Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Striatal Stimulation Nurtures Endogenous Neurogenesis and Angiogenesis in Chronic-Phase Ischemic Stroke Rats

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is used to treat a variety of neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease. In this study, we explored the effects of striatal stimulation (SS) in a rat model of chronic-phase ischemic stroke. The stimulation electrode was implanted into the ischemic penumbra at 1 month after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and thereafter continuously delivered SS over a period of 1 week. Rats were evaluated behaviorally coupled with neuroradiological assessment of the infarct volumes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at pre- and post-SS. The rats with SS showed significant behavioral recovery in the spontaneous activity and limb placement test compared to those without SS. MRI visualized that SS also significantly reduced the infarct volumes compared to that at pre-SS or without SS. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed a robust neurogenic response in rats that received SS characterized by a stream of proliferating cells from the subventricular zone migrating to and subsequently differentiating into neurons in the ischemic penumbra, which exhibited a significant GDNF upregulation. In tandem with this SS-mediated neurogenesis, enhanced angiogenesis was also recognized as revealed by a significant increase in VEGF levels in the penumbra. These results provide evidence that SS affords neurorestoration at the chronic phase of stroke by stimulating endogenous neurogenesis and angiogenesis.
Sleep classification according to AASM and Rechtschaffen and Kales: effects on sleep scoring parameters of children and adolescents

Recently, the new American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) rules and the old Rechtschaffen and Kales (R&K) criteria for sleep scoring have been shown to produce significantly different results in adults. The aim of this study was to describe in detail such differences in a group of normal children. Polysomnographic recordings from 45 healthy children (18 females and 27 males) aged between 3 and 16 years were scored following both systems and the results compared. Several significant differences between the two scoring systems were found: N1 (AASM) was significantly higher than S1 (R&K) while Stages N2 and R (AASM) were significantly smaller than S2 and rapid eye movement (R&K). The Kendall Τ correlation coefficient revealed a relatively low concordance between the two systems for the scoring of number of stage shifts per hour, minutes and percentage of Stage N1/S1, and of a percentage of Stage S2/N2. The significant differences between R&K and AASM scoring systems suggest taking some caution in adopting the new scoring criteria in children; these might be shown to be potentially useful if careful selection of the appropriate indicators derived from this new method is carried out, such as the percentage of N1 and the number of stage shifts, which are measures very sensitive to the occurrence of arousals in the new AASM system.
Performance Evaluation of Various Wavelets for Image Compression of Natural and Artificial Images

Recently discrete wavelet transform and wavelet packet has emerged as popular techniques for image compression. The wavelet transform is one of the major processing component of image compression. The results of the compression change as the nature of image and type of the wavelet changes. This paper compares compression performance of Daubechies, Symlets, Coiflets, Biorthogonal, Reverse Biorthogonal & Discrete meyer wavelets along with results for Natural & artificial images. Based on the results, it is proposed that proper selection of wavelet on the basis of nature of images, improve the quality as well as compression ratio remarkably. The prime objective is to select the proper wavelet during the transform phase to compress the image. This paper will provide a good reference for application developers to choose a good wavelet compression system for their application.
Melting Pad: An Efficiently Decodable Coding Scheme for Information Theoretic Confidentiality

