Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prospectively Determined Impact of Type 1 Diabetes on Brain Volume During Development

OBJECTIVE The impact of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on the developing central nervous system is not well understood. Cross-sectional, retrospective studies suggest that exposure to glycemic extremes during development is harmful to brain structure in youth with T1DM. However, these studies cannot identify brain regions that change differentially over time depending on the degree of exposure to glycemic extremes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a longitudinal, prospective structural neuroimaging study of youth with T1DM (n = 75; mean age = 12.5 years) and their nondiabetic siblings (n = 25; mean age = 12.5 years). Each participant was scanned twice, separated by 2 years. Blood glucose control measurements (HbA1c, glucose meter results, and reports of severe hypoglycemia) were acquired during the 2-year follow-up. Sophisticated image registration algorithms were performed, followed by whole brain and voxel-wise statistical analyses of the change in gray and white matter volume, controlling for age, sex, and age of diabetes onset. RESULTS The T1DM and nondiabetic control (NDC) sibling groups did not differ in whole brain or voxel-wise change over the 2-year follow-up. However, within the T1DM group, participants with more hyperglycemia had a greater decrease in whole brain gray matter compared with those with less hyperglycemia (P < 0.05). Participants who experienced severe hypoglycemia had greater decreases in occipital/parietal white matter volume compared with those with no severe hypoglycemia (P < 0.05) and compared with the NDC sibling group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate that within diabetes, exposure to hyperglycemia and severe hypoglycemia may result in subtle deviation from normal developmental trajectories of the brain.
Differential regulation of midbrain dopaminergic neuron development by Wnt-1, Wnt-3a, and Wnt-5a

The Wnts are a family of glycoproteins that regulate cell proliferation, fate decisions, and differentiation. In our study, we examined the contribution of Wnts to the development of ventral midbrain (VM) dopaminergic (DA) neurons. Our results show that β-catenin is expressed in DA precursor cells and that β-catenin signaling takes place in these cells, as assessed in TOPGAL [Tcf optimal-promoter β-galactosidase] reporter mice. We also found that Wnt-1, -3a, and -5a expression is differentially regulated during development and that partially purified Wnts distinctively regulate VM development. Wnt-3a promoted the proliferation of precursor cells expressing the orphan nuclear receptor-related factor 1 (Nurr1) but did not increase the number of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive neurons. Instead, Wnt-1 and -5a increased the number of rat midbrain DA neurons in rat embryonic day 14.5 precursor cultures by two distinct mechanisms. Wnt-1 predominantly increased the proliferation of Nurr1+ precursors, up-regulated cyclins D1 and D3, and down-regulated p27 and p57 mRNAs. In contrast, Wnt-5a primarily increased the proportion of Nurr1+ precursors that acquired a neuronal DA phenotype and up-regulated the expression of Ptx3 and c-ret mRNA. Moreover, the soluble cysteine-rich domain of Frizzled-8 (a Wnt inhibitor) blocked endogenous Wnts and the effects of Wnt-1 and -5a on proliferation and the acquisition of a DA phenotype in precursor cultures. These findings indicate that Wnts are key regulators of proliferation and differentiation of DA precursors during VM neurogenesis and that different Wnts have specific and unique activity profiles.
Pro‐contractile effects of perivascular fat in health and disease

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is now recognized as an active player in vascular homeostasis. The expansion of PVAT in obesity and its possible role in vascular dysfunction have attracted much interest. In terms of the regulation of vascular tone and blood pressure, PVAT has been shown to release vasoactive mediators, for instance, angiotensin peptides, reactive oxygen species, chemokines and cytokines. The secretory profile of PVAT is altered by obesity, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, leading to an imbalance between its pro‐contractile and anti‐contractile effects. PVAT adipocytes represent an important source of the mediators, but infiltrating immune cells may become more important under conditions of hypoxia and inflammation. This review describes recent advances in the effects of PVAT on the regulation of vascular tone, highlighting the evidence for a pro‐contractile action in health and disease. The role of the endothelium, vascular smooth muscle, immune cells and probably perivascular nerves in PVAT function is also discussed.
Emission of 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol by pines: A potentially large natural source of reactive carbon to the atmosphere

