Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nanostructured lipid carrier surface modified with Eudragit RS 100 and its potential ophthalmic functions

This study was carried out to evaluate the ocular performance of a cationic Eudragit (EDU) RS 100-coated nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC). The genistein encapsulated NLC (GEN-NLC) was produced using the melt-emulsification technique followed by surface absorption of EDU RS 100. The EDU RS 100 increased the surface zeta potential from −7.46 mV to +13.60 mV, by uniformly forming a spherical coating outside the NLC surface, as shown by transmission electron microscopy images. The EDU RS 100 on the NLC surface effectively improved the NLC stability by inhibiting particle size growth. The obtained EDU RS 100-GEN-NLC showed extended precorneal clearance and a 1.22-fold increase in AUC (area under the curve) compared with the bare NLC in a Gamma scintigraphic evaluation. The EDU RS 100 modification also significantly increased corneal penetration producing a 3.3-fold increase in apparent permeability coefficients (Papp) compared with references. Draize and cytotoxicity testing confirmed that the developed EDU RS 100-GEN-NLC was nonirritant to ocular tissues and nontoxic to corneal cells. These results indicate that the NLC surface modified by EDU RS 100 significantly improves the NLC properties and exhibits many advantages for ocular use.
Thermo-Viscoelastic-Viscoplastic-Viscodamage-Healing Modeling of Bituminous Materials: Theory and Computation

Thermo-Viscoelastic-Viscoplastic-Viscodamage-Healing Modeling of Bituminous Materials: Theory and Computation. (August 2011) Masoud Darabi Konartakhteh, B.S., Sharif University of Technology; M.Sc., Sharif University of Technology Co-Chairs of Advisory Committee: Dr. Rashid K. Abu Al-Rub Dr. Eyad A. Masad Timeand rate-dependent materials such as polymers, bituminous materials, and soft materials clearly display all four fundamental responses (i.e. viscoelasticity, viscoplasticity, viscodamage, and healing) where contribution of each response strongly depends on the temperature and loading conditions. This study proposes a new general thermodynamic-based framework to specifically derive thermo-viscoelastic, thermoviscoplastic, thermo-viscodamage, and micro-damage healing constitutive models for bituminous materials and asphalt mixes. The developed thermodynamic-based framework is general and can be applied for constitutive modeling of different materials such as bituminous materials, soft materials, polymers, and biomaterials. This framework is build on the basis of assuming a form for the Helmohelotz free energy function (i.e. knowing how the material stores energy) and a form for the rate of entropy production (i.e. knowing how the material dissipates energy). However, the focus in this work is placed on constitutive modeling of bituminous materials and asphalt mixes. A viscoplastic softening model is proposed to model the distinct viscoplastic softening response of asphalt mixes subjected to cyclic loading conditions. A systematic procedure for identification of the constitutive model parameters based on optimized experimental effor is proposed. It is shown that this procedure is simple and straightforward and yields unique values for the model material parameters. Subsequently, the proposed model is validated against an extensive experimental data including creep, creep-recovery, repeated creep-recovery, dynamic modulus, constant strain rate, cyclic stress controlled, and cyclic strain controlled tests in both tension and compression and over a wide range
Risk factors for fingolimod-induced lymphopenia in multiple sclerosis

Background Lymphopenia is a well-known adverse event of fingolimod, a disease-modifying drug for multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives The objective of this paper is to investigate risk factors for predicting fingolimod-induced lymphopenia in MS by frequent hematological monitoring. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data of fingolimod-treated MS patients. Data assessed were sex, age, disease duration, medication history, body mass index, all attacks, Kurtzke’s Expanded Disability Status Scale score, and absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) within two days before initiating fingolimod (baseline), on the day after first administration (day 2), and at least every other month after initiating fingolimod therapy. Results Of 41 MS patients, marked lymphopenia (ALC <200/µl) was confirmed in 12 patients (lymphopenia group) within one year. A significantly more frequent history of treatment with any interferon-beta and lower median baseline ALC was observed in the lymphopenia group than in the non-lymphopenia group (n = 29) (91.7% vs. 44.8%; p = 0.006 and 1469/µl vs. 1879/µl; p = 0.005). An ALC of ≤952/μl on day 2 was the most responsible risk factor for predicting marked lymphopenia (sensitivity, 92%; specificity, 76%; area under the curve, 0.823; p < 0.001). Conclusions Low baseline ALC and treatment history with any interferon-beta were risk factors for fingolimod-induced lymphopenia, possibly predicted from ALC on day 2.
High‐Resolution Melting (HRM) of Hypervariable Mitochondrial DNA Regions for Forensic Science