We introduce Melting Pad, an algebraic coding scheme with potentially strong information theoretic security. Melting Pad mixes n source data blocks into n + 1 protected data blocks, which can be decoded separately. Melting Pad supports flexible modes of secrecy, with either distinct secret keys protecting each source block, or one common secret key protecting all source blocks. It provides a lightweight approach to encrypting content for applications of wide dissemination or persistent storage, so that the content may be securely broadcast, hosted in untrusted storage, or hosted with diminished liability. Melting Pad's efficient decodability is derived from interference alignment concepts.
Characterization of neoplastic and normal human breast tissues with in vivo 1H MR spectroscopy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the detection of choline‐containing compounds in in vivo 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of breast lesions is specific for carcinomas, whether a choline peak in in vivo 1H MRS can be detected under physiological conditions of increased metabolism in breast parenchyma, and whether analysis of lipid signals can differentiate between various breast lesions and tissues. Forty patients and volunteers were examined with in vivo 1H MR spectroscopy. Three spectra with identical localization but increasing echo times were obtained. Choline‐containing compounds were detected in 9 of 11 carcinomas and in 2 of 11 benign lesions. A choline signal was also detected in five of seven volunteers who were breast‐feeding at the time of examination, demonstrating that choline compounds can be detected by in vivo 1H MRS in breast tissue under physiological conditions. Analysis of lipid signals did not contribute to differentiation between various breast lesions and tissues. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;10:159–164. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Attenuation of immunologic reactivity of lipoprotein(a) by thiols and cysteine-containing compounds. Structural implications.

Samples of human plasma having lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) protein levels between 5 and 15 mg/dl and a single apolipoprotein(a) (apo[a]) isoform were incubated in vitro at pH 7.7 with various concentrations (1-20 mM) of N-acetylcysteine, homocysteine, 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME), and dithiothreitol (DTT) for 1 hour at 37 degrees C under a nitrogen atmosphere. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblot analyses using a polyclonal antibody specific for apo(a) showed a progressive decrease in apo(a) immunoreactivity as a function of reductant concentration. This decrease of apo(a) immunoreactivity was corroborated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using anti-apo(a) as the capture antibody and either anti-apo B or anti-apo(a) as the developing antibody. In turn, there was no significant decrease in the immunoreactivity of apo B-100, as assessed by ELISA using anti-apo B as both the capture and the detecting antibody. In the case of high concentrations of DTT the plasma samples had to be diluted to prevent gel formation on addition of the reductant. A progressive drop in immunoreactivity as a function of reagent concentration was also observed in pure preparations of Lp(a) incubated with the reducing agents at pH 7.7. At equivalent stoichiometries the changes were more marked than those observed with whole plasma, suggesting a quenching effect by the plasma proteins on the activity of the reductants. The changes in immunoreactivity were attended by dissociation of apo(a) from Lp(a) as assessed by Western blotting. This dissociation, which we interpret as the result of cleavage of the interchain disulfide bond(s), was complete at 5 mM DTT and 100 mM 2ME. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Imaging early signaling events in T lymphocytes with fluorescent biosensors

Many recent advances in our understanding of T lymphocyte functions in adaptive immunity are derived from sophisticated imaging techniques used to visualize T lymphocyte behavior in vitro and in vivo. A current challenge is to couple such imaging techniques with methods that will allow researchers to visualize signaling phenomenon at the single‐cell level. Fluorescent biosensors, either synthetic or genetically encoded, are emerging as important tools for revealing the spatio‐temporal regulation of intracellular biochemical events, such as specific enzyme activities or fluctuations in metabolites. In this review, we revisit the development of fluorescent Ca2+ sensors with which the first experiments visualizing T lymphocyte activation at the single‐cell were performed, and which have since become routine tools in immunology. We then examine a number of examples of how fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)‐based biosensors have been developed and applied to T lymphocyte migration, adhesion and T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐mediated signal transduction. These include the study of small GTPases such as RhoA, Rac and Rap1, the tyrosine kinases Lck and ZAP‐70, and metabolites such as cAMP and Ca2+. Future development and use of biosensors should allow immunologists to reconcile the vast wealth of existing biochemical data concerning T‐cell functions with the power of dynamic live‐cell imaging.
Proteomics Analysis and Protein Expression during Sporozoite Excystation of Cryptosporidium parvum (Coccidia, Apicomplexa)*S

