Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of p44/42 activation in tributyltin‐induced inhibition of human natural killer cells: effects of MEK inhibitors

Destruction of tumor cells is a key function of natural killer (NK) cells. Previous studies have shown that tributyltin (TBT) can significantly reduce the lytic function of the human NK cells with accompanying increases in the phosphorylation (activation) states of the mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs), p44/42. The current studies examine the role of p44/42 activation in the TBT‐induced reduction of NK‐lytic function, by using MAPK kinase (MEK) inhibitors, PD98059 and U0126. A 1 h treatment with PD98059 or U0126 or both decreased the ability of NK cells to lyse K562 tumor cells. PD98059, U0126 or a combination of both inhibitors were able to completely block TBT‐induced activation of p44/42. However, when p44/42 activation was blocked by the presence of PD98059, U0126 or the combination, subsequent exposure to TBT was still able to decrease the lytic function of NK cells. These results indicate that TBT‐induced activation of p44/42 occurs via the activation of its upstream activator, MEK, and not by a TBT‐induced inhibition of p44/42 phosphatase activity. Additionally, as lytic function was never completely blocked by MEK inhibitors, the results indicate that activation of p44/42 pathway is not solely responsible for the activation of lytic function of freshly isolated human NK cells. Finally, the results showed that TBT‐induced activation of p44/42 is not solely responsible for the loss of lytic function. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Incidence of adult respiratory distress syndrome in patients with multiple musculoskeletal injuries: effect of early operative stabilization of fractures.

Records of 132 consecutive patients with multiple musculoskeletal injuries were examined for the purpose of assessing the relationship between the length of time from injury to the operative stabilization of major fractures and the incidence of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). To be included in the study patients had to have had at least two major long-bone fractures and a Hospital Trauma Index-Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 18 or higher. Early operative fracture stabilization (STAB) is defined as an operation in the first 24 hours postinjury at which the majority of fractures were stabilized without leaving a spine, pelvis, or femur fracture unstable. A stepwise logistic regression was performed on the data. The dependent variable was the presence or absence of ARDS. The independent variables were age, sex, number of injuries, days to first surgery, early operative fracture stabilization (STAB), units of blood the first week, and ISS and its major components: RESP, ABD, CV, EXT, NS, and SSQ. The two independent variables selected as significant by this procedure were STAB and ISS. For the overall data set, a delay in orthopedic surgery (greater than 24 hours) is associated with a five-fold increase in the incidence of ARDS (p less than 0.001). For the more severely injured patients (ISS greater than 40), the comparable rates are 17% with early surgery and 75% with delayed surgery (p less than 0.001). A Chi-square test for association between ARDS and STAB adjusting for changes due to ISS grouping is significant (p less than 0.001). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Detection of Antigens in Enzymic Lysates of Cell Wall from Streptococcus mutans Strains

Lysis of cell wall preparations from strains representing serotypes a - g of Streptococcus mutans has provided a convenient and efficient means of obtaining the typing antigens in a soluble undegraded form, and has demonstrated that, in each case, the antigen is a cell wall component in the strict sense of a component joined covalently to peptidoglycan. This influences the choice of extraction procedures.
Multiband Multipolarization Integrated Monopole Slots Antenna for Vehicular Telematics Applications

The concept, design procedure, and measurement results of a novel low profile integrated monopole slots antenna for multiband multipolarization applications are presented. The antenna operates at both GPS and Iridium frequencies of 1.575 GHz and 1.62 GHz with circular polarization and GSM850/GSM900/DCS/PCS bands with a vertical linear polarization. The antenna meets stringent requirements on pattern/polarization performance in all bands. The antenna structure is based on an L-shaped monopole slot with a C-shaped feed to generate a wideband circular polarization. With the integration of two monopole slots inside this structure, the antenna covers quad-band GSM. The integrated monopole slots antenna occupies half of the area on the corner of a circuit board compared to a half-wavelength slot antenna that requires a larger area at the center of the board. This is an attractive feature for compact low frequency telematics devices, whose circuit board floor planning and signal routing are major concerns.
Performance analysis of the actuator discovery protocol for static and mobile sensor and actuator networks

Wireless sensor-actuator networks (WSANs) refer to a group of sensors and actuators linked by a wireless medium to perform distributed sensing and acting tasks. In order to provide effective sensing and acting, coordination mechanisms are required among sensors and actuators. We have presented the architectural design of a self organizing coordination framework in [3]. The framework organizes the two-tiered heterogeneous network into clusters. The coordination framework is a three-level coordination protocol and the three levels belong to the three types of coordination required for WSANs: sensor-sensor coordination, sensor-actuator coordination and actuator-actuator coordination. In WSANs (or WSNs), the routing protocol is highly influenced by the operating application with delay and energy consumption constraints. Therefore, we propose to decouple the application dependent coordination dynamics from the essentials provided by the routing protocol. In this paper, we present the performance analysis of our proposal called ADP (Actuator Discovery Protocol) for static and mobile WSANs. Using ns-2 simulation results we have shown to eliminate redundancy at each coordination level to make routing effective and fault-tolerant.
Animal cell cycles and their control.