High rates of emission of 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBO) were measured from needles of several pine species. Emissions of MBO in the light were 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than emissions of monoterpenes and, in contrast to monoterpene emissions from pines, were absent in the dark. MBO emissions were strongly dependent on incident light, behaving similarly to net photosynthesis. Emission rates of MBO increased exponentially with temperature up to approximately 35°C. Above approximately 42°C, emission rates declined rapidly. Emissions could be modeled using existing algorithms for isoprene emission. We propose that emissions of MBO from lodgepole and ponderosa pine are the primary source of high concentrations of this compound, averaging 1–3 ppbv, found in ambient air samples collected in Colorado at an isolated mountain site approximately 3050 m above sea level. Subsequent field studies in a ponderosa pine plantation in California confirmed high MBO emissions, which averaged 25 μg C g−1 h−1 for 1-year-old needles, corrected to 30°C and photon flux of 1000 μmol m−2 s−1. A total of 34 pine species growing at Eddy Arboretum in Placerville, California, were investigated, of which 11 exhibited high emissions of MBO (>5 μg C g−1 h−1), and 6 emitted small but detectable amounts. All the emitting species are of North American origin, and most are restricted to western North America. These results indicate that MBO emissions from pines may constitute a significant source of reactive carbon and a significant source of acetone, to the atmosphere, particularly in the western United States.
Pharmacological characterization of two novel and potent 5‐HT4 receptor agonists, RS 67333 and RS 67506, in vitro and in vivo

1 The pharmacology of two novel 5‐HT4 receptor agonists, RS 67333 (1‐(4‐amino‐5‐chloro‐2‐methoxy phenyl)‐3‐[1(n‐butyl)‐4‐piperidinyl]‐1‐propanone HC1) and RS 67506 (1‐(4‐amino‐5‐chloro‐2‐methoxy‐phenyl)‐3‐[1‐(2‐methyl sulphonylamino)ethyl‐4‐piperidinyl]‐1‐propanone HC1) have been assessed in vitro and in vivo. 2 RS 67333 and RS 67506 exhibited affinities (pK1 = 8.7 and 8.8, respectively) for the 5‐HT4 binding sites, labelled with [3H]‐GR 113808, in guinea‐pig striatum. The Hill coefficients from these displacement curves were not significantly different from unity. The compounds exhibited lower affinities (<6.0) at several other receptors including 5‐HT1A, 5‐HT1D, 5‐HT2A, 5‐HT2C, dopamine D1, D2 and muscarinic Mr‐M3 receptors. However, RS 67333 and RS 67506 did exhibit affinities for the σ (pK1 = 8.9 and 7.9, respectively) and a2 (pK1 = 8.0 and 7.3, respectively) binding sites. 3 At the 5‐HT4 receptor mediating relaxation of the carbachol‐precontracted oesophagus, RS 67333 and RS 7506 acted as potent (pEC50 8.4 and 8.6, respectively), partial agonists (intrinsic activities, with respect to 5‐HT were 0.5 and 0.6, respectively) with respect to 5‐HT. Relaxant responses to RS 67333 or RS 67506 were surmountably antagonized by GR 113808 (10 nM), with apparent affinities (pKB) of 9.1 and 9.0, respectively. RS 67333 and RS 67506 induced dose‐dependent increases in heart rate of the anaesthetized micropig (ED50 4.9 and 5.4 ug kg−1, i.v.), with maximal increases of 35 and 47 beats min−1, respectively. 4 RS 67333 and RS 67506, therefore, acted as potent, partial 5‐HT4 receptor agonists in vitro and in vivo. These compounds, by virtue of their high potency and selectivity, may have some utility in elucidating the physiological role of 5‐HT4 receptors.
λ-OAT : λ-Geometry Obstacle-Avoiding Tree Construction With O ( n log n ) Complexity

