Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The pathology and pathogenesis of retinal vasculitis

Retinal vasculitis is a rare, but potentially blinding intraocular inflammatory condition with diverse aetiology. Although commonly idiopathic, it has a strong association with systemic inflammatory diseases known to involve other areas of the central nervous system, most notably Behcet's disease, sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosis and multiple sclerosis. This article describes the clinicopathologic features of retinal vasculitis and its visually damaging sequelae, reviewing available human histopathologic studies and work with experimental models to discuss the pathogenesis and immunopathology. Evidence indicates that noninfective retinal vasculitis is an autoimmune condition that may be induced by antecedent infection with microbes cross–reacting with putative autoantigens, influenced by genetic susceptibility of both HLA associations and cytokine polymorphisms. The growing understanding of the cellular mechanisms involved in the effector immune response is already providing a rationale for more specific therapeutic approaches.
The So-Called Primary Cholesteatoma of The External Auditory Meatus

THE so-called primary cholesteatoma of the external auditory meatus, compared with the cholesteatoma of the middle ear, is anjinfrequent occurrence. We find, however, in past and recent literature some publications which try to elucidate its genesis. It is to be regretted that in spite of the great achievements in medical research work, to a great deal due to im-proved technique, the problem of cholesteatoma itself did not move far away from the starting point when Johannes Mueller over ioo years ago (1838) used for the first time the unhappy term of cholesteatoma in ear pathology and Pappenheim and Virchow tried to explain its aetiology, which remains unsolved. Although it is above the scope of this paper to discuss the controversial opinions about the aetiology of cholesteatomata of the middle ear, I am of the opinion that it cannot be fully neglected when dealing with the cholesteatoma of the external auditory meatus.
SLAT promotes TCR-mediated, Rap1-dependent LFA-1 activation and adhesion through interaction of its PH domain with Rap1

ABSTRACT SLAT (also known as DEF6) promotes T cell activation and differentiation by regulating NFAT-Ca2+ signaling. However, its role in TCR-mediated inside-out signaling, which induces integrin activation and T cell adhesion, a central process in T cell immunity and inflammation, has not been explored. Here, we show that SLAT is crucial for TCR-induced adhesion to ICAM-1 and affinity maturation of LFA-1 in CD4+ T cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that SLAT interacts, through its PH domain, with a key component of inside-out signaling, namely the active form of the small GTPase Rap1 (which has two isoforms, Rap1A and Rap1B). This interaction has been further shown to facilitate the interdependent recruitment of Rap1 and SLAT to the T cell immunological synapse upon TCR engagement. Furthermore, a SLAT mutant lacking its PH domain drastically inhibited LFA-1 activation and CD4+ T cell adhesion. Finally, we established that a constitutively active form of Rap1, which is present at the plasma membrane, rescues the defective LFA-1 activation and ICAM-1 adhesion in SLAT-deficient (Def6−/−) T cells. These findings ascribe a new function to SLAT, and identify Rap1 as a target of SLAT function in TCR-mediated inside-out signaling. Summary: This study reveals a new signaling pathway that mediates TCR-induced LFA-1 activation, involving SWAP-70-like adaptor of T cells (SLAT).
Progress in Biomedical Research Coating of Vascular Stents with Antithrombogenic Amorphous Silicon Carbide