THE ONSET OF M PHASE IN ANIMAL CELLS . 444 Maturation-Promoting Factor and Growth-Associated Kinase 444 p34cdc2: the Catalytic Subunit of MPF . 445 Cyclin B: the Second Essential Component of MPF. 446 Regulation of p34cdc2 Activity by Phosphorylation . 447 Substrates of p34cdc2 and their Significance for M Phase Events . 450 Dependence of Mitosis on Completion of DNA Replication . 453 Meiotic Maturation and Cytostatic Factor. 455 Cell Cycle Roles for Phosphoprotein Phosphatases . 456 CONTROL OF THE ANIMAL CELL CYCLE IN G I . 457 Growth Factor Requirements for Commitment of Fibroblasts to S Phase Entry 458 Protein Synthesis Requirements for Commitment of Fibroblasts to S Phase Entry. 460 The Search for an S Phase-Promoting Factor . 460 Growth Control and Cell Cycle Control . 463 PROSPECTS . 464
Development of the Fallopian Canal in Humans: A Morphologic and Radiologic Study

Aims This study investigated the development of the fallopian canal with particular reference to the mode of ossification and dehiscences, sites of incomplete closure around the facial nerve. Background The precise sequence of events surrounding ossification of the tissues around the facial nerve is uncertain. Incomplete ossification results in dehiscence of the adult structure, which places the nerve at increased risk of damage from disease processes in the middle ear and iatrogenic trauma during otologic surgery. Methods Twenty-four temporal bones from 12-to 36-week human fetuses were resected. Eight temporal bones from 22-to 36-week fetuses were microsliced to produce 1.5-mm horizontal sections and radiographed. Sixteen temporal bones from 12-to 35-week fetuses were serially microtomed to produce 7-&mgr;m slices, which were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of these sections were performed to document patterns of closure of the primitive canal and dehiscence formation. Results The tympanic part of the primitive fallopian canal, the facial sulcus, developed anteroposteriorly from the geniculate fossa to enclose the facial nerve. The mesenchyme that formed the facial sulcus underwent endochondral ossification, while the bone which capped or closed the sulcus developed in membrane. In the tympanic segment, permanent congenital dehiscences were elliptical and about 1 mm in length. Conclusions This study clarifies the mode of development of the fallopian canal, with particular reference to dehiscences, and provides a scientific basis for otologic practice.
A Portable Detection Kit Using Au Nanoparticles Modified Carbon Paste Electrode for Screening Uricemia Patients

A novel, portable electrochemical sensing gadget has been developed to analyze the level of uric acid in human urine. It uses gold nanoparticles embedded, chemically modified carbon paste electrode. The uric acid level is identified as the main marker in a majority of the diseases, such as urolithiasis, gout, myeloma, and so on. The main objective of the present effort was to study the level of uric acid accurately in minimum time. For this, we developed an instant, real-time monitoring kit to give accurate and fast data on the level of uric acid in a real sample. The initial work focused on developing chemically modified gold nanoparticles embedded carbon paste electrode, while the later part was aimed at converting the effort into a full detecting kit with a real time display unit to display levels of uric acid and to give a suitable indication. Since the detection kit requires neither sophisticated lab nor specific conditions to work, it is portable. This can be used as a uric acid screening device even in rural health centers. This paper can help the medical practitioners as well as the lab technicians to analyze samples quickly and give better support to the patients.
Aggressive angiomyxoma: findings on CT and MR imaging.

OBJECTIVE Aggressive angiomyxoma is a benign tumor affecting the pelvis and perineum, predominantly in women. Because of its variable presentation as a soft mass in the vulva, perianal region, buttock, or pelvis, the tumor is often clinically misdiagnosed and initial surgery is usually unsuccessful in extirpating it. This study describes the imaging features of these tumors. CONCLUSION Aggressive angiomyxomas display unusual growth patterns of translevator extension with growth around perineal structures. Both CT and MR imaging show the transdiaphragmatic extent of these tumors. High signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images may reflect the myxomatous stroma of these tumors.
Enriched environment impacts trimethylthiazoline‐induced anxiety‐related behavior and immediate early gene expression: critical role of Crhr1

