Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of domperidone into the rat brain is increased by brain ischaemia or treatment with the P‐glycoprotein inhibitor verapamil

Domperidone (DOM), a peripheral dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, is a substrate of P‐glycoprotein (P‐gp). Therefore, the transport of DOM into the brain may be restricted by P‐gp function at the blood‐brain barrier, and when the function of P‐gp is impaired by ATP depletion under conditions of brain ischaemia (e.g. cerebral thrombosis), side‐effects may be induced as a result of increased distribution of DOM into the brain. In this study, we investigated the effects of brain ischaemia and verapamil, a P‐gp inhibitor, on the permeability coefficient‐surface area product (PS values) of DOM across the blood‐brain barrier by using an in‐situ rat brain perfusion technique. The PS values of DOM were increased 3.4‐ and 3.6‐fold after brain ischaemia for 10 and 20 min, respectively. Furthermore, co‐administration of verapamil significantly increased the PS values of DOM by 42.6‐ and 43.3‐fold in the normal and ischaemia groups, respectively. Brain vascular volume was not affected by ischaemia or verapamil. These results show that the transport of DOM into the brain is restricted by P‐gp and that the brain distribution of DOM can be increased by cerebral ischaemia or co‐administration of a P‐gp inhibitor.
Early Traumatized Inpatients High in Psychoform and Somatoform Dissociation: Characteristics and Treatment Response

This study examined the clinical relevance of differences in psychoform and somatoform dissociative symptoms in 55 early traumatized inpatients. The high psychoform and somatoform dissociative group (n = 18), somatoform dissociative group (n = 22), and nondissociative group (n = 15) did not differ on abuse severity, depressive symptoms, interpersonal problems, Axis I or II comorbidity, or deterioration rates. Compared to the other 2 groups, the highly dissociative group was characterized by younger age, living alone, higher levels of posttraumatic and general distress, more frequent reports of suicidality, self-mutilation, eating problems, and less favorable treatment response. The results highlight the clinical relevance of using dissociation measures for identifying subgroups of patients with severe psychopathology who may be more treatment resistant.
Origin and Diversity of Alginate Lyases of Families PL-5 and -7 in Sphingomonas sp. Strain A1

ABSTRACT Sphingomonas sp. strain A1 has three endotype alginate lyases (A1-I, A1-II [family PL-7], and A1-III [family PL-5]), each of which is encoded by a single gene. In addition to those of these lyases, a gene (the A1-II′ gene) showing significant identity with the A1-II gene was present in the bacterial genome and coded for an alginate lyase with broad substrate specificity. Since no expression of A1-II′ was observed even in bacterial cells grown on alginate, the A1-II′ gene was thought to be a silent gene derived from the A1-II gene, presumably through duplication, modification, and translocation.
Modélisation de la détoxication de mollusques bivalves contenant des phycotoxines paralysantes ou diarrhéiques

Cette etude avait pour objectif la mise en place de modeles permettant de decrire la cinetique de detoxication des huitres Crassostrea gigas et des moules Mytilus edulis contenant des phycotoxines de type paralysant et diarrheique respectivement. Dans un premier temps, des etudes ont permis de completer les connaissances de la litterature sur la comprehension des processus entrant en jeu lors de la detoxication des mollusques. Il a ainsi ete mis en evidence une difference dans la capacite des mollusques a degrader les cellules de dinoflagellees, productrices de phycotoxines, selon leurs capacites d’enkystement. La presence de phycotoxines paralysantes dans les differents tissus de l’huitre a ete mise en evidence, contrairement au cas des toxines diarrheiques qui, dans la moule, sont principalement sequestrees au niveau de la glande digestive. Ces dernieres semblent etre retenues par les lysosomes situes dans les cellules digestives. L’influence des variables intrinseques et extrinseques lors de l’elimination des phycotoxines a egalement ete mise en evidence. Les resultats obtenus ont ensuite permis de mettre en place differents modeles prenant en compte les transferts entre tissus, les bio-transformations et l’influence de variables environnementales. Il en ressort que la cinetique de detoxication des huitres contenant des toxines paralysantes peut etre apprehendee a l’aide d’un modele a deux compartiments, de type glande digestive et autres tissus, dont les coefficients de detoxication dependent des variables environnementales et des ratios entre les differents analogues de la saxitoxine. La detoxication des moules contenant des toxines diarrheiques peut etre modelisee en utilisant un modele a un compartiment dont le coefficient de detoxication depend des variables environnementales
The joint graphical lasso for inverse covariance estimation across multiple classes

