Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Activation of CC Chemokine Receptors by AOP-RANTES*

RANTES (regulated on activation normal T cell expressed) has been found at elevated levels in biological fluids from patients with a wide range of allergic and autoimmune diseases and is able to attract several subtypes of leukocytes including eosinophils and monocytes into inflamed tissue. Amino-terminal modifications of RANTES produce receptor antagonists which are candidates for blocking this cellular recruitment. Met-RANTES has been shown to modulate inflammation in vivo, while AOP-RANTES is a potent inhibitor of R5 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains and has been shown to down-modulate CCR5 and prevent recycling of the receptor. We have studied the effect of AOP-RANTES in eosinophil activation and have found that it is able to efficiently elicit eosinophil effector functions through CCR3, as measured by the release of reactive oxygen species and calcium mobilization, whereas Met-RANTES is inactive in these assays. AOP-RANTES is found to inhibit CCR3-mediated HIV-1 infection with moderate potency, in contrast to its potent inhibition of CCR5-mediated HIV-1 infection. Furthermore, we have investigated the abilities of these modified proteins to down-modulate CCR1 and CCR3 from the surface of monocytes and eosinophils. We show here that AOP-RANTES is much less effective than RANTES in down-modulation of CCR1. Surprisingly, recycling of CCR1 was minimal after incubation with RANTES while there was complete recycling with AOP-RANTES. In the case of CCR3, no significant difference was found between RANTES and AOP-RANTES in down-modulation and recycling. It therefore appears that trafficking of RANTES receptors follows different patterns, which opens up potential new targets for therapeutic intervention.
Individual Variability and Average Reliability in Parallel Networks of Heterogeneous Biological and Artificial Nanostructures

We simulate the collective electrical response of heterogeneous ensembles of biological and artificial nanostructures whose individual threshold potentials show a significant variability. This problem is of current interest because nanotechnology is bound to produce nanostructures with a significant experimental variability in their individual physical properties. This diversity is also present in biological systems that are however able to process information efficiently. The nanostructures considered are the ion channels of biological membranes, nanowire field-effect transistors, and metallic nanoparticle-based single electron transistors. These systems are simulated with canonical models that incorporate the basic threshold characteristics observed in the respective experimental current-voltage curves. In each case, the different shape, size, and charge distributions of the nanostructures result in statistical distributions for the individual threshold potentials, characterized by experimental average and width distribution values, rather than in identical replicates of the same unit. Despite the significant variability, the simulations suggest that useful average responses can still be achieved with summing networks of heterogeneous nanostructures because the collective behavior may compensate for individual failures and variability. Since threshold potential systems are commonplace in biology, the results obtained are also significant for understanding the role of diversity in biologically inspired networks.
Is the New Variant RHDV Replacing Genogroup 1 in Portuguese Wild Rabbit Populations?

The Lagovirus rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), a member of the family Caliciviridae, severely affects European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations by causing rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD). RHDV is subdivided in six genogroups but, more recently, a new RHDV variant with a unique genetic and antigenic profile emerged. We performed a study in rabbits found dead in the field during 2013 and 2014 in Portugal to determine the prevalence of this new variant versus the classical RHDV. Fifty-seven liver samples were screened for the presence of RHDV and positive samples were genotyped. All cases of RHDV infection were caused by the new variant. The only former genogroup circulating in Portugal, G1, was not detected. We hence conclude that the new RHDV variant is replacing G1 in Portugal, probably due to a selective advantage. This sudden and rapid replacement emphasizes the necessity of continued monitoring of wild rabbit populations.
Zero dynamics stabilisation and adaptive trajectory tracking for WIP vehicles through feedback linearisation and LQR technique

