Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Mechanism for Connective Tissue Destruction by Dipeptidyl Aminopeptidase IV Produced by the Periodontal Pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis is a pathogen associated with adult periodontitis. It produces dipeptidyl aminopeptidase IV (DPPIV), which may act as a virulence factor by contributing to the degradation of connective tissue. We investigated the molecular mechanism by which DPPIV contributes to the destruction of connective tissue. DPPIV itself did not show gelatinase or collagenase activity toward human type I collagen, but it promoted the activity of the host-derived matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) (gelatinase) and MMP-1 (collagenase). DPPIV bound to fibronectin and mediated the adhesion of P. gingivalis to fibronectin. Mutant DPPIV with catalytic Ser mutagenized to Ala (DPPSA) did not accelerate the degradation of collagen and gelatin by MMPs but retained fibronectin-binding activity. The adhesion of human gingival fibroblasts and NIH 3T3 cells to fibronectin was inhibited by DPPIV. Strain 4351ADPPSA exhibited an intermediate level of virulence in mice, between that of the strain expressing wild-type DPPIV (4351ADPP) and that of the strain harboring only the plasmid vector (4351AVEC). It is suggested that both activity promoting the degradation of collagen and gelatin and binding to fibronectin are required for full virulence. These results reveal novel biological functions of DPPIV and suggest a pathological role in the progression of periodontitis.
The American Heart Association Stroke Outcome Classification.

Stroke remains one of the major public health problems in the United States today, with approximately 500 000 new or recurrent cases occurring each year.1 About 4 000 000 persons alive today have survived a stroke and have some neurological deficits. Although the magnitude of healthcare resources used to treat and rehabilitate stroke survivors is considerable, to date a standardized, comprehensive classification system to document the resultant impairments and disability has not been developed. Successful management of any disabling disease, including stroke, should benefit from the use of a classification system to judge the impact of treatment, particularly emerging therapies. Participants in the Methodologic Issues in Stroke Outcome Symposium2 determined that the complex nature of stroke recovery demands clarification of its natural history and classification of the variable patterns of functional recovery. For stroke survivors to receive the best care, a comprehensive stroke outcome classification system is needed to direct appropriate therapeutic interventions.3 Building on the work and recommendations of the Stroke Outcome Symposium, the American Heart Association Classification of Stroke Outcome Task Force has worked to develop a valid and reliable global classification system that accurately summarizes the neurological impairments, disabilities, and handicaps that occur after stroke. The development of a stroke outcome classification system is predicated on the belief that neurological deficits often lead to permanent impairments, disabilities, and compromised quality of life.4 5 6 Although a person’s ability to complete daily functional tasks is thought to be largely dependent on and often limited by the type and degree of impairment, additional factors are often relevant in the ultimate determination of functional outcome.7 8 9 Thus, a classification of stroke outcome should include the broad range of disabilities and impairments as well as the relationship of disability and impairment to independent function. It …
Quantum template matching

We consider the quantum analogue of the pattern-matching problem, which consists of classifying a given unknown system according to certain predefined pattern classes. We address the problem of quantum template matching in which each pattern class ${\mathcal{C}}_{i}$ is represented by a known quantum state ${g}_{i}$ called a template state, and our task is to find a template that optimally matches a given unknown quantum state $\mathrm{f\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}. $ We set up a precise formulation of this problem in terms of the optimal strategy for an associated quantum Bayesian inference problem. We then investigate various examples of quantum template matching for qubit systems, considering the effect of allowing a finite number of copies of the input state $\mathrm{f\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}. $ We compare quantum optimal matching strategies and semiclassical strategies to demonstrate an entanglement assisted enhancement of performance in the general quantum optimal strategy.
Quench protection studies of short model high gradient quadrupoles

High gradient quadrupoles (HGQ) being developed for the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) interaction regions will rely on strip heaters for quench protection. Tests were performed on strip heaters in two locations on 1.9 meter model quadrupoles to study heater response times from strip heater induced quenches and quench velocities and peak temperatures from spot heater induced quenches. The results for the two heater locations are presented and compared to prediction.
Microtubule dynamics

A combination of biochemical, structural, and morphological analyses during the last 2 decades has shown that the cytoplasm of a cell is not a disorganized mass of jelly but a highly structured cell compartment formed of a cytoskeleton, one of which principal components are the microtubules. More recently, studies have revealed that microtubule cytoskeleton is not only well organized but highly dynamic, and that microtubule dynamics may be responsible for several cell functions such as chromosome segregation, cell morphogenesis, or intracytoplasmic organization. —Avila, J. Microtubule dynamics. FASEB J. 4: 3284–3290; 1990.
Co-delivery of doxorubicin and siRNA for glioma therapy by a brain targeting system: angiopep-2-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles

Abstract It is very challenging to treat brain cancer because of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) restricting therapeutic drug or gene to access the brain. In this research project, angiopep-2 (ANG) was used as a brain-targeted peptide for preparing multifunctional ANG-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs), which encapsulated both doxorubicin (DOX) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) siRNA, designated as ANG/PLGA/DOX/siRNA. This system could efficiently deliver DOX and siRNA into U87MG cells leading to significant cell inhibition, apoptosis and EGFR silencing in vitro. It demonstrated that this drug system was capable of penetrating the BBB in vivo, resulting in more drugs accumulation in the brain. The animal study using the brain orthotopic U87MG glioma xenograft model indicated that the ANG-targeted co-delivery of DOX and EGFR siRNA resulted in not only the prolongation of the life span of the glioma-bearing mice but also an obvious cell apoptosis in glioma tissue.
ENHANCEMENT STRATEGIES FOR FRAME-TO-FRAME UAS STEREO VISUAL ODOMETRY

Autonomous navigation of indoor unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) requires accurate pose estimations usually obtained from indirect measurements. Navigation based on inertial measurement units (IMU) is known to be affected by high drift rates. The incorporation of cameras provides complementary information due to the different underlying measurement principle. The scale ambiguity problem for monocular cameras is avoided when a light-weight stereo camera setup is used. However, also frame-to-frame stereo visual odometry (VO) approaches are known to accumulate pose estimation errors over time. Several valuable real-time capable techniques for outlier detection and drift reduction in frame-to-frame VO, for example robust relative orientation estimation using random sample consensus (RANSAC) and bundle adjustment, are available. This study addresses the problem of choosing appropriate VO components. We propose a frame-to-frame stereo VO method based on carefully selected components and parameters. This method is evaluated regarding the impact and value of different outlier detection and drift-reduction strategies, for example keyframe selection and sparse bundle adjustment (SBA), using reference benchmark data as well as own real stereo data. The experimental results demonstrate that our VO method is able to estimate quite accurate trajectories. Feature bucketing and keyframe selection are simple but effective strategies which further improve the VO results. Furthermore, introducing the stereo baseline constraint in pose graph optimization (PGO) leads to significant improvements.
Gram‐Scale Chemical Synthesis of 2′‐Deoxynucleoside‐5′‐O‐Triphosphates

A simple, straightforward, reliable, and efficient method for the chemical synthesis of sodium salt of 2′‐deoxynucleoside‐5′‐O‐triphosphates (dNTPs), starting from the corresponding nucleoside, is described. This improved “one‐pot, three‐step” synthetic strategy involves the monophosphorylation of nucleoside, followed by reaction with tributylammonium pyrophosphate and hydrolysis of the resulting cyclic intermediate to provide the corresponding dNTP in good yields (65% to 70%). It is noteworthy that the protocol holds good for both the purine deoxynucleotides, such as 2′‐deoxyguanosine‐5′‐O‐triphosphate (dGTP) and 2′‐deoxyadenosine‐5′‐O‐triphosphate (dATP), and pyrimidine deoxynucleotides, such as 2′‐deoxycytidine‐5′‐O‐triphosphate (dCTP), thymidine‐5′‐O‐triphosphate (TTP), and 2′‐deoxyuridine‐5′‐O‐triphosphate (dUTP). Curr. Protoc. Nucleic Acid Chem. 49:13.10. 1‐13.10. 12. © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Physiological Fall Risk Factors in Cognitively Impaired Older People: A One-Year Prospective Study

Background/Aims: Cognitively impaired older people are at twice the risk of falls compared to cognitively intact, with approximately 60% falling once or more per year. This study aimed to investigate sensorimotor and balance risk factors for falls in cognitively impaired older people. Methods: 177 community-dwelling older people with mild to moderate cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination < 24, Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised < 83) were assessed using the Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA). Falls were recorded prospectively for 12 months using monthly calendars with the assistance of carers. Results: Seventy-one participants (43%) fell ≥2 times in the follow-up period. Impaired simple reaction time, postural sway, leaning balance and increased PPA fall risk score were significantly associated with multiple falls. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for the PPA model including tests of vision, proprioception, knee extension strength, reaction time, postural sway and leaning balance was 0.75 (95% confidence interval: 0.68–0.83). Conclusion: These findings indicate poor performance on physiological fall risk factors, particularly balance, increases the risk of falls in older cognitively impaired people.
Comparison of two calibration methods for a small industrial robot based on an optical CMM and a laser tracker

