Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detection of varicella zoster virus DNA in some patients with giant cell arteritis.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine whether an association exists between giant cell arteritis (GCA) and the presence of varicella-zoster virus (VZV), by using histologic, molecular, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural analyses of temporal artery biopsy specimens. METHODS In a randomized masked study, 64 temporal artery biopsy specimens were analyzed by PCR for VZV DNA. The samples included 35 specimens histologically positive and 29 specimens histologically negative for GCA. Immunohistochemical staining for VZV viral antigen IE-63 was performed on seven of the specimens positive for GCA and five negative specimens. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed on five of the specimens positive for GCA. RESULTS PCR was positive for VZV DNA in 9 (26%) temporal arteries tested that showed histologic evidence of GCA. The remaining 26 histologically positive temporal arteries and all 29 histologically negative arteries tested gave negative PCR results for VZV DNA. Statistical analysis (z-test) comparing the association of VZV DNA between the specimens that were positive and negative for GCA showed a significant difference (P = 0.010). Immunohistochemical studies were positive in several biopsy specimens within adventitial histiocytes-macrophages, but these results did not correlate with either the presence or absence of VZV DNA or with the histologic evidence of GCA. No viral particles were observed by TEM. CONCLUSIONS This study showed a significant association of VZV DNA to temporal artery biopsy samples positive for GCA compared with the negative specimens. The results support the hypothesis that VZV may play a role in the pathogenesis of some cases of GCA. However, PCR, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic findings suggest the virus is present at extremely low quantities, is abortively replicating, or is latent.
Sound production by some Tanganyikan cichlid fishes and a hypothesis for the evolution of the R communication mechanisms.

I. Sound production is studied in Halochromis murtoni, Simochromis diagramma, S. babatiltz, Tropheus moorii, T. brichardi and T. duboisi (Pisces, Cichlidae). The recorded sounds are analysed and visualized as sonograms. 2. As far as communication is concerned, Tropheus is specialized in sound production while Simochromis is specialized in colour patterns. 3. These ways of evolution from an Haplochromis-like ancestor could be correlated with the fact that Tropheus became night-active, and Simochromis day-active.
Hierarchically-paired evolutionary MAC protocol for ubiquitous wireless sensor applications

In this paper, we propose a new type of unified medium access control (MAC) framework, referred to as hierarchically-paired evolutionary MAC (HiPERMAC) protocol, with both contention-based and reservation-based time scheduling for wireless sensor networks. It is designed especially for a single-frequency radio operation while inheriting all advantages of the cluster-based hierarchical topology, e.g., energy efficiency and flexibility in coverage extension. Our simulation results show that depending on the various application scenarios, energy consumption and throughput can be properly traded off by our unified MAC framework.
A Bootstrap Test of Shape Invariance Across Distributions

The shape of a response time distribution provides valuable clues about the underlying mental processing. If a manipulation affects the shape of an RT distribution, then it is reasonable to suspect that the manipulation has done more than simply speed or slow the rate of processing. We develop a nonparametric bootstrap test of shape invariance. Simulations reveal the test is sufficiently powered to detect small shape changes in reasonably sized experiments while maintaining appropriate Type I error control. The test is simple and can be applied broadly in cognitive psychology. An application to a number priming experiment provides a demonstration of how shape changes may be detected. Bootstrap Test of Distribution Shape 3 A Bootstrap Test of Shape Invariance Across Distributions Response time (RT), the time taken to complete a task, is a common dependent variable that has been used to draw inferences about the nature of mental processing (e.g., Luce, 1986). Although many researhcers draw conclusions from analysis of mean RT, it is increasingly common to see more sophisticated analyses of entire RT distributions. These more sophistcated analyses often provide additional constraint on cognitive and perceptual theories. Selective examples include Ashby, Tien, and Balakrishnan (1993); Dzhafarov (1992); Hockley (1984); Logan (1992); Ratcliff (1978); Ratcliff and Rouder (1998, 2000); Rouder (2000); Rouder, Ratcliff, and McKoon (2000); Spieler, Faust, and Balota, (1996); Theeuwes (1992, 1994); Townsend & Nozawa (1995); Van Zandt, Colonius, & Proctor (2000); and Vickers (1980). Although there are several methods of analyzing distributions, we advocate that researchers consider how properties of location, scale, and shape change across conditions or populations (Rouder, Sun, Speckman, Lu, & Zhou, 2003; Rouder, Lu, Speckman, Sun, & Jiang, 2005). Figure 1 provides an example of these properties. The left panel shows the case when only location differs between distributions; the center and right panels show the same for scale and shape, respectively. Location and scale are formally defined as follows: Let the density of a continuous random variable exist everywhere and be expressed as f(t | θ1, . . . , θp), where θ1, . , θp are parameters. Let z = (t− θ1)/θ2. We refer to the density as being in location-scale form if there exists a density g such that f(t | θ1, . . . , θp) = 1 θ2 g ( t− θ1 θ2 | θ3, . . . , θp )
Role of Interferon α (IFNα)-inducible Schlafen-5 in Regulation of Anchorage-independent Growth and Invasion of Malignant Melanoma Cells*

