Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cloning the Fisher rat thyroid cell line (FRTL-5): variability in clonal growth and 3,'5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate response to thyrotropin.

To investigate the stability of FRTL-5 cells we cloned stock cells by limiting dilution in a 6-hormone medium with bovine TSH (bTSH) (10 mU/ml) (6H medium). One third of the wells with irradiated fibroblast feeder cells developed FRTL-5 colonies. One hundred and twenty clones were obtained, of which 29 (8%) developed sufficiently for functional analysis. Clones were tested for growth responses to bTSH stimulation as evidenced by 72-h [3H]thymidine uptake and TSH receptor activation by cAMP generation. Clonal growth responses to bTSH were of three types: dose-related growth increase, absence of growth stimulation, and stimulation by bTSH in concentrations up to 100 microU/ml and inhibition of growth above 100 microU/ml. All clones tested showed evidence of extracellular cAMP accumulation in response to bTSH. However, sensitivity to bTSH varied from 1 to 100 microU/ml and maximum cAMP secretion with 1 mU/ml bTSH varied from 2 to 13 pmol/ml. Whereas certain clones showed high sensitivity to bTSH with respect to both growth and cAMP responses (e.g. 1B-6), there were clones which showed disparity in this relationship, as evidenced by poor growth dependency but high cAMP responses or by growth stimulation yet insensitivity with respect to cAMP secretion. These data demonstrate that the FRTL-5 line contains cells with variable responsiveness to bTSH. Whereas the FRTL-5 line is heterogeneous and subject to developmental variation, cloning by limiting dilution allows the derivation of highly bTSH-sensitive cells, such as 1B-6, from the stock cultures.
Changes in Small Intestinal Homeostasis, Morphology,and Gene Expression during Rotavirus Infection of InfantMice

ABSTRACT Rotavirus is the most important cause of infantile gastroenteritis. Since in vivo mucosal responses to a rotavirus infection thus far have not been extensively studied, we related viral replication in the murine small intestine to alterations in mucosal structure, epithelial cell homeostasis, cellular kinetics, and differentiation. Seven-day-old suckling BALB/c mice were inoculated with 2 × 104 focus-forming units of murine rotavirus and were compared to mock-infected controls. Diarrheal illness and viral shedding were recorded, and small intestinal tissue was evaluated for rotavirus (NSP4 and structural proteins)- and enterocyte-specific (lactase, SGLT1, and L-FABP) mRNA and protein expression. Morphology, apoptosis, proliferation, and migration were evaluated (immuno)histochemically. Diarrhea was observed from days 1 to 5 postinfection, and viral shedding was observed from days 1 to 10. Two peaks of rotavirus replication were observed at 1 and 4 days postinfection. Histological changes were characterized by the accumulation of vacuolated enterocytes. Strikingly, the number of vacuolated cells exceeded the number of cells in which viral replication was detectable. Apoptosis and proliferation were increased from days 1 to 7, resulting in villous atrophy. Epithelial cell turnover was significantly higher (<4 days) than that observed in controls (7 days). Since epithelial renewal occurred within 4 days, the second peak of viral replication was most likely caused by infection of newly synthesized cells. Expression of enterocyte-specific genes was downregulated in infected cells at mRNA and protein levels starting as early as 6 h after infection. In conclusion, we show for the first time that rotavirus infection induces apoptosis in vivo, an increase in epithelial cell turnover, and a shutoff of gene expression in enterocytes showing viral replication. The shutoff of enterocyte-specific gene expression, together with the loss of mature enterocytes through apoptosis and the replacement of these cells by less differentiated dividing cells, likely leads to a defective absorptive function of the intestinal epithelium, which contributes to rotavirus pathogenesis.
A Surface Inspection Machine Vision System that Includes Fractal Texture Analysis