2073 there are multiple types of buffers and the candidate locations for buffering are specified. We also implemented a net-based buffering approach, called NetBIN. NetBIN buffers nets one by one until the timing constraint is satisfied. We also use a refinement step at the end of NetBIN to reduce the buffers, and our experience is that the refinement can reduce the buffers by at least 50%. Table II shows the comparison results of CostBIN, CutBIN, NetBIN, and [8]. There are four types of buffers, and the buffering candidate locations are specified. The timing constraints are 0.2 times greater than the minimal achievable delays from s to t by buffering, computed by the min-delay buffering algorithm in [8]. We observed that NetBIN inserts more buffers than [8] for most of those cases. NetBIN does not budget the timing in a global view, so the required time at sinks may mislead the buffering. Thus, buffering each net such that the required time at the root of the net is maximized does not guarantee that the delay from s to t is minimized. For example, for the last four test cases, it is difficult for NetBIN to obtain a feasible solution in 5 h. We also observed that the final solutions computed by the min-cost buffering algorithm in [8] often do not satisfy the timing constraint, so we select the solution that satisfies the timing constraint and has the minimal buffer area during the iterations. We also implemented the refinement step in CostBIN. The CostBIN without the refinement is denoted as CostBINv1, and the CostBIN with the refinement is denoted as CostBINv2. Column 3 shows the number of wire segments with negative slacks. Note that the wires in these test cases are separated into many small wire segments in this part, and the number of buffering locations (shown in column 2) is equal to the number of wire segments. The results indicate that CostBINv1 achieves a 52% reduction on the total area of buffers on average. The refinement step in CostBINv2 reduces an additional 12% of the buffering area on average, but " c7 " and " c8 " cannot be finished for CostBINv2 because of the big memory overhead. Also, the CostBIN inserts fewer buffers than the CutBIN in this situation. REFERENCES [1] C. J. Alpert and A. Devgan, " Wire segmenting for improved buffer insertion , " in Proc. A fast …
Comparison of the Modular Multilevel DC Converter and the Dual-Active Bridge Converter for Power Conversion in HVDC and MVDC Grids

It is expected that in the near future the use of high-voltage dc (HVDC) transmission and medium-voltage dc (MVDC) distribution technology will expand. This development is driven by the growing share of electrical power generation by renewable energy sources that are located far from load centers and the increased use of distributed power generators in the distribution grid. Power converters that transfer the electric energy between voltage levels and control the power flow in dc grids will be key components in these systems. The recently presented modular multilevel dc converter (M2DC) and the three-phase dual-active bridge converter (DAB) are benchmarked for this task. Three scenarios are examined: a 15 MW converter for power conversion from an HVDC grid to an MVDC grid of a university campus, a gigawatt converter for feeding the energy from an MVDC collector grid of a wind farm into the HVDC grid, and a converter that acts as a power controller between two HVDC grids with the same nominal voltage level. The operation and degrees of freedom of the M2DC are investigated in detail aiming for an optimal design of this converter. The M2DC and the DAB converter are thoroughly compared for the given scenarios in terms of efficiency, amount of semiconductor devices, and expense on capacitive storage and magnetic components.
Pluripotency and nuclear reprogramming

Embryonic stem cells are promising donor cell sources for cell transplantation therapy, which may in the future be used to treat various diseases and injuries. However, as is the case for organ transplantation, immune rejection after transplantation is a potential problem with this type of therapy. Moreover, the use of human embryos presents serious ethical difficulties. These issues may be overcome if pluripotent stem cells are generated from patients' somatic cells. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms underlying pluripotency and the currently known methods of inducing pluripotency in somatic cells.
Advanced gate driver for IGBT devices with dv/dt and peak voltage limitation based on active gate-emitter voltage control

An advanced gate drive unit for 1.2 kV IGBT modules has been developed. It includes two main features: limitation of the collector-emitter voltage slope and of the collector-emitter peak voltage. This is achieved through a feedback loop with a capacitive/resistive voltage divider coupled to the gate-emitter voltage of the IGBT. For the studied case a reduction of the switching losses of around 25% is achieves. An experimental verification and comparison to a commercially available gate drive unit with active clamping based on a series connections of TVS diodes is presented. The proposed gate drive unit can be used in applications with high stray inductance to ensure optimum switching behaviour of every switching transient.
Special modules over positively based algebras

