Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ontogenèse des neurones à kisspeptine chez le rat : neurogénèse et cartographie spatio-temporelle de kisspeptine de l'embryogénèse à l'âge adulte

Le kisspeptine (kp) est un peptide, derive du gene kiss-1, jouant un role majeur dans le controle central de la fonction de reproduction en regulant la secretion du GnRH chez l’adulte mais egalement au cours du developpement. Les neurones exprimant kiss-1 sont situes dans la region rostrale periventriculaire du 3eme ventricule (RP3V) et le noyau arque (ARC). L’expression de kiss-1 est hautement regulee par les steroides sexuels, positivement dans RP3V et negativement dans ARC. Ces deux populations de neurones a kp semblent avoir des roles differents. Les neurones a kp du RP3V seraient impliques dans la genese du pic preovulatoire et ceux de l’ARC dans la regulation de la secretion pulsatile de GnRH.L’objectif de la these etait de determiner la periode de neurogenese des neurones a kp ainsi que les variations de l’expression de kiss-1 et de kp dans ces deux regions au cours des differentes phases du developpement chez le rat mâle et femelle.Nos resultats ont permis de cibler les periodes cles de l’ontogenese des neurones a kp en montrant 1) que les neurones a kp de l’ARC naissent sur une periode etendue a partir du jour embryonnaire (E)12,5; 2) l’existence d’une sous- expression peri-natale du kp dans l’ARC independante du sexe; 3) la mise en place, en periode neonatale, de differences sexuelles dans les niveaux d’expression et la distribution neuroanatomique du kp; 4) l’existence de regulations peri-pubertaires de kp, dependantes du sexe et de la region ; 5) la presence de fibres a kp dans des regions hypothalamiques suggere un role de kp au-dela de la fonction de reproduction.
The Mi-2 Homolog Mit1 Actively Positions Nucleosomes within Heterochromatin To Suppress Transcription

ABSTRACT Mit1 is the putative chromatin remodeling subunit of the fission yeast Snf2/histone deacetylase (HDAC) repressor complex (SHREC) and is known to repress transcription at regions of heterochromatin. However, how Mit1 modifies chromatin to silence transcription is largely unknown. Here we report that Mit1 mobilizes histone octamers in vitro and requires ATP hydrolysis and conserved chromatin tethering domains, including a previously unrecognized chromodomain, to remodel nucleosomes and silence transcription. Loss of Mit1 remodeling activity results in nucleosome depletion at specific DNA sequences that display low intrinsic affinity for the histone octamer, but its contribution to antagonizing RNA polymerase II (Pol II) access and transcription is not restricted to these sites. Genetic epistasis analyses demonstrate that SHREC subunits and the transcription-coupled Set2 histone methyltransferase, which is involved in suppression of cryptic transcription at actively transcribed regions, cooperate to silence heterochromatic transcripts. In addition, we have demonstrated that Mit1's remodeling activity contributes to SHREC function independently of Clr3's histone deacetylase activity on histone H3 K14. We propose that Mit1 is a chromatin remodeling factor that cooperates with the Clr3 histone deacetylase of SHREC and other chromatin modifiers to stabilize heterochromatin structure and to prevent access to the transcriptional machinery.
Optimal risk-sensitive filtering and control for linear stochastic systems

The optimal exponential-quadratic control problem and exponential mean-square filtering problems are considered for stochastic Gaussian systems with polynomial first degree drift terms and intensity parameters multiplying diffusion terms in the state and observations equations. The closed form optimal control and filtering algorithms are obtained using quadratic value functions as solutions to the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. The performance of the obtained risk-sensitive regulator and filter for stochastic first degree polynomial systems is verified in a numerical example against the conventional linear-quadratic regulator and Kalman-Bucy filter, through comparing the exponential-quadratic and exponential mean-square criteria values. The simulation results reveal strong advantages in favor of the designed risk-sensitive algorithms in regard to the final criteria values.
Sonography of Morton's neuromas.