The detection, recognition and classification of features in a digital image is an important component of quality control systems in production and process engineering and industrial systems monitoring, in general. In this paper, a new pattern recognition system is presented that has been designed for the specific task of monitoring the quality of sheet-steel production in a rolling mill. The system is based on using both the Euclidean and Fractal geometric properties of an imaged object to develop training data that is used in conjunction with a supervised learning procedure based on the application of a fuzzy inference engine. Thus, the classification method includes the application of a set of features which include fractal parameters such as the Lacunarity and Fractal Dimension and thereby incorporates the characterisation of an object in terms of texture that, in this application, has metallurgical significance. The principal issues associated with object recognition are presented including a new segmentation algorithm. The selflearning procedure for designing a decision making engine using fuzzy logic and membership function theory is also presented and a new technique for the creation and extraction of information from a membership function considered. The methods discussed, and the system developed, have a range of applications in ‘machine vision’ and automatic inspection. However, in this publication, we focus on the development and implementation of a surface inspection system designed specifically for monitoring surface quality in the manufacture of sheet-steel. For this publication, we include a demonstration version of the system which can be downloaded, installed and utilised by interested readers as discussed in Section VI.
Training Cognitive Strategies Underlying Intelligent Problem Solving

Cognitive strategies underlying excellent performance of intelligent people on the Raven's Progressive Matrices Test were used to develop a teaching package. 24 subjects in a Cognitive Strategies group were trained using this teaching package. An Exposure group of 17 subjects were not trained but solved all the examples of puzzles in the package. A Control group, with 13 subjects, received no intervention. Subjects were pre- and posttested on matrix solving ability and were posttested on a Piagetian multiplicative classification task. The Cognitive Strategies group showed the greatest improvement pre- to posttest, followed by the Exposure group and then the Control group. The Cognitive Strategies group was superior to both controls on the Piagetian task, indicating a broad improvement in cognitive functioning.
Activity recognition exploiting classifier level fusion of acceleration and physiological signals

We investigate how to effectively combine physiological signals with acceleration signals to conduct activity recognition task. Firstly, features are extracted from acceleration and physiological signals, including heart rate variability (HRV). Secondly, classifier level fusion is utilized to combine the models built by acceleration and physiological features separately. Experiment results show that activity recognition task can benefit from HRV features, and classifier level fusion has its superiority over feature level fusion.
Identification of a putative yeast homolog of the mammalian beta chains of the clathrin-associated protein complexes

The clathrin-associated protein complexes are heterotetrameric structures believed to interact with clathrin and with membrane components of mammalian coated pits and coated vesicles. I have identified a yeast homolog of the mammalian beta-type large chains, suggesting the existence in yeast cells of clathrin-associated protein complexes. A sequence comparison between the putative yeast beta-type chain and its mammalian counterparts shows that their amino-terminal domains are related over their entire length and that their carboxyl-terminal domains diverge completely. This observation is consistent with our earlier proposal (T. Kurchhausen et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:2612-2616, 1989) for the bifunctional-domain organization of the large chains, in which the invariant amino-terminal region interacts with conserved proteins of the coat while the variable carboxyl-terminal domain interacts with different membrane components of coated pits and coated vesicles.
Regionalism in the Middle East and the Case of Turkey

