumolysin-induced apoptosis was demonstrated in several complementary experiments. First, macrophages from wild-type mice were significantly more prone to pneumolysin-induced apoptosis than cells from TLR4-defective mice. In gain-of-function experiments, we found that epithelial cells expressing TLR4 and stimulated with pneumolysin were more likely to undergo apoptosis than cells expressing TLR2. A specific TLR4 antagonist, B1287, reduced pneumolysin-mediated apoptosis in wild-type cells. This apoptotic response was also partially caspase dependent as preincubation of cells with the pan-caspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk reduced pneumolysin-induced apoptosis. Finally, in a mouse model of pneumococcal infection, pneumolysin-producing pneumococci elicited significantly more upper respiratory tract cell apoptosis in wild-type mice than in TLR4-defective mice, and blocking apoptosis by administration of zVAD-fmk to wild-type mice resulted in a significant increase in mortality following nasopharyngeal pneumococcal exposure. Overall, our results strongly suggest that protection against pneumococcal disease is dependent on the TLR4-mediated enhancement of pneumolysin-induced apoptosis.
Medial Gastrocnemius Transposition Flap for the Treatment of Disruption of the Extensor Mechanism after Total Knee Arthroplasty*

We describe a modified technique for the salvage of a total knee arthroplasty after disruption of the extensor mechanism. Between January and December 1992, seven patients had reconstruction of the extensor mechanism with use of a medial or an extended medial gastrocnemius flap. Six of the seven patients were followed for a mean of thirty-three months (range, twenty-six to forty-one months) and were evaluated both preoperatively and postoperatively with regard to the knee and functional scores of The Knee Society as well as the range of motion, extensor lag, walking status, and patellar height. The seventh patient was lost to follow-up six months postoperatively and was excluded from the analysis of the results. Preoperatively, the knee and functional scores were 16 ± 12.3 points and 12 ± 12.1 points (mean and standard deviation), respectively; the mean range of motion was 70 ± 44.0 degrees; and the mean extensor lag was 53 ± 33.4 degrees. Postoperatively, the mean knee and functional scores improved to 82 ± 12.4 points and 51 ± 23.0 points, respectively; the mean range of motion improved to 100 ± 21.8 degrees; and the mean extensor lag decreased to 24 ± 18.8 degrees. After the procedure, all patients who previously had been dependent on a walker were able to walk about the community with or without a cane, and those who had been dependent on a wheelchair were able to walk with the assistance of a walker. Patellar height was measured according to the method of Insall and Salvati for the four patients who had a patella. Preoperatively, the patellar heights were grossly abnormal; postoperatively, they more closely approached accepted normal values for three of the four patients. Reconstruction of a complicated rupture of the extensor mechanism with use of a medial gastrocnemius transposition flap after total knee arthroplasty is a reliable option for treatment.
Mechanisms Underlying the Programming of Small Artery Dysfunction: Review of the Model Using Low Protein Diet in Pregnancy in the Rat

Human and animal studies have shown that unbalanced maternal nutrition is associated with the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disease in adulthood. In the Southampton maternal low protein model (SMLP), protein deprivation (50%) throughout pregnancy in rats leads to elevated blood pressure in adult offspring. Impaired peripheral arterial function may contribute to the cardiovascular dysfunction observed in these offspring. This review discusses the impact of such a dietary insult on the vascular function of resistance arteries from pregnant rats (pF 0), their offspring (F 1), the pregnant offspring (pF 1) and the second generation (F 2). At each stage, disturbances in endothelium-dependent relaxation were observed, implicating changes in endothelial nitric oxide (NO)-guanylate cyclase (GC) signalling pathway in the vascular adaptations to pregnancy and the programmed effects on offspring.
Interactive 2D 3D image conversion method for mobile devices

This work proposes an interactive tool for creating stereo image from a mono image. The user interaction is defined as scribbling on the object of interest followed by relative depth assignment to the selected object. Initial step in the algorithm is to create structured image oversegments with intensity homogeneity and geometrical convexity constraint. The final image segmentation is realized by merging the oversegmented regions in a region growing manner. The proposed local neighbourhood similarity based method saves the energy of searching globally optimum cut. Instead of utilizing an iterative method to search for an optimum energy minimization, local neighbourhood based energy calculation enables one step decision. As the proposed method has relatively low complexity, it could efficiently be used in mobile devices with limited computational resources. The assigned relative depths of multiple objects are used to create stereo image pairs using conventional depth image based rendering (DIBR). The tool has been implemented for Nokia N900 Phone and allows creating stereo images with positive and negative disparity.
Effects of chronic treprostinil treatment on experimental right heart hypertrophy and failure

