Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T and reduced folate carrier 80 G>A polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of conotruncal heart defects

Abstract Background: Folic acid has an important role during embryologic development, particularly the development of the cardiovascular system. Methods: We analyzed the involvement of eight polymorphisms in genes related to folic-acid metabolism, 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD1), transcobalamin (TCN2), reduced folatecarrier(RFC),nicotinamide-N-methyltransferase (NNMT) and natriuretic peptide precursor A (NPPA) as risk factors of conotruncal heart defects. Results: In single-locus analyses, the genotype frequencies of MTHFR rs1801133 C>T were 18.4% (CC), 50.4% (CT), and 31.1% (TT) in the subjects with conotruncal heart defects and 31.6% (CC), 52.9% (CT), and 15.4% (TT) in control subjects, and the difference was significant (p=0.001). Logistic regression analyses revealed that, if the MTHFR rs1801133 CC homozygote genotype was used as the reference group, subjects carrying the TT variant homozygote had a significant 3.46-fold [odds ratio (OR) 3.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.83–6.55] increased risk of conotruncal heart defects. If the RFC rs1051266 GG homozygote genotype was used as the reference group, subjects carrying the GA variant heterozygote had a significant 1.68-fold (OR 1.68; 95% CI 1.02–2.78) increased risk of conotruncal heart defects. In stratification analyses, the MTHFR rs1801133 C>T genotype was associated with an increased risk for tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and transposition of great artery (TGA) in homozygote comparisons, the dominant genetic model, and the recessive genetic model. The RFC rs1051266 GA genotype was associated with an increased risk for TGA compared with wild-type homozygotes and, in the dominant genetic model, the RFC rs1051266 GA/AA genotype was also associated with a significantly increased risk of TGA compared with RFC rs1051266 GG genotypes. Conclusions: These data suggest that genotypes for the MTHFR C677T and RFC rs1051266 polymorphism might be associated with the risk of conotruncal heart defects.
1‐trichloromethyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐β‐carboline‐induced apoptosis in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK‐N‐SH

Trichloroethylene, a common industrial solvent and a metabolic precursor of chloral hydrate, occurs widely in the environment. Chloral hydrate, which is also used as a hypnotic, has been found to condense spontaneously with tryptamine, in vivo, to give rise to a highly unpolar 1‐trichloromethyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐β‐carboline (TaClo) that has a structural analogy to the dopaminergic neurotoxin N‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Earlier studies have revealed the relative permeability of the molecule through the blood–brain barrier and its ability to induce Parkinson‐like symptoms in rats. In this study, we report that TaClo induces an apoptotic pathway in the human neuroblastoma cell line, SK‐N‐SH, involving the translocation of mitochondrial cytochrome c to the cytosol and activation of caspase 3. TaClo‐induced apoptosis shows considerable differences from that mediated by other Parkinson‐inducing agents such as MPTP, rotenone and manganese. Although it is not clear if the clinically administered dosage of chloral hydrate or the relatively high environmental levels of trichloroethylene could lead to an onset of Parkinson's disease, the spontaneous in vivo formation of TaClo and its pro‐apoptotic properties, as shown in this report, should be considered.
Photocatalytic paper using zinc oxide nanorods

Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were grown on a paper support prepared from soft wood pulp. The photocatalytic activity of a sheet of paper with ZnO nanorods embedded in its porous matrix has been studied. ZnO nanorods were firmly attached to cellulose fibers and the photocatalytic paper samples were reused several times with nominal decrease in efficiency. Photodegradation of up to 93% was observed for methylene blue in the presence of paper filled with ZnO nanorods upon irradiation with visible light at 963 Wm–2 for 120 min. Under similar conditions, photodegradation of approximately 35% was observed for methyl orange. Antibacterial tests revealed that the photocatalytic paper inhibits the growth of Escherichia coli under room lighting conditions.
A Feedforward Compensated High-Voltage Linear Regulator With Fast Response, High-Current Sinking Capability

