Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vivo measurement of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with [18F]norchloro‐fluoro‐homoepibatidine

Functional changes of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) are important during age‐related neuronal degeneration. Recent studies demonstrate the applicability of the nAChR ligand 2‐[18F]F‐A‐85380 for neuroimaging of patients with dementias. However, its binding kinetics demands a 7‐h acquisition time limiting its practicality for clinical PET studies. Thus, the authors developed [18F]norchloro‐fluoro‐homoepibatidine ([18F]NCFHEB) for nAChR imaging. The kinetics of the two enantiomers of [18F]NCFHEB were compared with 2‐[18F]F‐A85380 in porcine brain to evaluate their potential for human neuroimaging. Twenty‐four juvenile female pigs were studied with PET using [18F]NCFHEB. Nine animals received an additional i.v. injection (1 mg/kg) of the nAChR agonist A81418 before radiotracer administration followed by infusion (2 mg/kg/7h) thereafter. Several compartment models were applied for quantification. (−)‐ and (+)‐[18F]NCFHEB showed a twofold to threefold higher brain uptake than 2‐[18F]F‐A‐85380. All three radiotracers displayed spatially hetereogenous binding kinetics in regions with high, moderate, or low specific binding. The equilibrium of specific binding of (−)‐[18F]NCFHEB was reached earlier than that of (+)‐[18F]NCFHEB or 2‐[18F]F‐A85380. Continuous administration of the nAChR agonist A81418 inhibited the specific binding of (−)‐ and (+)‐[18F]NCFHEB but not of 2‐[18F]F‐A85380. The peripheral metabolism of (+)‐[18F]NCFHEB proceeded somewhat slower than that of the other radiotracers. Both enantiomers of [18F]NCFHEB are appropriate radiotracers for neuroimaging of nAChR in pigs. Their binding profile in vivo appears to be more selective than that of 2‐[18F]F‐A85380. (−)‐[18F]NCFHEB offers a faster equilibrium of specific binding than 2‐[18F]F‐A85380. Synapse 62:205–218, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
, Flavia in Remote Aboriginal Communities aureus Staphylococcus Methicillin-Resistant Unique Epidemiology of Genotyping System To Demonstrate the Use of a Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism

10.1128/JCM.00836-06. 2006, 44(10):3720. DOI: J. Clin. Microbiol. Jonathan R. Carapetis and Bart J. Currie Inman-Bamber, Alex J. Stephens, Rebecca Towers, Huygens, Frances Oppedisano, Philip M. Giffard, John Malcolm McDonald, Annette Dougall, Deborah Holt, Flavia in Remote Aboriginal Communities aureus Staphylococcus Methicillin-Resistant Unique Epidemiology of Genotyping System To Demonstrate the Use of a Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism
Total internal reflection tomography of small objects

The multiple signal classification (MUSIC) imaging method is applied to determine the locations of a collection of small anisotropic spherical scatterers in the framework of the total internal reflection tomography. Multiple scattering between scatterers is considered and the inverse scattering problem is nonlinear, which, however, is solved by the proposed fast analytical approach where no associated forward problem is iteratively evaluated. The paper also discusses the role of the polarization of incidence waves, the incidence angle, the separation of scatterers from the surface of the substrate, and the level of noise on the resolution of imaging.
Inhibition of angiotensin II action protects rat steatotic livers against ischemia-reperfusion injury

