Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemokine‐induced monocyte transmigration requires cdc42‐mediated cytoskeletal changes

The ras‐related small GTPases of the rho family coordinate the assembly of complex cytoskeletal structures crucial for cell motility and polarization. Cdc42 controls filopodia formation in some cell types; however, other physiological functions, agonists and subsequent signaling cascades remain to be elucidated. Expression of cdc42 mutants in monocytic cells showed that CC chemokines regulate the rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton via cdc42, i.e. formation of filopodia‐like projections was induced by CC chemokines or dominant active cdc42, while dominant inactive cdc42 prevented its stimulation with CC chemokines. Both cdc42 mutants inhibited CC chemokine‐induced monocyte migration across bare filters or across filters coated with endothelium, implicating cdc42 activity and its effector functions in chemotaxis. In contrast, cdc42 mutants did not affect the rho‐dependent activation integrin avidity by CC chemokines. The chemokine‐induced signaling pathways involved phosphoinositide 3‐kinase upstream of cdc42, as shown by inhibition of cytoskeletal reorganization with wortmannin. These data identify CC chemokines as physiological agonists of cdc42 and reveal its functional importance in chemotaxis and extravasation of monocytes.
Lymphoma in retrieved femoral heads : a long term follow up

Background: A relatively high incidence of pathological conditions in retrieved femoral heads, including a group of patients having low grade B-cell lymphoma, has been described before. At short term follow up none of these patients with low-grade B-cell lymphoma showed evidence of systemic disease. However, the long term follow up of these patients is not known. Methods: From November 1994 up to and including December 2005 we screened all femoral heads removed at the time of primary total hip replacement histopathologically and included them in the bone banking protocol according to the guidelines of the American Associations of Tissue Banks (AATB) and the European Association of Musculo-Skeletal Transplantation (EAMST). We determined the percentage of B-cell lymphoma in all femoral heads and in the group that fulfilled all criteria of the bone banking protocol and report on the long-term follow-up. Results: Of 852 femoral heads fourteen (1.6%) were highly suspicious for low-grade B-cell lymphoma. Of these 852 femoral heads, 504 were eligible for bone transplantation according to the guidelines of the AATB and the EAMST. Six femoral heads of this group of 504 were highly suspicious for low-grade B-cell lymphoma (1.2%). At long term follow up two (0.2%) of all patients developed systemic malignant disease and one of them needed medical treatment for her condition. Conclusion: In routine histopathological screening we found variable numbers of low-grade B-cell lymphoma throughout the years, even in a group of femoral heads that were eligible for bone transplantation. Allogenic transmission of malignancy has not yet been reported on, but surviving viruses are proven to be transmissible. Therefore, we recommend the routine histopathological evaluation of all femoral heads removed at primary total hip arthroplasty as a tool for quality control, whether the femoral head is used for bone banking or not. Background Allograft donor bone is successfully used in reconstructive tumor surgery and revision of total hip arthroplasties [1,2]. Bone banks collect femoral heads according to the safety procedures of the American Associations of Tissue Banks (AATB) and the European Association of MusculoSkeletal Transplantation (EAMST) [3,4]. These constantly updated guidelines are of the utmost importance in order to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. Published: 20 May 2009 BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2009, 10:53 doi:10.1186/1471-2474-10-53 Received: 4 September 2008 Accepted: 20 May 2009 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral. com/1471-2474/10/53 © 2009 Zwitser et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Distal Blood Pressure as a Predictor for the Level of Amputation in Diabetic Patients with Foot Ulcer

