Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Renal Transplantation: Examination of the Regulation of Chemokine Binding During Acute Rejection

Background. Chemokines recruit leukocytes during allograft rejection. It is thought that the formation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-stabilized chemokine concentration gradients within the allograft plays a crucial role in this process. This raises the possibility that changes in GAG biology might regulate chemokine binding and the development of rejection. Methods. Immunocytochemical techniques were used to quantify changes in GAG expression within normal and rejection renal biopsy sections. Changes in GAG expression by cultured endothelial cell lines were also examined after stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and interferon-&ggr;. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to examine the basis for increased sulphation of heparan sulphate (HS) observed during inflammation. A binding assay was developed to determine how levels of GAG expression correlate with changes in chemokine (CCL5) sequestration. Results. In normal kidney, HS was largely restricted to the tubular basement membrane; chondroitin-4-sulphate and chondroitin-6-sulphate were expressed within the interstitial tissues. The expression of all three GAGs was increased significantly during acute rejection, and heavily sulphated HS remained predominant within the tubular basement membrane. Treatment of endothelial cells with proinflammatory cytokines increased the expression of mRNA encoding N-deacetylase/N-sulphotransferase-1, an isoform of the enzyme responsible for N-sulphation of HS. Cytokine-treated cells and rejection biopsy specimens showed an enhanced capacity to bind CCL5. Conclusions. Chemokine production is known to be increased during acute renal allograft rejection. In this study we showed that the graft tissues also respond by increasing their potential to bind chemokines, a process that is vital for effective chemokine presentation and leukocyte recruitment.
A Novel DC-Power Control Method for Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter

The cascaded H-bridge converter has been widely used in industry. The ability of dealing with unequal power generation among dc links is necessarily required in many applications, such as large-scale photovoltaic power plants and electric vehicles. In this paper, a novel dc-power control method (PCM) is proposed to keep the ac-current balance and maintain power generation ratios of each dc source at their expected values. A simplified modulation strategy is introduced to implement the proposed method, in which the duration times are modified directly by the correction value derived from the PCM method. To calculate and adjust the power generation ratios, a method based on first-in first-out (FIFO) data queue is utilized. The limitation and ranges of power generation ratio are analyzed in detail. DC power per phase can be controlled accurately by the proposed method in variable-frequency condition, even under larger power generation ratios. Results obtained from simulations and experiments are presented to verify the feasibilities and superiorities of the proposed method.
The Particle Swarm Differential Evolution Algorithm for Ecological Sensor Network Coverage Optimization

Abstract The problem of coverage optimization is the challengingly important and key part in the research and application of ecology sensor network related with the ecological monitoring of Poyang Lake. A modified differential evolution algorithm (PSI-DE) combined with particle swarm intelligence is proposed to solve the coverage optimization problem. First, an improved version of the mutation rule combined with self-cognitive and social-cognitive items is introduced. Then, the influence on the coverage optimization performance of the PSI-DE algorithm brought by the five factors – namely, population size, number of iterations, sensing radius size, raster size, and number of nodes – is discussed and analyzed. The statistical results about the best coverage rate, average coverage rate, worst coverage rate, and variance are respectively obtained through a lot of simulation experiments. A series of the coverage rate curves, the line chart, and the node layout are drawn in this paper, and finally, the figures and the statistical results are proven to confirm each other.
A Fully Soft Switched Converter for Ultracapacitors Interface Circuit

Ultracapacitors are used as auxiliary elements beside batteries in energy storage systems. In such a configuration a bidirectional, high efficiency converter is needed as an interface between ultracapacitors and batteries. This paper presents a ZVT buck and boost converter for the ultracapacitors interface. All of the switches in the proposed converter are soft switched and thus high efficiency is achieved. The converter operational modes are analyzed and its performance is justified using a 200 watt laboratory prototype.
Methotrexate-loaded glass ionomer cements for drug release in the skeleton: An examination of composition–property relationships

Chemotherapeutic-loaded bone cement may be an effective method of drug delivery for the management of cancer-related vertebral fractures that require cement injection for pain relief. Recent advancements in the development of aluminum-free glass ionomer cements (GICs) have rendered this class of biomaterials clinically viable for such applications. To expand the therapeutic benefits of these materials, this study examined, for the first time, their drug delivery potential. Through incrementally loading the GIC with methotrexate (MTX) by up to 10-wt%, composition–property relationships were established, correlating MTX loading with working time and setting time, as well as compressive strength, drug release, and cytotoxic effect over 31 days. The most significant finding of this study was that MTX was readily released from the GIC, while maintaining cytotoxic activity. Release correlated linearly with initial loading and appeared to be diffusion mediated, delivering a total of 1–2% of the incorporated drug. MTX loading in this range exerted minimal effects to handling and strength, indicating the clinical utility of the material was not compromised by MTX loading. The MTX-GIC systems examined herein are promising materials for combined structural delivery applications.
Light-Dark and Circadian Melatonin Rhythms Are Established de novo in Re-Aggregates of the Embryonic Chicken Retina