We use the Perron-Frobenius Theorem to define, study and, in some sense, classify special simple modules over arbitrary finite dimensional positively based algebras. For group algebras of finite Weyl groups with respect to the Kazhdan-Lusztig basis, this agrees with Lusztig's notion of a special module introduced in [Lu1].
Lesions of the fusiform face area impair perception of facial configuration in prosopagnosia

Background: Prosopagnosia, the inability to recognize faces, is associated with medial occipitotemporal lesions, especially on the right. Functional imaging has revealed a focal region in the right fusiform gyrus activated specifically during face perception. Objective: The study attempted to determine whether lesions of this region were associated with defects in face perception in patients with prosopagnosia. Methods: Five patients with acquired prosopagnosia were tested. They were asked to discriminate faces in which the spatial configuration of features had been altered. This was contrasted with their discrimination of changes in feature color, an alteration that does not affect spatial relations. Results: All four patients whose lesions included the right fusiform face area were severely impaired in discriminating changes in the spatial position of features. The one patient with anterior bilateral lesions was normal in this perceptual ability. For three of the five patients, accuracy was normal for changes in eye color. When subjects knew that only changes in mouth position would be shown, performance improved markedly in two of the four patients who were impaired in the initial test. Conclusion: Perception of facial configuration is impaired in patients with prosopagnosia whose lesions involve the right fusiform gyrus. This deficit is especially manifest when attention must be distributed across numerous facial elements. It does not occur with more anterior bilateral temporal lesions. Loss of this ability may contribute to the recognition defect in some forms of prosopagnosia.
SQUIDs for nondestructive evaluation

We attempt a comprehensive review of all published research in nondestructive evaluation (NDE) performed with the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer since the first work was reported in the mid-1980s. The SQUID is the most sensitive detector of magnetic flux known. The energy sensitivity of the SQUID may make it the most sensitive detector of any kind. The research on SQUIDs for NDE is based on the promise of that sensitivity and on the various other desirable properties developed for SQUID instrumentation in biomagnetism and other fields. The sensitivity of SQUID instruments down to very low frequencies allows them to function as eddy-current sensors with unparalleled depth resolution, and to image the static magnetization of paramagnetic materials and the flow of near-dc corrosion currents. The wide dynamic range of the SQUID makes it possible to image defects in steel structures and to measure the magnetomechanical behaviour of ferromagnetic materials with high sensitivity. In the last decade SQUID instrumentation designed specifically for NDE has appeared and improved the spatial resolution of most work to roughly 1 mm, with promise of another order of magnitude improvement within the next five years. Algorithms for flaw detection and image deconvolution have begun to flourish. With many talented, industrious people in the field, the future of SQUID NDE looks bright, provided the crucial first niche can be found.
IP-reusable 32-bit VLIW Risc core

This paper presents a 32-Bit, Very Long Instruction Word RISC microcontroller specifically designed for IP-Reuse in a system-on-chip design context. The architecture aims at minimizing instruction cycles for a wide range of software applications: a 32-bit instruction set is defined for normal execution, while a reduced 16-bit instruction set allows the microprocessor to fetch instruction pairs for concurrent double-datapath execution. The architecture is described through a parametric, fully synthesizable VHDL RTL model targeted at both FPGA and Standard Cells design, and is supported by a complete software development suite derived from the open-source GNU-Gcc toolchain. The model has been synthesized to 0. 18µ 6-metal Std-cells technology, functioning at 120 MHZ with an area occupation of 2.72mm2(30K cells, 90K gates). A test chip for the architecture has also been manufactured in 0. 18µ technology, featuring 128K bytes of Data as well as 128K bytes of Instruction Memory, for an area occupation of 4.5 × 3.5mm2at 66 MHZ with 1.8V power supply.
Domesticated versus Wild Rice? Bring It Awn!