This letter presents a high-voltage (HV) linear regulator utilized as a low side rail in a two HV levels switching scheme which drives a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer. A novel topology of a linear regulator with high-current sinking capability is proposed. It regulates an input voltage of 70 V into a stable output voltage of 66 V, and it can sink currents up to 100 mA. The total quiescent current is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$288~\mu \text{A}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The regulator exhibits line regulation of 90 mV/V and a load regulation of 1.7 mV/mA. Power efficiency of 94.01% was achieved. The project is realized in an HV 0.18-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> silicon on insulator (SOI) process. The physical layout was created and occupies a die area of 0.15 mm<sup>2</sup>. The functionality was evaluated through simulations and measurements.
Bioinformatic and expression analysis of the putative gliotoxin biosynthetic gene cluster of Aspergillus fumigatus

Gliotoxin is a secondary metabolite produced by several fungi including the opportunistic animal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. It is a member of the epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP) class of toxins characterised by a disulphide bridged cyclic dipeptide. A putative cluster of 12 genes involved in gliotoxin biosynthesis has been identified in A. fumigatus by a comparative genomics approach based on homology to genes from the sirodesmin (another ETP) biosynthetic gene cluster of Leptosphaeria maculans. The physical limits of the cluster in A. fumigatus have been defined by bioinformatics and by identifying the genes that are co-regulated and whose timing of expression correlates with the production of gliotoxin in culture. 2005 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Memory for emotional picture cues during acute alcohol intoxication.

OBJECTIVE Memory affects behavior by allowing events to be anticipated and goals to be planned based on previous experiences. Emotional memory, in particular, is thought to play a central role in behavior in general and in drinking behavior in particular. Alcohol intoxication has been shown to disrupt intentional, conscious memory, but not unintentional, implicit memory for neutral stimuli; however, its effects on emotional memory are not well understood. This study examined whether alcohol intoxication affected memory for emotionally valenced stimuli by testing explicit recall and implicit repetition priming of emotional picture cues. METHOD Participants were 36 young adults (21-24 years old, 16 women) who received an alcohol, placebo, or no-alcohol beverage. Both cue exposure and memory testing occurred after beverage consumption (i.e., during intoxication for the alcohol group). RESULTS Alcohol intoxication impaired explicit recall of all cue types but did not impair implicit repetition priming. Emotionally negative and positive cues were more often recalled compared with neutral cues across all beverage groups, and emotionally negative cues demonstrated more priming than emotionally positive or neutral cues in all beverage groups. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol intoxication disrupted effortful recall of all cues, although the relative memory advantage of emotionally valenced over-neutral stimuli remained even after drinking. The effects of alcohol on unintentional memory priming were not statistically significant, but the effects of emotionally negative cues were. Further research is needed to better understand alcohol intoxication and emotional valence effects on memory processes during implicit memory tasks and the possibility that negative mood facilitates memory priming of negative emotional stimuli.
Joint routing and scheduling in dense small cell networks using 60 GHz backhaul

This paper addresses the problem of joint routing and backhaul link scheduling in a dense small cell network using 60GHz multi-hop backhaul, coordinated by a local Cloud-RAN central unit. Our objective is to optimally select the backhaul links and paths to be activated in time domain to enhance the cell throughput and to minimize the total delay, considering the backhaul channel conditions and the Quality of Service requirements. This problem is formulated as a generalized vehicle routing problem and decoupled into two sub-problems: channel-aware path selection and queue-aware link scheduling. The path selection sub-problem is solved optimally using Branch-and-Cut exact algorithm for a given number of paths with per-link delay bounds. Subsequently, the scheduling sub-problem is solved using back-pressure scheduling.
SELECTIVE INHIBITION OF PAF-INDUCED HUMAN PLATELET AGGREGATION BY GARLIC

Garlic exudate (0.2-2.5 mg) prepared by squeezing fresh garlic cloves inhibited platelet aggregation induced by platelet activating factor (PAF) in a dose-dependent manner. No inhibition of aggregation was observed when adenosine-5’-diphosphate (ADP) or arachidonic acid (AA) were used as aggregating agents. This selective effect of garlic against PAFinduced aggregation was also seen with aqueous or alcoholic garlic extracts. These results suggest that PAF antagonists are present in garlic.
Fundamental Elucidation of HLA in Type 1 Diabetes of Arab Populations

