Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Aurora Kinase Inhibitor on Adhesion and Migration in Human Breast Cancer Cells and Clinical Implications

Background The Aurora kinase family is comprised of highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinases that are known to be crucial in the regulation of the cell cycle. Aberrant expression of Aurora kinases has been demonstrated in certain malignancies. We aimed to examine the expression of Aurora kinases in human breast cancer tissues and to investigate the cellular impact of Aurora kinases inhibitor on breast cancer cells. Methods The expression of Aurora kinase A/B/C was individually examined in tumor specimens (n = 106) and normal tissues (n = 29) from breast cancer patients using quantitative real-time PCR (Q-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. Cells were treated with the corresponding inhibitor, and then migration and adhesion were evaluated by electric cell impedance sensing assay. The proliferation of breast cancer cells treated with the inhibitor was examined using in vitro models. Results High levels of Aurora kinase B and C were found in the tumor tissues from breast cancer patients, but low levels of Aurora kinase A were seen in normal tissues at the mRNA level and immunohistochemistry. The mRNA expression level of Aurora kinase B and C had a negative correlation with grade staging, staging and survival rate in breast cancer patients, whilst Aurora kinase A exhibited a converse expression. The inhibitor ZM447439 promoted adhesion of the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and inhibited the migration of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Conclusion Taken together, the expression of Aurora kinase B and C was down-regulated in breast tumor tissues but Aurora kinase A was not. Aurora kinase may have a key role in the progression and metastasis of breast cancer.
H-infinity optimal control for infinite-dimensional systems with strictly negative generator

A simple form for the optimal H-infinity state feedback of linear time-invariant infinite-dimensional systems is derived. It is applicable to systems with bounded input and output operators and a closed, densely defined, self-adjoint and strictly negative state operator. However, unlike other state-space algorithms, the optimal control is calculated in one step. Furthermore, a closed-form expression for the L2-gain of the closed-loop system is obtained. The result is an extension of the finite-dimensional case, derived by the first two authors. Examples demonstrate the simplicity of synthesis as well as the performance of the control law.
The Crystal Structure of a Cardiovirus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Reveals an Unusual Conformation of the Polymerase Active Site

ABSTRACT Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) is a member of the Cardiovirus genus within the large Picornaviridae family, which includes a number of important human and animal pathogens. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) 3Dpol is a key enzyme for viral genome replication. In this study, we report the X-ray structures of two different crystal forms of the EMCV RdRp determined at 2.8- and 2.15-Å resolution. The in vitro elongation and VPg uridylylation activities of the purified enzyme have also been demonstrated. Although the overall structure of EMCV 3Dpol is shown to be similar to that of the known RdRps of other members of the Picornaviridae family, structural comparisons show a large reorganization of the active-site cavity in one of the crystal forms. The rearrangement affects mainly motif A, where the conserved residue Asp240, involved in ribonucleoside triphosphate (rNTP) selection, and its neighbor residue, Phe239, move about 10 Å from their expected positions within the ribose binding pocket toward the entrance of the rNTP tunnel. This altered conformation of motif A is stabilized by a cation-π interaction established between the aromatic ring of Phe239 and the side chain of Lys56 within the finger domain. Other contacts, involving Phe239 and different residues of motif F, are also observed. The movement of motif A is connected with important conformational changes in the finger region flanked by residues 54 to 63, harboring Lys56, and in the polymerase N terminus. The structures determined in this work provide essential information for studies on the cardiovirus RNA replication process and may have important implications for the development of new antivirals targeting the altered conformation of motif A. IMPORTANCE The Picornaviridae family is one of the largest virus families known, including many important human and animal pathogens. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) 3Dpol is a key enzyme for picornavirus genome replication and a validated target for the development of antiviral therapies. Solving the X-ray structure of the first cardiovirus RdRp, EMCV 3Dpol, we captured an altered conformation of a conserved motif in the polymerase active site (motif A) containing the aspartic acid residue involved in rNTP selection and binding. This altered conformation of motif A, which interferes with the correct positioning of the rNTP substrate in the active site, is stabilized by a number of residues strictly conserved among picornaviruses. The rearrangements observed suggest that this motif A segment is a dynamic element that can be modulated by external effectors, either activating or inhibiting enzyme activity, and this type of modulation appears to be general to all picornaviruses.
Inlay Cranioplasty: An Experimental Comparison of Particulate Graft versus Bone Dust

