Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repulsion by Slit and Roundabout prevents Shotgun/E-cadherin–mediated cell adhesion during Drosophila heart tube lumen formation

During Drosophila melanogaster heart development, a lumen forms between apical surfaces of contralateral cardioblasts (CBs). We show that Slit and its receptor Roundabout (Robo) are required at CB apical domains for lumen formation. Mislocalization of Slit outside the apical domain causes ectopic lumen formation and the mislocalization of cell junction proteins, E-cadherin (E-Cad) and Enabled, without disrupting overall CB cell polarity. Ectopic lumen formation is suppressed in robo mutants, which indicates robo's requirement for this process. Genetic evidence suggests that Robo and Shotgun (Shg)/E-Cad function together in modulating CB adhesion. robo and shg/E-Cad transheterozygotes have lumen defects. In robo loss-of-function or shg/E-Cad gain-of-function embryos, lumen formation is blocked because of inappropriate CB adhesion and an accumulation of E-Cad at the apical membrane. In contrast, shg/E-Cad loss-of-function or robo gain-of-function blocks lumen formation due to a loss of CB adhesion. Our data show that Slit and Robo pathways function in lumen formation as a repulsive signal to antagonize E-Cad–mediated cell adhesion.
COLLOIDAL ELECTROLUMINESCENCE: NOVEL ROUTES TO CONTROLLED EMISSION OF ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE DEVICES

In recent years the importance of the organic light emitting diode (OLED) has grown immensely, and the past two decades have seen ongoing and exhaustive research in organic routes to solid state lighting, wherein electricity is directly converted into emitted light through an excited state relaxation mechanism. The benefits of incorporating polymeric and small molecule materials into solid state lighting devices include high efficiences, low production costs, amenability to large-scale production and devices, reduced environmental impact and low energy consumption. Herein are presented novel routes to materials engineering and preparation, device fabrication and emission tailoring through the abilility to form a variety of polymeric and small molecule materials into aqueously dispersed semiconductive electroluminescent (EL) colloids. Compartmentalization of the emissive and semiconductive species into colloidal particles affords the ability to systematically control energy transfer processes that occur in light emitting devices. Energy transfer can occur through a Coulombic (Förster) or an electronic (Dexter) process, each needing several conditions to be met for the transfer to occur, however common to both are spectral and proximal characteristics. In this work, energy transfer will be simultaneously exploited and inhibited through the creation of EL colloidal particles which can be combined in a dispersion or thin layer in order to tailor the light emission for a variety of applications.
Analysis of cartilage matrix fixed charge density and three-dimensional morphology via contrast-enhanced microcomputed tomography

Small animal models of osteoarthritis are often used for evaluating the efficacy of pharmacologic treatments and cartilage repair strategies, but noninvasive techniques capable of monitoring matrix-level changes are limited by the joint size and the low radiopacity of soft tissues. Here we present a technique for the noninvasive imaging of cartilage at micrometer-level resolution based on detecting the equilibrium partitioning of an ionic contrast agent via microcomputed tomography. The approach exploits electrochemical interactions between the molecular charges present in the cartilage matrix and an ionic contrast agent, resulting in a nonuniform equilibrium partitioning of the ionic contrast agent reflecting the proteoglycan distribution. In an in vitro model of cartilage degeneration we observed changes in x-ray attenuation magnitude and distribution consistent with biochemical and histological analyses of sulfated glycosaminoglycans, and x-ray attenuation was found to be a strong predictor of sulfated glycosaminoglycan density. Equilibration with the contrast agent also permits direct in situ visualization and quantification of cartilage surface morphology. Equilibrium partitioning of an ionic contrast agent via microcomputed tomography thus provides a powerful approach to quantitatively assess 3D cartilage composition and morphology for studies of cartilage degradation and repair.
Dimensional changes of carbon fiber fabrics reinforced phenolic resin-based carbon/carbon composites during pyrolysis