OBJECTIVE The objective is to evaluate the sonographic characteristics of Morton's neuromas and the usefulness of sonography in detecting them. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty intermetatarsal spaces were evaluated with sonography to diagnose Morton's neuromas. The prospective sonographic reports were correlated with surgical and pathologic findings. Each sonogram was then blindly and retrospectively reviewed to characterize mass echotexture, location, size, and continuity with the plantar digital nerve when present. RESULTS Surgery revealed 27 Morton's neuromas, one synovial cyst with infarcted tissue, one ganglion cyst, and one giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath. The prospective sonographic reports correctly identified neuromas in 85% of the cases. Retrospectively, 79.2% (19/24) of the neuromas were characterized as hypoechoic compared with muscle, whereas 12.5% (3/24) were of mixed echotexture and 8.3% (2/24) were anechoic. One half (50%) of the neuromas were located dorsal to the plantar aspect of the metatarsal heads, and 50% were both dorsal and plantar to this level. No statistical difference in height and width was found between neuromas and nonneuromas; however, nonneuromas were statistically greater in length than neuromas. All 15 masses in which presumed plantar digital nerve continuity with the mass was identified were neuromas. CONCLUSION Sonography can reveal a Morton's neuroma in 85% of cases. Identification of the presumed plantar digital nerve in continuity with the mass improves diagnostic confidence. The finding of an interdigital mass greater than 20 mm in length should raise suspicion of an abnormality other than a neuroma.
[Experimental rat model for fetal growth restriction: effects on liver glycogen and intestinal and renal morphometry].

PURPOSE to evaluate the effectiveness of the IUGR model by uterine artery ligation mimicking placental insufficiency in rats. METHODS sprague-Dawley rat fetuses were divided into three groups: IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction), with fetuses in the right horn of pregnant rats subjected to right uterine artery ligation at 18.5 days of gestation (term = 22 days); C-IUGR (control of restriction), with control fetuses in the left horn, and EC (external control), with fetuses of intact rats. Animals were harvested by cesarean section at day 21.5 days of gestation. Fetuses were weighed and then sacrificed. The intestine, liver, kidney and placenta were weighed and dissected for morphometric and histological analysis. RESULTS the morphometric data showed decreased body weight (BW), liver weight (LW) and intestinal weight (IW) of fetuses with IUGR compared to C-IUGR and EC (p<0.001). The placental weight (PW), renal weight (RW) and LW/BW, IW/BW, and RW/BW ratios did not change. IUGR fetuses had decreased kidney thickness (p<0.001) and decreased thickness of the intestinal mucosa and submucosa (p<0.05). Histological evaluation showed reduction of liver glycogen storage in fetuses with IUGR compared to C-IUGR and CE. CONCLUSIONS the model described was efficient and caused symmetric fetal IUGR with decreased size of most organs, especially the liver, and changes in glycogen stores.
Prognostic significance of left ventricular mass change during treatment of hypertension.

CONTEXT Increased baseline left ventricular (LV) mass predicts cardiovascular (CV) complications of hypertension, but the relation between lower LV mass and outcome during treatment for hypertension is uncertain. OBJECTIVE To determine whether reduction of LV mass during antihypertensive treatment modifies risk of major CV events independent of blood pressure change. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort substudy of the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint Reduction in Hypertension (LIFE) randomized clinical trial, conducted from 1995 to 2001. A total of 941 prospectively identified patients aged 55 to 80 years with essential hypertension and electrocardiographic LV hypertrophy had LV mass measured by echocardiography at enrollment in the LIFE trial and thereafter were followed up annually for a mean (SD) of 4.8 (1.0) years for CV events. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Composite end point of CV death, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, and fatal or nonfatal stroke. RESULTS The composite end point occurred in 104 patients (11%). The multivariable Cox regression model showed a strong association between lower in-treatment LV mass index and reduced rate of the composite CV end point (hazard ratio [HR], 0.78 per 1-SD (25.3) decrease in LV mass index; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65-0.94; P = . 009) over and above that predicted by reduction in blood pressure. There were parallel associations between lower in-treatment LV mass index and lower CV mortality (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.47-0.82; P = .001), stroke (HR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.60-0.96; P = .02), myocardial infarction (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.62-1.17, P = .33), and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.59-0.88, P = .002), independent of systolic blood pressure and assigned treatment. Results were confirmed in analyses adjusting for additional CV risk factors, electrocardiographic changes, or when only considering events after the first year of study treatment. CONCLUSION In patients with essential hypertension and baseline electrocardiographic LV hypertrophy, lower LV mass during antihypertensive treatment is associated with lower rates of clinical end points, additional to effects of blood pressure lowering and treatment modality.
How probes inform and influence the design process

