Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Excellerator: custom CMOS leaf cell layout generator

A description is given of a program, Excellerator, which automatically generates full-custom symbolic CMOS cell layouts. The input is a transistor-level netlist with optimal constraints on layout shape and I/O port positions. The output is a high-quality virtual-grid-based layout suitable for use in a two-dimensional tiling methodology. I/O port locations can be optimized. Versatile support for different layout shapes and port locations makes this system ideal for use in a top-down, fully automatic physical design system. Transistor routing is provided by a novel, recursive version of the A-Star search procedure. This technique reduces the frequency and seriousness of routing blockages by finding near-optimal compromises between new connections and reroutes of previous connections. Routing occurs in two metal layers plus polysilicon and diffusion, and is easily extendable to any number of routing layers. Routing priority can be given to critical nodes. >
Physiological Properties of Neurons in the Ventral Nucleus of the Lateral Lemniscus of the Rat : Intrinsic Membrane Properties and Synaptic Responses

Wu, Shu Hui. Physiological properties of neurons in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus of the rat: intrinsic membrane properties and synaptic responses. J. Neurophysiol.81: 2862–2874, 1999. The physiological properties including current-voltage relationships, firing patterns, and synaptic responses of the neurons in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (VNLL) were studied in brain slices taken through the young rat’s (17–37 days old) auditory brain stem. Intracellular recordings were made from VNLL neurons, and synaptic potentials were elicited by electrical stimulation of the lateral lemniscus ventral to the VNLL. Current-voltage relations and firing patterns were tested by recording the electrical potentials produced by intracellular injection of positive and negative currents. There were two types of VNLL neurons (type I and II) that exhibited different currentvoltage relationships. In response to negative current, both type I and II neurons produced a graded hyperpolarization. Type I neurons responded to positive current with a graded depolarization and multiple action potentials the number of which was related to the strength of the current injected. The current-voltage relations of type I neurons were nearly linear. Type II neurons responded to positive current with a limited depolarization and only one or a few action potentials. The current-voltage relations of type II neurons were nonlinear near the resting potential. The membrane properties of the type II VNLL neurons may play an important role for processing information about time of onset of a sound. Type I neurons showed three different firing patterns, i.e., regular, onset-pause and adaptation, in response to small positive current. The onset-pause and adaptation patterns could become sustained when a large current was injected. The regular, onset-pause, and adaptation patterns in type I neurons and the onset pattern in type II neurons resemble ‘‘chopper,’’ ‘‘pauser,’’ ‘‘primarylike,’’ and ‘‘on’’ responses, respectively, as defined in in vivo VNLL studies. The results suggest that different responses to acoustic stimulation could be attributed to intrinsic membrane properties of VNLL neurons. Many VNLL neurons responded to stimulation of the lateral lemniscus with excitatory or inhibitory responses or both. Excitatory and inhibitory responses showed interaction, and the output of the synaptic integration depended on the relative strength of excitatory and inhibitory responses. Neurons with an onset-pause firing pattern were more likely to receive mixed excitatory and inhibitory inputs from the lower auditory brain stem.
The Content of Structural and Trace Elements in the Knee Joint Tissues

Many elements are responsible for the balance in bone tissue, including those which constitute a substantial proportion of bone mass, i.e., calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, as well as minor elements such as strontium. In addition, toxic elements acquired via occupational and environmental exposure, e.g., Pb, are included in the basic bone tissue composition. The study objective was to determine the content of strontium, lead, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and magnesium in chosen components of the knee joint, i.e., tibia, femur and meniscus. The levels of Sr, Pb, Ca, P, Na and Mg were the highest in the tibia in both men and women, whereas the lowest in the meniscus. It should be noted that the levels of these elements were by far higher in the tibia and femur as compared to the meniscus. In the components of the knee joint, the level of strontium showed the greatest variation. Significant statistical differences were found between men and women only in the content of lead.
On stable Taylor vortices above the transition to wavy vortices