We consider the problem of estimating multiple related Gaussian graphical models from a high dimensional data set with observations belonging to distinct classes. We propose the joint graphical lasso, which borrows strength across the classes to estimate multiple graphical models that share certain characteristics, such as the locations or weights of non‐zero edges. Our approach is based on maximizing a penalized log‐likelihood. We employ generalized fused lasso or group lasso penalties and implement a fast alternating directions method of multipliers algorithm to solve the corresponding convex optimization problems. The performance of the method proposed is illustrated through simulated and real data examples.
ShiftMask: Dynamic OLED power shifting based on visual acuity for interactive mobile applications

OLED power management on mobile devices is very challenging due to the dynamic nature of human-screen interaction. This paper presents the design, algorithms, and implementation of a lightweight mobile app called ShiftMask, which allows the user to dynamically shift OLED power to the portion of interest, while dimming the remainder of the screen based on visual acuity. To adapt to the user's focus of attention, we propose efficient algorithms that consider visual fixation in static scenes, as well as changes in focus and screen scrolling. The results of experiments conducted on a commercial smartphone with popular interactive apps demonstrate that ShiftMask can achieve substantial energy savings, while preserving acceptable readability.
Generating patterns for sensing using a single receptor scaffold.

A new strategy for generating patterns in sensing is described. Typically, pattern recognition is obtained by designing a variety of receptors that bind to analytes with varying binding affinities. In this paper, we outline a new strategy where differential responses can be obtained from one receptor, by simply varying the noncovalently bound fluorescent transducer.
Omnibus Permutation Tests of the Overall Null Hypothesis in Datasets with Many Covariates

Tests of the overall null hypothesis in datasets with one outcome variable and many covariates can be based on various methods to combine the p-values for univariate tests of association of each covariate with the outcome. The overall p-value is computed by permuting the outcome variable. We discuss the situations in which this approach is useful and provide several examples. We use simulations to investigate seven omnibus test statistics and find that the Anderson–Darling and Fisher's statistics are superior to the others.
Road-SLAM : Road marking based SLAM with lane-level accuracy

In this paper, we propose the Road-SLAM algorithm, which robustly exploits road markings obtained from camera images. Road markings are well categorized and informative but susceptible to visual aliasing for global localization. To enable loop-closures using road marking matching, our method defines a feature consisting of road markings and surrounding lanes as a sub-map. The proposed method uses random forest method to improve the accuracy of matching using a sub-map containing road information. The random forest classifies road markings into six classes and only incorporates informative classes to avoid ambiguity. The proposed method is validated by comparing the SLAM result with RTK-Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Accurate loop detection improves global accuracy by compensating for cumulative errors in odometry sensors. This method achieved an average global accuracy of 1.098 m over 4.7 km of path length, while running at real-time performance.
Low Power Very High Frequency Switch-Mode Power Supply With 50 V Input and 5 V Output

This paper presents the design of a resonant converter with a switching frequency in the very high frequency range (30-300 MHz), a large step down ratio (ten times), and low output power (1 W). Several different inverters and rectifiers are analyzed and compared. The class E inverter and rectifier are selected based on complexity and efficiency estimates. Three different power stages are implemented; one with a large input inductor, one with a switch with small capacitances, and one with a switch with low on-resistance. The power stages are designed with the same specifications and efficiencies from 60.7-82.9% are achieved.
An Adaptive Cloudlet Placement Method for Mobile Applications over GPS Big Data

