Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of EPI 64 , a TBC / rabGAP Domain – containing Microvillar Protein That Binds to the First PDZ Domain of EBP 50 and E 3 KARP

The cortical scaffolding proteins EBP50 (ERM-binding phosphoprotein-50) and E3KARP (NHE3 kinase A regulatory protein) contain two PDZ (PSD-95/DlgA/ZO-1–like) domains followed by a COOH-terminal sequence that binds to active ERM family members. Using affinity chromatography, we identified polypeptides from placental microvilli that bind the PDZ domains of EBP50. Among these are 64and/or 65-kD differentially phosphorylated polypeptides that bind preferentially to the first PDZ domain of EBP50, as well as to E3KARP, and that we call EPI64 (EBP50–PDZ interactor of 64 kD). The gene for human EPI64 lies on chromosome 22 where nine exons specify a protein of 508 residues that contains a Tre/Bub2/ Cdc16 (TBC)/rab GTPase-activating protein (GAP) domain. EPI64 terminates in DTYL, which is necessary for binding to the PDZ domains of EBP50, as a mutant ending in DTYLA no longer interacts. EPI64 colocalizes with EBP50 and ezrin in syncytiotrophoblast and cultured cell microvilli, and this localization in cultured cells is abolished by introduction of the DTYLA mutation. In addition to EPI64, immobilized EBP50 PDZ domains retain several polypeptides from placental microvilli, including an isoform of nadrin, a rhoGAP domain– containing protein implicated in regulating vesicular transport. Nadrin binds EBP50 directly, probably through its COOH-terminal STAL sequence. Thus, EBP50 appears to bind membrane proteins as well as factors potentially involved in regulating membrane traffic.
Influence of tangeretin on tamoxifen's therapeutic benefit in mammary cancer.

BACKGROUND Tamoxifen and the citrus flavonoid tangeretin exhibit similar inhibitory effects on the growth and invasive properties of human mammary cancer cells in vitro; furthermore, the two agents have displayed additive effects in vitro. In this study, we examined whether tangeretin would enhance tamoxifen's therapeutic benefit in vivo. METHODS Female nude mice (n = 80) were inoculated subcutaneously with human MCF-7/6 mammary adenocarcinoma cells. Groups of 20 mice were treated orally by adding the following substances to their drinking water: tamoxifen (3 x 10(-5) M), tangeretin (1 x 10(-4) M), tamoxifen plus tangeretin (3 x 10(-5) M plus 1 x 10(-4) M), or solvent. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Oral treatment of mice with tamoxifen resulted in a statistically significant inhibition of tumor growth compared with solvent treatment (two-sided P = .001). Treatment with tangeretin did not inhibit tumor growth, and addition of this compound to drinking water with tamoxifen completely neutralized tamoxifen's inhibitory effect. The median survival time of tumor-bearing mice treated with tamoxifen plus tangeretin was reduced in comparison with that of mice treated with tamoxifen alone (14 versus 56 weeks; two-sided P = .002). Tangeretin (1 x 10(-6) M or higher) inhibited the cytolytic effect of murine natural killer cells on MCF-7/6 cells in vitro, which may explain why tamoxifen-induced inhibition of tumor growth in mice is abolished when tangeretin is present in drinking water. IMPLICATIONS We describe an in vivo model to study potential interference of dietary compounds, such as flavonoids, with tamoxifen, which could lead to reduced efficacy of adjuvant therapy. In our study, the tumor growth-inhibiting effect of oral tamoxifen was reversed upon addition of tangeretin to the diet. Our data argue against excessive consumption of tangeretin-added products and supplements by patients with mammary cancer during tamoxifen treatment.
Fast window aggregate on array database by recursive incremental computation