The dimensional changes of two-dimensional phenolic resin-based carbon/carbon composites during pyrolysis were investigated. The carbon/carbon composites were obtained by pyrolyzing the carbon fiber/phenolic resin composites that were fabricated using a vacuum bag hot pressing technique. Length, width and thickness of the rectangular composite samples were measured carefully before and after pyrolysis. The effects of heat treatment temperature and fiber pre-heat treatment on the dimensional changes of carbon/carbon composites were investigated. The measurement results indicated that different behavior in dimensional changes could be obtained for carbon/carbon composites with different fiber–matrix bonding in the interface.
Post‐synaptic action of morphine on glutamatergic neuronal transmission related to the descending antinociceptive pathway in the rat thalamus

Morphine is a prototypical μ‐opioid receptor (MOR) agonist, and can directly inhibit pain transmission at both spinal and supraspinal levels. In the present study, we investigated the properties of thalamic neurons in an opioid‐sensitive pain‐modulating circuit. Application of morphine to cultured thalamic neurons evoked a potentiation of glutamate‐induced peak currents, which was blocked by the MOR antagonist. Application of the protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine significantly inhibited the morphine‐evoked enhancement of glutamate‐induced currents. Immunoreactivity for MOR was observed with high density in the habenular nucleus (Hb) of the thalamus in rats, which was clearly co‐localized with NMDA receptor subunit 1 (NRI). In this study, we show that microinjection of morphine into the Hb produced a dose‐dependent increase in the tail‐flick latency and enhanced the antinociceptive effect induced by the intra‐Hb injection of glutamate. When fluoro‐gold (FG) was used as a retrograde tracer, we found that FG‐labeled neurons in the Hb after the microinjection of FG into the periaqueductal gray expressed both MOR and NR1. The present data suggest that the stimulation of MOR in the Hb may be involved in activation of the descending antinociceptive pathway through glutamatergic neurotransmission via the NMDA receptor.
Initial performance assessment of a combined microPET® focus-F120 and MR split magnet system

This work is an initial evaluation of the performance of a microPET Focus-Fl20 system modified to fit in the split in a 1 Tesla MR imaging system to create a rodent scanner capable of simultaneous PET and MR acquisition. The MR imager is a novel design with a split in the magnet former, cryostat and gradient coils and with sufficient self-shielding to radically reduce the stray field at the cryostat edge. This permits the Focus-F120 detector geometry to be maintained with the addition of longer fibre bundles coupling the crystals to the PMT’s, which consequently are situated in a low magnetic field region outside the cryostat. Baseline PET performance was measured with gradient and shim coils in place but without RF coils in the PET FOV. Misalignment of the crystal blocks has decreased the PET spatial resolution, from 1.7 mm to 2.2 mm at 5 mm radial distance, compared to the Focus-F120. The peak absolute sensitivity is reduced to 5.3% compared to 6.8% for a 250-750 keV energy window and 6 ns coincidence window. The noise equivalent count rate (NECR-1R) peaks at about 215 kcps at 112 MBq for a NEMA rat phantom compared to 300 kcps for the Focus-F120 at 140 MBq. Magnetic field homogeneity was assessed as +/− 6 hertz over a 10 cm long and 8 cm diameter cylindrical space and a pulsed gradient strength of 200 mT/m, with a rise time of less than 100 microseconds, demonstrated on all three axes. Separate PET and MR imaging capability has been demonstrated as well as continuous, simultaneous acquisition with no detectable interference between the two imaging systems.
Machine-Learning Applications of Algorithmic Randomness

