Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased Solubility of High‐Molecular‐Mass Neurofilament Subunit by Suppression of Dephosphorylation: Its Relation to Axonal Transport

Abstract: To investigate the role of phosphorylation in the turnover and transport of neurofilament (NF) proteins in vivo, we studied their solubility properties and axonal transport in the rat sciatic nerve using phosphatase inhibitors to minimize dephosphorylation during preparation. About 20% of the 200‐kDa subunit (NF‐H) in the axon was soluble in the 1% Triton‐containing buffer under the present conditions, whereas this amount was less and more variable in the absence of phosphatase inhibitors. The 68‐kDa subunit (NF‐L) was exclusively insoluble and not affected by the inhibitors. Such selective solubilization of NF‐H by phosphorylation differed significantly from the in vitro phosphorylation with cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase, which resulted in NF disassembly. The carboxy‐terminal phosphorylation state of NF‐H probed with the phosphorylation‐sensitive antibodies was also not directly related to solubility. The solubility of NF‐H did not differ along the nerve. In contrast, the solubility of l‐[35S]methionine‐labeled, transported NF‐H was lowest at the peak of radioactivity. Higher solubility at the leading edge, regardless of its location along the nerve, indicates that NF‐H solubility is positively correlated with the rate of NF transport.
3D Pen + 3D Printer: Exploring the Role of Humans and Fabrication Machines in Creative Making

The emergence of a 3D pen brings 3D modeling from a screen-based computer-aided design (CAD) system and 3D printing to direct and rapid crafting by 3D doodling. However, 3D doodling remains challenging, requiring craft skills to rapidly express an idea, which is critical in creative making. We explore a new process of 3D modeling using 3D pen + 3D printer. Our pilot study shows that users need support to reduce the number of non-creative tasks to explore a wide design strategy. With the opportunity to invent a new 3D modeling process that needs to incorporate both a pen and printer, we propose techniques and a system that empower users to print while doodling to focus on creative exploration. Our user study shows that users can create diverse 3D models using a pen and printer. We discuss the roles of the human and fabrication machine for the future of fabrication.
Virtual machines migration in a cloud data center scenario: An experimental analysis

Server virtualization enables dynamic workload management in data centers. However, some aspects of virtualization software technologies, like Virtual Machines (VMs) migration or communications between VMs and storage resources, can lead to huge and unbalanced utilization of the intra-data center network. In this paper, we investigate such issues in an experimental testbed, focusing on the measurement of the traffic overhead due to VMs migration in different operating conditions. Our measurement campaigns highlight that performance is strongly affected by several factors, such as VMs placement, VMs active memory, usage of Jumbo frames instead of Ethernet frames. We also analyze and compare the traffic exchanged between hosts on which VMs are placed, when two different storage systems (i.e., NFS and iSCSI) are used.
A Human TREK-1/HEK Cell Line: A Highly Efficient Screening Tool for Drug Development in Neurological Diseases

TREK-1 potassium channels are involved in a number of physiopathological processes such as neuroprotection, pain and depression. Molecules able to open or to block these channels can be clinically important. Having a cell model for screening such molecules is of particular interest. Here, we describe the development of the first available cell line that constituvely expresses the TREK-1 channel. The TREK-1 channel expressed by the h-TREK-1/HEK cell line has conserved all its modulation properties. It is opened by stretch, pH, polyunsaturated fatty acids and by the neuroprotective molecule, riluzole and it is blocked by spadin or fluoxetine. We also demonstrate that the h-TREK-1/HEK cell line is protected against ischemia by using the oxygen-glucose deprivation model.
Improved and quantified accuracy for linear spectral estimates

In the context of spectral estimation, this paper examines the use of an 'orthonormal basis' wherein prior knowledge (in the form of fixed poles) may be incorporated in the solution and FIR structures are then seen as a special case of implicitly involving prior knowledge of all poles at the origin. The main technical results are ones that quantify the accuracy of the resulting spectral estimates in a way that clearly exposes how it is affected by the fixed pole choice.
In vitro comparative evaluation of anti-inflammatory and thrombolytic activity of three Mikania species available in Bangladesh