Background: Cranioplasty in children is difficult because autologous bone is limited. To expand the calvarial donor site, surgeons have used bone dust harvested with a power drill and particulate bone taken with a bit and brace. The purpose of this study was to compare bone dust and particulate bone for inlay cranioplasty. Methods: A critical-size defect was made in the parietal bone of rabbits and managed in three ways: group I (n = 5), no implant; group II (n = 6), bone dust implant; and group III (n = 6), particulate graft implant. Bone dust and particulate graft were obtained using a power burr or brace and bit, respectively. Bone dust and particulate graft volume was calculated using a micrometer. Computed tomography was performed 4, 8, and 16 weeks after cranioplasty to determine ossification; histology also was studied. Results: The average volume of particulate bone fragments (6.2 × 104 mm3) was 344-fold greater than bone dust particles (1.8 × 102 mm3) (p < 0.0001). Four weeks postoperatively, the filled volume of the experimental defect was 6.8 ± 4.9 percent in group I, 8.4 ± 7.4 percent in group II, and 43.0 ± 7.2 percent in group III. Eight weeks postoperatively, the filled volume was 22.3 ± 3.9 percent in group I, 29.1 ± 6.7 percent in group II, and 80.0 ± 8.9 percent in group III. Sixteen weeks postoperatively, the defect was closed 38.6 ± 11.1 percent in group I, 41.3 ± 11.2 percent in group II, and 99.3 ± 1.5 percent in group III (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Particulate bone graft ossifies full-thickness cranial defects. Bone dust is ineffective and resorbs, possibly because of its smaller particle size and/or thermal injury during harvesting. Particulate graft, and not bone dust, is suitable for inlay cranioplasty.
Enhanced Electrochemical Performances of Si/Graphite Composite Anode Using Commercial Promising Waterborne Conductive Binder

Silicon has attracted increasing attention as an anode material in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity. However, electrochemical properties of Si-based anodes are hindered by the electrode swelling during the charge/discharge process. In this paper, we developed a novel polymer binder with high electronic conductivity and self-healing function leading to stable cycling. These properties are attributed to the polymer structure which could provide more free Li+ leading to higher conductivity and capacity retention of the anodes. It is believed that this novel conductive binder could be a promising candidate for commercial application for the Si/graphite composite anodes in Li-ion batteries.
Retinoic acid signaling acts via Hox1 to establish the posterior limit of the pharynx in the chordate amphioxus

In the invertebrate chordate amphioxus, as in vertebrates, retinoic acid (RA) specifies position along the anterior/posterior axis with elevated RA signaling in the middle third of the endoderm setting the posterior limit of the pharynx. Here we show that AmphiHox1 is also expressed in the middle third of the developing amphioxus endoderm and is activated by RA signaling. Knockdown of AmphiHox1 function with an antisense morpholino oligonucleotide shows that AmphiHox1 mediates the role of RA signaling in setting the posterior limit of the pharynx by repressing expression of pharyngeal markers in the posterior foregut/midgut endoderm. The spatiotemporal expression of these endodermal genes in embryos treated with RA or the RA antagonist BMS009 indicates that Pax1/9, Pitx and Notch are probably more upstream than Otx and Nodal in the hierarchy of genes repressed by RA signaling. This work highlights the potential of amphioxus, a genomically simple, vertebrate-like invertebrate chordate, as a paradigm for understanding gene hierarchies similar to the more complex ones of vertebrates.
Modeling , Analysis and Design for Multi-robot Exploration Based on Petri Nets

The use of multiple autonomous robots can significantly reduce the time to finish a given mission. In this paper, a totally distributed coordination algorithm is developed to provide robustness to multirobot missions, in the context of the exploration of unknown environment. The analysis and design of the coordination algorithm require formal modeling methodologies. We propose a stochastic Petri net (SPN) based method to analyze and design efficient distributed coordination algorithms. By running the Petri net model, optimized parameters are obtained to improve the efficiency of the multirobot team. Experimental results have validated the proposed method.
Jerk bounded velocity planner for the online management of autonomous vehicles

The velocity planner for autonomous vehicles proposed in this paper is designed for the automatic generation of trajectories characterized by bounded velocities, accelerations and jerks. Differently from similar planners, velocity bounds are not constant but, more realistically, they depend on the path shape. The problem poses feasibility issues which are analyzed in the paper: conditions for the existence of a solution are proposed. A procedure is then designed for the synthesis of a feasible profile, that is subsequently used for the initialization of a minimum-time nonlinear programming algorithm. Particular attention has been given to the algorithmic efficiency, since the planner is conceived for the management of real-time planning scenarios, where reactivity to unforeseen events represents an important requirement. The algorithm has been tested by designing the velocity functions for a set of 50 randomly chosen paths. Performance comparisons are made with alternative planning schemes.
Content-based Retrieval of Environmental Sounds by Multiresolution Analysis

