Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Muscle optimization techniques impact the magnitude of calculated hip joint contact forces

In musculoskeletal modelling, several optimization techniques are used to calculate muscle forces, which strongly influence resultant hip contact forces (HCF). The goal of this study was to calculate muscle forces using four different optimization techniques, i.e., two different static optimization techniques, computed muscle control (CMC) and the physiological inverse approach (PIA). We investigated their subsequent effects on HCFs during gait and sit to stand and found that at the first peak in gait at 15–20% of the gait cycle, CMC calculated the highest HCFs (median 3.9 times peak GRF (pGRF)). When comparing calculated HCFs to experimental HCFs reported in literature, the former were up to 238% larger. Both static optimization techniques produced lower HCFs (median 3.0 and 3.1 pGRF), while PIA included muscle dynamics without an excessive increase in HCF (median 3.2 pGRF). The increased HCFs in CMC were potentially caused by higher muscle forces resulting from co‐contraction of agonists and antagonists around the hip. Alternatively, these higher HCFs may be caused by the slightly poorer tracking of the net joint moment by the muscle moments calculated by CMC. We conclude that the use of different optimization techniques affects calculated HCFs, and static optimization approached experimental values best. © 2014 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:? –? , 2015.
Influence of clenbuterol on mucociliary transport in healthy horses and horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The mucociliary tracheal transport rate and clearance index were measured in 16 healthy horses and 16 horses suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A marker, Indian ink in syrup, was placed in the mucus layer of the interior wall of the trachea, just in front of the carina, and its displacement was measured after 30 and 60 minutes. The same procedure was repeated 30 minutes after the intravenous administration of 0.8 microgram clenbuterol/kg bodyweight. In the diseased horses the mucociliary transport rate was significantly lower than in the healthy horses. After clenbuterol administration there was a significant increase in the transport rate and a similar increase in the clearance index. Sixty and 90 minutes after clenbuterol there was a significant increase of mucus secretion in both the healthy and diseased horses. Measurements in five healthy horses and five diseased horses on two different days gave similar results, showing that the technique provided reproducible data.
Mid-term Functional Outcome and Return to Sports after Proximal Hamstring Tendon Repair

Abstract Proximal hamstring tendon ruptures are commonly associated with a significant loss of function, and operative treatment is recommended in active patients. The objective was to evaluate objective/subjective functional results and return to sports following proximal hamstring tendon repair in the mid-term follow-up. 16 repairs of proximal hamstring ruptures were performed in 15 patients (9 males, 6 females). The average age at the time of injury was 47 years (range, 21–66). All patients were clinically examined at a mean follow-up of 56 months (range, 24–112 months). Validated patient-oriented assessment scores focussing on sports activity including the Lysholm Score, Tegner Activity Score, UCLA Activity Score, adapted WOMAC Score, and the VAS were evaluated as well as the return to sports. Isokinetic strength of both legs was tested using a rotational dynamometer. The Lysholm, Tegner, UCLA Activity Score and the adapted WOMAC demonstrated predominantly a return to a preinjury activity level at follow-up. Functional measurements of the operated leg showed similar results to the uninjured leg in knee extension and flexion strength (p>0.094). In return to sports, no signficant (p>0.05) differences concerning types or frequency were noted. The surgical repair of proximal hamstring tendon ruptures leads to constantly good functional results in the mid-term follow-up, where patients demonstrate similar isokinetic results in the healthy leg.
Remote Debugging and Reflection in Resource Constrained Devices. (Le Débogage à Distance et la Réflexion dans les Dispositifs à Ressources Limitées)

