Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduced surface toll-like receptor-4 expression and absent interferon-γ–inducible protein-10 induction in cystic fibrosis airway cells

ABSTRACT As part of the innate and adaptive immune system, airway epithelial cells secrete proinflammatory cytokines after activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) by pathogens. Nevertheless, cystic fibrosis (CF) airways are chronically infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, suggesting a modified immune response in CF. The authors have shown that in CF bronchial epithelial cells, a reduced surface expression of TLR-4 causes a diminished interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-6 response upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. However, there is no information regarding activation of the MyD88 (myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88)-independent TLR-4 signaling pathway by LPS, which results in the activation of adaptive immune responses by secretion of the T cell–recruiting chemokine interferon-γ–inducible protein (IP)-10. Therefore, the authors investigated the induction of IP-10 in CF bronchial epithelial cell line CFBE41o− and its CFTR-corrected isotype under well-differentiating conditions. TLR-4 surface expression was significantly reduced in CFBE41o− by a factor of 2, compared to the CFTR-corrected cells. In CFTR-corrected cells, stimulation with LPS increased IP-10 secretion. Incubating cells with siRNA directed against TLR-4 inhibited the LPS stimulated increase of IP-10 in CFTR-corrected cells. The reduced TLR-4 surface expression in CF cells causes the loss of induction of IP-10 by LPS. This could compromise adaptive immune responses in CF due to a reduced T-cell recruitment.
Detection of numerical chromosomal aberrations in malignant melanomas using fluorescence in situ hybridization

To evaluate the numerical chromosomal aberration i malignant melanoma, we have applied fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with repetitive DNA probes specific for chromosomes 1, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 17 on 24 fresh malignant melanomas (primary: 14, metastatic: 8).
Obtaining Optimal Mobile-Robot Paths with Nonsmooth Anisotropic Cost Functions Using Qualitative-State Reasoning

Realistic path-planning problems frequently show anisotropism, dependency of traversal cost or feasibility on the traversal heading. Gravity, friction, visibility, and safety are often anisotropic for mobile robots. Anisotropism often differs qualitatively with heading, as when a vehicle has insufficient power to go uphill or must brake to avoid accelerating down hill. Modeling qualitative distinctions requires discontinuities in either the cost-per-traversal-distance function or its derivatives, preventing direct application of most results of the calculus of variations. We present a new approach to optimal anisotropic path planning that first identifies qualitative states and per missible transitions between them. If the qualitative states are chosen appropriately, our approach replaces an optimization problem with such discontinuities by a set of subproblems with out discontinuities, subproblems for which optimization is likely to be faster and less troublesome. Then the state space in the near neighborhood of any particular state can be partitioned into "behavioral regions" representing states optimally reach able by single qualitative "behaviors, " sequences of qualitative states in a finite-state diagram. Simplification of inequalities and other methods can identify the behavioral regions. Our ideas solve problems that are not easily solvable any other way, especially problems with what we define as "turn-hostile" anisotropism. We illustrate our methods on two examples, navigation on an arbitrarily curved surface with gravity and friction effects (for which we show much better performance than a previously published program 22 times longer), and flight of a simple missile.
Hyaluronan synthesis in cultured tobacco cells (BY‐2) expressing a chlorovirus enzyme: Cytological studies

Extraction of hyaluronan from animals or microbial fermentation has risks including contamination with pathogens and microbial toxins. In this work, tobacco cultured‐cells (BY‐2) were successfully transformed with a chloroviral hyaluronan synthase (cvHAS) gene to produce hyaluronan. Cytological studies revealed accumulation of HA on the cells, and also in subcellular fractions (protoplasts, miniplasts, vacuoplasts, and vacuoles). Transgenic BY‐2 cells harboring a vSPO‐cvHAS construct containing the vacuolar targeting signal of sporamin connected to the N‐terminus of cvHAS accumulated significant amounts of HA in vacuoles. These results suggested that cvHAS successfully functions on the vacuolar membrane and synthesizes/transports HA into vacuoles. Efficient synthesis of HA using this system provides a new method for practical production of HA. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 1174–1179. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Gap Waveguides Using a Suspended Strip on a Bed of Nails

