Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potentiel thérapeutique du neuropeptide Y dans les maladies neurodégénératives

La recherche de therapies visant a empecher la perte des cellules nerveuses ou bien leur remplacement est un enjeu crucial a l'heure actuel dans le domaine des neurosciences. Durant ma these, je me suis pose la question de savoir si le neuropeptide Y (NPY) pourrait avoir un interet therapeutique dans des maladies neurodegeneratives telles que les maladies de Parkinson et Huntington. Recemment, le NPY a montre de nouvelles proprietes comme celle de pouvoir stimuler la proliferation des cellules souches neurales ainsi que de proteger les neurones contre la toxicite de certaines drogues ou dans certaines conditions pathologiques. De plus, les variations de l'expression de ce peptide observees dans differentes conditions pathologiques tendent a penser que celui-ci pourrait agir tel un facteur favorisant des processus de reparation endogene au sein du cerveau adulte. Nous avons ainsi demontre que l'administration intracerebrale de NPY stimule la neurogenese au sein de la zone sous-ventriculaire et du gyrus dente de l’hippocampe. Ayant observe la migration de cellules nouvellement generees sous l'influence du NPY vers le striatum ainsi que leur differentiation en neurones matures striataux, nous nous sommes par la suite interesse au potentiel interet therapeutique du NPY chez un modele animal transgenique de la maladie de Huntington, maladie caracterisee par la perte massive de neurones striataux. De plus, considerant les variations de l'expression de NPY chez les patients atteints de la maladie de Huntington ou de Parkinson, nous avons recherche une eventuelle correlation entre les concentrations plasmatiques de NPY et le stade d'avancement de la maladie et ainsi voulu savoir si le NPY pourrait etre un marqueur biologique de l'evolution de ces maladies. Enfin, nous avons etudie deux strategies therapeutiques de la maladie de Parkinson. Nous avons demontre que le NPY a une action neuroprotectrice vis-a-vis de neurones dopaminergiques, in vitro ainsi que chez un modele animal de la maladie de Parkinson. Par ailleurs, la greffe de cellules embryonnaires dopaminergiques au sein de la substance noire, a permis une reconstruction de la voie nigro-striee ainsi qu'une amelioration fonctionnelle chez un modele animal de la maladie de Parkinson. Ces resultats apportent de nouvelles perspectives therapeutiques dans le traitement de maladies neurodegeneratives. Le cerveau adulte apparait donc permissif a la repousse axonale suite a une lesion et il semblerait egalement qu’il reponde a la degenerescence en declenchant des processus de regenerescence ou de neuroprotection.
The Effects of FDI Inflows on Host Country Economic Growth

This paper discusses and models the potential of FDI inflows to affect host country economic growth. The paper argues that FDI should have a positive effect on economic growth as a result of technology spillovers and physical capital inflows. Performing both cross-section and panel data analysis on a dataset covering 90 countries during the period 1980 to 2002, the empirical part of the paper finds indications that FDI inflows enhance economic growth in developing economies but not in developed economies.
Association of Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor and O139 Bengal with the Copepods Acartia tonsa and Eurytemora affinis

ABSTRACT The association of Vibrio cholerae with zooplankton has been suggested as an important factor in transmission of human epidemic cholera, and the ability to colonize zooplankton surfaces may play a role in the temporal variation and predominance of the two different serogroups (V. cholerae O1 El Tor and O139) in the aquatic environment. To date, interactions between specific serogroups and species of plankton remain poorly understood. Laboratory microcosm experiments were carried out to compare quantitatively the colonization of two copepod species, Acartia tonsa and Eurytemora affinis, by each of the epidemic serogroups. V. cholerae O1 consistently achieved higher abundances than V. cholerae O139 in colonizing adults of each copepod species as well as the multiple life stages of E. affinis. This difference in colonization may be significant in the general predominance of V. cholerae O1 in cholera epidemics in rural Bangladesh where water supplies are taken directly from the environment.
RobWork: A Flexible Toolbox for Robotics Research and Education

In this paper we will present our open-source robotics software RobWork. The main objective is not to provide a detailed description of our system and compare it to related projects, but to highlight selected features for which we will share our experiences and the considerations behind. The foundation on which we have made design decisions is not only from our own experiences and the 4 years of developing and applying RobWork in research applications. Equally important has also been the feedback from industrial collaborators, which have used the system and with whom we have discussed requirements, use-cases and prioritized the development. Last but not least we have received feedback from hundreds of students, which have used RobWork in their education.
Topical subject Expertise and the Semantic Distance Model of Relevance Assessment