Abstract Background Right heart function is an important predictor of morbidity and mortality in pulmonary arterial hypertension and many CHD. We investigated whether treatment with the prostacyclin analogue treprostinil could prevent pressure overload-induced right ventricular hypertrophy and failure. Methods Male Wistar rats were randomised to severe pulmonary trunk banding with a 0.5-mm banding clip (n=41), moderate pulmonary trunk banding with a 0.6-mm banding clip (n=36), or sham procedure (n=10). The banded rats were randomised to 6 weeks of treatment with a moderate dose of treprostinil (300 ng/kg/minute), a high dose of treprostinil (900 ng/kg/minute), or vehicle. Results Pulmonary trunk banding effectively induced hypertrophy, dilatation, and decreased right ventricular function. The severely banded animals presented with decompensated heart failure with extracardial manifestations. Treatment with treprostinil neither reduced right ventricular hypertrophy nor improved right ventricular function. Conclusions In the pulmonary trunk banding model of pressure overload-induced right ventricular hypertrophy and failure, moderate- and high-dose treatment with treprostinil did not improve right ventricular function neither in compensated nor in decompensated right heart failure.
Correlation of polymorphism C 3435 T of the MDR-1 gene and the response of primary chemotherapy in women with locally advanced breast cancer

Primary chemotherapy is a useful strategy for the treatment of locally advanced breast cancer and therefore allows in vivo evaluation of the action of cytotoxic drugs and the possibility of accomplishing conservative breast surgeries, as well as the early treatment of metastasis. Mechanisms of resistance to the drugs include the action of protein associated with the efflux of drugs from the intracellular environment hindering their activity; one of the most studied proteins is P-glycoprotein codified by the MDR-1 gene. The presence of polymorphisms can determine different physiological actions of these proteins, intervening with the
Nuclear factor kappa B is a molecular target for sulforaphane-mediated anti-inflammatory mechanisms.

Sulforaphane (SFN), an aliphatic isothiocyanate, is a known cancer chemopreventive agent. Aiming to investigate anti-inflammatory mechanisms of SFN, we here report a potent decrease in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced secretion of pro-inflammatory and pro-carcinogenic signaling factors in cultured Raw 264.7 macrophages after SFN treatment, i.e. NO, prostaglandin E(2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha. SFN did not directly interact with NO, nor did it inhibit inducible nitric-oxide synthase enzymatic activity. Western blot analyses revealed time- and dose-dependent reduction of LPS-induced inducible nitric-oxide synthase as well as Cox-2 protein expression, which was suppressed at the transcriptional level. To reveal the target of SFN beyond its anti-inflammatory action, we performed electrophoretic mobility shift assay analyses of transcription factor-DNA binding. Consequently, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B), a pivotal transcription factor in LPS-stimulated pro-inflammatory response, was identified as the key mediator. SFN selectively reduced DNA binding of NF-kappa B without interfering with LPS-induced degradation of the inhibitor of NF-kappa B nor with nuclear translocation of NF-kappa B. Because SFN can interact with thiol groups by dithiocarbamate formation, it may impair the redox-sensitive DNA binding and transactivation of NF-kappa B. Sulforaphane could either directly inactivate NF-kappa B subunits by binding to essential Cys residues or interact with glutathione or other redox regulators like thioredoxin and Ref-1 relevant for NF-kappa B function. Our data provide novel evidence that anti-inflammatory mechanisms contribute to sulforaphane-mediated cancer chemoprevention.
Extended version of sphere decoding with MMSE based enumeration for DL MU-MIMO systems

In this paper, we propose an extended version of sphere decoder (ESD) with the MMSE based enumeration for DL MU-MIMO systems. In previous work, we proposed the ESD which detects interference signals additionally. The ESD can achieve near-optimal performance, but it has much higher complexity than the existing SD. Therefore, this paper presents the improved enumeration based on MMSE. The proposed algorithm can reduce the complexity of ESD significantly while having low performance degradation.
The Anthropometric Verification of Corrective Surgery Outcome in Cleft Secondary Deformities