ABSTRACT This paper presents a composite control strategy integrating adaptive sliding-mode control and the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) technology for a wheeled inverted pendulum (WIP) vehicle system. The system can be partitioned into an actuated rotational subsystem and an underactuated longitudinal subsystem based on the different control input in the mathematical model. In particular, the instability analysis of zero dynamic for the underactuated longitudinal subsystem is investigated in detail using the feedback linearisation technology. Then, an adaptive sliding-mode control is designed for the trajectory tracking, where an adaptive algorithm is developed to handle with the parameter uncertainties. In addition, the LQR technique is employed to guarantee zero dynamics stability so as to achieve simultaneously the vehicle body stabilisation at the upright position. Simulation results show the good performance and strong robustness of the proposed control schemes.
Hypoxia Sensitizes Cells to Nitric Oxide-induced Apoptosis*

Nitric oxide (NO) can induce apoptosis in a variety of cell types. A non-toxic concentration of nitric oxide under normal oxygen conditions triggered cell death under hypoxic conditions (1.5% O2) in fibroblasts. Nitric oxide administered during hypoxia induced the release of cytochrome c, caspase-9 activation, and the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential followed by DNA fragmentation and lactate dehydrogenase release (markers of cell death). Bcl-XL protected cells from nitric oxide-induced apoptosis during hypoxia by preventing the release of cytochrome c, caspase-9 activation, and by maintaining a mitochondrial membrane potential. Murine embryonic fibroblasts frombax −/− bak −/− mice exposed to nitric oxide during hypoxia did not die, indicating that pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members are required for NO-induced apoptosis during hypoxia. The nitric oxide-induced cell death during hypoxia was independent of cGMP and peroxynitrite. Cells devoid of mitochondrial DNA (ρ°-cells) lack a functional electron transport chain and were resistant to nitric oxide-induced cell death during hypoxia, suggesting that a functional electron transport chain is required for nitric oxide-induced apoptosis during hypoxia.
Enhanced connectivity in ASON/GMPLS network with demonstrations

Automatic switched optical network (ASON) is controlled with generalized multi protocol label switch (GMPLS). It enables telecom operators to provide automatic traffic provisioning for enhanced network protection, operation and maintenance. The emerging broadband services, such as IPTV and e-science, need point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to-multipoint connections besides the point-to-point one in optical layer. This paper investigates the enhanced connectivity in ASON/GMPLS network with demonstration in field trial of eastern China.
Are core objectives of web-based collaborative inquiry learning already core learning prerequisites?: the case of argumentation competences and computer literacy

We investigated whether argumentation competence and computer literacy, which are typically regarded as goals of web-based collaborative inquiry learning, also constitute important learning prerequisites for the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge. Results of two empirical studies showed that learners with higher argumentation competence and learners with lower computer literacy acquired more domain-specific knowledge. Core objectives of collaborative inquiry learning can be influential prerequisites as well, albeit not always in the way that may be expected.
Airway pressure-volume curve estimated by flow interruption during forced expiration.

The pressure-volume characteristics of the airway downstream to the choke point was estimated with abrupt interruption of airflow at the mouth during forced expiration. The pressure was measured at the mouth and the volume was given by the maximum flow immediately before interruption multiplied by interruption time. The compliance of the airway downstream to the choke point, i.e., a slope of the pressure-volume curve, was 1.04 ml/cmH2O at 50% FVC, and increased in lower lung volumes, in 7 healthy subjects. Whereas, in a case of tracheo-bronchopathia osteochondroplastica, its value decreased markedly.
Envelope Analysis on Vibration Signals for Stator Winding Fault Early Detection in 3-Phase Induction Motors

This paper brings up a novel method for detecting induction motor stator winding faults at an early stage. The contribution of the work comes from the delicate handling of motor vibration by applying envelope analysis, which makes it possible to capture electrical short-circuit signature in mechanical signals, even if the magnitude of the fault is fairly incipient. Conventional induction motor condition-based maintenance methods usually involve current and voltage measurements, which could be expensive to collect, and vibration-based analysis is often only capable of detecting the fault when it is already quite significant. In contrast, the solution presented in this study provides a refreshing perspective by applying time-synchronous averaging to remove the discrete frequency component, and amplitude demodulation to further enhance the signal with the help of kurtogram. Experimental results on a three-phase induction motor show that the method is also able to distinguish different fault severity levels.
A meta‐analysis of prospective randomized trials comparing minimally invasive and open distal gastrectomy for cancer

