Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
General position statement of the ZKBS on the use of zinc finger nuclease-1 technique (ZFN-1)

The European legislation on contained use of genetically modified microorganisms (Directive 2009/41/EC) and the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (Directive 2001/18/EC) together with the German national legislation (GenTG) date back to the year 1990 regarding the assessment of the biotechnologies used for genetic modification. However, the respective techniques have further developed over the last 20 years. Therefore, in some cases it is questionable whether they still fall under the scope of the GMO legislation. This has led to the establishment of a working group consisting of representatives of the European Commission and of the European Competent Authorities. The members of the New Technique Working Group (NTWG) examined on eight so called “new techniques” including zinc finger nuclease technique whether they are covered by the legislation or not. Final positions on the assessment of the new techniques have not yet been achieved. Enquiries of Federal authorities have now prompted the ZKBS to provide a position statement on the assessment of zinc finger nuclease-1 technique based on the current status of the discussions.
Stability analysis of decentralized RHC for decoupled systems

A detailed study on the stability and design of decentralized Receding Horizon Control (RHC) schemes for decoupled systems is presented. An optimal control problem is formulated for a set of decoupled dynamical systems where cost function and constraints couple the dynamical behavior of the systems. The coupling is described through a connected graph where each system is a node and, cost and constraints of the optimization problem associated to each node are only function of its state and the states of its neighbors. The complexity of the problem is addressed by breaking a centralized RHC controller into distinct RHC controllers of smaller sizes. Each RHC controller is associated to a different node and computes the local contol inputs based only on the states of the node and of its neighbors. Stability of the decentralized scheme is analyzed and its properties are compared with alternative decentralized RHC approaches being proposed in the literature.
Coprological survey of parasitic infections in pigs and cattle in slaughterhouse in Osaka, Japan.

A coprological survey was performed at a slaughterhouse in Osaka, Japan, from 2004 to 2007 on 129 pigs reared in 8 prefectures, and on 213 cattle reared in 21 prefectures. Eimeria spp. , Trichuris suis, Ascaris suum and Metastrongylus spp. infections were found in 52 (40.3%), 32 (24.8%), 19 (14.7%) and 3 pigs (2.3%), respectively, while Eimeria spp. , Capillaria bovis and Trichuris sp. infections were detected in 163 (76.5%), 15 (7.0%) and 8 cattle (3.8%), respectively. Our results suggest that environmentally resistant oocysts and eggs of parasites could be widespread at the farms examined.
Fluxless process of fabricating In-Au joints on copper substrates

Based on the oxidation-free fluxless bonding technology, we have developed a bonding process to manufacture In-Au joints on copper substrates. 4 mm/spl times/4 mm Si blank dice and 6 mm/spl times/6 mm copper substrates are used. The dice are deposited with indium-rich Au/In/Cr multilayer structure in a single high vacuum cycle to prevent oxidation. Right after deposition, the outer Au layer interacts with the In layer to form AuIn/sub 2/ intermetallic compound. This compound is quite stable and thus can protect the In layer against oxygen penetration when it is exposed to ambient. On the other hand, it can easily be dissolved by the molten In during the bonding process. The substrate is deposited with Cr and Au. The dice are bonded to the substrates at 180/spl deg/C in inert environment. Nearly void-free joints have been obtained as examined by a 75 MHz Scanning Acoustic Microscope (SAM). Cross sections of several samples are studied using SEM and EDX to identify the microstructure and composition of the joints. Shear test has been performed according to MIL-STD-883C. All the well-bonded devices meet the shear test force requirement. Despite the large mismatch on the thermal expansion coefficient between silicon and copper, no die cracking is observed on the 30 samples produced. To assess further endurance, two samples underwent thermal cycling test between -50 and 120/spl deg/C for 20 cycles, SAM examination indicates that the joints incur little degradation after the test. This bonding method requires neither flux nor scrubbing action. It is thus particularly attractive for bonding devices that cannot be exposed to flux.
Utvärdering av eHälsa - 10 års erfarenhet

