Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) Expression Modulates Response to High Glucose

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is an important mediator of fibrosis; emerging evidence link changes in plasma and urinary CTGF levels to diabetic kidney disease. To further ascertain the role of CTGF in responses to high glucose, we assessed the consequence of 4 months of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in wild type (+/+) and CTGF heterozygous (+/−) mice. Subsequently, we studied the influence of glucose on gene expression and protein in mice embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) cells derived from wildtype and heterozygous mice. At study initiation, plasma glucose, creatinine, triglyceride and cholesterol levels were similar between non-diabetic CTGF+/+ and CTGF+/− mice. In the diabetic state, plasma glucose levels were increased in CTGF+/+ and CTGF+/− mice (28.2 3.3 mmol/L vs 27.0 3.1 mmol/L), plasma triglyceride levels were lower in CTGF+/− mice than in CTGF+/+ (0.7 0.2 mmol/L vs 0.5 0.1 mmol/L, p<0.05), but cholesterol was essentially unchanged in both groups. Plasma creatinine was higher in diabetic CTGF+/+ group (11.7±1.2 vs 7.9±0.6 µmol/L p<0.01), while urinary albumin excretion and mesangial expansion were reduced in diabetic CTGF+/− animals. Cortices from diabetic mice (both CTGF +/+ and CTGF +/−) manifested higher expression of CTGF and thrombospondin 1 (TSP1). Expression of nephrin was reduced in CTGF +/+ animals; this reduction was attenuated in CTGF+/− group. In cultured MEF from CTGF+/+ mice, glucose (25 mM) increased expression of pro-collagens 1, IV and XVIII as well as fibronectin and thrombospondin 1 (TSP1). In contrast, activation of these genes by high glucose was attenuated in CTGF+/− MEF. We conclude that induction of Ctgf mediates expression of extracellular matrix proteins in diabetic kidney. Thus, genetic variability in CTGF expression directly modulates the severity of diabetic nephropathy.
Image analysis of neuronal pathfinding on microfabricated substrates

We have used digital imaging microscopy to evaluate possible guidance mechanisms of mouse neuroblastoma cells cultured on microfabricated glass substrates. Substrates were bound with either small charged amine or uncharged alkane molecules using silane-coupling chemistry or covered with proteins (laminin, collagen, fibronectin, albumin) by adsorption. Photolithographic procedures were used to pattern substrates with amine - alkane, amine - protein and alkane - protein combinations. Interference reflection microscopy (IRM) was used to visualize sites of cellular attachment on substrates (focal and close contacts), and image processing techniques were used to quantify the results in three different ways: total cellular area in contact with a substrate, area corresponding to focal and close contacts, and the percentage of focal and close contacts on each substrate. Cells attached to and extended neurites on each of the substrates were tested. IRM images of growth cones displayed similar gray levels on amine, alkane, fibronectin, and albumin substrates, whereas images on laminin and collagen were brighter. Brightness on laminin substrates was correlated with less area of focal contact and greater area with no contact. When cells were provided with choices on patterned substrates, they displayed the following preference of attachment: laminin, fibronectin, collagen>amine>alkane>albumin. This hierarchy reflected greater total surface area on preferred substrates. There was, however, no correlation between the hierarchy and the area corresponding to focal and close contacts or the percentage of contacts on different substrates. Our results support several recent observations which demonstrated that guidance was not correlated with differential adhesivity. These results are more in line with the theory that guidance is controlled by a signal transduction mechanism that couples locomotion with activation of membrane receptors.
Fractioning of Proanthocyanidins of Uncaria tomentosa. Composition and Structure-Bioactivity Relationship