The predictive value of distal blood pressure measurements for the level of amputation was studied prospectively in 161 consecutive diabetic patients with foot ulcers. The patients were treated as outpatients except for periods of surgery and when complications requiring hospital care occurred. All patients were treated pre- and postoperatively by the same multidisciplinary foot care team. Either ankle or toe blood pressure measurement was available in 86% of the patients. Incompressible arteries, ulcer or gangrene at the measuring site, previous amputation, poor general condition, and an emergency situation were factors that excluded standardized ankle and toe blood pressure measurements in 24% and 27% of the patients, respectively. An absolute lower ankle pressure level of 50 mm Hg was found, below which a minor amputation was never sufficient to achieve healing. An ankle pressure below 75 mm Hg was seldom sufficient, and at or above that pressure level, the ankle pressure had no predictive value in this respect. At a toe pressure below 15 mm Hg, a minor amputation was seldom sufficient. Ankle and toe pressure indices gave no further information.
Phytochrome A Regulates Red-Light Induction of Phototropic Enhancement in Arabidopsis

Phytochrome A (phyA) and phytochrome B photoreceptors have distinct roles in the regulation of plant growth and development. Studies using specific photomorphogenic mutants and transgenic plants overexpressing phytochrome have supported an evolving picture in which phyA and phytochrome B are responsive to continuous far-red and red light, respectively. Photomorphogenic mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana that had been selected for their inability to respond to continuous irradiance conditions were tested for their ability to carry out red-light-induced enhancement of phototropism, which is an inductive phytochrome response. We conclude that phyA is the primary photoreceptor regulating this response and provide evidence suggesting that a common regulatory domain in the phyA polypeptide functions for both high-irradiance and inductive phytochrome responses.
In Vivo Visualization of Amyloid Deposits in the Heart with 11C-PIB and PET

Cardiac amyloidosis is a differential diagnosis in heart failure and is associated with high mortality. There is currently no noninvasive imaging test available for specific diagnosis. N-[methyl-11C]2-(4′-methylamino-phenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole (11C-PIB) PET is used in the evaluation of brain amyloidosis. We evaluated the potential use of 11C-PIB PET in systemic amyloidosis affecting the heart. Methods: Patients (n = 10) diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis—including heart involvement of either monoclonal immunoglobulin light-chain (AL) or transthyretin (ATTR) type—and healthy volunteers (n = 5) were investigated with PET/CT using 11C-PIB to study cardiac amyloid deposits and with 11C-acetate to measure myocardial blood flow to study the impact of global and regional perfusion on PIB retention. Results: Myocardial 11C-PIB uptake was visually evident in all patients 15–25 min after injection and was not seen in any volunteer. A significant difference in 11C-PIB retention in the heart between patients and healthy controls was found. The data indicate that myocardial amyloid deposits in patients diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis could be visualized with 11C-PIB. No correlation between 11C-PIB retention index and myocardial blood flow as measured with 11C-acetate was found on the global level, whereas a positive correlation on the segmental level was seen in a single patient. Conclusion: 11C-PIB and PET could be a method to study systemic amyloidosis of type AL and ATTR affecting the heart and should be investigated further both as a diagnostic tool and as a noninvasive method for treatment follow-up.
Flickr: a first look at user behaviour in the context of photography as serious leisure

Introduction. The use of Flickr, a photo sharing Website, is examined in the context of amateur photography as a 'serious leisure' pursuit. Method. Eleven telephone interviews were carried out with users of Flickr, using an open-ended interview schedule to explore use of the system within the context of the interviewees' photographic practices. Analysis. Practices described are set against theoretical considerations from the literature, specifically the alternate paradigms of the photographic club and the photo magazine. Sontag's cultural critique of photography is an important, challenging reference point. Results. The affordances of the system affect the satisfactions of hobby photography. Flickr creates moral dilemmas, such as whether to reciprocate comments or tag the photos of others. The system's appeal lies in its moral qualities as much as whether it is easy to use or performs functions efficiently. Flickr draws users into the hobby and so, like the camera club or the magazine, can be linked to the interests of industry. Yet it is too pessimistic to see it as simply a vehicle of consumerist culture; users expressed almost unqualified satisfaction with the system for its direct pleasures and learning opportunities. Conclusions. The fluid social relations of Flickr potentially free the hobby from the rather restrictive codes and ordering of the photographic club.
Vision Based Flocking Control for Multi-Agent Systems in 3-D Space