The transition from Taylor to wavy vortices is revisited for parameter values in the range of new laboratory experiments [Lin et al., Phys. Fluids 10, 3233 (1998)]. The dependence of the critical Reynolds number with the axial wavelength of the Taylor vortices is obtained for azimuthal wave numbers from 1 to 5, and for five different values of the radius ratio. We show how islands of stable Taylor vortices above the transition to wavy vortices form.
NG2 and NG2‐positive cells delineate focal cerebral infarct demarcation in rats

Focal cerebral ischemia induces cellular responses that may result in secondary tissue damage. We recently demonstrated multi‐facetted spatial and temporal patterns of neuroinflammation by multimodal imaging. In the present study, we especially focus on the separation of vital and necrotic tissue, which enabled us to define a demarcation zone. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced via macrosphere embolization of the middle cerebral artery in Wistar rats. Subsequent cellular processes were investigated immunohistochemically from 3 to 56 days after onset of ischemia. We detected several infarct subareas: a necrotic infarct core and its margin adjacent to a nerve/glial antigen 2 (NG2)+ zone delineating it from a vital peri‐infarct zone. Initially transition from necrotic to vital tissue was gradual; later on necrosis was precisely separated from vital tissue by a narrow NG2+ belt that was devoid of astrocytes, oligodendrocytes or neurons. Within this demarcation zone NG2+ cells associate with ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) but not with GFAP, neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN) or 2′, 3′‐cyclic nucleotide 3′‐phosphodiesterase (CNPase). During further infarct maturation NG2 seemed to be positioned in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the demarcation zone, whereas Iba1+ cells invaded the necrotic infarct core and GFAP+ cells built a gliotic containing belt between the lesion and NeuN+ unaffected tissue. Overall, our data suggested that NG2 proteoglycan expression and secretion hallmarked demarcation as a process that actively separated necrosis from vital tissue and therefore decisively impacts secondary neurodegeneration after ischemic stroke.
Analysis of Luteinizing Hormone Beta-Subunit Gene in Mammal

The pituitary gonadotropin luteinizing hormone (LH) play important roles in regulating gonad function and are essential for normal reproductive function in mammals. In this paper, compared with homologous sequences from available mammals, they displayed a high degree of conservation. Our results provided an insight into the characteristics of LHß.
Melanesian Tribes vs. Polynesian Chiefdoms: Recent Archaeological Assessment of a Classic Model of Sociopolitical Types in Oceania

The late prehistoric period is crucial to the study of anthropology, as the area of Island Melanesia has provided the world with one of its great anthropological stereotypes, the "Big Man" society. This was developed by Sahlins (1963) on the basis of Oliver's (1955) ethnography of the Siwai of southern Bougainville as observed during the late 1930s. It has led to a gross ethnographic oversimplification of Melanesia as having Big Man societies, contrasted with Polynesia having chiefly societies. Where chiefs were found in Melanesia, their presence has often been interpreted as a cultural borrowing under Polynesian influence (Spriggs 1993 : 198).
Zinc oxide nanoparticles induced cyto- and genotoxicity in kidney epithelial cells

Abstract The wide uses of zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) in industrial, cosmetics, medicine, food production and electronics associate with increase in occupational and public exposure. Although, toxicity of nano-ZnO has been extensively studied on many different cell types and animal systems, there is a significant lack of toxicological data focus on nephrotoxic potential of nano-ZnO. In this study, the cyto- and genotoxic effects of nano-ZnO on rat kidney epithelial cells (NRK-52E) were investigated by using different assays. Nano-ZnO (10–50 nm of sizes) were synthesized by sol–gel method. For the cytotoxic effect of nano-ZnO, mean of inhibition concentration (IC50) values in cell line was evaluated by MTT, Trypan Blue (TB) and Neutral Red Uptake (NRU) assays at 25.0–100.0 μg/mL exposure concentrations. Nano-ZnO showed cytotoxic activity by acting on different targets in renal cells, with IC50 ≥ 73.05 μg/mL. Comet assay was used to evaluate the genotoxicity of nano-ZnO (12.5–50.0 μg/mL). Nano-ZnO caused statistically significant DNA damage. Our results highlight the important risk of cyto- and genotoxic effects of nano-ZnO over the kidney.
IMPACTO DOS INDICADORES ECONÔMICO-FINANCEIROS DE CURTO PRAZO SOBRE O VALOR DA EMPRESA

