Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antigen Delivery to CD11c+CD8− Dendritic Cells Induces Protective Immune Responses against Experimental Melanoma in Mice In Vivo

Dendritic cells (DCs) are central modulators of immune responses and, therefore, interesting target cells for the induction of antitumor immune responses. Ag delivery to select DC subpopulations via targeting Abs to DC inhibitory receptor 2 (DCIR2, clone 33D1) or to DEC205 was shown to direct Ags specifically to CD11c+CD8− or CD11c+CD8+ DCs, respectively, in vivo. In contrast to the increasing knowledge about the induction of immune responses by efficiently cross-presenting CD11c+CD8+ DCs, little is known about the functional role of Ag-presenting CD11c+CD8− DCs with regard to the initiation of protective immune responses. In this study, we demonstrate that Ag targeting to the CD11c+CD8− DC subpopulation in the presence of stimulating anti-CD40 Ab and TLR3 ligand polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid induces protective responses against rapidly growing tumor cells in naive animals under preventive and therapeutic treatment regimens in vivo. Of note, this immunization protocol induced a mixed Th1/Th2-driven immune response, irrespective of which DC subpopulation initially presented the Ag. Our results provide important information about the role of CD11c+CD8− DCs, which have been considered to be less efficient at cross-presenting Ags, in the induction of protective antitumor immune responses.
Motion modification method to control affective nuances for robots

In human-robot interaction, robots often fail to lead humans to intended reactions due to their limited ability to express affective nuances. In this paper, we propose a motion modification method that combines affective nuances with arbitrary motions of humanoid robots to induce humans to intended reactions by expressing affective states. The method is applicable to various humanoid robots that differ in degrees of freedom or appearances, and the affective nuances are parametrically expressed in a two-dimensional model comprised of valence and arousal. The experimental results showed that the desired affective nuances could be expressed by our method, but it also suggested some limitations. We believe that the method will contribute to interactive systems in which robots can communicate with appropriate expressions in various contexts.
Pattern Discovery in Expression Profiling Data

In expression profiling studies, it is often necessary to identify groups of genes with similar expression profiles in a variety of samples, and/or groups of samples with similar expression profiles. Each profile can be expressed as a single data point in a space with the same number of dimensions as there are parameters in the profiles. In this way, pattern discovery among expression profiles is translated into pattern discovery in the spatial distribution of data points: the similarity between profiles is defined by the distance between the corresponding data points. Various multivariate analysis methods, such as clustering and dimensionality reduction methods, are used to summarize the data point distribution to help the investigator recognize major trends. As different methods may identify different features of the distribution, it is important to analyze a particular data set with multiple methods. Curr. Protoc. Mol. Biol. 85:22.5. 1‐22.5. 15. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FlexISP

Conventional pipelines for capturing, displaying, and storing images are usually defined as a series of cascaded modules, each responsible for addressing a particular problem. While this divide-and-conquer approach offers many benefits, it also introduces a cumulative error, as each step in the pipeline only considers the output of the previous step, not the original sensor data. We propose an end-to-end system that is aware of the camera and image model, enforces natural-image priors, while jointly accounting for common image processing steps like demosaicking, denoising, deconvolution, and so forth, all directly in a given output representation (e.g., YUV, DCT). Our system is flexible and we demonstrate it on regular Bayer images as well as images from custom sensors. In all cases, we achieve large improvements in image quality and signal reconstruction compared to state-of-the-art techniques. Finally, we show that our approach is capable of very efficiently handling high-resolution images, making even mobile implementations feasible.
Stability Analysis and Region-of-Attraction Estimation Using Piecewise Polynomial Lyapunov Functions: Polynomial Fuzzy Model Approach