Design and research practitioners have applied probes in their design processes to find new ways of understanding user experience, allowing them to obtain a better understanding of their users and to inspire their designs. Usually in design practice and research, project leaders and managers expect an ultimate solution emerging as a result of probing. However, in most cases such a direct connection is not evident as probes inform and influence the design process in many different ways. We provide illustrative examples of these ways based on a study related to bathroom use for a lighting system. We present a generalization of our findings on how probes can help inform other design processes.
Extraction 3D de marquages routiers à partir d'images aériennes multi-vues et quelques applications

La detection de routes a partir d’images aeroportees ou d’images satellitales et RADAR est un theme d’interet majeur qui a mobilise de nombreux chercheurs depuis la fin des annees 1970. Le sujet reste encore aujourd’hui largement d’actualite, d’autant que les besoins de donnees fiables et recentes sont toujours plus importants. Dans le cadre de cette these, nous envisageons le reseau routier sous un angle restreint, celui de la detection d’objets du sol, et, plus precisement, de la signalisation routiere horizontale, c’est-a-dire le marquage au sol. Les donnees que nous utiliserons sont des images aeriennes a haute resolution (de l’ordre de 25 cm au nadir) dans un contexte multi-recouvrement. L’accent sera mis tout particulierement sur le milieu urbain. Nous presenterons dans ce manuscrit les travaux que nous avons menes dans cette optique. Nous avons retenu un decoupage qui se focalise dans un premier temps sur les objets du marquage au sol que nous proposons de detecter et de reconstruire dans un espace tridimensionnel. Dans ce contexte, la methodologie generale sera precisee : detection et selection des primitives image, puis, reconstruction de primitives 3D. La premiere approche bottomup sera ensuite confrontee a une approche top-down par processus ponctuels marques. Cette approche permet en effet de s’affranchir d’un certain nombre de problemes inherents aux premieres methodes que nous presenterons, par l’introduction de connaissances a priori. A partir des resultats obtenus, nous presenterons une methodologie permettant d’ameliorer la qualite geometrique des objets reconstruits. L’ensemble de ces etapes sera base sur un ensemble de specifications geometriques et d’implantation clairement definies par les services en charge de la voirie. Dans un second temps, nous avons cherche a mettre en lumiere l’interet de ces travaux dans diverses applications. En effet, outre l’aspect purement informatif sur la structure du reseau routier que permettent de definir les marquages au sol, il est possible d’en deriver des donnees utilisables dans d’autres processus. Nous presenterons en premier lieu une methode permettant de realiser un georeferencement fin des images acquises par un systeme de cartographie mobile en milieu urbain. Les problemes de geolocalisation de tels systemes (masques et multi-trajets des signaux GPS) peuvent etre resolus par l’appariement d’objets detectes par les systemes imageurs aerien et terrestre. Cette methode permet ainsi de beneficier de la qualite geometrique des objets issus de l’imagerie terrestre et de la qualite de localisation des objets reconstruits a partir des images aeriennes. Nous nous interesserons ensuite a la detection et a la delimitation de routes a partir de graines calculees automatiquement grâce aux marquages au sol detectes et reconstruits. Ces graines sont ensuite utilisees dans un algorithme de croissance de regions
Maternal and Fetal Factors Associated With Mortality and Morbidity in a Multi–Racial/Ethnic Registry of Anti-SSA/Ro–Associated Cardiac Neonatal Lupus

