Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DTDST mutations are not a frequent cause of idiopathic talipes equinovarus (club foot)

Idiopathic talipes equinovarus (ITEV) or isolated club foot deformity is a common birth defect having an average birth prevalence of 1 per 1000 live births.1, 2 However, the birth prevalence of ITEV varies among different populations, ranging from 0.39-7 per 1000 live births, with the highest rate in the Hawaiian and Maori populations.3–5 ITEV occurs more frequently in males and the skewed 2:1 ratio is consistent across all ethnic groups.1, 4–7 Bilateral deformity is seen in more than half of the cases regardless of race and unilateral defects occur more often on the right side.8 ITEV is an isolated congenital deformity of the foot and lower leg occurring when the foot is plantar flexed and inverted.9 ITEV is just one of the many types of foot deformities that are referred to as club foot. Club foot is often used loosely to describe a variety of different abnormalities that are morphologically similar but aetiologically distinct.8 Both metatarsus adductus and talipes calcaneovalgus are considered mild and usually self-correcting abnormalities.9 While many refer to these mild conditions as club foot, talipes equinovarus (TEV) is suggested to be the only true club foot and generally requires serial manipulations and castings, followed by one or more surgical procedure(s). 10, 11 Whereas TEV is part of many genetic syndromes, ITEV occurs as an isolated birth defect.12 Epidemiological studies have attempted to define the aetiology of ITEV and none has shown a significant association with socioeconomic factors or teratogenic exposures in non-Hispanic white, Hawaiian, African American, and Oriental populations.2, 7, 13, 14 Theories surrounding the aetiology of ITEV can be grouped into several categories: extrinsic prenatal influences, intrinsic anatomical factors, and genetic factors. The oldest theory of ITEV causation …
Adenoviral constructs encoding phosphorylation-competent full-length and truncated forms of the human retinoblastoma protein inhibit myocyte proliferation and neointima formation.

BACKGROUND The retinoblastoma (Rb) protein is a key cell-cycle regulator that controls entry into the S phase by modulating the activity of the E2F transcription factor. We analyzed the effects of full-length phosphorylation-competent and a mutant truncated form of human Rb for their effects on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and neointima formation. METHODS AND RESULTS A number of mutant forms, both phosphorylation competent and incompetent, of human Rb protein were evaluated for their ability to inhibit E2F activity. The results of these assays indicated that a phosphorylation competent, amino-terminal-truncated Rb protein (Rb56) was a particularly potent inhibitor of E2F-mediated transcription relative to the full-length Rb construct (Rb110). Adenoviral constructs containing Rb56 or Rb110 expressed their respective Rb forms in VSMCs, as determined by Western immunoblot analysis, and were similar in their abilities to arrest the cell cycle, as determined by assays of 3H-thymidine incorporation and by flow cytometric analyses. When examined for their effect on neointima formation after balloon injury of the rat carotid artery, both full-length and truncated forms of Rb inhibited formation of this VSMC-derived lesion. CONCLUSIONS These analyses revealed that the maintenance of high levels of phosphorylation-competent human Rb, either full-length or truncated forms, in VSMCs is an effective method of modulating the extent of intimal hyperplasia that occurs after balloon-induced vascular injury.
Rhythmus in der Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation

Mit dem verstarkten Eintritt des Menschen in multimediale "virtuelle" Umgebungen finden Formen der nichtverbalen korperlichen Auserung, insbesondere Gesten, als Mittel der Informationsubermittlung an maschinelle Systeme starkes Interesse. Untersucht werden in jungerer Zeit auch 'koverbale' Gesten, also Gesten, die sprachliche Auserungen mehr oder weniger spontan begleiten. Als Herausforderung stellt sich dabei die multimodale Integration, insbesondere die zeitliche Kopplung der beiden komplementaren Modalitaten gesprochener Sprache und Gestik. Jedoch gibt es bislang kaum Losungsvorschlage dafur, wie die multimodalen Auserungen eines Systemnutzers – als zeitlich gestreute Perzepte auf getrennten Kanalen registriert – in ihrem zeitlichen Zusammenhang zu rekonstruieren sind. Dieser Beitrag motiviert anhand kognitionswissenschaftlicher Befunde den Stellenwert 'kommunikativer Rhythmen' in Auserungsformen des Menschen und gibt Einblick in erste technische Arbeiten, die rhythmische Muster fur die Entwicklung kognitiv motivierter Mittlersysteme zwischen Mensch und Maschine ausnutzen.
Long-Term Results of Intertrochanteric Varus Osteotomy for the Dysplastic Hip