This paper reports two experiments that investigated the semantic distance model (SDM) of relevance assessment. In the first experiment graduate students of mathematics and economics assessed the relevance relationships between bibliographic records and hierarchies of terms composed of classification headings or help‐menu terms. The relevance assessments of the classification headings, but not the help‐menu terms, exhibited both a semantic distance effect and a semantic direction effect as predicted by the sdm. Topical subject expertise enhanced both these effects. The second experiment investigated whether the poor performance of the help‐menu terms was an experimental design artifact reflecting the comparison of terse help terms with verbose classification headings. In the second experiment the help‐menu terms were compared to a hierarchy of single‐word terms where they exhibited both a semantic distance and semantic direction effect.
P53 expression in Reed-Sternberg cells does not correlate with gene mutations in Hodgkin's disease.

Immunohistochemically detectable p53 protein expression is common in the Reed-Sternberg and Hodgkin's (RS-H) cells of Hodgkin's disease, but p53 gene mutations have only rarely been identified. The authors found p53 expression in RS-H cells in 16 of 30 cases of Hodgkin's disease (53%), with the percentage of RS-H positive cells ranging from 4% to 85%. In 12 of 30 cases (40%), at least 10% of the RS-H cells were positive for p53. p53 gene mutations were detected in only two cases (7%) using a single-stranded conformational polymorphism assay with a detection sensitivity of between 1% and 5%. The cellular protein, mdm-2, which can stabilize and functionally inactivate wild-type p53 protein, was expressed in RS-H cells in most of these cases (86%). However, neither case with a p53 gene mutation expressed mdm-2 (P < .005). The two cases with p53 gene mutations had a higher mean proliferative index than cases without detectable mutations (90% versus 72%; P < .02). p53 expression in RS-H cells may be related to concurrent mdm-2 protein expression and a p53-positive, mdm-2-negative immunophenotype may be predictive of gene mutations in RS-H cells.
Hydroxyl fasudil, an inhibitor of Rho signaling, improves erectile function in diabetic rats: a role for neuronal ROCK.

INTRODUCTION The pathogenesis of diabetic erectile dysfunction (ED) includes neuropathy, but the molecular basis for neurogenic ED is incompletely understood. The RhoA/ROCK pathway has been implicated in diabetic neuropathy and in ED, but its role in diabetic neurogenic ED is not known. AIMS The aim of this study was to determine whether hydroxyl fasudil, a ROCK inhibitor, affects diabetic neuropathy-related ED. METHODS Type 1 diabetes mellitus was induced in male rats by streptozotocin (75 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). After 8 weeks, diabetic rats were administered hydroxyl fasudil, a selective ROCK inhibitor (10 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneally) or vehicle, for 4 weeks. Age-matched control, nondiabetic, rats were treated intraperitoneally for 4 weeks with saline. At week 12, after a 2 day washout, neuro-stimulated erectile function was evaluated. Major pelvic ganglia (MPG) were collected for Western blot analysis of RhoA, ROCK-1, ROCK-2, phospho (P)-AKT (Ser(473) ), and P-phosphatase and tensin homolog (P-PTEN) (Ser(380) /Thr(382/383) ). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Effect of ROCK inhibitor hydroxyl fasudil on erectile function and ROCK/P-AKT/P-PTEN pathway in the MPG of diabetic rats. RESULTS Erectile response was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced in diabetic rats compared with nondiabetic rats and was preserved (P < 0.05) in diabetic rats treated with hydroxyl fasudil. In diabetic rats, RhoA and ROCK-2 protein expressions in MPG were increased (P < 0.05) and remained increased in hydroxyl fasudil-treated rats. P-AKT (Ser(473) ) expression was decreased (P < 0.05), whereas P-PTEN (Ser(380) /Thr(382/383) ) expression was increased (P < 0.05) in MPG of diabetic rats compared with nondiabetic rats, and both were reversed (P < 0.05) in diabetic rats treated with hydroxyl fasudil. CONCLUSION Improved erectile function and restored P-AKT and P-PTEN in the MPG with hydroxyl fasudil treatment suggest the role of Rho signaling via PTEN/AKT pathway in neurogenic diabetic ED.
Visualization According To Research Paper Keywords

