Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antagonism or Synergism

SHP-1 and SHP-2 are two Src homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatases with major pathological implications in cell growth regulating signaling. They share significant overall sequence identity, but their biological functions are often opposite. SHP-1 is generally considered as a negative signal transducer and SHP-2 as a positive one. However, the precise role of each enzyme in shared signaling pathways is not well defined. In this study, we investigated the interaction of these two enzymes in a single cell system by knocking down their expressions with small interfering RNAs and analyzing the effects on epidermal growth factor signaling. Interestingly, knockdown of either SHP-1 or SHP-2 caused significant reduction in the activation of ERK1/2 but not Akt. Furthermore, SHP-1, SHP-2, and Gab1 formed a signaling complex, and SHP-1 and SHP-2 interact with each other. The interaction of SHP-1 with Gab1 is mediated by SHP-2 because it was abrogated by knockdown of SHP-2, and SHP-2, but not SHP-1, binds directly to tyrosine-phosphorylated Gab1. Together, the data revealed that both SHP-1 and SHP-2 have a positive role in epidermal growth factor-induced ERK1/2 activation and that they act cooperatively rather than antagonistically. The interaction of SHP-1 and SHP-2 may be responsible for previously unexpected novel regulatory mechanism of cell signaling by tyrosine phosphatases.
Complexes of Matrilin-1 and Biglycan or Decorin Connect Collagen VI Microfibrils to Both Collagen II and Aggrecan*

Native supramolecular assemblies containing collagen VI microfibrils and associated extracellular matrix proteins were isolated from Swarm rat chondrosarcoma tissue. Their composition and spatial organization were characterized by electron microscopy and immunological detection of molecular constituents. The small leucine-rich repeat (LRR) proteoglycans biglycan and decorin were bound to the N-terminal region of collagen VI. Chondroadherin, another member of the LRR family, was identified both at the N and C termini of collagen VI. Matrilin-1, -3, and -4 were found in complexes with biglycan or decorin at the N terminus. The interactions between collagen VI, biglycan, decorin, and matrilin-1 were studied in detail and revealed a biglycan/matrilin-1 or decorin/matrilin-1 complex acting as a linkage between collagen VI microfibrils and aggrecan or alternatively collagen II. The complexes between matrilin-1 and biglycan or decorin were also reconstituted in vitro. Colocalization of collagen VI and the different ligands in the pericellular matrix of cultured chondrosarcoma cells supported the physiological relevance of the observed interactions in matrix assembly.
A 1.5-V 900-MHz monolithic CMOS fast-switching frequency synthesizer for wireless applications

A new architecture for phase-locked-loop frequency synthesizers which employs a switchable-capacitor array to tune the output frequency is proposed. It provides many advantages, including simplified analog circuitry, low supply voltage, low power consumption, small chip area, fast frequency switching and high immunity of substrate noise. A prototype is designed for 1.5 V and consumes 30 mW. The total chip area is 0.9/spl times/1.1 mm/sup 2/. The settling time is less than 150 /spl mu/sec and the phase noise is -118 dBc/Hz at 600 KHz offset.
Haptic Interaction for Mobile Assistive Robots

This paper presents an assistive robotic system, for which the user can interact with a mobile robot using a haptic interface, for senior and disabled people. The system consists of a nonholonomic PeopleBot mobile robot and a Phantom Omni haptic interface. Several technical problems related to the system are addressed and solved. Specifically, the backstepping technique is used, and a new tracking algorithm is developed for the robot to follow the user on a 2-D space. An adaptive fuzzy logic-based windowing method is proposed to solve the velocity estimation problem in the controller. A simple haptic rendering algorithm is designed to generate the haptic feedback based on the position error. Experiments show that the user can guide the movement of the robot quite easily and smoothly using the haptic interface.
Use of rMPB70 Protein and ESAT-6 Peptide as Antigens for Comparison of the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent, Immunochromatographic, and Latex Bead Agglutination Assays for Serodiagnosis of Bovine Tuberculosis