Cryptosporidiosis, caused by coccidian parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium, is a major cause of human gastrointestinal infections and poses a significant health risk especially to immunocompromised patients. Despite intensive efforts for more than 20 years, there is currently no effective drug treatment against these protozoa. This study examined the zoonotic species Cryptosporidium parvum at two important stages of its life cycle: the non-excysted (transmissive) and excysted (infective) forms. To increase our understanding of the molecular basis of sporozoite excystation, LC-MS/MS coupling with a stable isotope N-terminal labeling strategy using iTRAQ™ reagents was used on soluble fractions of both non-excysted and excysted sporozoites, i.e. sporozoites both inside and outside oocysts were examined. Sporozoites are the infective stage that penetrates small intestinal enterocytes. Also to increase our knowledge of the C. parvum proteome, shotgun sequencing was performed on insoluble fractions from both non-excysted and excysted sporozoites. In total 303 C. parvum proteins were identified, 56 of which, hitherto described as being only hypothetical proteins, are expressed in both excysted and non-excysted sporozoites. Importantly we demonstrated that the expression of 26 proteins increases significantly during excystation. These excystation-induced proteins included ribosomal proteins, metabolic enzymes, and heat shock proteins. Interestingly three Apicomplexa-specific proteins and five Cryptosporidium-specific proteins augmented in excysted invasive sporozoites. These eight proteins represent promising targets for developing vaccines or chemotherapies that could block parasite entry into host cells.
Etude des nurseries de poissons du littoral de la Loire-Atlantique

Les termes de « frayere» et de « nurserie» doivent etre d'abord precIses. Une « frayere» est une concentration d'adultes, geniteurs, au moment (quelques jours a quelques mois) de la reproduction. Bien souvent, ce type de concentration donne lieu a d'importantes peches saisonnieres (seiche, hareng). Une « nurserie » est une zone ou se rassemblent les tres jeunes individus qui sont issus des pontes realisees sur les frayeres et qui ont depasse le stade larvaire. Il s'agit donc d'une concentration de juveniles dans les zones optimales pour la croissance. En principe, ces jeunes animaux n'interessent pas le pecheur. Dans le temps, la frayere peut n'interesser qu'une periode assez courte (seiche: 1 a 2 mois, hareng: 3 a 5 semaines) alors que la nurserie constitue un phenomene permanent. En ce qui concerne les poissons benthiques et demersaux, les nurseries les plus importantes sont localisees dans les zones littorales abritees (estuaires et baies),
Incremental Nonnegative Matrix Factorization for Face Recognition

Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) is a promising approach for local feature extraction in face recognition tasks. However, there are two major drawbacks in almost all existing NMF-based methods. One shortcoming is that the computational cost is expensive for large matrix decomposition. The other is that it must conduct repetitive learning, when the training samples or classes are updated. To overcome these two limitations, this paper proposes a novel incremental nonnegative matrix factorization (INMF) for face representation and recognition. The proposed INMF approach is based on a novel constraint criterion and our previous block strategy. It thus has some good properties, such as low computational complexity, sparse coefficient matrix. Also, the coefficient column vectors between different classes are orthogonal. In particular, it can be applied to incremental learning. Two face databases, namely FERET and CMU PIE face databases, are selected for evaluation. Compared with PCA and some state-of-the-art NMF-based methods, our INMF approach gives the best performance.
Realization of a Spatially MultiplexedMIMO System

Multi-antenna systems can provide improvements in wireless systems increasing spectral efficiency, reliability, range, and system capacity. Herein we show how some of the potentials of MIMO systems can be realized on a simple radio hardware platform by utilizing advanced real-time signal processing and coding. We present a real-time implementation of a 2 by 2 MIMO system employing spatial multiplexing to achieve high spectral efficiency in an indoor non-line-of-sight environment operating in the 1800MHz range. Well-known processing and coding techniques are employed and our contributions lie in: discussing implementational aspects and solutions often overlooked but critical for high-performance operation; demonstrating the degree to which the simple baseband AWGN model can be used to accurately model/predict the MIMO system on the current hardware; and demonstrating the feasibility of real-time spatial multiplexing achieving up to 15 bps/Hz on a 2 by 2 system in a realistic indoor environment with off-the-shelf radio hardware.
Shiga toxin 1‐induced activation of c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase and p38 in the human monocytic cell line THP‐1: possible involvement in the production of TNF‐α