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a well established treatment for arthrosis of the hip, however many problems remain which have not yet been resolved, including component loosening and infection. Therefore, surgeons hesitate to perform THA in younger patients showing early signs of the disease. Intertrochanteric varus osteotomy was developed for osteoarthrosis with coxa valga. This procedure has been commonly used in patients with dysplastic hips. However, femoral head coverage is not sufficiently improved by this procedure. In order to overcome the disadvantages of this procedure, since 1972 we performed intertrochanteric varus osteotomy simultaneously combined with acetabuloplasty for the treatment of osteoarthrosis secondary to dysplasia. Between 1969 and 1994, we performed 104 intertrochanteric varus osteotomies for prearthrosis and early stage arthrosis of the hip due to acetabular dysplasia in 84 patients. In this study, we reviewed these patients clinically and radiographically, over 15 years. The intertrochanteric varus osteotomy alone was employed in 38 hips (varus group). Combined intertrochanteric varus osteotomy and acetabuloplasty was employed in 63 hips (combined group). The average Harris hip score at the latest follow-up in the combined group significantly higher than that in the ‘varus’ group. Postoperative centre-edge angle and age at operation were correlated with the Harris hip score at the most recent follow-up. The results of the present study indicate that this combined intertrochanteric varus osteotomy and acetabuloplasty for dysplastic hip should be considered in young patients when the disease is at an early stage.
Sharing of T cell receptors in antigen-specific responses is driven by convergent recombination

Public responses where identical T cell receptors (TCRs) are clonally dominant and shared between different individuals are a common characteristic of CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity. Focusing on TCR sharing, we analyzed ≈3,400 TCR β chains (TCRβs) from mouse CD8+ T cells responding to the influenza A virus DbNP366 and DbPA224 epitopes. Both the “public” DbNP366-specific and “private” DbPA224-specific TCR repertoires contain a high proportion (≈36%) of shared TCRβs, although the numbers of mice sharing TCRβs in each repertoire varies greatly. Sharing of both the TCRβ amino acid and TCRβ nucleotide sequence was negatively correlated with the prevalence of random nucleotide additions in the sequence. However, the extent of TCRβ amino acid sequence sharing among mice was strongly correlated with the level of diversity in the encoding nucleotide sequences, suggesting that a key feature of public TCRs is that they can be made in a variety of ways. Using a computer simulation of random V(D)J recombination, we estimated the relative production frequencies and variety of production mechanisms for TCRβ sequences and found strong correlations with the sharing of both TCRβ amino acid sequences and TCRβ nucleotide sequences. The overall conclusion is that “convergent recombination,” rather than a bias in recombination or subsequent selection, provides the mechanistic basis for TCR sharing between individuals responding to identical peptide plus MHC class I glycoprotein complexes.
Middle Cerebral Arterial Thrombosis in a Patient with Hypofibrinogenemia, 5 Days After rFVIIa and FFP Infusion

A 13-year-old female patient is presented who had hypofibrinogenemia diagnosed as von Willebrand disease at 5 years of age at another hospital. She was admitted to the department of pediatric hematology with a severe headache, vomiting, and progressive right flaccid hemiplegia and lethargy. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan showed subdural hematoma in posterior parietal region of the brain and impending cerebellar herniation. She was given fresh-frozen plasma (FFP) and then activated factor VII (rFVIIa), 80 μg/kg was infused for replacement of von Willebrand factor. The subdural hematoma was emergently drained. The results of coagulation tests before infusion of FFP and rFVIIa revealed hypofibrinogenemia, and FFP was given every 48 hours. The patient recovered dramatically in a few days. Five days after rFVIIa infusion, a magnetic resonance angiography-proven right middle cerebral arterial thrombosis developed. It is an interesting point of discussion whether the middle cerebral arterial thrombosis was provoked as a consequence of rFVIIa and FFP infusion.
Characterization of Phenotypic Changes inPseudomonas putida in Response to Surface-Associated Growth