Aims/Hypothesis): Type 1 diabetes is an immune-mediated disease with destruction of the pancreatic β-cells, a process that is conditioned by multiple genes and other factors. HLA counts as the major susceptibility gene. Significant variations in HLA genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes between Caucasians, African and Asian and other ethnic groups may have led to the variation in incidence of type 1 diabetes globally. Type 1 diabetes is characterized upon HLA identification. In this chapter we discuss global variations in genetic susceptibility of HLA with regard to type 1 diabetes globally with a particular attention to Arab population. Methods): Haplotype configuration of HLA class I A, B, C and Class II –DR/DQ/DP were studied in Caucasians, African and Asian and in Arab population to see if that is responsible for the exponential rise in the rate of type 1 diabetes. Results): Although Arabs have one of the highest global incidence and prevalence rates of type 1 diabetes, unfortunately, there is a dearth amount of information regarding HLA genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes in the Arab world. HLA haplotype configurations contribute to its risk value. However, out of an insufficient present study there are examples of misjudgment of HLA risk according to HLA alleles rather than haplotypes. Conclusion): To date HLA outlooks for the characterization of type 1 diabetes. There is an ethnicity difference in HLA characteristics which is responsible for variation in type 1 diabetes. Although Arab population have contributed heavily in the rise of burden of type 1 diabetes, however, there is significantly a dearth amount of studies on HLA in Arab population. Obviously, any future prediction, prevention or cure of the disease will be based on the HLA genetics. There is a dire need for a systematic screening of HLA for Arab population with type 1 diabetes, identification of Arab HLA haplotypes-risk values and identify those who are prone to get the disease.
Presentación del Trabajo Fin de Máster “Analítica visual de datos para representación de la interacción en una red social privada y con restricciones de privacidad”

Resumen En este trabajo se realiza una propuesta para estudiar los datos que se van a generar en la red social privada y anónima del proyecto WYRED, con el n de extraer conocimiento sobre cómo interaccionan sus usuarios, tanto entre ellos, como con la propia plataforma. Para ello se parte de la creación de un sistema que generará un conjunto de datos de prueba, lo más parecido posible al original. Con esta información y teniendo en cuenta el impacto de la privacidad a la hora de tratar los datos del proyecto, se ha propuesto una arquitectura exible y completa para el desarrollo de las visualizaciones interactivas que van a permitir visualizar los datos anteriormente generados. Finalmente, se presentan varios casos de uso donde se demuestra la idoneidad de la analítica visual para realizar análisis de los datos del proyecto y extraer conocimiento, de manera sencilla.
On the kinetics of erythroid cell differentiation in fetal mice. III. DNA and hemoglobin measurements of individual erythroblasts during gestation

Microspectrophotometric absorption measurements were used to determine the hemoglobin content of erythroid cells derived from the yolk sac during gestation of fetal C3H mice, from day 9 to day 15. Using the DNA content as a marker for the mitotic state between 2C and 4C phase, five successive cell generations and their mean hemoglobin contents were distinguished: 12 pg (pg, picogram = 10−12 gm). 22.2 pg, 37 pg, 50 pg and 56 pg. In the final state, nucleated erythrocytes contained 98 ± 22 pg hemoglobin.
Managing UCD within agile projects

