Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generation and characterization of immortalized rat retinal microglial cell lines

Retinal microglia play an important role as resident immunocompetent and phagocytic cells in the event of injury and disease. Retinal microglia and microglia precursor transplantation show a rescue effect in ischemic retina and retinal degeneration. However, studies of retinal microglia have been hampered by the difficulty of obtaining sufficient numbers of microglia. One way to circumvent this difficulty is to establish permanent retinal microglia cell lines. In the present study, we report the generation of immortalized retinal microglia, T‐MG cells, from postnatal day 3 rat retinal tissue using a lentiviral vector encoding SV40 large T antigen. The T‐MG cells exhibited cell‐type‐specific antigens for monocyte/macrophage lineage cells, including CD11b (OX42), ED1 (OX6), and Iba1, and actively phagocytosed latex beads. In addition to primary retinal microglia, T‐MG cells also have the ability to recruit into chemokines. Treatment of T‐MG cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) led to increased levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐1β, and inducible nitric oxide synthase. Genome‐wide microarray analysis showed a less than 1% difference in the genes between the T‐MG cells and the control primary retinal microglia. The T‐MG cells exhibited properties similar to those of the primary retinal microglia and should have considerable utility as an in vitro model for the study of retinal microglia in health and as a curative therapy and an in vivo model for the study of retinal microglia in disease. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Projection structure of a transcriptional regulator, HupR, determined by electron cryo-microscopy.

Large, well-ordered two-dimensional crystals of the histidine-tagged-HupR protein, a transcriptional regulator from the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus, were obtained by specific interaction with a Ni(2+)-chelated lipid monolayer. HupR is a response regulator of the NtrC subfamily; it activates the transcription of the structural genes hupSLC, of [NiFe]hydrogenase. A projection map of the full-length protein at 9 A resolution was obtained by electron cryo-microscopy and image analysis of frozen-hydrated two-dimensional crystals. The crystals have a p6 plane group with unit cell dimensions of a=b=111.6(+/-1.0) A, gamma=120.4(+/-0.5) degrees. The structure of the N-terminal domain of NtrC, the family to which HupR belongs, had been determined previously by NMR. The atomic coordinates of the N-terminal domain of NtrC, were compared to the structure obtained by cryo-electron microscope techniques of the whole HupR. These results provide the first structure at medium resolution of a whole transcription factor, HupR from the NtrC family.
In vitro production of bovine embryos: revisiting oocyte development and application of systems biology

In vitro production (IVP) of bovine embryos has become a widespread technology implemented in cattle breeding and production. The implementation of genomic selection and systems biology adds great dimensions to the impact of bovine IVP. The physical procedures included in the IVP process can still be improved, and aspects related to the oocyte donor, oocyte maturation and the recipients are addressed in the following. Also, some of the future aspects of genomic selection and systems biology are addressed with particular focus on the Brazilian-Danish collaboration in the so-called GIFT-project.
Electronic structure and optical properties of alpha and beta phases of silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and with comparison to silicon dioxide.

The electronic structure and the optical properties of \ensuremath{\alpha}-${\mathrm{Si}}_{3}$${\mathrm{N}}_{4}$, \ensuremath{\beta}-${\mathrm{Si}}_{3}$${\mathrm{N}}_{4}$, and ${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$O crystals are studied by means of first-principles local-density calculations. Together with the earlier published result on \ensuremath{\alpha}-${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$, a comparative study of the electronic bonding and optical excitations in these crystals becomes possible. It is found that the electronic structure of the \ensuremath{\beta} and the \ensuremath{\alpha} phases of ${\mathrm{Si}}_{3}$${\mathrm{N}}_{4}$ are similar, but with some subtle differences that can be traced to different stacking sequences of the atomic layers and the slightly different local bonding structure. The electronic structure of the ${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$O crystal cannot be adequately described as a simple superposition of ${\mathrm{Si}}_{3}$${\mathrm{N}}_{4}$ and \ensuremath{\alpha}-${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$. The presence of both Si-N and Si-O bonds in ${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$O crystals affects the local potential and results in a downward shift of the O levels. The calculated density of states (DOS) and the orbital-resolved partial DOS are in good general agreement with the photoemission and x-ray emission measurements. Better resolution in the calculated DOS shows that the upper valence band has five peaks rather than three.
A cluster randomized trial comparing two interventions to improve treatment of major depression in primary care