Building software for devices that cannot locally support development tools can be challenging. These devices have either limited computing power to run an IDE (e.g., smart-phones), lack appropriate input/output interfaces (display, keyboard, mouse) for programming (e.g., mobile robots) or are simply unreachable for local development (e.g., cloud-servers). In these situations developers need appropriate infrastructure to remotely develop and debug applications. Yet remote debugging solutions can prove awkward to use due to their distributed nature. Empirical studies show us that on average 10.5 minutes per coding hour (over five 40-hour work weeks per year) are spend for re-deploying applications while fixing bugs or improving functionality [ZeroTurnAround 2011]. Moreover current solutions lack facilities that would otherwise be available in a local setting because its difficult to reproduce them remotely (e.g., object-centric debugging [Ressia 2012b]). This fact can impact the amount of experimentation during a remote debugging session - compared to a local setting. In this dissertation in order to overcome these issues we first identify four desirable properties that an ideal solution for remote debugging should exhibit, namely: interactiveness, instrumentation, distribution and security. Interactiveness is the ability of a remote debugging solution to incrementally update all parts of a remote application without losing the running context (i.e., without stopping the application). Instrumentation is the ability of a debugging solution to alter the semantics of a running process in order to assist debugging. Distribution is the ability of a debugging solution to adapt its framework while debugging a remote target. Finally security refers to the availability of prerequisites for authentication and access restriction. Given these properties we propose Mercury, a remote debugging model and architecture for reflective OO languages. Mercury supports interactiveness through a mirror-based remote meta-level that is causally connected to its target, instrumentation through reflective intercession by reifying the underlying execution environment, distribution through an adaptable middleware and security by decomposing and authenticating access to reflective facilities. We validate our proposal through a prototype implementation in the Pharo programming language using a diverse experimental setting of multiple constraint devices. We exemplify remote debugging techniques supported by Mercury's properties, such as remote agile debugging and remote object instrumentation and show how these can solve in practice the problems we have identified.
Murine orthotopic model for the assessment of chemoradiotherapeutic interventions in rectal cancer

A murine orthotopic model for the study of colon cancer has been described earlier. However, for the study of rectal cancer, three issues remain: (i) the relative sensitivity of the implanted tumors to ionizing radiation (IR); (ii) the location of the tumor for the delivery of external beam IR; and (iii) the assessment of a given modality over time before necropsy. In this protocol, we have modified an orthotopic model for colon cancer described earlier for the specific assessment of chemoradiation in rectal cancer by (i) cecal transplantation of tumors with a known response to IR; (ii) securing the tumor to the lateral abdominal wall with a permanent suture for the administration of IR; and (iii) transfection of cells with luciferase before tumor implantation for the assessment of the chemoradiotherapeutic interventions over time by bioluminescence imaging before the end on the study. This technique allows targeted delivery of IR in an intraperitoneal tumor. Imaging throughout the course of the treatment is possible such that the timing of chemoradiation can be determined and permits comparison between groups before the end of the treatment. This model represents a modified technique that allows the assessment of chemoradiotherapeutic interventions in rectal cancer.
Identification of PKDL, a Novel Polycystic Kidney Disease 2-Like Gene Whose Murine Homologue Is Deleted in Mice with Kidney and Retinal Defects*

Polycystin-1 and polycystin-2 are the products ofPKD1 and PKD2, genes that are mutated in most cases of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Polycystin-2 shares ∼46% homology with pore-forming domains of a number of cation channels. It has been suggested that polycystin-2 may function as a subunit of an ion channel whose activity is regulated by polycystin-1. Here we report the identification of a human gene, PKDL, which encodes a new member of the polycystin protein family designated polycystin-L. Polycystin-L has 50% amino acid sequence identity and 71% homology to polycystin-2 and has striking sequence and structural resemblance to the pore-forming α1 subunits of Ca2+channels, suggesting that polycystin-L may function as a subunit of an ion channel. The full-length transcript of PKDL is expressed at high levels in fetal tissues, including kidney and liver, and down-regulated in adult tissues. PKDL was assigned to 10q24 by fluorescence in situ hybridization and is linked to D10S603 by radiation hybrid mapping. There is no evidence of linkage to PKDL in six ADPKD families that are unlinked toPKD1 or PKD2. The mouse homologue ofPKDL is deleted in Krd mice, a deletion mutant with defects in the kidney and eye. We propose that PKDL is an excellent candidate for as yet unmapped cystic diseases in man and animals.
Gibbs-Thomson analysis of crystalline poly(9,9-di-n-octyl-2,7-fluorene)