Forensic strategies commonly are proceeding by analysis of short tandem repeats (STRs); however, new additional strategies have been proposed for forensic science. Thus, this article standardized the high‐resolution melting (HRM) of DNA for forensic analyzes. For HRM, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from eight individuals were extracted from mucosa swabs by DNAzol reagent, samples were amplified by PCR and submitted to HRM analysis to identify differences in hypervariable (HV) regions I and II. To confirm HRM, all PCR products were DNA sequencing. The data suggest that is possible discriminate DNA from different samples by HRM curves. Also, uncommon dual‐dissociation was identified in a single PCR product, increasing HRM analyzes by evaluation of melting peaks. Thus, HRM is accurate and useful to screening small differences in HVI and HVII regions from mtDNA and increase the efficiency of laboratory routines based on forensic genetics.
WALK‐MAN: A High‐Performance Humanoid Platform for Realistic Environments

In this work, we present WALK‐MAN, a humanoid platform that has been developed to operate in realistic unstructured environment, and demonstrate new skills including powerful manipulation, robust balanced locomotion, high‐strength capabilities, and physical sturdiness. To enable these capabilities, WALK‐MAN design and actuation are based on the most recent advancements of series elastic actuator drives with unique performance features that differentiate the robot from previous state‐of‐the‐art compliant actuated robots. Physical interaction performance is benefited by both active and passive adaptation, thanks to WALK‐MAN actuation that combines customized high‐performance modules with tuned torque/velocity curves and transmission elasticity for high‐speed adaptation response and motion reactions to disturbances. WALK‐MAN design also includes innovative design optimization features that consider the selection of kinematic structure and the placement of the actuators with the body structure to maximize the robot performance. Physical robustness is ensured with the integration of elastic transmission, proprioceptive sensing, and control. The WALK‐MAN hardware was designed and built in 11 months, and the prototype of the robot was ready four months before DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Finals. The motion generation of WALK‐MAN is based on the unified motion‐generation framework of whole‐body locomotion and manipulation (termed loco‐manipulation). WALK‐MAN is able to execute simple loco‐manipulation behaviors synthesized by combining different primitives defining the behavior of the center of gravity, the motion of the hands, legs, and head, the body attitude and posture, and the constrained body parts such as joint limits and contacts. The motion‐generation framework including the specific motion modules and software architecture is discussed in detail. A rich perception system allows the robot to perceive and generate 3D representations of the environment as well as detect contacts and sense physical interaction force and moments. The operator station that pilots use to control the robot provides a rich pilot interface with different control modes and a number of teleoperated or semiautonomous command features. The capability of the robot and the performance of the individual motion control and perception modules were validated during the DRC in which the robot was able to demonstrate exceptional physical resilience and execute some of the tasks during the competition.
Mobile IPv4 Dynamic Home Agent (HA) Assignment

Mobile IPv4 (RFC 3344) uses the home agent (HA) to anchor sessions of a roaming mobile node (MN). This document proposes a messaging mechanism for dynamic home agent assignment and HA redirection. The goal is to provide a mechanism to assign an optimal HA for a Mobile IP session while allowing any suitable method for HA selection. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
Learning Inductive Biases with Simple Neural Networks

People use rich prior knowledge about the world in order to efficiently learn new concepts. These priors - also known as "inductive biases" - pertain to the space of internal models considered by a learner, and they help the learner make inferences that go beyond the observed data. A recent study found that deep neural networks optimized for object recognition develop the shape bias (Ritter et al., 2017), an inductive bias possessed by children that plays an important role in early word learning. However, these networks use unrealistically large quantities of training data, and the conditions required for these biases to develop are not well understood. Moreover, it is unclear how the learning dynamics of these networks relate to developmental processes in childhood. We investigate the development and influence of the shape bias in neural networks using controlled datasets of abstract patterns and synthetic images, allowing us to systematically vary the quantity and form of the experience provided to the learning algorithms. We find that simple neural networks develop a shape bias after seeing as few as 3 examples of 4 object categories. The development of these biases predicts the onset of vocabulary acceleration in our networks, consistent with the developmental process in children.
Natural interaction based on affective robotics for multi-robot systems

In this paper we introduce a novel approach that enables users to interact with a multi-robot system in a natural manner. Additionally, interaction adapts to the user's affect and stamina. To this end, we consider the use of a smartwatch for recognizing the motion of the user's forearm, which is then translated in velocity commands for the robots. A natural mapping between user's movements and robots commands is implemented, so that the user can intuitively drive the robots by mimicking real-world behavior. Additionally, the operator's heart rate is measured, since it is a measure of mental stress. Thus, when an increase in mental stress is detected, the behavior of the multi-robot system is changed in order to simplify the interaction task and relieve the user. The proposed interaction system is tested with different users. Specifically, the effectiveness of the natural interaction is evaluated and compared to the use of a joypad and a haptic device. Moreover, we preliminarily test the affective interaction approach.
Employee Share Schemes in Europe. The Influence of US Multinationals