This letter discusses the feasibility of a new type of waveguide consisting of a strip suspended on a bed of nails. The bed of nails enforces a stopband, while the strip opens a propagating path that can be used to design circuits and feeding networks for the microwave and millimeter-wave bands. Advantages and drawbacks with respect to existing ridge gap waveguide are discussed. Experimental demonstration is also given.
A 256-kb 9T Near-Threshold SRAM With 1k Cells per Bitline and Enhanced Write and Read Operations

In this paper, we present a new 9T SRAM cell that has good write ability and improves read stability at the same time. Simulation results show that the proposed design increases read static noise margin and ION/IOFF of read path by 219% and 113%, respectively, at supply voltage of 300-mV over conventional 6T SRAM cell in a 90-nm CMOS technology. The proposed design lets us reduce the minimum operating voltage of SRAM (VDDmin) to 350 mV, whereas conventional 6T SRAM cannot operate successfully with an acceptable failure rate at supply voltages below 725 mV. We also compared our design with three other SRAM cells from recent literature. To verify the proposed design, a 256-kb SRAM is designed using new 9T and conventional 6T SRAM cells. Operating at their minimum possible VDDs, the proposed design decreases write and read power per operation by 92% and 93%, respectively, over the conventional rival. The area of the proposed SRAM cell is increased by 83% over a conventional 6T one. However, due to large ION/IOFF of read path for 9T cell, we are able to put 1k cells in each column of 256-kb SRAM block, resulting in the possibility for sharing write and read circuitries of each column between more cells compared with conventional 6T. Thus, the area overhead of 256kb SRAM based on new 9T cell is reduced to 37% compared with 6T SRAM.
Topology-Transition Control For Wide-Input-Voltage-Range Efficiency Improvement and Fast Current Regulation in Automotive LED Applications

Automotive light-emitting-diode (LED) drivers require special design considerations, which includes voltage step-up and step-down function, high energy efficiency, and fast current reference tracking capability. Unlike the conventional efficiency improvement methods, which is based on cumbersome circuit/component optimization and/or modification for a single operating point, this paper proposes a simple approach based on topology transition which can achieve a high efficiency for a wide input voltage range. In particular, the topology of the LED driver can change between buck, boost, and buck–boost converter according to the level of the input voltage. In addition, a novel current mode controller is proposed, such that 1) compatibility to different topologies, 2) seamless topology transition, and 3) fast current reference tracking can be concurrently achieved. The feasibilities of the proposed topology transition method and its control has been experimentally verified through a four-switch buck–boost converter prototype with 7–45 V input, 25 V/1 A LED strings output. It is shown that there is more than 5% efficiency improvement as compared to the conventional four-switch buck–boost converter. Full range (0%–100%) and precise (1% dimming precision) pulse-width-modulated dimming has also been demonstrated.
A study of vector quantization for noisy channels

Several issues related to vector quantization for noisy channels are discussed. An algorithm based on simulated annealing is developed for assigning binary codewords to the vector quantizer code-vectors. It is shown that this algorithm could result in dramatic performance improvements as compared to randomly selected codewords. A modification of the simulated annealing algorithm for binary codeword assignment is developed for the case where the bits in the codeword are subjected to unequal error probabilities (resulting from unequal levels of error protection). An algorithm for the design of an optimal vector quantizer for a noisy channel is briefly discussed, and its robustness under channel mismatch conditions is studied. Numerical results for a stationary first-order Gauss-Markov source and a binary symmetric channel are provided. It is concluded that the channel-optimized vector quantizer design algorithm, if used carefully, can result in a fairly robust system with no additional delay. The case in which the communication channel is nonstationary (as in mobile radio channels) is studied, and some preliminary ideas for quantizer design are presented. >
Serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D increases with NB‐UVB and UVA/UVB phototherapy in patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis in Western Australia

