Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of generalized selection combining receivers in K fading channels

In this letter, we present a moment generating function (MGF) based performance analysis of generalized selection combining (GSC) receivers operating over independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) K fading channels. Analytical expressions for the marginal MGF of the signal-to-noise ratio of a single diversity branch for integer plus one-half values of the fading parameter are obtained and used to efficiently evaluate the average error probability of GSC receivers.
Quantitative Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy on Single Capillaries: Permeability Measurement

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that there is significant solute loss to the superfusate during microvessel solute permeability measurement in frog mesentery which leads to underestimation of permeability coefficient. This is the first application of laser‐scanning confocal microscopy to measure microvessel permeability.
Genetic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease mimicking variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease

The “pulvinar sign” on MRI brain scan is defined as hyperintensity of the posterior thalamus relative to the signal intensity of the anterior putamen.1 In the appropriate clinical context, the pulvinar sign and hyperintensity in the dorsomedial thalamic nuclei (the hockey stick sign) are sensitive and specific features of variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD). 1 Variant CJD is an acquired form of prion diseases or transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Since vCJD represents bovine spongiform encephalopathy infection in humans and is a potential public health hazard, it is important that this condition is distinguished from other progressive neuropsychiatric diseases, including sporadic and genetic forms of CJD (gCJD). Here we report a middle-aged woman with clinical symptoms and MRI features highly suggestive of vCJD, with a final diagnosis of gCJD. A 54-year-old Hungarian woman showed considerable changes in her personality and behaviour, including withdrawal, anxiety attacks, impatience and aggression. She lost 10 kg in weight. Six months later she experienced clumsiness and involuntary jerks in her right arm and, within weeks, stiffness in the fingers of her right hand, a gait disorder with stiffness of the right leg and slurring of speech. Seven weeks before death, neurological examination revealed horizontal nystagmus, gait ataxia, dystonic posturing of the right arm, distally more pronounced paresis in the right arm (3/5) and hyperreflexia on the right side, but no Babinski sign. Sensory symptoms were not described. Paranoid ideation was noted. …
Variabilité phénotypique du développement musculaire chez le bovin : analyse fine de la régulation du gène GDF8 codant la myostatine.

La myostatine, un membre de la superfamille TGF-β (Transforming growth factor-beta) est un regulateur negatif de la croissance et du developpement musculaire. Depuis sa decouverte en 1997, le gene myostatine a ete intensement etudie de par ses applications potentielles benefiques dans les domaines de l’elevage et medical. Les mutations pertes de fonctions qui affectent la fonction de la myostatine ou celles qui reduisent son expression conduisent a une hypertrophie musculaire, alors que celle qui engendre une surexpression de la myostatine engendre une reduction importante de la masse musculaire. Nous avons identifie un allele inattendu du gene myostatine qui est responsable de l’augmentation de la masse musculaire chez la race bovine Bonde d’Aquitaine. Dans le muscle, cet allele est fortement exprime conduisant a la formation d’un transcrit myostatine aberrant avec un codon STOP premature de la traduction en plus d’une quantite residuelle correctement episse. Ce profil d’expression qui resulte d’une mutation intronique leaky par rapport a l’activite du spliceosome, contribue a l’etablissement d’une hypertrophie moderee qui caracterise la race bovine Blonde d’Aquitaine. Cette decouverte est importante dans le domaine de la genetique de l’elevage et potentiellement dans le domaine medical. Elle permet de concilier a la fois le bien etre de l’animal et la production qualitative et quantitative de la viande. Par ailleurs, le mecanisme est susceptible d’etre exploite pour une possible application pour soigner certaines maladies musculaires humaines via une manipulation appropriee des pre-ARNm du gene myostatine.
A Cross‐Sectional Study Correlating Cervical Radiographic Degenerative Findings to Pain and Disability

Study Design A cross‐sectional design was used to correlate cervical radiographic findings of spinal degeneration to neck pain and disability. Objectives The results were correlated to assess the clinical importance of radiographic spinal degeneration. Summary of Background Data Past investigations suggest little association between clinical findings and radiographic evidence of spinal degeneration. However, changes in activities of daily living and chronicity of complaint have not been investigated. Methods Over a 5‐month period, data were collected on 700 consecutive patients referred for cervical radiographic examination as part of their clinical evaluation. While in the radiology department, all subjects completed a visual analog pain scale, neck disability index, and short questionnaire, all of which quantified various aspects of any neck complaint. Relationships between indices of patient complaint and the number of cervical degenerative intervertebral discs were evaluated using regression analysis. Results A significant relationship (P < 0.001) was noted between the number of levels of intervertebral disc degeneration and the chronicity of cervical complaint. No significant relationship was found between cervical degeneration and past trauma (P = 0.904) or gender (P = 0.213). Multiple‐regression analysis of visual analog pain scale scores revealed a significant two‐way interaction with chronicity and past trauma (P = 0.007) and a significant main effect with gender (P < 0.001). Cervical degeneration was not significant as a main effect or interaction with other factors. Multiple‐regression analysis of neck disability index scores demonstrated a significant three‐way interaction of chronicity, degeneration, and gender (P = 0.022) and a significant two‐way interaction for chronicity and trauma (P = 0.025). No additional information was gathered by multivariate multiple‐regression techniques. Conclusions Increasing levels of spinal degeneration are related to increasing chronicity of patient complaints. Spinal degeneration is not related to past trauma or gender. Women, but not men, report higher disability with increasing levels of degeneration. Subjects with past trauma reported more intense pain and disability. Overall, men reported less neck pain and disability than women.
Immunomodelling Characteristics of Mature Dendritic Cells Stimulated by Colon Cancer Cells Lysates.