In a previous study, the detailed low-molecular weight polyphenolic profile of the different plant parts (leaves, stem, bark and wood) of Uncaria tomentosa was reported, the leaves being the plant part with the highest phenolic content and presenting the most heterogenous proanthocyanidin composition. Further, cytotoxicity of leaves extracts in two cancer cell lines was also found to be higher than in the remaining parts of the plant. In the present study, fractioning of U. tomentosa leaves polyphenolic extracts was performed using Diaion® HP-20 resin and a detailed characterization and quantification of fractions (n = 5) was achieved using advanced analytical techniques such as Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Electrospray Ionization and Triple Quadrupole (TQD) Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC/TQ-ESI-MS) and 13C-NMR. Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) and cytotoxicity on gastric adenocarcinoma AGS and colon adenocarcinoma SW20 cell lines were also determined in the different fractions. Results showed selective distribution of 32 non-flavonoid and flavonoid phenolics among the different fractions. ORAC varied between 3.2 and 11.8 μmol TE/mg in the different fractions, whereas IC50 of cytotoxicity on gastric adenocarcinoma AGS and colon adenocarcinoma SW20 cell lines best values were between 71.4 and 75.6 µg/mL. Fractions rich in proanthocyanidins also showed the highest bioactivity. In fact, significant positive correlation was found between total proanthocyanidins (TP) quantified by UPLC-DAD and ORAC (R2 = 0.970), whereas significant negative correlation was found between TP and cytotoxicity towards AGS (R2 = 0.820) and SW620 (R2 = 0.843) adenocarcinoma cell lines. Among proanthocyanidins, propelargonidin dimers were of particular interest, showing significant correlation with cytotoxic selectivity on both gastric AGS (R2 = 0.848) and colon SW620 (R2 = 0.883) adenocarcinoma cell lines. These results show further evidence of the bioactivity of U. tomentosa proanthocyanidin extracts and their potential health effects.
Relationship of TIMI myocardial perfusion grade to mortality after administration of thrombolytic drugs.

BACKGROUND Although improved epicardial blood flow (as assessed with either TIMI flow grades or TIMI frame count) has been related to reduced mortality after administration of thrombolytic drugs, the relationship of myocardial perfusion (as assessed on the coronary arteriogram) to mortality has not been examined. METHODS AND RESULTS A new, simple angiographic method, the TIMI myocardial perfusion (TMP) grade, was used to assess the filling and clearance of contrast in the myocardium in 762 patients in the TIMI (Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction) 10B trial, and its relationship to mortality was examined. TMP grade 0 was defined as no apparent tissue-level perfusion (no ground-glass appearance of blush or opacification of the myocardium) in the distribution of the culprit artery; TMP grade 1 indicates presence of myocardial blush but no clearance from the microvasculature (blush or a stain was present on the next injection); TMP grade 2 blush clears slowly (blush is strongly persistent and diminishes minimally or not at all during 3 cardiac cycles of the washout phase); and TMP grade 3 indicates that blush begins to clear during washout (blush is minimally persistent after 3 cardiac cycles of washout). There was a mortality gradient across the TMP grades, with mortality lowest in those patients with TMP grade 3 (2.0%), intermediate in TMP grade 2 (4.4%), and highest in TMP grades 0 and 1 (6.0%; 3-way P=0.05). Even among patients with TIMI grade 3 flow in the epicardial artery, the TMP grades allowed further risk stratification of 30-day mortality: 0.73% for TMP grade 3; 2.9% for TMP grade 2; 5.0% for TMP grade 0 or 1 (P=0.03 for TMP grade 3 versus grades 0, 1, and 2; 3-way P=0.066). TMP grade 3 flow was a multivariate correlate of 30-day mortality (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.02, P=0.054) in a multivariate model that adjusted for the presence of TIMI 3 flow (P=NS), the corrected TIMI frame count (OR 1.02, P=0.06), the presence of an anterior myocardial infarction (OR 2.3, P=0.03), pulse rate on admission (P=NS), female sex (P=NS), and age (OR 1.1, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Impaired perfusion of the myocardium on coronary arteriography by use of the TMP grade is related to a higher risk of mortality after administration of thrombolytic drugs that is independent of flow in the epicardial artery. Patients with both normal epicardial flow (TIMI grade 3 flow) and normal tissue level perfusion (TMP grade 3) have an extremely low risk of mortality.
Association of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 gene single nucleotide polymorphism with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Madurai population of Southern India