This paper proposes sum-of-squares (SOS) methodologies for stability analysis and region-of-attraction (ROA) estimation for nonlinear systems represented by polynomial fuzzy models via piecewise polynomial Lyapunov functions (PPLFs). At first, two SOS-based global stability criteria are proposed by applying maximum-type and minimum-type PPLFs, respectively. It is known that less-conservative results can be obtained by reducing global stability to local stability, since it is usually the case for nonlinear systems that the stability cannot be reached globally. Therefore, based on the two types of PPLFs, two local stability criteria are further proposed with the algorithms that enlarge the estimated ROA as much as possible. The constraints for checking (global and local) stability and enlarging the estimated ROA are represented in terms of bilinear SOS problems. Hence, the path-following method is applied to solve the bilinear SOS problems in the proposed methodologies. Finally, some examples are provided to illustrate the utility of the proposed methodologies.
Genes and elite athletes: a roadmap for future research

Abstract There is compelling evidence that genetic factors influence several phenotype traits related to physical performance and training response as well as to elite athletic status. Previous case‐control studies showed that ∼20 genetic variants seem to be associated with elite endurance athletic status. The present review aims to introduce novel methodological approaches in the field of sports genetics research, which can be applied in the near future to analyse the genotype profile associated with elite athletic status. These include genotype–phenotype association studies using gene expression analysis, analysis of post‐transcriptional factors, particularly microRNAs, genome‐wide scan linkage or genome‐wide association studies, and novel algorithm approaches, such as ‘genotype scores’. Several gaps in the current body of knowledge have been indentified including, among others: small sample size of most athletic cohorts, lack of corroboration with replication cohorts of different ethnic backgrounds (particularly, made up of non‐Caucasian athletes), the need of research accounting for the potential role of epigenetics in elite athletic performance, and also the need for future models that take into account the association between athletic status and complex gene–gene and gene–environment interactions. Some recommendations are provided to minimize research limitations in the field of sport genetics.
The (low-carbon) shipping forecast: opportunities on the high seas

As the years pass by, the uncomfortable but inescapable evidence that climate negotiations have failed to even curb the rate in growth of energy-related CO2 becomes ever stronger. Taking the latest estimates from the International Energy Agency, CO2 emissions grew at 6 and 3% in 2010 and 2011, respectively, despite many of the wealthier nations individually experiencing lower growth or even reductions in emissions in absolute terms driven by the economic downturn (Figure 1) [1]. Coupling these rising emissions with trends over the past decade paints an alarming picture when contrasted with what is required to give a reasonable chance of avoiding ? dangerous interference with the climate system? associated with a global temperature increase of 2�C above preindustrial levels; a point succinctly stressed in Anderson and Bows? contribution to this mini focus issue of Carbon Management [2]. It is unsurprising, then, that the slow pace and absence of any real and binding commitment to addressing this global challenge through the ongoing negotiations trickles down to influence the response at national or sectoral levels.
Combining Auditory Preprocessing and Bayesian Estimation for Robust Formant Tracking

We present a framework for estimating formant trajectories. Its focus is to achieve high robustness in noisy environments. Our approach combines a preprocessing based on functional principles of the human auditory system and a probabilistic tracking scheme. For enhancing the formant structure in spectrograms we use a Gammatone filterbank, a spectral preemphasis, as well as a spectral filtering using difference-of-Gaussians (DoG) operators. Finally, a contrast enhancement mimicking a competition between filter responses is applied. The probabilistic tracking scheme adopts the mixture modeling technique for estimating the joint distribution of formants. In conjunction with an algorithm for adaptive frequency range segmentation as well as Bayesian smoothing an efficient framework for estimating formant trajectories is derived. Comprehensive evaluations of our method on the VTR-formant database emphasize its high precision and robustness. We obtained superior performance compared to existing approaches for clean as well as echoic noisy speech. Finally, an implementation of the framework within the scope of an online system using instantaneous feature-based resynthesis demonstrates its applicability to real-world scenarios.
Activation of Akt rescues endoplasmic reticulum stress-impaired murine cardiac contractile function via glycogen synthase kinase-3β-mediated suppression of mitochondrial permeation pore opening.