Query by example retrieval of environmental sound recordings is a research area with applications to sound design, music composition and automatic suggestion of metadata for the labeling of sound databases. Retrieval problems are usually composed of successive feature extraction (FE) and similarity measurement (SM) steps, in which a set of extracted features encoding important properties of the sound recordings are used to compute the distance between elements in the database. Previous research has pointed out that successful features in the domains of speech and music, like MFCCs, might fail at describing environmental sounds, which have intrinsic variability and noisy characteristics. We present a set of novel multiresolution features obtained by modeling the distribution of wavelet subband coefficients with generalized Gaussian densities (GGDs). We define the similarity measure in terms of the Kullback-Leibler divergence between GGDs. Experimental results on a database of 1020 environmental sound recordings show that our approach always outperforms a method based on traditional MFCC features and Euclidean distance, improving retrieval rates from 51% to 62%.
Contemporaneous positron emission tomography and MR imaging at 1.5 T

Simultaneous acquisition of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance (MR) images using an MR‐compatible PET system will obviate the need for image registration and will allow unique studies of structure and function of living organisms in one setting. Here we report on simultaneous acquisition of PET and MR images on a clinical 1.5 T system using a 54 mm diameter prototype MR‐compatible PET system (McPET). Phantom experiments were performed in order to determine the effect of the McPET system on MR images. The results demonstrated the system to be fully MR compatible, in both its detector head construction and operation. The McPET construction offers a promising method for design of a large‐scale MR‐compatible PET system that will be useful in functional studies of the brain. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 1999;9:497–500. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Characteristics of free-roaming cats and their caretakers.

OBJECTIVES To describe the characteristics of unowned, free-roaming cats and their caretakers who participated in a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program and to determine the effect of the program on free-roaming cat colonies. DESIGN Prospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION 101 caretakers of 920 unowned, free-roaming cats in 132 colonies in north central Florida. RESULTS Most (85/101; 84%) caretakers were female. The median age was 45 years (range, 19 to 74 years). Most (89/101; 88%) caretakers owned pets and of those, most (67/101; 66%) owned cats. The major reasons for feeding free-roaming cats were sympathy and love of animals. Most caretakers reported that the cats they cared for were too wild to be adopted, but many also reported that they considered the cats to be like pets. The total surveyed cat population was 920 before participation in TNR and 678 after TNR. Mean colony size was 7 cats before TNR and 5.1 cats after TNR. Most cats lived on the caretaker's property. At the time of the survey, 70% (644/920) of the cats had been neutered. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The decrease in the surveyed free-roaming cat population was attributed to a reduction in births of new kittens, adoptions, deaths, and disappearances. Recognition of the human-animal bond that exists between caretakers and the feral cats they feed may facilitate the development of effective control programs for feral cat populations.
The Transcription Factors HvABI5 and HvVP1 Are Required for the Abscisic Acid Induction of Gene Expression in Barley Aleurone Cells Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.007096.

The abscisic acid (ABA) response promoter complexes (ABRCs) of the HVA1 and HVA22 genes have been shown to confer ABA-induced gene expression in cereals. A barley basic domain/Leu zipper (bZIP) transcription factor, HvABI5, is able to recognize ABRCs in vitro in a sequence-specific manner and to transactivate ABRC–β-glucuronidase reporter genes when introduced to barley aleurone cells via particle bombardment. This transactivation is dependent on the presence of another transcription factor, HvVP1, and cannot be blocked by the negative regulator abi1-1. Using the double-stranded RNA interference technique, we show that HvABI5 and HvVP1 are necessary for the ABA induction of gene expression but have no effect on another hormone-regulated process, the gibberellin-induced and ABA-suppressed expression of α-amylase. Our work indicates that although other typical plant bZIP transcription factors may bind ABRCs in vitro, HvABI5 is related to a subfamily of bZIPs responsible for the ABA induction of gene expression. Furthermore, HvABI5 and HvVP1 are not involved in the ABA suppression of gene expression.
Networking and Multiplayer Computer Games - The Story So Far

Multiplayer computer games rely on the practicability of the underlying network infrastructure. In this paper, we describe essential networking concepts and review techniques developed for reducing networking resource requirements in distributed interactive real-time applications. Also, we present a survey of the relevant literature concentrating on the scientific research done on military simulations, networked virtual environments, and multiplayer computer games.
Spatial processing in the monkey frontal eye field. I. Predictive visual responses.

