Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Herpes simplex virus infection in guinea pigs: an animal model for studying latent and recurrent herpes simplex virus infection

Footpad infection of guinea pigs with herpes simplex virus led to an acute local inflammatory reaction, followed by a persistent latent infection of lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia. Spontaneous reactivation of the latent virus occurred, leading to recurrent lesions at the site of the initial infection. Clinical observations and virological studies during the acute latent and recurrent infection are reported.
The effects of intracoronary delivery of mononuclear bone marrow cells in patients with myocardial infarction: a two year follow-up results.

BACKGROUND Transplantation of bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) is a new method of prevention of left ventricular (LV) remodelling in post-infarction patients. Studies published to date point to LV systolic and diastolic function improvement following this therapy however only a few studies assessed the long-term effects of BMSC. AIM To assess the 2 year prognosis in patients with anterior myocardial infarction (MI) treated with BMSC transplantation in the acute phase. METHODS The study group consisted of 60 patients with first anterior ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI), treated with primary percutaneous angioplasty, with baseline LV ejection fraction (LVEF) 〈 40%, who were randomly assigned to undergo BMSC transplantation on day 7 of the STEMI (40 patients, BMSC group) or to receive standard treatment (20 patients, control group). In all the patients echocardiography was performed at baseline and after 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. The composite end-point (death, MI, admission for heart failure or repeat revascularisation) was assessed after 2 years of follow-up. RESULTS Absolute increase of LVEF compared to baseline values was higher in the BMSC group than in the control group. The LVEF increase in BMSC group at 1 month was 7.1% (95% CI 3.1-11.1%), at 6 months - 9.3% (95% CI 5.3-13.3%), at 12 months - 11.0% (95% CI 6.2-13.3%) and at 24 months - 10% (95% CI 7.2-12.1%). In the control group, LVEF increase was 3.7% (95% CI 2.3-9.7%) at 1 month, 4.7% (95% CI 1.2-10.6%) at 6 months, 4.8% (95% CI 1.5-11.0%) at 12 months and 4.7% (95% CI 1.4-10.7%) at 24 months. The composite end-point occurred significantly more frequently in the control group (55%) than in the BMSC group (23%): OR 2.72; 95% CI 1.06-7.02, p = 0.015. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with mononuclear bone marrow cells on day 7 of the first anterior MI in patients with significant baseline systolic dysfunction improves 2-year outcome.
Altered Calcium Handling Is Critically Involved in the Cardiotoxic Effects of Chronic &bgr;-Adrenergic Stimulation

Background—Chronic adrenergic stimulation leads to cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in experimental models and contributes to the progression of heart failure in humans. The pathways mediating the detrimental effects of chronic &bgr;-adrenergic stimulation are only partly understood. We investigated whether genetic modification of calcium handling through deletion of phospholamban in mice would affect the development of heart failure in mice with transgenic overexpression of the &bgr;1-adrenergic receptor. Methods and Results—We crossed &bgr;1-adrenergic receptor transgenic (&bgr;1TG) mice with mice homozygous for a targeted deletion of the phospholamban gene (PLB−/−). Phospholamban ablation dramatically enhanced survival of &bgr;1TG mice. The decrease of left ventricular contractility typically observed in &bgr;1TG mice was reverted back to normal by phospholamban ablation. Cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis were significantly inhibited in &bgr;1TG/PLB−/− mice compared with &bgr;1TG mice, and the heart failure–specific gene expression pattern was normalized. Analysis of intracellular calcium transients revealed increased diastolic calcium levels and decreased rate constants of diastolic calcium decline in &bgr;1TG mice. In &bgr;1TG/PLB−/− mice, diastolic calcium concentration was normal and rate constants of diastolic calcium decline were greater than in wild-type mice. Conclusions—We conclude that modification of abnormal calcium handling in &bgr;1TG mice through ablation of phospholamban resulted in a rescue of functional, morphological, and molecular characteristics of heart failure in &bgr;1-adrenergic receptor–transgenic mice. These results imply altered calcium handling as critical for the detrimental effects of &bgr;1-adrenergic signaling.
The ascidian natural product eusynstyelamide B is a novel topoisomerase II poison that induces DNA damage and growth arrest in prostate and breast cancer cells

As part of an anti-cancer natural product drug discovery program, we recently identified eusynstyelamide B (EB), which displayed cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (IC50 = 5 μM) and induced apoptosis. Here, we investigated the mechanism of action of EB in cancer cell lines of the prostate (LNCaP) and breast (MDA-MB-231). EB inhibited cell growth (IC50 = 5 μM) and induced a G2 cell cycle arrest, as shown by a significant increase in the G2/M cell population in the absence of elevated levels of the mitotic marker phospho-histone H3. In contrast to MDA-MB-231 cells, EB did not induce cell death in LNCaP cells when treated for up to 10 days. Transcript profiling and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis suggested that EB activated DNA damage pathways in LNCaP cells. Consistent with this, CHK2 phosphorylation was increased, p21CIP1/WAF1 was up-regulated and CDC2 expression strongly reduced by EB. Importantly, EB caused DNA double-strand breaks, yet did not directly interact with DNA. Analysis of topoisomerase II-mediated decatenation discovered that EB is a novel topoisomerase II poison.
Improved protein residue-residue contacts prediction using learning-to-rank