An anthropometric measurement serves as both an objective assessment and a description of shape and size. Gypsum casts were used for the measurement, along with a statistical evaluation of results, to compare the appearance of patients with a complete unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate prior to corrective surgery of their secondary deformity and following this intervention. The evaluated approach was our own modification of rhinoplasty and lip correction, using the remodeling and extension of soft tissues envelope by a skin flap. That is formed from a lip scar after primary reconstruction. Both data of the studied group (n = 49), pre- and postoperative, were compared to a control group of healthy individuals (k = 19), thereby allowing the original severity of the deformity and the morphologic change after surgery to be objectively assessed. Upon correlation to healthy volunteers, we proved that the effect of surgery shifted the monitored parameters into a range found in the normal population. An anthropometric measurement on gypsum casts appeared to be simple, easy to perform, precise, easy to repeat, inexpensive, and yet of a three-dimensional nature with no burden for the patient. It is suitable for verifying the effects of new therapeutic procedures.
Communication Openness in the Workplace: the Effects of Medium (F2F and IM) and Culture (U.S. and China)

Abstract Open communication is critical to the effectiveness, efficiency, and overall success of a business. It is believed that communication openness interplays with media channels and cultural contexts in which the communication takes place. Our study investigated communication openness in downward, peer, and upward directions in face-to-face (F2F) and instant messaging (IM) in the workplace in both the United States and China. An online survey was administrated in both countries, and we received 529 valid responses. Repeated measures of ANOVA and MANOVA were used for data analysis. We found that the degree of openness in communication was higher in F2F conversations than through IM; however, this relationship differed in the two cultures. When communicating F2F, American employees were generally more open than Chinese employees, especially when such communication happened between peer colleagues. When communicating through IM, Chinese workers, however, were far more open than American workers in all downward, peer, and upward directions. The main findings, the implications for research and practice, and the limitations of this study were discussed accordingly.
An embryonic stem cell chromatin remodeling complex, esBAF, is essential for embryonic stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency

Mammalian SWI/SNF [also called BAF (Brg/Brahma-associated factors)] ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes are essential for formation of the totipotent and pluripotent cells of the early embryo. In addition, subunits of this complex have been recovered in screens for genes required for nuclear reprogramming in Xenopus and mouse embryonic stem cell (ES) morphology. However, the mechanism underlying the roles of these complexes is unclear. Here, we show that BAF complexes are required for the self-renewal and pluripotency of mouse ES cells but not for the proliferation of fibroblasts or other cells. Proteomic studies reveal that ES cells express distinctive complexes (esBAF) defined by the presence of Brg (Brahma-related gene), BAF155, and BAF60A, and the absence of Brm (Brahma), BAF170, and BAF60C. We show that this specialized subunit composition is required for ES cell maintenance and pluripotency. Our proteomic analysis also reveals that esBAF complexes interact directly with key regulators of pluripotency, suggesting that esBAF complexes are specialized to interact with ES cell-specific regulators, providing a potential explanation for the requirement of BAF complexes in pluripotency.
The Factor Structure and Reliability of a Scale Measuring the Manifest and Latent Dimensions of Employment

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORK SCALE (SWS; Williams, Morea, & Ives, 1975) measures eight aspects of employment: (a) economic satisfaction, (b) job satisfaction, (c) security, (d) power, (e) self-realization, (f) patterning of time, (g) social contact, and (h) social position. These dimensions appear to be congruent with Jahoda’s (1979) view that individuals derive manifest and latent benefits from paid work. Specifically, the first four dimensions appear to represent the manifest benefits of employment (i.e., work-related rewards that are objective and anticipated), whereas the second four dimensions appear to represent the latent benefits (i.e., work-related rewards that are subjective and unanticipated). To date, Kuhnert (1989) has provided the only published account of whether the SWS is a valid measure of the manifest and latent benefits of work. Kuhnert’s data, from employed and unemployed individuals, did not support Jahoda’s ( 1979) conceptualization. Rather, the SWS appeared to measure intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for working. Our purpose in the present study was to investigate whether the eight aspects of employment measured by the SWS are best represented in terms of manifest
A large deletion of the PROS1 gene in a deep vein thrombosis patient with protein S deficiency

Summary Inherited deficiency of protein S encoded by the PROS1 gene constitutes an important risk factor for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Nevertheless, although more than 200 deleterious genetic variations in PROS1 have been identified, causative point mutations of PROS1 gene are not detected in approximately half of protein S-deficient families. The present study investigated whether there may exist a large deletion in PROS1 that constitutes a genetic risk factor for Japanese DVT patients. A multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis was employed to identify the deletions in PROS1 in 163 Japanese patients with DVT. A large gene deletion was identified in one patient who showed 16% protein S activity and did not carry point mutations in PROS1 by DNA sequencing and it was validated by the quantitative PCR method. The deletion spanned at least the whole PROS1 gene (107 kb) and at most from the centromere located downstream of PROS1, to before the D3S3619 marker, the first heterozygous marker in the upstream of PROS1 in chromosome 3. In conclusion, a large deletion in PROS1 was shown to partly account for DVT with protein S deficiency. Screening for large deletions in PROS1 might be warranted in PROS1 causative point mutation-negative DVT patients with protein S deficiency.
Rotational Oscillation Effect on Flow Characteristics of a Circular Cylinder at Low Reynolds Number

