Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute effect of different minimalist shoes on foot strike pattern and kinematics in rearfoot strikers during running

Abstract Despite the growing interest in minimalist shoes, no studies have compared the efficacy of different types of minimalist shoe models in reproducing barefoot running patterns and in eliciting biomechanical changes that make them differ from standard cushioned running shoes. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of different footwear models, marketed as “minimalist” by their manufacturer, on running biomechanics. Six running shoes marketed as barefoot/minimalist models, a standard cushioned shoe and the barefoot condition were tested. Foot–/shoe–ground pressure and three-dimensional lower limb kinematics were measured in experienced rearfoot strike runners while they were running at 3.33 m · s−1 on an instrumented treadmill. Physical and mechanical characteristics of shoes (mass, heel and forefoot sole thickness, shock absorption and flexibility) were measured with laboratory tests. There were significant changes in foot strike pattern (described by the strike index and foot contact angle) and spatio-temporal stride characteristics, whereas only some among the other selected kinematic parameters (i.e. knee angles and hip vertical displacement) changed accordingly. Different types of minimalist footwear models induced different changes. It appears that minimalist footwear with lower heel heights and minimal shock absorption is more effective in replicating barefoot running.
Experimental study on mechanism and rarity of metastases in skeletal muscle.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the reasons for the rarity of metastases in skeletal muscle. METHODS By injecting tumor cells (Walker256 rat carcinosarcoma) through the iliac artery (experimental group) and the tail vein (control group), animal models of blood-borne metastases were established. The quadriceps femoris muscle and lungs were observed grossly and microscopically. Immunohistochemistry was applied to investigate the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in the microvascular endothelium of these organs. Primary culture of rat skeletal muscle cells was established and conditioned medium (MCM) was collected. Effects of MCM on several tumor cell lines and the biochemical characteristics of skeletal muscle delivered tumor factor(s) were tested by MTT assay. Apoptosis and morphological examination were carried out to investigate the antitumor mechanisms of MCM. RESULTS In the experimental group, there were no definite metastases observed in muscle cells. In the control group, lung metastases were present in the lungs of all rats that were sacrificed at the 14th day or died spontaneously (17 rats in all). There was no significant difference between the increase in VCAM-1 in quadriceps femoris muscle 7 days after iliac artery injection and that in lungs 7 days after tail vein injection (P > 0.05). In vitro studies showed that the proliferation of tumor cell lines of mouse SP2/0 myeloma, rat Walker256 carcinosarcoma or human chronic granulocytic leukemia K562, human acute lymphatic leukemia HL-60, LS-174-T colon adenocarcinoma, PC3-M prostatic carcinoma and lung giant cell carcinoma with different metastatic potency (PLA801-C with low metastatic potency, PLA801-D with high metastatic potency) was significantly inhibited when cultured with MCM (P < 0.01 - 0.05). Proliferation of malignant cells showed a dose-dependent decrease, to a certain degree. Proliferation of normal rabbit joint epiphysial disk cells (RGP-2) were not affected by MCM. Proliferation of lung giant cell carcinoma cells with high metastatic potency showed a significant decrease even when cultured in highly diluted MCM (6.25% of primary MCM), when compared with the strain of low metastatic potency. Following ultrafiltration, boiling at 100 degrees C, and treatment with trypsin, skeletal muscle delivered tumor factor(s) were found to be a low molecular weight (MW <or= 10.0 KDa) component which was trypsin resistant but not heat resistant. The factor(s) did not induce apoptosis in K562 cells but caused direct destruction of the cytoplasmic membrane. CONCLUSIONS The rarity of metastases in skeletal muscles, generally accepted in the clinical setting, can be reproduced in an animal model. It does not seem to be related to VCAM-1 expression in the microvessels of these organs. Skeletal muscle delivered factor(s) play a key role in the mechanism of the rarity of metastases in skeletal muscle.
Realistic visualization of animated virtual cloth

