Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of human urotensin-II in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

ABSTRACT Objective: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic condition with the hallmark feature of left ventricular hypertrophy. Human Urotensin-II (hUT-II) is regarded as a cardiovascular autacoid/hormone, and it has cardiac inotropic and hypertrophic properties. Aims of this study were to elucidate the clinical significance of serum hUT-II levels as a potential new biomarker in patients with HCM. Methods: This study included 40 HCM patients (60% males and 40% females) and were compared to 30 healthy control subjects (47% males and 53% females. All patients underwent extensive clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic. Blood samples were taken to test for serum hUT-II levels by commercial ELISA Kit. Results: Serum hUT-II was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in patients with HCM (15.8 ± 2.1 pmol/L) compared with healthy controls (3.3 ± 1.7 pmol/L). With regard to HCM patient, Serum hUT-II levels were significantly higher in the female with 16.3 ± 1.9 pmol/L than the male with 15.4 ± 2.2 pmol/L (p < 0.05). Among echocardiographic parameters, hUT-II was negatively associated with ejection fraction (r = -0.160, p = 0.324). Conclusion: Results of the first study indicated that serum hUT-II levels were markedly elevated in patients with HCM. Serum hUT-II is a novel biomarker parameter that has clinical use in patients with the severity of LVH.
Tied aid credits as an instrument of development finance

Bilaterale Kreditvergabe und insbesondere staatlich gestutzte Kredite, die an Lieferungen bzw. Leistungen des Geberlandes gebunden sind (engl. tied aid credits), stehen unter der Kritik eher den Interessen der Geberlander, als jenen der Empfangerlander zu nutzen. Das untersuchte Finanzierungsinstrument liegt zwischen den Politikfeldern Exportforderung und Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. Per definitionem sind zwar staatlich gestutzte Exportkredite nicht als offentliche Entwicklungshilfe (ODA) anrechenbar. Stutzungsleistungen der offentlichen Hand, sofern sie entwicklungspolitisch motiviert sind, konnen jedoch als ODA gemeldet werden. Die Arbeit analysiert anhand von okonomischer Theorie und diskutiert kritisch die entwicklungspolitische Angemessenheit von tied aid credits als Instrument der Entwicklungsfinanzierung. Dabei werden auch die im regulativen Rahmen, dem Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, festgelegten Finanzierungsbedingungen uberpruft. Die Analyse kommt zum Ergebnis, dass die Vergabe von gestutzten Krediten dann angemessen ist, wenn gute Entwicklungsprojekte anderweitig nicht finanziert werden. Die Gebundenheit der Finanzierung an Lieferungen bzw. Leistungen des Geberlandes ist okonomisch jedoch nicht sinnvoll. Entwicklungspolitisch motivierte Projekte sollten lokale Beschaffung maximieren. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit geht durch die Analyse statistischer Daten auf die quantitative Bedeutung des Instruments ein und mundet in einer Diskussion uber die Meldepraxis von tied aid credits. Da nur wenige Empfangerlander von dem Instrument profitieren, ist es fraglich, ob es jenen Landern mit einem begrundeten Bedarf an externen Finanzierungsmitteln zu Gute kommt. Alles in allem wurde die Analyse des Instruments stark durch den begrenzten Zugang zu umfassenden Daten, der fur eine tiefergehende Analyse, Transparenz und Rechenschaft gegenuber der Offentlichkeit, wesentlich ist, eingeschrankt.
K-walks: clustering gene-expression data using a K-means clustering algorithm optimised by random walks

Gene-expression data obtained from the biological experiments always have thousands of dimensions, which can be very confusing and perplexing to biologists when viewed as a whole. Clustering analysis is an explorative data-mining technique for statistical data analysis that is widely used in gene-expression data analysis. Practical approaches employed for solving the clustering problem use iterative procedures such as K-means, which typically converge to one of many local minima. Here, we propose a simulated annealing approximation algorithm that is optimised using random walks to solve the K-means clustering problem. The algorithm is verified with synthetic and real-world data sets and compared with other well-known K-means variants. The new algorithm is less sensitive to initial cluster centres, and the primary strength of our algorithm is its ability to produce high-quality clustering results for thousands of high-dimensional data. However, the algorithm is computationally intensive.
2 D / 3 D registration for real-time intra-fractional tumor motion tracking during radiotherapy

