Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Drug-Eluting Biodegradable Poly-D/L-Lactic Acid Vascular Stents: An Experimental Pilot Study

Purpose: To evaluate in vivo a new drug-eluting biodegradable vascular stent with respect to biocompatibility, neointimal hyperplasia formation, and reliability. Methods: Self-expanding biodegradable poly-96L/4D-lactic acid (PLA) stents with 2 drugs (PLA + dexamethasone [DEX] and PLA + simvastatin [SIM]) and 2 different coatings (PLA + P(D,L)LA and PLA + polycaprolactone [PCL]) were compared with a self-expanding stainless steel Wallstent. The stents were implanted in both common iliac arteries of 8 pigs. Prior to sacrifice at 1 month, angiography was performed to determine patency. Specimens were harvested for quantitative histomorphometry; vascular injury and inflammation scores were assigned to the stented iliac segments. Results: All stented arteries were angiographically patent. The mean luminal diameter (3.05 mm) and area (30.36 mm2) of DEX-eluting PLA stents were decreased compared to other stents (PLA + P(D,L)LA: 3.66 mm and 43.92 mm2 PLA + SIM: 4.21 mm and 56.48 mm2 PLA + PCL: 4.19 mm and 54.64 mm2 Wallstent: 5.01 mm and 81.19 mm2). Wallstents and DEX-eluting PLA stents induced minimal intimal hyperplasia: PLA + DEX: 0.16 mm, PLA + P(D,L)LA: 0.35 mm, PLA + SIM: 0.33 mm, PLA + PCL: 0.29 mm, and Wallstent: 0.18 mm. The vascular injury scores demonstrated only mild vascular trauma for all stents. Only mild to moderate inflammatory reaction was noted around stent struts with a vascular inflammation score. Conclusions: Biodegradable polymer stents appear to be biocompatible and reliable, causing minimal neointimal hyperplasia. Furthermore, the new biodegradable poly-D/L-lactic acid stent can be used as a local drug delivery vehicle. The DEX-eluting PLA stent reduces neointimal hyperplasia. The findings show a need for further investigation to prove the efficacy and safety of this new biodegradable drug-eluting stent.
The mechanical damage theory of water treeing-a status report

The author outlines the mechanical damage theory and the electrochemical theory of water treeing. A selection of experimental results is then reviewed, mainly based on work done in the author's laboratory to examine the validity of the mechanical damage theory. It is noted that, even though no single experiment can prove or disprove this theory, many experiments have led to results which are in agreement with it. This is particularly true for the initiation of water trees. It is possible that chemical or electrochemical reactions play a more important role in the growth phase, mainly because of their influence on the hydrophobicity and the mechanical properties of the material. <<ETX>>
Symbiosis and competition: complex interactions among beetles, fungi, and mites

Symbioses among bark beetles and their fungal and mite associates involve complex, multi-level interactions. Dendroctonus frontalis attacks and kills southern pines , introducing fungi into the tree . Ophiostoma minus , may in i t ia l ly a id beet les in ki l l ing trees , but later this “bluestain” fungus becomes an antagonist , competing with larvae for host phloem. Two additional fungi, Entomocorticium sp. A and Ceratocystiopsis ranaculosus are carried within a specialized mycangium and inoculated into phloem where they are fed upon by beetle larvae. The beetle also vectors several species of phoretic mites which transport spores of 0 . minus and C. ranaculosus and can complete their life cycle upon these two fungi. A similar interaction occurs between Ips avuZsus and its fungal (Entomocorticium spp.) and mite (Eluttoma bennetti) symbionts. Larval beetles feed on fungus as do the mites. Presented at the 3rd lntemational Congress on Symbios is , Aug. 13-19, 2000, Marburg, Germany *The author to whom correspondence should be sent. 0334-5114/2001/$05.50 02001 Balaban 84 K.D. KLEPZIG ET AL. Female mites feed on fungus growing within beet le gal ler ies , swel l ing to many t imes their normal s ize. Larval mites develop and mate within the females who burst open, giving birth to reproductively mature females. These relationships may be best understood by considering the manner in which symbioses vary with time and resources, and the degree to which other species may affect interactions among symbionts .
Nuclear miRNA Regulates the Mitochondrial Genome in the Heart