O objetivo do estudo consistiu em investigar a influencia dos indicadores economico-financeiros de curto prazo sobre o valor da empresa. A amostra foi composta por 261 empresas nao-financeiras listadas na BMF Atividade (ATV); Desempenho (DSP), e; Financiamento (FNC). A regressao em painel com efeitos fixos mostrou que LCG e DSP apresentam impacto significativo no valor da empresa, concluindo-se que estes exercem influencia nos fluxos de caixa livre da empresa e/ou no seu custo de capital. Por outro lado os fatores relacionados as atividades (ATV) e as fontes de financiamento (FNC) nao apresentaram coeficientes estatisticamente significativos.
A Framework of Scientific Workflow Management Systems for Multi-tenant Cloud Orchestration Environment

The volumetric growth of data complexity is increasing day by day. The computational world is becoming massive and needs scalable and efficient systems. Data management is an important stage to accelerate the petabytes processing. Such environment requires scientific work flows to compose and manage those volumetric data sets. Scientific Workflow is different than general workflow. It deals with scheduling, algorithms, data flow, process, operational procedures and specially data intensive systems. The popularity of Software as a Service (SaaS) is due to the feature of multi-tenancy. The study of scientific workflow in the context of multi-tenant cloud orchestration environment provides control flow, data flow, and new requirements of system development and discovery of new services. We explore a framework of scientific workflow for multi-tenant cloud orchestration environment that deals with semantic-based workflow as well as policy-based workflow.
Flavopiridol, the first cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor to enter the clinic: current status

This review focuses on the clinical development of the prototype broad spectrum inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), flavopiridol, now undergoing Phase II single-agent trials and Phase I combination trials (with paclitaxel and cisplatin). Preclinically, flavopiridol is a potent inhibitor of CDKs 1, 2 and 4 in cell-free assays (IC50 in the region of 100 nM) and tumour cell growth in vitro (typical IC50 in the region of 100 nM). The drug showed in vivo antitumour activity (using iv., ip. or oral dosing) against a variety of human tumour xenografts, especially when administered on a regular daily, rather than weekly, schedule and most notably against prostate carcinoma, head and neck cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukaemia. The major toxicities observed in rodents were on the bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract. Pharmacokinetics were linear with dose and with a bi-exponential decline both in rodents and man. Oral bioavailability in rodents is in the region of 20%. Glucuronidation appears to be the major route of metabolism. Single-agent clinical trials have mainly used a 72 h continuous infusion schedule. Dose-limiting toxicities were diarrhoea and hypotension. Plasma concentrations in excess of those required for in vitro enzyme or cell growth inhibition are achievable. While there has been some evidence of single-agent antitumour activity (partial responses in a patient with renal cancer and another with gastric cancer), ongoing combination studies, especially with paclitaxel, where preclinical synergistic antitumour effects are observed, are promising. Doubt as to whether CDKs are the sole target responsible for the drug’s antitumour effects have been raised by preclinical observations of apoptosis of non-cycling cells, effects on endothelial cells and non-CDK proteins, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase and glycogen phosphorylase, potent effects on PTEFb and transcription and its ability to directly interact with DNA.
Cross-protect: implicit service differentiation and admission control

In this paper we present Cross-protect, a combination of router mechanisms allowing quality of service differentiation while maintaining the simple user-network interface of the best effort Internet. By associating implicit flow level admission control and per-flow fair queuing in a router it is possible to distinguish streaming and elastic flows and meet their respective quality requirements without requiring specific packet marking. We describe the implied mechanisms and justify the claimed performance and scalability properties by means of simulation and analysis.
A Color Quantization Optimization Approach for Image Representation Learning

Over the last two decades, hand-crafted feature extractors have been used in order to compose image representations. Recently, data-driven feature learning have been explored as a way of producing more representative visual features. In this work, we proposed two approaches to learn image visual representations which aims at providing more effective and compact image representations. Our strategy employs Genetic Algorithms to improve hand-crafted feature extraction algorithms by optimizing colour quantization for the image domain. Our hypothesis is that changes in the quantization affect the description quality of the features enabling representation improvements. We conducted a series of experiments in order to evaluate the robustness of the proposed approaches in the task of content-based image retrieval in eight well-known datasets from different visual properties. Experimental results indicated that the approach focused on representation effectiveness outperformed the baselines in all the tested scenarios. The other approach, more focused on compactness, was able to produce competitive results by keeping or even reducing the final feature dimensionality until 25% smaller with statistically equivalent performance.
Studies on the protein defect in Tangier disease. Isolation and characterization of an abnormal high density lipoprotein.