Halso- och sjukvarden har gjort omfattande satsningar pa inforande av IT-stod for att fa en battre, sakrare och effektivare vard. IT-stoden ger dock inte alltid de avsedda effekterna och utvarderin .
Tantalum Cones in Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract The best strategy to address large bony defects in revision total knee arthroplasty has yet to be determined. The relatively recent development of porous tantalum cones and their use to address massive bone loss in knee arthroplasty has shown promising short- and intermediate-term results. The purpose of this review is to present the current literature on: (1) basic science of porous tantalum, (2) classification and treatment for bone loss, (3) clinical results, and (4) evolution of newer generation cones.
Role of stem cells in cardiovascular biology

Summary. This review article addresses the controversy as to whether the adult heart possesses an intrinsic growth reserve. If myocyte renewal takes place in healthy and diseased organs, the reconstitution of the damaged tissue lost upon pathological insults might be achieved by enhancing a natural occurring process. Evidence in support of the old and new view of cardiac biology is critically discussed in an attempt to understand whether the heart is a static or dynamic organ. According to the traditional concept, the heart exerts its function until death of the organism with the same or lesser number of cells that are present at birth. This paradigm was challenged by documentation of the cell cycle activation and nuclear and cellular division in a subset of myocytes. These observations raised the important question of the origin of replicating myocytes. Several theories have been proposed and are presented in this review article. Newly formed myocytes may derive from a pre‐existing pool of cells that has maintained the ability to divide. Alternatively, myocytes may be generated by activation and commitment of resident cardiac stem cells or by migration of progenitor cells from distant organs. In all cases, parenchymal cell turnover throughout lifespan results in a heterogeneous population consisting of young, adult, and senescent myocytes. With time, accumulation of old myocytes has detrimental effects on cardiac performance and may cause the development of an aging myopathy.
Observation of amplitude squeezing in a constant-current-driven semiconductor laser.

Electromagnetic fields with photon-number fluctuation reduced below the standard quantum limit have been generated in a constant-current\char21{}driven semiconductor laser. The generation is based on a new principle of high impedance suppression for pump-amplitude fluctuation in a highly saturated laser oscillator. The observed noise level is 7.3% (31% after correction for detection quantum efficiency) in power below the standard quantum limit in the entire frequency range between 350 and 450 MHz.
mRNA Quantification of NIPBL Isoforms A and B in Adult and Fetal Human Tissues, and a Potentially Pathological Variant Affecting Only Isoform A in Two Patients with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a congenital developmental disorder characterized by craniofacial dysmorphia, growth retardation, limb malformations, and intellectual disability. Approximately 60% of patients with CdLS carry a recognizable pathological variant in the NIPBL gene, of which two isoforms, A and B, have been identified, and which only differ in the C-terminal segment. In this work, we describe the distribution pattern of the isoforms A and B mRNAs in tissues of adult and fetal origin, by qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction). Our results show a higher gene expression of the isoform A, even though both seem to have the same tissue distribution. Interestingly, the expression in fetal tissues is higher than that of adults, especially in brain and skeletal muscle. Curiously, the study of fibroblasts of two siblings with a mild CdLS phenotype and a pathological variant specific of the isoform A of NIPBL (c.8387A > G; P.Tyr2796Cys), showed a similar reduction in both isoforms, and a normal sensitivity to DNA damage. Overall, these results suggest that the position of the pathological variant at the 3´ end of the NIPBL gene affecting only isoform A, is likely to be the cause of the atypical mild phenotype of the two brothers.
Testing the Way Children Learn: Principles for Valid Literacy Assessments

Outlines principles for assessments that are supportive of teaching and learning, and discusses qualities that such assessments must have in order to be useful for reporting information to the public. Introduces a language-arts assessment (the Elementary Literacy Profiles) designed to embody these principles and qualities so that it will be instructionally supportive as well as useful for accountability.
Theory of neutrinos