Current literature suggests that minimally invasive distal gastrectomy (MIDG) may enhance post‐operative recovery and decrease morbidity compared to open surgery (ODG) in patients with gastric cancer. A meta‐analysis of six Prospective Randomized Trials comparing MIDG (343 patients) and ODG (323 patients) for gastric cancer was conducted. MIDG was associated with increased operative time, reduced blood loss and overall morbidity. There was not sufficient data to draw solid conclusions about the oncologic quality of MIDG. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011; 104:544–551. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Caveolin‐1 deficiency decreases atherosclerosis by hampering leukocyte influx into the arterial wall and generating a regulatory T‐cell response

Caveolin‐1 plays a crucial role in atherosclerosis, which is mainly attributed to its effects on low‐density‐lipoprotein (LDL) transcytosis. However, caveolin‐1 has also been implicated in the regulation of inflammation. We investigated the effects of caveolin‐1 deficiency in atherosclerosis with its accompanying changes in plaque‐ and lymphoid‐related immunology and inflammation. Cav1‐/‐ Apoe‐/‐ mice exhibited a 15‐fold reduction in plaque size with plaques containing fewer macrophages, T cells, and neutrophils. Intravital microscopy revealed 83% less leukocyte adhesion to the vessel wall in Cav1‐/‐ Apoe‐/‐ mice, which could be attributed to reduced endothelial chemokine li‐gand‐2 (CCL‐2/MCP‐1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (VCAM‐1) expression. Caveolin‐1 deficiency resulted in a 57% increase in regulatory T cells and a 4% decrease in CD4+ effector T cells in lymphoid organs. Bone marrow transplantations revealed that Cav1‐/‐Apoe‐/‐ mice receiving Cav1+/+Apoe‐/‐ or Cav1‐/‐ Apoe‐/‐ bone marrow presented 4‐ to 4.5‐fold smaller plaques with no additional phenotypic changes. In contrast, atherosclerosis was not affected in Cav1+/+ Apoe‐/‐ recipients receiving Cav1‐/‐ Apoe‐/‐ or Cav1+/+ Apoe‐/‐ bone marrow. However, the presence of Cav1‐/‐ Apoe‐/‐ bone marrow was associated with an anti‐inflammatory T‐cell profile. Our study reveals that nonhematopoietic caveolin‐1 determines plaque size, whereas hematopoietic caveolin‐1 regulates lymphoid immune‐modulation. However, both are required for phenotypic modulation of plaques. —Engel, D. , Beckers, L. , Wijnands, E. , Seijkens, T. , Lievens, D. , Drechsler, M. , Gerdes, N. , Soehnlein, O. , Daemen, M. J. A. P., Stan, R. V. , Biessen, E. A. L. , Lutgens, E. Caveolin‐1 deficiency decreases atherosclerosis by hampering leukocyte influx into the arterial wall and generating a regulatory T‐cell response. FASEB J. 25, 3838–3848 (2011). www.fasebj. org
Triggering inspections ex officio: Moving beyond a passive EU cartel policy

The implementation of leniency programs is considered a success both at a EU Community level and in individual member states. The paper discusses the value of ex officio investigations for cartel detection in light of leniency and complaint-based cases. Are ex officio investigations still needed? Should a competition authority concentrate its scarce resources exclusively on the prosecution of leniency or complaint-based cases or follow a proactive market monitoring policy? It is argued that investigations triggered ex officio are an important complementary enforcement tool to the other passive instruments available to a competition authority. A bottom-up methodology for triggering inspections based on economic criteria is presented allowing for a more proactive cartel policy.
QoE-based video delivery over LTE hierarchical architecture