High density lipoproteins (d 1.063-1.210 g/ml) were isolated from the plasma of normal individuals (HDL) and seven homozygous patients with Tangier disease (HDLt). In Tangier patients, the concentration of protein in the high density region (HDLt) was only 0.5-4.5% of normal. Immunochemical studies, including mixing experiments conducted in vivo and in vitro, indicated that HDLt was different from HDL. HDLt was the only high density lipoprotein detectable in the plasma of Tangier homozygotes. In heterozygotes both HDL and HDLt were present. HDLt was not detected in the plasma of over 300 normal persons and 10 patients with secondary high density lipoprotein deficiency and appeared to be a unique marker for Tangier disease.ApoHDL contained two major apoproteins designated apoLp-Gln-I and apoLp-Gln-II; together they comprised 85-90% of the total protein content. Both of the major HDL apoproteins were present in apoHDLt; but apoLp-Gln-I was disproportionately decreased with respect to apoLp-Gln-II, the ratio of their concentrations being 1: 12 in apoHDLt as compared with 3: 1 in apoHDL. Several minor apoprotein components which together comprise 5-15% of apoHDL were present in approximately normal proportions in apoHDLt. In the HDL of Tangier patients it was estimated that, compared with normal individuals, the concentration of apoLp-Gln-I was decreased about 600-fold and the concentration of apoLp-Gln-II about 17-fold. The decrease in these apoproteins was not due to preferential segregation with the lipoprotein fractions of d < 1.063 g/ml or with the plasma proteins of d > 1.21 g/ml. Tangier apoLp-Gln-I and apoLp-Gln-II appeared to be immunochemically identical with their normal counterparts, and no differences between the two sets of apoproteins were detected on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at pH 9.4 or 2.9. These results are most compatible with the hypothesis that the hereditary defect in Tangier disease is a mutation in an allele-regulating synthesis of apoLp-Gln-I.
Laryngopharyngeal reflux - development and refinement of diagnostic tools

Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), characterized by symptoms of chronic cough, hoarseness, throat clearing, globus, laryngospasm, throat pain and excessive mucus has in recent years been recognized as an extra-esophageal manifestation of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). There are still many questions to be answered regarding how to diagnose the LPR disease and how to effectively select patients that may benefit from treatment. The aim of this thesis was to develop and refine diagnostics of LPR. In study I, an upper limit of normality (ULN) for hypopharyngeal acid exposure with a cut-off level of pH5 instead of the traditional pH 4 was established. Re-evaluation of ambulatory twolevel 24-hour pH-registrations of 35 healthy volunteers showed an ULN of 1.5% of the pH registration. In study II we investigated the natural history of LPR and if asymptomatic pharyngeal reflux is a risk factor for the development of LPR disease. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were reevaluated after 13 years with pH-monitoring, symptom registration and a larynx examination. Upper airway symptoms had developed in 10 of 24 (42%) subjects and pathological laryngeal findings in 9 (39%) subjects. However, the portion of subjects with pathological acid exposure at pH 4 in the hypopharynx had decreased from 42 to 13%. Study III describes the Swedish translation and adaption of the questionnaire Laryngo Pharyngeal Reflux – Health Related Quality of Life Questionnaire (LPR-HRQL). LPR-HRQL was psychometrically evaluated in a population of 228 patients with upper airway symptoms. The Swedish translated version of LPR-HRQL proved to be a statistically valid instrument to assess HRQL in patients with LPR disease. Study IV described the development and psychometric evaluation of the Pharyngeal Reflux Symptom Questionnaire (PRSQ) in the same cohort. After analysis and item-reduction it was found to be a valid and reliable instrument. The present thesis reports that the presence of asymptomatic hypopharyngeal reflux do not constitute a risk factor for future development of LPR. Although upper airway symptoms and pathological laryngeal findings seem to develop over time in a sample of healthy volunteers, there was only a weak correlation between symptoms, laryngeal findings and pH-monitoring results. The thesis also reports on normal values for hypopharyngeal reflux with a pH 5 which may potentially improve upon diagnosis since weakly acidic reflux has been implicated in mucosal damage and symptom generation. The thesis also presents validated questionnaires in Swedish for health related quality of life (LPR-HRQL) and diagnosis (PRSQ) of the LPR disease. Correctly developed and validated patient reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires have the potential to sharpen the diagnosis and to capture a treatment effect, both in research and in the clinic.
Changes of Rat Kidney AQP2 and Na,K-ATPase mRNA Expression in Lithium-Induced Nephrogenic Diabetes insipidus