Rationale: Mitochondria are semiautonomous cellular organelles with their own genome, which not only supply energy but also participate in cell death pathways. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are usually 19 to 25 nt long, noncoding RNAs, involved in posttranscriptional gene regulation by binding to the 3′-untranslated regions of target mRNA, which impact on diverse cellular processes. Objective: To determine if nuclear miRNAs translocate into the mitochondria and regulate mitochondrial function with possible pathophysiological implications in cardiac myocytes. Methods and Results: We find that miR-181c is encoded in the nucleus, assembled in the cytoplasm, and finally translocated into the mitochondria of cardiac myocytes. Immunoprecipitation of Argonaute 2 from the mitochondrial fraction indicates binding of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (mt-COX1) mRNA from the mitochondrial genome with miR-181c. Also, a luciferase reporter construct shows that mi-181c binds to the 3′UTR of mt-COX1. To study whether miR-181c regulates mt-COX1, we overexpressed precursor miR-181c (or a scrambled sequence) in primary cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Overexpression of miR-181c did not change mt-COX1 mRNA but significantly decreased mt-COX1 protein, suggesting that miR-181c is primarily a translational regulator of mt-COX1. In addition to altering mt-COX1, overexpression of miR-181c results in increased mt-COX2 mRNA and protein content, with an increase in both mitochondrial respiration and reactive oxygen species generation in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Thus, our data show for the first time that miR-181c can enter and target the mitochondrial genome, ultimately causing electron transport chain complex IV remodeling and mitochondrial dysfunction. Conclusions: Nuclear miR-181c translocates into the mitochondria and regulates mitochondrial genome expression. This unique observation may open a new dimension to our understanding of mitochondrial dynamics and the role of miRNA in mitochondrial dysfunction.
Task Coordination for Non-cooperative Planning Agents

We consider task planning problems where a number of noncooperative agents have to work on a joint problem. Such a problem consists in completing a set of interdependent, hierarchically ordered tasks. Each agent is assigned a subset of tasks to perform for which it has to construct a plan. Since the agents are non-cooperative, they insist on planning independently and do not want to revise their individual plans when the joint plan has to be assemled from the individual plans. We present a formal framework to study some computational aspects of this non-cooperative coordination problem.
What aspects of autism predispose to talent?

In this paper, we explore the question, why are striking special skills so much more common in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) than in other groups? Current cognitive accounts of ASC are briefly reviewed in relation to special skills. Difficulties in ‘theory of mind’ may contribute to originality in ASC, since individuals who do not automatically ‘read other minds’ may be better able to think outside prevailing fashions and popular theories. However, originality alone does not confer talent. Executive dysfunction has been suggested as the ‘releasing’ mechanism for special skills in ASC, but other groups with executive difficulties do not show raised incidence of talents. Detail-focused processing bias (‘weak coherence’, ‘enhanced perceptual functioning’) appears to be the most promising predisposing characteristic, or ‘starting engine’, for talent development. In support of this notion, we summarize data from a population-based twin study in which parents reported on their 8-year-olds' talents and their ASC-like traits. Across the whole sample, ASC-like traits, and specifically ‘restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests’ related to detail focus, were more pronounced in children reported to have talents outstripping older children. We suggest that detail-focused cognitive style predisposes to talent in savant domains in, and beyond, autism spectrum disorders.
Geometric Expansion for Local Feature Analysis and Matching