Objective:We examined whether pharmacologic strategies blocking angiotensin II actions protect steatotic livers against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The effects of ischemic preconditioning (PC) on angiotensin II were also evaluated. Design:Randomized and controlled animal study. Setting:Experimental laboratory. Subjects:Zucker rats. Interventions:The following experimental groups were studied: I/R, ischemia-reperfusion + angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (I/R+ACE inhibitor), ischemia-reperfusion + angiotensin II type I receptor antagonist (I/R+AT1R antagonist), ischemia-reperfusion + angiotensin II type II receptor antagonist (I/R+AT2R antagonist), and PC (5 mins of ischemia + 10 mins of reperfusion before I/R). In some of these groups, the action of bradykinin (BK) and/or peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor-&ggr; (PPAR&ggr;) was altered pharmacologically. Measurements and Main Results:I/R+ACE inhibitor, I/R+AT1R antagonist, and I/R+AT2R antagonist reduced hepatic injury in steatotic livers compared with the I/R group. PC reduced angiotensin II generation and hepatic injury in steatotic livers in comparison to I/R group. Our results revealed that I/R+ACE inhibitor, I/R+AT1R antagonist, I/R+AT2R antagonist, and PC increased BK compared with the I/R group. In addition, the effects of PC on BK and hepatic injury were abolished when angiotensin II was administered. Furthermore, administration of BK receptor antagonists to the I/R+ACE inhibitor, I/R+AT1R antagonist, I/R+AT2R antagonist, and PC groups resulted in hepatic injury similar to the I/R group, indicating that the benefits of ACE inhibitor, AT1R antagonist, AT2R antagonist, and PC were abolished when the action of BK was inhibited. Experiments aimed at investigating why BK was protective in steatotic livers indicated that BK acts as a positive regulator of PPAR&ggr;. If PPAR&ggr; action was inhibited, BK did not protect steatotic livers against hepatic injury. Conclusions:Pharmacologic blockers of angiotensin II action (ACE inhibitors, AT1R antagonists, and AT2R antagonists) and PC, which reduced angiotensin II generation, increased BK generation in steatotic livers after I/R. This in turn increased PPAR&ggr; and protected this type of liver against I/R injury.
Multicast Transmission over IEEE 802.11n WLAN

With the advent of low-cost WLAN devices, the delivery of multimedia content is highly desirable. Such applications require high throughput and near-real time for quality viewing. The use of next-generation WLAN 802.1 In and physical layer multicast transmission for a wide range of wireless terminals introduces many significant challenges. The impetus of the present study is to describe a cross-layer approach, enabling techniques as beamforming, MIMO antennas, OFDM and low latency MAC operation. Our simulation results show a substantial improvement in network performance for our proposed strategies in IEEE802.11n wireless access networks.
Preoperative functional MRI localization of language areas in Chinese patients with brain tumors

Ten Chinese patients with brain tumors involving language regions were selected. Preoperative functional MRI was performed to locate Broca's or Wernicke's area, and the cortex that was essential for language function was determined by electrocortical mapping. A site-by-site comparison between functional MRI and electrocortical mapping was performed with the aid of a neuronavigation device. Results showed that the sensitivity and specificity of preoperative functional MRI were 80.0% and 85.0% in Broca's area and 66.6% and 85.2% in Wernicke's area, respectively. These experimental findings indicate that functional MRI is an accurate, reliable technique with which to identify the location of Wernicke's area or Broca's area in patients with brain tumors.
Diet and Canine Hysteria: Experimental Production

During the past twenty years or more dog-owners in this country and in the U.S.A. have been troubled by sporadic outbreaks of a nervous disorder which has been called canine hysteria, running fits, or fright disease. The condition seems to have been noted first in the southern States of the U.S.A. about 1916 and in England about 1924, and to have increased in intensity and distribution since then. Much has been written -on the subject, and the disorder has at one time or another been ascribed to many causes. These include internal and external parasites ; deficiency of certain food factors, especially vitamins B, and A; deficiency of an amino-acid such as lysine; excess of proteins ; allergy to food constituents and other substances such as pollen: toxicity of flour from the Far East; yeast ; meat and the method of cooking it; botulism ; infection of a virus type or a complication of distemper ; and, finally, heredity. In recent years, however, the majority of writers seem to have agreed that (1) food is the causal agent, though there is no agreement as to whether the trouble is due to a deficiency in the food or to a toxic agent; (2) dog-biscuits and proprietary foods are often implicated ; (3) a wheat product is the most likely causal agent in the dog food, including the biscuits ; and (4) excitement and physical strain influence the onset and frequency of the attacks Canine hysteria up to 1936 has been reviewed and discussed by Hewetson (1936): here, therefore, reference will be confined to some of the experimental investigations on the subject since that date. Melnick and Cowgill (1937) produced convulsive reactions in six adult dogs on diets in which gliadin was the sole protein and furnished 16% or more of the caloiie intake. They also suggested that the toxicity of these high-gliadin diets might be due to protein sensitization. Arnold and Elvehjem (1939) found that a dog food made of wheat flour and meat scrap processed by dry heat caused fits in young dogs, which could be alleviated or prevented by adding to the ration a sufficient amount of unheated protein or protein-containing foodstuff. They thought that a lysine deficiency was involved. Later, however, the subject was again investigated by Wagner and Elvehjeni (1944) in consequence of an unpublished observation by Parry that commercial wheat gluten produced symptoms of hysteria in dogs with great rapidity and intensity. They confirmed Parry's observation and suggested that the disease was caused by some toxic factor in the wheat products and not, as the 1939 work had suggested, by a deficiency of lysine. Further, they stated that the attacks were not prevented by vitamin A, vitamin B,, hydrochloric acid, casein, or casein hydrolysate.
Structured sparse coding for image representation based on L1-graph