Any information contained in this pdf file is automatically generated from digital material submitted to EPOS by third parties in the form of scientific presentations. References to any names, marks, products, or services of third parties or hypertext links to thirdparty sites or information are provided solely as a convenience to you and do not in any way constitute or imply ECR's endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation of the third party, information, product or service. ECR is not responsible for the content of these pages and does not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of material in this file. As per copyright regulations, any unauthorised use of the material or parts thereof as well as commercial reproduction or multiple distribution by any traditional or electronically based reproduction/publication method ist strictly prohibited. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold ECR harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs, and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from or related to your use of these pages. Please note: Links to movies, ppt slideshows and any other multimedia files are not available in the pdf version of presentations. www.myESR. org
Metabolic aspects of neonatal rat islet hypoxia tolerance

Sensitivity of pancreatic islets to hypoxia is one of the most important of the obstacles responsible for their failure to survive within the recipients. The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro hypoxia tolerance of neonatal and adult rat islet cells and to study the glucose metabolism in these cells after exposure to hypoxia. Islet cells from both age categories were cultured in different hypoxic levels for 24 h and insulin secretion and some metabolites of glucose metabolism were analysed. Glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion decreased dramatically in both cell preparations in response to the decrease in oxygen level. The reduction of insulin secretion was more detectable in adult cells and started at 5% O2, while a significant reduction was obtained at 1% O2 in neonatal cells. Moreover, basal insulin release of neonatal cells showed an adaptation to hypoxia after a 4‐day culture in hypoxia. Intracellular pyruvate was higher in neonatal cells than in adult ones, while no difference in lactate level was observed between them. Similar results to that of pyruvate were observed for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). The study reveals that neonatal rat islet cells are more hypoxia‐tolerant than the adult ones. The most obvious metabolic observation was that both pyruvate and lactate were actively produced in neonatal cells, while adult cells depended mainly on lactate production as an end‐product of glycolysis, indicating a more enhanced metabolic flexibility of neonatal cells to utilize the available oxygen and, at the same time, maintain metabolism anaerobically.
Dynamic and Reactive Walking for Humanoid Robots Based on Foot Placement Control

This paper presents a novel online walking control that replans the gait pattern based on our proposed foot placement control using the actual center of mass (COM) state feedback. The analytic solution of foot placement is formulated based on the linear inverted pendulum model (LIPM) to recover the walking velocity and to reject external disturbances. The foot placement control predicts where and when to place the foothold in order to modulate the gait given the desired gait parameters. The zero moment point (ZMP) references and foot trajectories are replanned online according to the updated foothold prediction. Hence, only desired gait parameters are required instead of predefined or fixed gait patterns. Given the new ZMP references, the extended prediction self-adaptive control (EPSAC) approach to model predictive control (MPC) is used to minimize the ZMP response errors considering the acceleration constraints. Furthermore, to ensure smooth gait transitions, the conditions for the gait initiation and termination are also presented. The effectiveness of the presented gait control is validated by extensive disturbance rejection studies ranging from single mass simulation to a full body humanoid robot COMAN in a physics based simulator. The versatility is demonstrated by the control of reactive gaits as well as reactive stepping from standing posture. We present the data of the applied disturbances, the prediction of sagittal/lateral foot placements, the replanning of the foot/ZMP trajectories, and the COM responses.
Crystal Structure of the Human Fe65-PTB1 Domain*