Coronary artery disease remains the most common cause of death in industrialized countries despite the steady progress in treatment and prevention. Beside drug therapy, a first significant advance in the treatment of coronary artery disease has been the introduction of coronary artery bypass grafting [1,2]. However, the need for less invasive and potentially less expensive procedures has stimulated the development of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) as a non-surgical revascularization technique. Nevertheless, the safety and efficacy of PTCA are limited by the risk of acute and subacute closure (occurring during or immediately after the intervention) and chronic luminal re-narrowing or restenosis [3]. Today, the most promising technique to improve the immediate and long-term results of PTCA is coronary stenting. However, even for coronary stenting the reduction of the rate of acute and subacute closure as well as restenosis is the major challenge for today's stent development. Even if the mechanical properties of metal stents could be improved by optimization of the geometrical design, significant success in avoiding unwanted interactions between the implanted stent and the surrounding blood and tissue could not be achieved. This article presents the hybrid design concept consisting of the combination of two different materials as a new approach to reduce the complication rate due to shortand long-term re-narrowing of the vessel after stent implantation. The aim of the hybrid concept is to fulfil the mechanical and biocompatibility requirements on the stent independently: • On the one hand the mechanical properties like radial strength, longitudinal flexibility, recoil and foreshortening have to be optimized for suitable delivery of the stent and for restoring the lumen of the narrowed vessel. Thus, proper functionality of the stent depends on the combination of an optimized geometrical design and a suitable bulk material. • On the other hand it is well known that different mechanisms finally resulting in restenosis of the vessel are induced by interactions of the body with the implant's surface. For example, via the surface the clotting system may be triggered, the proliferation of smooth muscle cells can be activated and metallic corrosion products may diffuse into the vascular system. The idea behind the approach of the hybrid concept is to provide the stent with a coating that works like a "magic hat" in order to minimize these unwanted interactions.
Effective combined off-pump surgical treatment and autologous bone marrow cell transplantation: a new alternative for patients with end-stage ischemic cardiomyopathy (Prapas' procedure).

OBJECTIVE To propose an alternative method combined off-pump treatment of end-stage ischemic cardiomyopathy consisting of revascularization of ischemic areas, external reshaping of the left ventricle (LV) in order to restore near normal geometry and autologous bone marrow-derived mononuclear cell (BM-MNC) implantation. METHODS Forty- seven patients (mean age 58+/-8.9 years) underwent the above procedure. All patients were NYHA III-IV and four were transplantation candidates. They underwent standard laboratory evaluation, transthoracic echocardiography, dipyridamole thallium scintigraphy (DTS) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging preoperatively and at 3rd, 6th and 12th months postoperatively. After revascularization and external LV reshaping, BM-MNCs were injected into predetermined peri-infarct areas. RESULTS Forty-five patients survived during a follow up period of 3-37 months. Ejection fraction improved from 21.7+/-7.4% to 30.6+/-6.9%, 36.5+/-4.3% and 37.7+/-4.2% at 3rd, 6th and 12th months, respectively. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was reduced from 66.1+/-4.9 mm to 62.6+/-3.9 mm, 60.5+/-2.9 mm and 59.3+/-4.2 mm respectively. Previously non-viable areas on DTS were found to contain viable tissue and MRI showed hypokinesia in previously akinetic areas. NYHA class improved to I-II. No significant arrhythmias were noted during the follow-up period. One patient died due to low cardiac output and one patient died due to septic shock. CONCLUSIONS Combined off-pump surgical treatment and autologous bone-marrow mononuclear cell transplantation for end-stage ischemic cardiomyopathy is safe and feasible and appears to improve the patients' functional status.
Real-time snowfall noise elimination

We propose a new method that removes snowfall noise from successive images recorded by a TV camera. This method utilizes the size and velocity of a moving object. The intensity of a pixel changes when an object passes over the pixel. Snow particles pass a pixel very quickly due to their small size. Therefore, after holding the odd number of video frames, they are sorted by intensity in each pixel independently. Then we can obtain the background intensity of the pixel by taking the median intensity from them. This was confirmed by experiments. We also proposed a stochastic model of this algorithm. By comparison between a measurement value and the model, we obtained the agreement with each other. Furthermore, we consider the effect for the other moving objects. Experimental results are also shown.
Effects of Welfare Reform on Children of Adolescent Mothers: Moderation by Maternal Depression, Father Involvement, and Grandmother Involvement