Background— Cardiac manifestations of neonatal lupus include conduction disease and, rarely, an isolated cardiomyopathy. This study was initiated to determine the mortality and morbidity of cardiac neonatal lupus and associated risk factors in a multi–racial/ethnic US-based registry to provide insights into the pathogenesis of antibody-mediated injury and data for counseling. Methods and Results— Three hundred twenty-five offspring exposed to maternal anti-SSA/Ro antibodies with cardiac neonatal lupus met entry criteria. Maternal, fetal echocardiographic, and neonatal risk factors were assessed for association with mortality. Fifty-seven (17.5%) died, 30% in utero. The probability of in utero death was 6%. The cumulative probability of survival at 10 years for a child born alive was 86%. Fetal echocardiographic risk factors associated with increased mortality in a multivariable analysis of all cases included hydrops and endocardial fibroelastosis. Significant predictors of in utero death were hydrops and earlier diagnosis, and of postnatal death were hydrops, endocardial fibroelastosis, and lower ventricular rate. Isolated heart block was associated with a 7.8% case fatality rate, whereas the concomitant presence of dilated cardiomyopathy or endocardial fibroelastosis quadrupled the case fatality rate. There was a significantly higher case fatality rate in minorities compared with whites, who were at a lower risk of hydrops and endocardial fibroelastosis. Pacing was required in 70%; cardiac transplantation was required in 4 children. Conclusion— Nearly one fifth of fetuses who develop cardiac neonatal lupus die of complications predicted by echocardiographic abnormalities consistent with antibody-associated disease beyond the atrioventricular node. The disparity in outcomes observed between minorities and whites warrants further investigation.
Reduced tolerance to acute renal ischemia in mice with a targeted disruption of the osteopontin gene.

BACKGROUND Mice with a targeted disruption of the osteopontin gene through homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells have recently been generated and shown to be characterized by unaltered fertility and normal embryonic and postnatal development, including renal development, but altered osteoclastogenesis from spleen progenitors. The lack of detectable pathological manifestations in kidneys of mice with the targeted disruption of the osteopontin gene (opn -/-) makes them an excellent model for studies of pathophysiological processes that are thought to be accompanied by changes in renal osteopontin expression. It has previously been suggested that osteopontin may play an important role in the pathophysiology of acute renal failure, thus prompting this study. METHODS Wild-type and opn -/- mice were subjected to 30 minutes of renal ischemia and were studied 24 hours later. RESULTS Control opn +/+ mice showed a significant retention of blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, which is indicative of the development of ischemic acute renal dysfunction. This was accompanied by a 2.7-fold increase in the immunodetectable osteopontin compared with sham-operated control. Animals with the disrupted osteopontin gene exhibited ischemia-induced renal dysfunction, which was twice as pronounced as that observed in mice with the intact osteopontin response to stress. In addition, the structural damage to the ischemic kidneys obtained from opn -/- mice was more pronounced than that observed in similarly treated wild-type mice. This was associated with the augmented expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and the prevalence of nitrotyrosine residues in kidneys from opn -/- mice versus wild-type counterparts. In vitro studies with proximal tubular cells subjected to hypoxia in the presence of OPN, but not OPN with deleted arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) domain, resulted in cytoprotection. CONCLUSIONS The comparative analysis of functional and morphological sequelae of acute renal ischemia in opn +/+ and opn -/- mice provides strong evidence of renoprotective action of osteopontin in acute ischemia.
Hypertension prevalence and care in an urban and rural area of Tanzania