The neuronal adaptor protein Fe65 is involved in brain development, Alzheimer disease amyloid precursor protein (APP) signaling, and proteolytic processing of APP. It contains three protein-protein interaction domains, one WW domain, and a unique tandem array of phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB) domains. The N-terminal PTB domain (Fe65-PTB1) was shown to interact with a variety of proteins, including the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP-1), the ApoEr2 receptor, and the histone acetyltransferase Tip60. We have determined the crystal structures of human Fe65-PTB1 in its apo- and in a phosphate-bound form at 2.2 and 2.7Å resolution, respectively. The overall fold shows a PTB-typical pleckstrin homology domain superfold. Although Fe65-PTB1 has been classified on an evolutionary basis as a Dab-like PTB domain, it contains attributes of other PTB domain subfamilies. The phosphotyrosine-binding pocket resembles IRS-like PTB domains, and the bound phosphate occupies the binding site of the phosphotyrosine (Tyr(P)) within the canonical NPXpY recognition motif. In addition Fe65-PTB1 contains a loop insertion between helix α2 and strand β2(α2/β2 loop) similar to members of the Shc-like PTB domain subfamily. The structural comparison with the Dab1-PTB domain reveals a putative phospholipid-binding site opposite the peptide binding pocket. We suggest Fe65-PTB1 to interact with its target proteins involved in translocation and signaling of APP in a phosphorylation-dependent manner.
Migrant Values and Beliefs: How Are They Different and How Do They Change?

This is a study of the values of migrants. We examine processes of selection—how values affect migration—and adaptation—how migration influences value changes. Empirical analyses use a unique collection of data that combines detailed information on values from a representative sample of non-migrants in Nepal with a representative sample of Nepali migrants living in the Persian Gulf. Results suggest that migrants were selected from those who were more materialistic, less committed to religion and more family-oriented. In terms of adaptation, our results are consistent with the idea that migrants become more religious, less committed to historical Nepali values, and change ideas about family-orientation in mixed ways. Thus, we find that value adaptations of migrants are complex processes that could have immense impacts on ideational diffusion around the world.
Predicting Pathogen Introduction: West Nile Virus Spread to Galápagos

Abstract: Emerging infectious diseases are a key threat to conservation and public health, yet predicting and preventing their emergence is notoriously difficult. We devised a predictive model for the introduction of a zoonotic vector‐borne pathogen by considering each of the pathways by which it may be introduced to a new area and comparing the relative risk of each pathway. This framework is an adaptation of pest introduction models and estimates the number of infectious individuals arriving in a location and the duration of their infectivity. We used it to determine the most likely route for the introduction of West Nile virus to Galápagos and measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of introduction. The introduction of this highly pathogenic virus to this unique World Heritage Site could have devastating consequences, similar to those seen following introductions of pathogens into other endemic island faunas. Our model identified the transport of mosquitoes on airplanes as the highest risk for West Nile virus introduction. Pathogen dissemination through avian migration and the transportation of day‐old chickens appeared to be less important pathways. Infected humans and mosquitoes transported in sea containers, in tires, or by wind all represented much lower risk. Our risk‐assessment framework has broad applicability to other pathogens and other regions and depends only on the availability of data on the transport of goods and animals and the epidemiology of the pathogen.
The effect of magnesium on mitotic spindle formation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Abstract Magnesium (Mg2+), an essential ion for cells and biological systems, is involved in a variety of cellular processes, including the formation and breakdown of microtubules. The results of a previous investigation suggested that as cells grow the intracellular Mg2+ concentration falls, thereby stimulating formation of the mitotic spindle. In the present work, we used a Mg2+-deficient Schizosaccharomyces pombe strain GA2, in which two essential membrane Mg2+ transporter genes (homologs of ALR1 and ALR2 in Saccharomyces cerevisae) were deleted, and its parental strain Sp292, to examine the extent to which low Mg2+ concentrations can affect mitotic spindle formation. The two S. pombe strains were transformed with a plasmid carrying a GFP-α2-tubulin construct to fluorescently label microtubules. Using the free Mg2+-specific fluorescent probe mag-fura-2, we confirmed that intracellular free Mg2+ levels were lower in GA2 than in the parental strain. Defects in interphase microtubule organization, a lower percentage of mitotic spindle formation and a reduced mitotic index were also observed in the GA2 strain. Although there was interphase microtubule polymerization, the lower level of mitotic spindle formation in the Mg2+-deficient strain suggested a greater requirement for Mg2+ in this phenomenon than previously thought.
Expressed Emotion and Schizophrenic Outcome among Mexican- American Families