The present study was designed to investigate comparative anti-inflammatory and thrombolytic activity of the ethanolic extract of Mikania cordata (MC), Mikania micrantha (MM) and Mikania scandens (MS) (Family: Asteraceae). Phytochemical screening of these three species was also evaluated. Antiinflammatory activity was performed using hypotonic solution induced hemolysis and heat induced hemolysis at various concentration and the result was expressed as % of inhibition of haemolysis. Ethanolic extract of MC, MM, MS and standard aspirin at 500μg/ml showed 80.943±0.64, 71.465±0.16, 60.351±0.40 and 92.894±0.30 % inhibition for heat induced haemolysis and 87.098±0.05, 86.242±0.45, 77.709±0.43 and 97.520±0.38% inhibition for hypotonic solution induced haemolysis, respectively. The data showed MC possessed strong anti-inflammatory activity compared to standard aspirin. The activity order was Aspirin>MC>MM>MS. In thrombolytic activity experiment % of clot lysis in MC, MM, MS and standard streptokinase were found to be 40.36±0.11, 48.44±0.34, 55.80±0.54 and 70.00±0.43 %, respectively, indicating moderate thrombolytic activity of the extracts compared to standard. The activity order was streptokinase>MS>MM>MC. The phytochemical screening showed the extracts contains alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins and cardiac glycosides. From the observation it was concluded that Mikania cordata is a good candidate for anti-inflammatory activity whereas Mikania scandens for thrombolytic potential.
Watching the detectives : reflections on dissertations of MACESS students

Observations upon research carried out by post-graduate students on the M.A Comparative European Social Studies. This article follows an earlier article (Lawrence and Reverda, Social Work in Europe, Vol. 5. No. 3, 1998) which discussed the origin and development of the MACESS course. This article explores the complexity of comparative research as a methodology for exploring social work as a contribution to developing European perspectives on Social Policy and Social Professional Work Theory and Practice.
Direct AC/DC Rectifier With Mitigated Low-Frequency Ripple Through Inductor-Current Waveform Control

In a rectification system with unity power factor, the input power consists of a dc and a double-line frequency power component. Traditionally, an electrolytic capacitor (E-Cap) is used to buffer the double-line frequency power such that the dc output presents a small voltage ripple. The use of E-Cap significantly limits the lifetime of the rectifier system. In this paper, a differential ac/dc rectifier based on the use of an inductor-current waveform control methodology is proposed such that a single-stage direct ac/dc rectification without the need of an E-Cap for buffering the double-line frequency power, and a front-stage diode rectifier circuit can be achieved. The feasibility of the proposal has been practically confirmed in an experimental prototype.
Profound defects in pupillary responses to light in TRPM‐channel null mice: a role for TRPM channels in non‐image‐forming photoreception

TRPM1 is a spontaneously active non‐selective cation channel that has recently been shown to play an important role in the depolarizing light responses of ON bipolar cells. Consistent with this role, mutations in the TRPM1 gene have been identified as a principal cause of congenital stationary night blindness. However, previous microarray studies have shown that Trpm1 and Trpm3 are acutely regulated by light in the eyes of mice lacking rods and cones (rd/rd cl), a finding consistent with a role in non‐image‐forming photoreception. In this study we show that pupillary light responses are significantly attenuated in both Trpm1−/− and Trpm3−/− animals. Trpm1−/− mice exhibit a profound deficit in the pupillary response that is far in excess of that observed in mice lacking rods and cones (rd/rd cl) or melanopsin, and cannot be explained by defects in bipolar cell function alone. Immunolocalization studies suggest that TRPM1 is expressed in ON bipolar cells and also a subset of cells in the ganglion cell layer, including melanopsin‐expressing photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGCs). We conclude that, in addition to its role in bipolar cell signalling, TRPM1 is involved in non‐image‐forming responses to light and may perform a functional role within pRGCs. By contrast, TRPM3−/− mice display a more subtle pupillary phenotype with attenuated responses under bright light and dim light conditions. Expression of TRPM3 is detected in Muller cells and the ciliary body but is absent from pRGCs, and thus our data support an indirect role for TRPM3 in pupillary light responses.
The Incidence and Transfer of Knowledge within the Arab Gulf Societies

In this paper, we use the systematic approach to discuss the incidence and transfer of knowledge in the Gulf societies. Our findings show the importance of tacit, codified and transfer of knowledge, the complementary relation between knowledge components and the significance of knowledge holders for the transfer of knowledge at aggregate level in the Gulf countries, our results are consistent with the findings in knowledge literature. Moreover, we show that at the macro level the transfer of knowledge can be enhanced by improving tacit knowledge/ skills, codified knowledge, average schooling year, public spending on education and R&D, the number of FTER, number of publication and scientific cooperation. Furthermore, at the aggregate level, our results show significant positive complementary relation between the share of public spending on R&D, publication and cooperation and between them and the number of FTER, the share of public spending on education, tacit, codified and the transfer of knowledge.
GENERALISED LAPLACIAN PYRAMID-BASED FUSION OF MS + P IMAGE DATA WITH SPECTRAL DISTORTION MINIMISATION