Based on results of small-angle X-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetric measurements, the equilibrium melting temperature and basal surface energy (σe) of crystalline poly(9,9-di-n-octyl-2,7-fluorene) (PFO) were preliminarily estimated as ca 451.6 K and 0.084 J m−2, respectively, via Gibbs–Thomson analysis. This σe value leads to a value of 76 kJ mol−1 for the work of fold that greatly exceeds the values for typical polymers, reflecting the semi-rigid nature of the PFO backbone and consistent with the large-loop folds proposed earlier for this particular conjugated-backbone polymer. This is in strong contrast to the commonly held belief that conjugated polymers are generally too rigid to form folded-chain lamellar crystals.
Effects of Experimental Diabetes on Adrenergic and Cholinergic Receptors of Rat Myocardium

To more fully characterize the alterations in myocardial adrenergic and cholinergic receptors induced by the diabetic state, we investigated the binding characteristics of (–) [3H] dihydroalprenolol to beta adrenergic receptors (bAR), [3H] prazosin to alpha adrenergic receptors (aAR), and [3H] quinuclidinyl-benzilate to muscarinic cholinergic receptors (MCR) in myocardial membranes derived from rats 8 wk after treatment with streptozotocin. We also studied an equal number of animals from three control groups: free-eating nondi-abetics, pair-weighted nondiabetics, and streptozoto-cin-treated animals treated daily with insulin. Diabetic hearts demonstrated 27% fewer bAR (P < 0.01) and 31% fewer aAR (P < 0.01) than free-eating controls, without changes in MCR, and without changes in antagonist affinity, agonist affinity, or agonist slope factor (pseudo-Hill coefficient) for any class of receptors. Food restriction had no effect on receptor characteristics, and treatment of diabetic rats with insulin prevented any downregulation of cardiac bAR or aAR. The parallel decrease in both bAR and aAR suggests that streptozotocin-induced hypothyroidism is not the primary causative factor of bAR downregulation in this model, since hypothyroidism produces upregulation of aAR. Furthermore, the lack of change in cardiac MCR suggests that the adrenergic receptor alterations are not the result of nonspecific abnormalities of protein synthesis in the diabetic heart. Further studies are required to establish the physiologic significance of these receptor alterations, but these data support the hypothesis that altered adrenergic receptor properties may underlie, at least in part, the chronotropic and inotropic abnormalities of cardiac performance that are associated with the diabetic state.
Boundaryless Career and Career Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Individual Career Management Behaviours

Abstract The main objective of this paper is to study individuals’ attitude towards mobility both psychological and physical and the behavioural paths that people may use to experience career success. In a structural equation model, we consider boundaryless career attitudes and the mediating role of career management behaviours to career outcomes. Psychological mobility appears to be a better predictor of career satisfaction and career advancement than physical mobility. All career strategies have a positive effect on career advancement, except for extended work involvement. Relationships oriented career strategies are not linked with career satisfaction. Physically mobile people adopt to a lesser extent relationship- oriented career strategies. Our results showed that people with a psychological mobility attitude are more likely to achieve career satisfaction through remaining flexible in their career. This knowledge is very important for practitioners and managers working with psychologically mobile personnel, as it underlines the need for employers to provide opportunities for training, skill development and challenging work. The study adds to the existing literature in that it provides empirical evidence regarding the career behavioural paths individuals with a boundaryless career attitude may use when they expect to advance their careers. Our findings help us understand better the psychological mobility attitude which has been examined less in the literature.
Alternative Resources for Calculating Growth Rates When Using Microtiter Plate

