Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cholesterol depletion activates rapid internalization of submicron-sized acetylcholine receptor domains at the cell membrane

Novel effects of cholesterol (Chol) on nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) cell-surface stability, internalization and function are reported. AChRs are shown to occur in the form of submicron-sized (240–280 nm) domains that remain stable at the cell-surface membrane of CHO-K1/A5 cells over a period of hours. Acute (30 min, 37°C) exposure to methyl-β-cyclodextrin (CDx), commonly used as a diagnostic tool of endocytic mechanisms, is shown here to enhance AChR internalization kinetics in the receptor-expressing clonal cell line. This treatment drastically reduced (∼50%) the number of receptor domains by accelerating the rate of endocytosis (t1/2 decreased from 1.5–0.5 h). In addition, Chol depletion produced ion channel gain-of-function of the remaining cell-surface AChR, whereas Chol enrichment had the opposite effect. Fluorescence measurements under conditions of direct excitation of the probe Laurdan and of Förster-type resonance energy transfer (FRET) using the intrinsic protein fluorescence as donor both indicated an increase in membrane fluidity in the bulk membrane and in the immediate environment of the AChR protein upon Chol depletion. Homeostatic control of Chol content at the plasmalemma may thus modulate cell-surface organization and stability of receptor domains, and fine tune receptor channel function to temporarily compensate for acute AChR loss from the cell surface.
Intrathecal fentanyl added to intrathecal bupivacaine for day case surgery: a randomized study

Background and objective: The implication of intrathecal lidocaine in neurological toxicity has made intrathecal bupivacaine the commonly used drug for local anaesthesia in ambulatory surgery. However, in high doses intrathecal bupivacaine may produce a high level of sensory and motor block, and arterial hypotension; discharge from hospital may be delayed. Intrathecal opioids added to low-dose local anaesthetics produce a synergistic effect without increasing the sympathetic block or delaying discharge. The aim of our study was to identify the minimum effective dose of intrathecal fentanyl that in combination with low-dose intrathecal bupivacaine would provide adequate surgical conditions without prolonging recovery. Methods: A prospective, single, blind, randomized study was conducted in 45 adult males scheduled for minor urological procedures using intrathecal anaesthesia on a day care basis. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups (n = 15 each). They received bupivacaine 0.17% 5 mg - with either fentanyl 7.5 μg (fenta-7.5), 10 μg (fenta-10) or 12.5 μg (fenta-12.5) intrathecally in a total volume of 3 mL. The quality of anaesthesia, haemodynamic stability, time to two-segment and S2 regression, time to micturition, and time to discharge were assessed. Results: The time to two-segment regression and S2 regression with fenta-12.5 was significantly longer than with fenta-7.5 and fenta-10 (P < 0.01). Fenta-7.5 had a significantly higher number of failed blocks (four patients) compared with fenta-12.5 (P < 0.05). The time out of bed, time to micturition and time to discharge were significantly longer with fenta-10 and fenta-12.5 compared with fenta-7.5, and also with fenta-12.5 compared with fenta-10 (P < 0.01). Haemodynamic stability did not differ for all the drug combinations. Conclusions: Fentanyl 12.5 μg added to low-dose bupivacaine (5 mg) intrathecally provides better surgical anaesthesia and increased reliability of block than intrathecal fentanyl 7.5 or 10 μg. Haemodynamic stability was the same for all dose combinations used.
Cytokines/chemokines and adhesion molecules in local inflammatory responses of the lung.