An array database is effective for managing and analyzing multidimensional scientific big data, and the window aggregate is an important operator in array databases. This paper proposes a method that exploits the scheme of incremental computation to accelerate the execution of window aggregates considerably. Six types of aggregate are improved using different designs of buffer tools to eliminate redundant computation. Our proposed recursive incremental computation method completely eliminates all redundant computation and achieves an improvement factor of the total window size compared with the naive method. This proposed method is fully implemented in SciDB. It improved performance by a factor of 10 on an earth science benchmark and by a factor of 64 on synthetic workloads with a certain data setting when compared with SciDB's built-in window operator.
Context Predicts Word Order Processing in Broca's Region

The function of the left inferior frontal gyrus (L-IFG) is highly disputed. A number of language processing studies have linked the region to the processing of syntactical structure. Still, there is little agreement when it comes to defining why linguistic structures differ in their effects on the L-IFG. In a number of languages, the processing of object-initial sentences affects the L-IFG more than the processing of subject-initial ones, but frequency and distribution differences may act as confounding variables. Syntactically complex structures (like the object-initial construction in Danish) are often less frequent and only viable in certain contexts. With this confound in mind, the L-IFG activation may be sensitive to other variables than a syntax manipulation on its own. The present fMRI study investigates the effect of a pragmatically appropriate context on the processing of subject-initial and object-initial clauses with the IFG as our ROI. We find that Danish object-initial clauses yield a higher BOLD response in L-IFG, but we also find an interaction between appropriateness of context and word order. This interaction overlaps with traditional syntax areas in the IFG. For object-initial clauses, the effect of an appropriate context is bigger than for subject-initial clauses. This result is supported by an acceptability study that shows that, given appropriate contexts, object-initial clauses are considered more appropriate than subject-initial clauses. The increased L-IFG activation for processing object-initial clauses without a supportive context may be interpreted as reflecting either reinterpretation or the recipients' failure to correctly predict word order from contextual cues.
From oceanic closure to continental collision: A synthesis of the Schistes lustrés metamorphic complex of the Western Alps

Recent lithostratigraphic and structural studies made in the Western Alps along the Valais, Savoy, and Queyras "Schistes lustres" transects indicate that there are strong similarities in the nature of the sedimentary series and in the general structural edifice between these areas. The main new conclusion is that a significant part of the "Schistes lustres" complex is made up of syn-orogenic Upper Cretaceous deposits. A first type, present in all three transects, consists of lower Upper Cretaceous metasedimentary rocks, containing oceanic and continental detrital materials, which were deposited on the western edge of the northwest Tethyan paleomargin and in the oceanic realm undergoing tectonization. A second type is made up of Upper Cretaceous calcareous-gritty metaflysch, known only in the Savoy transect, which is interpreted as a sedimentary consequence of the complete or partial closure of the Tethyan ocean.
Linking ecosystem dynamics and biogeochemistry: Sinking fractionation of organic carbon in a Swedish fjord

We studied the growth and sedimentation of a phytoplankton bloom in the Gullmar Fjord in spring 2001. Sinking fractionation, as measured by differential sinking of components having varied carbon isotope signals, was an important process in determining carbon fluxes within this complex coastal ecosystem. Large, rapidly sinking diatoms aggregated with their own carbon exudates. This exudate material was the single largest contributor to vertical carbon flux in the fjord over the study period, and amounted to an order of magnitude greater carbon flux than the live biomass reaching the sediment traps. We estimate that diatoms' primary production contributed 75% of the total integrated production, ~100% of new production and ~100% of the total sedimentary flux during the primary sedimentation event, despite the fact that the surface bloom biomass was dominated by high concentrations of the flagellate Chattonellasp. Diatoms carried a heavy carbon isotope signature (δ13C = ‐19‰) to depth; this moved downward as a layer through the water column, distinct from other particular organic carbon (POC) at the surface having a very light signature (‐23 to ‐26‰). This light δ13C signature at the surface coincided with a surface peak in particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC/DOC) and transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), and material carrying the low δ13C signature had a negligible sinking rate. This distinctive surface signature probably contained small POC typical of the microbial loop and its products, a component of which was the very low ‐32‰ of the organic colloids. Measurable aggregation of these colloids occurred, and they may have contributed up to ~20% of the vertical flux very early in the study. Sinking fractionation of POC caused isotope composition shifts on the order of 3–7‰.
Attribute Based Routing in Sensor Networks ∗

