Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caenorhabditis elegans mitofilin homologs control the morphology of mitochondrial cristae and influence reproduction and physiology

Human mitofilin is a mitochondrial protein that controls cristae formation. Here, we investigated the role of the Caenorhabditis elegans mitofilin homologs, IMMT‐1 and ‐2, in reproduction, physiology, and mitochondrial cristae formation. Mutation of either immt‐1 or immt‐2 produced defects in germline development and egg‐laying. These defects were exacerbated by the double mutation, which greatly reduced motility, increased levels of reactive oxygen species, decreased mitochondrial mass, and imparted resistance to oxidative stress. Cryo‐electron microscopy and electron tomography revealed that each of the single mutations resulted in curved and stacked mitochondrial crista tubules as well as a reduced number of crista junctions. The immt‐2 mutation was also associated with the presence of outer mitochondrial membrane pores, which were larger in the double mutant. IMMT‐1 and IMMT‐2 proteins were localized to the inner mitochondrial membrane, as seen by immunoelectron microscopy, and they behaved as oligomers or large complexes with F1F0 ATP synthase in native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These findings suggest that the two C. elegans mitofilin isoforms have non‐overlapping functions in controlling mitochondrial cristae formation. J. Cell. Physiol. 224: 748–756, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sequence analysis of the human kallikrein gene locus identifies a unique polymorphic minisatellite element.

Minisatellites are repetitive sequences of DNA that are present throughout the genome. Although the origin and function of these minisatellites is still unknown, they found clinical applications as markers of many diseases, including cancer. Also, they are useful tools for DNA fingerprinting and linkage analysis. Kallikreins are serine proteases that appear to be involved in many diseases including brain disorders and malignancy. We have recently characterized the human kallikrein gene locus on chromosome 19q13.4, which includes 15 kallikrein genes. In this study, we examined the kallikrein locus ( approximately 300 Kb) for all known repeat elements. About 50% of this genomic area is occupied by different repeat elements. We also identified unique minisatellite elements that are restricted to chromosome 19q13. Ten clusters of these minisatellites are distributed along the locus on either DNA strand. The clusters are located in the promoters and enhancers of genes, in introns, and in untranslated regions of the mRNA. Analysis of these elements indicates that they are polymorphic, thus they can be useful in linkage analysis and DNA fingerprinting. Our preliminary results indicate also that the distribution of the different alleles of these minisatellites might be associated with malignancy.
Effects of cholecystectomy (laparoscopic versus open) on PMN-elastase.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) are well recognized as being the principal cells in inflammatory response reaction. During the surgical procedures there is a massive release of elastase (PMN-elastase) from the neutrophils, along with other proteinases. Therefore the measurement of the PMN-elastase might be a useful indicator of the degree of surgical trauma. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is a so-called "mini-invasive" surgical procedure and on the basis of this consideration the aim of the present prospective, non-randomized study, is to examine (a) whether the serum levels of PMN-elastase concentration are modified and how, in patients undergoing LC compared to patients undergoing open cholecystectomy (OC), (b) whether these findings are indicative of an increased risk to develop infectious complications and therefore whether they are clinically significant. METHODOLOGY Plasma granulocyte elastase was determined photometrically, using an immune-activation immunoassay, in 86 patients (42 patients underwent OC and 44 LC). The levels of C reactive protein (CRP), an acute phase protein, were measured using a competitive CRP ELISA kit. Blood samples were collected from all patients a day before operation and at days 1, 3, 6 and 12 after operation. We established a reference range for elastase by measuring the serum elastase concentration in 68 normal control patients without gallbladder cholelithiasis or other diseases. RESULTS On day, 1, 3 and 6 after surgery, patients that underwent OC showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in plasma elastase concentration, while it was almost unchanged in LC patients. The mean values of the serum CRP on p.o. days 1, 3 and 6 were also significantly lower in the LC group than those in OC group (p < 0.05). We recorded three cases (7.1%) of postoperative infections in the "open" group. The CRP concentration remained high for 1, 3 and 6 days and normalized 10-12 days after surgery while the PMN-elastase normalized after 13, 14 and 16 days. CONCLUSIONS The peripheral leukocyte function may be better preserved after LC in comparison to OC. Laparoscopic surgery, associated with a small skin incision and the avoidance of open laparotomy, can thus minimize surgical stress, and provide more favorable postoperative conditions for patients. Indeed excessive and prolonged post-injury elevations of PMN-elastase and CRP are associated with increased morbidity. Moreover, the PMN-elastase is a more sensible marker of inflammation in comparison to the CRP.
Cement rotary kiln: Constraints handling and optimization via model predictive control techniques