Type 1 diabetes mellitus formerly called juvenile diabetes, is an organ specific T-cell mediated autoimmune disease characterized by the progressive loss of function of the insulin producing beta–cells of the islets of Langerhans. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 gene (CTLA-4) has been proposed as a candidate gene for conferring susceptibility to autoimmunity. Association of CTLA-4 gene polymorphism is well established in autoimmune endocrinopathies across world population. The present study was conducted to investigate the association of CTLA-4 exon 1 49A/G polymorphism with TIDM in Madurai, a city in Southern India. Fifty three clinically proven T1DM patients and 53 control subjects with no history of autoimmune disease were recruited for the study. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. CTLA-4 exon 1 49 A/G polymorphism was assessed using PCR-RFLP methods. Our findings revealed a significant association of CTLA-4 exon 1 49 A/G polymorphism with T1DM in Madurai population.
Correlation functions in the nonrelativistic AdS/CFT correspondence

We study the correlation functions of scalar operators in the theory defined as the holographic dual of the Schroedinger background with dynamical exponent z=2 at zero temperature and zero chemical potential. We offer a closed expression of the correlation functions at tree level in terms of Fourier transforms of the corresponding n-point functions computed from pure AdS in the light-cone frame. At the loop level this mapping does not hold and one has to use the full Schroedinger background, after proper regularization. We explicitly compute the 3-point function comparing it with the specific 3-point function of the nonrelativistic theory of cold atoms at unitarity. We find agreement of both 3-point functions, including the part not fixed by the symmetry, up to an overall normalization constant.
Modeling for Dynamic Cloud Scheduling Via Migration of Virtual Machines

Cloud brokerage mechanisms are fundamental to reduce the complexity of using multiple cloud infrastructures to achieve optimal placement of virtual machines and avoid the potential vendor lock-in problems. However, current approaches are restricted to static scenarios, where changes in characteristics such as pricing schemes, virtual machine types, and service performance throughout the service life-cycle are ignored. In this paper, we investigate dynamic cloud scheduling use cases where these parameters are continuously changed, and propose a linear integer programming model for dynamic cloud scheduling. Our model can be applied in various scenarios through selections of corresponding objectives and constraints, and offers the flexibility to express different levels of migration overhead when restructuring an existing infrastructure. Finally, our approach is evaluated using commercial clouds parameters in selected simulations for the studied scenarios. Experimental results demonstrate that, with proper parametrizations, our approach is feasible.
Flow-Based Image Abstraction

We present a non-photorealistic rendering technique that automatically delivers a stylized abstraction of a photograph. Our approach is based on shape/color filtering guided by a vector field that describes the flow of salient features in the image. This flow-based filtering significantly improves the abstraction performance in terms of feature enhancement and stylization. Our method is simple, fast, and easy to implement. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in producing stylistic and feature-enhancing illustrations from photographs.
Improving the quality of communication in healthcare

In this paper we present an assessment instrument for evaluating the quality of communication processes in health care. This instrument is based on communication theory, and does not only indicate the level of quality, but also explains it. This makes it also useful as a design tool in reorganising communication processes, in order to make them more effective. Such a tool is highly needed when Information and Communication Technology is applied in health care to support communication between professionals. The instrument is demonstrated for a case in multidisciplinary team care.
Obesity and psychiatric disorder: developmental trajectories.