IFNα exerts potent inhibitory activities against malignant melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo, but the mechanisms by which it generates its antitumor effects remain unknown. We examined the effects of interferon α (IFNα) on the expression of human members of the Schlafen (SLFN) family of genes, a group of cell cycle regulators that mediate growth-inhibitory responses. Using quantitative RT-real time PCR, we found detectable basal expression of all the different human SLFN genes examined (SLFN5, SLFN11, SLFN12, SLFN13, and SLFN14), in malignant melanoma cells and primary normal human melanocytes, but SLFN5 basal expression was suppressed in all analyzed melanoma cell lines. Treatment of melanoma cells with IFNα resulted in induction of expression of SLFN5 in malignant cells, suggesting a potential involvement of this gene in the antitumor effects of IFNα. Importantly, stable knockdown of SLFN5 in malignant melanoma cells resulted in increased anchorage-independent growth, as evidenced by enhanced colony formation in soft agar assays. Moreover, SLFN5 knockdown also resulted in increased invasion in three-dimensional collagen, suggesting a dual role for SLFN5 in the regulation of invasion and anchorage-independent growth of melanoma cells. Altogether, our findings suggest an important role for the SLFN family of proteins in the generation of the anti-melanoma effects of IFNα and for the first time directly implicate a member of the human SLFN family in the regulation of cell invasion.
Effects of Vitamin K3 and K5 on Daunorubicin-resistant Human T Lymphoblastoid Leukemia Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIM Anticancer efficacy of vitamin K derivatives on multidrug-resistant cancer cells has been scarcely investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS The effects of vitamins K3 and K5 on proliferation of human leukemia MOLT-4 cells and on daunorubicin-resistant MOLT-4/DNR cells were estimated by a WST assay. Apoptotic cells were detected by Annexin V and propidium iodide staining, followed by flow cytometry. RESULTS Vitamins K3 and K5 significantly inhibited proliferation of leukemic cells at 10 and 100 μM (p<0.05), and these effects were almost equally observed in both MOLT-4 and MOLT/DNR drug-resistant cells. Vitamin K3 induced cell apoptosis at 10 and 100 μM in both MOLT-4 and MOLT-4/DNR cells (p<0.05). Vitamin K5 also increased apoptotic cells, while rather inducing necrotic cell death. CONCLUSION Vitamins K3 and K5 suppress MOLT-4 and MOLT-4/DNR cell-proliferation partially through induction of apoptosis, and these vitamin derivatives can overcome drug resistance due to P-glycoprotein expression.
Multiple people tracking from 2D depth data by deterministic spatiotemporal data association

This paper proposes a deterministic approach to track people in a populated environment from 2D depth data by a laser range finder attached on a mobile robot. This work aims to improve robustness of multiple people tracking in the presence of change of the number of people, missing data, and long-term occlusions by using spatiotemporal data association. The temporal data association method is based on the multi-frame tracking (MFT) and the improved MFT (IMFT) is proposed for enhancing computational efficiency in the long-term occlusions. A spatial data association algorithm used a matching algorithm from the leg history data for detecting a human subject from leg tracks. The proposed methodology has been assessed in the three walking patterns of two people and compared with MFT and MHT methods.
A Novel Resource Allocation Method for HSUPA with Successive Interference Cancellation