The benefit of NB‐UVB phototherapy on serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in patients with inflammatory skin conditions has been reported in the northern hemisphere. Vitamin D status is known to differ between geographical latitudes. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of NB‐UVB and UVA/UVB phototherapy on the 25(OH)D serum levels in patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis in Western Australia.
The role of parental marital discord in the etiology of externalizing problems during childhood and adolescence

Abstract Previous research has established that parental marital discord is associated with higher levels of offspring externalizing behaviors, but it is unclear how parental relationship functioning is associated with the genetic and environmental variance on a factor of externalizing problems. Thus, the current study assessed how parental marital discord moderates genetic and environmental variance on offspring externalizing problems at two different ages: childhood and late adolescence. That is, the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on offspring externalizing at ages 11 and 17 was examined as a function of parental marital discord. Consistent with a diathesis–stress model of psychopathology, it was hypothesized that with increasing marital discord, genetic influences on externalizing would be more pronounced. Rather, results indicated that for the 11-year-old sample, nonshared environmental influences were greater when parental marital discord was low, and comparatively, shared environmental influences contributed more to the variance in externalizing problems when parental marital discord was high. No moderation was found for the 17-year-old cohort. In contrast to studies that do not find an effect of the shared environment, these results provide evidence that the common rearing environment has an impact on externalizing problems in preadolescent children.
RTHMS: a tool for data placement on hybrid memory system

Traditional scientific and emerging data analytics applications require fast, power-efficient, large, and persistent memories. Combining all these characteristics within a single memory technology is expensive and hence future supercomputers will feature different memory technologies side-by-side. However, it is a complex task to program hybrid-memory systems and to identify the best object-to-memory mapping. We envision that programmers will probably resort to use default configurations that only require minimal interventions on the application code or system settings. In this work, we argue that intelligent, fine-grained data placement can achieve higher performance than default setups. We present an algorithm for data placement on hybrid-memory systems. Our algorithm is based on a set of single-object allocation rules and global data placement decisions. We also present RTHMS, a tool that implements our algorithm and provides recommendations about the object-to-memory mapping. Our experiments on a hybrid memory system, an Intel Knights Landing processor with DRAM and HBM, show that RTHMS is able to achieve higher performance than the default configuration. We believe that RTHMS will be a valuable tool for programmers working on complex hybrid-memory systems.
Validity of a modified Parkinson's disease screening questionnaire in India: Effects of literacy of participants and medical training of screeners and implications for screening efforts in developing countries

The prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) is low among Indians, except in the Parsis. Data for Indians come from studies using different screening tools and criteria to detect PD. An epidemiological study in India, which has nearly a billion people, more than 18 spoken languages, and varying levels of literacy, requires development and validation of a screening tool for PD. The objectives of this study are to (1) validate a modified version of a widely used screening questionnaire for PD to suit the needs of the Indian population; (2) compare the use of a nonmedical assistant (NMA) with the use of a medical person during screening; and (3) compare the effect of literacy of participants on the validity of the screening tool. The validity of the questionnaire was tested on 125 participants from a home for the elderly. NMAs of similar background and medical personnel administered the modified screening questionnaire. A movement disorder neurologist blind to the responses on the questionnaire, examined participants independently and diagnosed if participants had PD. The questionnaire was validated in the movement disorders clinic, on known PD patients and their family members without PD. In the movement disorders clinic, sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire were 100% and 89%, respectively. Fifty‐seven participants were included for analysis. The questionnaire had a higher sensitivity when NMAs (75%) rather than the medical personnel (61%) administered it, and its specificity was higher with the medical personnel (61%) than with NMAs (55% and 25%). The questionnaire had a higher specificity in literates than illiterates, whereas sensitivity varied considerably. The modified questionnaire translated in a local Indian language had reasonable sensitivity and can be used to screen individuals for PD in epidemiological studies in India. This questionnaire can be administered by NMAs to screen PD and this strategy would reduce manpower costs. Literacy may influence epidemiological estimates when screening PD. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society
Therapeutic implications of vitamin D and calcium in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: To assess effects of vitamin D and Calcium (Ca) on hormonal and metabolic milieu of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design: Single arm open label trial. Methods: Twelve overweight and vitamin D deficient women with PCOS underwent a 2 hour oral glucose tolerance testing at baseline and following 3-month supplementation with vitamin D (daily dose of 3533 IU, increased to 8533 IU after the first five participants) and 530 mg elemental Ca daily. Main outcome measures: Blood pressure (BP), plasma glucose, insulin, total testosterone (T) androstenedione (A), sex hormone binding globulin, lifestyle parameters were assessed at baseline and following 3-month intervention. Insulin resistance (IR) and area under the curve for glucose and insulin were computed; paired analyses were conducted. Results: Improved serum 25OHD (p < 0.001) and reductions in total T (p = 0.036) and A (p = 0.090) levels were noted following 3-month supplementation, compared to baseline. Significant lowering in BP parameters was seen in participants with baseline BP ≥ 120/80 mmHg (n = 8) and in those with baseline serum 25OHD ≤20 ng/ml (n = 9). Parameters of glucose homeostasis and IR remained unchanged (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Androgen and BP profiles improved followed three month intervention, suggesting therapeutic implications of vitamin D and Ca in overweight and vitamin D deficient women with PCOS.
Identification and characterization of variant alleles of human acetyltransferase NAT1 with defective function using p-aminosalicylate as an in-vivo and in-vitro probe.

Although several variant alleles at the human NAT1 gene locus have been reported, their relationship to phenotypic variations in NAT1 function remains unclear. We have used in-vivo and invitro phenotyping tests, along with PCR-based cloning and heterologous expression, to investigate the extent of variation in NAT1 function and to characterize novel allelic variants at the NAT1 gene locus. The NAT1-selective substrate p-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) was used as a probe for NAT1 function. In-vivo PAS acetylation rates were estimated by determining the ratio of PAS to N-acetylated PAS (AcPAS) in urine and plasma following the oral ingestion of Nemasol Sodium. Excluding outliers, a 65-fold variation in the urinary AcPAS:PAS ratio was observed (n = 144), while a 5.6-fold variation in the plasma AcPAS:PAS ratio was seen in a subset (n = 19) of this sample. Urinary and plasma ratios correlated moderately (r = 0.74, p < 0.0005). One individual (case 244) had a marked impairment of PAS N-acetylation, with 10-fold lower urinary and plasma AcPAS:PAS ratios compared with other subjects. Biochemical investigations in whole blood lysates from case 244 suggested a NAT1 kinetic defect, with a 20-fold increased apparent K(m) for PAS and a 90-fold decreased Vmax for AcPAS formation. We subcloned, sequenced and expressed the protein-coding regions of the NAT1 alleles from case 244 and from seven other selected probands. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of two new variant alleles, designated as NAT1 x 14 and NAT1 x 15, in case 244, as well as one variant, NAT1 x 11, which has been observed in previous investigations. NAT1 x 14 contained a missense mutation (G560-->A) that is predicted to change a single amino acid (Arg187-->Gln), as well as two 3' non-coding region mutations (T1088-->A and C1095-->A) that have previously been observed in the NAT1 x 10 allelic variant. NAT1 x 15 had a single nonsense mutation (C559-->T; Arg187-->stop) and, thus, encodes a truncated protein. The activity of recombinant NAT1 14 mirrored the defective enzyme function in whole blood lysates from case 244, while NAT1 15 was completely inactive. Expressed NAT1 11, on the other hand, had identical activity to the wild type NAT1 4 allele, suggesting that the coding region mutations in this variant are functionally silent. The frequencies of NAT1 x 11, NAT1 x 14 and NAT1 x 15 were 0.021, 0.028 and 0.014 (n = 288 alleles), respectively, suggesting that they are relatively rare in our predominantly Caucasian sample.
Identification of effector‐memory CMV‐specific T lymphocytes that kill CMV‐infected target cells in an HLA‐E‐restricted fashion