AIMS The present study was designed to examine the impact of chronic Akt activation on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced cardiac mechanical anomalies, if any, and the underlying mechanism involved. RESULTS Wild-type and transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of the active mutant of Akt (Myr-Akt) were subjected to the ER stress inducer tunicamycin (1 or 3 mg/kg). ER stress led to compromised echocardiographic (elevated left ventricular end-systolic diameter and reduced fractional shortening) and cardiomyocyte contractile function, intracellular Ca(2+) mishandling, and cell survival in wild-type mice associated with mitochondrial damage. In vitro ER stress induction in murine cardiomyocytes upregulated the ER stress proteins Gadd153, GRP78, and phospho-eIF2α, and promoted reactive oxygen species production, carbonyl formation, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential loss, and mitochondrial permeation pore (mPTP) opening associated with overtly impaired cardiomyocyte contractile and intracellular Ca(2+) properties. Interestingly, these anomalies were mitigated by chronic Akt activation or the ER chaperon tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA). Treatment with tunicamycin also dephosphorylated Akt and its downstream signal glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) (leading to activation of GSK3β), the effect of which was abrogated by Akt activation and TUDCA. The ER stress-induced cardiomyocyte contractile and mitochondrial anomalies were obliterated by the mPTP inhibitor cyclosporin A, GSK3β inhibitor SB216763, and ER stress inhibitor TUDCA. INNOVATION This research reported the direct relationship between ER stress and cardiomyocyte contractile and mitochondrial anomalies for the first time. CONCLUSION Taken together, these data suggest that ER stress may compromise cardiac contractile and intracellular Ca(2+) properties, possibly through the Akt/GSK3β-dependent impairment of mitochondrial integrity.
Enhanced resist and etch CD control by design perturbation

Etch dummy features are used in the mask data preparation flow to reduce critical dimension (CD) skew between resist and etch processes and improve the printability of layouts. However, etch dummy rules conflict with SRAF (Sub-Resolution Assist Feature) insertion because each of the two techniques requires specific spacings of poly-to-assist, assist-to-assist, active-to-etch dummy and dummy-to-dummy. In this work, we first present a novel SRAF-aware etch dummy insertion method (SAEDM) which optimizes etch dummy insertion to make the layout more conducive to assist-feature insertion after etch dummy features have been inserted. However, placed standard-cell layouts may not have the ideal whitespace distribution to allow for optimal etch dummy and assist-feature insertions. Since placement of cells can create forbidden pitch violations, the placer must generate assist-correct and etch dummy-correct placements. This can be achieved by intelligent whitespace management in the placer. We describe a novel dynamic programming-based technique for etch-dummy correctness (EtchCorr) which can be combine with the SAEDM in detailed placement of standard-cell designs. Our algorithm is validated on industrial testcases with respect to wafer printability, database complexity and device performance.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition prevents arterial nuclear factor-kappa B activation, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 expression, and macrophage infiltration in a rabbit model of early accelerated atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND The migration of monocytes into the vessel wall is a critical event leading to the development of atherosclerosis. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is the main chemotactic factor involved in this phenomenon, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) is one of the nuclear factors controlling its expression. ACE inhibitors have been useful in some experimental models of atherosclerosis. In this work, we addressed the hypothesis that angiotensin II (Ang II) may be implicated in the recruitment of monocytes into the vessel wall through the activation of NF-kappa B and the induction of MCP-1 expression. METHODS AND RESULTS Accelerated atherosclerosis was induced in the femoral arteries of rabbits by endothelial desiccation and atherogenic diet for 7 days. Atherosclerotic vessels exhibited an increase in NF-kappa B-like activity, and p50 and p65 NF-kappa B subunits were identified as components of this activity. MCP-1 (mRNA and protein) was also expressed in the injured vessels coincidently with the neointimal macrophage infiltration. ACE inhibition with quinapril reduced these three parameters. In cultured monocytic and vascular smooth muscle cells. Ang II elicited an increase in NF-kappa B activation and MCP-1 expression that was prevented by preincubation of cells with pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate, an inhibitor of NF-kappa B activation. CONCLUSIONS The present data support a role for Ang II in neointimal monocyte infiltration through NF-kappa B activation and MCP-1 expression in a model of accelerated atherosclerosis in rabbits. Our results suggest that ACE inhibitors may have a beneficial effect in early atherosclerosis.
Increased risk of congenital heart disease in twins in the North of England between 1998 and 2010