Data-centric routing is enabled by forwarding rules that interpret the contents or labeling of messages in a Sensor Network. In this paper we describe a framework for achieving datacentric routing using attributes defined using an XML representation. We demonstrate the benefits of the framework and show a number of addressing schemes that can be cast onto the framework, illustrating the utility of the scheme. Finally, we describe the complexity of the scheme in relation to existing addressing mechanisms with respect to setup, maintenance, and scale. ∗This work is supported by the NSF under grant No. CNS-0435353. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Clinical significance of micrometastatic disease in the era of sentinel node.

The 1990’s ushered in a new era of staging the regional lymph node basin for patients with cutaneous melanoma and invasive breast cancer. At the 1990 meeting of the Society of Surgical Oncology [1], intraoperative lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy (LM/SL) with isosulfan blue dye (Lymphazurin 1%, Hirsch Industries, Inc., Richmond, VA) was proposed as an accurate alternative to routine elective lymph node dissection for staging the regional lymphatics in patients with cutaneous melanoma [2]. At the 1994 meeting of the American Surgical Association (Giuliano AE, Kirgan DM, Guenther JM, Morton DL. Lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymphadenectomy for breast cancer. Presented at The American Surgical Association, San Antonio, TX, April 7-9 1994), LM/SL with isosulfan blue dye was proposed as an accurate alternative to routine level I and II axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in patients with invasive breast cancer [3]. Other investigators [4–7] have proposed using radioactive technetium-labeled sulfur colloid to identify the sentinel node for melanoma [8] and breast cancer patients [9,10]. A mounting body of evidence suggests that a combination of the two methods maximizes the accuracy rate for identifying the sentinel node [11–14]. This paper does
Dynamics for Discrete-Time Cellular Neural Networks

This presentation investigates the dynamics of discrete-time cellular neural networks (DT-CNN). In contrast to classical neural networks that are mostly gradient-like systems, DT-CNN possesses both complete stability and chaotic behaviors as different parameters are considered. An energy-like function which decreases along orbits of DT-CNN as well as the existence of a globally attracting set are derived. Complete stability can then be concluded, with further analysis on the sets on which the energy function is constant. The formations of saturated stationary patterns for DT-CNN are shown to be analogous to the ones in continuous-time CNN. Thus, DT-CNN shares similar properties with continuous-time CNN. By confirming the existence of snap-back repellers, hence transversal homoclinic orbits, we also conclude that DT-CNN with certain parameters exhibits chaotic dynamics, according to the theorem by Marotto.
Gold silver alloy nanoparticles (GSAN): an imaging probe for breast cancer screening with dual-energy mammography or computed tomography.

Earlier detection of breast cancer reduces mortality from this disease. As a result, the development of better screening techniques is a topic of intense interest. Contrast-enhanced dual-energy mammography (DEM) is a novel technique that has improved sensitivity for cancer detection. However, the development of contrast agents for this technique is in its infancy. We herein report gold-silver alloy nanoparticles (GSAN) that have potent DEM contrast properties and improved biocompatibility. GSAN formulations containing a range of gold : silver ratios and capped with m-PEG were synthesized and characterized using various analytical methods. DEM and computed tomography (CT) phantom imaging showed that GSAN produced robust contrast that was comparable to silver alone. Cell viability, reactive oxygen species generation and DNA damage results revealed that the formulations with 30% or higher gold content are cytocompatible to Hep G2 and J774A.1 cells. In vivo imaging was performed in mice with and without breast tumors. The results showed that GSAN produce strong DEM and CT contrast and accumulated in tumors. Furthermore, both in vivo imaging and ex vivo analysis indicated the excretion of GSAN via both urine and feces. In summary, GSAN produce strong DEM and CT contrast, and has potential for both blood pool imaging and for breast cancer screening.
Inferring change points and nonlinear trends in multivariate time series: Application to West African monsoon onset timings estimation