This work focuses on Quality of Experience (QoE) based scheduling of multiple video flows on the downlink of LTE/LTE-A system. The LTE/LTE-A network architecture is not built for QoE-based video delivery. LTE/LTE-A enables Quality of Service (QoS) based traffic prioritization. QoS allows network operators to split traffic into flows based on attributes such as traffic type (streaming video, real-time video or VoIP) and traffic needs (packet delay, jitter or throughput). In this work, we consider scalable video layers mapped to QoE-based priority classes at the core network. At the Radio Access Network (RAN), packets of different priority classes receive different forwarding treatment (scheduling and queue management). In the recent approaches, the QoE marked packets are dropped by utilizing a packet dropping algorithm, and scheduled by employing a QoS-aware scheduler. In this work, we proposed a QoE-based priority class aware scheduling approach which, under congestion, does not require a packet dropping algorithm. Furthermore, the proposed approach not only conforms to the LTE/LTE-A hierarchical architecture but also delivers to the end users a better QoE as delivered by the state-of-the-art cross-layer approaches.
Amplitude and phase dereverberation of harmonic signals

While most dereverberation methods focus on how to estimate the magnitude of an anechoic signal in the time-frequency domain, we propose a method which also takes the phase into account. By applying a harmonic model to the anechoic signal, we derive a formulation to compute the amplitude and phase of each harmonic. These parameters are then estimated by our method in presence of reverberation. As we jointly estimate the amplitude and phase of the clean signal, we achieve a very strong dereverberation on synthetic harmonic signals, resulting in a significant improvement of standard dereverberation objective measures over the state-of-the-art.
Cataract Surgical Rate between 2006 and 2010 in Tehran Province

Background: Considering population aging in Iran and the importance of cataract surgery in the old age, this study was performed to show the cataract surgical rate (CSR) between 2006 and 2010 in Tehran Province. Methods: Eighteen centers were randomly selected from cataract surgery centers in Tehran. In each center, one week in every season was randomly selected and the number of cataract surgeries in the week was calculated. In total, 20 weeks were selected in each center in five years. Results: The CSR increased linearly from 8011 cases per 1,000,000 population in 2006 to 12465 cases per 1,000,000 population in 2010. As for patients below 40 years of age, the percentage of the male patients was more while after the age of 40 years, the percentage of the female patients was more in all age groups. At least 96.2% of the surgeries in each year were performed using the phacoemulsification method. From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of outpatient surgery increased from 48.7% to 72.5%. On the other hand, hospitalization for one night or more had a decreasing trend from 2006 to 2010. Conclusion: During 2006–2010, the CSR was acceptable in Tehran in comparison with other studies. However, attention should be paid to the increase in the population of the elderly people. Although more than 95% of the surgeries in the Province of Tehran are performed using the phacoemulsification method, the rate should increase to 100% in the eligible cases.
Enhanced Aqueous Arsenic Absorbing Substituted Spinel Nickel Ferrite (NiFe2O4) Nano-Particles

Arsenic is noxious metal exist in water in form of organic dimethyl arsenic acid (C2H7AsO2) and monomethylarsonic acid (CH5AsO3) while in inorganic arsenic trioxide (As2O3) and sodium arsenate (NaH2AsO4). Its trivalent and pentavalent forms are abundant in natural water. Its trivalent form is 60 times more hazardous than pentavalent form. Reports proved that arsenic contamination in water is the basic reason behind many chronic health problems and its removal was the major concern issue. Versatile soft synthesized ferrite material was used as an efficient adsorbent to adsorb arsenic from drinking water in recent times. In these contribution, magnetic nanoparticles adsorbents (NiFe2O4) have been synthesized by co-precipitation route using stable nickel salts and ferric with potassium hydroxide as the precipitating agent. Synthesized NiFe2O4 exhibits tetrahedral and octahedral sites having typical ferromagnetic and technologically properties and used as adsorbent. Nickel ferrite was well characterized by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). Adsorption of as using NiFe2O4 correlated well (R2>0.90) with the Freundlich isotherm. The analysis revealed that 98% arsenic has been removed from water by nickel ferrite which is much higher than other adsorbents.
Un experimento de extracción de terminología utilizando algoritmos estadísticos supervisados