Background/Aim: In a rat model, lithium treatment is associated with polyuria and severe downregulation of aquaporin-2 (AQP2) protein in the inner medulla (IM) or in the whole kidney. However, it is not known (1) to what extent this downregulation occurs at the mRNA level; (2) whether the main sodium transporter of the nephron, Na,K-ATPase, is regulated in parallel at the mRNA level, and (3) whether lithium treatment induces zonal or segmental differences in AQP2 and Na,K-ATPase mRNA levels. Method: We examined the changes in mRNA expression levels for AQP2 and Na,K-ATPase in kidney cortex, inner stripe of the outer medulla (ISOM), and IM of rats treated with lithium orally using semiquantitative Northern blot analyses and in situ hybridization at the light and electron microscopic levels. Results: The AQP2 mRNA levels decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in lithium-treated rats to 37 ± 4% in the cortex, to 17 ± 4% in the ISOM, and to 23 ± 5% in the IM, while the Na,K-ATPase mRNA levels were not altered in the cortex, but were significantly (p < 0.05) altered in the ISOM (144 ± 15% after 10 days, but 68 ± 4% after 4 weeks) and in the IM (63 ± 8% after 10 days, but normalized after 4 weeks). In situ hybridization showed reduced levels of AQP2 mRNA in all zones of the kidney, but the Na,K-ATPase mRNA expressions were slightly decreased only in IM collecting ducts. At the ultrastructural level, principal cells in the IM collecting ducts showed slight hypertrophy, but no cell damage after 4 weeks of lithium treatment. The results demonstrate substantial downregulation of AQP2 at the mRNA level throughout the collecting duct in experimental lithium-induced nephrogenic dabetes insipidus and moderately decreased Na,K-ATPase mRNA levels in the ISOM and in the IM. Conclusion: The results suggest that decreased mRNA expressions of AQP2 and Na,K-ATPase contribute to the development of lithium-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus.
Opioïdes et douleur chronique non cancéreuse : enjeux cliniques

Malgre la controverse suscitee par le recours aux opioides pour soulager la douleur chronique non cancereuse (DCNC), pouvant etre causee par un probleme medical souvent refractaire aux traitements medicaux conventionnels, la popularite de cette classe de medicaments s’est accrue au cours de la derniere decennie. Alors que plusieurs medecins demeurent reticents a prescrire les opioides, d’autres, au contraire, les prescrivent sans egard aux consequences nefastes qu’ils peuvent entrainer pour les patients. Cet article presente un recensement des meta-analyses et articles de revision portant sur l’utilisation des opioides dans la DCNC, publies au cours des quinze dernieres annees. Leurs principales lacunes methodologiques sont abordees puis les resultats portant sur l’efficacite analgesique des opioides, leurs effets secondaires et le risque encouru de developper la toxicomanie sont presentes. Des recommandations permettant le suivi securitaire des patients recevant des opioides sont ensuite formulees. La decision de prescrire ou non des opioides pour le traitement de la DCNC est finalement analysee dans une perspective globale tenant compte a la fois de l’objectif du medecin de soulager la douleur, de celui du patient de demeurer un membre actif de la societe et de celui d’eviter que le medicament ne devienne une drogue.