A central function of chicken photoreceptors is the rhythmic synthesis of the neurohormone melatonin; however, it is unclear how they can achieve – already before hatching (i.e. without light exposure) – a circadian pacemaker system. Here we studied melatonin synthesis and secretion in rosetted spheroids, which are de novo histotypic spheres, re-aggregated from dissociated retinal cells of chicken embryos. Spheroids were cultured during a 12-hour light/12-hour dark cycle. Shortly after the onset of photoreceptor differentiation in spheroids near day 5 in culture, melatonin secretion set in and, by day 8 in culture, showed distinct dark-light oscillations, with high values during the dark and lower ones during the light period. Concomitantly, expression of two key enzymes of melatonin synthesis, arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT) and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) was detected by northern blot analysis from day 6 onwards, increasing until day 8. Only HIOMT, but not AA-NAT levels were 2- to 3-fold higher at the end of the light compared with the dark phase. Even under permanent darkness, a slight melatonin oscillation was revealed after 6 days. In conclusion, photoreceptors in de novo regenerated retinal spheroids become light-responsive, establish appropriate pathways for melatonin synthesis and secrete more melatonin in the dark. The underlying circadian pacemaker seems to depend on photoreceptor differentiation, not on previous light-dark entrainment.
Clinical and sociodemographic variables associated with the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder in road traffic accidents

Our objective was to identify variables related to the onset of acute posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a road traffic accident. We evaluated 60 victims of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) in 2004 at 2 months postaccident. Thirty of them had developed PTSD; the other 30 had not developed PTSD. Clinical data, physical injuries, and sociodemographic characteristics were determined in 60 victims. The Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) and a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐IV (SCID) were used to evaluate PTSD occurrence. PTSD scores assessed by DTS and SCID at 2 months were significantly and positively associated with female sex, severe physical injuries, perceived social deprivation, and loss of job activity due to the accident. Female sex, severe physical injury, perceived social deprivation, and sick leave were related to the diagnosis of PTSD 2 months after the accident. Depression and Anxiety 0:1–8, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Unsupervised data association for metric learning in the context of multi-shot person re-identification

Appearance based person re-identification is a challenging task, specially due to difficulty in capturing high intra-person appearance variance across cameras when inter-person similarity is also high. Metric learning is often used to address deficiency of low-level features by learning view specific re-identification models. The models are often acquired using a supervised algorithm. This is not practical for real-world surveillance systems because annotation effort is view dependent. In this paper, we propose a strategy to automatically generate labels for person tracks to learn similarity metric for multi-shot person re-identification task. We demonstrate on multiple challenging datasets that the proposed labeling strategy significantly improves performance of two baseline methods and the extent of improvement is comparable to that of manual annotations in the context of KISSME algorithm [14].
Secular change in adult stature has come to a halt in northern Europe and Italy

Aim: To investigate whether the increase in adult stature in European countries is continuing.Methods: The secular trend in growth after 1990 for various European countries was assessed by national conscript data. Results: In Scandinavia and the Netherlands, the height has reached a plateau at 179–181 cm, and in Italy a plateau at 174 cm. In Belgium, Portugal and Spain, height continued to increase.
The Family and Mortality: A Case Study from Rural Belgium

Les differences de mortalite entre les familles fournissent un indice de l'importance des comportements inobserves conditionnant a la sante. Par exemple, si la plus faible mortalite etait due a des attitudes personnelles apprises au cours de l'enfance, elle devrait se manifester jusqu'aux âges eleves. Dans cet article sont utilisees des donnees provenant d'une commune belge, au xixe siecle, afin de preciser les differences de mortalite entre les familles de deux manieres. Tout d'abord, un indice de l'exposition des enfants a la maladie est construit en comptant le nombre de deces a moins de 15 ans dans chaque famille. Ensuite, l'effet global des differences entre les familles est calcule grâce a un modele aleatoire qui permet d'estimer la variance de « l'effet famille ». Les deux mesures mettent en evidence un effet familial fort pendant l'enfance, qui diminue apres 15 ans puis disparait au-dela de 55 ans. En outre, a une periode encore dominee par les maladies infectieuses, ceux qui survivent aux maladies contractees au cours de l'enfance acquierent des immunites qui les rendent plus resistants par la suite.
Analgesic efficacy of paracetamol and its combination with codeine and caffeine in surgical pain–a meta‐analysis