OBJECTIVES To identify age-related trajectories of obesity from childhood into adolescence, and to test the association of these trajectories with the development of psychiatric disorders (conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, substance abuse, depression, and anxiety). METHODS White children (N = 991) 9 to 16 years old from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a representative sample of rural youth, were evaluated annually over an 8-year period for height, weight, psychiatric disorder, and vulnerabilities for psychiatric disorder. Longitudinal analyses on the repeated measures data were conducted using developmental trajectory models and generalized estimating equation models. RESULTS Obesity was 3 to 4 times more common than expected from national rates using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 criteria. Four developmental trajectories of obesity were found: no obesity (73%), chronic obesity (15%), childhood obesity (5%), and adolescent obesity (7%). Only chronic obesity was associated with psychiatric disorder: oppositional defiant disorder in boys and girls and depressive disorders in boys. CONCLUSIONS In a general population sample studied longitudinally, chronic obesity was associated with psychopathology.
Compartmentalized IgE Receptor–mediated Signal Transduction in Living Cells

Several receptor-mediated signal transduction pathways, including EGF and IgE receptor pathways, have been proposed to be spatially restricted to plasma membrane microdomains. However, the experimental evidence for signaling events in these microdomains is largely based on biochemical fractionation and immunocytochemical studies and only little is known about their spatial dynamics in living cells. Here we constructed green fluorescent protein–tagged SH2 domains to investigate where and when IgE receptor (FcεRI)–mediated tyrosine phosphorylation occurs in living tumor mast cells. Strikingly, within minutes after antigen addition, tandem SH2 domains from Syk or PLC-γ1 translocated from a uniform cytosolic distribution to punctuate plasma membrane microdomains. Colocalization experiments showed that the microdomains where tyrosine phosphorylation occurred were indistinguishable from those stained by cholera toxin B, a marker for glycosphingolipids. Competitive binding studies with coelectroporated unlabeled Syk, PLC-γ1, and other SH2 domains selectively suppressed the induction of IgE receptor–mediated calcium signals as well as the binding of the fluorescent SH2 domains. This supports the hypothesis that PLC-γ1 and Syk SH2 domains selectively bind to Syk and IgE receptors, respectively. Unlike the predicted prelocalization of EGF receptors to caveolae microdomains, fluorescently labeled IgE receptors were found to be uniformly distributed in the plasma membrane of unstimulated cells and only transiently translocated to glycosphingolipid rich microdomains after antigen addition. Thus, these in vivo studies support a plasma membrane signaling mechanism by which IgE receptors transiently associate with microdomains and induce the spatially restricted activation of Syk and PLC-γ1.
Novel web cache architecture

Web cache is system that is placed between the servers and the clients so as to retrieve the web objects to the clients as quickly as possible. But the algorithms present today are not so efficient to retain the important objects in the web cache. In this paper we analyze several replacement algorithms used in web cache like LFU, LRU and find that sometimes important links are also replaced. Whenever those links are requested again, than that request has to be directed to the server which results in wastage of time. These findings guide us to propose a new underlying architecture over which any of the desired replacement algorithms can be used. Beside replacement factors like recency or frequency used in the replacement we use other factors like Link Rank and Penetration Factor. We divided the web cache into five regions: Mature Region, Young Space, Micro-Cache, Non Popular Object Region and Trash Bin.
Metabolic and Behavioural Phenotypes in Nestin-Cre Mice Are Caused by Hypothalamic Expression of Human Growth Hormone

The Nestin-Cre driver mouse line has mild hypopituitarism, reduced body weight, a metabolic phenotype and reduced anxiety. Although several causes have been suggested, a comprehensive explanation is still lacking. In this study we examined the molecular mechanisms leading to this compound phenotype. Upon generation of the Nestin-Cre mice, the human growth hormone (hGH) minigene was inserted downstream of the Cre recombinase to ensure efficient transgene expression. As a result, hGH is expressed in the hypothalamus. This results in the auto/paracrine activation of the GH receptor as demonstrated by the increased phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) and reduced expression of growth hormone releasing hormone (Ghrh). Low Ghrh levels cause hypopituitarism consistent with the observed mouse growth hormone (mGH) deficiency. mGH deficiency caused reduced activation of the GH receptor and hence reduced phosphorylation of STAT5 in the liver. This led to decreased levels of hepatic Igf-1 mRNA and consequently postnatal growth retardation. Furthermore, genes involved in lipid uptake and synthesis, such as CD36 and very low-density lipoprotein receptor were upregulated, resulting in liver steatosis. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the unexpected expression of hGH in the hypothalamus of Nestin-Cre mice which is able to activate both the GH receptor and the prolactin receptor. Increased hypothalamic GH receptor signaling explains the observed hypopituitarism, reduced growth and metabolic phenotype of Nestin-Cre mice. Activation of either receptor is consistent with reduced anxiety.
Self-Fitting Algorithm for Digital Hearing Aid Based on Interactive Evolutionary Computation and Expert System