[1] Time series in statistical climatology are classically represented by additive models. For example, a seasonal part and a linear trend are often included as components of the sum. Less frequently, hidden elements (e.g., to represent the impact of volcanic forcing on temperatures) can be integrated. Depending on the complexity and the interactions among the different components, the statistical inference challenge can quickly become difficult, especially in a multivariate context where the timings and contributions of hidden signals are unknown. In this article we focus on the statistical problem of decomposing multivariate time series that may contain both nonlinear trends and change points (discontinuities), the change points being assumed to occur simultaneously in time for all variables in the multivariate analysis. The motivation for such a study comes from the statistical analysis of the West African monsoon (WAM) phenomenon for which unknown preonset and onset dates occur each year. The impacts of such onsets can be statistically viewed as yearly change points that affect, almost synchronously, trends in observed time series such as daily Outgoing Longwave Radiation and the Intertropical Discontinuity. Our proposed model corresponds to a multivariate additive model with nonlinear trends and possible yearly discontinuities, modeling the onsets. An inference scheme based on a nonlinear Kalman filtering approach is proposed. It enables to identify the different parts hidden in the original multivariate vector. Our inference strategy is tested on simulated data and applied to the analysis of the WAM phenomenon during the period 1979–2008. Our extracted onset dates are then compared to the ones obtained from past studies.
Conceptual framework for evaluation of complexity in new product development projects

Complexity in new product development projects is a challenge for many companies in manufacturing industry today. Increased product variety and individualization, enhanced functionality and differentiated markets result in growing complexity in product development. As the number of conditions and interdependencies that have to be considered rises, the need for methodological support to manage complexity in new product development projects increases at the same time. There is a large number of existing approaches that provide frameworks for complexity drivers in projects and identify specific drivers as well as approaches to measure complexity in certain dimensions. This paper aims at integrating a holistic set of complexity drivers and a method to evaluate complexity based on these drivers in a conceptual framework. The complexity drivers are evaluated individually and analyzed in a portfolio. The presented framework enables project managers to identify critical sources of complexity in a new product development project and to analyze measures to adjust complexity taking into account the interdependencies between the complexity drivers.
Earthquake fracture energy inferred from kinematic rupture models on extended faults

[1] We estimate fracture energy on extended faults for several recent earthquakes by retrieving dynamic traction evolution at each point on the fault plane from slip history imaged by inverting ground motion waveforms. We define the breakdown work (Wb) as the excess of work over some minimum traction level achieved during slip. Wb is equivalent to "seismological" fracture energy (G) in previous investigations. Our numerical approach uses slip velocity as a boundary condition on the fault. We employ a three-dimensional finite difference algorithm to compute the dynamic traction evolution in the time domain during the earthquake rupture. We estimate Wb by calculating the scalar product between dynamic traction and slip velocity vectors. This approach does not require specifying a constitutive law and assuming dynamic traction to be collinear with slip velocity. If these vectors are not collinear, the inferred breakdown work depends on the initial traction level. We show that breakdown work depends on the square of slip. The spatial distribution of breakdown work in a single earthquake is strongly correlated with the slip distribution. Breakdown work density and its integral over the fault, breakdown energy, scale with seismic moment according to a power law (with exponent 0.59 and 1.18, respectively). Our estimates of breakdown work range between 4 × 105 and 2 × 107 J/m2 for earthquakes having moment magnitudes between 5.6 and 7.2. We also compare our inferred values with geologic surface energies. This comparison might suggest that breakdown work for large earthquakes goes primarily into heat production.
Mechanosensation across borders: fibroblasts inside a macroporous scaffold sense and respond to the mechanical environment beyond the scaffold walls