By necessity, wild grasses are mean little things; for example, the seeds of many wild grass species have awns, large, barbed spikes that can fend off seed-eating animals, assist in seed dispersal, and help plant the seeds. In wheat ( Triticum spp), changes in humidity cause the awns to flex, which
Helping aphasic people process online information

In this paper, we describe the HAPPI (Helping Aphasic People Process Information) project which aims to develop web based systems to help Aphasic people gain access to web based information such as online news stories. It does this by simplifying the language and providing alternative means to help jog users' memories and hence improve their comprehension of the online material.
Interleukin-6 Secretion by Astrocytes Is Dynamically Regulated by PI3K-mTOR-Calcium Signaling

After contusion spinal cord injury (SCI), astrocytes become reactive and form a glial scar. While this reduces spreading of the damage by containing the area of injury, it inhibits regeneration. One strategy to improve the recovery after SCI is therefore to reduce the inhibitory effect of the scar, once the acute phase of the injury has passed. The pleiotropic cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is secreted immediately after injury and regulates scar formation; however, little is known about the role of IL-6 in the sub-acute phases of SCI. Interestingly, IL-6 also promotes axon regeneration, and therefore its induction in reactive astrocytes may improve regeneration after SCI. We found that IL-6 is expressed by astrocytes and neurons one week post-injury and then declines. Using primary cultures of rat astrocytes we delineated the molecular mechanisms that regulate IL-6 expression and secretion. IL-6 expression requires activation of p38 and depends on NF-κB transcriptional activity. Activation of these pathways in astrocytes occurs when the PI3K-mTOR-AKT pathway is inhibited. Furthermore, we found that an increase in cytosolic calcium concentration was necessary for IL-6 secretion. To induce IL-6 secretion in astrocytes, we used torin2 and rapamycin to block the PI3K-mTOR pathway and increase cytosolic calcium, respectively. Treating injured animals with torin2 and rapamycin for two weeks, starting two weeks after injury when the scar has been formed, lead to a modest effect on mechanical hypersensitivity, limited to the period of treatment. These data, taken together, suggest that treatment with torin2 and rapamycin induces IL-6 secretion by astrocytes and may contribute to the reduction of mechanical hypersensitivity after SCI.
Ménière's disease: trauma, distress and adaptation studied through focus interview analyses.

In order to investigate, in depth, the role of psychological factors in Ménière's disease, i.e. how the patients experience and interpret their symptoms during the process of this illness, a qualitative method "focus group interviews" was used as a study design. The focus group included four subjects; one woman and three men. In addition, semi-structured interviews were performed with each of four more subjects having the disease, three women and one man, in order to guarantee representativity in terms of gender and age. Through the focus interview analyses eight final codes and a number of sub-codes were developed. Results clearly pointed out the significance of the first traumatic attack of the disease as well as early signs; different "psychosomatic" symptoms prior to the attacks. The recognition of fear and phobic reactions in the manifestation of the vertigo attack was considered as an important observation, as attacks often were triggered by distressing thoughts as well as by sensory sensations. Other areas, touched upon for future investigation, were crisis adaptation and illness function.
An Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Model for Fusing Landsat and MODIS Surface Reflectance to Generate High Temporal Landsat-Like Data

Remotely sensed data, with high spatial and temporal resolutions, can hardly be provided by only one sensor due to the tradeoff in sensor designs that balance spatial resolutions and temporal coverage. However, they are urgently needed for improving the ability of monitoring rapid landscape changes at fine scales (e.g., 30 m). One approach to acquire them is by fusing observations from sensors with different characteristics (e.g., Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)). The existing data fusion algorithms, such as the Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Model (STDFM), have achieved some significant progress in this field. This paper puts forward an Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Data Fusion Model (ESTDFM) based on the STDFM algorithm, by introducing a patch-based ISODATA classification method, the sliding window technology, and the temporal-weight concept. Time-series ETM+ and MODIS surface reflectance are used as test data for comparing the two algorithms. Results show that the prediction ability of the ESTDFM algorithm has been significantly improved, and is even more satisfactory in the near-infrared band (the contrasting average absolute difference [AAD]: 0.0167 vs. 0.0265). The enhanced algorithm will support subsequent research on monitoring land surface dynamic changes at finer scales.