Abstract We consider the problem of designing distributed controllers for multiple mobile agents to achieve flocking motion in three-dimensional space based only on measured position. A flocking algorithm is proposed under which each agent has the important performance of cohesion maintenance and collision avoidance (CMCA) as basic control goals. In addition, velocity consensus will asymptotically attain. To achieve flocking motion, velocity information can be estimated by a velocity observer which only depends on position information, and using potential function which provides attractive/repulsive bounded force to ensure CMCA. The process of designed control law is presented by means of backstepping method. Simulation results emphasize the effectiveness of the proposed flocking control law.
Sexual health services in Australia: Challenges and opportunities

Sexual health services in Australia provide testing, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and range from larger urban centres to smaller remote clinics. Most services take a multidisciplinary approach to care with policies aimed at increasing efficiency and access to individuals at increased STI risk. A major challenge lies in the delivery of services across a widely distributed population, particularly in remote areas. The successful control of STIs in Australia will require active engagement with general practitioners. Efforts to improve the reach and quality of sexual health services in Australia should include further research, collaboration and innovation.
Atmospheric effects in interferometric synthetic aperture radar surface deformation and topographic maps

Interferogram images derived from repeat-pass spaceborne synthetic aperture radar systems exhibit artifacts due to the time and space variations of atmospheric water vapor. Other tropospheric variations, such as pressure and temperature, also induce distortions, but the effects are smaller in magnitude and more evenly distributed throughout the interferogram than the wet troposphere term. Spatial and temporal changes of 20% in relative humidity lead to 10 cm errors in deformation products, and perhaps 100 m of error in derived topographic maps for those pass pairs with unfavorable baseline geometries. In wet regions such as Hawaii, these are by far the dominant errors in the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C and X Band Synthetic Aperature Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) interferometric products. The unknown time delay from tropospheric distortion is independent of frequency, and thus multiwavelength measurements, such as those commonly used to correct radar altimeter and Global Positioning System (GPS) ionospheric biases, cannot be used to rectify the error. In the topographic case, the errors may be mitigated by choosing interferometric pairs with relatively long baselines, as the error amplitude is inversely proportional to the perpendicular component of the interferometer baseline. For the SIR-C/X-SAR Hawaii data we found that the best (longest) baseline pair produced a map supporting 100 m contouring, whereas the poorest baseline choice yielded an extremely noisy topographic map even at this coarse contour interval. In the case of deformation map errors the result is either independent of baseline parameters or else very nearly so. Here the only solution is averaging of independent interferograms, so in order to create accurate deformation products in wet regions many multiple passes may be required. Rules for designing optimal data acquisition and processing sequences for interferometric analyses in nondesert parts of the world are (1) to use the longest radar wavelengths possible, within ionospheric scintillation and Faraday rotation limits, (2) for topography, maximize interferometer baseline within decorrelation limits* and (3) for surface deformation, use multiple observations and average the derived products. Following the above recipe yields accuracies of 10 m for digital elevation models and 1 cm for deformation maps even in very wet regions, such as Hawaii.
Anchorage‐independent growth of primary rat embryo cells is induced by platelet‐derived growth factor and inhibited by type‐beta transforming growth factor