ABSTRACT Current assays used to detect Mycobacterium bovis infection lack accuracy, especially for recently infected animals, or are impractical for rapid field diagnostic applications. To overcome these limitations with serological assays, a synthetic peptide derived from early secretory antigenic target 6 (ESAT6-p) and a recombinant major secreted immunogenic protein (rMPB70) of M. bovis were used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (EIA), an immunochromatographic assay (ICGA), and a latex bead agglutination assay (LBAA). Sera from noninfected, M. bovis-infected, or M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected (by natural and experimental routes) animals were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic analysis comparing optical density values from the EIA with results of bacterial culture or skin test, the reference test, established suitable cutoff values for assessing sensitivity and specificity. The EIA and LBAA, respectively, had sensitivities of 98.6 and 94.8%, specificities of 98.5 and 92.6%, and kappa values of 0.97 and 0.88 with ESAT6-p. The EIA, ICGA, and LBAA, respectively, had sensitivities of 96.8, 83.0, and 86.7%, specificities of 90.1, 99.4, and 97.8%, and kappa values of 0.87, 0.85, and 0.83 with rMPB70. Examination of serial samples of sera collected from experimentally M. bovis-infected cattle and deer revealed that ESAT6-p-specific responses developed early after infection whereas responses to rMPB70 developed later in the course of disease. The advantage of the LBAA and ICGA as initial tests for multiple species is a rapid reaction obtained in 2 to 3 h by LBAA or 20 min by ICGA without species-specific secondary antibodies under field conditions, thus allowing immediate segregation of suspect animals for further testing before culling.
Extension of real time harmonic elimination theory to the traditional selective harmonic elimination

Generally speaking, almost the existing method used to implement the selective harmonic elimination in real time based on look-up table, which will consume lots of memories of the embedded processor. This paper propose a method that extends the real time harmonic elimination strategy based in modified carrier signal theory to the results obtained by the traditional selective harmonic elimination. The real time harmonic elimination technique has been demonstrated for a single and three-phase voltage source inverter. The proposed method also controls the fundamental component and eliminates the desired orders harmonics, for both bipolar and unipolar with quarter-wave and half-wave symmetries, and it can be implemented with simple circuitry of comparison. Obtained results in the case of a three-phase voltage source inverter are very satisfactory and clearly prove the validity of the proposed extension method.
Evaluation of an active rehabilitation program for concussion management in children and adolescents

ABSTRACT Objective: To estimate the extent to which post-concussion symptoms were influenced by participation in an Active Rehabilitation (AR) program (aerobic exercise, coordination drills, visualization and education) for children and adolescents who are slow to recover from concussion. A secondary exploratory objective included examining the influence of sex on symptom evolution. Methods: Analysis of prospectively collected data was performed on 277 youth who initiated an AR program, between three and four weeks post-injury at a Concussion Clinic in a tertiary care paediatric teaching hospital. Main outcome measure: Post-concussion symptom scale (PCSS) from Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3 (SCAT 3). Results: Children and adolescents participating in an active rehabilitation program displayed improved post-concussion symptom severity at follow-up (median = 9.5) compared to pre-intervention (median = 18) (p < .05). Patients demonstrated improved physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related post-concussion symptoms (p < .05). Female sex was associated with an increased post-concussion symptom severity at follow-up. Conclusions: Youth experiencing persisting symptoms three to four weeks post-concussion demonstrated improved post-concussion symptoms scores (physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep related) with participation in an active rehabilitation program.
Families of the Lesbian Baby Boom

Summary This article reports a study of maternal mental health, household composition, and children's adjustment among 37 families in which 4- to 9-year-old children had been born to or adopted early in life by lesbian mothers. Results showed that maternal reports of both self-esteem and psychological symptoms were within the normal range. Consistent with findings for heterosexual parents and their children, assessments of children's adjustment were significantly associated with measures of maternal mental health. These results underline the importance of maternal mental health as a predictor of children's adjustment among lesbian as well as among heterosexual families.
Experimental therapeutic approaches to peptic ulcer

SINCE there is a widely held view that the final solution to the control of ulcer dyspepsia is more likely to come from a pharmacological approach than a primarily surgical one, the greater proportion of this paper is devoted to a consideration of various pharmacological methods of treatment which might be worthy of further exploration, and the remainder of the article to a brief consideration of one or two recently proposed surgical techniques which may well prove to have a place in the treatment of peptic ulcer.
Ineffective esophageal motility and gastroesophageal reflux disease: a close relationship?