Shiga toxin‐producing enterohemorrhagic E. coli infections cause bloody diarrhea, which may progress to life‐threatening complications such as the hemolytic‐uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS patients frequently have elevated levels of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) detectable in urine. Thus, sequelae may develop following the localized production of proinflammatory cytokines within the kidneys. A possible source of these cytokines are macrophages, which respond to the toxins by producing TNF‐α. We have shown previously that THP‐1 cells produce soluble TNF‐α in response to the toxins, whose production requires host‐cell tyrosine‐kinase activity and toxin‐enzymatic activity. To further examine signaling pathways involved in TNF‐α expression, we determined that JNK1 and ‐2 and p38, but not ERK1 or ‐2, were phosphorylated following toxin exposure. Blockade of p38 activation reduced TNF‐α production following Shiga toxin 1 treatment. Finally, we present a model of the ribotoxic stress response triggered in human macrophages by Shiga toxins.
Activation of PPAR by rosiglitazone attenuates intestinal Cl secretion

Bajwa PJ, Lee JW, Straus DS, Lytle C. Activation of PPAR by rosiglitazone attenuates intestinal Cl secretion. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 297: G82–G89, 2009. First published May 14, 2009; doi:10.1152/ajpgi.90640. 2008. —The thiazolidinedione (TZD) drugs rosiglitazone (Ro) and pioglitazone (Po) are PPAR agonists in widespread clinical use as insulin-sensitizing agents in Type 2 diabetes. On the basis of recent evidence implicating PPAR as a positive modulator of intestinal epithelial differentiation, we hypothesized that TZD drugs might attenuate intestinal secretory function. To evaluate this possibility, we examined the effects of Ro and Po on electrogenic Cl secretion [short-circuit current (Isc)] in mouse intestinal segments and in cultured human intestinal epithelial cells (HT29-Cl.19A). As hypothesized, oral administration of Ro (20 mg kg 1 day ) to mice for 8 days markedly reduced intestinal Isc responses to cAMP (forskolin)and Ca (carbachol)-dependent stimuli. In these Ro-treated mice, cholera toxin-induced intestinal fluid accumulation was reduced 65%. With continued Ro treatment, the Isc response to carbachol recovered significantly, whereas that to forskolin remained attenuated. Treatment of HT29 cells for 5 days with 10 M Ro or Po in vitro brought about a similar hyposecretory state. In HT29 cells, the loss of cAMP-dependent Cl secretion was attributable to a reduced expression of CFTR Cl channel, KCNQ1 K channel, and Na-K-2Cl cotransporter-1 proteins. The transient loss of Ca -dependent Cl secretion involved an impairment of basolateral Ca -stimulated K channel activity without a detectable loss of KCa3.1 channel protein. Our results establish TZD drugs as important modulators of intestinal Cl secretory function.
Adaptive control design of structural systems

An adaptive H∞ control for active mass damper systems subject to external perturbation is developed in this paper. This robust controller is composed by the sum of a linear term plus an adaptive component. The linear term is designed using linear matrix inequality (LMI) theory. Then, the adaptive term is added to improve controller performance in presence of external disturbance and system fault. Lyapunov theory is invoked to validate our control design. According with experiments, where a flexible two levels building with active mass damper under external perturbation is employed, they show that this adaptive term improves controller performance.
Cigarette smoking and insulin resistance in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