It has been shown previously (Sotnikov et al., ) that mice selectively inbred for high anxiety‐related behavior (HAB) vs. low anxiety‐related behavior in the elevated plus maze differentially respond to trimethylthiazoline (TMT), a synthetic fox fecal odor. However, less is known about whether environmental factors can rescue these extreme phenotypes. Here, we found that an enriched environment (EE) provided during early adolescence induced anxiolytic effects in HAB (HAB‐EE) mice, rescuing their strong avoidance behavior induced by TMT. In a series of experiments, the contribution of maternal, juvenile and adolescent behavior to the anxiolytic effects elicited by EE was investigated. At the molecular level, using c‐fos expression mapping, we found that the activity of the medial and basolateral amygdala was significantly reduced in HAB‐EE mice after TMT exposure. We further analysed the expression of Crhr1, as its amount in the amygdala has been reported to be important for the regulation of anxiety‐related behavior after EE. Indeed, in situ hybridisation indicated significantly decreased Crhr1 expression in the basolateral and central amygdala of HAB‐EE mice. To further test the involvement of Crhr1 in TMT‐induced avoidance, we exposed conditional glutamatergic‐specific Crhr1‐knockout mice to the odor. The behavioral response of Crhr1‐knockout mice mimicked that of HAB‐EE mice, and c‐fos expression in the amygdala after TMT exposure was significantly lower compared with controls, thereby further supporting a critical involvement of Crhr1 in environmentally‐induced anxiolysis. Altogether, our results indicate that EE can rescue strong avoidance of TMT by HAB mice with Crhr1 expression in the amygdala being critically involved.
A Combination of Naturally Occurring Mutations in North American West Nile Virus Nonstructural Protein Genes and in the 3′ Untranslated Region Alters Virus Phenotype

ABSTRACT We previously reported mutations in North American West Nile viruses (WNVs) with a small-plaque (sp), temperature-sensitive (ts), and/or mouse-attenuated (att) phenotype. Using an infectious clone, site-directed mutations and 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) exchanges were introduced into the WNV NY99 genome. Characterization of mutants demonstrated that a combination of mutations involving the NS4B protein (E249G) together with either a mutation in the NS5 protein (A804V) or three mutations in the 3′UTR (A10596G, C10774U, A10799G) produced sp, ts, and/or att variants. These results suggested that the discovery of North American WNV-phenotypic variants is rare because of the apparent requirement of concurrent polygenic mutations.
Neural Substrates of Intention–Consequence Integration and Its Impact on Reactive Punishment in Interpersonal Transgression

When evaluating interpersonal transgressions, people take into account both the consequential damage and the intention of the agent. The intention and consequence, however, do not always match, as is the case with accidents and failed attempts. We combined an interactive game and functional MRI to investigate the neural substrates underlying the processing of intention and consequence, and its bearing on reactive punishment. The participant interacted with anonymous partners, who decided to deliver pain stimulation either to himself/herself or to the participant to earn a monetary reward. In some cases, the decision was reversed by the computer. After pain delivery, the partner's intention was revealed. Unbeknownst to the partner, the participant was then allowed to punish the partner by reducing his/her monetary reward. Behaviorally, the punishment was lower in the accidental condition (unintended harm relative to intended harm) but higher in the failed-attempt condition (unintended no-harm relative to intended no-harm). Neurally, the left amygdala/hippocampus was activated in the conditions with blameworthy intention (i.e., intentional harm and failed attempt). The accidental (relative to intentional) harm activated the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and the anterior inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), while the failed attempt (relative to genuine no-harm) activated the anterior insula (AI) and the posterior IFG. Effective connectivity analysis revealed that in the unintentional conditions (i.e., accidental and failed attempt) the IFG received input from the TPJ and AI, and sent regulatory signals to the amygdala. These findings demonstrate that the processing of intention may gate the emotional responses to transgression and regulate subsequent reactive punishment.
Error feedback and internal models on differentiable manifolds

Structural aspects are studied of nonlinear control systems in a setting of differentiable manifolds. As a generalization of the setup commonly used in linear multivariable control, the regulator problem is defined as that of controlling a fixed plant to track (or reject) reference (or disturbance) signals generated by a fixed dynamic model called the exosystem. It is shown that, if the controller is error-driven, if perfect tracking is achieved in the limit t¿¿, and if a suitable observability condition is present, then the controller necessarily incorporates a copy (internal model) of the exosystem dynamics. This result represents a counterpart in the nonlinear differentiable setting to various results already known for linear systems and for abstract automata.
Biomass burning contribution to ambient air particulate levels at Navrongo in the Savannah zone of Ghana