We analyzed visualization paper keywords supplied for 4366 papers accepted to three main visualization conferences. We describe main keywords, topic areas, and 10-year historic trends from author-chosen keywords for papers published in the IEEE Visualization conference series (now called IEEE VIS) since 2004. Furthermore, we present the KeyVis Web application that allows visualization researchers to easily browse the 2600+ keywords used for IEEE VIS papers of the past 10 years, aiming at more informed and, hence, more effective keyword selections for future visualization publications and efficient search for related work.
Effects of Increased Dosages of the Mycoplasma Gallisepticum Vaccine MYCOVAC-L® in Layer Chickens Subsequently Challenged with Virulent M. gallisepticum: Egg Production and Serologic Response

Abstract Ten-week-old Hy-Line Commercial W-36 pullets were spray-vaccinated with MYCOVAC-L® at the manufacturer's recommended dosage (1×) or at 15 times that rate (15×). At 22 or 45 wk of age, subsets of 1×- and 15×-vaccinated pullets were challenged with the virulent Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) strain Rlow. Percent hen-day egg production was determined through week 55. Analyses for treatment effects on overall (22–56 wk) percent hen-day egg production revealed no significant differences between nonchallenged 1× and nonchallenged 15× MYCOVAC-L® treatments. Among 1× MYCOVAC-L®–vaccinated groups, Rlow challenge at 45 wk corresponded to significantly (P ≤ 0.01) lower overall egg production compared with the unchallenged 1×-vaccinated control (70.88% vs. 79.15%, respectively). Conversely, at the 15× MYCOVAC-L® dosage level, overall egg production was not significantly affected by virulent MG challenge at 45 wk compared with its unchallenged counterpart (84.09% vs. 81.03%, respectively) and could indicate increased protection from virulent MG challenge. Serologic monitoring indicated the virulent MG challenge was consistently (100%) associated with seroconversion. Comparisons among the nonchallenged experimental treatments indicated that vaccinations at the 15× MYCOVAC-L® dosage rate were associated with a greater seroconversion rate at weeks 21, 27, and 44, but not at week 50.
Endoscopic mitral valve repair: feasible, reproducible, and durable.

OBJECTIVE We sought to document the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of performing mitral valve repair using a totally endoscopic approach. METHODS Between February 1997 and October 1, 2001, 187 patients underwent totally endoscopic mitral valve repair at our institution. The mean age was 60.7 +/- 13.1 years, and 62% were male. Median preoperative functional class and degree of mitral regurgitation were II and 4, respectively. Data collection included an institutional protocol assessing procedure-related pain, cosmesis, and functional recovery. Statistical analysis included Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression methods. Mean follow-up was 19 +/- 15.2 months and was 100% complete. RESULTS Associated atrial procedures were performed in 9.1% (n = 17) of the patients. Two patients required intraoperative conversion to sternotomy. Thoracoscopic re-evaluation for suspected bleeding (n = 19) was part of our aggressive postoperative management. One patient required sternotomy for control of bleeding. Hospital mortality included 1 (0.5%) patient and was not technology related. There were 1 early and 6 late reoperations, 4 of which were due to endocarditis. No risk factors for repair failure could be detected. Freedom from mitral valve reoperation at 4 years was 93.3% +/- 2.6%. The median degree of mitral regurgitation at follow-up was 0. Ninety-three percent of the patients were highly satisfied with either no or mild postoperative pain, and 98.4% believed they had an aesthetically pleasing scar. CONCLUSIONS Totally endoscopic mitral valve repair can be done safely with excellent results and a high degree of patient satisfaction. It is now our exclusive approach for isolated atrioventricular valve disease.
Interference of Co-Amplified Nuclear Mitochondrial DNA Sequences on the Determination of Human mtDNA Heteroplasmy by Using the SURVEYOR Nuclease and the WAVE HS System