Protein residue-residue contacts dictate the topology of protein structure and play an important role in structural biology, especially in de novo protein structure prediction. Accurate prediction of residue contacts could improve the performance of de novo protein structure prediction methods. In this study, a novel method based on learning-to-rank (RRCRank) has been presented to predict protein residue-residue contacts. The proposed method formulates the contacts prediction problem as a ranking problem. Firstly, the contact probabilities of residue pairs are predicted by ensemble machine-learning classifiers and correlated mutations approaches. And then, the proposed method integrates the complementary outputs of machine-learning and correlated mutations approaches and uses the learning-to-rank algorithm to rank residue pairs based on their probabilities to be contacts. Benchmarked on the CASP11 dataset, the proposed method achieves an improved performance for all three categories of contacts (short-range, medium-range and long-range contacts), which shows the proposed method based on learning-to-rank could take advantage of machine-learning and correlated mutations approaches and could provide the state-of-the-art performance.
Reconfigurable computing based on universal configurable blocks-a new approach for supporting performance- and realtime-dominated applications

A novel architecture for reconfigurable computing based on a coarse grain FPGA-like architecture is introduced. The basic blocks contain all arithmetical and logical capacities as well as some registers and will be programmable by sequential instruction streams produced by software compiler. Reconfiguration is related to hyper-blocks of instructions. For the composed reconfigurable processors a classification is introduced for describing realtime, multithreading and performance capabilities.
PKM2, a Central Point of Regulation in Cancer Metabolism

Aerobic glycolysis is the dominant metabolic pathway utilized by cancer cells, owing to its ability to divert glucose metabolites from ATP production towards the synthesis of cellular building blocks (nucleotides, amino acids, and lipids) to meet the demands of proliferation. The M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) catalyzes the final and also a rate-limiting reaction in the glycolytic pathway. In the PK family, PKM2 is subjected to a complex regulation by both oncogenes and tumour suppressors, which allows for a fine-tone regulation of PKM2 activity. The less active form of PKM2 drives glucose through the route of aerobic glycolysis, while active PKM2 directs glucose towards oxidative metabolism. Additionally, PKM2 possesses protein tyrosine kinase activity and plays a role in modulating gene expression and thereby contributing to tumorigenesis. We will discuss our current understanding of PKM2's regulation and its many contributions to tumorigenesis.
A psychophysical technique for estimating the accuracy and precision of retinoscopy

The accuracy and precision of retinoscopy need to be evaluated in an objective and unambiguous manner to judge an individual's performance in this task during training or in research for consistent measurements of refractive error. This study describes and evaluates a psychophysical technique for obtaining simultaneous and unbiased estimates of accuracy and precision in retinoscopy.
Emerging images

Emergence refers to the unique human ability to aggregate information from seemingly meaningless pieces, and to perceive a whole that is meaningful. This special skill of humans can constitute an effective scheme to tell humans and machines apart. This paper presents a synthesis technique to generate images of 3D objects that are detectable by humans, but difficult for an automatic algorithm to recognize. The technique allows generating an infinite number of images with emerging figures. Our algorithm is designed so that locally the synthesized images divulge little useful information or cues to assist any segmentation or recognition procedure. Therefore, as we demonstrate, computer vision algorithms are incapable of effectively processing such images. However, when a human observer is presented with an emergence image, synthesized using an object she is familiar with, the figure emerges when observed as a whole. We can control the difficulty level of perceiving the emergence effect through a limited set of parameters. A procedure that synthesizes emergence images can be an effective tool for exploring and understanding the factors affecting computer vision techniques.
An insider perspective of lifelong learning in Singapore : beyond the economic perspective