This study has demonstrated that among low-income, relatively unacculturated Mexican- American households, a high level of expressed emotion on the part of key relatives significantly increases the risk of relapse for remitted schizophrenics who return home to live with their families after hospital discharge. This cross-cultural replication of earlier research findings in London and southern California suggests that critical, hostile, or emotionally overinvolved attitudes and behaviors may be general major stressors that adversely influence the fragile adaptation of schizophrenic individuals in diverse cultural settings. The finding of a lower prevalence of high levels of expressed emotion among Mexican-American compared to Anglo-American and British households lends support to the hypothesis that intrafamilial behaviors may account for different schizophrenic outcomes in different cultures.
Palm Vein Recognition based on NonsubSampled Contourlet Transform Features

This paper presents a novel approach for person recognition by palm vein texture image based on NonsubSampled Contourlet Transform (NSCT). Our approach consists of four steps. First, we reduce noise and enhance contrast in order to produce a better quality of palm vein image then we localize the texture in the ROI. Next, the texture of enhanced image is analyzed by NSCT and obtained features witch are encoded to generate a signature of 676 bytes. Finally, we compute hamming distance in comparison to take decision. The experiments are performed on CASIA Multi-Spectral Palm print Image database. The method evaluation is completed in both verification and identification scenarios and experimental results are compared with other methods. Experiments results prove the effectiveness and the robustness of NSCT method to extract discriminative features of palm veins texture.
SiC Power MOSFET modeling challenges

SiC Power MOSFETs show a huge potential for high voltage, high temperature, high-power and high-frequency power electronic applications. Recently SiC MOSFETs were being made available in market. It is important to have spice models to validate the circuit using such high performance devices because it is not always possible to put the real hardware in place even without validating the circuit biasing. In this paper we have tried to bring out the challenges involved in coming up with a valid, industrially useful spice model for SiC MOSFETs.
Learning Style recognition: A three Layers Fuzzy Cognitive Map Schema

In adaptive educational hypermedia systems, among other parameters, the userpsilas learning style plays a crucial role in effective on-line asynchronous learning. Cognitive psychology provides tools, such as questionnaires, that can monitor userpsilas learning style. In this paper we introduce an adjustable tool for learning style recognition. It is built upon a well known and generally accepted learning style inventory and applies a three layer fuzzy cognitive map schema, which allows experts of cognitive psychology or experienced educators to tune up the systempsilas parameters to adjust the accuracy of the learning style recognition.
Analysis of Trial Data for Infliximab and Golimumab: Baseline C‐Reactive Protein Level and Prediction of Therapeutic Response in Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis

Anti–tumor necrosis factor medications have demonstrated good efficacy in treating psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Clinical responses at the primary end point in recent clinical trials of golimumab in PsA subjects yielded lower American College of Rheumatology 20% criteria for improvement (ACR20) responses than those seen in the Infliximab Multinational Psoriatic Arthritis Controlled Trial 2 infliximab study. However, baseline C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels of PsA subjects enrolled in these trials differed significantly. We hypothesized that baseline CRP levels predict the observed differing clinical response rates at the primary end point.
Non‐glycosylated recombinant pro‐concanavalin A is active without polypeptide cleavage.