In the 1960s–1980s, determination of bacterial growth rates was an important tool in microbial genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, and microbial physiology. The exciting technical developments of the 1990s and the 2000s eclipsed that tool; as a result, many investigators today lack experience with growth rate measurements. Recently, investigators in a number of areas have started to use measurements of bacterial growth rates for a variety of purposes. Those measurements have been greatly facilitated by the availability of microwell plate readers that permit the simultaneous measurements on up to 384 different cultures. Only the exponential (logarithmic) portions of the resulting growth curves are useful for determining growth rates, and manual determination of that portion and calculation of growth rates can be tedious for high-throughput purposes. Here, we introduce the program GrowthRates that uses plate reader output files to automatically determine the exponential portion of the curve and to automatically calculate the growth rate, the maximum culture density, and the duration of the growth lag phase. GrowthRates is freely available for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux. We discuss the effects of culture volume, the classical bacterial growth curve, and the differences between determinations in rich media and minimal (mineral salts) media. This protocol covers calibration of the plate reader, growth of culture inocula for both rich and minimal media, and experimental setup. As a guide to reliability, we report typical dayto-day variation in growth rates and variation within experiments with respect to position of wells within the plates.
Molecular cloning, expression and mapping analysis of a novel cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase gene from tomato

Ascorbate peroxidase (APX, EC 1.11.1.11) plays a major role in H2O2-scavenging in plants and can help to avoid reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage. A new cytosolic APX gene was cloned from tomato (designated LecAPX2) by RACE-PCR. The full-length cDNA of LecAPX2 contained a complete open reading frame (ORF) of 753 bp, which encoding 250 amino acid residues. Homology analysis of LecAPX2 showed a 94% identity with potato cAPX gene and 92% identity with another tomato cAPX gene (APX20), the deduced amino acid showed 88% homology with APX20 protein and 75–92% identity with cAPX from other plants such as potato, tobacco, broccoli, spinach, pea, rice, etc. LecAPX2 revealed the existence of a haem peroxidase and plant APX family signatures. Northern blot analysis showed that LecAPX2 was constitutively expressed in root, stem, leaf, flower and fruit of tomato, whereas the expression levels were different. LecAPX2 was mapped to 6-A using 75 tomato introgression lines (ILs), each containing a single homozygous RFLP-defined chromosome segment from the green-fruited species Lycopersicon pennellii.
Study of morphological and mechanical features of multinuclear and mononuclear SW480 cells by atomic force microscopy

This article studies the morphological and mechanical features of multinuclear and mononuclear SW480 colon cancer cells by atomic force microscopy to understand their drug‐resistance. The SW480 cells were incubated with the fullerenol concentrations of 1 mg/ml and 2 mg/ml. Morphological and mechanical features including the height, length, width, roughness, adhesion force and Young's modulus of three multinuclear cell groups and three mononuclear cell groups were imaged and analyzed. It was observed that the features of multinuclear cancer cells and mononuclear cancer cells were significantly different after the treatment with fullerenol. The experiment results indicated that the mononuclear SW480 cells were more sensitive to fullerenol than the multinuclear SW480 cells, and the multinuclear SW480 cells exhibited a stronger drug‐resistance than the mononuclear SW480 cells. This work provides a guideline for the treatments of multinuclear and mononuclear cancer cells with drugs.
Norcantharidin induces apoptosis in HeLa cells through caspase, MAPK, and mitochondrial pathways.