: This work presents a general and formal solution to the problem of fusion of a multi-spectral (MS) image with a higher-resolution panchromatic (P) observation. The method relies on the generalised Laplacian pyramid , which is an over-sampled structure obtained by subtracting from an image its low-pass version. The goal is to selectively performs spatial-frequencies spectrum substitution from an image to another with the constraint of thoroughly retaining the spectral information of the coarser MS data. To this end, a vector injection model has been deﬁned: at each pixel, the detail vector to be added is always parallel to the MS approximation. Furthermore, its components are scaled by factors measuring the ratio of local gains between the MS and P data. Quantitative results are presented and discussed on simulated SPOT 5 data of an urban area ( 2:5m P, 10m XS) obtained from the MIVIS airborne imaging spectrometer.
Online and adaptive anomaly Detection: detecting intrusions in unlabelled audit data streams

Intrusion detection has become a widely studied topic in computer security in recent years. Anomaly detection is an intensive focus in intrusion detection research because of its capability of detecting unknown attacks. Current anomaly IDSs (Intrusion Detection System) have some difficulties for practical use. First, a large amount of precisely labeled data is very difficult to obtain in practical network environments. In contrast, many existing anomaly detection approaches need precisely labeled data to train the detection model. Second, data for intrusion detection is typically steaming and the detection models should be frequently updated with new incoming labeled data. However, many existing anomaly detection methods involve off-line learning, where data is collected, manually labeled and then fed to a learning method to construct normal or attack models. Third, many current anomaly detection approaches assume that the data distribution is stationary and the model is static accordingly. In practice, however, data involved in current network environments evolves continuously. An effective anomaly detection method, therefore, should have adaptive capability to deal with the “concept drift” problem while effectively detects intrusions in unlabelled audit data streams.
Behavioural Model-Based Control for Autonomic Software Components

Autonomic Managers (AMs) have been largely used to autonomously control reconfigurations within software components. This management is performed based on past monitoring events, configurations as well as behavioural programs defining the adaptation logics and invariant properties. The challenge here is to provide assurances on navigation through the configuration space, which requires taking decisions that involve predictions on possible futures of the system. This paper proposes the design of AMs based on logical discrete control approaches, where the use of behavioural models enriches the manager with a knowledge not only on events, states and past history, but also with possible future configurations. We define a Domain Specific Language, named Ctrl-F, which provides high-level constructs to describe behavioural programs in the context of software components. The formal definition of Ctrl-F is given by translation to Finite State Automata, which allow for the exploration of behavioural programs by verification or Discrete Controller Synthesis, automatically generating a controller enforcing correct behaviours. We implement an AM by integrating the result of Ctrl-F compilation and validate it with an adaptation scenario over Znn.com, a self-adaptive case study.
Object Recognition Robust Under Translations, Deformations, and Changes in Background

Recognition systems based on model matching using low level features often fail due to a variation in background. As a solution, I present a system for the recognition of human faces independent of hairstyle. Correspondence maps between an image and a model are established by coarse-fine matching in a Gabor pyramid. These are used for hierarchical recognition.
Pulmonary outcome in juvenile dermatomyositis: a case-control study

Objectives To compare pulmonary function in patients with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) with that of matched controls; and to examine associations between pulmonary function impairment, high-resolution CT (HRCT) abnormalities and other disease variables in patients with JDM. Methods A total of 59 patients with JDM clinically examined a median 16.8 years (range 2–38 years) after disease onset were compared with 59 age-matched and sex-matched controls. Pulmonary function tests included spirometry, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and body plethysmography. In patients with JDM, HRCT scans were performed and cumulative organ damage and patient-reported health status assessed. Results Patients with JDM had lower total lung capacity (TLC) and DLCO compared to controls (p=0.003 and <0.001, respectively). A low TLC was found in 26% of patients versus 9% of controls (p=0.026), and a low DLCO in 49% of patients versus 9% of controls (p<0.001). HRCT abnormalities were found in 37% of patients, and included interstitial lung disease (ILD) (14%), chest wall calcinosis (14%) and airway disease (15%). Three patients were diagnosed as having ILD prior to the follow-up visit. A low TLC was more often found in patients with than without abnormal HRCT (50% vs 12%, p=0.002). HRCT abnormality correlated with cumulative organ damage (rs=0.346, p=0.008) and patient-reported health status at follow-up (p<0.005). Conclusions Patients with JDM had smaller lung volumes than controls; a restrictive ventilatory defect was found in 26% and HRCT abnormality in 37% of the patients, and these findings were associated. Although mostly subclinical, the relatively high frequency of pulmonary involvement highlights the systemic nature of JDM.
Image Denoising Based on Gaussian and Non-Gaussian Assumption

In this paper, we first present an adaptive intra-scale noise removal scheme, and estimate clean wavelet coefficients using new prior information with Bayesian estimation techniques. A new model using the non-informative improper Jeffreys' prior is given under the supposed Gaussian distribution for orthogonal wavelet transformation. Then, we propose a computationally feasible adaptive noise smoothing algorithm that considers the dependency characteristics of images. The wavelet coefficients are assumed to be non-Gaussian random variables for non-orthogonal redundancy transformation. The variances of the wavelet coefficients are estimated locally by a centered square-shaped window for every pixel within each subband. The experimental results show that the orthogonal wavelet transformation provides better results at the Gaussian assumption, while the non-orthogonal redundancy wavelet transformation performance tends to increase when the non-Gaussian bivariate distribution is used.
Evaluating American History Teachers' Professional Development: Effects on Student Learning