Objective To describe the prevalence, detection, treatment and control of hypertension in an urban and rural area of Tanzania. Design Two linked cross-sectional population-based surveys Setting A middle-income urban district of Dar es Salaam (Ilala) and a village in the relatively prosperous rural area of Kilimanjaro (Shari) Participants Seven hundred and seventy adults (> 15 years) in Ilala and 928 adults in Shari were studied Results Hypertension prevalence (blood pressure >140 and/or 90 mmHg, or known hypertensives receiving antihypertensive treatment) was 30% (95% confidence interval, 25.1–34.9%) in men and 28.6% (24.3–32.9%) in women in Ilala, and 32.2% (27.7–6.7%) in men and 31.5% (27.8–35.2%) in women in Shari. Age-standardized hypertension (to the New World Population) prevalence was 37.3% (32.2–42.5%) among men and 39.1% (34.2–44.0%) in women in Illala, and 26.3% (22.4–30.4%) in men and 27.4% (24.4–30.4%) in women in Shari. In both areas, just under 20% of hypertensive subjects were aware of their diagnosis, approximately 10% reported receiving treatment and less than 1% were controlled (blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg). Hypertensive subjects were older, had greater body mass indices and waist: hip ratios, and had more risk factors for hypertension and its complications (smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes) than nonhypertensives. Conclusions There is a high prevalence of hypertension in rural and urban areas of Tanzania, with low levels of detection, treatment and control. This demonstrates the need for cost-effective strategies for primary prevention, detection and treatment of hypertension and the growing public health challenge of non-communicable diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Apathy is associated with poor prognosis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Apathy is the most commonly reported behavioural change in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the degree to which it affects prognosis and overlaps with depression in this population is unknown. The present study examined the relationship between level of apathy, mortality and survival time and whether apathy was linked to specific symptom clusters of depression.
Service Replication Strategies with MapReduce in Clouds

The current implementations of cloud environment do not have suitable mechanism through which services can be managed to make use of cloud resources. The services in these environments can passively serve users' request only. If a service receives more requests than it can handle in a certain time period, it is subject to malfunctioning. This paper proposes a new approach to service replications that allows a cloud to adjust its service instance deployments in response to existing and projected service request loads. This approach defines an optimal service replication strategy based on MapReduce, a processing model used extensively in GAE (Google App Engine) to solve huge data processing tasks. This service replication strategy is implemented by Service Level MapReduce (SLMR). To better support for SLMR, service replication technology is introduced, which include dynamic service replication and pre-deployed service replication. Furthermore, a passive SLMR approach that depends on the cloud management service (CMS) and a positive SLMR approach that does not need the support from CMS will be introduced.
Interaction of cholesterol with various glycerophospholipids and sphingomyelin.

The influence of cholesterol on the phase behavior of glycerophospholipids and sphingomyelins was investigated by spin-label electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. 4-(4,4-Dimethyl-3-oxy-2-tridecyl-2-oxazolidinyl)butanoic acid (5-SASL) and 1-stearoyl-2-[4-(4,4-dimethyl-3-oxy-2-tridecyl-2-oxazolidinyl)butanoy l]-sn- glycero-3-phosphocholine (5-PCSL) spin-labels were employed for this purpose. The outer hyperfine splitting constants, Amax, measured from the spin-label ESR spectra as a function of temperature were taken as empirical indicators of cholesterol-induced changes in the acyl chain motions in the fluid state. The Amax values of 5-PCSL exhibit a triphasic dependence on the concentration of cholesterol for phosphatidylcholines and bovine brain sphingomyelin. We interpret this dependence as reflecting the existence of liquid-disordered, ld, liquid-ordered, lo, and coexistence regions, ld + lo. The phase boundary between the ld and the two-phase region and the boundary between the lo and the two-phase region in the phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol systems coalesce at temperatures 25-33 degrees C above the main-chain melting transition temperature of the cholesterol-free phosphatidylcholine bilayers. In the case of bovine brain sphingomyelin, the ld-lo phase coalescence occurs about 47 degrees C above the melting temperature of the pure sphingomyelin. The selectivity of interaction of cholesterol with glycerophospholipids of varying headgroup charge was studied by comparing the cholesterol-induced changes in the Amax values of derivatives of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidylserine spin-labeled at the fifth position of the sn-2 chain. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)