In this work an Advanced Process Control approach aimed to the control and the optimization of a cement rotary kiln is proposed. Model Predictive Control techniques have been adopted for the controller and a system architecture based on two optimization layers is proposed. A suitable design of each layer and their interaction policy allowed to improve control performances and to meet possibly variable economic goals. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the adopted control architecture and optimization problem formulation. Results of practical implementation of the proposed controller on a cement rotary kiln unit confirm the improvement of the performances in terms of energy efficiency, product quality and environmental impact when compared to the previous control system.
Improved quantitative analysis of primary bone marrow megakaryocytes utilizing imaging flow cytometry

Life‐threatening thrombocytopenia can develop following bone marrow injury due to decreased platelet production from megakaryocytes (MKs). However, the study of primary MKs has been complicated by their low frequency in the bone marrow and by technical challenges presented by their unique maturation properties. More accurate and efficient methods for the analysis of in vivo MKs are needed to enhance our understanding of megakaryopoiesis and ultimately develop new therapeutic strategies for thrombocytopenia. Imaging flow cytometry (IFC) combines the morphometric capabilities of microscopy with the high‐throughput analyses of flow cytometry (FC). Here, we investigate the application of IFC on the ImageStreamX platform to the analysis of primary MKs isolated from murine bone marrow. Our data highlight and address technical challenges for conventional FC posed by the wide range of cellular size within the MK lineage as well as the shared surface phenotype with abundant platelet progeny. We further demonstrate that IFC can be used to reproducibly and efficiently quantify the frequency of primary murine MKs in the marrow, both at steady‐state and in the setting of radiation‐induced bone marrow injury, as well as assess their ploidy distribution. The ability to accurately analyze the full spectrum of maturing MKs in the bone marrow now allows for many possible applications of IFC to enhance our understanding of megakaryopoiesis and platelet production. © 2014 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Screening a 2 cM genetic map for allelic association: A simulated oligogenic trait

In this paper, we explore the use of a variety of familial transmission tests (and case‐control analyses) to screen for allelic associations in simulated marker data of a quality (2 cM map) that will feasibly arise from genomic scans within the next 5‐10 years. We demonstrate a form of the transmission‐disequilibrium test extended to multiallele systems. The methods used were log‐linear and related models implemented largely using standard statistical packages. ©1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Three-dimensional passive circuit technology for ultra-compact MMICs

A novel passive circuit technology of a three-dimensional (3D) metal-insulator structure has been developed for ultra-compact MMICs. By combining vertical passive elements, such as a wall-like microwire for shielding or coupling and a pillar-like via connection, with multilayer passive circuits, highly dense and more functional MMICs can be implemented. <<ETX>>
Patterns of individual differences in reduction: Implications for listener-oriented theories

Many listener-oriented theories of phonetic reduction assume that the talker has tacit knowledge of an interlocutor’s mental state, and consequently predict that talkers with poor theory of mind should exhibit inconsistent behavior between semantic contexts. This study examined effects of individual differences in theory of mind skills on extent of phonetic reduction in three acoustic domains (word duration, vowel duration, and vowel dispersion) in contexts of high and low semantic predictability. Overall, a trend was observed whereby participants with stronger theory of mind skills produced less phonetic reduction than participants with poorer theory of mind skills. These results are not consistent with the predictions of listener-oriented theories, or indeed other contemporary theories. We conclude that individual differences ought to be considered in more detail by phonetic theory.
A Short-Term Nodal Voltage Phasor Forecasting Method Using Temporal and Spatial Correlation

This paper presents a new method for short-term nodal voltage phasor forecasting in power systems to which a large number of renewable resources and microgrids are connected. Its motivation stems from the observation that such systems are characterized by an unconventional topology along with the presence of a number of buses with bursty power injection patterns, which in turn significantly impacts the temporal and spatial correlation of the nodal voltage phasors. Simulation results carried out on three IEEE test systems reveal that this new pattern affects the number of dominant buses, termed electrical hubs, and, subsequently, the time and spatial correlation among nodal voltage angles. They also reveal that the nodal voltage magnitudes exhibit time correlation, but no spatial correlation. In this paper, time series are represented by autoregressive (AR) processes while multivariate time series with spatial correlation are represented by vector autoregressive (VAR) processes. Statistical tests show that an order one for both models is adequate. The non-zero parameters of the VAR(1) models are identified using metrics on electrical connectivity, centrality, and node significance. The good performance of the proposed method is demonstrated on the IEEE 57-, 118-, and 300-bus test systems in presence of large-scale distributed wind farms and microgrids, and under loss of system observability.
The Role of Neutron Scattering in Magnetic Storage Materials Research