The objective of this study was to quantify the analgesic efficacy of paracetamol and its combination with codeine or caffeine through a systematic overview and meta‐analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Systematic retrieval of relevant clinical trials was carried out using computerized searches, historical searches and communication with manufacturers. The results of RCTs were pooled to estimate (i) the difference in percentage improvement of total pain relief (TOTPAR%) and the sum of pain intensity difference (SPID%); (ii) the proportions of patients obtaining moderate to excellent pain relief relative to placebo (ResRR) and (iii) the ratio of patients requiring analgesic re‐medication (RemRR). Head‐to‐head comparisons were also undertaken for paracetamol versus its combination with codeine or caffeine.
Analysis of patch antenna with director in FDTD simulation environment

In this paper the influence of dimensions, geometry and position of the conductive director on the radiation and matching characteristics of the patch antenna are analyzed using an own developed simulation tool that is based on finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The possibility of gain enhancement and broadening of the antenna bandwidth is investigated.
Rigid body motions capturing by means of wearable inertial and magnetic MEMS sensors assembly : from the reconstitution of the posture toward the dead reckoning: an application in Bio-logging

In this chapter, we'll focus on the attitude estimation problem of a body moving in 3D space. This study is devoted to the reconstruction of the posture (orientation), linear accelerations, positions and their cost in free ranging animal where the access to GPS locations is limited or impossible (application in Bio-logging). In this context, the chosen attitude representation is the quaternion, and the available data are issued from a triad of sensors including a 3-axis accelerometer, a 3-axis magnetometer and a 3-axis gyroscope (Inertial Measurement Unit). Three different approaches for the estimation of the quaternion from the data set are then proposed. The first one is based on an additive nonlinear observer design and uses the quaternion addition technique for updating attitude estimates. The second and the third approaches propose the design of a sliding mode observer and a complementary filter, respectively. In this case, the update of the estimates is based on a quaternion multiplication. This technique shows that it is a good alternative to address this problem and seems more appropriate for the quaternion algebra. The obtained results from both simulation and experimental studies show the efficiency of the proposed methodologies to reconstruct the attitude with a good accuracy for the Bio-logging application. Moreover, they allow estimating the linear acceleration and the energetic index of the animal. Finally the end of the chapter will be devoted to a dead reckoning approach to estimate the 3D position of pedestrian locomotion animal by exploiting only data from an inertial measurement unit. We'll show that obtained experimental results in the case of human locomotion, with an adjusted velocity, are satisfactory and remain promising for the application of this approach in the context of the Bio-logging.
DeSUMOylation of Gli1 by SENP1 Attenuates Sonic Hedgehog Signaling

ABSTRACT The transcriptional output of the Sonic Hedgehog morphogenic pathway is orchestrated by three Krüppel family transcription factors, Gli1 to -3, which undergo extensive posttranslational modifications, including ubiquitination and SUMOylation. Here, we report that the sentrin-specific peptidase SENP1 is the specific deSUMOylation enzyme for Gli1. We show that SUMOylation stabilizes Gli1 by competing with ubiquitination at conserved lysine residues and that SUMOylated Gli1 is enriched in the nucleus, suggesting that SUMOylation is a nuclear localization signal for Gli1. Finally, we show that small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of SENP1 augments the ability of Shh to sustain the proliferation of cerebellar granule cell precursors, demonstrating the physiological significance of the negative regulation of Shh signaling by SENP1.
Improved location estimation based on the pressure sensor for car navigation system

Car navigation systems are widely used, and they are very effective. However, these devices have to communicate with telematics service providers (TSP), which are not widely used because of the cost. Recently, smartphone use has become widespread and they run free car navigation applications. Therefore, car navigation systems that can communicate with TSPs will be used more widely. In this paper, we propose a new method that improves location estimation for car navigation systems based on the pressure sensor on smartphones. We report the requirements and our results.
Assessment of the Physiological Adaptations to Chronic Hypoxemia in Eisenmenger Syndrome.

OBJECTIVE Eisenmenger syndrome is characterized by severe and lifelong hypoxemia and pulmonary hypertension. Despite this, patients do surprisingly well and report a reasonable quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate whether these patients undergo adaptation of their skeletal and cardiac muscle energy metabolism which would help explain this paradox. DESIGN AND SETTING Ten patients with Eisenmenger syndrome and eight age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers underwent symptom-limited treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise testing, transthoracic echocardiography and (31) P magnetic resonance spectroscopy of cardiac and skeletal muscle. Five subjects from each group also underwent near infrared spectroscopy to assess muscle oxygenation. RESULTS Despite having a significantly lower peak VO2 , patients with Eisenmenger syndrome have a similar skeletal muscle phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery, a measure of oxidative capacity, when compared to healthy controls (34.9 s ± 2.9 s vs. 35.2 s ± 1.7 s, P = .9). Furthermore their intracellular pH falls to similar levels during exercise suggesting they are not reliant on early anaerobic metabolism (0.3 ± 0.06 vs. 0.28 ± 0.04, P = .7). While their right ventricular systolic function remained good, the Eisenmenger group had a lower cardiac PCr/ATP ratio compared to the control group (1.55 ± 0.10 vs. 2.17 ± 0.15, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS These results show that adult patients with Eisenmenger syndrome have undergone beneficial physiological adaptations of both skeletal and cardiac muscle. This may, in part, explain their surprisingly good survival despite a lifetime of severe hypoxemia and adverse cardiopulmonary hemodynamics.
Comparison of hierarchical and six degrees-of-freedom marker sets in analyzing gait kinematics