Photo-realistic rendering of real-world objects is a broad research area with applications in various different areas, such as computer generated films, entertainment, e-commerce and so on. Within photo-realistic rendering, the rendering of cloth is a subarea which involves many important aspects, ranging from material surface reflection properties and macroscopic self-shadowing to animation sequence generation and compression. In this thesis, besides an introduction to the topic plus a broad overview of related work, different methods to handle major aspects of cloth rendering are described. Material surface reflection properties play an important part to reproduce the look & feel of materials, that is, to identify a material only by looking at it. The BTF (bidirectional texture function), as a function of viewing and illumination direction, is an appropriate representation of reflection properties. It captures effects caused by the mesostructure of a surface, like roughness, self-shadowing, occlusion, inter-reflections, subsurface scattering and color bleeding. Unfortunately a BTF data set of a material consists of hundreds to thousands of images, which exceeds current memory size of personal computers by far. This work describes the first usable method to efficiently compress and decompress a BTF data for rendering at interactive to real-time frame rates. It is based on PCA (principal component analysis) of the BTF data set. While preserving the important visual aspects of the BTF, the achieved compression rates allow the storage of several different data sets in main memory of consumer hardware, while maintaining a high rendering quality. Correct handling of complex illumination conditions plays another key role for the realistic appearance of cloth. Therefore, an upgrade of the BTF compression and rendering algorithm is described, which allows the support of distant direct HDR (high-dynamic-range) illumination stored in environment maps. To further enhance the appearance, macroscopic self-shadowing has to be taken into account. For the visualization of folds and the life-like 3D impression, these kind of shadows are absolutely necessary. This work describes two methods to compute these shadows. The first is seamlessly integrated into the illumination part of the rendering algorithm and optimized for static meshes. Furthermore, another method is proposed, which allows the handling of dynamic objects. It uses hardware-accelerated occlusion queries for the visibility determination. In contrast to other algorithms, the presented algorithm, despite its simplicity, is fast
Is the acetazolamide test valid for quantitative assessment of maximal cerebral autoregulatory vasodilation? An experimental study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The cerebral vasodilating effect of acetazolamide (ACZ) injection has been used as an index of the autoregulatory vasodilation (or cerebral perfusion reserve). The question of whether the ACZ test assesses the maximal autoregulatory vasodilating capacity is not definitely resolved. The effects of ACZ injection on this reserve at a dose producing maximal vasodilation have never been evaluated and may help to resolve this problem. METHODS The effect of ACZ injection on cerebral blood flow (CBF) autoregulation was tested in anesthetized rats. A pilot experiment evaluated the dose-effect relationship of injected ACZ, cumulative doses (n=4, group 1), and independent bolus doses (n=6, group 2). CBF was estimated by laser-Doppler flowmetry, and cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) was calculated from mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and from CBF (expressed as a percentage of baseline CBF). A bolus of ACZ of 21 mg/kg produced the maximal cerebral vasodilation that could be obtained by ACZ administration. In the main experiment, MABP was lowered from 110 to 20 mm Hg by stepwise bleeding in 3 groups of 6 animals treated 10 minutes before bleeding by injection of saline (group 3), 7 mg/kg ACZ (group 4), or 21 mg/kg ACZ (group 5). RESULTS The CVR-MABP relationship was linear in all groups, indicating that CBF autoregulation was still effective after ACZ administration. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that maximal ACZ-induced cerebral vasodilation is not quantitatively equivalent to maximal autoregulatory vasodilating capacity in anesthetized rats.
Identification of murine cdk10: Association with Ets2 transcription factor and effects on the cell cycle