share some insights from managing user experience (UX) professionals involved in software-development projects that follow an Agile development methodology, and to stimulate thoughts about ways to anticipate and address potential challenges that Agile approaches might pose for a UX director or manager. Over the past decade, traditional, plandriven software development methods have been supplemented with a growing number of newer, more nimble methods, including: Extreme Programming [1], Agile/ Scrum [2, 4, 9], Crystal Methods [4], and Adaptive Software Development [5]. While these methods vary in terms of their specific approaches and unique contributions, they all attempt to cope with accelerated rates of change in highly competitive software markets. These approaches break up large development projects and deliverables over many months into smaller chunks of work over much shorter durations, e.g., often into cycles of twoto five-week “sprints” [9]. Key benefits associated with these approaches are well documented in the literature [1,2] but focus mostly on creating higher-quality code quickly with smaller teams. For the purposes of this article, I will focus on Agile initiatives, but I openly acknowledge that specific details may vary considerably even among these newer approaches. Before addressing Agile challenges, it is necessary to consider what I mean by user-centered design (UCD), even though most readers will be quite familiar with one or more approaches. Most flavors of UCD being practiced tend to regard UCD as both a general philosophy of focusing on people or “users” throughout the product life cycle and a set of methods and tools used to produce products with this focus. SAP has borrowed from the rich tradition of UCD [6, 7, 8] and promotes four fundamental principles: 1. Focus on “real” end users and engage them early and continuously throughout the product life cycle. 2. Validate UI requirements and designs by observing, measuring and recording end users. 3. Design, prototype and develop UIs iteratively. 4. Understand and design for “holistic” user experience.
Planification de mission pour une patrouille de micro-drones

Le probleme de planification de mission en ligne pour une patrouille de mini-drones est un probleme d'optimisation fortement combinatoire. Il s'agit d'affecter l'ensemble des objectifs de la mission aux drones de la patrouille et d'ordonner leur execution pour que la patrouille finisse l'integralite de la mission au plus tot. Pour faire face aux incertitudes liees a l'execution de la mission, les solutions sont recalculees de facon reactive si necessaire pendant la mission. Dans cet article nous presentons un systeme complet de planification de mission en ligne sous contraintes pour une patrouille de mini-drones. Nous proposons un modele du probleme en ligne sous forme d'un CSP qui est resolu a l'aide de la librairie de contraintes FaCiLe.
A located and user personalized event's dissemination platform

Ambient Intelligence has emerged lately as the integrating concept which includes Ubiquitous Computing, Ubiquitous Communication and Intelligent User Interfaces. The real implementation of such concepts is based on the use of new technology and innovative ways of development. Agent Oriented Software Engineering techniques and concepts have been used as a way of providing support to ubiquitous computing and communication. In addition, intelligent user interfaces require systems that provide a more efficient and rich interface with the user than the traditional ones. This paper presents a platform called MAPAS, which uses Ambient Intelligence concepts and techniques to give a fully scalable solution to a particular problem. The chosen system provides a solution, using the platform, to personalize the dissemination of events, that is, the system makes available to the user a set of events of his/her interest. This kind of systems requires a high degree of user's personalization. However nowadays, it is the user who must search the events of interest or subscribe to several different services or pages. The platform introduced in this paper takes profit of Agent Oriented technology to provide a system composed of various agents who may run in different devices, which communicate and provide a user personalized selection of events. Moreover, the system is aware of the surrounding environment, can be installed on smart devices, provides a rich and intuitive user interface and uses Augmented Reality techniques to give spatial location data about the events. Regarding the characteristics of the solution, it seems to be suitable for problems in the domain of Ambient Intelligence.
Free radical-induced contractile protein dysfunction in endotoxin-induced sepsis.

Recent studies have indicated that sepsis is associated with enhanced generation of several free-radical species (nitric oxide [NO], superoxide, hydrogen peroxide) in skeletal muscle. It is also known that this enhanced free-radical generation results in reductions in skeletal muscle force-generating capacity, but the precise mechanism(s) by which free radicals exert this effect in sepsis has not been determined. We postulated that free radicals might react directly with the contractile proteins in this condition, altering contractile protein force-generating capacity. To test this theory, we compared the force generation of single Triton-skinned diaphragmatic fibers (Triton skinning exposes the contractile apparatus, permitting direct assessment of contractile protein function) from the following groups of rats: (1) control animals; (2) endotoxin-treated animal; (3) animals given endotoxin plus polyethylene glycol- superoxide dismutase (PEG-SOD), a superoxide scavenger; (4) animals given endotoxin plus N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME), a NO synthase inhibitor; (5 ) animals given only PEG-SOD or L-NAME; and (6 ) animals given endotoxin plus denatured PEG-SOD. We found that endotoxin administration produced both a reduction in the maximum force-generating capacity (Fmax) (i.e., a decrease in Fmax) of muscle fibers and a reduction in fiber calcium sensitivity (i.e., an increase in the Ca2+ concentration required to produce half-maximal activation [Ca50]). L-NAME and PEG-SOD administration preserved Fmax and Ca50 in endotoxin-treated animals; neither drug affected these parameters in non-endotoxin treated animals. Denatured PEG-SOD failed to inhibit endotoxin-related alterations in contractile protein function. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of skinned fibers from endotoxin-treated animals revealed a selective depletion of several proteins; administration of L-NAME or PEG-SOD to endotoxin-treated animals prevented this protein depletion, paralleling the effect of these two agents to prevent a reduction in contractile protein force-generating capacity. These data indicate that free radicals (superoxide, NO, or daughter species of these radicals) play a central role in altering skeletal muscle contractile protein force-generating capacity in endotoxin-induced sepsis.
Continuous versus bilevel positive airway pressure for obstructive sleep apnea.