Sparse coding seeks for over-complete bases to obtain the high-level image representation for image analysis. In many applications, the image data might reside on a low dimensional manifold embedded in high dimensional ambient space. However, standard sparse coding cannot exploit the manifold structure. In this paper, we propose a novel structured sparse coding method based on the L1-graph, in which the geometric structure of the image data is considered explicitly. Specifically, a new regularization term based on L1-graph is incorporated into the standard sparse coding framework and a fast iterative thresholding algorithm is developed to solve the optimization problem. Through this coding scheme, the codes obtained by our algorithm between the similar data points in high dimensional space are more similar than that obtained by standard sparse coding. Experiments demonstrate the the efficacy of the proposed method for image representation on two benchmark databases.
Min-Max Propagation

We study the application of min-max propagation, a variation of belief propagation, for approximate min-max inference in factor graphs. We show that for “any” high-order function that can be minimized in O(ω), the min-max message update can be obtained using an efficient O(K(ω + log(K)) procedure, where K is the number of variables. We demonstrate how this generic procedure, in combination with efficient updates for a family of high-order constraints, enables the application of min-max propagation to efficiently approximate the NP-hard problem of makespan minimization, which seeks to distribute a set of tasks on machines, such that the worst case load is minimized.
Advances in Brief Analysis of Gene Induction in Human Fibroblasts and Bladder Cancer Cells Exposed to the Methylation Inhibitor 5-Aza-2-deoxycytidine 1

Hypermethylation of the promoters of cancer-related genes is often associated with their inactivation during tumorigenesis. Several preclinical and clinical trials have been developed to use DNA methylation inhibitors, such as 5-aza-2 -deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR) in attempts to reactivate silenced genes in human cancers. We used high-density oligonucleotide gene expression microarrays to examine the effects of 5-AzaCdR treatment on human fibroblast cells (LD419) and a human bladder tumor cell line (T24). Data obtained 8 days after recovery from 5-AzaCdR treatment showed that more genes were induced in tumorigenic cells (61 genes induced; > 4-fold) than nontumorigenic cells (34 genes induced; > 4-fold). Approximately 60% of induced genes did not have CpG islands within their 5 regions, suggesting that some genes activated by 5-AzaCdR may not result from the direct inhibition of promoter methylation. Interestingly, a high percentage of genes activated in both cell types belonged to the IFN signaling pathway, confirming data from other tumor cell types.
Visualization of brain amyloid and microglial activation in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVES Microglial overactivation, which is secondary to abnormalities of amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) and tau proteins in the pathogenic cascade leading to onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD), accelerates tau pathology, according to our recent observations using mouse models of tauopathies, and this positive feedback results in formation of a vicious cycle between upstream and downstream processes, potentially hampering effective suppression of the entire cascade by anti-amyloid treatments. This motivates our present work aimed at dual monitoring of amyloidosis and microgliosis in living animal models of AD, toward therapeutic regulation of these two processes capable of halting the self-perpetuating cycle. METHODS Transgenic mice expressing mutant amyloid precursor protein (APP23 mice) was examined by high-resolution positron emission tomography (PET) after administration of amyloid probe, Pittsburg Compound B (PIB) synthesized with high specific radioactivity (SA). Microglial activation in these mice was also imaged by PET and specific tracer, [(18)F]fluoroethyl-DAA1106. RESULTS Progressive amyloidosis in APP23 mice was visualized by PET and high-SA PIB. In vitro assays revealed preferential binding of PIB to N-terminally modified Abeta, Abeta(N3pE). As levels of this Abeta subspecies in model mice are lower than those in AD patients, our findings plausibly explain advantages of high-SA tracers in sensitive detection of mouse amyloid. Near-simultaneous monitoring of amyloid removal and microgliosis in APP23 mice following injection of anti-Abeta antibody demonstrated positive correlation between levels of initially existing amyloid and antibody-induced microglial activation, suggesting the possibility of microglial overactivation in immunotherapy for subjects with abundant amyloid. CONCLUSIONS The present animal imaging system would substantially facilitate establishment of a safe and effective therapeutic strategy targeting multiple key processes in the AD pathogenesis.
Virtual Flux Droop Method—A New Control Strategy of Inverters in Microgrids