In this paper, we investigate the potential benefit of successive interference cancellation (SIC) in high speed uplink packet access (HSUPA). We explore the possibility of improving the performance of HSUPA by introducing the SIC and we also bring forward a novel scheduling method named effective power-based load control (EPBLC) to extend its advantage. Finally we give the conclusion that with SIC and EPBLC, we can get 43%-56% throughput gain under different interference cancellation efficiency.
Glycaemic Control, Muscle Glycogen and Exercise Performance in IDDM Athletes on Diets of Varying Carbohydrate Content

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a high carbohydrate diet on glycaemic control, resting muscle glycogen levels and exercise performance in athletes with insulin dependent diabetes (IDDM). Seven trained (mean +/- S.D., VO2max 50.3 +/- 7.4 ml/kg/min) IDDM males consumed a high carbohydrate diet (HCD) or a normal mixed diet (NMD) for 3 week periods in a randomised crossover trial with a one week wash-out. Carbohydrate provided 59% or 50% of total energy intake, respectively, on the two diets. Fasting plasma lipids, mean blood glucose (over 96 h), fructosamine and muscle glycogen were measured and insulin use recorded. Exercise performance was evaluated by a 15 min time trial following a 50 min pre-loading block. Statistical significance was assessed using two tailed paired Student t-tests. Mean blood glucose was 10% higher on HCD than NMD (p = 0.005), fructosamine levels were 375 +/- 54 and 353 +/- 51 (mol/L on HCD and NMD, resp., p = 0.04) and daily insulin requirements were 15% higher on HCD than NMD (p = 0.02). Fasting blood lipids were similar on the two diets. Muscle glycogen was significantly lower on HCD than NMD (88.2 +/- 19.2 and 95.6 +/- 14.6 mmol/kg ww, respectively, p = 0.02). Exercise completed during the time trial was 6% less on HCD than on NMD (p = 0.007). An increased carbohydrate intake for three weeks, in IDDM athletes, is associated with a deterioration in glycaemic control, increased insulin requirements, decreased muscle glycogen and reduced exercise performance. These data do not support recommendations for IDDM athletes to consume a high carbohydrate diet, at least not when glycaemic control worsens upon following this advice, as was observed in this short-term study.
MicroRNA expression in cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND A role of microRNAs in cancer has recently been recognized. However, little is known about the role of microRNAs in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS Using microRNA expression profiling, we studied samples of leukemia cells from adults under the age of 60 years who had cytogenetically normal AML and high-risk molecular features--that is, an internal tandem duplication in the fms-related tyrosine kinase 3 gene (FLT3-ITD), a wild-type nucleophosmin (NPM1), or both. A microRNA signature that was associated with event-free survival was derived from a training group of 64 patients and tested in a validation group of 55 patients. For the latter, a microRNA compound covariate predictor (called a microRNA summary value) was computed on the basis of weighted levels of the microRNAs forming the outcome signature. RESULTS Of 305 microRNA probes, 12 (including 5 representing microRNA-181 family members) were associated with event-free survival in the training group (P<0.005). In the validation group, the microRNA summary value was inversely associated with event-free survival (P=0.03). In multivariable analysis, the microRNA summary value remained associated with event-free survival (P=0.04) after adjustment for the allelic ratio of FLT3-ITD to wild-type FLT3 and for the white-cell count. Using results of gene-expression microarray analysis, we found that expression levels of the microRNA-181 family were inversely correlated with expression levels of predicted target genes encoding proteins involved in pathways of innate immunity mediated by toll-like receptors and interleukin-1beta. CONCLUSIONS A microRNA signature in molecularly defined, high-risk, cytogenetically normal AML is associated with the clinical outcome and with target genes encoding proteins involved in specific innate-immunity pathways.
Concepts of Motor Learning Applied to a Rehabilitation Protocol Using Biofeedback to Improve Gait in a Chronic Stroke Patient: An A-B System Study With Multiple Gait Analyses