After a brief overview of the present knowledge of neutrino masses and mixing, we summarize what can be learned about physics beyond the standard model from the various proposed neutrino experiments. We also comment on the impact of the experiments on our understanding of the origin of the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe as well as what can be learned from some experiments outside the domain of neutrinos
COMMITMENT OF MESODERM CELLS IN HENSENS NODE OF THE CHICK-EMBRYO TO NOTOCHORD AND SOMITE

Summary Hensen's node in the chick embryo contains prospective notochord cells in a V-shaped midline region of the mesoderm, and prospective medial half somite cells in the lateral portions of the node mesoderm, whilst lateral somite cells are derived from the rostral part of the primitive streak (Selleck and Stern, Development 112, 615-626, 1991). In the present study, we have investi-gated the commitment of these mesoderm cells to their fates by grafting between these regions of the node and primitive streak. By challenging the cells in this way, we have attempted to discover whether prospective notochord and somite cells can change their fates. We find that the mesoderm cells hi the midline V-shaped portion of Hensen's node, when grafted into a different region, continue to integrate into the notochord, or form a separate notochord-like structure. By contrast, the prospective somitic cells do not appear to be committed to a somitic fate. labelled embryos were viewed with an Olympus Vanox-T microscope with epifluorescence optics (rhodamine filter set) and photographed with Kodak TMAX 400 or Fuji 1600P film. Dil-labelled embryos that had been photo-oxidised and sectioned were examined using Nomarski optics and photo- graphed with Kodak TMAX 100 or Technical Pan film.
Relation of Community Violence Exposure to Psychological Distress in Incarcerated Male Adolescents

ABSTRACT Research has established that both exposure to community violence and family functioning are predictive of various forms of psychological distress in adolescents. This study examined whether predictors in this area interact in such a way that the relation of community violence exposure to psychological distress in serious male juvenile offenders is moderated by caregiver-adult support and caregiver control. A heterogeneous sample of 116 male incarcerated adolescents (aged 12-18) was administered measures evaluating exposure to community violence, caregiver-adult support and control, and different forms of psychological distress. As expected, a significant caregiver-adult support by violence exposure interaction was found for alcohol/drug use and depression/anxiety. The implications of the findings for understanding and treating serious male juvenile offenders are discussed.
Biometric Locker System

Storage locker system is for the temporarily keeping the goods. This study implements a storage locker system with the technique of fingerprint recognition as the way to open and close the lock. The system captures the fingerprint of the locker renter and requires a fingerprint match to reopen the locker door, ensuring that only the renter can open the locker door to remove its contents. This system not only reduces the trouble for customers to bring the key, but also increases the trust and security for customers. The implementation process and system recognition rate for the storage locker system are examined in this study.
Histone H1 kinase activity in bovine oocytes following calcium stimulation

The influence of number of Ca2+ stimulations on the profile of histone H1 kinase activity in bovine oocytes was investigated. A Ca2+ stimulation consisted of transferring oocytes directly from culture medium to mannitol containing 100 μM Ca2+ and pulsing oocytes with a 0.2 kVcm−1, 20 μsec discharge. One, three, or six Ca2+ stimulations were given, each 22 min apart. Oocytes were frozen from 0 to 8 hr after the first stimulation at indicated time points and assayed for histone H1 kinase activity. H1 kinase activity was quantified using a densitometer and expressed as a percent of activity in nonpulsed metaphase II oocytes. Stimulating oocytes in the absence of Ca2+ in the pulsing medium did not inactivate H1 kinase. In the presence of Ca2+, however, H1 kinase was rapidly inactivated after stimulation. A single stimulation decreased H1 kinase activity to 44% ± 11% of its initial level in 1 hr. However, H1 kinase was dramatically reactivated at 2 hr after the stimulation and reached 122% ± 22% of the initial activity at 6 hr. With three stimulations, basal H1 kinase activity was 21% ± 3% and was obtained in 30 min. H1 kinase reactivation started at 4 hr after the first stimulation and level of activity reached 38% ± 15% at 8 hr. Six stimulations also led to rapid H1 kinase inactivation and to a basal activity of 14% ± 0.4%. With six stimulations, however, basal H1 kinase activity was maintained over at least 8 hr, and no reactivation occurred during this period. Basal H1 kinase activity obtained after six stimulations was similar to that of fertilized oocytes. Immunoprecipitation of p34cdc2 with an anti‐cdc2 antibody strongly suggested an identity between histone H1 kinase and maturation‐promoting factor. The data indicate that histone H1 kinase activity in oocytes could be regulated by the number of Ca2+ stimulations. A single Ca2+ stimulation led to H1 kinase inactivation, followed by reactivation of the kinase. Increasing the number of Ca2+ stimulations delayed the onset and reduced the extent of H1 kinase reactivation in the first parthenogenetic cell cycle. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Physicochemical characterization and dissolution study of solid dispersions of diacerein with polyethylene glycol 6000