The concentrations of airborne particulate matter (PM) in Navrongo, a town in the Sahel Savannah Zone of Ghana, have been measured and the major sources have been identified. This area is prone to frequent particulate pollution episodes due to Harmattan dust and biomass burning, mostly from annual bushfires. The contribution of combustion emissions, particularly from biomass and fossil fuel, to ambient air particulate loadings was assessed. Sampling was conducted from February 2009 to February 2010 in Navrongo. Two Gent samplers were equipped to collect PM10 in two size fractions, coarse (PM10-2.5) and fine (PM2.5). Coarse particles are collected on a coated, 8-μm-pore Nuclepore filter. Fine particle samples were sampled with 47-mm-diameter Nuclepore and quartz filters. Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were determined from the quartz filters using thermal optical reflectance (IMPROVE/TOR) methods. Elements were measured on the fine-particle Nuclepore filters using energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence. The average PM2.5 mass concentration obtained at Navrongo was 32.3 μg/m3. High carbonaceous concentrations were obtained from November to March, the period of Harmattan dust and severe bush fires. Total carbon was found to contribute approximately 40% of the PM2.5 particulate mass. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) suggested six major sources contributing to the PM2.5 mass. They are two stroke engines, gasoline emissions, soil dust, diesel emissions, biomass burning, and resuspended soil dust. Biomass combustion (16.0%) was identified as second most important source next to soil dust at Navrongo. Implications: Black carbon has now been recognized as playing a major role in radiation forcing, and one major source of biomass burning is slash-and-burn agriculture. Such practices are used in Sub-Saharan Africa and the time for field burning corresponds to the time when there is also substantial transport of Saharan dust to West Africa. This paper shows the major role of biomass burning on fine particle concentrations in northern Ghana and provides useful data on the EC concentrations in this area.
The effects of corticosteroid administration before preterm delivery: an overview of the evidence from controlled trials

Summary. Continuing differences of opinion among obstetricians and neonatologists about the place of corticosteroid administration before preterm delivery have prompted us to carry out a systematic review of the relevant controlled trials, using methods designed to minimize systematic and random error. Data from 12 controlled trials, involving over 3000 participants, show that corticosteroids reduce the occurrence of respiratory distress syndrome overall and in all the subgroups of trial participants that we examined. This reduction in respiratory morbidity was associated with reductions in the risk of intraventricular haemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis and neonatal death. There is no strong evidence suggesting adverse effects of corticosteroids. The risks of fetal and neonatal infection may be raised if they are administered after prolonged rupture of the membranes, but this possibility is not substantiated by the results of the available trials. The available data on long‐term follow‐up suggest that the short‐term beneficial effects of corticosteroids may be reflected in reduced neurological morbidity in the longer term.
Object detection and tracking for autonomous underwater robots using weighted template matching

Underwater environment has a noisy medium and limited light source, so underwater vision has disadvantages of the limited detection range and the poor visibility. However it is still attractive in close range detections, especially for navigation. Thus, in this paper, vision-based object detection (template matching) and tracking (mean shift tracking) techniques for underwater robots using artificial objects have been studied. Also, we propose a novel weighted correlation coefficient using the feature-based and color-based approaches to enhance the performance of template matching in various illumination conditions. The average color information is incorporated into template matching using original and texturized images to robustly calculate correlation coefficients. And the objects are recognized using multiple template-based selection approach. Finally, the experiments in a test pool have been conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed techniques using an underwater robot platform yShark made by KORDI.
Stability analysis of load frequency control systems with real-time pricing and external signals

This paper discusses stability of a load frequency control system with real-time pricing. The load frequency control system considered in this paper also depends on an external signal. The external signal corresponds to the predicted electrical load in spot pricing and is called as load-predicted signal. The load frequebcy control system with the external signal can be derived as an uncertain linear system. Since the uncertain linear system is described as an extended uncertain linear system which consists of monomials about the state, stability of the extened system is analized based on sum of squares. From the result of stability analysis, the admissible stability margin is obtained for the load-predicted signal. The efficacy of the load frequency control system with real-time pricing and load-predicted signal is demonstrated in a numerical example.
Mild cognitive impairment is not a clinical entity and should not be treated.

T HERE HAS BEEN GREAT progress in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer disease (AD) and related dementias thanks to the availability of well-validated diagnostic criteria (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV); National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke–the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association [NINCDS-ADRDA]); and a large number of randomized clinical trials using cholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) and Memantine. Work from specialized neurological clinics suggests that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an early stage of AD, and there is a temptation for neurologists to prescribe AChEIs in this population. On the other hand, there is epidemiological evidence that many subjects labeled as having MCI do not worsen over time and may revert to normal cognitive abilities. A diagnosis of MCI as a predementia stage of AD in such individuals would be inaccurate and carry a heavy personal and societal burden. Reversible causes of MCI may be found, such as depression, upper airway obstruction, and a variety of metabolic, nutritional, or sensory impairments. Since MCI does not constitute a homogeneous clinical syndrome, it is inappropriate to propose a specific drug treatment such as AChEIs, but the recognition that MCI is a risk state toward further cognitive decline is clinically relevant, and control of risk factors such as systolic hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, transient ishemic attacks, and strokes may delay progression to dementia.