Neurons in the lateral intraparietal area and intermediate layers of the superior colliculus show predictive visual responses. They respond before an impending saccade to a stimulus that will be brought into their receptive field by that saccade. In these experiments we sought to establish whether the monkey frontal eye field had a similar predictive response. We recorded from 100 presaccadic frontal eye field neurons (32 visual cells, 48 visuomovement cells, and 20 movement cells) with the use of the classification criteria of Bruce and Goldberg. We studied each cell in a continuous stimulus task, where the monkey made a saccade that brought a recently appearing stimulus into its receptive field. The latency of response in the continuous stimulus task varied from 52 ms before the saccade to 272 ms after the saccade. We classified cells as having predictive visual responses if their latency in the continuous stimulus task was less than the latency of their visual ON response to a stimulus in their receptive or movement field as described in a visual fixation task. Thirty-four percent (11 of 32) of the visual cells, 31% (15 of 48) of the visuomovement cells, and no (0 of 20) movement cells showed a predictive visual response. The cells with predictive responses never responded to the stimulus when the monkey did not make the saccade that would bring that stimulus into the receptive field, and never discharged in association with that saccade unless it brought a stimulus into the receptive field. The response in the continuous stimulus task was almost always weaker than the visual ON response to a stimulus flashed in the receptive field. Because cells with visual responses but not cells with movement activity alone showed the effect, we conclude that the predictive visual response is a property of the visual processing in the frontal eye field, i.e., a response to the stimulus in the future receptive field. It is not dependent on the actual planning or execution of a saccade to that stimulus. We suggest that the predictive visual mechanism is one in which the brain dynamically calculates the spatial location of objects in terms of desired displacement. This enables the oculomotor system to perform in a spatially accurate manner when there is a dissonance between the retinal location of a target and the saccade necessary to acquire that target. This mechanism does not require an explicit calculation of target position in some supraretinal coordinate system.
A pen-based device for sketching with multi-directional traction forces

This paper presents a pen-grip-shaped device that assists in sketching using multi-directional traction forces. By using an asymmetric acceleration of the vibration actuator that drive in a linear direction, the system can create a virtual traction force with the proper direction. We augment users' drawing skills with the device that arranged 4 vibration actuators that provides a traction force and a rotary sensation. Therefore the device is portable and does not have any limitation of needing to be in a particular location, this device can be used to guide the direction and assist the user who is sketching on a large piece of paper. Moreover, users can attach it to any writing utensil such as brushes, crayons. In this paper, we describe the details of the design of device, evaluation experiments, and applications.
Developing Japanese WordNet Affect for Analyzing Emotions

This paper reports the development of Japanese WordNet Affect from the English WordNet Affect lists with the help of English SentiWordNet and Japanese WordNet. Expanding the available synsets of the English WordNet Affect using SentiWordNet, we have performed the translation of the expanded lists into Japanese based on the synsetIDs in the Japanese WordNet. A baseline system for emotion analysis of Japanese sentences has been developed based on the Japanese WordNet Affect. The incorporation of morphology improves the performance of the system. Overall, the system achieves average precision, recall and F-scores of 32.76%, 53% and 40.49% respectively on 89 sentences of the Japanese judgment corpus and 83.52%, 49.58% and 62.22% on 1000 translated Japanese sentences of the SemEval 2007 affect sensing test corpus. Different experimental outcomes and morphological analysis suggest that irrespective of the google translation error, the performance of the system could be improved by enhancing the Japanese WordNet Affect in terms of coverage.
Competitive and self-contained gene set analysis methods applied for class prediction

This paper compares two methodologically different approaches to gene set analysis applied for selection of features for sample classification based on microarray studies. We analyze competitive and self-contained methods in terms of predictive performance of features generated from most differentially expressed gene sets (pathways) identified with these approaches. We also observe stability of features returned. We use the features to train several classifiers (e.g., SVM, random forest, nearest shrunken centroids, etc.) We generally observe smaller classification errors and better stability of features produced by the self-contained algorithm. This comparative study is based on the leukemia data set published in [3].
Planar Ferrofluid Bearings: Modelling and Design Principles

A ferrofluid is a fluid with paramagnetic properties while having a colloidal stability. This can be used to obtain a hydrostatic type of bearing that distinguishes itself from other bearings by its compactness, inherent stability, low (viscous) friction, absence of pumps and absence of stick-slip. These properties, together with its low price, make the bearing interesting to be used for applications that require fast and precise positioning or applications in the absence of gravity. Knowledge on the exact performance of these types of bearings is up to now not available. This thesis presents different models that can be used to understand the load, stiffness, damping, friction and trail formation of these types of bearings.
Distribution of influenza and other acute respiratory viruses during the first year after the 2009–2010 influenza pandemic in the English‐ and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean countries

Limited specimen collection and testing for influenza occurred in the English and Dutch‐speaking Caribbean countries prior to the 2009/2010 influenza pandemic. Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) member countries rapidly mobilized to collect specimens during the pandemic and a vast majority of confirmed cases during the pandemic period were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09.