Several growth factors implicated in the process of cellular transformation were tested for their ability to induce anchorage‐independent (AI) growth of primary rat embryo (RE) cells. Our results show that in the presence of 10% calf serum, platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF), 1–30 ng/ml, has the strongest effect of all growth factors tested on Al growth. Type‐β transforming growth factor (TGF‐β), by itself, does not stimulate Al growth, and it inhibits the PDGF‐induced colony formation in a dose‐dependent manner (ED50 ∼ 0.03 ng/ml). Qualitatively similar responses are obtained by using an established line of fibroblasts, NIH 3T3 cells; the principal difference between the response of the primary cells and the established cell line is in colony‐forming efficiency in soft agar culture (15% and 90%, respectively, for growth of colonies > 1,500 μm2 diameter in the presence of 10 ng/ml PDGF). Since Al growth has been shown to correlate well with tumorigenicity in vivo, our results suggest that the transforming potential of PDGF in an appropriate responsive cell can be controlled not only through its interaction with its own receptor, but also by the presence of inhibitory factors such as TGF‐β.
Sensitive detection of loss of heterozygosity in the TP53 gene in pancreatic adenocarcinoma by fluorescence‐based single‐strand conformation polymorphism analysis using blunt‐end DNA fragments

We have developed a fluorescence‐based single‐strand conformation polymorphism analysis to detect HaeIII‐sensitive polymorphic sites in intron I of the TP53 gene. It is important to treat the PCR products with Klenow fragment to remove a 3′‐protruding nucleotide from the amplified DNA fragments added during the reaction in order to obtain a single peak for each allele. A comparison of the signal profiles of two alleles with those of normal heterozygotes by data processing using computer software has enabled sensitive detection of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) from clinical materials with a fraction of tumor cells below 10%. In analysis of 14 pancreatic carcinomas in which the proportion of the tumor cells is usually low due to the abundance of the stromal component, 7 samples (50%) were informative and 5 of the 7 (71.4%) were positive for LOH at the TP53 locus. This approach would be useful for allelotyping tumors with low cellularity, as well as other clinical samples such as biopsied specimens and paraffin embedded tissues. Genes Chromosom Cancer 15:157–164 (1996). © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Auxiliary supply assisted harmonic suppression for 12-pulse phase-controlled rectifiers

A 12-pulse phase-controlled rectifier has been used for high power applications. It consists of two sets of 6-pulse rectifiers. Basically they operate in parallel, but they operate alternately if load is light. The commutation of the DC current between the two rectifiers is examined and it is found that harmonic distortion of the input current is automatically minimized if they operate in the boundary between continuous and discontinuous conduction modes. An auxiliary voltage supply (AVS) is applied to forces the rectifiers to operate in the boundary conduction mode at any load conditions. It is found that AVS is required a bi-directional power flow. A simple AVS arrangement using a diode rectifier and a PWM inverter is proposed. Application of AVS to a conventional 12-pulse rectifier installing an interphase reactor is discussed. It is concluded that an interphase reactor is unnecessary if AVS is applied to reduce the input current harmonics.
Effects of Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation on the root surface: morphologic analysis and efficiency of calculus removal.

BACKGROUND This in vitro study was performed to determine the appropriate power output setting for an erbium, chromium-doped:yttrium, scandium, gallium, and garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser used in periodontal pocket irradiation by examining the morphologic alterations of the root surfaces and the efficiency of calculus removal. METHODS Sixty-five non-carious extracted human teeth were used in this study. For morphologic analysis of the root surface, the clean, single roots of 22 teeth were separated into 91 pieces, and these pieces were immersed in acrylic resin. The specimens with root-surface exposure were prepared and divided randomly into three groups: a control group (N=8), an irradiation without water group (no water [NW] group; N=39), and an irradiation in water to simulate the conditions in a periodontal pocket group (in water [IW] group; N=44). The power output settings for laser irradiation were 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 W for each group. The roughness (Ra), depth (Z), and width (X) of the disk specimens were determined after laser irradiation. Eight other single-rooted teeth were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after laser irradiation under the same conditions. Thirty-five single- or multirooted teeth with heavy subgingival calculus were used to test the efficiency of laser scaling. The efficiency of calculus removal was quantified by measuring the time needed to remove the calculus completely using the laser. RESULTS The mean Ra and Z values in the IW group were significantly higher than in the NW group with the same power output. In addition, these values with 0.5- and 1.0-W power output settings were significantly lower than with 1.5- and 2.0-W settings in the NW and IW groups. No obvious morphologic differences could be found between the 0.5- and 1.0-W power output specimens under SEM. Additionally, thermal alterations, i.e., carbonization or melting, were completely absent in the IW group. Regarding the efficiency of calculus removal, the 0.5-W setting (0.11+/-0.036 mm2/second) was significantly inferior to the 1.0-W setting (0.27+/-0.043 mm2/second). However, there was no significant difference between 1.0- and 1.5-W (0.36+/-0.11 mm2/second). The 2.0-W setting (0.63+/-0.272 mm2/second) was much more efficient but resulted in significant morphologic alterations. CONCLUSIONS Based on these findings, it is appropriate to use a 1.0-W power output setting with an Er,Cr:YSGG laser for root scaling. This may be done without any conspicuous morphologic alterations to the root surface and with acceptably efficient removal of calculus.
Reevaluating Gapping in CCG: Evidence from English & Chinese