The traditional hearing aid fitting method, which mainly relies on the audiologist, is timeconsuming and messy. To improve this situation, a self-fitting algorithm based on an improved interactive evolutionary computation (IEC) algorithm and expert system, which enables the patients to fit the hearing aid by themselves, is proposed. The algorithm takes the band gain as the fitting target and uses the patient’s subjective evaluation to iteratively update the algorithm parameters based on the improved IEC algorithm. In addition, a real-time updated expert system is constructed to assist in the optimization of the initial and iterative parameters of the fitting based on the patient’s audiogram and personal information. To verify the performance of the algorithm, a self-fitting software for the hearing aid is designed. Through this software, the test signal is generated for the patient to evaluate the audio quality on a five-level scale. Based on the evaluation results, the algorithm iteratively optimizes the algorithm parameters until the patient is satisfied with the generated audio. Compared with the fitting algorithm based on Gaussian processes algorithm or the interactive evolutionary algorithm, the average subjective speech recognition rate of the proposed algorithm increase at least 11%. The average recognition rate for environmental sound is also improved by at least 2.9%. In addition, the fitting time of the proposed algorithm is shortened by at least 10 min compared to others two algorithms.
Statistical Analysis of the Roughness of Cortical Surfaces

We are interested in investigating the roughness of the human cingulate gyrus, a region of the cortex of the brain. Ratnanather et al. [4] found that local area, a measure of surface roughness that they define, varies significantly between the cingulate gyri of control and schizophrenic subjects. We wish to statistically investigate the relationship between this new quantity, local area, and Gauss and mean curvature, two much more classical measures of surface roughness that have been well-studied and understood for more than a century (at least in the context of the human cingulate gyrus). We take much of our inspiration from the work of Ratnanather et al., so that our results may be applicable to their future research. We represent our cingulate gyri as triangulated surfaces, and the principle contribution of this research is the combined use of the theory of curvature measures on triangulated developed by Cohen-Steiner and Morvan [1] and Krummel and Zweck [2] and spatial averaging as developed in by Meyer et al. [3] to approximate the curvature of triangulated surfaces. Once we have computed our curvature approximations, we attempt to identify correlations between the curvature and local area of our sample cingulate gyri and analyze the significance of these correlations.
Vicarious motor activation during action perception: beyond correlational evidence

Neurophysiological and imaging studies have shown that seeing the actions of other individuals brings about the vicarious activation of motor regions involved in performing the same actions. While this suggests a simulative mechanism mediating the perception of others' actions, one cannot use such evidence to make inferences about the functional significance of vicarious activations. Indeed, a central aim in social neuroscience is to comprehend how vicarious activations allow the understanding of other people's behavior, and this requires to use stimulation or lesion methods to establish causal links from brain activity to cognitive functions. In the present work, we review studies investigating the effects of transient manipulations of brain activity or stable lesions in the motor system on individuals' ability to perceive and understand the actions of others. We conclude there is now compelling evidence that neural activity in the motor system is critical for such cognitive ability. More research using causal methods, however, is needed in order to disclose the limits and the conditions under which vicarious activations are required to perceive and understand actions of others as well as their emotions and somatic feelings.