UNLABELLED Application of cells with high TAA (tumor associated antigen) presentation potential seems to be crucial in neoplasia immunotherapy. Such feature is distributed in dendritic cells, which present peptides from processed TAA - MHC molecules complex to the T cells of a host. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of colon neoplasia tissue lysate on functioning of generated autologous DC's in the field of autologous CD4+ lymphocytes immunological response towards Th1/Th2 under in vitro environment together with comparison and assessment of DCs' immunosuppressive properties acquired from patients with colon cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS The population of this study consisted of 16 healthy- controls, 36colon cancer patients. Blood samples were collected 24h before planned surgery and preventive antibiotic therapy. Neoplastic tissue sample, was digested for cell lysates preparation. DC's generation from PBMC was carried out in standard conditionsand medium enriched with rhGM-CSF and rhIL-4. Mature DC`s and cocultured autologous CD4 lymphocytes immunophenotype assessment was analyzed with flow cytometer. Intracellular and culture medium cytokines concentration was analyzed with ELISA and FACS method. RESULTS DC`s generated from colon cancer patients stimulated with lysates presented greater maturity, lower expression of CD206 antigen, significantly higher expression of HLA-DR, CD208 and CD209 and high intracellular expression of IL-12, compared to non-stimulated cells. CONCLUSIONS The neoplastic tissue in vivo produces a number of substances having an unfavorable effect on immune system, our results suggests using lysates as good dendritic cells stimulators that possibly could have application in colon cancer immunotherapy.
The Use of “Omics” in Lactation Research in Dairy Cows

“Omics” is the application of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in biological research. Over the years, tremendous amounts of biological information has been gathered regarding the changes in gene, mRNA and protein expressions as well as metabolites in different physiological conditions and regulations, which has greatly advanced our understanding of the regulation of many physiological and pathophysiological processes. The aim of this review is to comprehensively describe the advances in our knowledge regarding lactation mainly in dairy cows that were obtained from the “omics” studies. The “omics” technologies have continuously been preferred as the technical tools in lactation research aiming to develop new nutritional, genetic, and management strategies to improve milk production and milk quality in dairy cows.
Histoanatomic observations of the brain in early infantile autism

Early infantile autism is a behaviorally defined syndrome that is often associated with abnormalities on neurologic examination and seizures. We report on the brain of a 29-year-old autistic man as compared with that of an age- and sex-matched normal control, using gapless sections of whole brain. Abnormalities were found in the hippocampus, subiculum, entorhinal cortex, septal nuclei, mamillary body, selected nuclei of the amygdala, neocerebellar cortex, roof nuclei of the cerebellum, and inferior olivary nucleus.
Enhanced Tumorigenic Behavior of Glioblastoma Cells Expressing a Truncated Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Is Mediated through the Ras-Shc-Grb2 Pathway*

A mutant epidermal growth factor receptor (ΔEGFR) containing a deletion of 267 amino acids from the extracellular domain is common in human glioblastomas. We have previously shown that the mutant receptor fails to bind EGF, is constitutively phosphorylated, and confers upon U87MG glioblastoma cells expressing it (U87MG.ΔEGFR), an increased ability to form tumors in mice. Here we demonstrate that the constitutively phosphorylated ΔEGFR enhances growth of glioblastoma cells through increased activity of Ras: 1) there was an increase in the proportion of Ras present in the GTP-bound form, and 2) introduction of neutralizing anti-Ras 259 antibodies into U87MG and U87MG. ΔEGFR cells by microinjection inhibited DNA synthesis to the same low level in both cell populations. We also show that the truncated EGF receptor constitutively associates with the adapter proteins Shc and Grb2 which are involved in the recruitment of Ras to activated receptors. Several derivatives of ΔEGFR containing single, or multiple mutations at critical autophosphorylation sites were constructed and used to demonstrate that the major Shc binding site is Tyr-1148, and that Grb2 association occurs primarily through Tyr-1068. We conclude that the increased tumorigenic potential of glioblastoma cells expressing the truncated EGF receptor is due at least in part to Ras activation presumably involving the Shc and Grb2 adapter proteins.
Thermal expansion of gypsum investigated by neutron powder diffraction