It is well accepted that local inflammatory responses are regulated by dynamic reactions among a variety of inflammatory cells. Most of the cells derived from bone marrow and hematopoietic cytokines play an important role in the maturation processes. Proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and IL-6 are also important in the induction of inflammatory responses. Recent progress in research, furthermore, has elucidated the critical role of chemokines and adhesion molecules in the recruitment and activation of the inflammatory cells in the lung. This article will focus on their roles in the pathogenesis of airway inflammatory disorders such as asthma.
An Executable Semantics of Flexible Plans in Terms of Timed Game Automata

Robust plan execution in uncertain and dynamic environments is a critical issue for plan-based autonomous systems, especially when uncertain events coexist with temporal flexibility. In this regard, many Planning and Scheduling systems model temporal uncertainty by means of flexible timelines, each of which describes the behavior of one of the system components, and consists of a sequence of events whose begin and end times range within given intervals. This work enriches a previously proposed formal characterization of flexible timelines and plans, considering the difference between controllable and uncontrollable activities. Two main sources of uncertainty are considered: i) some components of the system may depend on an external environment and cannot be planned by the executive, ii) there may be tasks whose duration cannot be exactly foreseen in advance. Such notions are formally defined and the consequent controllability issues are addressed, focusing, in particular, on dynamic controllability. Partially controllable flexible plans are given a semantics in terms of networks of timed game automata (TGA), showing how they can be encoded into such networks. The translation allows for exploiting existing verification tools for TGA, such as UPPAAL-TIGA, in order to check the dynamic controllability property for flexible plans and, possibly, generate a dynamic execution strategy that can be used for robust plan execution. Some preliminary experiments aimed at evaluating the feasibility of the approach are also presented.
Turbo equalization based on a new Kalman filter for OFDM over doubly-selective channels

In OFDM systems, multi-path spread and Doppler frequency spread result in the channel fading to be time-and frequency-selective (doubly selective). In such cases, the channel fast variations destroy the orthogonality among sub-carriers, resulting in inter-carrier interference (ICI) which degrades the performance. Aiming at time-varying characteristic of doubly-selective channels, we propose a channel estimation algorithm by a new Kalman filter, and apply it to the oversampled complex exponential basis expansion model (OCE-BEM), changing the variable channel parameters in the period of one OFDM symbol into invariable ones. Meanwhile, we combine this new Kalman filter with the low complexity LMMSE Turbo equalizer based on ICI mitigation, so we neednpsilat many pilot symbols in practice, still can ensure the algorithm performance and reduce the time-delay and complexity of this algorithm.
The Relation between Chemical Bonding and Ultrafast Crystal Growth

Glasses are often described as supercooled liquids, whose structures are topologically disordered like a liquid, but nevertheless retain short‐range structural order. Structural complexity is often associated with complicated electron‐charge distributions in glassy systems, making a detailed investigation challenging even for short‐range structural order, let alone their atomic dynamics. This is particularly problematic for lone‐pair‐rich, semiconducting materials, such as phase‐change materials (PCMs). Here, this study shows that analytical methods for studying bonding, based on the electron‐charge density, rather than a conventional atomic pair‐correlation‐function approach, allows an in‐depth investigation into the chemical‐bonding network, as well as lone pairs, of the prototypical PCM, Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). It is demonstrated that the structurally flexible building units of the amorphous GST network, intimately linked to the presence of distinctly coexisting weak covalent and lone‐pair interactions, give rise to cooperative structural‐ordering processes, by which ultrafast crystal growth becomes possible. This finding may universally apply to other PCMs.
Pituitary and Brain 5α-Reductase Messenger RNA Levels in Control, Castrated, and Dihydrotestosterone-Treated Rats