SUMMARY There are few data available on how effects of welfare reform on children may differ for different kinds of families. This study examined the constructs of maternal depression, father involvement, and grandmother involvement as moderators of the effects of a welfare reform program on children. The sample included 1,602 children between the ages of 3 and 6 ½ whose mothers had participated in New Chance, a multi-site welfare-to-work program with an emphasis on human capital development (i.e., education, job training). Father and grandmother co-residence were investigated, in addition to perceived support from these family members, in predicting cognitive and behavioral child outcomes. The mediating roles of parenting stress and emotional support in parenting were also explored. Although main effects were found for the intervention and for maternal depression, no main effects were found for the family ecology variables. However, interactions suggested complex relationships among New Chance and the family characteristics for both the full sample and for Latina families. Results are discussed in terms of policy implications and possible future research.
Evaluating and Extending CLIGEN Precipitation Generation for the Loess Plateau of China 1

Abstract: Climate generator (CLIGEN) is widely used in the United States to generate long‐term climate scenarios for use with agricultural systems models. Its applicability needs to be evaluated for use in a new region or climate. The objectives were to: (1) evaluate the reproducibility of the latest version of CLIGEN v5.22564 in generating daily, monthly, and yearly precipitation depths at 12 stations, as well as storm patterns including storm duration (D), relative peak intensity (ip), and peak intensity (rp) at 10 stations dispersed across the Loess Plateau and (2) test whether an exponential distribution for generating D and a distribution‐free approach for inducing desired rank correlation between precipitation depth and D can improve storm pattern generations. Mean absolute relative errors (MAREs) for simulating daily, monthly, annual, and annual maximum daily precipitation depth across all 12 stations were 3.5, 1.7, 1.7, and 5.0% for the mean and 5.0, 4.5, 13.0, and 13.6% for the standard deviations (SD), respectively. The model reproduced the distributions of monthly and annual precipitation depths well (p > 0.3), but the distribution of daily precipitation depth was less well produced. The first‐order, two‐state Markov chain algorithm was adequate for generating precipitation occurrence for the Loess Plateau of China; however, it underpredicted the longest dry periods. The CLIGEN‐generated storm patterns poorly. It underpredicted mean and SD of D for storms ≥10 mm by −60.4 and −72.6%, respectively. Compared with D, ip, and rp were slightly better reproduced. The MAREs of mean and SD were 21.0 and 52.1% for ip, and 31.2 and 55.2% for rp, respectively. When an exponential distribution was used to generate D, MAREs were reduced to 2.6% for the mean and 7.8% for the SD. However, ip estimation became much worse with MAREs being 128.9% for the mean and 241.1% for the SD. Overall, storm pattern generation needs improvement. For better storm pattern generation for the region, precipitation depth, D, and rp may be generated correlatively using Copula methods.
A fast method in reconstruction 3D computed tomography medical images

Computed tomography greatly improves the image information available to surgeons and is quickly becoming one of the most important methods to check for defects inside the patients. However, doctors must check these CT slices and again to find the exact position for the patients. This is not only of waste time but also highly inefficient. This paper presents a fast process to reconstruct 3D surfaces from 2D CT scanned data. Based on the geometric models, a series of 2D CT image slices can be read and transformed into profiles. A 3D B-Spline patch model is then generated. After that it can also be converted to VRML format for virtual surgical application. An actual rapid prototyping model is then made for checking the design process. This actual model allows doctors or patients to observe the CT slices in 3D. This system decreases training time and provides references for medical image research.
Pedestrian Detection with Sparse Depth Estimation