Two dimensional numerical simulations of flow around a rotationally oscillating circular cylinder were performed at Re = 1000. A wide range of forcing frequencies, fr, and three values of oscillation amplitudes, A, are considered. Different vortex shedding modes are observed for a fixed A at several values of fr, as well as for a fixed fr at different values of A. The 2C mode of vortex shedding was obtained in the present study. It is important to point out that this mode has not been observed by other investigators for rotationally oscillating case. Also, it is verified that this mechanism has great influence on the drag coefficient for high frequency values. Furthermore, the lift and pressure coefficients and the power spectra density are also analyzed.
Teaching notes of MVDR in digital signal processing (DSP)

The minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformer is a classical filter to reduce the interference plus noise energy without distorting the desired signal. Semidefinite programming (SDP) is a subfield of convex optimization concerned with the optimization of a linear objective function over the intersection of the cone of positive semidefinite matrices. In this paper, we will show MVDR objective function can be derived from SDP objective function and vice versa. This conclusion can help students better understand MVDR from convex optimization and bring them a new insight of MVDR theory.
Influence of Topiramate on Olanzapine-Related Adiposity in Women: A Random, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of topiramate versus a placebo in the treatment of adiposity in women undergoing olanzapine therapy. We also assessed changes health-related quality of life, the patient's actual state of health, and psychologic impairments. The 10-week, random, double-blind, placebo-controlled study included 43 women who had been treated with olanzapine (mean dose 7.8 ± 3.6 in the topiramate group and 7.2 ± 3.1 in the placebo group) and had gained weight as a side effect. The subjects were randomly assigned to topiramate (n = 25) or a placebo (n = 18). Primary outcome measures were weight checks and self-reported changes on the scales of the SF-36 Health Survey, Bf-S Scale of Well-Being, and the Adjective Checklist EWL-60-S. Weight loss was observed and was significantly more pronounced in the topiramate-treated group (difference in weight loss between the 2 groups: 5.6 kg, 95% CI = −8.5, −3.0, P < 0.001). In comparison with the placebo group, significant changes on 7 (7/8) scales of SF-36 Health Survey (all P < 0.001), on all 6 scales of the EWL-60-S, and on the Bf-S were observed in the topiramate-treated subjects after 10 weeks. All patients tolerated topiramate well. Topiramate appears to be a safe and effective agent in the treatment of weight gain that occurred during olanzapine treatment. Significantly positive changes in health-related quality of life, the patient's actual state of health, and psychologic impairments were observed.
Evidence for colonization and destruction of hinge ligaments in cultured juvenile Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) by cytophaga-like bacteria

Several strains of cytophaga-like gliding bacteria (CLB) were isolated as numerically dominant or codominant components of bacterial populations associated with proteinaceous hinge ligaments of cultured juvenile Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas. These bacteria were morphologically similar to long, flexible bacilli occurring within degenerative lesions in oyster hinge ligaments. Among bacteria isolated from hinge ligaments, only CLB strains were capable of sustained growth with hinge ligament matrix as the sole source of organic carbon and nitrogen. In vitro incubation of cuboidal portions of ligament resilium with ligament CLB resulted in bacterial proliferation on the surfaces and penetration deep into ligament matrices. Bacterial proliferation was accompanied by loss of resilium structural and mechanical integrity, including complete liquefaction, at incubation temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees C. The morphological, distributional, and degradative characteristics of CLB isolated from oyster hinge ligaments provide compelling, albeit indirect, evidence that CLB are the agents of a degenerative disease affecting juvenile cultured oysters. The motility, metabolic, and hydrolytic characteristics of hinge ligament CLB and the low moles percent G + C values (32.4 to 32.9) determined for three representative strains indicate that they are marine Cytophaga spp.
Cloning and Expression and Purification of Glycinecin A , a Bacteriocin Produced by Xanthomonas campestris pv . glycines 8 ra

SUNGGI HEU,† JONGHEE OH, YOUNGSUNG KANG, SANGRYEOL RYU, SOMI K. CHO, YOUNGSUP CHO, AND MOONJAE CHO* Department of Agricultural Biology and School of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Suwon 441-744, Kumho Life and Environmental Science Laboratory, Kwangju 500-712, and Department of Medicine, Cheju National University Medical School, Jeju 690-756, Korea