In (28- to 40-day-old) male rats, the influence of castration or hormone-replacement treatment with dihydrotestosterone (5alpha-DHT) upon pituitary or hypothalamic 5alpha-reductase was assessed. The efficacy of the treatments was demonstrated by measuring serum LH and ventral prostate weight. Pituitary 5alpha-reductase enzyme activity was estimated by isolating [5alpha-(3)H]DHT by thin-layer chromatography after incubations with [(3)H]testosterone, and the identity of the [5alpha-(3)H]DHT formed was confirmed by recrystallization experiments. Pituitary and hypothalamic 5alpha-reductase mRNA content was determined by RNA blot analysis utilizing a rat 5alpha-reductase (type 1 or type 2) cDNA as probe. Pituitary 5alpha-reductase activity was significantly increased as a function of days after castration, whereas castration plus DHT treatment (at Day 12 post-castration) significantly decreased the activity to less than one-third of control levels. In controls, pituitary 5alpha-reductase mRNA content was barely detectable using the rat 5alpha-reductase (type 1) cDNA as probe. However, castration resulted in a clear increase in mRNA abundance, while in DHT-injected castrated animals pituitary mRNA content was undetectable. Hypothalamic mRNA content was clearly detectable in all treatment groups with the rat 5alpha-reductase type 1 probe. However, there were no apparent changes in hypothalamic mRNA abundance as affected by the treatments. On the other hand, pituitary or hypothalamic 5alpha-reductase mRNA was undetectable using the rat 5alphareductase (type 2) cDNA as probe. These results indicate that in the rat pituitary the content of mRNA encoding 5alpha-reductase is negatively regulated by DHT. The increase in pituitary 5alpha-reductase enzymatic activity in castrates is due, in part, to higher mRNA levels detected by the 5alpha-reductase type 1 probe. Hypothalamic 5alpha-reductase mRNA levels (type 1) encoding this protein are not regulated by DHT, but presumably are, to some extent, under transcriptional control.
Genetic Testing for Complex Diseases: a Simulation Study Perspective

It is widely recognized nowadays that complex diseases are caused by, amongst the others, multiple genetic factors. The recent advent of genome-wide association study (GWA) has triggered a wave of research aimed at discovering genetic factors underlying common complex diseases. While the number of reported susceptible genetic variants is increasing steadily, the application of such findings into diseases prognosis for the general population is still unclear, and there are doubts about whether the size of the contribution by such factors is significant. In this respect, some recent simulation-based studies have shed more light to the prospect of genetic tests. In this report, we discuss several aspects of simulation-based studies: their parameters, their assumptions, and the information they provide.
Prejudice against female children: Economics and cultural explanations, and India evidence

Shows how economic theories based on parental self-interest may explain parental discrimination against daughters relative to sons. However, such theories often need to be adjusted (or even discarded) to allow for altruism of parents towards their children, and to take account of cultural influences on parental desires to have children of particular gender, and care equally for their children of different gender. The latter point is illustrated by a study of two different communities. In one situated in the Santal tribal belt I West Bengal, discrimination against daughters is found to be marked and accords (given the structure of society) with predictions of economic theories based on the pursuit of parental self-interest. By contrast, it is found that although the Knondh-dominated community in Orissa experiences similar economic conditions and social structures to the West Bengal communities, parental discrimination against daughters is almost absent. The differences seem to arise from a difference between the cultural values shared by the Kondhs in Orissa and those shared by the West Bengal community consisting of Santals and Bengali Hindus. This suggests that the applicability of economic theories of the family depends significantly on the social contexts in which they are to be applied. In this respect, both social structures and cultural values are important.
Automatic Referral to Cardiac Rehabilitation

Objectives:Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) remains underused and inconsistently accessed, particularly for women and minorities. This study examined the factors associated with CR enrollment within the context of an automatic referral system through a retrospective chart review plus survey. Through the Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization, it was postulated that enabling and perceived need factors, but not predisposing factors, would significantly predict patient enrollment. Subjects:A random sample of all atherosclerotic heart disease (AHD) patients treated at a tertiary care center (Trillium Health Centre, Ontario, Canada) from April 2001 to May 2002 (n = 501) were mailed a survey using a modified Dillman method (71% response rate). Measures:Predisposing measures consisted of sociodemographics such as age, sex, ethnocultural background, work status, level of education, and income. Enabling factors consisted of barriers and facilitators to CR attendance, exercise benefits and barriers (EBBS), and social support (MOS). Perceived need factors consisted of illness perceptions (IPQ) and body mass index. Results:Of the 272 participants, 199 (73.2%) attended a CR assessment. Lower denial/minimization, fewer logistical barriers to CR (eg, distance, cost), and lower perceptions of AHD as cyclical or episodic reliably predicted CR enrollment among cardiac patients who were automatically referred. Conclusion:Because none of the predisposing factors were significant in the final model, this suggests that factors associated with CR enrollment within the context of an automatic referral model relate to enabling factors and perceived need. A prospective controlled evaluation of automatic referral is warranted.
Interpreter Veriication for a Functional Language

