Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Manipulation of Schwann cell migration across the astrocyte boundary by polysialyltransferase-loaded superparamagnetic nanoparticles under magnetic field

Schwann cell (SC) transplantation is an attractive strategy for spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the efficacy of SC transplantation has been limited by the poor migratory ability of SCs in the astrocyte-rich central nervous system (CNS) environment and the inability to intermingle with the host astrocyte. In this study, we first magnetofected SCs by polysialyltransferase-functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (PST/SPIONs) to induce overexpression of polysialylation of neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) to enhance SC migration ability, before manipulating the direction of SC migration with the assistance of an applied magnetic field (MF). It was found that magnetofection with PST/SPIONs significantly upregulated the expression of PSA-NCAM in SCs, which significantly enhanced the migration ability of SCs, but without preferential direction in the absence of MF. The number and averaged maximum distance of SCs with PST/SPIONs migrating into the astrocyte domain were significantly enhanced by an applied MF. In a 300 μm row along the astrocyte boundary, the number of SCs with PST/SPIONs migrating into the astrocyte domain under an MF was 2.95 and 6.71 times higher than that in the absence of MF and the intact control SCs, respectively. More interestingly, a confrontation assay demonstrated that SCs with PST/SPIONs were in close contact with astrocytes and no longer formed boundaries in the presence of MF. In conclusion, SCs with PST/SPIONs showed enhanced preferential migration along the axis of a magnetic force, which might be beneficial for the formation of Büngner bands in the CNS. These findings raise the possibilities of enhancing the migration of transplanted SCs in astrocyte-rich CNS regions in a specific direction and creating an SC bridge in the CNS environment to guide regenerated axons to their distal destination in the treatment of SCI.
Practical weak-atomicity semantics for java stm

As memory transactions have been proposed as a language-level replacement for locks, there is growing need for well-defined semantics. In contrast to database transactions, transaction memory (TM) semantics are complicated by the fact that programs may access the same memory locations both inside and outside transactions. Strongly atomic semantics, where non transactional accesses are treated as implicit single-operation transactions, remain difficult to provide without specialized hardware support or significant performance overhead. As an alternative, many in the community have informally proposed that a single global lock semantics [18,10], where transaction semantics are mapped to those of regions protected by a single global lock, provide an intuitive and efficiently implementable model for programmers. In this paper, we explore the implementation and performance implications of single global lock semantics in a weakly atomic STM from the perspective of Java, and we discuss why even recent STM implementations fall short of these semantics. We describe a new weakly atomic Java STM implementation that provides single global lock semantics while permitting concurrent execution, but we show that this comes at a significant performance cost. We also propose and implement various alternative semantics that loosen single lock requirements while still providing strong guarantees. We compare our new implementations to previous ones, including a strongly atomic STM. [24]
Increase of extracellular corticotropin-releasing factor-like immunoreactivity levels in the amygdala of awake rats during restraint stress and ethanol withdrawal as measured by microdialysis

Previous research has suggested a role for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the anxiogenic effects of stressful stimuli and ethanol withdrawal. This hypothesis was explored in a series of experiments using intracranial microdialysis to monitor CRF-like immunoreactivity (CRF-IR) in the extracellular compartment of the rat amygdala. The synaptic origin of CRF-IR release in the amygdala was determined in vitro by assessing the Ca2+ dependency of 4-aminopyridine stimulated CRF-IR release from tissue preparations of rat amygdala. In vivo experiments were performed in awake rats after the placement of microdialysis probes in the amygdala. In the first experiment, transient restraint stress (20 min) produced an increase of CRF-IR release (basal levels, 1.19 +/- 0.15 fmol/50 microliters; stress levels, 4.54 +/- 1.33 fmol/50 microliters; p < 0.05) that returned to basal values within 1 hr. When 4-aminopyridine (5 mM) was added to the perfusion medium, it consistently increased CRF-IR release (4.83 +/- 0.92 fmol/50 microliters, p < 0.05). In the second experiment, CRF-IR release was measured during ethanol withdrawal in rats previously maintained for 2–3 weeks on a liquid diet containing ethanol (8.5%). Basal CRF-IR levels were 2.10 +/- 0.43 fmol/50 microliters in ethanol exposed rats and 1.30 +/- 0.19 fmol/50 microliters in control rats. During withdrawal, a progressive increase of CRF-IR levels over time was observed, reaching peak values at 10–12 hr after the onset of withdrawal (10.65 +/- 0.49 fmol/50 microliters vs 1.15 +/- 0.30 fmol/50 microliters of control rats, p < 0.01).
Markov decision processes with delays and asynchronous cost collection