In this paper, we deal with the pedestrian detection task in outdoor scenes. Because of the complexity of such scenes, generally used gradient-feature-based detectors do not work well on them. We propose to use sparse 3D depth information as an additional cue to do the detection task, in order to achieve a fast improvement in performance. Our proposed method uses a probabilistic model to integrate image-feature-based classification with sparse depth estimation. Benefiting from the depth estimates, we map the prior distribution of human's actual height onto the image, and update the image-feature-based classification result probabilistically. We have two contributions in this paper: 1) a simplified graphical model which can efficiently integrate depth cue in detection; and 2) a sparse depth estimation method which could provide fast and reliable estimation of depth information. An experiment shows that our method provides a promising enhancement over baseline detector within minimal additional time.
The response of a bacterial biofilm community in a simulated industrial cooling water system to treatment with an anionic dispersant

The effect of a dispersant on the microbial community in a simulated open recirculating cooling water system was determined by continuous operation of the system over two consecutive periods of 196 and 252 d, respectively. An open recirculating cooling water system feeding a modified Robbin's Device with synthetic cooling water to simulate the environment of an industrial cooling water system was set up. Planktonic and biofilm (mild steel and Nylon®) samples were taken weekly in 1997 (196‐d period) and fortnightly in 1998 (252‐d period). Each biofilm was scraped off and diluted in 10‐ml 1 × phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS). Serial dilutions were performed and plated onto R2A agar (pH 8·0) to obtain the predominant culturable bacteria. The diversity was determined by allocating groups according to colony morphology, diameter and colour. Diversity was calculated according to the Shannon–Weaver Index. During the first run (1997), dispersant was added on day 57 to a final concentration of 15 mg l−1 for 49 d, stopped for 49 d and dosed at 30 mg l−1 for 41 d. The second run entailed adding dispersant to a final concentration of 30 mg l−1 on day 98 for 70 d, stopping dosing for 56 d and resuming dosing at 30 mg l−1 for another 28 d. The 2‐year evaluation period demonstrated that the biofilm‐removing action of the dispersant decreased to a point where it was not effective at all. Our results showed that the synthetic dispersant evaluated was only effective initially, but was ineffective in controlling biofouling on Nylon®, and to a lesser degree on mild steel at the recommended (15 mg l−1) as well as at double the recommended concentration in the long term. The release of cells from biofilms observed when dispersant dosing was terminated, supports the notion that a community attaching in the presence of the surface active agent was selected for. The decreased efficacy may therefore be due to a selection of strains able to remain attached and/or attach in the presence of the dispersant as demonstrated by shifts in the biofilm communities on both Nylon® and mild steel.
Translation and Validation of the Norwegian Version of the Fecal Incontinence Quality-Of-Life Scale

Background and Aim: Fecal incontinence quality-of-life scale (FIQLS) is a condition-specific health-related quality-of-life questionnaire composed of four scales: lifestyle, coping/behaviour, depression/self-perception and embarrassment. It has been widely translated and used as an evaluation tool for patients with fecal incontinence. Our aim was to translate the FIQLS, and to test some of the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the questionnaire. Material and Methods: The FIQLS was translated to Norwegian, and administered to a sample of 76 patients (73 women) who completed the questionnaire at baseline and again after three weeks. In addition, the severity of incontinence was assessed by phone-interviews (St. Mark's score). Results: Three of four domains had good internal consistency in terms of Cronbach's alpha (.83–.91), the fourth (embarrassment) somewhat lower (.64). Stability over time was acceptable for all domains with ICC ranging from . 74 to . 86. Correlation with severity of incontinence (St. Mark's score) was medium to large for all four domains (–.46 to –.63) supporting the construct validity of the Norwegian FIQLS. Conclusion: The Norwegian version of fecal incontinence quality-of-life scale has been successfully translated and tested.
Recapitulation of electric spring: A smart grid device for real time demand side management and mitigating power quality issues

Review of theory, application, modelling, and limitations of an electric spring (ES), a custom power device, is provided after going through published literature in this field. An ES controls active as well as reactive power and hence can regulate voltage along with power quality enhancement, in the presence of intermittent and unpredictable renewable energy sources. ES is connected in series with part of the total load and can damp out the oscillations of the grid by providing voltage regulation to the load and acts as a smart load. Presence of numerous ES can be visualized in a distribution feeder, acting simultaneously in unison without having any communication within.
Formation and Plasticity of Neuromuscular Synaptic Connections