Machine-LearningApplicationsofAlgorithmicRandomnessVolodyaovk,AlexGammerman,CraigSaundersComputerLearningResearchCentreandDepartmentofScienceRoyalHollowa,UniversitofLondon,Egham,SurreyTW200EX,Englandfvovk,alex,craigg@dcs.rhbnc. ac.ukAbstractMostmachinelearningalgorithmssharethefollowingdrawback:theyonlyoutputbarepredictionsbutnotthecon denceinthosepredictions.Inthe1960salgorithmicinfor-mationtheorysupplieduniversalmeasuresofcon dencebuttheseare,unfortunately,non-computable.Inthispap erwecombinetheideasofalgorithmicinformationtheorywiththetheoryofSupp ortVectormachinestoobtainpracticableapproximationsuni-versalmeasuresofcon dence.Weshowthatinsomestandardproblemsofpatternrecog-nitionourapproximationsworkell.1INTRODUCTIONTwoimp ortantdi erencesofmostmo dernmetho dsmachinelearning(suchasstatisticaltheory,seeVapnik[21],1998,orPACtheory)fromclassicalstatisticalmetho dsarethat:machinelearningmetho dspro ducebarepredic-tions,withoutestimatingcon denceinthosepre-dictions(unlike,eg,predictionoffutureobser-vationsintraditionalstatistics(Guttman[5],1970));manymachinelearningmetho dsaredesignedtowork(andtheirp erformanceisanalysed)un-derthegeneraliidassumption(unlikeclas-sicalparametricstatistics)andtheyareabletodealwithextremelyhigh-dimensionalhyp othesisspaces;cfVapnik[21](1998). Inthispap erwewillfurtherdeveloptheapproachofGammermanetal[4](1998)andSaunders[17Figure1:Ifthetrainingsetonlycontainsclear2sand7s,weouldliktoattachmucloercon dencethemiddleimagethantorightandleftones(1999),wherethegoalistoobtaincon dencesforpredictionsunderthegeneraliidassumptioninhigh-dimensionalsituations.Figure1demonstratesthede-sirabilityofcon dences.Themaincontributionthispap erisemb eddingtheapproachesofGammermanetal[4](1998)andSaunderset[17(1999)intoagen-eralschemebasedonthenotionofalgorithmicran-domness.Aswillb ecomeclearlater,theproblemofassigningcon dencestopredictionsiscloselyconnectedtheproblemofde ningrandomsequences.ThelatterproblemwassolvedbyKolmogorov[8](1965),whobasedhisde nitionontheexistenceUniver-salTuringMachine(thoughitb ecameclearthatKol-mogorov'sde nitiondo essolvetheproblemofde ningrandomsequencesonlyafterMartin-Lof 'spap er[15],1966);Kolmogorov'sde nitionmovedthenotionofrandomnessfromthegreyareasurroundingprobabil-itytheoryandstatisticstomathematicalcomputersci-ence.Kolmogorovb elievedhisnotionofrandomnesstob easuitablebasisforapplicationsofprobability.Unfor-tunately,fateideaasdi erentfromKol-mogorov's1933axioms(Kolmogorov[7],1933),which
Nutrient and Rainfall Additions Shift Phylogenetically Estimated Traits of Soil Microbial Communities

Microbial traits related to ecological responses and functions could provide a common currency facilitating synthesis and prediction; however, such traits are difficult to measure directly for all taxa in environmental samples. Past efforts to estimate trait values based on phylogenetic relationships have not always distinguished between traits with high and low phylogenetic conservatism, limiting reliability, especially in poorly known environments, such as soil. Using updated reference trees and phylogenetic relationships, we estimated two phylogenetically conserved traits hypothesized to be ecologically important from DNA sequences of the 16S rRNA gene from soil bacterial and archaeal communities. We sampled these communities from an environmental change experiment in California grassland applying factorial addition of late-season precipitation and soil nutrients to multiple soil types for 3 years prior to sampling. Estimated traits were rRNA gene copy number, which contributes to how rapidly a microbe can respond to an increase in resources and may be related to its maximum growth rate, and genome size, which suggests the breadth of environmental and substrate conditions in which a microbe can thrive. Nutrient addition increased community-weighted mean estimated rRNA gene copy number and marginally increased estimated genome size, whereas precipitation addition decreased these community means for both estimated traits. The effects of both treatments on both traits were associated with soil properties, such as ammonium, available phosphorus, and pH. Estimated trait responses within several phyla were opposite to the community mean response, indicating that microbial responses, although largely consistent among soil types, were not uniform across the tree of life. Our results show that phylogenetic estimation of microbial traits can provide insight into how microbial ecological strategies interact with environmental changes. The method could easily be applied to any of the thousands of existing 16S rRNA sequence data sets and offers potential to improve our understanding of how microbial communities mediate ecosystem function responses to global changes.
Preserved contribution of nitric oxide to baseline vascular tone in deconditioned human skeletal muscle