SUMMARY The absolute accuracy of a small industrial robot is improved using a 30-parameter calibration model. The error model takes into account a full kinematic calibration and five compliance parameters related to the stiffness in joints 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The linearization of the Jacobian is performed to iteratively find the modeled error parameters. Two coordinate measurement systems are used independently: a laser tracker and an optical CMM. An optimized end-effector is developed specifically for each measurement system. The robot is calibrated using fewer than 50 configurations and the calibration efficiency validated in 1000 configurations using either the laser tracker or the optical CMM. A telescopic ballbar is also used for validation. The results show that the optical CMM yields slightly better results, even when used with the simple triangular plate end-effector that was developed mainly for the laser tracker.
Inhibiting Caspase Cleavage of Huntingtin Reduces Toxicity and Aggregate Formation in Neuronal and Nonneuronal Cells*

Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG expansion that results in expansion of a polyglutamine tract at the extreme N terminus of huntingtin (htt). htt with polyglutamine expansion is proapoptotic in different cell types. Here, we show that caspase inhibitors diminish the toxicity of htt. Additionally, we define htt itself as an important caspase substrate by generating a site-directed htt mutant that is resistant to caspase-3 cleavage at positions 513 and 530 and to caspase-6 cleavage at position 586. In contrast to cleavable htt, caspase-resistant htt with an expanded polyglutamine tract has reduced toxicity in apoptotically stressed neuronal and nonneuronal cells and forms aggregates at a much reduced frequency. These results suggest that inhibiting caspase cleavage of htt may therefore be of potential therapeutic benefit in Huntington's disease.
Secure Cooperative Spectrum Sensing and Allocation in Distributed Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio networks (CRNs) are an emerging wireless communications technique for resolving the significant spectrum scarcity problem. Despite their promising characteristics, CRNs also introduce new security threats, especially the internal attacks during the spectrum sensing and allocation process, which can degrade the efficiency of spectrum sensing and allocation. To address this issue, this paper proposes a distributed secure cooperative spectrum sensing strategy (DSCS) based on a dynamic reputation model to defend against attacks and provide reliable spectrum sensing. Moreover, the reputation values are used as weights in a novel distributed cheat-proof spectrum allocation strategy (DCSA) based on the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed DSCS and DCSA strategies can provide an effective countermeasure against the internal spectrum sensing data falsification (SSDF) attacks through enabling secondary users to obtain more accurate cooperative sensing results in adversarial environments.
Volumetric subspace mesh deformation with structure preservation

Existing deformation techniques are oblivious to salient structures that often capture the essence of 3D meshes. Combining with gradient domain technique, we propose an alternative approach to preserve these structures in the volumetric subspace. Through a simple sketching interface, the structures of the input mesh are specified by the user. During deformations, these key structures are constrained to deform rigidly to maintain their original shapes, hence avoiding serious visual artifacts. However, this process leads to a nonlinear optimization problem. To guarantee fast convergence as well as numerical stability, we project the deformation energy onto a volumetric subspace which envelops the input mesh. Then the energy optimization is performed in this subspace to greatly facilitate the editing of large meshes. Massive experimental data demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Computerized Adaptive Testing for Public Opinion Surveys

Survey researchers avoid using large multi-item scales to measure latent traits due to both the financial costs and the risk of driving up nonresponse rates. Typically, investigators select a subset of available scale items rather than asking the full battery. Reduced batteries, however, can sharply reduce measurement precision and introduce bias. In this article, we present computerized adaptive testing (CAT) as a method for minimizing the number of questions each respondent must answer while preserving measurement accuracy and precision. CAT algorithms respond to individuals' previous answers to select subsequent questions that most efficiently reveal respondents' positions on a latent dimension. We introduce the basic stages of a CAT algorithm and present the details for one approach to item selection appropriate for public opinion research. We then demonstrate the advantages of CAT via simulation and empirically comparing dynamic and static measures of political knowledge.
An Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Press Force and Weld Line Displacement of Tailor Welded Blanks in Conventional and Rubber Pad Sheet Metal Forming

To investigate the behavior of sheet metals during forming tailor welded blanks (TWB) of various thickness made via Co2 Laser welding are under consideration. These blanks are formed used two different forming methods of rubber as well as the conventional punch and die methods. The main research objective is the effects of using a rubber die instead of a solid one the displacement of the weld line and the press force needed for forming. Specimens with thicknesses of 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 1mm are subjected to Erichsen two dimensional tests and the resulted force for each case are compared. This is followed by a theoretical and numerical study of press force and weld line displacement. It is concluded that using rubber pad forming (RPF) causes a reduction in weld line displacement and an increase in the press force. Keywords—Rubber pad forming, Tailor welded blank, Thickness ratio, Weld line displacement.
Optimized genotyping with microsatellite markers in the fungal banana pathogen Mycosphaerella fijiensis (Mycosphaerellaceae).