Markov decision processes (MDPs) may involve three types of delays. First, state information, rather than being available instantaneously, may arrive with a delay (observation delay). Second, an action may take effect at a later decision stage rather than immediately (action delay). Third, the cost induced by an action may be collected after a number of stages (cost delay). We de rive two results, one for constant and one for random delays, for reducing an MDP with delays to an MDP without delays, which differs only in the size of the state space. The results are based on the intuition that costs may be collected asynchronously, i.e., at a stage other than the one in which they are induced, as long as they are discounted properly.
A cell-killing monoclonal antibody (anti-Fas) to a cell surface antigen co-downregulated with the receptor of tumor necrosis factor

We have prepared an mAb specific for a human cell surface component (termed anti-Fas mAb). Anti-Fas shows cell-killing activity that is indistinguishable from the cytolytic activity of TNF. Fas antigen was characterized by western blotting, indicating that Fas antigen is a cell surface protein with a molecular weight of 200,000, which is different from the molecular weight of TNF-R. Fas antigen, however, is co-downregulated with the TNF-R when cells sensitive to the cytolytic activity of TNF are incubated with either TNF or anti-Fas. In contrast, Fas antigen on cells insensitive to TNF is not co-downregulated with the TNF-R. We suggest that the cell-killing activity of TNF is mediated by Fas antigen associated with the TNF-R.
Attributing Effects of Aqueous C60 Nano-Aggregates to Tetrahydrofuran Decomposition Products in Larval Zebrafish by Assessment of Gene Expression

Background C60 is a highly insoluble nanoparticle that can form colloidal suspended aggregates in water, which may lead to environmental exposure in aquatic organisms. Previous research has indicated toxicity from C60 aggregate; however, effects could be because of tetrahydrofuran (THF) vehicle used to prepare aggregates. Objective Our goal was to investigate changes in survival and gene expression in larval zebrafish Danio rerio after exposure to aggregates of C60 prepared by two methods: a) stirring and sonication of C60 in water (C60–water); and b) suspension of C60 in THF followed by rotovaping, resuspension in water, and sparging with nitrogen gas (THF–C60). Results Survival of larval zebrafish was reduced in THF–C60 and THF–water but not in C60–water. The greatest differences in gene expression were observed in fish exposed to THF–C60 and most (182) of these genes were similarly expressed in fish exposed to THF–water. Significant up-regulation (3- to 7-fold) of genes involved in controlling oxidative damage was observed after exposure to THF–C60 and THF–water. Analyses of THF–C60 and THF–water by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry did not detect THF but found THF oxidation products γ-butyrolactone and tetrahydro-2-furanol. Toxicity of γ-butyrolactone (72-hr lethal concentration predicted to kill 50% was 47 ppm) indicated effects in THF treatments can result from γ-butyrolactone toxicity. Conclusion This research is the first to link toxic effects directly to a THF degradation product (γ-butyrolactone) rather than to C60 and may explain toxicity attributed to C60 in other investigations. The present work was first presented at the meeting “Overcoming Obstacles to Effective Research Design in Nanotoxicology” held 24–26 April 2006 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Object Tracking with Mean Shift and Model Prediction

In this paper, a method for real-time tracking of moving targets is proposed. The particle filter and mean shift technical for color-based tracking is used. The traditional tracker always focuses on how to track with the object robustly in a short period of time. Most of them modify the model after the tracking is finished in current frame. But in long time tracking, the object model is changing continuously. Under the mean shift tracking framework, particle filter technical is used to predict the object model, and track with the new one. With this method, we don't need to fix a threshold to modify the model manually. The experimental results show that out methods has better performance than the traditional kernel based tracker.
In Our Hands: A Plan to Replace the Welfare State

With new material to reflect the policy changes of the past decade, notably the Affordable Care Act, Charles Murray suggests that there is no better moment for citizens to consider an overhaul of the current welfare state. It is time, he proposes, to put the future of all Americans back A¢Â€Âœin our hands.A¢Â€Â
Remapping NUCA: Improving NUCA Cache's Power Efficiency

Power efficiency has been recognized as an important factor of the computing technology. On-chip caches represent a sizable faction of the total power consumption of microprocessors. Non-uniform cache access (NUCA) cache split the cache into several tiles, which enables the ability to power down some tiles at run time. We observed that some workloads have related small working set, thus we can dynamic power down some tiles at runtime to save leakage power with little performance degradation. In this paper, we propose Remapping NUCA, a mechanism to power down some tiles to improve the NUCA cache's power efficiency. Experimental results show that our mechanism can save 39.58% power on average with less than 5% performance degradation. Finally we point out some directions to further improve the NUCA cache's performance and power efficiency.
Ret signalling integrates a craniofacial muscle module during development