ABSTRACT The formation of complex bacterial communities known as biofilms begins with the interaction of planktonic cells with a surface. A switch between planktonic and sessile growth is believed to result in a phenotypic change in bacteria. In this study, a global analysis of physiological changes of the plant saprophyte Pseudomonas putida following 6 h of attachment to a silicone surface was carried out by analysis of protein profiles and by mRNA expression patterns. Two-dimensional (2-D) gel electrophoresis revealed 15 proteins that were up-regulated following bacterial adhesion and 30 proteins that were down-regulated. N-terminal sequence analyses of 11 of the down-regulated proteins identified a protein with homology to the ABC transporter, PotF; an outer membrane lipoprotein, NlpD; and five proteins that were homologous to proteins involved in amino acid metabolism. cDNA subtractive hybridization revealed 40 genes that were differentially expressed following initial attachment ofP. putida. Twenty-eight of these genes had known homologs. As with the 2-D gel analysis, NlpD and genes involved in amino acid metabolism were identified by subtractive hybridization and found to be down-regulated following surface-associated growth. The gene for PotB was up-regulated, suggesting differential expression of ABC transporters following attachment to this surface. Other genes that showed differential regulation were structural components of flagella and type IV pili, as well as genes involved in polysaccharide biosynthesis. Immunoblot analysis of PilA and FliC confirmed the presence of flagella in planktonic cultures but not in 12- or 24-h biofilms. In contrast, PilA was observed in 12-h biofilms but not in planktonic culture. Recent evidence suggests that quorum sensing by bacterial homoserine lactones (HSLs) may play a regulatory role in biofilm development. To determine if similar protein profiles occurred during quorum sensing and during early biofilm formation, HSLs extracted from P.putida and pure C12-HSL were added to 6-h planktonic cultures of P. putida, and cell extracts were analyzed by 2-D gel profiles. Differential expression of 16 proteins was observed following addition of HSLs. One protein, PotF, was found to be down-regulated by both surface-associated growth and by HSL addition. The other 15 proteins did not correspond to proteins differentially expressed by surface-associated growth. The results presented here demonstrate thatP. putida undergoes a global change in gene expression following initial attachment to a surface. Quorum sensing may play a role in the initial attachment process, but other sensory processes must also be involved in these phenotypic changes.
An Efficient Handover Control Scheme Supporting Micro-Mobility in MPLS-Based Wireless Internet

A Realization of mobile All-IP networks calls not only for seamless handover protocols, but also fast processing, especially for real-time IP traffic flows. In this paper, we propose to exploit pre-established label switched paths with the aim to reduce handover processing latency which is one of the most critical performance metrics in micro-mobility environment. Thus, our proposed scheme has an advantage of offering micro-mobility to Mobile IP (MIP) with lower-latency handover as compared with the several existing MPLS-based MIP approaches. A detailed analytic model of setting up LSPs for fast handover processing is presented. Further, we do not only investigate the performance of our model but also propose detailed signaling steps so that our proposed scheme could be run on MPLS-based MIP system.
BluSTL: Controller Synthesis from Signal Temporal Logic Specifications

We present BluSTL, a MATLAB toolbox for automatically generating controllers from specifications written in Signal Temporal Logic (STL). The toolbox takes as input a system and a set of constraints expressed in STL and constructs an open-loop or a closed-loop (in a receding horizon or Model Predictive fashion) controller that enforces these constraints on the system while minimizing some cost function. The controller can also be made reactive or robust to some external input or disturbances. The toolbox is available at https://github.com/BluSTL/BluSTL.
Fast visual people tracking using a feature-based people detector and thermal imaging