As the demand for highly functional magnetic storage materials grows, the need to understand the basic physical properties behind these materials has become key to engineering storage devices. Neutron scattering techniques provide a way to probe the magnetic properties of potential memory materials. The highlighted techniques, polarized neutron reflectometry, small angle neutron scattering, and neutron diffraction, are sensitive to not only nuclear but also magnetic structure and are capable of investigating a large range of real space length scales. In this paper, we review recent research on magnetic thin films and layered systems with potential for storage applications. We focus on several important aspects of layered magnetic memory devices, including exchange bias, interfaces and interactions between layers, and magnetic reversal.
Staphylococcus aureus as source of catheter‐related bloodstream infection evaluated by PFGE and rep‐PCR typing in a Brazilian hospital  

Staphylococci are a common cause of catheter‐related bloodstream infection (CR‐BSI), and epidemiological typing is an important tool for effective infection control. This study evaluated by PFGE and rep‐PCR whether Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from skin and catheter tips were related to specimens isolated from blood. A prospective observational study, carried out in a clinical surgical ward at a Brazilian hospital between September 2000 and November 2002, investigated non‐tunneled central venous catheters from 179 patients. S. aureus isolates were mainly obtained from blood (41.4%), while coagulase‐negative staphylococci strains were more often isolated from the skin at the catheter insertion site (49.7%) and from the catheter tip (57.5%). Among the 21 strains isolated from 9 patients at 2 or 3 sites simultaneously, 9 were methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 12 were methicillin‐susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Seven patients harbored the same S. aureus strain isolated from the skin, blood and/or catheter tip cultures. MRSA isolates belonged to one PFGE pattern (type A‐ subtypes A1, A2 and A3), and to two rep‐PCR patterns (a and b). MSSA isolates were distinguished in five PFGE (B to F) and in three rep‐PCR (c, d and e) patterns. Both PFGE and rep‐PCR methods indicated that the skin at the catheter insertion site was the origin of CR‐BSI caused by S. aureus.
Spectral design for potential health lighting based on combined circadian and visual effects

Light, as a basic need of human being, provides not only vision, but also non-visual effects such as regulating the circadian system. While the traditional lighting design only focuses on the visual aspect, we recently proposed a novel health-lighting design space that takes consideration of both visual and circadian aspects. It allows the exploration of combinations of circadian stimulus and visual brightness appearance. In this work, we first demonstrate that with monochromatic LEDs, almost any combination of circadian & visual impacts can be achieved; with the color constraints from the requirement of general illumination and the purpose of adjusting the lighting's circadian effect during the day, an LED color mixing and tuning solution is shown to optimize the achievable gamut in the circadian-versus-visual lighting design space. As an example of applying this concept, we demonstrate that our RGBW LED color-mixing solution can be used to mimic both visual and circadian characteristics of the measured dynamic daylight for both sunny and cloudy weather conditions.
Quantification of Synchronization Processes by Coherence and phase and its Application in Analysis of Electrophysiological signals

Neuronal activity during information processing and muscle activity are generally characterized by oscillations. Mostly, widespread areas are involved and electrophysiological signals are measured on different sites of the cortex or of the muscle. In order to investigate functional relationships between different components of multidimensional electrophysiological signals, coherence and phase analyses turned out to be useful tools. These parameters allow the investigation of synchronization phenomena with regard to oscillations of defined frequencies or frequency bands. Coherence and phase are closely connected spectral parameters. Coherence may be understood as a measure of phase stability. Whereas coherence describes the amount of common information with regard to oscillations within certain frequency bands, the corresponding phase, from which time delays of these oscillations can be computed, hints at the direction of information transfer through oscillation. Coherence and phase analysis of surface EMG during continuous activity of deep and superficial muscles show distinct differences due to volume conduction properties of myoelectrical signals. Superficial activity therefore is characterized by significant coherence and stable phase relationships, which, additionally, can be used to determine motor unit action potential (MUAP) propagation velocity along the fibre direction without application of invasive methods. Deep muscle activity lacks significant coherence. Mental processes can be very brief and cooperation between different areas may be highly dynamic. For this reason in addition to usual Fourier estimation of coherence and phase, a two-dimensional approach of adaptive filtering was developed to estimate coherence and phase continuously in time. Statistical and dynamic properties of instantaneous phase are discussed. In order to demonstrate the value of this method for studying higher cognitive processes the method was applied to EEG recorded during word processing. During visual presentation of abstract nouns an information transfer through the propagation of oscillations from visual areas to frontal association areas in the α1-frequency band could be verified within the first 400 ms. In contrast, in case of auditory presentation positive phases from the temporal electrode locations T3 and T4 towards the occipital areas appear within the time interval of 300 ms–600 ms. The α1-band predominately seems to reflect sensory processing and attention processes.
Telescopes, Light Vergence, and Accommodation