Cyclin‐dependent kinases (cdks) are the catalytic subunits of a large family of serine/threonine protein kinases whose best‐characterized members are key regulators of eukaryotic cell cycle progression. They are activated by binding to regulatory subunits generally termed as cyclins. Cdk10 is a cdc2‐related kinase that contains the canonical regulatory Tyr and Thr residues present in all protein kinases and a PSTAIRE‐like motif named PISSLRE. Although little is known about this protein, human cdk10 has been shown to encode two different isoforms, each having a distinct function. They differ at both the carboxy‐ and amino‐terminals, although most of the amino acid sequence is predicted to be identical for the two isoforms. A role at the G2/M transition has been suggested for an isoform of cdk10, while the alternative splicing form interacts with the N‐terminus of the Ets2 transcription factor. Here we report the cloning and the functional characterization of a cDNA encoding the murine homologue of cdk10. Unlike its human counterpart, only one murine cdk10 protein has been identified, and this unique murine cdk10 cDNA encodes a putative protein of 360 amino acids. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of murine and human cdk10 shows high homology. Murine cdk10 binds Ets2 transcription factors in vitro, does not show a direct involvement in the G2/M transition and, therefore, does not affect the proliferation rate of the cell lines analyzed. J. Cell. Biochem. 99: 978–985, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Automatic classification of academic documents using text mining techniques

In this work an automatic classifier of undergraduate final projects based on text mining is presented. The dataset, comprising documents from four professional categories, was represented by means the vector space model with different index metrics. Also, a number of techniques for reduction dimensionality were applied over the word space. In order to construct the classification model the K-nearest neighbor algorithm was applied. Using 10-fold cross-validations we could obtain 82% of predictive accuracy. However, we achieved an accuracy of 95% with a recommendation of up to two categories taking into account the interdisciplinary in documents. This classifier was integrated into an application for automatic assignment of reviewers, which performs this assignation from teachers who belong to the areas recommended.
A study on the theoretical and practical accuracy of conoscopic holography‐based surface measurements: toward image registration in minimally invasive surgery

Registered medical images can assist with surgical navigation and enable image‐guided therapy delivery. In soft tissues, surface‐based registration is often used and can be facilitated by laser surface scanning. Tracked conoscopic holography (which provides distance measurements) has been recently proposed as a minimally invasive way to obtain surface scans. Moving this technique from concept to clinical use requires a rigorous accuracy evaluation, which is the purpose of our paper.
Spatial distribution of sediment storage types in two glacier landsystems (Pasterze & Obersulzbachkees, Hohe Tauern, Austria)

For the first time, geomorphological maps of the Obersulzbachkees (ca. 28 km2) and the Pasterze (ca. 39.7 km2) glacier landsystem at the catchment scale (1:10,000 and 1:12,500) are presented and the distribution of sediment storage types and (sub)recent sediment transfer processes are quantified and discussed. Special attention is drawn to the activity and function of sediment storages within the sediment cascade and on process (de)coupling of the sediment transfer systems. Glaciers cover ca. 50% of the landsystems and have retreated more than 1 km within the last six decades. The spatial distribution of sediment storage types delivers a record of the historical activity of the glaciers and the degree of sediment storage activity gives insights into the state of paraglacial landform adjustment. A typical landform assemblage is found in both landsystems. Moraine deposits are the dominant sediment storage type (coverage of ca. 3 km2 in both landsystems) and a significant source of (sub)recent sediment transfer. Deposits of reworked till account for ca. 4% of the total sediment coverage and paraglacial reworking is the main evolutionary factor for drift-mantled slopes with high activity in ice marginal and proximal locations (gully densities up to 3.7 per 100 metres of slope). With increasing distances from the glacier, the importance of paraglacial reworking decreases (gully density of 0.5 to 0.6). However, the contribution of paraglacial reworking to the overall sediment output is insignificant due to decoupling effects and till and debris are currently stored in both landsystems. The glacifluvial transport system is supply limited at the Obersulzbachkees and transport limited at the Pasterze. We consider the proglacial zone as a key control on sediment delivery from the glacier to the downstream fluvial system and hypothesize that the majority of sediment output from both landsystems is suspended load.
Crystallo-co-agglomeration: A novel technique to obtain ibuprofen-paracetamol agglomerates