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Large-scale population genetics studies are required to investigate the dispersal processes underlying the emergence of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, a fungal pathogen of banana. To this end, we have developed an optimized genotyping procedure combining novel microsatellite markers and a modified DNA extraction protocol. • METHODS AND RESULTS Primers for tetranucleotide loci were designed directly from the recently published genome sequence of M. fijiensis. A total of 19 new polymorphic and easy-to-score markers were developed. Their use was combined with an adapted protocol for total DNA extraction starting from young lesions collected from banana leaves, thus avoiding a pathogen isolation step. • CONCLUSIONS The combination of the two technical developments presented here will permit the expansion of genotyping capacity in M. fijiensis, allowing large-scale analysis of samples from various geographic locations.
The prevalence of Usher syndrome and other retinal dystrophy‐hearing impairment associations

The study was undertaken to procure population‐based prevalence data on the various types of Usher syndrome and other retinal dystrophy‐hearing impairment associations. The medical files on 646 patients with a panretinal pigmentary dystrophy aged 20–49 years derived from the Danish Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) register were scrutinised. The data were supplemented by a prior investigation on hearing ability in a part of the study population. After exclusion of patients with possibly extrinsic causes of hearing impairments, 118 patients, including 89 cases of Usher syndrome were allocated to one of five clinically defined groups. We calculated the following prevalence rates: Usher syndrome type I: 1.5/100000, Usher syndrome type II: 2.2/100000, and Usher syndrome type III: 0.1/100000 corresponding to a 2:3 ratio between Usher syndrome type I and II. The overall prevalence rate of Usher syndrome was estimated to 5/100000 in the Danish population, devoid of genetic isolates. The material comprised 11 cases with retinal dystrophy, hearing impairment, and additional syndromic features. Finally, 18 subjects with various retinal dystrophy‐hearing impairment associations without syndromic features were identified, corresponding to a prevalence rate of 0.8/100000. This group had a significant overrepresentation of X‐linked RP, including two persons harboring a mutation in the retinitis pigmentosa GTP‐ase regulator (RPGR) gene.
Dependence of space charge formation in polyimide film on applied voltage wave form

It is found in our previous work that hetero space charges always observed before breakdown occurs in polyimide film under high DC electric field. We have also found that the time-to-breakdown and the accumulated amount of hetero space charges depend on the applied DC electric field. In this report, we have investigated whether the time-to-breakdown and the space charge accumulation depend on the applied voltage wave form or not. By measuring the space charge accumulation using PEA method, it is found that the very close space charge behavior in polyimide film is observed under rectangular voltage application to that observed under DC voltage application. Under high DC electric field, homo charges accumulate at first and they decrease. Following the decrease of homo space charges, the hetero charges appear near electrodes and finally the breakdown occurs. Such process to breakdown was also observed under the application of rectangular voltage wave form. Net voltage application time in rectangular voltage is sometimes close to the time-to-breakdown under DC electric field. However, the time-to-breakdown seems to strongly depend on the humidity of the experimental condition.
A New Vehicle Detection Method for Intelligent Transport Systems based on Scene-Specific Sliding Windows

This paper presents a powerful vehicle detection technique employing a novel scene-specific sliding windows strategy. Unlike conventional approaches focusing on only appearance characteristics of vehicles, the proposed detection method also utilizes actually observable size-patterns of vehicles in a road. In our work, good data to train the size-patterns, i.e., size information of non-interacting moving-blobs are first collected based on the developed blob-level analysis technique. Then, a new region-wise sequential clustering algorithm is performed to train and maintain the size-pattern model, which is utilized to deform shapes of the sliding windows scenespecifically at each image position. All the proposed procedures operate full-automatically in real-time without any assumptions, and allow us to achieve more accurate and computationally efficient detection of vehicles in multiple scales and aspect-ratios. In the experiments on the real-time highway system, we found that performance of the proposed method is excellent in the aspects of detection accuracy and processing time.