Este artigo descreve uma metodologia para a extracao automatica de candidatos a termos baseada em tecnicas de analise estatistica de textos. Diferentemente da maioria dos extratores de terminologia que aparecem na literatura sobre o assunto, a nossa proposta nao integra qualquer conhecimento explicito sobre a lingua ou o dominio que esta sendo analisado. Este algoritmo extrai as informacoes diretamente dos dados analisados, por meio de uma fase de treinamento na qual um usuario “ensina” os exemplos de unidades terminologicas (uma lista de termos validados) e unidades nao terminologicas (uma colecao de textos nao especializados). A partir destes exemplos, o algoritmo realiza uma abstracao que permite distinguir novas unidades terminologicas em novos textos. A avaliacao de desempenho deste algoritmo em termos de precisao e cobertura demonstra qualidade suficiente para ser util no processamento de terminologia. a principal vantagem da nossa proposta e a sua facil adaptacao a novas linguas e dominios de especialidade, tornando uma ferramenta adequada para linguas com poucos recursos.
Dual modulation of synaptic inhibition by distinct metabotropic glutamate receptors in the rat hippocampus.

1. The effects of metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) activation on synaptic inhibition were examined using whole‐cell recordings of spontaneous and miniature inhibitory synaptic currents from CA3 pyramidal cells in rat hippocampal slices. 2. The mGluR agonist (1S,3R)trans‐1‐aminocyclopentane‐1,3‐dicarboxylic acid (tACPD) increased spontaneous IPSC (spIPSC) frequency by up to 5‐fold. At doses above 5 microM the increase was transient (15‐45 s) and was followed by a decline to control frequency. In these conditions, elevating external K+ from 2 to 8 mM could still increase spIPSC frequency. 3. Miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) were recorded in the presence of 1 microM TTX, 5 mM Mg2+ and nominally zero Ca2+. At concentrations above 50 microM, tACPD induced a sustained, reversible reduction in mIPSC frequency by up to 43%. 4. Quisqualate, at doses as low as 50 nM, increased spIPSC frequency, but did not affect mIPSC frequency at concentrations up to 10 microM. 5. The specific mGluR2 and 3 agonist (2S,1'R,2'R,3'R)‐2‐(2,3‐dicarboxycyclopropyl)glycine (DCG‐IV, 3 microM) reduced mIPSC frequency by 40 +/‐ 4% but did not increase spIPSC frequency. 6. The putative mGluR antagonist L‐2‐amino‐3‐phosphonopropionate (L‐AP3, 1 mM) blocked the effect of tACPD on mIPSC but not spIPSC frequency. The broad‐spectrum antagonist (RS)‐alpha‐methyl‐4‐carboxyphenylglycine (MCPG, 500 microM) blocked both responses. 7. mGluR activation also had dual effects on IPSCs evoked by focal extracellular stimulation. Application of 5 microM tACPD increased the mean amplitude of evoked IPSCs by 112 +/‐ 9%, largely by reducing the proportion of response failures. In contrast, IPSC amplitude was reduced to 44 +/‐ 1% of control values by 3 microM DCG‐IV. 8. These results suggest hippocampal inhibitory cells express two distinct mGluR subtypes. One receptor (possibly mGluR1 or 5) is located on somato‐dendritic membrane and enhances cell excitability. Another (mGluR2 or 3) is present at inhibitory terminals and reduces the probability of GABA release.
A novel modified star fractal monopole antenna for UWB applications

In this paper, two novel star shaped fractal monopole antenna with circular and hexagon slots and semi-elliptical ground are presented for ultra-wideband applications. The designed antennas have a compact dimension of 20 × 21 × 1 mm3. A 50 ohm impedance matched microstrip feed line having width 1.9 mm is used to excite both the antennas. A wide bandwidth of 8.67 GHz is obtained starting from 4.4 GHz to 13.07 GHz with a consistent VSWR < 2 in case of a circular slot in the patch. In case of the second designed antenna with hexagonal slot in the patch, a further increase in bandwidth is obtained, having a value of 13.67 GHz in the frequency range of 4.57 GHz to 18.24 GHz. All the analysis is carried out in HFSS 2014.