The debate on convergence and globalisation of national economies emphasises the role of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) with regard to the export of home-country policies in countries where they have their plants. MNCs set a process of change in motion in which local companies attempt to catch up with the more internationalised companies, particularly those from the Anglo-Saxon world. This process is called Anglo-Saxonisation. In this paper we focus on share (option) schemes. Analysing a European survey of HRM practices in workplaces in selected countries, we can trace a US-MNCs effect in the case of the narrow-based executive type of share (option) schemes in continental Europe. We can also trace a minor effect in the case of broad-based schemes open to all employees. The diversity we find in predictors between countries and the strong significant effects of country suggest that local corporate and institutional factors are more important in the case of broad-based share schemes than in the case of the narrow, executive type of share schemes.
Energy Efficient Architecture for Graph Analytics Accelerators

Specialized hardware accelerators can significantly improve the performance and power efficiency of compute systems. In this paper, we focus on hardware accelerators for graph analytics applications and propose a configurable architecture template that is specifically optimized for iterative vertex-centric graph applications with irregular access patterns and asymmetric convergence. The proposed architecture addresses the limitations of the existing multi-core CPU and GPU architectures for these types of applications. The SystemC-based template we provide can be customized easily for different vertex-centric applications by inserting application-level data structures and functions. After that, a cycle-accurate simulator and RTL can be generated to model the target hardware accelerators. In our experiments, we study several graph-parallel applications, and show that the hardware accelerators generated by our template can outperform a 24 core high end server CPU system by up to 3x in terms of performance. We also estimate the area requirement and power consumption of these hardware accelerators through physical-aware logic synthesis, and show up to 65x better power consumption with significantly smaller area.
Terminologies for Reproducible Research

Reproducible research---by its many names---has come to be regarded as a key concern across disciplines and stakeholder groups. Funding agencies and journals, professional societies and even mass media are paying attention, often focusing on the so-called "crisis" of reproducibility. One big problem keeps coming up among those seeking to tackle the issue: different groups are using terminologies in utter contradiction with each other. Looking at a broad sample of publications in different fields, we can classify their terminology via decision tree: they either, A---make no distinction between the words reproduce and replicate, or B---use them distinctly. If B, then they are commonly divided in two camps. In a spectrum of concerns that starts at a minimum standard of "same data+same methods=same results," to "new data and/or new methods in an independent study=same findings," group 1 calls the minimum standard reproduce, while group 2 calls it replicate. This direct swap of the two terms aggravates an already weighty issue. By attempting to inventory the terminologies across disciplines, I hope that some patterns will emerge to help us resolve the contradictions.
A MAPK-Driven Feedback Loop Suppresses Rac Activity to Promote RhoA-Driven Cancer Cell Invasion

Cell migration in 3D microenvironments is fundamental to development, homeostasis and the pathobiology of diseases such as cancer. Rab-coupling protein (RCP) dependent co-trafficking of α5β1 and EGFR1 promotes cancer cell invasion into fibronectin (FN) containing extracellular matrix (ECM), by potentiating EGFR1 signalling at the front of invasive cells. This promotes a switch in RhoGTPase signalling to inhibit Rac1 and activate a RhoA-ROCK-Formin homology domain-containing 3 (FHOD3) pathway and generate filopodial actin-spike protrusions which drive invasion. To further understand the signalling network that drives RCP-driven invasive migration, we generated a Boolean logical model based on existing network pathways/models, where each node can be interrogated by computational simulation. The model predicted an unanticipated feedback loop, whereby Raf/MEK/ERK signalling maintains suppression of Rac1 by inhibiting the Rac-activating Sos1-Eps8-Abi1 complex, allowing RhoA activity to predominate in invasive protrusions. MEK inhibition was sufficient to promote lamellipodia formation and oppose filopodial actin-spike formation, and led to activation of Rac and inactivation of RhoA at the leading edge of cells moving in 3D matrix. Furthermore, MEK inhibition abrogated RCP/α5β1/EGFR1-driven invasive migration. However, upon knockdown of Eps8 (to suppress the Sos1-Abi1-Eps8 complex), MEK inhibition had no effect on RhoGTPase activity and did not oppose invasive migration, suggesting that MEK-ERK signalling suppresses the Rac-activating Sos1-Abi1-Eps8 complex to maintain RhoA activity and promote filopodial actin-spike formation and invasive migration. Our study highlights the predictive potential of mathematical modelling approaches, and demonstrates that a simple intervention (MEK-inhibition) could be of therapeutic benefit in preventing invasive migration and metastasis.
An Inherited Genetic Variant in CEP72 Promoter Predisposes to Vincristine‐Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Peripheral neuropathy is a major toxicity of vincristine, yet no strategies exist for identifying adult patients at high‐risk. We used a case–control design of 48 adults receiving protocol therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who developed vincristine‐induced neuropathy (NCI grade 2–4) during treatment, and 48 matched controls who did not develop grade 2–4 neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy was prospectively graded by National Cancer Institute (NCI) criteria. CEP72 promoter genotype (rs924607) was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. Frequency of the CEP72 T/T genotype was higher in cases (31% vs. 10%, P = 0.0221) and the incidence of vincristine‐induced neuropathy (grades 2–4) was significantly higher in patients homozygous for the CEP72 T/T genotype. 75% of the 20 patients homozygous for the CEP72 T allele developed grade 2–4 neuropathy, compared to 44% of patients with CEP72 CC or CT genotype (P = 0.0221). The CEP72 polymorphism can identify adults at increased risk of vincristine‐induced peripheral neuropathy.
Protein O-Mannosyltransferases Affect Sensory Axon Wiring and Dynamic Chirality of Body Posture in the Drosophila Embryo