Deconditioning is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Exercise reduces this risk, possibly by improving the vascular endothelial nitric oxide (NO) pathway. The effect of deconditioning on the NO pathway is largely unknown. This study was designed to assess baseline NO availability in the leg vascular bed after extreme, long‐term deconditioning (spinal cord‐injured individuals, SCI) as well as after moderate, short‐term deconditioning (4 weeks of unilateral lower limb suspension, ULLS). For this purpose, seven SCI were compared with seven matched controls. Additionally, seven healthy subjects were studied pre‐ and post‐ULLS. Leg blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography at baseline and during infusion of 5 incremental dosages of NG‐monomethyl‐l‐arginine (l‐NMMA) into the femoral artery. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was infused to test vascular responsiveness to NO. Baseline leg vascular resistance tended to be higher in SCI compared with controls (37 ± 4 versus 31 ± 2 arbitrary units (AU), P= 0.06). Deconditioning altered neither the vasoconstrictor response to l‐NMMA (increase in resistance in SCI versus controls: 102 ± 33%versus 69 ± 9%; pre‐ versus post‐ULLS: 95 ± 18%versus 119 ± 15%), nor the vascular responsiveness to NO. In conclusion, two human in vivo models of deconditioning show a preserved baseline NO availability in the leg skeletal muscle vascular bed.
Synthesis of hydroxyapatite from biogenic wastes

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a major component of human bone, teeth and hard tissue. It is one of only a few bioactive materials. Since HAp is the most widely used ceramic biomaterial, various techniques have been developed to synthesize HAp. In recent years, the use of natural biogenic structures and materials for medical proposes has been motivated by limitations in producing synthetic materials. This article mainly focuses on the use of biogenic wastes to prepare HAp. These include bio-wastes, marine corals, eggshells, seashells and bio-membranes. In the present review, useful information about HAp preparation methodologies has been summarized for further research and development.
Physical activity of Canadian adults: accelerometer results from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey.

BACKGROUND Rising obesity rates and declining fitness levels have increased interest in understanding what underlies these trends. This article presents the first directly measured data on physical activity and sedentary behaviour on a nationally representative sample of Canadians aged 20 to 79 years. DATA AND METHODS Data are from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS). Physical activity was measured using accelerometry. Data are presented as time spent in sedentary, light, moderate and vigorous intensity movement as well as steps accumulated per day. RESULTS An estimated 15% of Canadian adults accumulate 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per week; 5% accumulate 150 minutes per week as at least 30 minutes of MVPA on 5 or more days a week. Men are more active than women and MVPA declines with increasing age and adiposity. Canadian adults are sedentary for approximately 9.5 hours per day (69% of waking hours). Men accumulate an average of 9,500 steps per day and women, 8,400 steps per day. The 10,000-steps-per-day target is achieved by 35% of adults. INTERPRETATION Before the CHMS, objective measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour were not available for a representative sample of Canadians. The findings indicate that 85% of adults are not active enough to meet Canada's new physical activity recommendation.
Data fusion algorithm of multilayer neural network by ZigBee protocol architecture

This paper is based on the hydrological environment monitoring system on wireless sensor network as the background. We are aiming at the limited network nodes deployment, designing the relatively simple network communication protocol and getting the high requirements of nodes' energy consumption. The paper has designed a data fusion algorithm of MLP-ZigBee by ZigBee Protocol Architecture to solve above problems. The algorithm adopts the three-layers Perceptron model, and improves the efficiency of every layer fusion and total efficiency by the idea of cross-layer fusion model. By comparing with other algorithms, the simulation showed that the algorithm can be repeated sent data by reducing redundancy to reduce the network energy consumption and extend the life cycle of WSN.
Comparison of patella cartilage volume and radiography in the assessment of longitudinal joint change at the patellofemoral joint.

OBJECTIVE To compare radiological assessment of the patellofemoral (PF) joint and cartilage volume as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a longitudinal study. METHODS One hundred and two subjects with osteoarthritis (OA) had baseline and followup skyline and lateral radiographs and MRI of the same knee. Duration of followup was 1.94 +/- 0.23 years. Mid-patella joint space and narrowest joint space were measured on lateral PF radiographs. Minimum joint space in the lateral and medial facets was measured on skyline radiographs. Rate of progression of PF joint OA was measured quantitatively at each site. Patella cartilage volume was measured from the MRI. The rate of change in each radiographic measure was compared to the rate of change in patella cartilage volume. RESULTS The average loss of patella cartilage was 133 +/- 143 microm(3)/yr (4.4%). The loss of joint space over the same period on lateral radiographs was 0.7 +/- 2.6 mm at the narrowest joint space and 0.2 +/- 3.8 mm at the mid-patella joint space. On the skyline radiographs, the loss of joint space at the medial facet was 0.4 +/- 3.9 mm and 0.2 +/- 3.4 mm at the lateral facet. Only change in narrowest joint space on the lateral PF radiographs correlated with change in patella cartilage volume (R = 0.22, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION Our data suggest that narrowest joint space measured on lateral PF radiographs correlates best with loss of patella cartilage. Further work will be needed to determine how different radiological measures of the PF joint relate to the disease process in OA.
Global standards, global governance and the organization of global value chains