Mobile cloud computing provides powerful computing and storage capacity on managing GPS big data by offloading vast workloads to remote clouds. For the mobile applications with urgent computing or communication deadline, it is necessary to reduce the workload transmission latency between mobile devices and clouds. This can be technically achieved by expanding mobile cloudlets that are moving co-located with Access Points (APs). However, it is not-trivial to place such movable cloudlets efficiently to enhance the cloud service for dynamic context-aware mobile applications. In view of this challenge, an adaptive cloudlet placement method for mobile applications over GPS big data is proposed in this paper. Specifically, the gathering regions of the mobile devices are identified based on position clustering, and the cloudlet destination locations are confirmed accordingly. Besides, the traces between the origin and destination locations of these mobile cloudlets are also achieved. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is both effective and efficient.
Characterization of Methyl Transferase Activity in the Mandibular Organ of the American Lobster, Homarus americanus.

The crustacean mandibular organ (MO) is the site of synthesis of methyl farnesoate (MF), a sesquiterpene structurally related to insect juvenile hormone (JH). Although the role of MF in crustaceans is not completely clear, several studies suggest that it may have functions that are analogous to those of JH in insects (I). An understanding of its biosynthetic pathway and how this pathway is regulated may be useful in understanding the role of MF. One of the last steps in the synthesis of JH is catalyzed by farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase (MeT), which transfers a methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to either farnesoic acid (FA) or JH acid (2). We describe here a similar enzyme found in the MO of the lobster. Tissues were removed from lobsters (carapace length 7080 mm) and homogenized in 10 volumes of buffer A ( 100 mM phosphate, pH 7.2, 5.0 mM EDTA and 2.5 mM 2-mercaptoethanol). After centrifugation (0.5 h at 450,000 X g, 4”C), the cytosolic supernatant was frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C. MeT activity was measured as described (2), by incubating equal volumes of the supernatant with buffer B (buffer A plus 0.1% gelatin) supplemented with 0.5 PCi S-adenosylL-[methy/-3H]methionine (DuPont-NEN, 14.4 Ci/mmole). Tram, tram farnesoic acid (FA), cis, trans FA, and juvenile hormone III acid (JH acid) were produced from their corresponding methyl esters by saponification and added as indicated. Unless otherwise noted, FA was added at 20 pLM, a concentration that is about lo-fold greater than its Km (see below). After incubation at room temperature, the reaction was stopped by the addition of methanol. The radiolabeled product was extracted with hexane and counted with a liquid scintillation counter. Analysis of some extracts by HPLC (3) showed that the radiolabeled product eluted in a single peak with the same retention time as MF. The majority of the radioactivity (9 1.7% f 1.4, n = 4) injected was recovered in this peak. The majority (93%) of the MeT activity was found in the high speed supernatant, in agreement with reports that MeT in insects is a cytosolic enzyme (2). MF production was linear with increasing incubation times for up to 45 min. Product formation also increased linearly with increasing amounts of supernatant. Maximum MeT activity was observed at pH 7.2.
Convex Phase Retrieval without Lifting via PhaseMax

Semidefinite relaxation methods transform a variety of non-convex optimization problems into convex problems, but square the number of variables. We study a new type of convex relaxation for phase retrieval problems, called PhaseMax, that convexifies the underlying problem without lifting. The resulting problem formulation can be solved using standard convex optimization routines, while still working in the original, lowdimensional variable space. We prove, using a random spherical distribution measurement model, that PhaseMax succeeds with high probability for a sufficiently large number of measurements. We compare our approach to other phase retrieval methods and demonstrate that our theory accurately predicts the success of PhaseMax.
Hyperbolic Expressions of Polynomial Sequences and Parametric Number Sequences Defined by Linear Recurrence Relations of Order 2