This study traces the learning journeys of a group of people who overcame economic, social and/or educational disadvantages to engage in lifelong learning in Singapore. Studies in a number of countries have shown that people from economically, socially and/or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds are under-represented in postschool learning. However, in every country, there is a small group that has succeeded in overcoming economic, social and psychological odds to engage in lifelong learning and in this thesis such a group will be investigated in Singapore. In 2002, twenty-three people within this category were selected by the community as lifelong learners in Singapore. Thirteen of them volunteered for this study. Data collected through in-depth interviews were analysed using grounded theory methodology. The model of lifelong learning derived from emergent common themes shows that while it is true that utilitarian reasons usually accounted for the initial decision to engage in post-school learning, learning journeys were sustained by the development of learning careers, through the strengthening of learner identities and the development of learning dispositions.Sociocultural factors, such as presence of positive environments and supportive relationships with significant others, also influenced learning decisions. The findings thus confirm recent studies of the need for a sociocultural theory of lifelong learning and a more holistic approach to lifelong learning. There are important implications for Singapore which has achieved rapid economic growth since independence by adopting a pragmatic approach. Official discourses of lifelong learning are based on human capital theory. Hence, lifelong learning is seen as an investment in human capital, and often equated with skills upgrading for economic and political survival. The implications of this study are, however, that instead of focusing on the political and economic aspects of lifelong learning, future initiatives should examine other micro-contexts like family, work, schools and other institutions, with special focus on how people within these institutions can help support lifelong learning. It is also evident from the findings, that lifelong learning should be seen in its whole spectrum, as learning across the lifespan, from cradle to grave (lifelong learning) and learning that covers formal, nonformal and informal learning (lifewide learning). VI
Investigation into factors affecting perceptual stability of the world during smooth pursuit eye movements

During pursuit eye movement, a stationary background projected on the retina shifts in the direction opposite to that of the eye movement. This complicates the perception of objects because during an eye movement the retinal and headcentric motions differ. Nevertheless, our visual system is somehow able to compensate for the added eye motion so that the world is perceived as stable. The eye movement compensation is traditionally assumed to consist of a combination of a retinal motion signal and an extra-retinal estimate of eye velocity (Von Holst & Mittelstaedt, 1950; Sperry, 1950). This view has been expanded upon by a number of researchers in the last few decades with the introduction of vector addition-like models. However, it is not well known how closely the eye movement compensation mechanism follows the rules of vector algebra. Evidence for the presence of a signal coming from the moving eye has come from a variety of neurophysiological and perceptual research on the cortical Medial Superior Temporal (MST) area in primates. Previous studies have shown that the spatio-temporal structure of the background plays an important role in the perceptual accuracy of the velocity of a moving object in the visual field. Background characteristics have been shown to influence not only the retinal signal, but also the extra-retinal signal to some degree. The current thesis provides new information on factors that affect the degree of compensation for retinal motion during smooth pursuit eye movement. The findings are based on several experiments that were designed to use a range of pursuit target and stimulus dot velocities across different backgrounds and
The Use and Abuse of Facebook by Generation Y

The purpose of this research is to determine the factors that influence Generation Y on the use and abuse of Facebook. Facebook is one of the social network sites (SNSs) that increasingly attracted millions of user in the CyWorld, many have used these sites into their daily practices to establish or maintain their social networks connections with others. In this study, there are four objectives are constructed to evaluate the importance of Facebook in Malaysian context. First objective revealed that Facebook become an important medium for generation Y to stay in touch with old friends and those at other schools regardless where there are. The finding of this study has identified that relationship maintenance and virtual community were significantly related to social life and Facebook. However, college/universities activities variable were insignificant. In conclusion, the results of the findings are revealed that Facebook is one of the social network sites (SNSs) play an important roles for many users in Malaysian context. In addition, data gathered from the questionnaires is analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science Software (SPSS). The paper finally presents the outcome of the study, together with the limitations and avenues for further research of this emerging topic.
Effect of hyaluronic acid/chondroitin sulfate on healing of full‐thickness tendon lacerations in rabbits

Viscoat, a high‐molecular‐weight, highly purified hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) compound, was instilled around rabbit plantaris tendon following full‐thickness laceration and surgical repair. After 3 weeks of immobilization, no significant difference in adhesion strength or tensile strength of the healing tendons existed between Viscoat‐treated tendons and controls. This contradicts previous studies which suggest that hyaluronic acid reduces postoperative tendon adhesions. Further studies examining tendon adhesions after less severe degrees of tendon injury and using direct, quantitative measurement techniques are warranted to demonstrate whether HA has a beneficial effect on tendon healing.
Auto-delay offset cancellation technique for time difference repeating amplifier

This paper presents an auto-delay offset cancellation technique for time difference repeating amplifier. Pipeline time-to-digital converter (TDC) achieves fine resolution by amplifying the time residue. Therefore the linearity of the time difference amplifier (TA) is important in pipeline TDC. The pulse-train TA, time difference repeating amplifier, was proposed to improve this recently. However, it is hard to get accurate gain in TA because there are many possible mismatch issues. Our work makes the delay offset be cancelled automatically during time difference repetition. The proposed circuit is designed and simulated in 65nm CMOS process. The conversion rate is 100Msps and it has 300ps input time range. The proposed scheme shows the delay offset of about 10fs, which is much less than that of the conventional scheme (~100ps) under the equivalent device mismatch conditions.
Protein-only mechanism induces self-perpetuating changes in the activity of neuronal Aplysia cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein (CPEB)