The United States government has invested nearly one billion dollars in funding to professional historians and history educators across the country since 2000 to strengthen the teaching of American history in elementary and secondary schools, yet we know little about how these programs impact student learning. Using data from one such Teaching American History (TAH) grant, the authors employ multilevel models to investigate the effects of professional development on students' written responses to document-based questions at the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades, and qualitative analyses of teachers' activities to learn about connections between classroom lessons and student outcomes. Findings indicate that fifth and eleventh grade students whose teachers were involved in ongoing networking activities for at least 30 hours in one year resulted in improved student performance. In addition, during the year, teachers of successful students engaged in activities that allowed them to increase their content knowledge and broaden their approach to teaching with primary documents.
New ANTXR1 Gene Mutation for GAPO Syndrome: A Case Report

GAPO syndrome is a very rare genetic disorder characterized by growth retardation, alopecia, pseudoanodontia and progressive optic atrophy (GAPO). To date, only 30 cases have been described worldwide. Recently, gene alterations in the ANTXR1 gene have been reported to be causative of this disorder, and an autosomal recessive pattern has been observed. This gene encodes a matrix-interacting protein that works as an adhesion molecule. In this report, we describe 2 homozygous siblings diagnosed with GAPO syndrome carrying a new missense mutation. This mutation produces the substitution of a glutamine in position 137 for a leucine (c.410A>T, p.Q137L).
Computing Join Aggregates Over Private Tables

We propose a privacy-preserving protocol for computing aggregation queries over the join of private tables. In this problem, several parties wish to share aggregated information over the join of their tables, but want to conceal the details that generate such information. The join operation presents a challenge to privacy preservation because it requires matching individual records from private tables. We solve this problem by a novel sketching protocol that securely computes some randomized summary information over private tables. It ensures that during the query computation process, no party will learn other parties' private data, including the individual records and data distributions. Previous works have not provided this level of privacy for such queries.
Assembled and unassembled pools of clathrin: a quantitative study using an enzyme immunoassay

Using polyclonal antibodies raised against clathrin, we have developed an enzyme-linked immunoassay that can specifically measure the quantity of clathrin in crude cell extracts. We found that the quantity (weight percent of total protein) of clathrin was similar in cell types that exhibit large differences in their levels of endocytosis and exocytosis (lymphoid cells, 0.11%; liver cells, 0.07%, fibroblasts, 0.18%; myeloma cells, 0.16%). However, the quantity of clathrin was found to be significantly higher in brain cortex (0.75%). Cellular clathrin was separated by high-speed centrifugation into two fractions: an unassembled form present in high-speed supernatants and an assembled form (clathrin coats) present in the pellets. We show that the fraction of clathrin in the unassembled state varies considerably depending on the cell type studied (14% in brain cortex to 70% in lymphocytes). Our data support the view that the amount of clathrin (relative to total cell protein) in eucaryotic cells is not related to the extent of receptor-mediated endocytosis and intracellular membrane traffic. However, the fraction of assembled clathrin seems to be higher in endocytically and/or exocytically active cells.
Color co-occurrence descriptors for querying-by-example

Multimedia documents are different from traditional text documents, because they may contain encodings of raw sensorical data. This fact has severe consequences for the efficient indexing and retrieval of information from documents in large unstructured collections (e.g. WWW), because it is very difficult to automatically identify generic meanings from visual or audible objects. A novel method for image retrieval from large collections is proposed in this paper. The method is based on color co-occurrence descriptors that utilize compact representations of essential information of the visual image content. The set of descriptor elements represents "elementary" color segments, their borders, and their mutual spatial distribution on the image frame. Such representation is flexible enough to describe image scenes ranging from simple combinations of color segments to high frequency color textures equally well. At the retrieval stage the comparison between a given query descriptor and the database descriptors is performed by a similarity measure. Image descriptors are robust versus affine transformations and several other image distortions. The consideration of the descriptors as sets of elements allows the combination of several images or subimages into a single query. Basic properties of the method are demonstrated experimentally on an image database containing 20000 images.
Androgen‐dependent gene expression of bone morphogenetic protein 7 in mouse prostate

What is the molecular basis of the osteotrophic action of prostatic metastases? Demineralized bone matrix has the potential to induce new bone formation. The identification of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) as the primary inducers of new bone formation in demineralized bone matrix has set the stage for studying prostate cancer‐bone interrelationships. We have hypothesized that BMPs may be expressed in prostate and may be involved in the osteotrophic actions of metastatic prostate cancer cells.