Objective To examine the relative risk (RR) of congenital heart disease (CHD) in twins compared with singletons, according to chorionicity. Methods Twins and singletons with CHD notified to the Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey between 1998 and 2010 were included in this population-based study. Information on chorionicity was obtained from the Northern Survey of Twins and Multiple Pregnancy. Prevalence was calculated as the number of cases occurring in live births, late miscarriages (20–23 weeks), stillbirths (≥24 weeks) and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly, per 10 000 total births. The risk of CHD in twins compared with singletons was estimated using Poisson regression. Results There were 399 414 singleton births of which 2984 (0.7%) had CHD. Among 11 871 twin births, 154 (1.3%) had CHD; one twin was affected by CHD in 2.5% of twin pregnancies. Of 8605 dichorionic (DC) births and 2317 monochorionic (MC) births, 96 (1.1%) and 47 (2.0%) were associated with CHD. Compared with singletons, twins were at significantly increased risk of CHD (RR=1.73, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.04; p<0.001). MC twins were at 82% significantly increased risk of CHD compared with DC twins (RR=1.82, 95% CI 1.29 to 2.57; p<0.001). The RR of severe and mild CHD was particularly high in MC twins compared with singletons (292% increased risk, RR=3.92, 95% CI 1.25 to 12.30, p=0.02 and 207% increased risk, RR=3.07, 95% CI 2.20 to 4.28; p<0.001). Conclusions Compared with singletons, twins were at increased risk of CHD, the risk being substantially higher among MC twins. This information is important for health professionals when counselling women with twin pregnancies.
Path division method for fairness in dynamic elastic optical path networks

Elastic optical path network can utilize spectrum resources efficiently exploiting the characteristic of flexible spectrum slots, compared to traditional WDM networks with rigid spectrum grid. Paths with long optical reach adapt to lower level of modulation format, and therefore, require more spectrum slots per a unit capacity of the optical path. This paper focuses on the relation between the length of optical paths and suitable modulation format in dynamic on-demand elastic optical path network. The dynamic elastic optical path networks give the unfairness that long hop connections have worse loss probability. To tackle the technical issue, we propose and investigate path division method in which one long optical path is divided into multiple short ones for improving loss probability. Simulation results show that the proposed method can improve loss probability, particularly, of paths with long optical reach and its fairness.
The role of stathmin in the regulation of the cell cycle

Stathmin is the founding member of a family of proteins that play critically important roles in the regulation of the microtubule cytoskeleton. Stathmin regulates microtubule dynamics by promoting depolymerization of microtubules and/or preventing polymerization of tubulin heterodimers. Upon entry into mitosis, microtubules polymerize to form the mitotic spindle, a cellular structure that is essential for accurate chromosome segregation and cell division. The microtubule‐depolymerizing activity of stathmin is switched off at the onset of mitosis by phosphorylation to allow microtubule polymerization and assembly of the mitotic spindle. Phosphorylated stathmin has to be reactivated by dephosphorylation before cells exit mitosis and enter a new interphase. Interfering with stathmin function by forced expression or inhibition of expression results in reduced cellular proliferation and accumulation of cells in the G2/M phases of the cell cycle. Forced expression of stathmin leads to abnormalities in or a total lack of mitotic spindle assembly and arrest of cells in the early stages of mitosis. On the other hand, inhibition of stathmin expression leads to accumulation of cells in the G2/M phases and is associated with severe mitotic spindle abnormalities and difficulty in the exit from mitosis. Thus, stathmin is critically important not only for the formation of a normal mitotic spindle upon entry into mitosis but also for the regulation of the function of the mitotic spindle in the later stages of mitosis and for the timely exit from mitosis. In this review, we summarize the early studies that led to the identification of the important mitotic function of stathmin and discuss the present understanding of its role in the regulation of microtubules dynamics during cell‐cycle progression. We also describe briefly other less mature avenues of investigation which suggest that stathmin may participate in other important biological functions and speculate about the future directions that research in this rapidly developing field may take. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Conduction Slowing and Sudden Arrhythmic Death in Mice With Cardiac-Restricted Inactivation of Connexin43