This work presents a tracking system that is tailored towards the needs of small mobile robots. It does not rely on person motion estimation in image space because of unpredictable camera movement while the robot traverses non-flat ground. Additionally it is fast enough to process 5 to 10 frames per second which allows interactive applications. The robustness of the tracking system is improved using fused visible spectrum and thermal images. This reduces false positives and enables the system to work in extreme light conditions. Experiments are conducted on both indoor and outdoor data. Outdoor data was recorded at different temperatures and with a moving robot.
Optimal Planning of Charging for Plug-In Electric Vehicles Focusing on Users’ Benefits

Many electric vehicles’ (EVs) charging strategies were proposed to optimize the operations of the power grid, while few focus on users’ benefits from the viewpoint of EV users. However, low participation is always a problem of those strategies since EV users also need a charging strategy to serve their needs and interests. This paper proposes a method focusing on EV users’ benefits that reduce the cost of battery capacity degradation, electricity cost, and waiting time for different situations. A cost model of battery capacity degradation under different state of charge (SOC) ranges is developed based on experimental data to estimate the cost of battery degradation. The simulation results show that the appropriate planning of the SOC range reduces 80% of the cost of battery degradation, and the queuing theory also reduces over 60% of the waiting time in the busy situations. Those works can also become a premise of charging management to increase the participation. The proposed strategy focusing on EV users’ benefits would not give negative impacts on the power grid, and the grid load is also optimized by an artificial fish swarm algorithm (AFSA) in the solution space of the charging time restricted by EV users’ benefits.
Open Cloud Architecture for Public Sector: Requirements and Architecture

This paper reviews specific sets of requirements from public sectors and presents open cloud architectures to incorporate these requirements. Cloud computing changes the way an organization consume resources, including hardware, software, and services. A unique set of requirements is extracted from the examination of the existing rules and policies from the public sector to consume these resources. Based on analysis of this set of requirements, this paper proposes an open cloud architecture to build cloud platform and service in public sector.
BICAD: Breast image computer aided diagnosis for standard BIRADS 1 and 2 in calcifications

The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) was developed by the American College of Radiologists as a standard of comparison for rating mammograms and breast ultrasound images. It sets up a classification for the Level of Suspicion (LOS) of the possibility of a breast cancer. In this paper we present an automated image analyzing system that finds calcifications based on the standard BIRADS 1 and 2. For our goal, we studied the digital mammography database in DICOM format provided by the Department of Radiology of the Hospital Universitario de Puebla. We used The Difference of Gaussian (DOG) filter to find edges of the forms of the different calcifications and a back-propagation Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for the pattern recognition of the BIRADS 1 and 2 cases. This method allowed us to automate the segmentation of the calcifications with a low computational cost. We achieved the pattern recognition with a high level of sensitivity of 0.9629 and specificity of 0.9920.
Improvement of PageRank Algorithm: An authoritative and temporal based approach

PageRank Algorithm, based on the link analysis, has been widely used to measure the popularity of the web pages. However, in the classical algorithm, the transition probability of the certain page is distributed equally by the page's out-links, which does not meet the real actions on WWW. This paper investigates the authoritative factor (based on the link analysis) and the temporal factor in accessing the importance of web pages. It is believed that web pages with large in-links or out-links (we call them authoritative ones) and newly pages are more attractive towards the visitors. Hence, the extended algorithm, Weighted Authoritative and Temporal Ranking Algorithm (WAT-Ranking), takes these aspects into account via re-distributing the transition probabilities. Simulation experimental results show that the proposed strategy can improve the quality of the page ranking.
Spiral Echo-Planar Trajectories for 3D Non-Fourier Encoded MRI