Neuronal cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein (CPEB) plays a critical role in maintaining the functional and morphological long-lasting synaptic changes that underlie learning and memory. It can undergo a prion switch, but it remains unclear if this self-templating change in protein conformation is alone sufficient to create a stable change in CPEB activity: a robust “protein-only” biochemical memory. To investigate, we take advantage of yeast cells wherein the neuronal CPEB of Aplysia is expressed in the absence of any neuronal factors and can stably adopt either an active or an inactive state. Reminiscent of well-characterized yeast prions, we find that CPEB can adopt several distinct activity states or “strains. ” These states are acquired at a much higher spontaneous rate than is typical of yeast prions, but they are extremely stable—perpetuating for years—and have all of the non-Mendelian genetic characteristics of bona fide yeast prions. CPEB levels are too low to allow direct physical characterization, but CPEB strains convert a fusion protein, which shares only the prion-like domain of CPEB, into amyloid in a strain-specific manner. Lysates of CPEB strains seed the purified prion domain to adopt the amyloid conformation with strain-specific efficiencies. Amyloid conformers generated by spontaneous assembly of the purified prion domain (and a more biochemically tractable derivative) transformed cells with inactive CPEB into the full range of distinct CPEB strains. Thus, CPEB employs a prion mechanism to create stable, finely tuned self-perpetuating biochemical memories. These biochemical memories might be used in the local homeostatic maintenance of long-term learning-related changes in synaptic morphology and function.
Selective neutralization of prostaglandin E2 blocks inflammation, hyperalgesia, and interleukin 6 production in vivo

The role of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the development of inflammatory symptoms and cytokine production was evaluated in vivo using a neutralizing anti-PGE2 monoclonal antibody 2B5. In carrageenan-induced paw inflammation, pretreatment of rats with 2B5 substantially prevented the development of tissue edema and hyperalgesia in affected paws. The antibody was shown to bind the majority of PGE2 produced at the inflammatory site. In adjuvant-induced arthritis, the therapeutic administration of 2B5 to arthritic rats substantially reversed edema in affected paws. Anti-PGE2 treatment also reduced paw levels of IL-6 RNA and serum IL-6 protein without modifying tumor necrosis factor RNA levels in the same tissue. In each model, the antiinflammatory efficacy of 2B5 was indistinguishable from that of the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug indomethacin, which blocked the production of all PGs. These results indicate that PGE2 plays a major role in tissue edema, hyperalgesia, and IL-6 production at sites of inflammation, and they suggest that selective pharmacologic modulation of PGE2 synthesis or activity may provide a useful means of mitigating the symptoms of inflammatory disease.
Brain blood flow.

To the Editor. — Hansen and co-workers1 have taken the time to address a question of considerable import, ie, whether the use of Doppler continuous wave forms provides a means of reflecting changes in brain blood flow when the anterior cerebral artery is used. The question is important because of the conclusions that may result from the use of this technique in clinical research.2 Although Hansen et al report a high correlation and significant P value for the relationship between measurements of blood brain flow and the area under the velocity curve, peak systolic velocity, and end diastolic velocity, these are representative of nonlinear relationships as noted by the authors.
Computational meta‐analysis of statistical parametric maps in major depression

Several neuroimaging meta‐analyses have summarized structural brain changes in major depression using coordinate‐based methods. These methods might be biased toward brain regions where significant differences were found in the original studies. In this study, a novel voxel‐based technique is implemented that estimates and meta‐analyses between‐group differences in grey matter from individual MRI studies, which are then applied to the study of major depression.
10 CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING PHYSICAL MODELLING SCHEMES FOR MUSIC CREATION

The success recently encountered by physically-based modeling (or model-based approaches) for music should not mask the deep challenges that remain in this area. This article first proposes an overview of the various goals that researchers and musicians, respectively operating from scientific and end-user perspectives, may pursue. Among these goals, those recently proposed or particularly critical for the coming years of research are highlighted. The article then introduces ten criteria that summarize the main features an optimal physically-based modeling scheme or language should present. With respect to these, it proposes an evaluation of the major approaches to physically-based modeling.
Frame rate up-conversion using nonparametric estimator

In some applications such as digital video broadcasting, video is transmitted over a low capacity channel with lower frame rates. The lower the frame rate, the jerkier or unevener the video motion would be noticed. To solve this problem, frame rate up conversion (FRUC) is employed to increase the frame rate. In this paper, we propose a new FRUC method using the nonlocal-means estimator. In this method, a pixel is reconstructed as a weighted linear combination of pixel pairs in its adjacent frames. The pixels of each pair are temporally symmetric from the view point of the pixel being interpolated. The weights are calculated based on the self-similarity assumption. To reduce the computational complexity, we calculate the weights of linear combination for each super-pixel. Experimental results show the superior performance of our proposed method in comparison to the existing methods.