BACKGROUND/AIMS An association between ineffective esophageal motility and gastroesophageal reflux disease is already known, but there are also some conflicting data. We evaluated the association between ineffective esophageal motility and gastroesophageal reflux disease in patients who underwent ambulatory pH monitoring for the evaluation of reflux symptoms at Gazi University, Gastroenterology Clinic. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 239 patients who underwent endoscopy, esophageal manometry and ambulatory 24-h pH monitoring due to reflux symptoms were enrolled. Of them, we selected patients who had normal esophageal motility and ineffective esophageal motility. The endoscopy and ambulatory pH monitoring findings were compared between the two groups. RESULTS Of the 239 patients who presented with reflux symptoms, pathologic acid reflux or endoscopic esophagitis was found in 114 (48%). Ineffective esophageal motility was found in 18 (16%) in the pathologic reflux group and in 4 (3%) in the functional reflux group (p=0.01). Ambulatory pH, manometric and demographic findings were compared in ineffective esophageal motility and normal motility groups. Lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressures were lower in the ineffective esophageal motility group (19.7 versus 16.2; p=0.01), and total reflux times in both supine and upright position were higher (10.3 versus 4.9; p=0.01) inthe ineffective esophageal motility group. Ineffective esophageal motility patients were older and more obese than normal motility group patients. CONCLUSIONS This study points to a clear association between ineffective esophageal motility and gastroesophageal reflux disease as defined by ambulatory pH monitoring.
CAVITATION SOUNDS DURING CERVICOTHORACIC SPINAL MANIPULATION.

BACKGROUND No study has previously investigated the side, duration or number of audible cavitation sounds during high-velocity low-amplitude (HVLA) thrust manipulation to the cervicothoracic spine. PURPOSE The primary purpose was to determine which side of the spine cavitates during cervicothoracic junction (CTJ) HVLA thrust manipulation. Secondary aims were to calculate the average number of cavitations, the duration of cervicothoracic thrust manipulation, and the duration of a single cavitation. STUDY DESIGN Quasi-experimental study. METHODS Thirty-two patients with upper trapezius myalgia received two cervicothoracic HVLA thrust manipulations targeting the right and left T1-2 articulation, respectively. Two high sampling rate accelerometers were secured bilaterally 25 mm lateral to midline of the T1-2 interspace. For each manipulation, two audio signals were extracted using Short-Time Fourier Transformation (STFT) and singularly processed via spectrogram calculation in order to evaluate the frequency content and number of instantaneous energy bursts of both signals over time for each side of the CTJ. RESULT Unilateral cavitation sounds were detected in 53 (91.4%) of 58 cervicothoracic HVLA thrust manipulations and bilateral cavitation sounds were detected in just five (8.6%) of the 58 thrust manipulations; that is, cavitation was significantly (p<0.001) more likely to occur unilaterally than bilaterally. In addition, cavitation was significantly (p<0.0001) more likely to occur on the side contralateral to the clinician's short-lever applicator. The mean number of audible cavitations per manipulation was 4.35 (95% CI 2.88, 5.76). The mean duration of a single manipulation was 60.77 ms (95% CI 28.25, 97.42) and the mean duration of a single audible cavitation was 4.13 ms (95% CI 0.82, 7.46). In addition to single-peak and multi-peak energy bursts, spectrogram analysis also demonstrated high frequency sounds, low frequency sounds, and sounds of multiple frequencies for all 58 manipulations. DISCUSSION Cavitation was significantly more likely to occur unilaterally, and on the side contralateral to the short-lever applicator contact, during cervicothoracic HVLA thrust manipulation. Clinicians should expect multiple cavitation sounds when performing HVLA thrust manipulation to the CTJ. Due to the presence of multi-peak energy bursts and sounds of multiple frequencies, the cavitation hypothesis (i.e. intra-articular gas bubble collapse) alone appears unable to explain all of the audible sounds during HVLA thrust manipulation, and the possibility remains that several phenomena may be occurring simultaneously. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2b.
An object oriented Bayesian network approach for unsafe driving maneuvers prevention system