Starting from a denotational and a term rewriting based op erational semantics an interpreter for a small functional language we present a correctness proof of the interpreter w r t the denotational se mantics The complete proof has been formalized in the logic LCF and checked with the theorem prover Isabelle Based on this proof conclu sions for mechanical theorem proving in general are drawn
The tobacco mosaic virus RNA polymerase complex contains a plant protein related to the RNA-binding subunit of yeast eIF-3

A sucrose density gradient-purified, membrane-bound tobacco mosaic virus (tomato strain L) (TMV-L) RNA polymerase containing endogenous RNA template was efficiently solubilized with sodium taurodeoxycholate. Solubilization resulted in an increase in the synthesis of positive-strand, 6.4-kb genome-length single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) and a decrease in the production of 6.4-kbp double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to levels close to the limits of detection. The solubilized TMV-L RNA polymerase was purified by chromatography on columns of DEAE-Bio-Gel and High Q. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining showed that purified RNA polymerase preparations consistently contained proteins with molecular masses of 183, 126, 56, 54, and 50 kDa, which were not found in equivalent material from healthy plants. Western blotting showed that the two largest of these proteins are the TMV-L-encoded 183- and 126-kDa replication proteins and that the 56-kDa protein is related to the 54.6-kDa GCD10 protein, the RNA-binding subunit of yeast eIF-3. The 126-, 183-, and 56-kDa proteins were coimmunoaffinity selected by antibodies against the TMV-L 126-kDa protein and by antibodies against the GCD10 protein. Antibody-linked polymerase assays showed that active TMV-L RNA polymerase bound to antibodies against the TMV-L 126-kDa protein and to antibodies against the GCD10 protein. Synthesis of genome-length ssRNA and dsRNA by a template-dependent, membrane-bound RNA polymerase was inhibited by antibodies against the GCD10 protein, and this inhibition was reversed by prior addition of GCD10 protein.
Built-In Self-Test of the Programmable Interconnect in Field Programmable Gate Arrays

Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this thesis is my own or was done in collaboration with my advisory committee. This thesis does not include proprietary or classified information. Testing programmable interconnect resources in Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FP-GAs) is difficult because of the large number of wire segments and switches that must be tested. The adoption of Built-In Self-Test (BIST) for programmable interconnect testing has proven to be an effective method for ensuring the fault-free status of the interconnect network for previous FPGA architectures. The BIST approaches used in previous FPGA interconnect testing relied on several assumptions to obtain adequate fault coverage within the device. With the advancement of technology and complexity of next generation FPGAs, the assumptions used in previous work can no longer be applied. New BIST approaches must be developed that alleviate these assumptions, yet still obtain high fault coverage. BIST approaches used in previous FPGA interconnect testing are modeled and simulated for gate-level stuck-at and bridging fault coverage. New BIST approaches are proposed and also modeled and simulated. The fault simulation results are used to compare and evaluate the fault detection capabilities and effectiveness of these BIST approaches for testing programmable interconnect resources in FPGAs. A cross-couple parity approach that best v suits the Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGA architecture is chosen and implemented for routing BIST of the global double lines in the interconnect network. vi Acknowledgments First and foremost I would like to thank God for giving me the strength and determination to achieve my graduate degree. I would like to thank Dr. Stroud for his support and advice during my tenure at Auburn University during both my undergraduate and graduate studies. I would also like to thank Dr. Nelson and Dr. Singh for their contribution to this thesis by serving on my graduate committee. To all of the professors and staff that ever helped me big or small, I am forever grateful. I am thankful for all your help throughout my research. To my parents, sister, and family I thank you for all the support, encouragement, and ever constant prayer that inspired me to always do my best. To my godparents, Ben and Mary, I would have never come to Auburn without your help. I owe you my education. I thank all of my friends that have been there for me throughout both the good and …
Introduction to feedback control of underactuated VTOLvehicles: A review of basic control design ideas and principles