The parallel operation of inverters in microgrids is mainly based on the droop method. The conventional voltage droop method consists of adjusting the output voltage frequency and amplitude to achieve autonomous power sharing without control wire interconnections. Nevertheless, the conventional voltage droop method shows several drawbacks, such as complicated inner multiloop feedback control, and most importantly, frequency and voltage deviations. This paper proposes a new control strategy in microgrid applications by drooping the virtual flux instead of the inverter output voltage. First, the relationship between the inverter virtual flux and the active and reactive powers is mathematically obtained. This is used to develop a new flux droop method. In addition, a small-signal model is developed in order to design the main control parameters and study the system dynamics and stability. Furthermore, a direct flux control algorithm is employed to regulate the virtual flux according to the droop controller, which avoids the use of proportional-integral controllers and pulse-width modulation modulators. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the proposed flux droop strategy can achieve active and reactive power sharing with much lower frequency deviation than the conventional voltage droop method, thus highlighting the potential use in microgrid applications.
“Bligh and Dyer” and Folch Methods for Solid–Liquid–Liquid Extraction of Lipids from Microorganisms. Comprehension of Solvatation Mechanisms and towards Substitution with Alternative Solvents

Bligh and Dyer (B & D) or Folch procedures for the extraction and separation of lipids from microorganisms and biological tissues using chloroform/methanol/water have been used tens of thousands of times and are "gold standards" for the analysis of extracted lipids. Based on the Conductor-like Screening MOdel for realistic Solvatation (COSMO-RS), we select ethanol and ethyl acetate as being potentially suitable for the substitution of methanol and chloroform. We confirm this by performing solid-liquid extraction of yeast (Yarrowia lipolytica IFP29) and subsequent liquid-liquid partition-the two steps of routine extraction. For this purpose, we consider similar points in the ternary phase diagrams of water/methanol/chloroform and water/ethanol/ethyl acetate, both in the monophasic mixtures and in the liquid-liquid miscibility gap. Based on high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) to obtain the distribution of lipids classes, and gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionisation detector (GC/FID) to obtain fatty acid profiles, this greener solvents pair is found to be almost as effective as the classic methanol-chloroform couple in terms of efficiency and selectivity of lipids and non-lipid material. Moreover, using these bio-sourced solvents as an alternative system is shown to be as effective as the classical system in terms of the yield of lipids extracted from microorganism tissues, independently of their apparent hydrophilicity.
CD 34 + Hematopoietic Progenitors from Human Cord Blood Differentiate Along Two Independent Dendritic Cell Pathways in Response to GM-CSF + TNFoL