Background. Many patients with major depression are non-adherent to antidepressant medication and do not receive care according to current guidelines. There is increasing evidence that treatment of depression in primary care can be improved. Comparison between effective interventions may help to establish the active ingredients of such interventions. Method. In a randomized trial two interventions to improve treatment of major depression in primary care were compared (1) a depression care programme, targeting general practitioners (GPs), patients, and systematic follow-up, and (2) a systematic follow-up programme. Thirty GPs were randomized and 211 primary-care patients with current major depression were included. All patients were prescribed a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Outcome measures included adherence to antidepressant medication, and depression outcome. Results. No significant differences in adherence rates and treatment outcome measures were demonstrated between interventions at week 10 or week 26. Adherence rates were high and treatment outcome was favourable. Conclusions. The depression care programme was not superior to the systematic follow-up programme. Systematic follow-up in depression treatment in primary care seems to be an intervention per se, having the potential to improve adherence and treatment outcome.
Connaissances évolutives, données incertaines et problèmes de visualisation dans le contexte du patrimoine bâti

Dans l'etude du patrimoine bâti, la comprehension de l'edifice aux differentes echelles (corpus des objets, architecture urbaine, .), s'appuie sur une analyse du bâti, de ses evolutions historiques, et sur la prise en compte des doutes que nous avons a ce sujet. Dans ce domaine d'application, les informations sont qualifiees entre autres par une evaluation de leur credibilite, interrogeant formalismes informatiques et modeles. Par ailleurs, des questions se posent sur la representation meme: est-elle condamnee a rester un outil de communication de « fausses certitudes », ou peut-elle etre un support d'investigation permettant d'evaluer graphiquement sur un lieu architectural donne nos incertitudes? Nous nous efforcerons dans cette contribution de presenter les objectifs et la genese de notre demarche, puis les realites (terrain d'experimentation, implementation informatique « libre » XML/SVG/VRML) concretes de nos developpements. Nous le ferons en montrant comment a partir d'une methode de travail elaboree sur un cas concret, la ville de Cracovie (Pologne), nous avons par efforts de generalisation successifs abouti a ce qui nous semble etre les premisses d'une demarche methodologique, la modelisation informationnelle.
Dust Storms Impacts on Air Pollution and Public Health under Hot and Dry Climate

The commencement of drought in the Sistan region, Iran in 1999 created suitable conditions for dust storms to form. They carry clouds of dust in the wind over the region that causes severe air pollution and makes breathing very difficult for local residents, in particular, for those who have respiratory diseases. In such conditions, people use mouth masks even inside their homes. The effects of air pollution arising from dust storms on people in the area of research were studied by completing questionnaires and visiting hospitals in stormy days. The results show that about half of residents have been subject to respiratory diseases due to dust storms during the period of interest. The research indicates that the number of people affected in rural areas is more than in urban areas. Some patients had to call on a doctor during stormy days and approximately 55 percent of them visited a physician more than 20 times per year. About 40 percent called on a doctor a couple of days after a dust storm and 32 percent mentioned that they can not call on a doctor due to financial and economic issues. Also, the results derived from hospital studies show that in stormy days most of the patients were respiratory patients, including those who were affected by Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. The percentage of these diseases in summer (July and August) is more than other months due to more severe dust storms. The amount of financial losses due to these respiratory diseases has been estimated at over 73.5 million dollars during 1999-2004. Finally, we conclude that dust storms have an important role in spreading respiratory disease in the Sistan region. Key-Words: Drought, Respiratory diseases, Dust storm, Air pollution, Iran.
Random directed graphs are robustly Hamiltonian

A classical theorem of Ghouila‐Houri from 1960 asserts that every directed graph on n vertices with minimum out‐degree and in‐degree at least n/2 contains a directed Hamilton cycle. In this paper we extend this theorem to a random directed graph D(n,p) , that is, a directed graph in which every ordered pair (u, v) becomes an arc with probability p independently of all other pairs. Motivated by the study of resilience of properties of random graphs, we prove that if p≫logn/n , then a.a. s. every subdigraph of D(n,p) with minimum out‐degree and in‐degree at least (1/2+o(1))np contains a directed Hamilton cycle. The constant 1/2 is asymptotically best possible. Our result also strengthens classical results about the existence of directed Hamilton cycles in random directed graphs. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 49, 345–362, 2016
A Novel VLSI Architecture for Digital Image Compression Using Discrete Cosine Transform and Quantization

For multimedia and medical image transmission applications the data compression is an essential technique [1]. Many data compression techniques have been proposed in the past [2] But there is a scope to further improve such proposals. This paper in that direction proposes a new technique to improve the data compression technique. We have designed a new Discrete Cosine Transform and Quantization (DCTQ) architecture for image compression, in this work Discrete Cosine Transform is a type of image transform which can be applied on images to achieve compression of image data. The quantization of the DCT data coefficients is then performed to achieve compression. This technique makes use of lesser number of multipliers. The JPEG method is used for both color and black-and-white images, but the focus of this work will be on compression of the blackand-white images. The functionality of the DCTQ is verified in MATLAB.The design is also implemented onVertex2p to verify its capability on silicon. Results shows the area saving in terms of no of gate counts with an excellent efficiency.
Fitness effects of female mate choice: preferred males are detrimental for Drosophila melanogaster females