Objective. The impact of electromyographic biofeedback (EMG BFB) applied during functional gait activities and employed in accord with theories on motor learning was investigated in a chronic hemiplegic patient. Methods. A single-subject A-B design was used. EMG BFB was applied to the triceps surae during gait. A rehabilitation program with a fading frequency of BFB application and an increasing variability in the task training was implemented. Responses to the rehabilitation program were documented via multiple quantitative gait analyses, performed during a baseline, treatment, and at follow-up 6 weeks after the end of treatment. Results.From baseline to end of treatment, there were significant changes in ankle power at push-off, both in amplitude and timing, as well as onset of ankle power at push-off relative to heel strike of the healthy leg. There was a significant increase in gait velocity, step length of the healthy side, stride length, and stride frequency. At follow-up, changes were still significantly different from baseline and the patient had reduced the use of the cane in activities of daily living. Conclusions. BFB appears to have been effective in promoting positive changes in gait in this pilot study. The rehabilitation protocol also appeared to be effective in promoting learning and the incorporation of trained activities into daily activities.
Combining endocytic and freezing‐induced trehalose uptake for cryopreservation of mammalian cells

Fibroblasts take up trehalose during freezing and thawing, which facilitates cryosurvival of the cells. The aim of this study was to investigate if trehalose uptake via fluid‐phase endocytosis prefreeze increases cryosurvival. To determine endocytic trehalose uptake in attached as well as suspended fibroblasts, intracellular trehalose concentrations were determined during incubation at 37°C using an enzymatically based trehalose assay. In addition, freezing‐induced trehalose uptake of extracellularly added trehalose was determined. Cryosurvival rates were determined via trypan blue staining. Intracellular trehalose contents of attached as well as suspended cells were found to increase linearly with time, consistent with fluid‐phase endocytosis. Furthermore, the intracellular trehalose concentration increased with increasing extracellular trehalose concentration (0–100 mM) in a linear fashion. Prefreeze loading of cells with trehalose via fluid‐phase endocytosis only showed increased cryosurvival rates at extracellular trehalose concentrations lower than 50 mM in the cryopreservation medium. To obtain satisfactory cryosurvival rates after endocytic preloading, extracellular trehalose is needed to prevent efflux of trehalose during freezing and thawing and for freezing‐induced trehalose uptake. At trehalose concentrations greater than 100 mM, cryosurvival rates were similar or slightly higher if cells were not loaded with trehalose prefreeze. Cells that were grown in the presence of trehalose showed a tendency to aggregate after harvesting. It is concluded that it is particularly freezing‐induced trehalose uptake that facilitates cryosurvival when trehalose is used as the sole cryoprotectant for cryopreservation of fibroblasts. Preloading with trehalose does not increase cryosurvival rates if trehalose is also added as extracellular protectant. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 33:229–230, 2017
People living with psychotic illness in 2010: The second Australian national survey of psychosis

Objective: The 2010 Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP) is Australia’s second national psychosis survey. This paper provides an overview of its findings, including comparisons with the first psychosis survey and general population data. Methods: The survey covered 1.5 million people aged 18–64 years, approximately 10% of Australians in this age group. A two-phase design was used. In phase 1, screening for psychosis took place in public mental health services and non-government organizations supporting people with mental illness. In phase 2, 1825 of those screen-positive for psychosis were randomly selected and interviewed. Data collected included symptomatology, substance use, functioning, service utilization, medication use, education, employment, housing, and physical health including fasting blood samples. Results: The estimated 1-month treated prevalence of psychotic disorders in public treatment services was 3.1 people per 1000 population; the 12-month treated prevalence was 4.5 people per 1000. The majority (63.0%) of participants met ICD-10 criteria for schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. One-half (49.5%) reported attempting suicide in their lifetime and two-thirds (63.2%) were rated as impaired in their ability to socialize. Over half (54.8%) had metabolic syndrome. The proportion currently smoking was 66.1%. Educational achievement was low. Only 21.5% were currently employed. Key changes in the 12 years since the first survey included: a marked drop in psychiatric inpatient admissions; a large increase in the proportion attending community mental health clinics; increased use of rehabilitation services and non-government organizations supporting people with mental illness; a major shift from typical to atypical antipsychotics; and large increases in the proportions with lifetime alcohol or drug abuse/dependence. Conclusion: People with psychotic illness face multiple challenges. An integrated approach to service provision is needed to ensure that their living requirements and needs for social participation are met, in addition to their very considerable mental and physical health needs.
Two isomeric 10-methyl-8-phenyl-11-pyridyl-6,8-dihydro-5H-benzo[f]pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinolines: cyclic hydrogen-bonded tetramers versus isolated molecules.