Objective: Diacerein (DCN) is a new anti-inflammatory analgesic and antipyretic drug developed specially for the treatment of osteoarthritis. DCN is a poorly water-soluble drug with relatively low bioavailability. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to enhance the solubility and dissolution of DCN by complexation with polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG). Methods: Solid dispersions (SDs) of DCN were prepared in weight ratios of 60:40, 40:60, 20:80, and 5:95 by the melting method using PEG as carrier. These SDs were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to ascertain whether there were any physicochemical interactions between drug and carrier that could affect dissolution. Solubility and dissolution studies were conducted with pure DCN, physical mixtures (PMs) and SDs. Results and discussion: Solubility studies indicated that PEG significantly increased the solubility of DCN in water. The Gibbs free energy (ΔGtr°) values were negative, indicating the spontaneous nature of DCN solubilization. Phase solubility studies indicated complex with a possible stoichiometry of 1:1. Conclusion: FTIR, DSC and PXRD studies indicate that there is no chemical interaction between DCN and PEG in solid state. In contrast to slow dissolution rate of pure DCN, the dispersion of drug in PEG considerably enhanced the dissolution rate. Even PMs of DCN prepared with PEG also showed better dissolution profiles compared with that of DCN, indicating the solubilization effect of PEG. Therefore, it is concluded that the preparation of SDs of DCN with PEG provides a promising way to increase its solubility and dissolution rate.
Adrenocorticotropin-Like Immunoreactivity in the Granules of Neural Complex Cells of the Ascidian Halocynthia roretzi

Abstract Immunohistochemical studies on the neural complex (neural gland, dorsal strand, and cerebral ganglion) of an ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi, were performed by using an antiserum against porcine ACTH. The antiserum recognized a considerable number of the cells scattered along the tubular structure of the dorsal strand and a few cells in the cerebral ganglion. Immunoelectron microscopic studies revealed that the ACTH-like substance resided within secretory granules with diameter of 300–500 nm. Furthermore, those ACTH-immunoreactive cells were demonstrated to be different from PRL-immunoreactive cells, the presence of which had previously been reported.
Update-pattern-aware modeling and processing of continuous queries

A defining characteristic of continuous queries over on-line data streams, possibly bounded by sliding windows, is the potentially infinite and time-evolving nature of their inputs and outputs. New items continually arrive on the input streams and new results are continually produced. Additionally, inputs expire by falling out of range of their sliding windows and results expire when they cease to satisfy the query. This impacts continuous query processing in two ways. First, data stream systems allow tables to be queried alongside data streams, but in terms of query semantics, it is not clear how updates of tables are different from insertions and deletions caused by the movement of the sliding windows. Second, many interesting queries need to store state, which must be kept up-to-date as time goes on. Therefore, query processing efficiency depends highly on the amount of overhead involved in state maintenance.In this paper, we show that the above issues can be solved by understanding the update patterns of continuous queries and exploiting them during query processing. We propose a classification that defines four types of update characteristics. Using our classification, we present a definition of continuous query semantics that clearly states the role of relations. We then propose the notion of update-pattern-aware query processing, where physical implementations of query operators, including the data structures used for storing intermediate state, vary depending on the update patterns of their inputs and outputs. When tested on IP traffic logs, our update-pattern-aware query plans routinely outperform the existing techniques by an order of magnitude.
Characteristics of antigen‐independent and antigen‐dependent interaction of dendritic cells with CD4+ T cells