The complex post‐translational processing of concanavalin A (Con A) in maturing jackbeans is unique because the non‐glycosylated mature active protein is circularly permuted in primary sequence relative to its own inactive precursor (glycosylated pro‐Con A) and to other legume lectins. We show here that non‐glycosylated pro‐Con A expressed in bacteria from recombinant cDNA (rec‐pro‐Con A) folds in vivo and in vitro to a stable form which is active without further processing. N‐glycosylation alone must therefore be sufficient to inactivate pro‐Con A‐‐a novel role for glycosylation in regulating activity during protein maturation.
Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of cDNAs coding for 3-methylcholanthrene-inducible cytochromes P450 in Xenopus laevis liver.

Liver microsomes of Xenopus laevis were investigated for specific cytochrome P450s (CYPs) that would be inducible in response to the administration of either 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) or beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), potent inducers for mammalian CYP1A. When probed with antibodies raised against rat CYP1A1, a 54-kDa protein was detected after administration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. However, there was no immunoreactive protein in microsomes from untreated frogs. In order to obtain structural information about this CYP1A-like protein, a liver cDNA library of 3MC-treated frog was constructed and screened using a fragment of rat CYP1A2 cDNA under low stringency conditions. We have isolated two cDNA clones (MC1 and MC2) with inherent features of the CYP1A subfamily. The sequence determination revealed that both of them coded for polypeptides composed of 526 amino acid residues, which differed from each other by 30 amino acids. A comparison with other mammalian CYP enzymes demonstrated that both of the sequences share 55 to 63% identity with the sequences of CYP1A family members. Northern blot analysis and RT-PCR results further demonstrated that two discrete transcripts corresponding to clones MC1 and MC2 are indeed inducible in the frog liver by treatment with 3MC or BNF. The names CYP1A6 and CYP1A7 were given to clones MC1 and MC2, respectively.
Carbon nanotube growth for through silicon via application

Through silicon via (TSV) technology is key for next generation three-dimensional integrated circuits, and carbon nanotubes (CNT) provide a promising alternative to metal for filling the TSV. Three catalyst preparation methods for achieving CNT growth from the bottom of the TSV are investigated. Compared with sputtering and evaporation, catalyst deposition using dip-coating in a FeCl2 solution is found to be a more efficient method for realizing a bottom-up filling of the TSV (aspect ratio 5 or 10) with CNT. The CNT bundles grown in 5 min exceed the 50 μm length of the TSV and are multi-wall CNT with three to eight walls. The CNT bundles inside the TSV were electrically characterized by creating a direct contact using a four-point nanoprober setup. A low resistance of the CNT bundle of 69.7 Ω (297 Ω) was measured when the CNT bundle was contacted midway along (over the full length of) the 25 μm deep TSV. The electrical characterization in combination with the good filling of the TSV demonstrates the potential use of CNT in fully integrated TSV applications.
Postprocessing of FDTD solutions for precise calculations of eigenfrequencies of photonic periodic structures utilizing the variational expression

This paper presents a method that improves by orders of magnitude the accuracy of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)-calculated eigenfrequencies of photonic crystals. The method utilizes a variational expression for the eigenfrequencies of periodic structures. Applications to perfect crystals, waveguides, and resonant cavities are demonstrated. The paper confirms that the method can reduce the computational time by more than 90% while obtaining accuracy in frequency comparable to that obtained solely by the conventional FDTD method.
Simulation of autonomous robot teams with adaptable levels of abstraction

Simulation is one of the most important Tools for the development of soft- and hardware for autonomous robots. Depending on the purpose of the simulation different levels of abstraction are required for the simulation of a robot's motion and sensors as well as its interaction with the environment. The present thesis discusses the simulation of autonomous robots with different levels of abstraction. Methods are derived which allow the simultaneous simulation of multiple robots within the same simulation using different levels of abstraction, thus allowing to use the simulation for differing purposes. Besides methods for the simulation of a robot's motion and sensors on different levels of abstraction, methods for adaptable modeling of the robots and validation of the simulation are discussed. The developed methodology is the base for the "Multi-Robot-Simulation-Framework". This framework is the foundation for several simulations of wheeled, humanoid and four-legged robots which are described as examples in this thesis.