The molecules of 10-methyl-8-phenyl-11-(3-pyridyl)-6,8-dihydro-5H-benzo[f]pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinoline, C26H20N4, (I), are linked by a single C-H.N hydrogen bond into cyclic R(4)(4)(12) tetramers generated by a -4 axis. In isomeric 10-methyl-8-phenyl-11-(4-pyridyl)-6,8-dihydro-5H-benzo[f]pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinoline, (II), which crystallizes with Z' = 2 in space group P2(1)2(1)2, the two independent molecules are nearly enantiomeric but there are no direction-specific interactions between them.
A 46-$\mu\hbox{W}$ Self-Calibrated Gigahertz VCO for Low-Power Radios

This brief presents a 46 μW 0.8-2 GHz tunable oscillator with built-in self-calibrated process, supply voltage, and temperature compensation for applications in low-power radios. With single-point current calibration at room temperature, the proposed voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) achieves 2.24% frequency accuracy against process variation, 1.6% frequency shift over 0.85- to 1.15-V supply voltage, and 167-ppm/°C temperature sensitivity between -7°C and 76°C. The sub-135-pJ on-chip self-calibration is based on a successive approximation scheme. Our design shows 3.4× improved process variation tolerance, 45× improved supply sensitivity, and 5.2× improved temperature sensitivity, as compared with the free-running VCO without self-calibration. Measurements are taken from 94 chips fabricated in two different lots in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company 65-nm CMOS process.
Power Aware Visual Sensor Network for Wildlife Habitat Monitoring

One of the fundamental issue in wireless sensor network is conserving energy and thus extending the lifetime of the network. In this paper we investigate the coverage problem in camera sensor networks by developing two algorithms which consider network lifetime. Also, it is assumed that camera sensors spread randomly over a large area in order to monitor a designated air space. To increase the lifetime of the network, the density of distributed sensors could be such that a subset of sensors can cover the required air space. As a sensor dies another sensor should be selected to compensate for the dead one and reestablish the complete coverage. This process should be continued until complete coverage is not achievable by the existing sensors. Thereafter, a graceful degradation of the coverage is desirable. The goal is to elongate the lifetime of the network while maintaining a maximum possible coverage of the designated air space. Since the selection of a subset of sensors for complete coverage of the target area is an NP-complete problem we present a class of heuristics for this case. This is done by prioritizing the sensors based on their visual and communicative properties.
Rat Blood–Brain Barrier Genomics. II

The tissue-specific gene expression at the brain microvasculature, which forms the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in vivo, can be elucidated with a brain vascular genomics program, which starts with the isolation of gene products derived from purified brain microvessels. Genes commonly expressed in peripheral organs are subtracted with the suppression subtractive hybridization method using driver cDNA produced from a pool of rat liver/kidney–derived poly A+RNA. From a screen of 480 clones in the subtracted tester cDNA library, 156 clones were sequenced. The clones fell into 3 groups: known genes (51%), rat expressed sequence tags (31%), and novel rat genes not found in databases (18%). The known genes could be categorized into families of common function including vascular remodeling, signal transduction, transcription factors, biologic transport, vascular amyloid, hemostasis, myelin, lipids, secretion, cytoskeleton, and junctional complexes. Brain vascular genomics, or BBB genomics, allows for an accelerated discovery of the gene families that are differentially expressed at the microvasculature in brain.