Human dendritic cells (DC) can now be generated in vitro in large numbers by culturing CD34 + hematopoietic progenitors in presence of GM-CSF+TNFet for 12 d. The present study demonstrates that cord blood CD34 + HPC indeed differentiate along two independent DC pathways. At early time points (day 5-7) during the culture, two subsets of DC precursors identified by the exclusive expression of CDla and CD14 emerge independently. Both precursor subsets mature at day 12-14 into DC with typical morphology and phenotype (CDS0, CD83, CD86, CD58, high HLA class II). CDla + precursors give rise to cells characterized by the expression of Birbeck granules, the Lag antigen and E-cadherin, three markers specifically expressed on Langerhans cells in the epidermis. In contrast, the CD14 + progenitors mature into CDla + DC lacking Birbeck granules, E-cadherin, and Lag antigen but expressing CD2, CD9, CD68, and the coagulation factor XIlla described in dermal dendritic cells. The two mature DC were equally potent in stimulating allogeneic CD45RA + naive T cells. Interestingly, the CD14 + precursors, but not the CDla + precursors, represent bipotent cells that can be induced to differentiate, in response to M-CSF, into macrophage-like cells, lacking accessory function for T ceils. Altogether, these results demonstrate that different pathways of DC development exist: the Langerhans cells and the CD14+-derived DC related to dermal DC or circulating blood DC. The physiological relevance of these two pathways of DC development is discussed with regard to their potential in vivo counterparts.
Effects of low-level laser therapy after nerve reconstruction in rat denervated soleus muscle adaptation.

BACKGROUND Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) rehabilitation remains a challenge for physical therapists because PNI effects are very disabling. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been described as a physical resource that is able to influence enzymes called metallopeptidases (MMPs) associated with extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover, thus accelerating neuromuscular recovery after nerve crush injuries. However, the effects of LLLT in the treatment of severe nerve injuries and denervated slow-twitch muscles are still inconclusive. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different wavelengths and energy densities of LLLT irradiation, applied to a severe nerve injury after reconstruction, on denervated slow-twitch skeletal muscle adaptation. METHOD Rats were submitted to a neurotmesis of the sciatic nerve followed by end-to-end neurorrhaphy. They received transcutaneous LLLT irradiation at the lesion site. The LLLT parameters were: wavelengths--660 or 780 nm; energy densities--10, 60 or 120 J/cm²; power--40 mW; spot--4 mm². Sciatic functional index (SFI), histological, morphometric, and zymographic analyses were performed. One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test was used (p≤0.05). RESULTS An atrophic pattern of muscle fibers was observed in all injured groups. The MMP activity in the soleus muscle reached normal levels. On the other hand, SFI remained below normality after PNI, indicating incapacity. No difference was found among PNI groups submitted or not to LLLT in any variable. CONCLUSIONS LLLT applied to the nerve post-reconstruction was ineffective in delaying degenerative changes to the slow-twitch denervated muscles and in functional recovery in rats. New studies on recovery of denervated slow-twitch muscle are necessary to support clinical practice.
Efficacy of DB289 in Thai patients with Plasmodium vivax or acute, uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections.

BACKGROUND DB289 is the orally active prodrug of the diamidine DB75, which was developed for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis. METHODS We tested the safety and efficacy of DB289 for the treatment of Plasmodium vivax and acute, uncomplicated P. falciparum infections in an open-label pilot study at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Bangkok. Nine patients with P. vivax infections and 23 patients with P. falciparum infections were admitted and treated with 100 mg of DB289 given orally twice a day for 5 days and were followed for 28 days. Patients with P. vivax infections were also treated with primaquine on days 10-23. RESULTS All patients cleared parasites by day 7, with a mean+/-SD clearance time of 43+/-41 h. One patient with a P. vivax infection had a recurrence of parasitemia on day 9. Of the 23 patients with P. falciparum infections, 3 had recurrences of parasitemia caused by P. vivax and 2 had recurrences of parasitemia caused by P. falciparum. In only 1 of 2 recurrences of parasitemia caused by P. falciparum were the parasites genotypically distinct from the infecting parasites the patient had at enrollment, which means there was a 96% cure rate. CONCLUSIONS DB289 is a promising new antimalarial compound that could become an important component of new antimalarial combinations.
2hGAR: 2-Hops Geographical Anycast Routing Protocol for Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications

This paper presents the 2-hops Geographical Anycast Routing (2hGAR) protocol to enable anycast communication between vehicles and infrastructure. 2hGAR forwards packets to reach any member of the infrastructure by using information of the best neighbors located 2-hops away from the current node. Additionally, 2hGAR can work with any hop-by-hop geographical routing protocol and Tabu-search metaheuristic. Simulation results show that 2hGAR with Multi Metric Map-aware (MMMR) scoring procedure outperforms to a classical greedy-DTN and Geographical Heuristic Routing (GHR) protocols in percentage of packet losses and/or packet delay, depending on the vehicle density.