As the main contributor to the traffic accidents, unsafe driving maneuvers have taken attentions from automo­bile industries. Although driving feedback systems have been developed in effort of dangerous driving reduction, it lacks of drivers awareness development. Therefore, those systems are not preventive in nature. To cover this weakness, this paper presents an approach to develop drivers awareness to prevent dangerous driving maneuvers. The approach uses Object-Oriented Bayesian Network to model hazardous situations. The result of the model can truthfully reflect a driving environment based upon situation analysis, data generated from sensors, and maneuvers detectors. In addition, it also alerts drivers when a driving situation that has high probability to cause unsafe maneuver to be detected. This model then is used to design a system, which can raise drivers awareness and prevent unsafe driving maneuvers.
Transforming growth factor-beta enhances interleukin-6 secretion by intestinal epithelial cells.

Recent reports have suggested that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) may have an important role in IgA immune responses, e.g. induction of surface IgM+ B cells to commit to IgA. TGF-beta is also an important regulatory cytokine for the maturation of intestinal epithelial cells. Using the IEC-6 rat intestinal epithelial cell line as a model system, TGF-beta 1 was found to enhance interleukin-6 (IL-6) secretion by the IEC-6 cells. The IL-6 was produced in a dose-dependent manner and secretion could be specifically inhibited by an anti-TGF-beta 1 antibody. IL-6 production by the IEC-6 cells was confirmed by using a rabbit anti-mouse IL-6 antibody which completely neutralized the IL-6 present in the IEC-6 cell supernatant. The enhancement of IL-6 secretion was found to involve a low-level enhancement in the expression of RNA for IL-6. The induction of IL-6 secretion was also reversible when TGF-beta was removed. These results suggest that the action of TGF-beta on intestinal epithelial cells may play an important role in immune responses at the intestinal mucosa.
On Designing Leakage-Resilient Vibration Based Authentication Techniques

To prevent shoulder surfing attack, a secured channel between the device and user must be established so that it cannot be eavesdropped by an adversary. In this paper we have explored vibration signals to design authentication services namely - (a) VDLS and (b) M-VDLS to resist shoulder surfing attack. The use of vibration provides a key strength to bypass the threat of shoulder surfing without using any auxiliary device. Thus, proposed schemes in this paper avail aforementioned advantage to address the attack. While VDLS attains very high security standard compared to existing approaches, M-VDLS ensures high usability standard to avoid the attack in mobile environment. Both these approaches are also capable of providing solution against classical shoulder surfing attack without any information leakage. Finally, we show that required overheads of proposed approaches are reasonable in practice and outperform the existing approaches in terms of security and usability.
Molecular analysis of the transcriptional regulatory region of an early baculovirus gene

Transcription of the gene encoding a 35,000-molecular-weight protein (35K protein) from the EcoRI-S region (86.8 to 87.8 map units) of Autographa california nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) occurs early in infection and declines later. The region promoting the gene for the 35K protein, extending from 426 base pairs (bp) upstream to 12 bp downstream from the RNA start site, was linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene (CAT) for analysis. CAT expression was monitored in cells that were transfected with plasmids containing the promoter-CAT fusion as well as cells infected with recombinant viruses containing the chimeric gene inserted into the AcMNPV genome. Mapping of the 5' ends of CAT-specific RNAs indicated that transcription initiated from the proper sites in both assays; moreover, the promoter fragment retained its early activity, despite an alternate location in the viral genome. The 5' boundary of upstream regulatory sequences was determined by constructing deletions of the promoter fragment extending toward the early RNA start site (position +1). In transient assays, a gradual reduction in CAT expression occurred as sequences from positions -426 to -31 were removed. In contrast, promoter deletions from positions -426 to -155 in recombinant viruses exhibited no effect on CAT expression, whereas deletions to position -55 abolished early expression but had no effect on late expression. Late CAT expression was eliminated when deletions to position -4 removed part of the late RNA start site. DNA signals potentiating early transcription were therefore located upstream (between positions -155 and -55) from those involved in late transcription of the gene encoding the 35K protein. Potential consensus sequences for early and late regulatory elements were identified.
Long-Term Evolution of Disease Behavior of Crohn's Disease