&NA; This paper explains why the accommodative response to near objects is ineffective through a telescope. A simple formula is used to demonstrate the need for a bifocal spectacle objective or a change in vertex distance when viewing near objects with a contact lens spectacle lens telescope. Using this exact formula, clinicians can now more precisely compare refractions with and without a telescope. The formula also shows why refractions with telescopes used for driving should be accomplished at test distances of 20 feet or more.
B2CA: A broadcast Channel Assignment Mechanism based on branch and bound method for MRMC wireless Mesh networks

This paper proposed a new broadcast Channel Assignment Mechanism for multi-radio multi-channel wireless Mesh network (WMN). The new mechanism not only use the branch and bound method to reduces the broadcast transmission redundancy, but also to avoids the potential channel interferences produced by unnecessary relay nodes and the frequency-selective-fading. The Simulation results verify the superiority of the new mechanism.
Optimization for Airgap Flux Density Waveform of Flywheel Motor Using NSGA-2 and Kriging Model Based on MaxPro Design

The performance of flywheel motor is decided by the airgap flux density waveform. This paper establishes an efficient model to optimize the airgap flux density waveform and provides the Pareto optimal solutions, which give the design boundary of airgap flux density waveform for flywheel motor. The key elements of the structure of permanent magnet and the airgap are considered to optimize the sinusoidal distortion rate and the fundamental amplitude of the airgap flux density waveform. The brief optimization process is three steps: 1) sampling by maximum projection design; 2) building surrogate model by the Kriging method; and 3) multi-objective optimization by non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm with elitism approach (NSGA-2) based on the Kriging model. Then, the Pareto optimal solutions are obtained. The three cases optimized by different strategies are compared, and the optimization method is verified by finite-element method.
Human Breast Cancer Histoid

Progress in our understanding of heterotypic cellular interaction in the tumor microenvironment, which is recognized to play major roles in cancer progression, has been hampered due to unavailability of an appropriate in vitro co-culture model. The aim of this study was to generate an in vitro 3-dimensional human breast cancer model, which consists of cancer cells and fibroblasts. Breast cancer cells (UACC-893) and fibroblasts at various densities were co-cultured in a rotating suspension culture system to establish co-culture parameters. Subsequently, UACC-893, BT.20, or MDA.MB. 453 were co-cultured with fibroblasts for 9 days. Co-cultures resulted in the generation of breast cancer histoid (BCH) with cancer cells showing the invasion of fibroblast spheroids, which were visualized by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of sections (4 µm thick) of BCH. A reproducible quantitative expression of C-erbB.2 was detected in UACC-893 cancer cells in BCH sections by IHC staining and the Automated Cellular Imaging System. BCH sections also consistently exhibited qualitative expression of pancytokeratins, p53, Ki-67, or E-cadherin in cancer cells and that of vimentin or GSTPi in fibroblasts, fibronectin in the basement membrane and collagen IV in the extracellular matrix. The expression of the protein analytes and cellular architecture of BCH were markedly similar to those of breast cancer tissue.
A Time-Resolved Fluoroimmunoassay for Recombinant Human Interleukin-3

We describe a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TRFIA) for recombinant human interleukin-3 (IL-3). The assay design uses two different monoclonal anti-IL-3 antibodies, giving a two-site immunometric assay. The TRFIA for IL-3 is a direct adaptation from our existing ELISA for IL-3. By using the same assay configuration and exchanging a europium-streptavidin conjugate for alkaline phosphatase-streptavidin, we were able to minimize the time required to develop a TRFIA, but still increase the working range of the TRFIA over the ELISA by 20-fold. The limit of detection is 5 ng/L, with the limits of quantification set at 5 and 30 000 ng/L human plasma.
Evolutionary Lability of Symmetry in Early Floral Development

Floral symmetry is the product of organogeny plus subsequent organ development. In terms of floral apical meristem activity, radial symmetry results from equilateral organ initiation on a radially symmetrical apical meristem followed by equilateral development among like organs. Bilateral symmetry results from restriction of organ initiation to two planes that are perpendicular to one another. Zygomorphy can result either from zygomorphic organogeny (successive from one side of the flower) or from differential enlargement among like organs in a flower that has radial symmetry in earlier stages. Asymmetry results in rare instances when (a) the floral apex is asymmetric and initiates organs in asymmetric order or (b) when the floral apex is radially symmetrical but when differentiation among the organs of a whorl produces unlike structures. Evolutionary lability in symmetry has usually not involved the shape of the floral apex, except in a few examples, such as Labichea in Fabaceae. More frequently, such lability has resulted from postinitiation events, such as selective organ differentiation or heterochrony.