We present a novel method for affine transformation estimation of image regions. We illustrate the benefits of using the proposed method in three realms: (1) locating large amounts of point matches with highly accurate localization; (2) producing very accurate affine transformation estimations of for each matched region; (3) effectively rejecting false matches. We show that this is achievable with low computational demand. Point matching is one of the most fundamental tasks in computer vision, being used extensively in applications such as object detection, object tracking, and structure from motion. The major challenge in point matching is to preserve large numbers of accurate matches between corresponding scene locations under different geometric and radiometric conditions, while keeping the number of false matches small. Recent publications have shown that applying the affine transformation model on local regions is a particularly suitable approach for point matching. Yet affine invariant methods are n.
Molecular Chaperones HscA/Ssq1 and HscB/Jac1 and Their Roles in Iron-Sulfur Protein Maturation

ABSTRACT Genetic and biochemical studies have led to the identification of several cellular pathways for the biosynthesis of iron-sulfur proteins in different organisms. The most broadly distributed and highly conserved system involves an Hsp70 chaperone and J-protein co-chaperone system that interacts with a scaffold-like protein involved in [FeS]-cluster preassembly. Specialized forms of Hsp70 and their co-chaperones have evolved in bacteria (HscA, HscB) and in certain fungi (Ssq1, Jac1), whereas most eukaryotes employ a multifunctional mitochondrial Hsp70 (mtHsp70) together with a specialized co-chaperone homologous to HscB/Jac1. HscA and Ssq1 have been shown to specifically bind to a conserved sequence present in the [FeS]-scaffold protein designated IscU in bacteria and Isu in fungi, and the crystal structure of a complex of a peptide containing the IscU recognition region bound to the HscA substrate binding domain has been determined. The interaction of IscU/Isu with HscA/Ssq1 is regulated by HscB/Jac1 which bind the scaffold protein to assist delivery to the chaperone and stabilize the chaperone-scaffold complex by enhancing chaperone ATPase activity. The crystal structure of HscB reveals that the N-terminal J-domain involved in regulation of HscA ATPase activity is similar to other J-proteins, whereas the C-terminal domain is unique and appears to mediate specific interactions with IscU. At the present time the exact function(s) of chaperone-[FeS]-scaffold interactions in iron-sulfur protein biosynthesis remain(s) to be established. In vivo and in vitro studies of yeast Ssq1 and Jac1 indicate that the chaperones are not required for [FeS]-cluster assembly on Isu. Recent in vitro studies using bacterial HscA, HscB and IscU have shown that the chaperones destabilize the IscU[FeS] complex and facilitate cluster delivery to an acceptor apo-protein consistent with a role in regulating cluster release and transfer. Additional genetic and biochemical studies are needed to extend these findings to mtHsp70 activities in higher eukaryotes.
Voltage Control Techniques for Electrical Distribution Networks Including Distributed Generation

For the last three decades, a large scale integration of distributed generation (DG) is beginning to change the electrical distribution network from passive to active. Consequently, technical difficulties are created by significant impacts generated by DGs with voltage variation being the dominant effect. This paper presents a comprehensive review of voltage control techniques on electrical distribution networks connected with DG, recommendations are provided in terms of enhancing network voltage stability and maximising the DG utilisation.
Frequency doubling, absorption, and grating formation in glass fibers: effective defects or defective effects?

The present understanding of colour centres in germanosilicate glass fibres and the diverse effects attributed to colour centre activity are reviewed. Drawing on a wide range of up-to-date research results an attempt is made to piece together as far as possible a unified picture of the defect processes behind second harmonic generation nonlinear transmission and photorefractive grating formation in optical fibres.
Multi-channel Correlation Filters

Modern descriptors like HOG and SIFT are now commonly used in vision for pattern detection within image and video. From a signal processing perspective, this detection process can be efficiently posed as a correlation/ convolution between a multi-channel image and a multi-channel detector/filter which results in a single channel response map indicating where the pattern (e.g. object) has occurred. In this paper, we propose a novel framework for learning a multi-channel detector/filter efficiently in the frequency domain, both in terms of training time and memory footprint, which we refer to as a multichannel correlation filter. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy, we evaluate it across a number of visual detection/ localization tasks where we: (i) exhibit superior performance to current state of the art correlation filters, and (ii) superior computational and memory efficiencies compared to state of the art spatial detectors.
2D Micro-Structure Resolved Model for Li-Ion Battery