Abstract. Turkey is a republic that borders on, regularly interacts with, and actively seeks to define itself as a part of neighboring regions. As such, it provides a significant example of how Middle East nation‐states are not only affected by globalization but also deeply involved in contributing to the related processes of regionalization and regional (re)definition. Far from a unique phenomenon, regionalism involving Turkey is flexible and multifaceted, profoundly dynamic, and inextricably linked to virtually all aspects of the nation's foreign and domestic affairs. Regionalism in Turkey demonstrates clearly how processes of globalization are not simply economic but also directly implicated in contemporary shifts in national identity and even in the very nature of the nation‐state itself. This study surveys and analyzes the constructs and dynamics of regionalism that are shaping the Turkish nation and state, contributing to varieties of transnationalism, and reconstituting the scales at which Turkey is located, both in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.
Oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate: randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial for treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND Patients with cancer frequently experience episodes of acute pain, i.e., breakthrough pain, superimposed on their chronic pain. Breakthrough pain is usually treated with short-acting oral opioids, most of which provide some relief after 15-20 minutes, with peak effects after 30-45 minutes. Oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (OTFC), a unique formulation of the opioid fentanyl, has been shown to provide meaningful pain relief within 5 minutes in patients following surgery. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of OTFC for cancer-related breakthrough pain. METHODS Patients who were 18 years of age or older, receiving the equivalent of at least 60 mg oral morphine or at least 50 microg transdermal fentanyl per day for chronic cancer-related pain, and experiencing at least one episode of breakthrough pain per day were studied. After titration to an effective OTFC dose, subjects were given 10 randomly ordered treatment units (seven OTFC units and three placebo units) in the form of identical lozenges. If acceptable pain relief was not achieved within 30 minutes, subjects were instructed to take their previous breakthrough pain medication (i.e., rescue medication). Pain intensity, pain relief, and use of rescue medication were evaluated at 15-minute intervals over a 60-minute period. RESULTS Eighty-nine of 92 patients who received the randomized treatment were assessable (i.e., treated with at least one unit of OTFC and one unit of placebo). OTFC produced significantly larger changes in pain intensity and better pain relief than placebo at all time points (two-sided P<.0001). Episodes treated with placebo required the use of rescue medication more often than episodes treated with OTFC (34% versus 15%; relative risk = 2.27; 95% confidence interval = 1.51-3.26; two-sided P<.0001). CONCLUSIONS OTFC appears effective in the treatment of cancer-related breakthrough pain.
Test path selection based on effective domains

In this paper a method is proposed to produce test paths that check both data flow and control flow for a protocol specified in the extended finite state machine (EFSM) model. The method first identifies a set of paths from a given specification to cover a data flow selection criterion, then it appends state check sequences to some transitions in this set of paths for checking control flow. The criterion that our method employs for selecting these transitions is called effective domain for testing. Effective domain for testing is used to evaluate how effective a transition can be tested in a given path in terms of the range of values that the variables in this transition can have. Since each transition can appear in several paths, our method is to append state check sequences to its occurrences that have distinct effective domains. In addition, our method will compute the path domain for each path and make some inexecutable paths executable. <<ETX>>
MarsyasX: multimedia dataflow processing with implicit patching

The design and implementation of multimedia signal processing systems is challenging especially when efficiency and real-time performance is desired. In many modern applications, software systems must be able to handle multiple flows of various types of multimedia data such as audio and video. Researchers frequently have to rely on a combination of different software tools for each modality to assemble proof-of-concept systems that are inefficient, brittle and hard to maintain. Marsyas is a software framework originally developed to address these issues in the domain of audio processing. In this paper we describe MarsyasX, a new open-source cross-modal analysis framework that aims at a broader score of applications. It follows a dataflow architecture where complex networks of processing objects can be assembled to form systems that can handle multiple and different types of multimedia flows with expressiveness and efficiency.
IP packet forwarding based on comb extraction scheme

We present an efficient IP packet forwarding technique and its architecture. One forwarding table is decomposed into two balanced smaller sub-forwarding tables by a novel splitting rule. Therefore, an IP lookup can be converted into a pair of small sub-lookups. The output of an incoming packet can be determined by comparing the information, attached to the matching sub-prefixes of both sub-lookups. The sub-lookups and information comparison can perform in parallel. Our approach not only speeds up the Best Matching Prefix (BMP) search, but also reduces storage space at the same time.
Human myeloperoxidase: A potential target for molecular MR imaging in atherosclerosis