Compliance with international standards is now a sine qua non for entry into globalized production networks. Developing country firms and farms are confronted by an array of distinct product and process standards that they must meet. This has heightened the competitive challenges they face. Non-compliance can result in exclusion from profitable markets. This article uses the recent case of Nike's termination of sourcing of soccer balls from its lead supplier in Pakistan as a lens to analyse the relationship between standards and governance. The article addresses first the global governance implications associated with how standards are being shaped and implemented. Second, it considers how global standards affect the governance of value chain ties. Finally, in terms of questions for further research, it suggests the need to explore the relationship between standards and intra-firm governance, in particular to assess outcomes for those engaged within the chains namely local firms and their workers, and the social contexts in which global standards are imposed from the outside.
Static strengths of Ta and U under ultrahigh pressures

We have performed high-pressure strength experiments on tantalum and uranium using a diamond-anvil cell. These experiments determined the flow stresses of tantalum and uranium at room temperature and in the low strain rate limit ({var_epsilon}{sup {prime}}{lt}10{sup {minus}6} sec{sup {minus}1}) by using x-ray diffraction to measure the pressure gradients in the samples. We find that the flow stresses increase dramatically with increasing pressure and strain, with the flow stress of Ta reaching 10.3thinspGPa at a pressure of 85.8thinspGPa and an estimated strain of {approx}90{percent}, and the flow stress of U reaching 19.8thinspGPa at a pressure of 109.0thinspGPa and an estimated strain of {approx}70{percent}. With further increases in pressure and strain, the flow stresses decrease. This apparent strain-softening effect has also been observed in static high-pressure flow stress experiments on other materials, and has been suggested to be due to either material damage or preferred orientation of grains induced by large strains. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Physical Society}
Constraint solving in common Lisp

Constraint solving has become an established approach for the handling of complex combinatorial and scheduling problems. We present a constraint solver framework that enables the interchange of most solver aspects through its extensive modular design. Here, we especially focus on the search protocol design. The system is compared to the renowned Screamer approach and shown to improve performance for several benchmark cases.
The ECG in Diabetes Mellitus

Case Presentation: A 42-year-old man underwent routine blood tests that revealed a fasting blood glucose value of 105 mg/dL and hemoglobin A1c of 6.2%, resulting in a diagnosis of early type 2 diabetes mellitus. Resting 12-lead ECG showed deep S-wave in LIII and R-wave in aVL, indicating early left ventricular hypertrophy; no signs of cardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) were found. Stress ECG demonstrated a 2-mm depression of the ST segment. Inasmuch as this finding represents high risk for future cardiovascular disease and mortality, the patient was given strict diet restrictions, and all measures to control cardiac risk factors were advised. Throughout a 6-year follow-up, the diabetes mellitus remained well controlled, the ECG remained unchanged, and no clinical or ECG signs of neuropathy became apparent. The importance of diabetes mellitus, both type 1 and type 2, in the epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases cannot be overemphasized. About one third of acute myocardial infarction patients have diabetes mellitus, the prevalence of which is steadily increasing: In the 1960s, there were 2 million Americans with diabetes mellitus; in the year 2000, their number was 15 million. Statistics have shown that the decrease in cardiac mortality in persons with diabetes mellitus is lagging behind that of the general population.1 Early diagnosis of diabetes mellitus is crucial. Fibrotic changes, especially in the basal area of the left ventricle, have frequently been observed in diabetic patients, even when cardiac involvement is clinically not yet evident. An example of the ECG tracing in a diabetic patient with no apparent heart disease is given in Figure 1. Figure 1. …