High capacity rechargeable lithium-ion battery is considered as a promising storage device for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles, etc. High capacity anode materials such as Silicon and Tin experience large volumetric changes during charge/discharge cycling in battery cells. Silicon’s volume changes by 300% upon insertion and extraction of lithium[1]. Large cyclic deformation often leads to particle fracture, mechanical failure and delamination at particle-binder, particlecurrent collector interfaces, which results in pulverization and capacity fading. The loss of electrical connectivity is a major mechanism of capacity fading[2]. Also, this large volume expansion/contraction forces large pressure to separator, which cause the large stress and strain during this process and may lead to serious thermal event due to separator failure. Large cyclic deformation may also cause the porosity and tortuosity of an electrode vary instead of being constants, which is in addition to the inhomogeneity induced variation in local tortuosity. To model the battery performance accounting for these behaviors requires a model with realistic microstructure representation and considers the multiphysics involved in these phenomena.
Group 1 innate lymphoid cells in Toxoplasma gondii infection

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a group of lymphocytes that carry out important functions in immunity to infections and in organ homeostasis at epithelial barrier surfaces. ILCs are innate immune cells that provide an early source of cytokines to initiate immune responses against pathogens. Cytotoxic ILCs (i.e. conventional (c)NK cells) and several subsets of helper‐like ILCs are the major branches of the ILC family. Conventional NK cells and group 1 ILCs share several characteristics such as surface receptors and the ability to produce IFN‐γ upon activation, but they differ in their developmental paths and in their dependence on specific transcription factors. Infection of mice with the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii is followed by a strong Th1‐mediated immune response. Previous studies indicate that NK1.1+ cells contribute to the production of IFN‐γ and TNF and cytotoxicity during acute T. gondii infection. Upon oral infection, the parasite infects intestinal enterocytes, and within the lamina propria, innate immune responses lead to initial parasite control although the infection disseminates widely and persists long‐term in immune privileged sites despite adaptive immunity. Upon parasite entry into the small intestine, during the acute stage, ILC1 produce high levels of IFN‐γ and TNF protecting barrier surfaces, thus essentially contributing to early parasite control. We will discuss here the role of innate lymphocytes during T. gondii infection in the context of the only recently appreciated diversity of ILC subsets.
Dynamical Modeling of the Moth Pheromone-Sensitive Olfactory Receptor Neuron within Its Sensillar Environment

In insects, olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs), surrounded with auxiliary cells and protected by a cuticular wall, form small discrete sensory organs – the sensilla. The moth pheromone-sensitive sensillum is a well studied example of hair-like sensillum that is favorable to both experimental and modeling investigations. The model presented takes into account both the molecular processes of ORNs, i.e. the biochemical reactions and ionic currents giving rise to the receptor potential, and the cellular organization and compartmentalization of the organ represented by an electrical circuit. The number of isopotential compartments needed to describe the long dendrite bearing pheromone receptors was determined. The transduction parameters that must be modified when the number of compartments is increased were identified. This model reproduces the amplitude and time course of the experimentally recorded receptor potential. A first complete version of the model was analyzed in response to pheromone pulses of various strengths. It provided a quantitative description of the spatial and temporal evolution of the pheromone-dependent conductances, currents and potentials along the outer dendrite and served to determine the contribution of the various steps in the cascade to its global sensitivity. A second simplified version of the model, utilizing a single depolarizing conductance and leak conductances for repolarizing the ORN, was derived from the first version. It served to analyze the effects on the sensory properties of varying the electrical parameters and the size of the main sensillum parts. The consequences of the results obtained on the still uncertain mechanisms of olfactory transduction in moth ORNs – involvement or not of G-proteins, role of chloride and potassium currents – are discussed as well as the optimality of the sensillum organization, the dependence of biochemical parameters on the neuron spatial extension and the respective contributions of the biochemical and electrical parameters to the overall neuron response.
Heuristic Evaluation of Expansions for Non-linear Hierarchical Slow Feature Analysis