Plaque rupture in atherosclerotic disease is the major cause of morbidity and correlates well with myeloperoxidase (MPO) secretion by activated neutrophils and macrophages in humans. We hypothesized that paramagnetic electron donor compounds that rapidly oxidize and polymerize in the presence of MPO could be designed to enable imaging of local MPO activity levels in arterial segments at risk. Several potential substrates for MPO were synthesized and tested. One lead compound consisting of a covalent conjugate of GdDOTA and serotonin (3‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐5‐hydroxyindole) was efficiently polymerized in the presence of human neutrophil MPO resulting in a 70–100% increase in proton relaxivity. As a result, we were able to demonstrate MPO activity in enzyme solutions and in a model tissue‐like system. These studies suggest that activatable paramagnetic MR imaging agents can be used to directly image MPO activity. Magn Reson Med 52:1021–1028, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Personality Structure of the Musician

Sex differences occurring in personality research generally have been extensively reported, both in standardisation exercises and in research pursuing a wide range of related topics. Research using Cattell's inventories shows consistent patterns of differences for the sexes, although some variance is discernible between different nationalities. The British standardisation of Cattell's 16PF questionnaires, carried out by Saville (1972) with adults and Saville and Blinkhorn (1976) with undergraduates, showed men as scoring significantly higher on emotional stability (C), dominance (E), adventurousness (H), suspiciousness (L), radicalism (01), selfsufficiency and self-sentiment (03): women, on the other hand, emerged as more outgoing (A), sensitive (I), astute (N), guilt-prone (0) and tense (04). Saville and Finlayson (1973) found that the same pattern of differences existed in British schoolchildren although, of course, factors L, N and 01 do not feature in the children's inventory (HSPO). In addition, schoolboys were shown to be significantly more surgent (F) and individualistic ( J) than girls.
Downlink transmission capacity analysis for virtual cell based distributed antenna systems

Distributed antenna systems (DAS) is a promising approach to cope with challenges of next generation mobile communications. This paper studies the downlink ergodic capacity of a (N, K), (K ≤ N), virtual cell based DAS, in which each mobile station (MS) selects the N closest antenna ports (APs) to form its virtual cell and the K closest APs will serve the target MS cooperatively with a total transmit power constraint. Using the stochastic geometry, the locations of APs and MSs are modeled as two independent Poisson point processes, respectively. Then, a computationally tractable integral expression is derived for the downlink ergodic capacity of the (N, K) virtual cell based DAS. Numerical results indicate that the cooperation among multiple APs within each virtual cell can improve the downlink ergodic capacity significantly.
Dynamic patterning by the Drosophila pair-rule network reconciles long-germ and short-germ segmentation

Drosophila segmentation is a well-established paradigm for developmental pattern formation. However, the later stages of segment patterning, regulated by the “pair-rule” genes, are still not well understood at the systems level. Building on established genetic interactions, I construct a logical model of the Drosophila pair-rule system that takes into account the demonstrated stage-specific architecture of the pair-rule gene network. Simulation of this model can accurately recapitulate the observed spatiotemporal expression of the pair-rule genes, but only when the system is provided with dynamic “gap” inputs. This result suggests that dynamic shifts of pair-rule stripes are essential for segment patterning in the trunk, and provides a functional role for observed posterior-to-anterior gap domain shifts that occur during cellularisation. The model also suggests revised patterning mechanisms for the parasegment boundaries, and accounts for the even-skipped null mutant phenotype. Strikingly, a slightly modified version of the model is able to pattern segments in either simultaneous or sequential modes, depending only on initial conditions. This suggest that fundamentally similar mechanisms may underlie segmentation in short-germ and long-germ arthropods.
Hyaluronic acid degradation products induce neovascularization and fibroplasia in fetal rabbit wounds