Recent objective studies demonstrate relatively low hours of nightly use during nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients frequently complain of dyspnea or discomfort during CPAP use, especially during expiration (against the continuous pressure), which may be a reason for the low hours of use. We hypothesized that with decreased expiratory pressure, hours of nightly use would increase. Therefore, we randomized 83 OSA patients to receive either continuous or bilevel positive airway pressure when expiratory pressure is lower. To document objectively the effective use of either therapy, we built and installed elapsed-time and mask pressure sensors in the patients' positive airway pressure units. A total of 62 patients were evaluable and followed for 1 yr. Of these, 26 received bilevel and 36 CPAP pressures. The machine timers measured accumulated "machine-on" time, and the mask pressure sensor recorded the total time in which the mask pressure was within 2 cm H2O of the effective pressure (pressure shown to eliminate 95% of the obstructive apneas during a full night of polysomnography). The mean machine timer hours of CPAP were 5.0 +/- 0.19 SEM and 4.9 +/- 0.23 SEM during bilevel therapy (p NS) over a 12-mo period. The pressures required during CPAP or bilevel therapy were not different between high and low hourly users. Effective use, the percentage of time that the machine was running and the prescribed pressure was being delivered, was 80% in CPAP and 82% in the bilevel users (p NS). Both groups had equal complaints with regard to mask discomfort, machine noise, and nasal stuffiness. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Prevention of Rat Hepatocarcinogenesis by Acyclic Retinoid Is Accompanied by Reduction in Emergence of Both TGF-α-Expressing Oval-Like Cells and Activated Hepatic Stellate Cells

Abstract: We investigated the preventive effects of a synthetic acyclic retinoid, NIK-333, on the early and late events of hepatocarcinogenesis in male F344 rats treated with 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene (3'-MeDAB). NIK-333 was administered once a day on consecutive days at a dose of 10, 40, or 80 mg/kg body weight along with the supplementation with 3'-MeDAB-containing diet for 16 wk. Animals from each group were sacrificed at 4 and 16 wk after the commencement of the experiment to determine the effect of NIK-333 on the early and late stages of carcinogenesis, respectively. NIK-333 suppressed the emergence of both oval-like cells expressing transforming growth factor (TGF)-α, putative progenitors of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and activated hepatic stellate cells, major matrix-producing cells of the liver, in the early stage and inhibited the incidence of HCC in the late phase. These results suggest that NIK-333 is a promising drug for the chemoprevention of HCC by uniquely suppressing the early events of hepatocarcinogenesis, that is, development of both oval-like cells and fibrogenesis.
A Novel Multi-view Agglomerative Clustering Algorithm Based on Ensemble of Partitions on Different Views

In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for extending the hierarchical clustering methods and introduce a Multi-View Agglomerative Clustering approach to handle multi-view represented objects. Experiments on real world datasets indicate that our algorithm considering the relationship among multiple views can provide a solution with improved quality in multi-view setting. We find empirically that the multi-view version of our Agglomerative Clustering, independent of linkage method and given any number of views, greatly improves on its single-view counterparts.