Slow Feature Analysis (SFA) is a feature extraction algorithm based on the slowness principle with applications to both supervised and unsupervised learning. When implemented hierarchically, it allows for efficient processing of high-dimensional data, such as images. Expansion plays a crucial role in the implementation of non-linear SFA. In this paper, a fast heuristic method for the evaluation of expansions is proposed, consisting of tests on seven problems and two metrics. Several expansions with different complexities are evaluated. It is shown that the method allows predictions of the performance of SFA on a concrete data set, and the use of normalized expansions is justified. The proposed method is useful for the design of powerful expansions that allow the extraction of complex high-level features and provide better generalization.
Stationary States in Infinite Networks of Spiking Oscillators with Noise

We model networks of identical, all-to-all, pulse-coupled phase oscillators with white noise, in the limit of infinite network size and Dirac pulses, using a Fokker--Planck equation for the phase probability density. We give analytical, constructive existence and uniqueness results for stationary states (i.e., time-independent densities) and derive and study a one-dimensional eigenvalue equation for their linear stability. Our results are supplemented by numerical methods, which are applied to two classes of oscillator response functions. We find that the stationary network activity depends for some response functions monotonically and for others nonmonotonically on the coupling and noise strength. In all cases we find that a sufficiently strong noise locally stabilizes the stationary state, and simulations suggest this stability to be global. For most response functions the stationary state undergoes a supercritical Hopf bifurcation as noise is decreased, and a locally stable limit cycle emerges in its p.
Diffusion Constants of the E. coli Bacteriophages

For determining the diffusion constants of substances which can be obtained pure in relatively large amounts, the conventional optical method of Lamm is most suitable. Unstable substances like bacteriophages and animal viruses, however, are often irreversibly altered by the purification procedures, and diffusion measurements on such systems are then subject to large errors. The diffusion of such substances is better investigated using impure solutions that are quantitatively evaluated through measurements of their biological activities. Hershey, Kimura and Bronfenbrenner 1 have estimated the relative sizes of T 1 and T 2 bacteriophages against E. coli by measuring their diffusion through thin agar, but such measurements are difficult to evaluate because of the different adsorption of these bacteriophages by the pores of the agar. The present paper is a preliminary account of the application of another diffusion technique to a tailed, T4 and a tailless, T3, bacteriophage. These bacteriophages were chosen to find out if the tail influences diffusion as well as to compare particle sizes computed from diffusion measurements with those measured with the electron microscope. The method is essentially that previously employed by the author to determine the diffusion constant of African horse sickness virus. 2 , 3 The apparatus consists of 4 multi-chambered diffusion cells clamped onto a base plate provided with levelling screws. Sharp interfaces between bacteriophage and medium were formed by filling adjacent cells with medium and bacteriophage suspension and by rotating the top sections of the cells relative to the bottom until the 2 liquids came into exact apposition to one another. This was done by watching the index lines on the sides of the cells. The bacteriophage solution was diluted with 1% glucose broth solution to increase boundary stability and to insure a diffusion process free from disturbances by convection.
Maximizing the number of satisfied subscribers in pub/sub systems under capacity constraints

Publish/subscribe (pub/sub) is a popular communication paradigm in the design of large-scale distributed systems. A provider of a pub/sub service (whether centralized, peer-assisted, or based on a federated organization of cooperatively managed servers) commonly faces a fundamental challenge: given limited resources, how to maximize the satisfaction of subscribers? We provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first formal treatment of this problem by introducing two metrics that capture subscriber satisfaction in the presence of limited resources. This allows us to formulate matters as two new flavors of maximum coverage optimization problems. Unfortunately, both variants of the problem prove to be NP-hard. By subsequently providing formal approximation bounds and heuristics, we show, however, that efficient approximations can be attained. We validate our approach using real-world traces from Spotify and show that our solutions can be executed periodically in real-time in order to adapt to workload variations.