This article is an introduction to feedback control design for a family of robotic aerial vehicles with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities such as quadrotors, ducted-fan tail-sitters, and helicopters. Potential applications for such devices, like surveillance, monitoring, or mapping, are varied and numerous. For these applications to emerge, motion control algorithms that guarantee a good amount of robustness against state measurement/ estimation errors and unmodeled dynamics like, for example, aerodynamic perturbations, are needed. The feedback control methods considered here range from basic linear control schemes to more elaborate nonlinear control solutions. The modeling of the dynamics of these systems is first recalled and discussed. Then several control algorithms are presented and commented upon in relation to implementation issues and various operating modes encountered in practice, from teleoperated to fully autonomous flight. Particular attention is paid to the incorporation of integral-like control actions, often overlooked in nonlinear control studies despite their practical importance to render the control performance more robust with respect to unmodeled or poorly estimated additive perturbations.
1 Image Processing

The goal of image processing is to robustly extract useful, high-level information from images and video. The type of high-level information that is useful depends on the application. Examples of applications include object detection and tracking for surveillance, defect detection for automated production systems, and scene classification for remote sensing and map annotation. Extracting high-level information is a difficult research problem and many different algorithms have been suggested. Image and video processing have been significant application drivers for the reconfigurable computing community since its inception in the early 1990’s. Prior to modern reconfigurable devices, image and video processing were also significant application drivers for computer architecture research and VLSI design. There are two related reasons why this application domain has received so much attention in the computer architecture community. The first is the poor, often unacceptable, performance observed in general-purpose processor implementation. This can be attributed to:
Fairness in Reinforcement Learning

We initiate the study of fairness in reinforcement learning, where the actions of a learning algorithm may affect its environment and future rewards. Our fairness constraint requires that an algorithm never prefers one action over another if the long-term (discounted) reward of choosing the latter action is higher. Our first result is negative: despite the fact that fairness is consistent with the optimal policy, any learning algorithm satisfying fairness must take time exponential in the number of states to achieve non-trivial approximation to the optimal policy. We then provide a provably fair polynomial time algorithm under an approximate notion of fairness, thus establishing an exponential gap between exact and approximate fairness
Application of two different synthetic sequential media for the human IVF-ET program: a prospective, randomized, and comparative study

Objective Since IVF program was first established, various types of media and culture systems have been developed either in-house or commercially. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of in-house Maria Research Center (MRC) media to that of commercially available Sydney IVF media in human day 3 embryo transfer cycles. Methods Three hundred sixty nine couples were included in this prospective, randomized, and comparative study. All couples undergoing IVF treatment at the Maria Fertility Hospital were randomly assigned to either Sydney IVF (n=178) or MRC (n=191) media. Results No difference was observed between the MRC media and Sydney IVF media groups with respect to fertilization rate (74.4% vs. 75.5%). The clinical pregnancy and implantation rates of MRC media (47.1% and 20.0%, respectively) were also similar to those of Sydney IVF media (44.4% and 19.4%, respectively). However, the proportion of embryos with good quality on day 3 was significantly higher in the MRC media group than the Sydney IVF media group (50.2% vs. 43.2%) (p<0.05). Conclusion MRC media were as effective as Sydney IVF media for sustaining embryo development and pregnancy rates. The present study implies that MRC media can be a suitable alternative to commercially available media for human IVF-ET program.