HLA‐E‐restricted T cells represent a minor cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) population characterized by the surface expression of HLA class I‐specific inhibitory receptors and by the capability of killing a large panel of allogeneic target cells (therefore named NK‐CTL). Here we show that this subset of T cells is present in a sizeable fraction in the peripheral blood of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)‐seropositive healthy individuals. We provide evidence that NK‐CTL recognize in an HLA‐E‐restricted fashion a naturally processed CMV‐derived peptide in the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP)‐2–/– UL40+ RMA‐S cell transfectants. Moreover, we show that they recognize and kill HCMV‐infected target cells. NK‐CTL are characterized by the CD8βdull CD45RA+CD28–CD27–CCR7–CD56+ surface phenotype, thus suggesting that they belong to the effector‐memory cell compartment. Consistent with the effector‐memory phenotype, they promptly produce IFN‐γ, but not IL‐2, upon interaction with the specific HCMV UL40‐derived peptide. Our data suggest that HLA‐E‐restricted CTL may represent an additional effector cell type involved in defenses against HCMV, a virus which escapes the control exerted by conventional CTL or NK cells.
Detecting Crack Initiation Based on Acoustic Emission

Acoustic Emission (AE) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) with potential applications for locating and monitoring fatigue cracks during structural health management. In this paper, the AE signal properties for identifying the presence of a small initial crack is assessed to provide the presence of the onset of a potential growing crack. The approach is based on establishing any association between particular features of AE and fatigue crack initiation. Experimental investigation from uniform cyclic loading tests performed on compact tension samples of 7075 aluminium alloys indicated that onset of crack can be identified through a multivariate statistical analysis of AE data. Optical microscopy is used as a measurement tool to size the actual small crack. Result from this testing showed that certain properties of the AE events noticeably change after crack initiation. It was concluded that AE technology can successfully detects crack initiation. The proposed method has significant potential to be used for in-situ monitoring and evaluation of health of structures.
Learning Representations with a Dynamic Objective Sparse Autoencoder

The main objective of an auto-encoder is to reconstruct the input signals via a feature representation of latent variables. The number of latent variables defines the representational capacity limit of the model. For data sets where some or all signals contain noise there is an unnecessary amount of capacity spent on trying to reconstruct these signals. One solution is to increase the number of hidden units to increase the capacity so that there will be enough capacity to capture the valuable information. Another solution is to pre-process the signals or perform a manual signal selection. In this paper, we propose a method that will dynamically change the objective function depending on the current performance of the model. This is done by weighting the objective function individually for each input unit in order to guide the feature leaning and decrease the influence that problematic signals have on the learning of features. We evaluate our method on various multidimensional time-series data sets and handwritten digit recognition data sets and compare our results with a standard sparse auto-encoder.
Sentiment analysis of modern standard Arabic and Egyptian dialectal Arabic tweets

Dialectal Arabic is frequently used to express opinions on social media, but it has been scarcely researched. Most previous work on Arabic sentiment analysis systems has focused on Modern Standard Arabic, using standard verbal cues as features. This paper presents a hybrid approach for sentiment analysis of Modern Standard Arabic and Egyptian Dialectal Arabic using verbal and non-verbal cues in the form of text and emojis. Using Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions, an emoji lexicon is created as a resource for non-verbal emotion classifications. The results show, from the achieved accuracy and F-Measure of 90%, that the proposed algorithm outperforms previous work.