The evolution of female mate choice, broadly defined to include any female behaviour or morphology which biases matings towards certain male phenotypes, is traditionally thought to result from direct or indirect benefits which females acquire when mating with preferred males. In contrast, new models have shown that female mate choice can be generated by sexual conflict, where preferred males may cause a fitness depression in females. Several studies have shown that female Drosophila melanogaster bias matings towards large males. Here, we use male size as a proxy for male attractiveness and test how female fitness is affected by reproducing with large or small males, under two different male densities. Females housed with large males had reduced lifespan and aged at an accelerated rate compared with females housed with small males, and increased male density depressed female fitness further. These fitness differences were due to effects on several different fitness components. Female fitness covaried negatively with male courtship rate, which suggests a cost of courtship. Mating rate increased with male size, whereas female fitness peaked at an intermediate mating rate. Our results suggest that female mate choice in D. melanogaster is, at least in part, a by‐product of sexual conflict over the mating rate.
Reconstruction of missing meteorological data using wavelet transform

Land surface heterogeneity is effective on required sensor population of the regional or national telemetry networks used for agricultural information services. Temporary or permanently missing data sometime may occur in such large scale sensor networks due to type of failure. The agro-informatics measurement network (www.tarit.org) in Turkey is planned to have more than 30.000 sensors at 1200 stations. Agricultural risks, irrigation management and many other online services require continuity of the reliable data in real time. It is necessary to complete the missing data as close to its actual value until recovery in a fault tolerant acquisition system. A method is developed for recovery of missing data by using the correlation of wavelet coefficients of neighboring measurement stations. As different from similar solutions we reconstruct missing data through inverse wavelet transformation accompanied with regression model together. Mean square error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) between the measured and reconstructed temperature and humidity patterns are used as performance measure. Mean square error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) are seen to be reduced more than 26% for temperature data reconstruction with respect to pure linear regression case.
Galectins and urological cancer

Galectins are a family of proteins defined by their affinity for β‐galactoside and by their conserved sequence. Each galectins exhibits a specific expression pattern in various tissues and their expression is regulated during development. Their expression is altered in many types of cancers and non‐cancerous disorders. They interact with glycoproteins in both extracellular and intracellular milieu and regulate various biological phenomenon including cell growth, cell differentiation, cell adhesion, and apoptosis. A series of experimental and clinical evidences have been reported to support correlation between galectin expressions and neoplastic transformation. The recent findings show that expressions of galectins are elevated with neoplastic progression in certain malignancies, and therefore, galectins are expected to serve as reliable tumor markers. In this review, we describe the expression and role of galectins in urological cancers and their clinical applications for diagnostic and therapeutic use. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Primary Nonfunction (PNF) in the MELD Era: An SRTR Database Analysis

PNF following liver transplantation (LT) is an infrequent but life‐threatening complication. Liver allocation under MELD is based upon recipient severity of illness, a known risk factor for the occurrence of PNF. The incidence of PNF since the application of MELD has not previously been reported. The SRTR database was studied since inception of MELD until September 2004 for all adult recipients of deceased donor LT. PNF was defined as graft loss or death within 14 days of LT secondary to PNF or without defined cause.
Who leaves, where to, and why worry? employee mobility, entrepreneurship and effects on source firm performance

We theorize that differences in human assets’ ability to generate value are linked to exit decisions and their effects on firm performance. Using linked employee-employer data from the U.S. Census Bureau on legal services, we find that employees with higher earnings are less likely to leave relative to employees with lower earnings, but if they do leave, they are more likely to move to a spin-out instead of an incumbent firm. Employee entrepreneurship has a larger adverse impact on source firm performance than moves to established firms, even controlling for observable employee quality. Findings suggest that the transfer of human capital, complementary assets, and opportunities all affect mobility decisions and their impact on source firms.
‘n Kerk wat getuig is ‘n kerk wat leef (1) ‘n Bybels-teologiese perspektief op die missionêre karakter van die kerk

A witnessing church is a living church (1) A biblical-theological perspective on the missionary character of the church. In this, the first of two articles, we focus on the identity of the church as it is revealed in the Old and New Testaments. Since the sixties of the previous century, it is widely accepted that mission is the essence of the church. The church was no longer seen as the institution which sends people into the world, but was no longer the one who is sent into the world. According to the Old Testament, Israel was elected to be God’s witness to the nations. In exile they recognised that Jahwe is not a national God, but God of the whole world. The four Gospels, Acts and the letters of Paul make it very clear that the church of Jesus Christ is either a missionary church or not a church at all. The church is, in all its activities per se an instrument in bringing God's kingdom to this world.
Morfometría Geométrica y el Estudio de las Formas Biológi- cas: De la Morfología Descriptiva a la Morfología Cuantitativa Geometric Morphometry and the Biologic Shapes Study: From the Descriptive Morphology to the Quantitative Morphology