BackgroundThe Vienna classification of Crohn's disease (CD) distinguishes three patient subgroups according to disease behavior: stricturing, penetrating, and inflammatory. Our aim was to assess the long-term evolution of the disease behavior of CD and to determine the predictive factors and prognostic implications of this evolution. MethodsOccurrence and predictive factors of a stricturing and/or a penetrating complication were searched for in 2,002 patients with CD studied retrospectively. In addition, the 1995–2000 disease course was assessed prospectively in a cohort of 646 patients with disease duration >5 years, classified according to their previous disease behavior. Results1,199 patients (60%) developed a stricturing (n = 254) or a penetrating (n = 945) complication. Twenty-year actuarial rates of inflammatory, stricturing, and penetrating disease were 12, 18, and 70%, respectively. The initial location of lesions was the main determinant of the time and type of the complication. In the cohort study, year-by-year activity and therapeutic requirements did not show significant sustained differences between behavioral subgroups. ConclusionMost patients with CD will eventually one day develop a stricturing or a perforating complication. Initial location determines the type of the complication. Classification of patients into a behavioral group from previous history has no impact upon activity during the following years.
High Dense Crowd Pattern and Anomaly Detection Using Statistical Model

Human crowd behavior analysis is a subject of great interest in research now days. Great advantage of investigating dense human crowds in places like mosques and temples to perform automatic surveillance for any unusual activity detection that might be a subject of interest and must be addressed on earliest to avoid accident. We present robust statistical skeleton for modeling a dense crowded scene and then find anomaly in it. Our main intuition is to utilize the true dense motion of the scene to model main motion pattern by using temporal statistical behaviors. After removing the noise we genuinely find anomalies in the scene by using the model. We used Matlab for designing algorithm of motion pattern and anomaly detection. Our test reflect that temporal motion pattern modeling presents hopeful results in actual world scene with dense structured crowded motion.
Isolation of an Antigen of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Involved in the Human Immune Response to Gonococcal Infection

Ion-exchange chromatography was used to isolate a fraction from disrupted gonococci which reacts with sera from patients with gonococcal disease in complement-fixation and gel-diffusion tests. This antigenic fraction was shown to be the same as that previously described as having been isolated by gel filtration. The method reported here has the advantage of greater rapidity of isolation together with some improvement in purity.
Protein contaminations impact quantification and functional analysis of extracellular vesicle preparations from mesenchymal stromal cells

Extracellular vesicles (EV) awakened interest in the research on mesenchymal stromal cells by exploring their paracrine effects. However, many isolation protocols use bovine serum albumin (BSA) during the preparation of the EV. Therefore, we produced ‘sham’ BSA-EV and tested them in comparison to EV derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC-EV). We found that BSA-EV did not express MSC-specific surface markers like CD29 and CD90. However, they were capable of reducing serum-starvation induced apoptosis in vitro in a kidney epithelial cell line to a similar extent as MSC-EV as measured by Annexin V/7-Aminoactinomycin D labeling and flow cytometry.
DroneCAST: towards a programming toolkit for airborne multimedia display applications

In recent years, new type of public displays have captured the interest of researchers-displays with the ability to move freely in three-dimensional space. We refer to such display systems as Airborne Multimedia Display (AMD) systems. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive analysis of requirements for developing interactive AMD applications based on extensive literature survey of the related work and from our own experience of flying AMD systems. We then outline the design and implementation of DroneCAST: a programming toolkit for developing AMD applications with remote delivery and control mechanism for multimedia content with IoT middleware as the core part of the system. Finally, we build a sample AMD application with the toolkit to further illustrate the applicability of the system.