The cell parameters of deuterated gypsum have been extracted from Rietveld analysis of powder neutron diffraction data within the temperature range 4.2-320 K. The thermal expansion of gypsum is highly anisotropic along the D axis principally because of the effect of the D2.Ol hydrogen bond. The high-temperature limits for the expansion coefficients for the cell edges a, b, and c ate 3.98 x 10-6, 4.36 x l0-5' and 2.53 x l0-5 K-r, respectively, and for the cell volume the l imit is 6.96 x l0-5 K-'. The B angle displays oscillatory variation, reflecting a change in the influence ofat least two coupled processes. Empirical data analysis, within this temperature range, results in ou : 1 . 251 x l 0 -6 s i n (0 .01 l6 f + 0 .31 l ) K ' .
Role of human immunodeficiency virus type 1-specific protease in core protein maturation and viral infectivity

It is generally believed that the gag gene product of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is processed into several core proteins by a virus-specific protease. We used deletion mutation analysis to study the role of HIV-specific protease in the processing of core proteins and its requirement for viral infectivity. Several mutant genomes with deletions in the protease gene were constructed. A mammalian cell line, COS-M6, transfected with the wild-type viral genome was shown to produce virions containing processed core proteins, while COS-M6 cells transfected with two mutated genomes could express only the core protein precursor, Pr56gag. The wild-type transfectant produced infectious virus; both transfectants expressing the mutated genomes also produced virions, and one of them still retained reverse transcriptase activity. However, the mutant viral particles were devoid of infectivity. Virions with a distinct central core and an electron-dense nucleoid budded out from the plasma membrane of COS-M6 cells transfected with the wild-type genome. In contrast, noninfectious virions that budded either into cytoplasmic vacuoles or out from the plasma membrane of COS-M6 cells transfected with mutant genomes contained ring-shaped nucleoids. These results indicate that the HIV-1 protease plays a role not only in the maturation of the core proteins but also in the assembly of the virus and thus is required for viral infectivity.
Measurement and Analysis of a High-Speed TSV Channel

Using high-speed through-silicon via (TSV) channels is a potential means of utilizing 3-D interconnections to realize considerable high-bandwidth throughput in vertically stacked and laterally distributed integrated circuits. However, although the TSV and a silicon interposer in a high-speed TSV channel lead to a significant decrease of the interconnect length, the received digital signal after transmission through a TSV channel is still degraded at a high data-rate due to the nonidealities of the channel. Therefore, an analysis of the signal integrity in a high-speed TSV channel is necessary. In this paper, a single-ended high-speed TSV channel is measured and analyzed in the frequency-domain and the time-domain. To measure the high-speed TSV channel, two types of test vehicles are fabricated, consisting of TSVs and interposers. With these test vehicles, the channel losses are measured in the frequency-domain up to 20 GHz, and eye-diagrams are measured in the time-domain at 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. Based on these measurements, the channel loss, characteristic impedance, and reflection of the high-speed TSV channel are analyzed and compared to those of the channel in multichip module (MCM) package. Because of the losses from the silicon-substrate and the thin oxide-layer used in the TSVs, the overall loss of the high-speed TSV channel is higher than that of the MCM channel. In addition, the characteristic impedance of the high-speed TSV channel is frequency-dependent, whereas that of the MCM channel is frequency-independent. Moreover, in contrast to the MCM channel, the reflection is negligible in the high-speed TSV channel because the channel is too short and the losses are too high to be affected by the reflection. Finally, the design guidance of a high-speed TSV channel for wide bandwidth is determined based on the analysis of the measurements.
Spatial TDMA and CSMA with preamble sampling for low power ad hoc wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are a class of wireless ad hoc networks for which low power consumption is a major requirement. This paper presents an analysis of the performances of low power multiple access protocols designed for a network of wireless sensors. It considers the use of spatial TDMA for the transport of regular and frequent traffic and of a low power version of the nonpersistent CSMA protocol for the transport of rare signaling traffic. The low power version of CSMA is obtained by combining it with a preamble sampling technique. The delay performances and associated power consumption and lifetime are computed analytically. The power consumption of TDMA is computed as well, taking into account the power cost of keeping synchronized two nodes which have imprecise clocks. The lifetime that can be expected by a node with a single alkaline LR6 battery is given as a function of the desired average time interval between collision free transmissions on the TDMA and on the contention channels.
Dissection and prediction of RNA-binding sites on proteins