To evaluate the effects of chronic cigarette smoking on insulin sensitivity in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), we examined 28 smokers and 12 nonsmokers with NIDDM, of similar sex, age, body mass index, waist/hip ratio, alcohol consumption, physical activity level, glycometabolic control, diabetes duration, and treatment. Insulin and C-peptide responses to oral glucose load were significantly higher in smokers than nonsmokers, whereas glucose levels were not substantially different. During insulin clamp (20 mU/min.m2), carried out in combination with tritiated glucose infusion and indirect calorimetry, total glucose disposal was markedly reduced in smokers vs. nonsmokers [19 +/- 1.2 vs. 33 +/- 5 mumol/min.kg fat-free mass (FFM); P < 0.001], in a dose-dependent fashion (F = 6.8, P < 0.001 by ANOVA when subjects were categorized for number of cigarettes smoked per day). Oxidative (9 +/- 1 vs. 14 +/- 2 mumol/min.kg FFM; P < 0.01) and nonoxidative (10 +/- 1 vs. 19 +/- 4 mumol/min.kg FFM; P < 0.01) pathways of insulin-mediated intracellular glucose metabolism were similarly reduced in smokers vs. nonsmokers. Plasma free fatty acid levels (240 +/- 33 vs. 130 +/- 23 microEq/L; P < 0.05) and lipid oxidation rate (1.39 +/- 0.1 vs. 0.95 +/- 0.2 mumol/ min.kg FFM; P < 0.05) were less suppressed by hyperinsulinemia in smokers than nonsmokers. In conclusion, chronic cigarette smoking seems to markedly aggravate insulin resistance in patients with NIDDM.
New Approach for MPPT Control of Photovoltaic System With Mutative-Scale Dual-Carrier Chaotic Search

As the output power of photovoltaic (PV) array changes with the change of external environment and load, the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technology is needed to bring the efficiency of PV device into full play. In this paper, the chaos search theory is first applied on the MPPT technology of PV system; the chaos search algorithm based on dual carrier increases the adequacy of chaos search and overcomes the blindness of traditional chaos search, thus improves the search efficiency and solves the problem of multiple MPP under partially shadowing conditions. Comparative tests show that the proposed method can track the step response quickly and accurately; at the same time get better optimization result. Simulation and experimental results showed the effectiveness and good performance of the proposed method.
Effect of Playground Environments on the Physical Activity of Children With Ambulatory Cerebral Palsy

Purpose: To compare the effect of 2 different playground environments on the physical activity of children with ambulatory cerebral palsy during their playground play. Methods: Five 7- to 8-year-old children with cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Functional Classification System [GMFCS] level II) participated. Using an alternating treatment, single-subject design, stride patterns were obtained using an activity monitor on an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant and noncompliant playground. Visual and statistical analysis of the stride data was used to analyze the effect of the playground environments. Results: Four of the 5 participants increased the number of strides on an ADA-compliant playground. Conclusion: Children with cerebral palsy (GMFCS II) may benefit from an ADA-compliant playground to increase their physical activity.
Crosstalk and interconnection distance considerations for board-to-board optical interconnects using 2-D VCSEL and microlens array

We describe the design and experimental characterization of a substrate-mode optical backplane using 0.5-, 0.75- and 1-mm spacing two-dimensional (2-D) optical beam arrays. The system uses arrays of multiplexed holograms to implement free space board-to-board interconnects, and employs 250-/spl mu/m pitch 2-D vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) and microlens array as a transmitter to provide 0.5- to 1-mm spacing 2-D beam array, operating at 850 nm. By comparing the optical beam properties at the detector plane including the spot size and power uniformity of the optical beam array, as well as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the maximum interconnect distances are justified. Furthermore, we point out the improvement of the throughput that can be achieved by 2D crosstalk analysis within the same design concept. The results of crosstalk analysis obtained here can be used for application to the standard five-board free-space optical backplane system.
IC Design of IPv 6 Routing Lookup for High Speed Networks

In recent years, there are many researches for routing lookup. Most of them can achieve high average search throughput for IPv4, but they are slow in the updating speed and cannot suit to 128 bits IPv6 address even in hardware architecture. This paper proposed a routing lookup system which contains an ASIC of routing lookup table and offchip memory sets. In the performance analysis, 91.89 % routing entries of the routing table can be searched in one memory access, and the worst case about 10% needs two memory accesses. The routing lookup system approaches 213.4 Mlps (109.26 Gb/s). It is enough to satisfy the high speed link OC-768 (40Gb/s) with 150000 routing entries.