A sequence of polynomialfan(x)g is called a function sequence of order 2 if it satises the linear recurrence relation of order 2: an(x) = p(x)an 1(x) + q(x)an 2(x) with initial conditions a0(x) and a1(x). In this paper we derive a parametric form of an(x) in terms of e with q(x) = B constant, inspired by Askey’s and Ismail’s works shown in [2] [6], and [18], respectively. With this method, we give the hyperbolic expressions of Chebyshev polynomials and Gegenbauer-Humbert Polynomials. The applications of the method to construct corresponding hyperbolic form of several well-known identities are also discussed in this paper.
In vitro analysis of the wear, wear debris and biological activity of surface-engineered coatings for use in metal-on-metal total hip replacements

Abstract Extremely low wear rates have been reported for metal-on-metal total hip replacements, but concerns remain about the effects of metal ion release, dissolution rates and toxicity. Surface-engineered coatings have the potential to improve wear resistance and reduce the biological activity of the wear debris produced. The aim of this study was to examine the wear and wear debris generation from surface-engineered coatings: titanium nitride (TiN), chromium nitride (CrN) and chromium carbon nitride (CrCN) applied to a cobalt-chrome alloy (CoCr) substrate. The coatings were articulated against themselves in a simple geometry model. The wear particles generated were characterized and the cytotoxic effect on U937 macrophages and L929 fibroblasts assessed. The CrN and CrCN coatings showed a decrease in wear compared to the CoCr bearings and produced small (less than 40 nm in length) wear particles. The wear particles released from the surface engineered bearings also showed a decreased cytotoxic effect on cells compared to the CoCr alloy debris. The reduced wear volumes coupled with the reduced cytotoxicity per unit volume of wear indicate the potential for the clinical application of this technology.
Nutritional Characteristics of a Rural Southern Italy Population: The Ventimiglia di Sicilia Project

Objective: Knowledge of alimentary habits among populations permits a better definition of appropriate public health interventions. We designed the epidemiological project “Ventimiglia di Sicilia” to characterize the risk profile in a rural village with low total cholesterol levels and low early cardiovascular mortality but with a large prevalence of overweight and obesity, which previously have been significantly associated with total mortality. Methods: 488 individuals of age 20 to 69 years were included in the dietary survey conducted by a seven-day food record. Results: Alimentary habits were characterized by high consumption of total and complex carbohydrates (respectively 52.5 ± 7.6% and 46.6 ± 8.2% of daily energy) and by a low cholesterol intake (92.5 ± 35.0 mg/1000 kcal/day). Fat intake was 34.7 ± 7.7% of daily energy due to a higher consumption of monounsaturated fats in respect to saturated fats (respectively 20.5 ± 5.1% and 10.2 ± 2.9% of daily energy). In particular, in this population there was a large consumption of bread, pasta, fresh vegetables, olive oil and fruits. We also observed an excess of total calories (about 2900 kcal/day in men and 2100 kcal/day in women) not balanced by a high degree of physical activity levels. Furthermore we found a significant higher total and saturated fat consumption in the youngest individuals and in people with higher educational levels. Conclusions: Dietary habits of Ventimiglia di Sicilia still follow the nutritional characteristics typical of the Mediterranean diet. The high total calorie intake indicates a quantitative more than qualitative problem, which may account the large prevalence of overweight and obesity and may represent a public health issue that needs to be corrected in such a rural population.
A Counterpart of the Wadati–Konno–Ichikawa Soliton Hierarchy Associated with so(3,R)

A counterpart of the Wadati-Konno-Ichikawa (WKI) soliton hierarchy, associated with so(3;R), is presented through the zero curvature formulation. Its spectral matrix is defined by the same linear combination of basis vectors as the WKI one, and its Hamiltonian structures yielding Liouville integrability are furnished by the trace identity
Antenna array pattern synthesis for space communication applications