Abstract RNA-binding proteins are involved in many important regulatory processes in cells and their study is essential for a complete understanding of living organisms. They show a large variability from both structural and functional points of view. However, several recent studies performed on protein-RNA crystal structures have revealed interesting common properties. RNA-binding sites usually constitute patches of positively charged or polar residues that make most of the specific and non-specific contacts with RNA. Negatively charged or aliphatic residues are less frequent at protein-RNA interfaces, although they can also be found either forming aliphatic and positive-negative pairs in protein RNA-binding sites or contacting RNA through their main chains. Aromatic residues found within these interfaces are usually involved in specific base recognition at RNA single-strand regions. This specific recognition, in combination with structural complementarity, represents the key source for specificity in protein-RNA association. From all this knowledge, a variety of computational methods for prediction of RNA-binding sites have been developed based either on protein sequence or on protein structure. Some reported methods are really successful in the identification of RNA-binding proteins or the prediction of RNA-binding sites. Given the growing interest in the field, all these studies and prediction methods will undoubtedly contribute to the identification and comprehension of protein-RNA interactions.
Field-effect transistors made from macroscopic single crystals of tetracene and related semiconductors on polymer dielectrics

We report properties of devices made by the adhesion of semiconductor crystals, including several tetracene specimens, to polymer gate dielectrics along with measurements of tetracene crystals on conventional Si/SiO_2 dielectric surfaces. For the best tetracene, pentacene, and alpha-6T devices, mobilities exceeding 0.1 cm^2/V were measured, correlating well with expectations based on the literature, and in the case of tetracene and alpha-6T, exceeding the thin film mobility value. The devices were prepared in the open laboratory using simpler crystal handling techniques than had been thought necessary.
Probability of transmission of Chagas disease by Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in an endemic area of Santiago del Estero, Argentina.

The daily probability (P) of transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi to a noninfected human host by an infected Triatoma infestans bug was estimated using field data from a 2-year longitudinal study carried out in a rural settlement of 20 households in Amamá, Santiago del Estero, Argentina. The following information was used for this purpose: the bug density and the proportion of infected bugs; the bug biting rate and the distribution of bites between humans and animals; the age-specific seropositivity to T. cruzi of the human population; and the actual number of new cases of human infection. The 2-year accumulated number of infective contacts per house estimated using a binomial model shows a statistically significant logistic correlation with the observed proportion of new cases per house. An average house where new cases of human infection were registered in the 2-year period had a P value of 0.0012, while an average general house (i.e., with and without new cases) had a P value of 0.0009. The observed range of P is discussed in terms of the chain of factors that affects the individual human risk of acquiring the infection and the possible entomological sampling errors.
An assessment of honeybee colony matrices, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) to monitor pesticide presence in continental France

The frequency of occurrence and relative concentration of 44 pesticides in apicultural (Apis mellifera) matrices collected from five French locations (24 apiaries) were assessed from 2002 to 2005. The number and nature of the pesticides investigated varied with the matrices examined—living honeybees, pollen loads, honey, and beeswax. Pollen loads and beeswax had the highest frequency of pesticide occurrence among the apiary matrices examined in the present study, whereas honey samples had the lowest. The imidacloprid group and the fipronil group were detected in sufficient amounts in all matrices to allow statistical comparisons. Some seasonal variation was shown when residues were identified in pollen loads. Given the results (highest frequency of presence) and practical aspects (easy to collect; matrix with no turnover, unlike with bees that are naturally renewed), pollen loads were the best matrix for assessing the presence of pesticide residues in the environment in our given conditions. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:103–111. © 2010 SETAC
Improving photosynthesis and crop productivity by accelerating recovery from photoprotection

Faster light adaptation improves productivity Crop plants protect themselves from excess sunlight by dissipating some light energy as heat, readjusting their systems when shadier conditions prevail. But the photosynthetic systems do not adapt to fluctuating light conditions as rapidly as a cloud passes overhead, resulting in suboptimal photosynthetic efficiency. Kromdijk et al. sped up the adaptation process by accelerating interconversion of violaxanthin and zeaxanthin in the xanthophyll cycle and by increasing amounts of a photosystem II subunit. Tobacco plants tested with this system showed about 15% greater plant biomass production in natural field conditions. Science, this issue p. 857 Altering the regulation of light harvesting increases photosynthetic efficiency and biomass productivity in crop plants. Crop leaves in full sunlight dissipate damaging excess absorbed light energy as heat. When sunlit leaves are shaded by clouds or other leaves, this protective dissipation continues for many minutes and reduces photosynthesis. Calculations have shown that this could cost field crops up to 20% of their potential yield. Here, we describe the bioengineering of an accelerated response to natural shading events in Nicotiana (tobacco), resulting in increased leaf carbon dioxide uptake and plant dry matter productivity by about 15% in fluctuating light. Because the photoprotective mechanism that has been altered is common to all flowering plants and crops, the findings provide proof of concept for a route to obtaining a sustainable increase in productivity for food crops and a much-needed yield jump.