In tissue defects, cells face distinct mechanical boundary conditions, but how this influences early stages of tissue regeneration remains largely unknown. Biomaterials are used to fill defects but also to provide specific mechanical or geometrical signals. However, they might at the same time shield mechanical information from surrounding tissues that is relevant for tissue functionalisation. This study investigated how fibroblasts in a soft macroporous biomaterial scaffold respond to distinct mechanical environments while they form microtissues. Different boundary stiffnesses counteracting scaffold contraction were provided via a newly developed in vitro setup. Online monitoring over 14 days revealed 3.0 times lower microtissue contraction but 1.6 times higher contraction force for high vs. low stiffness. This difference was significant already after 48 h, a very early stage of microtissue growth. The microtissue's mechanical and geometrical adaptation indicated a collective cellular behaviour and mechanical communication across scaffold pore walls. Surprisingly, the stiffness of the environment influenced cell behaviour even inside macroporous scaffolds where direct cell–cell contacts are hindered. Mechanical communication between cells via traction forces is essential for tissue adaptation to the environment and should not be blocked by rigid biomaterials. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An approach to building Augmented Reality environment in Access Grid

The Access Grid (AG) is an important component of grid, and it can provide immersive, interactive and collaborative access to grid applications. However, the AG users usually enter the collaboration space with the need of collaboratively manipulating the 3D geometric model of grid services' result in the real video environment. Augmented Reality (AR) technology has the potential to overcome these deficiencies with its characteristics of combining virtual and real, real-time interaction and 3D registration. This paper proposes an approach to building Augmented Reality environment in Access Grid (AREAG) to merge the real video scene of AG and 3D geometric models of grid services' results and share the augmented video among AG users, allowing users to collaboratively manipulate the models in the real video scene. The potential of AREAG is illustrated through a prototype application and the results prove that it yields superior quality compared to the traditional interaction environment of AG.
Evolving temporal fuzzy itemsets from quantitative data with a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm

We present a novel method for mining itemsets that are both quantitative and temporal, for association rule mining, using multi-objective evolutionary search and optimisation. This method successfully identifies temporal itemsets that occur more frequently in areas of a dataset with specific quantitative values represented with fuzzy sets. Current approaches preprocess data which can often lead to a loss of information. The novelty of this research lies in exploring the composition of quantitative and temporal fuzzy itemsets and the approach of using a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. This preliminary work presents the problem, a novel approach and promising results that will lead to future work. Results show the ability of NSGA-II to evolve target itemsets that have been augmented into synthetic datasets. Itemsets with different levels of support have been augmented to demonstrate this approach with varying difficulties.
Formal Verification of Safety-Critical User Interfaces: a space system case study

J.C. Campos is funded by project ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000062 co-financed by the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by national funds, through the Portuguese foundation for science and technology (FCT).
Study of Two Writing Schemes for a Magnetic Tunnel Junction Based On Spin Orbit Torque

— MRAM technology provides a combination of fast access time, non-volatility, data retention and endurance. While a growing interest is given to two-terminal Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJ) based on Spin-Transfer Torque (STT) switching as the potential candidate for a universal memory, its reliability is dramatically decreased because of the common writing/reading path. Three-terminal MTJ based on Spin-Orbit Torque (SOT) approach revitalizes the hope of an ideal MRAM. It can overcome the reliability barrier encountered in current two-terminal MTJs by separating the reading and the writing path. In this paper, we study two possible writing schemes for the SOT-MTJ device based on recently fabricated samples. While the first is based on precessional switching, the second requires the presence of permanent magnetic field. Based on an accurate Verilog-A model, we simulate the two writing techniques and we highlight advantages and drawbacks of each one. Using the second technique, pioneering logic circuits based on the three-terminal architecture of the SOT-MTJ described in this work are under development with preliminary attractive results.