RESUMEN: La morfometria es el estudio de la covariacion de la forma con factores subyacentes. Su desarrollo en las ultimas decadasha alcanzado areas de la biologia tradicionalmente dedicadas al estudio descriptivo, como las ciencias morfologicas, las que con las nuevasherramientas morfometricas geometricas han logrado no solo objetivar la evaluacion cuantitativa de los cambios morfologicos sino tambien laevaluacion cualitativa a traves de la recuperacion de la forma en estudio. Esto es posible gracias a la aplicacion de tecnicas biometricas, instru-mentos y programas computacionales que permiten la captura y analisis de datos en forma de matrices de morfocoordenadas que representan lageometria de un especimen y no se limitan a la obtencion de datos lineales de el como medidas de alto o ancho, elementos que carecen de laprecision y la riqueza de los datos geometricos. El analisis morfometrico geometrico consta de tres etapas fundamentales: obten cion de los datosprimarios, obtencion de las variables de la forma, y analisis estadistico. El extenso uso que se le ha dado en los ultimos anos en areas afines a lasciencias morfologicas hace necesario el conocimiento de la tecnica tanto con fines formativos como para su aplicacion a la solu cion de problemasen los que la morfologia juega un rol esencial.
Identification-based linear control of a twin rotor MIMO system via dynamical neural networks

This paper presents a real-time implementation of an identification-based linear control law on a twin rotor MIMO system. Identification is performed via dynamical neural networks which-under mild conditions-guarantee exponential convergence to zero of the identification error. Once the plant model is obtained and linearized, a stabilizing linear state feedback control law is synthesized via linear matrix inequalities. Based on the same linearization, trajectory tracking is performed by a PID controller. Simulation as well as real-time results are discussed.
Epstein‐Barr virus latent membrane protein (LMP1) is not sufficient to maintain proliferation of B cells but both it and activated CD40 can prolong their survival.

Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) infects human primary B lymphocytes and induces and maintains proliferation of these cells efficiently in vitro. Mutants of Epstein‐Barr virus which express EBV nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA2) in a conditional fashion allow dissection of individual contributions of viral genes to B cell immortalization. EBNA2 is a transcriptional activator of cellular and viral genes, including the viral latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), which is essential for B cell immortalization and has oncogenic effects in non‐lymphoid cells. To analyze the role of this gene in B cell immortalization, LMP1 was constitutively expressed in B cells infected with EBV carrying a conditional EBNA2 allele. In the absence of functional EBNA2, LMP1 was incapable of sustaining B cell proliferation in two independent assays but induced a phenotype consistent with prolonged cell viability. Activation of CD40 displayed a comparable phenotype. These data indicate that both CD40 activation and LMP1 expression may use a common pathway for B cell activation. Proliferation of human B cells, however, requires one or more additional signals triggered by EBNA2.
Precoding Designs Based on Minimum Distance for Two-Way Relaying MIMO Systems with Physical Network Coding

In this paper, we propose new precoding methods for two-way multiple input multiple output physical network coding (PNC) systems which employ the modulo operation. In our work, the transmit and receive filters are determined to maximize the minimum distance of the received constellations assuming global channel state information. The precoding operations are separately optimized for the multiple access (MA) and the broadcast stages, and the optimal precoding is obtained by applying a semidefinite relaxation method. Especially, we prove that for the system with linear detection the modulo operation for the PNC achieves optimality with the derived precoding for the MA stage in terms of the minimum distance. Also, we present a closed-form solution for the optimal filter designs for two special cases. For computing solutions, we transform our max min problem into a simple maximization problem by imposing additional constraints. Also, we propose a suboptimal non-iterative precoding scheme whose performance is within 1 dB at a bit error rate (BER) of 10-4 compared to the optimum iterative method with much reduced complexity. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed systems achieve 2-3 dB gains at a BER of 10-4 compared to the optimal amplify-and-forward systems.
Embodiment, meaning and the first year of life

This text discusses the cartography, a geographical practice of attendance of processes in course which, more than a delineating plan of historical courses, it is in charge of a field of forces in the core of the strata. Proposed as wandering way by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, the cartography offers itself as trail to access that which forces to think; to that which forces to move practices, subjectivities and worlds going in the pursuit of the event and giving itself to the researcher, as attendance possibility of that which does not bend to the representation. Understanding that the cartographic method convokes a peculiar cognitive exercise of the researcher – once being turned to the plan of a problematic field, it requests a cognition much more capable of inventing the world, that of recognizing it –, we looked for elements for that discussion in a dialogue with Henri Bergson when he is devoted to think about the intuition as method.