The purpose of this research was to obtain directly compressible agglomerates of ibuprofen-paracetamol containing a desired ratio of drugs using a crystallo-co-agglomeration technique. Crystallo-co-agglomeration is an extension of the spherical crystallization technique, which enables simultaneous crystallization and agglomeration of 2 or more drugs or crystallization of a drug and its simultaneous agglomeration with another drug or excipient. Dichloromethane (DCM)-water system containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000, polyvinyl pyrollidone, and ethylcellulose was used as the crystallization system. DCM acted as a good solvent for ibuprofen and bridging liquid for agglomeration. The process was performed at pH 5, considering the low solubility of ibuprofen and the stability of paracetamol. Loss of paracetamol was reduced by maintaining a low process temperature and by the addition of dextrose as a solubility suppressant. The agglomerates were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), and scanning electron microscopy and were evaluated for tableting properties. The spherical agglomerates contained an ibuprofen-paracetamol ratio in the range of 1.23 to 1.36. Micromeritic, mechanical, and compressional properties of the agglomerates were affected by incorporated polymer. The PXRD data showed reduction in intensities owing to dilution and reduced crystallinity. Thermal data showed interaction between components at higher temperature. Ethylcellulose imparted mechanical strength to the agglomerates as well as compacts. The agglomerates containing PEG have better comparessibility but drug release in the initial stages was affected owing to asperity melting, yielding harder compacts. The agglomeration and properties of agglomerates were influenced by the nature of polymer.
An improved slope one algorithm for collaborative filtering

The slope one scheme is a rating-based recommendation algorithm, and it is simple, efficient, easy to implement. However, the slope one scheme suffers from both data sparsity and new item problems, which seriously affect the performance of recommender systems. To solve these problems, we propose an improved slope one algorithm for collaborative filtering. In our algorithm, the new item problem is dealed with by introducing content similarity computation into the slope one scheme. According to the idea of item-based collaborative filtering algorithms, the target user's rating to the target item can be predicted based on the ratings that the target user has rated and the content similarities of items. And clustering algorithm is adopted to tackle the problem of data sparsity. By merging the set of items into several clusters based on the item rating data, the target user's rating to the target item can be predicted based on which cluster the target item belongs to. The final rating of the target user to the target item is the linear combination of the above two ratings. Experiments on the Movielens dataset show that our approach outperforms other three slope one algorithms and two traditional collaborative filtering algorithms on the prediction performance.
Molecular genetic analysis of sperm competition in the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Vander Linden)

Sperm competition can be a powerful selective force in the evolution of mating systems. Several odonate species have attracted study to assess the extent and mechanism of last-male sperm precedence. Members of the genus Ischnura (Zygoptera) display a particularly interesting range of mating systems, and Ischnura elegans was selected for study. Polymorphic microsatellites were cloned, sequenced and used to determine paternity of I. elegans larvae, to reveal patterns of sperm precedence. More than 3000 larvae, collected from both wild and captively bred I. elegans females, were typed for one or two microsatellite loci and paternity was determined by comparison with parental genotypes. Microsatellite typing showed that most wild-caught females had mated with several males. Analysis of offspring from females which mated in captivity showed that multiple-matings result in a large proportion of last-male sperm precedence (mean value for immediate last male precedence is 0.79 ± 0.2 (± s. d.; n = 11, range = 0.44-1)). There is appreciable variation in the extent and patterns of immediate and longer term precedence, which could reflect differences in male sperm removal ability or selective use of sperm by females.
The Interplay of Stimulus Modality and Response Latency in Neural Network Organization for Simple Working Memory Tasks