An appropriate organisation of muscles is crucial for their function, yet it is not known how functionally related muscles are coordinated with each other during development. In this study, we show that the development of a subset of functionally related head muscles in the zebrafish is regulated by Ret tyrosine kinase signalling. Three genes in the Ret pathway (gfra3, artemin2 and ret) are required specifically for the development of muscles attaching to the opercular bone (gill cover), but not other adjacent muscles. In animals lacking Ret or Gfra3 function, myogenic gene expression is reduced in forming opercular muscles, but not in non-opercular muscles derived from the same muscle anlagen. These animals have a normal skeleton with small or missing opercular muscles and tightly closed mouths. Myogenic defects correlate with a highly restricted expression of artn2, gfra3 and ret in mesenchymal cells in and around the forming opercular muscles. ret+ cells become restricted to the forming opercular muscles and a loss of Ret signalling results in reductions of only these, but not adjacent, muscles, revealing a specific role of Ret in a subset of head muscles. We propose that Ret signalling regulates myogenesis in head muscles in a modular manner and that this is achieved by restricting Ret function to a subset of muscle precursors.
Associations between TNF-α Polymorphisms and Pneumonia: A Meta-Analysis

Background Several studies evaluated the associations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) polymorphisms with pneumonia in different populations. However, the results were conflicting and controversial. Methods Databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched to find relevant studies. Data were extracted independently by two investigators. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Results Twelve case-control studies and one cohort study were included. Overall, no association between TNF-α −308A/G polymorphism and pneumonia risk was observed for AA +AG vs. GG (OR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.99–1.30; P = 0.07). In addition, TNF-α −308A/G polymorphism was not associated with pneumonia mortality (OR = 1.96; 95% CI 0.94–4.09; P = 0.07). Furthermore, there was no association of TNF-α −238A/G polymorphism with the risk of pneumonia (OR = 1.38; 95% CI 0.84–2.28; P = 0.20). Conclusions TNF-α −308A/G, −238A/G polymorphisms were not associated with pneumonia risk. Moreover, TNF-α −308A/G polymorphism did not play a role in the pneumonia mortality risk.
Phrase-Based Approach for Adaptive Tokenization

Fast re-training of word segmentation models is required for adapting to new resources or domains in NLP of many Asian languages without word delimiters. The traditional tokenization model is efficient but inaccurate. This paper proposes a phrase-based model that factors sentence tokenization into phrase tokenizations, the dependencies of which are also taken into account. The model has a good OOV recognition ability, which improves the overall performance significantly. The training is a linear time phrase extraction and MLE procedure, while the decoding is via dynamic programming based algorithms.
Analysis and Classification of Sleep Stages Based on Difference Visibility Graphs From a Single-Channel EEG Signal

The existing sleep stages classification methods are mainly based on time or frequency features. This paper classifies the sleep stages based on graph domain features from a single-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) signal. First, each epoch (30 s) EEG signal is mapped into a visibility graph (VG) and a horizontal VG (HVG). Second, a difference VG (DVG) is obtained by subtracting the edges set of the HVG from the edges set of the VG to extract essential degree sequences and to detect the gait-related movement artifact recordings. The mean degrees (MDs) and degree distributions (DDs) P (k) on HVGs and DVGs are analyzed epoch-by-epoch from 14,963 segments of EEG signals. Then, the MDs of each DVG and HVG and seven distinguishable DD values of P (k) from each DVG are extracted. Finally, nine extracted features are forwarded to a support vector machine to classify the sleep stages into two, three, four, five, and six states. The accuracy and kappa coefficients of six-state classification are 87.5% and 0.81, respectively. It was found that the MDs of the VGs on the deep sleep stage are higher than those on the awake and light sleep stages, and the MDs of the HVGs are just the reverse.
Leaf Area Index (LAI) of Loblolly Pine and Emergent Vegetation Following a Harvest

Forests provide goods and services to society and, often, refugia for plants and animals; forest managers utilize silviculture to provide ecosystem services and to create habitat. On the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, forest management objectives typically include wood fiber production but may also include the maintenance of environmental quality and, sometimes, species diversity. Silvicultural prescriptions alter stand structure and development trajectories by influencing the competitive interactions among plant species for site resources. Early site intervention may include nutrient additions and/or vegetation control; in coastal loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stands, herbaceous and arborescent species can dominate the site leaf area index (LAI) for many years after a harvest (followed by planting). LAI is an important structural and functional component of a forest stand. Many eco‐hydrologic and water quality models do not accurately account for LAI as the process driver to evapotranspiration (ET), and thus they ignore the ecophysiological effects of LAI on site water balance and nutrient loading. We measured LAI of emergent vegetation following a harvest, mechanical site preparation, and then pine planting for a drained loblolly pine plantation in coastal North Carolina. For six years monthly, growing season estimates of LAI were obtained using a LI‐COR LAI 2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer (PCA) for control (D1), thinned (D3), and harvested (D2) watersheds. In this article, we present results from the D2 treatment. In D2, we “harvested” all emergent vegetation in 18 randomly placed 1 m2 clip plots for three growing seasons where we estimated LAI using species‐pooled estimates of specific leaf area and total leaf dry mass (i.e., LAICLIP); PCA measurements were recorded prior to clipping (LAIPCA). We also simulated loblolly pine seedling growth and development using the biogeochemical process model SECRETS‐3PG to examine site differentiation in LAI. Four years post‐harvest maximum LAICLIP exceeded 8 m2 m‐2 (projected area basis). LAIPCA underestimated LAICLIP; LAICLIP = 1.436 × LAIPCA (r2 = 0.53; p < 0.0001; n = 195). Corrected LAIPCA estimates exceeded simulated pine LAI (LAISIM) for ~4.5 years post‐planting. Emergent vegetation dominated the site for nearly five years and likely exerted a strong influence over site water balance and nutrient use during early stand development.
Gifts of the muse : reframing the debate about the benefits of the arts