Dendritic cells (DC) are the main antigen‐presenting cells for the initiation of primary T cell‐mediated immune responses. In the first stage of activation, T cells bind to DC in an antigen‐independent manner. We studied the adhesion characteristics of human CD4+ T cells to DC generated from CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors following 12 to 13 days of culture in the presence of granulo‐cyte/macrophage colony‐stimulating factor and tumor necrosis factor‐α. A majority of these cells had the morphology, phenotype and functions of DC. CD4+ T/DC adhesion was measured by means of fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Four independent receptor/ligand pathways, LFA‐1/ICAM, ICAM/LFA‐1, CD2/LFA‐3 and CD28/CD80, were involved in the transient adhesion of DC to CD4+ T cells in antigen‐independent and specific alloantigen‐dependent situations, as shown by blocking experiments using monoclonal antibodies. The antibodies also blocked a primary mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) in which DC were used as stimulatory cells. Adhesion of alloreactive CD4+ T cells to antigen‐presenting DC was stronger than that of resting CD4+ T cells, while peak adhesion occurred after 5 and 20 min, respectively. The LFA‐1 ligands involved in adhesion of resting CD4 T cells to DC and alloreactive CD4+ T cells to specific DC differed in part, since ICAM‐3 on resting T cells and ICAM‐1 on alloreactive T lymphocytes preferentially bound LFA‐1. Studies of interactions between DC and phorbol ester‐activated T cells expressing the CD40 ligand revealed a fifth independent adhesion pathway, CD40/CD40 ligand. CD4‐mediated regulation of CD4+ T/DC adhesion was suggested by the observation that preincubation of CD4+ T cells and DC individually with anti‐CD4 antibodies inhibited adhesion. In addition, antibodies specific for HLA class II molecules inhibited adhesion when used to pretreat DC but not alloactivated CD4+ T cells.
Generalized Sliding-Mode Control for Multi-Input Nonlinear Systems

The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for the design of sliding-mode based controllers for multi-input affine nonlinear systems. In this framework the control effort goes to zero as the state approaches the sliding surface, a key feature for practical implementation. The sliding surface is a submanifold with codimension equal to the dimension of the involutive distribution G generated by the controlled vector fields rather than the dimension of their linear span. We also allow nonzero vectors in G to be tangent to the sliding surface, the singular case in sliding-mode control
Pedestrian Dead Reckoning : A Basis for Personal Positioning

Generic indoor personal positioning with an accuracy better than 10m error is still a challenging research issue. It is well known that the key to solving this problem is the combination of different positioning techniques. In this paper, a combined approach of pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) and GPS positioning is followed. An acceleration sensor provides signals with which a neural network is trained in order to make step length predictions for relative indoor positioning. An experimental system is developed and the obtained results show that the accumulated error over a 4km walk is approximately only 2%. Indoor PDR positioning results are also described.
Editorial: State-dependent brain computation

The brain is a self-organizing system, which has evolved such that neuronal responses and related behavior are continuously adapted with respect to the external and internal context. This powerful capability is achieved through the modulation of neuronal interactions depending on the history of previously processed information. In particular, the brain updates its connections as it learns successful versus unsuccessful strategies. The resulting connectivity changes, together with stochastic processes (i.e., noise) influence ongoing neuronal dynamics. The role of such state-dependent fluctuations may be one of the fundamental computational properties of the brain, being pervasively present in human behavior and leaving a distinctive fingerprint in neuroscience data. This development is captured by the present Frontiers Research Topic, " State-Dependent Brain Computation.