The objective of this study was to determine how marker spacing, noise, and joint translations affect joint angle calculations using both a hierarchical and a six degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) marker set. A simple two-segment model demonstrates that a hierarchical marker set produces biased joint rotation estimates when sagittal joint translations occur whereas a 6DoF marker set mitigates these bias errors with precision improving with increased marker spacing. These effects were evident in gait simulations where the 6DoF marker set was shown to be more accurate at tracking axial rotation angles at the hip, knee, and ankle.
What is the most accurate estimate of pregnancy rates in IVF dropouts?

BACKGROUND Dropouts in IVF-programmes affect cumulative pregnancy rates (CPRs), but it is unknown what the impact of loss to follow-up is. METHODS Data were obtained from 588 couples starting IVF treatment ('as treated group'). Cycle-based and real-time-based CPRs were calculated using three assumptions for dropouts: dropouts having no probability of pregnancy, dropouts having the same probability of pregnancy as those continuing treatment and dropouts stopping because of medical reasons having no chance of pregnancy and those stopping because of other reasons having the same probability of pregnancy as those continuing treatment. CPRs obtained in the 'as treated group' were compared with CPRs calculated using the data set including the follow-up data of the dropouts ('completed group'). RESULTS In 1.7% of couples, no follow-up could be obtained. The cycle-based CPR after three IVF-cycles ranged from 63% to 71% in the 'as treated group' and was 65% in the 'completed group'. The real-time-based CPR after 9 months ranged from 54% to 59% in the 'as treated group' and was 55% in the 'completed group'. The PR in dropouts was 14% (95% confidence interval 8.22%). CONCLUSIONS In IVF programmes, outcome data of dropouts remain unknown, and CPRs should be calculated by assuming dropouts to have a PR between no probability and the same probability as those who continue treatment. Our study shows that the most accurate estimate for the PR in dropouts is 14%.
Alcohol consumption among pregnant women attending the ante-natal clinic of a tertiary hospital in South-South Nigeria.

BACKGROUND As efforts to reduce maternal and childhood mortality rates continue to yield results in Nigeria, it is time to put more emphases on the health of children. Alcohol consumption is one of the few modifiable risk factors for poor pregnancy outcome. This study assessed the consumption of alcohol among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was carried out using a descriptive cross-sectional study design, with data collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to collect information on the knowledge of the harmful effects of alcohol on the fetus, attitudes toward alcohol use by pregnant women, and alcohol use by the respondents. RESULTS A total of 221 subjects were studied. The respondents had an average age of 29.5 ± 4.6 years, were mostly married (96.83%), Christians (94.57%), and had tertiary education (73.76%). Only, 51.58% of the respondents knew of the harmful effects of alcohol on the fetus; of whom, 62.29% were told by a health professional. More than half (59.28%) of the respondents had taken alcohol during the index pregnancy, about a third (39.40%) of whom drank alcohol on a regular basis, whereas 25.79% were binge drinkers. There were no statistically significant differences in the marital (P = 0.16) and educational status (P = 0.15) of the respondents who abstained from alcohol in the index pregnancy, compared with those who drank alcohol; although, statistically significant differences were observed in the age (P < 0.001), parity (P = 0.02) and religion (P < 0.001) of the respondents. CONCLUSION The level of alcohol consumption among the pregnant women is high. Health education is, therefore, required to change the attitude of the public and the knowledge and behavior of the pregnant women.
The effect of SNPs on expression levels in Nimblegen RNA expression microarrays

In this paper the effect of SNPs on expression levels in Nimblegen RNA expression microarrays is investigated. A vast number of replicates of probe pairs representing both alleles of SNPs on 14 loci allows accurate estimation of the difference in signal intensities both within and between probe pairs. The majority of probe-pairs with sufficiently high expression have significant differences in expression levels within the pair and the difference shows concordance with the genotype of the samples. With two or more replicates of each probe, the allele-to-allele variance dominates the error in estimating the difference within the probe-pair, ten replicates are needed for adequate power in calling a true difference within a single probe-pair. Using the expression level of the probe within the probe-pair that has the higher value gives more accurate estimates. When using probes at loci containing known SNP's one should use probes containing both alleles of the SNP.