This study offers a new framework for understanding how the arts create private and public value, highlights the importance of the arts' intrinsic benefits, and identifies how both instrumental and intrinsic benefits are created. During the past decade, arts advocates have relied on an instrumental approach to the benefits of the arts in arguing for support of the arts. This report evaluates these arguments and asserts that a new approach is needed. This new approach offers a more comprehensive view of how the arts create private and public value, underscores the importance of the arts' intrinsic benefits, and links the creation of benefits to arts involvement.
A competitive strategy for learning a polygon

We provide a competitive strategy for a mobile robot with vision, that has to explore an unknown simple polygon starting from and returning to a given point on the boundary. Our strategy creates a tour that does not exceed in length 133 times the length of the optimal watchman route. This paper is the first to describe a complete strategy and to give a proof for such a constant competitive factor.
A molecular signature of normal breast epithelial and stromal cells from Li-Fraumeni syndrome mutation carriers

Specific changes in gene expression during cancer initiation should enable discovery of biomarkers for risk assessment, early detection and targets for chemoprevention. It has been previously demonstrated that altered mRNA and proteome signatures of morphologically normal cells bearing a single inherited “hit” in a tumor suppressor gene parallel many changes observed in the corresponding sporadic cancer. Here, we report on the global gene expression profile of morphologically normal, cultured primary breast epithelial and stromal cells from Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) TP53 mutation carriers. Our analyses identified multiple changes in gene expression in both morphologically normal breast epithelial and stromal cells associated with TP53 haploinsufficiency, as well as interlocking pathways. Notably, a dysregulated p53 signaling pathway was readily detectable. Pharmacological intervention with the p53 rescue compounds CP-31398 and PRIMA-1 provided further evidence in support of the central role of p53 in affecting these changes in LFS cells and treatment for this cancer. Because loss of signaling mediated by TP53 is associated with the development and survival of many human tumors, identification of gene expression profiles in morphologically normal cells that carry “one-hit” p53 mutations may reveal novel biomarkers, enabling the discovery of potential targets for chemoprevention of sporadic tumors as well.
Model Transformation and Data Migration from Relational Database to MongoDB

With the data growing dramatically and the structure of data becoming increasingly flexible, MongoDB has replaced the relational database in many applications. However, not much work has been done to effectively transform the schema and migrate the data from relational database to MongoDB. In this paper, we propose an approach of model transformation and data migration from relational database to MongoDB. Our work i) considers the query characteristics and data characteristics of the relational database, ii) designs a model transformation algorithm based on description tags and action tags, iii) automatically migrates the data into MongoDB based on the result of model transformation, and iv) develops an useful tool. We have designed experiments to prove that using our approach can achieve a better read performance.
Real-Time Face Recognition Using Adaptive Skin-Color Model

In a real-time face recognition system, complex background that occurs in an image or video can degrade the accuracy of both face detection and recognition due to the uncontrolled environment. However, few studies have been proposed to address this issue. In this paper, we propose an adaptive skin color model to make the system more reliable. First, real face region is elected among face-like regions with skin color detection. Then, additional objects (i.e., background, hair and clothes) are omitted in face image by using a 2-D skin color model. It is shown that the speed of the algorithm proposed is almost the same as classical ones, while the recognition rate improves about 10% in crowd or blurry background.
Speed and position control of BLDC motor using internal hall sensors and hardware design

In this research, a system was designed and implemented on hardware to control speed and angular position of shaft of the gear box with reduction ratio 10:1 attached to a BLDC motor of 3000 RPM by taking feedback from internal hall sensors of motor. A microcontroller processes feedback and drives motor to its target angular position which is fed to it by user via USART. By processing same hall feedback at same time, speed of motor can also be controlled. System can be used for replacing costly servo motors in low precision application in industry such as box picking and placing. Also stepper motor can be replaced by this system to achieve more accurate position control as the system involves feedback.