It is well known that generation of a footprint pattern over the Earth by illumination from a stationary or orbiting satellite is an attractive technique for a large number of applications [1]. The requirement is to provide uniform radiation over a portion of the Earth's surface, while causing negligible radiation outside the illuminated area. Presently, this is accomplished by using either a parabolic dish with a horn cluster feed, or a shaped reflector. However, these solutions suffer from fairly high ripple within the footprint and provide poor control on the side lobe level in the region outside the prescribed footprint area.
Sensitivity analysis on surface soil moisture to the time parameter of land surface variables: Application with remote sensing data

Soil moisture is an important variable for understanding hydrology and climate. This paper aims to analyze the sensitivity of surface soil moisture to the time parameter of land surface variables(Land Surface Temperature and Net Surface Shortwave Radiation) in the day time, thus to develop a new method to derive surface soil moisture with the time parameter. Firstly, time series of LST and NSSR were simulated by CoLM (Common Land Model) with different soil moistures and soil textures. Further study mainly dealt with the sensitivity analysis on time parameter according to the simulated data, and based on these, a general model was developed to retrieve surface soil moisture with the time different Δt (Δt =tmax, LST−tmax, NSSR). The validation was conducted with the simulated data with different soil textures and different atmospheric conditions. Finally, the model was applied to MSG (METEOSAT Second Generation) data to map regional soil moisture.
Visualising the distribution of individuals of advanced age in Canada: linking census data to maps.

OBJECTIVE to link publically available aggregate census data to maps to visually convey information about the geographic distribution of those of advanced age in Canada. METHOD we obtained aggregate statistics derived from the most recent 2011 Canadian census data. We calculated the Percentage of People 90 Years of Age or Older and the Longevity Index in each of the 292 census divisions. The data and the Canadian census division map were merged to create thematic maps using Google Fusion Tables. RESULTS overall, there were 217,930 women and men who were 90 years of age or older in Canada in 2011. The regions with the highest proportion of elderly residents are in the south, rather than in the north of Canada. Southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba emerged as high longevity areas based on both indices. CONCLUSIONS publically available data and free online tools can be used to create maps that visually display the geographic distribution of the oldest population across Canada. This approach provides an efficient way to observe patterns, identify adjacencies and perceive information that may not have been anticipated. This approach can be replicated in other jurisdictions using publically available data.
A Transcriptional Fusion of Genes Encoding Glyceraldehyde‐3‐Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and Enolase in Dinoflagellates

Abstract. Glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and enolase are enzymes essential for glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Dinoflagellates possess several types of both GAPDH and enolase genes. Here, we identify a novel cytosolic GAPDH–enolase fusion protein in several dinoflagellate species. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the GAPDH moiety of this fusion is weakly related to a cytosolic GAPDH previously reported in dinoflagellates, ciliates, and an apicomplexan. The enolase moiety has phylogenetic affinity with sequences from ciliates and apicomplexans, as expected for dinoflagellate genes. Furthermore, the enolase moiety has two insertions in a highly conserved region of the gene that are shared with ciliate and apicomplexan homologues, as well as with land plants, stramenopiles, haptophytes, and a chlorarachniophyte. Another glycolytic gene fusion in eukaryotes is the mitochondrion‐targeted triose‐phosphate isomerase (TPI) and GAPDH fusion in stramenopiles (i.e. diatoms and oomycetes). However, unlike the mitochondrial TPI–GAPDH fusion, the GAPDH–enolase fusion protein appears to exist in the same compartment as stand‐alone homologues of each protein, and the metabolic reactions they catalyze in glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are not directly sequential. It is possible that the fusion is post‐translationally processed to give separate GAPDH and enolase products, or that the fusion protein may function as a single bifunctional polypeptide in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, or perhaps more likely in some previously unrecognized metabolic capacity.