Scarless fetal wound healing occurs with mild fibroplasia and neovascularization, while the wound is persistently enriched with hyaluronic acid. Conversely, adult wounds are characterized by prominent fibroplasia, neovascularization, and scar formation, and hyaluronic acid is a transient component of the early adult wound matrix. Our group has reported that enzymatic degradation of fetal rabbit wound hyaluronic acid results in marked increases in fibroplasia, collagen deposition, and neovascularization. This altered, adultlike healing response is hypothesized to have resulted from the generation of biologically active hyaluronic acid degradation products. Therefore, this study analyzes the fibrovascular inductive activity of hyaluronic acid degradation products. Fetal rabbit wounds were treated with hyaluronic acid degradation products generated by methods known to produce oligosaccharides with significant angiogenic activity. Implants from wounds treated with either of the control solutions (n = 4 for each control) had identical histologic features characterized by a mild mononuclear cell infiltrate but neither infiltrating fibroblasts nor collagen. In marked contrast, implants from wounds treated with hyaluronic acid degradation products contained infiltrating fibroblasts and collagen intermixed with numerous blood vessels. Quantitation of capillary ingrowth showed a sixfold increase in the neovascular response in wounds treated with hyaluronic acid degradation products compared with either controls (p < 0.05). This study shows that hyaluronic acid degradation products stimulate neovascularization and fibroplasia in fetal wounds. These observations suggest that a balance between hyaluronic acid accumulation and degradation has significant regulatory influence in fetal tissue repair.
The structure of reef fish metapopulations: modelling larval dispersal and retention patterns

An improved understanding of the dispersal patterns of marine organisms is a prerequisite for successful marine resource management. For species with dispersing larvae, regional–scale hydrodynamic models provide a means of obtaining results over relevant spatial and temporal scales. In an effort to better understand the role of the physical environment in dispersal, we simulated the transport of reef fish larvae among 321 reefs in and around the Cairns Section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park over a period of 20 years. Based on regional–scale hydrodynamics, our models predict the spatial and temporal frequency of significant self–recruitment of the larvae of certain species. Furthermore, the results suggest the importance of a select few local populations in ensuring the persistence of reef fish metapopulations over regional scales.
Low cost vision system for an educational platform in artificial intelligence and robotics

This paper presents a web‐cam based vision system for performing image processing in real time. It was implemented as part of an AI and Robotics educational platform designed to study collaborative moving robots in a dynamic environment. A color based image segmentation algorithm was developed with careful attention to algorithm efficiency, due to hardware limitations for the maximum frame rate. This led to a simple and cost‐effective vision system that is able to detect and identify several mobile robots through successive frames. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 10: 238–248, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.10026
Adaptive flexibility, testosterone, and mating fitness: Are low FA individuals the pinnacle of evolution?

The expansion of human evolutionary theory into the domain of personal and environmental determinants of mating strategies is applauded. Questions are raised about the relation between fluctuating asymmetry (FA), testosterone, and body size and their effects on male behavior and outcomes. Low FA males' short-term mating pattern is considered in the context of an evolved tendency for closer and longer human relationships.
Everyday Incivility: Towards a Benchmark

Commonplace incivility is a topic of longstanding interest within social theory, perhaps best exemplified by Goffman's studies of the interaction order. Nevertheless we know very little about its distribution and expression in everyday life. Current empirical work is dominated by criminological agendas. These tend to focus on more serious and illegal activities rather than minor deviant acts that are simply inconsiderate or rude. The paper reports findings from a focus group study conducted in Melbourne, Australia that set out to benchmark everyday incivilities. The results suggest that perpetrators of incivility have a surprisingly broad social distribution as does the range of locales that might be characterised as ‘high risk’. Turning to the work of Putnam and Wolfe, we call for a research focus on low-level incivilities as key symptoms of the state of civic virtue and the strength of moral ties within civil society. Drawing on Virilio, Bauman and Durkheim, it is suggested that the experience of incivility is underpinned by the growth of freedom and movement in contemporary urban settings, and has ambivalent implications that not only invoke boundary maintenance and retreatism, but also offer the possibility for boundary expansion and tolerance of difference.