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine how modality of input affects functional network organization beyond the sensory cortices for simple working memory tasks. The stimuli were auditory or visual bandpass-filtered white noise. On a given trial, three stimuli, each with differing center frequencies, were presented in succession. For temporal sequencing tasks, participants indicated when the stimulus with the highest frequency content appeared. For comparison tasks, participants indicated whether the frequency content of the last stimulus was lower, intermediate, or higher than the first two stimuli. Task difficulty was equated by establishing equivalent accuracy thresholds across subjects. We used behavioral spatiotemporal partial-least squares (ST-bPLS) analysis to identify neural patterns capturing the optimal association between brain images and reaction time. Because of statistical instabilities, subjects were divided into a SLOW group and a FAST group based on the median split of reaction times. ST-bPLS identified a significant interaction between stimulus modality and task demands for both groups, indicating that task-dependent brain–behavior correlations changed with stimulus modality. The large-scale activity pattern associated with this effect included prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex for the SLOW group and parietal cortex and cingulate for the FAST group. For the FAST group only, ST-bPLS also identified a significant main effect that differentiated tasks independent of modality. The pattern associated with this effect included prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex. These results confirm that modality of input affects network configuration even outside of the sensory cortices but that network configuration may vary with behavior.
ROLE OF SALICYLIC ACID IN REGULATING CADMIUM INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS IN ORYZA SATIVA L. ROOTS

Summary. In the present investigation we studied the role of salicylic acid in cadmium induced physiological and biochemical changes and the possible induction of oxidative stress in developing rice roots. 24h cadmium treatment resulted in the inhibition of root dry biomass, root elongation and increased cadmium accumulation in roots. Salicylic acid presoaking for 16hrs resulted in protection against cadmium, minor changes in root dry biomass, root elongation and minimal accumulation of cadmium. Cadmium applied to salicylic acid free plants increased the level of lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide content and superoxide radical production. Salicylic acid treatment decreased the toxic level of cadmium manifested by lower lipid peroxidation, lesser production of hydrogen peroxide and reduction in the generation of superoxide radical. The extent of membrane integrity loss was higher in salicylic acid free plants compared to salicylic acid treated ones, under cadmium application. To test the antioxidant efficiency of various enzymes, the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase and glutathione reductase were measured. Higher increase in the activity of these antioxidant enzymes was observed in salicylic acid free plants than in the salicylic treated ones. Elevated level of ascorbate and glutathione was observed in salicylic acid free plants. Glutathione, however, decreased at higher concentration. Data show the potentiating effect of salicylic acid in regulating cadmium induced oxidative stress in Oryza sativa L. roots.
A periodic pattern of mRNA secondary structure created by the genetic code

Single-stranded mRNA molecules form secondary structures through complementary self-interactions. Several hypotheses have been proposed on the relationship between the nucleotide sequence, encoded amino acid sequence and mRNA secondary structure. We performed the first transcriptome-wide in silico analysis of the human and mouse mRNA foldings and found a pronounced periodic pattern of nucleotide involvement in mRNA secondary structure. We show that this pattern is created by the structure of the genetic code, and the dinucleotide relative abundances are important for the maintenance of mRNA secondary structure. Although synonymous codon usage contributes to this pattern, it is intrinsic to the structure of the genetic code and manifests itself even in the absence of synonymous codon usage bias at the 4-fold degenerate sites. While all codon sites are important for the maintenance of mRNA secondary structure, degeneracy of the code allows regulation of stability and periodicity of mRNA secondary structure. We demonstrate that the third degenerate codon sites contribute most strongly to mRNA stability. These results convincingly support the hypothesis that redundancies in the genetic code allow transcripts to satisfy requirements for both protein structure and RNA structure. Our data show that selection may be operating on synonymous codons to maintain a more stable and ordered mRNA secondary structure, which is likely to be important for transcript stability and translation. We also demonstrate that functional domains of the mRNA [5′-untranslated region (5′-UTR), CDS and 3′-UTR] preferentially fold onto themselves, while the start codon and stop codon regions are characterized by relaxed secondary structures, which may facilitate initiation and termination of translation.