AIM To investigate the mechanism of norcantharidin (NCTD)-induced HeLa cell apoptosis. METHODS HeLa cell growth inhibition was measured by MTT method. Apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining and agarose gel electrophoresis. Caspase activities were assayed using caspase apoptosis detection kit. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the level of ICAD, ERK/p-ERK, JNK/p-JNK, and Bcl-X(L)/Bax expression. RESULTS Norcantharidin inhibited HeLa cell growth in a time- and dose-dependent manner. HeLa cells treated with norcantharidin showed typical characteristics of apoptosis including the morphological changes and DNA fragmentation. Caspase family inhibitor (z-VAD-fmk), caspase-8, -9 inhibitor (z-IETD-fmk, Ac-LEHD-CHO, respectively) and caspase-3 inhibitor (z-DEVD-fmk) partially prevent norcantharidin-induced apoptosis, but initiator caspase-1 inhibitor (Ac-YVAD-fmk) did not. The activities of caspase-3, -8, and -9 were up-regulated after norcantharidin treatment. Furthermore, NCTD-induced activation of caspase-3 resulted in the degradation of the inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase (ICAD). Up-regulation of mitochondrial Bax expression and down-regulation of Bcl-x(L) expression also participated in the apoptosis induced by NCTD. Although p38 MAPK inhibitor (SB203580) failed to block cell death, ERK MAPK inhibitor (PD98059) and JNK MAPK inhibitor (SP600125) had marked inhibitory effects on norcantharidin-induced apoptosis. Moreover, the phosphorylation of JNK were up-regulated followed by delayed ERK phosphorylation after treatment with NCTD, suggesting that ERK and JNK were both responsible for NCTD-induced apoptosis in HeLa cells and worked at different stages. CONCLUSION The cytotoxic effect of NCTD on HeLa cells was mainly due to apoptosis. The anti-tumor mechanism of NCTD might involve caspses, mitochondrial, and MAPKs pathways.
Classifying high quality photographs by creative exposure themes

In this paper, we propose to utilize contextual camera setting parameters at the time of capture to perform the classification task of high quality photographs. With supervised machine learning algorithm, we build a model that can classify high quality photographs into six creative exposure themes which are commonly known and used by the professional photographers. Our experiments give us an encouraging result.
RNA Editing Associated with the Generation of Two Distinct Conformations of the Trypanosomatid Leptomonas collosoma 7SL RNA*

Analysis of the trypanosomatid Leptomonas collosoma 7SL RNA revealed the existence of two distinct stable 7SL RNA conformers (7SL I and II). Sequence analysis of the RNAs indicated a single base difference between the conformers at position 133 (C in 7SL II and U in 7SL I) located in domain III. This change appears to be the result of a post-transcriptional editing event, since the single-copy 7SL RNA gene codes exclusively for a C at this position. The edited form (7SL I) was found preferentially in the cytoplasm, and the pre-edited form in the nucleus. 7SL I is mainly bound to ribosomes, whereas 7SL II is more abundant in ribosome-free particles. Mutations introduced in regions outside the editing site were found to occur in a single conformation, suggesting that the editing event is not the only factor that determines the conformation of the molecule. This study is the first description of an editing event on a small RNA other than tRNA and is the first report of C → U editing in trypanosomes. We propose a novel role for RNA editing in controlling the conformation of the 7SL RNA in vivo.
Engrailed‐2 negatively regulates the onset of perinatal Purkinje cell differentiation

The transcription factor Engrailed‐2 is expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) throughout embryonic development but is downregulated in PCs after birth. Since the onset of PC differentiation coincides with this change of gene expression, we asked whether downregulation of Engrailed‐2 is necessary for proper timing of PC differentiation. To investigate this, we used an L7En‐2 transgenic mouse model in which Engrailed‐2 expression in PCs is maintained beyond the day of birth. In these L7En‐2 mice the onset of parvalbumin expression was delayed in all PCs by about 3 days; the spatial expression pattern, however, remained comparable to wildtype cerebella. Furthermore, parvalbumin expression resembled the known pattern of normal PC maturation, suggesting a direct link between parvalbumin expression and PC differentiation. Consistent with a delay of PC differentiation, we found that PCs of L7En‐2 cerebella displayed a reduced tendency to align in the typical monolayer. The average size of L7En‐2 PCs was reduced and the dendritic arbor developed more slowly than in wildtype PCs. In contrast, major morphological features of PCs were comparable in L7En‐2 and wildtype cerebella after postnatal day 11. In addition, we observed a transient reduction of PC survival in organotypic slice cultures of L7En‐2 cerebella in comparison with wildtype slice cultures. Since PC survival parallels PC differentiation in vitro, we propose that the observed delay in PC differentiation upon Engrailed‐2 overexpression is an intrinsic property of Engrailed‐2 activity, and that downregulation of Engrailed‐2 in wildtype PCs around the day of birth is critical for the timing of distinct steps of PC differentiation. J. Comp. Neurol. 472:87–99, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.