D. Mitsouras, L. P. Panych, A. Edelman, G. P. Zientara MIT Lab for Computer Science, Cambridge, MA, United States, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States Spatially selective excitations can increase the acquisition efficiency of MRI by encoding the signal prior to acquisition using encoding bases other than the Fourier basis. However, spatially selective excitations require relatively long RF pulses which may limit their usefulness. Spiral trajectories through k-space can be used to minimize excitation time for 3D MRI by optimizing the k-space trajectory. Spiral trajectory use during excitation (of 2D encoding functions) or in acquisition (of 2D responses) allows us to maintain image quality in 3D MRI, while achieving speedups through software-based adaptive encoding methods. Introduction: Dynamic adaptive MRI achieves imaging time reduction by representing the acquired image using a basis that near-optimally encodes the field of view (FOV) contents [1]. In particular, certain bases decouple the noise component from the MR signal, allowing the basis to be truncated by removing the noise components [2]. In general, k-space can be traversed partially via excitation (when the excitation is used for encoding in conjunction with a gradient) and partially post-excitation (i.e. via gradients before and during acquisition). When low flip angle RF excitations are used with encoding gradients, the resulting excited spatial profile can be
NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Monterey, California THESIS PERFORMANCE OF FFH/BFSK SYSTEMS WITH CONVO LUTIONAL CODING AND SOFT DECISION VITERBIDE- CODED OVER RICIAN FADING CHANNELS WITH PARTIAL-BAND NOISE INTERFERENCE by Michael D. Theodoss

An error probability analysis of a communications link employing convolutional coding with soft decision Viterbi decoding implemented on a fast frequency-hopped, binary frequency-shift keying (FFH/BFSK) spread spectrum system is performed. The signal is transmitted through a Rician fading channel with partial-band noise interference. The receiver structures examined are the conventional receiver with no diversity, the conventional receiver with diversity and the assumption of perfect side information, and the self-normalized combining receiver with diversity. The self-normalized receiver minimizes the effects of hostile partial-band interference, while diversity alleviates the effects of fading. It is found that with the implementation of soft decision Viterbi decoding that the performance of the self-normalized receiver is improved dramatically for moderate coded bit energy to partial-band noise power spectral density ratio (EJ/NJ). Coding drives the jammer to a full band jamming strategy for worst case performance. Nearly worst case jamming occurs when barrage jamming is employed and there is no diversity even in cases where there is very strong direct signal. Performance improves as the constraint length of the convolutional code is increased. Performance is seen to degrade slightly with increasing diversity except in instances of a very weak direct signal. Also, soft decision decoding is found to be superior to hard decision decoding by approximately 4 dB at moderate EJ/NJ.
Melioidosis: a major cause of community-acquired septicemia in northeastern Thailand.

In a prospective study of all patients with Pseudomonas pseudomallei infections admitted to a large provincial hospital in northeastern Thailand, 63 cases of septicemic melioidosis and 206 patients with other community-acquired septicemias were documented during a 1-y period. Apart from P. pseudomallei, the spectrum of bacteria isolated from blood cultures and the overall mortality (32%) were similar to those previously reported elsewhere. Death from septicemia was associated with failure to develop a leukocytosis or pyrexia over 38 degrees C, azotemia, hypoglycemia, and jaundice. Septicemic melioidosis presented mainly in the rainy season, occurred predominantly in rice farmers or their families, and was significantly associated with preexisting diabetes mellitus or renal failure (P = .03). Blood-borne pneumonia and visceral abscesses were common and the mortality was high (68%; P less than .001). The response to appropriate treatment was slow (median fever clearance time 5.5 d) and the median duration of hospital stay was 4 w. Septicemic melioidosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in northeast Thailand.
Involvement of human polynucleotide kinase in double‐strand break repair by non‐homologous end joining

The efficient repair of double‐strand breaks (DSBs) in DNA is critical for the maintenance of genome stability. In mammalian cells, repair can occur by homologous recombination or by non‐homologous end joining (NHEJ). DNA breaks caused by reactive oxygen or ionizing radiation often contain non‐ conventional end groups that must be processed to restore the ligatable 3′‐OH and 5′‐phosphate moieties which are necessary for efficient repair by NHEJ. Here, using cell‐free extracts that efficiently catalyse NHEJ in vitro, we show that human polynucleotide kinase (PNK) promotes phosphate replacement at damaged termini, but only within the context of the NHEJ apparatus. Phosphorylation of terminal 5′‐OH groups by PNK was blocked by depletion of the NHEJ factor XRCC4, or by an inactivating mutation in DNA‐PKcs, indicating that the DNA kinase activity in the extract is coupled with active NHEJ processes. Moreover, we find that end‐joining activity can be restored to PNK‐depleted extracts by addition of human PNK, but not bacteriophage T4 PNK. This work provides the first demonstration of a direct, specific role for human PNK in DSB repair.