Genetic defects in protein O-mannosyltransferase 1 (POMT1) and POMT2 underlie severe muscular dystrophies. POMT genes are evolutionarily conserved in metazoan organisms. In Drosophila, both male and female POMT mutants show a clockwise rotation of adult abdominal segments, suggesting a chirality of underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Here we described and analyzed a similar phenotype in POMT mutant embryos that shows left-handed body torsion. Our experiments demonstrated that coordinated muscle contraction waves are associated with asymmetric embryo rolling, unveiling a new chirality marker in Drosophila development. Using genetic and live-imaging approaches, we revealed that the torsion phenotype results from differential rolling and aberrant patterning of peristaltic waves of muscle contractions. Our results demonstrated that peripheral sensory neurons are required for normal contractions that prevent the accumulation of torsion. We found that POMT mutants show abnormal axonal connections of sensory neurons. POMT transgenic expression limited to sensory neurons significantly rescued the torsion phenotype, axonal connectivity defects, and abnormal contractions in POMT mutant embryos. Together, our data suggested that protein O-mannosylation is required for normal sensory feedback to control coordinated muscle contractions and body posture. This mechanism may shed light on analogous functions of POMT genes in mammals and help to elucidate the etiology of neurological defects in muscular dystrophies. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Protein O-mannosyltransferases (POMTs) are evolutionarily conserved in metazoans. Mutations in POMTs cause severe muscular dystrophies associated with pronounced neurological defects. However, neurological functions of POMTs remain poorly understood. We demonstrated that POMT mutations in Drosophila result in abnormal muscle contractions and cause embryo torsion. Our experiments uncovered a chirality of embryo movements and a unique POMT-dependent mechanism that maintains symmetry of a developing system affected by chiral forces. Furthermore, POMTs were found to be required for proper axon connectivity of sensory neurons, suggesting that O-mannosylation regulates the sensory feedback controlling muscle contractions. This novel POMT function in the peripheral nervous system may shed light on analogous functions in mammals and help to elucidate pathomechanisms of neurological abnormalities in muscular dystrophies.
The Role of the UNC-82 Protein Kinase in Organizing Myosin Filaments in Striated Muscle of Caenorhabditis elegans

We study the mechanisms that guide the formation and maintenance of the highly ordered actin-myosin cytoskeleton in striated muscle. The UNC-82 kinase of Caenorhabditis elegans is orthologous to mammalian kinases ARK5/NUAK1 and SNARK/NUAK2. UNC-82 localizes to the M-line, and is required for proper organization of thick filaments, but its substrate and mechanism of action are unknown. Antibody staining of three mutants with missense mutations in the UNC-82 catalytic domain revealed muscle structure that is less disorganized than in the null unc-82(0), but contained distinctive ectopic accumulations not found in unc-82(0). These accumulations contain paramyosin and myosin B, but lack myosin A and myosin A-associated proteins, as well as proteins of the integrin-associated complex. Fluorescently tagged missense mutant protein UNC-82 E424K localized normally in wild type; however, in unc-82(0), the tagged protein was found in the ectopic accumulations, which we also show to label with recently synthesized paramyosin. Recruitment of wild-type UNC-82::GFP to aggregates of differing protein composition in five muscle-affecting mutants revealed that colocalization of UNC-82 and paramyosin does not require UNC-96, UNC-98/ZnF, UNC-89/obscurin, CSN-5, myosin A, or myosin B individually. Dosage effects in paramyosin mutants suggest that UNC-82 acts as part of a complex, in which its stoichiometric relationship with paramyosin is critical. UNC-82 dosage affects muscle organization in the absence of paramyosin, perhaps through myosin B. We present evidence that the interaction of UNC-98/ZnF with myosin A is independent of UNC-82, and that UNC-82 acts upstream of UNC-98/ZnF in a pathway that organizes paramyosin during thick filament assembly.