This paper considers gapping data through the lens of combinatory categorial grammar (CCG) as developed in Steedman (1990, 2000). It analyzes CCG's predictive power in managing a wide variety of cross-clausal gapping data. CCG predicts the typing of the rightmost subject in cross-clausal gapping data as an object; evidence from Case supports this hypothesis. Reflexive binding in cross-clausal structures favors the Szabolcsi (1989) binding proposal, in which binding occurs at the level of the surface structure. Additionally, facts from Chinese buttress the CCG analysis, as its NP category-assignment offers a natural explanation for the ungrammaticality of gapping sentences containing non-quantified NP objects: they are unable to undergo type-shifting. 1 Setting the stage Ross (1967) gave the name gapping to the following phenomenon: (1) Harry eats beans, and Fred, potatoes. Since Ross (1967), gapping has received varied accounts; I will center the present discussion on the theoretical problems posed by attempting to describe the data in the context of combinatory categorial grammar (CCG) as developed in Steedman (1990, 2000). The paper will proceed as follows. First, I review the basic facts for which any theory of gapping must provide an account. Next, I describe the basic mechanics of gapping in CCG. I continue on to discuss data that proves problematic for the CCG account of gapping; I focus on the means by which CCG is able to predict many of the initially problematic data, thereby lending support for an intermediate theory of gapping – one that combines a syntactic and a semantic account. Further support for the CCG analysis comes in the form of apparent instances of gapping in Chinese, as CCG offers a principled account of the alternations between sentences containing quantified and non-quantified NP objects. To begin, let us define gapping as a construction involving (at least) two similar clauses that surface in a contrastive relationship. In (1), we see a contrast between the left conjunct Harry eats beans and the right one, Fred, potatoes. The two conjuncts are joined through coordination; many theories take coordination to be a foundational property of gapping, but the story is not so simple. English gapping, for example, also occurs in comparatives: (2) Harry eats more beans than Fred, potatoes. It is clear from (2) that gapping is not limited to syntactic coordination. Even gapping sentences with coordination need not be marked through the presence of an overt coordinator: (3) Some ate natto; …
Low and homogeneous copy number of plasmid‐borne symbiont genes affecting host nutrition in Buchnera aphidicola of the aphid Uroleucon ambrosiae

The bacterial endosymbiont of aphids, Buchnera aphidicola, often provides amino acids to its hosts. Plasmid amplification of leucine (leuABCD) and tryptophan (trpEG) biosynthesis genes may be a mechanism by which some Buchnera over‐produce these nutrients. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess the leuABCD/trpEG copy variability within Uroleucon ambrosiae, an aphid with a wide diet breadth and range. Both leuABCD and trpEG abundances are: (i) similar for aphids across 15 populations, and (ii) low compared to Buchnera from other aphid species (particularly trpEG). Consequently, the plasmid location of trpEG combined with Buchnera's chromosomal polyploidy may functionally limit, rather than increase, tryptophan production within Uroleucon ambrosiae.