Abstract— Cardiac arrhythmia is a common and often lethal manifestation of many forms of heart disease. Gap junction remodeling has been postulated to contribute to the increased propensity for arrhythmogenesis in diseased myocardium, although a causative role in vivo remains speculative. By generating mice with cardiac-restricted knockout of connexin43 (Cx43), we have circumvented the perinatal lethal developmental defect associated with germline inactivation of this gap junction channel gene and uncovered an essential role for Cx43 in the maintenance of electrical stability. Mice with cardiac-specific loss of Cx43 have normal heart structure and contractile function, and yet they uniformly (28 of 28 conditional Cx43 knockout mice observed) develop sudden cardiac death from spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias by 2 months of age. Optical mapping of the epicardial electrical activation pattern in Cx43 conditional knockout mice revealed that ventricular conduction velocity was significantly slowed by up to 55% in the transverse direction and 42% in the longitudinal direction, resulting in an increase in anisotropic ratio compared with control littermates (2.1±0.13 versus 1.66±0.06;P <0.01). This novel genetic murine model of primary sudden cardiac death defines gap junctional abnormalities as a key molecular feature of the arrhythmogenic substrate.
Multiple Cooperative Bilateral Teleoperation with Time-Varying Delay

This paper deals with a passive-decomposition based control of bilateral teleoperation between a single master robot and multiple cooperative slave robots with time varying delay. First, we decompose the dynamics of multiple slave robots into two decoupled dynamics by using the passive-decomposition: the shape-system describing dynamics of the cooperative works and the locked-system representing the overall behavior of the multiple slave robots. Second, we propose a PD control method for bilateral teleoperation to guarantee asymptotic stability of the system with time varying delay. Finally, experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed teleoperation. Teleoperation systems allow persons to extend their sense and manipulation capabilities to remote places. In general, a slave robot is controlled to do some real tasks at the remote place by controll signals that are sent from a master side. Com- munication channels are composed to connect the robots and the remote environment. In bilateral control, contact informa- tion is fed back to the master side when the salve robot interacts with the remote environment, therefore the manipulation capa- bility can be improved (1). One absolutely unsolved problem of the control of teleoperation systems is time delay in the com- munication line. In some cases, the master and the slave are coupled via a communication network (e.g Internet), the time delay is incurred in the transmission of data between the master and the slave sides. The delay may destabilize and deteriorate the transparency of the teleoperation system. Therefore, it is necessary to design a control law to guarantee stability of the system under communication delays. The time delay is not only constant but also variable in many cases. Up to now, many successful control schemes have been pro- posed for the teleoperation system with single master and sin- gle slave (SMSS). However, studies on teleoperation systems with multi robots are relatively rare. In (2)-(5) some control methods were proposed for the system with multiple master and multiple slave (MMMS). In this system, one human can control one slave robot to perform a separated operation in a coopera- tive task, thus the system may demand a large number of human operators if the task requires many slave robots. In (6)-(9) the single master and multiple slaves (SMMS) systems were con- sidered, but the control methods were proposed only for the motion coordination. Both MMMS and SMMS systems are ap- plied for the tasks which need the cooperation of many slave