The specificity of synaptic connections that is essential for nervous system function arises during development through a series of events, including axon outgrowth, pathway selection, target selection, synaptogenesis, and synapse elimination. Neuromuscular synapses between spinal motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers have become one of the most widely used model systems to study these events owing to its relatively large size, accessibility, and the wealth of molecular and functional information about their formation, maintenance, and plasticity. Neuromuscular synapses are established through complex multidirectional signaling among presynaptic motor neurons, postsynaptic muscle fibers (Figs. 1, 2; Refs. 3–5), and perisynaptic glia. These synapses consist of specialized regions of the presynaptic membrane, termed active zones, at which clustered synaptic vesicles fuse and release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh), as well as peptides such as calcitonin gene-related peptide and other signaling molecules. Directly apposed to the presynaptic active zones are acetylcholine receptors (AChRs), which cluster at the crests of junctional folds in the muscle fiber membrane. These AChRs bind ACh that has diffused across the synaptic cleft, leading to subsequent depolarization, which, if above threshold, leads to contraction of the muscle fiber. The temporal and spatial extent of ACh signaling is regulated by acetycholinesterase, which is located within the basal lamina that invaginates the synaptic cleft, and cleaves ACh, thereby terminating the signal. Surrounding the neuromuscular synapses are perisynaptic Schwann cells, specialized glia
Antenna selection for MIMO systems based on an accurate approximation of QAM error probability

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems are considered as potential candidates for future high data rate wireless networks. However, these systems present a practical problem, the cost of hardware related to every additional antenna. We focus on antenna selection which is a promised solution to reduce cost and complexity at both transmitter and receiver sides. A new antenna selection criterion based on an accurate approximation for the conditional error probability on quasi-static multiple antenna channels is derived. The proposed criterion is valid when the number of transmit antennas is lower than the number of receive antennas after selection. The maximum likelihood (ML) performance with this criterion is compared to other known antenna selection criteria, e.g. channel capacity, minimum Euclidean distance.
Efficient expression of tetracycline‐responsive gene after transfection of dentate gyrus neurons in vitro

Gene transfer into neurons both in vivo and in vitro may aid in understanding of gene regulation and function in nerve cells. Especially desirable is ability to control the gene expression. In this study we developed conditions for transfection of hippocampal dentate gyrus neurons in dissociated cultures in vitro by calcium‐phosphate method. Furthermore, we describe an effective use of tetracycline responsive gene promoter (Tet‐On) system for the controlled and very efficient expression of transfected genes. Under optimal conditions as established in this study, efficiency of transfection of neurons with green fluorescent protein (GFP) driven by constitutive cytomegalovirus (CMV) early promoter reached 2.7%. With tetracycline responsive promoter percentage of GFP‐positive neurons raised in the presence of tetracycline analog, doxycycline up to 20%. Application of the Tet‐On system resulted in almost 10‐fold induction of GFP expression. J. Neurosci. Res. 60:754–760, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An Asynchronous IEEE-754-standard Single-precision Floating-point Divider for FPGA

Synchronous design methodology is widely used for today’s digital circuits. However, it is difficult to reuse a highly-optimized synchronous module for a specific clock frequency to other systems with different global clocks, because logic depth between FFs should be tailored for the clock frequency. In this paper, we focus on asynchronous design, in which each module works at its best performance, and apply it to an IEEE-754-standard single-precision floatingpoint divider. Our divider is ready to be built into a system with arbitrary clock frequency and achieves its peak performance and areaand power-efficiency. This paper also reports an implementation result and performance evaluation of the proposed divider on a Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA. The evaluation results show that our divider achieves smaller area and lower power consumption than the synchronous dividers with comparable throughput.