High-sensitivity and high-throughput mutation detection techniques are useful for screening the homoplasmy or heteroplasmy status of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), but might be susceptible to interference from nuclear mitochondrial DNA sequences (NUMTs) co-amplified during polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this study, we first evaluated the platform of SURVEYOR Nuclease digestion of heteroduplexed DNA followed by the detection of cleaved DNA by using the WAVE HS System (SN/WAVE-HS) for detecting human mtDNA variants and found that its performance was slightly better than that of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). The potential interference from co-amplified NUMTs on screening mtDNA heteroplasmy when using these 2 highly sensitive techniques was further examined by using 2 published primer sets containing a total of 65 primer pairs, which were originally designed to be used with one of the 2 techniques. We confirmed that 24 primer pairs could amplify NUMTs by conducting bioinformatic analysis and PCR with the DNA from 143B-ρ0 cells. Using mtDNA extracted from the mitochondria of human 143B cells and a cybrid line with the nuclear background of 143B-ρ0 cells, we demonstrated that NUMTs could affect the patterns of chromatograms for cell DNA during SN-WAVE/HS analysis of mtDNA, leading to incorrect judgment of mtDNA homoplasmy or heteroplasmy status. However, we observed such interference only in 2 of 24 primer pairs selected, and did not observe such effects during DHPLC analysis. These results indicate that NUMTs can affect the screening of low-level mtDNA variants, but it might not be predicted by bioinformatic analysis or the amplification of DNA from 143B-ρ0 cells. Therefore, using purified mtDNA from cultured cells with proven purity to evaluate the effects of NUMTs from a primer pair on mtDNA detection by using PCR-based high-sensitivity methods prior to the use of a primer pair in real studies would be a more practical strategy.
Basic Properties of Oven–Heat Treated Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Stalk Fibers

The fibers of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) stalks were investigated to determine the changes in their basic properties after oven-heat treatment. The oven-heat treatment was conducted at 100 °C or 190 °C for 15 min. There were slightly noticeable morphological, chemical, and thermal alterations in oven-heat treated OPEFB stalk fibers for short duration. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the treated fibers had smooth surfaces and irregular heavy deposition of cementing agents. The highest cellulose content (41.68%) was present in OPEFB stalk fibers treated at 100 °C for 15 min, whereas the highest crystallinity index (48.74%) occurred in fibers treated at 190 °C for 15 min. The fibers comprised cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose with a high percentage of C, O, K, and other elements. Based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, oven-heat treated and untreated OPEFB stalk fibers had similar thermal stability characteristics.
MBX-8025, a novel peroxisome proliferator receptor-delta agonist: lipid and other metabolic effects in dyslipidemic overweight patients treated with and without atorvastatin.

CONTEXT Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-δ agonists favorably affect multiple metabolic parameters that are otherwise proatherogenic, many that are not optimally managed with statins alone. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of MBX-8025 (a novel PPAR-δ agonist) on lipid and other metabolic parameters associated with increased atherosclerotic risk, administered alone and in combination with atorvastatin. DESIGN AND SETTING This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group proof-of-concept study conducted at 30 U.S. research sites. PARTICIPANTS This study evaluated 181 overweight men and women with mixed dyslipidemia. INTERVENTION(S) Subjects were administered once daily placebo, atorvastatin 20 mg, or MBX-8025 at 50 or 100 mg alone or combined with atorvastatin for 8 wk. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The main efficacy measures included change from baseline in apolipoprotein B-100, lipid levels, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and additional metabolic parameters, as well as the effect on the metabolic syndrome and LDL particle size. RESULTS Compared to placebo, MBX-8025 alone and in combination with atorvastatin significantly (P < 0.05) reduced apolipoprotein B-100 20-38%, LDL 18-43%, triglycerides 26-30%, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol 18-41%, free fatty acids 16-28%, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein 43-72%; it raised high-density lipoprotein cholesterol 1-12% and also reduced the number of patients with the metabolic syndrome and a preponderance of small LDL particles. MBX-8025 was safe and generally well-tolerated. MBX-8025 also reduced liver enzyme levels. CONCLUSION MBX-8025, a novel PPAR-δ agonist, favorably affected multiple metabolic parameters with and without atorvastatin. A more complete understanding of MBX-8025 requires a larger future study.
Genetic dissection of functional traits in dairy cattle

The aims of this thesis were to improve the knowledge about the genetic background of health and reproduction traits in dairy cattle. This was accomplished by performing gene mapping studies of quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting these traits and also by exploring the genetic variability for pathogen-specific mastitis. Ten sire families were used in a granddaughter design to map QTL. Several QTL were detected for most of the traits studied. Inclusion of cofactors in the analyses to adjust for QTL found on other chromosomes increased both the number of QTL detected and the significance levels. In total, 20 QTL were detected in analyses without cofactors whereas 41 QTL were detected when cofactors were used. Chromosome regions with several QTL were found, e.g. on chromosome 9 and 11 we observed QTL for both health and reproduction traits. A QTL for resistance to mastitis was found close to the same marker where a QTL for the fertility measure non-return rate was detected. The QTL affecting non-return rate was fine mapped to a small region on chromosome 9. Further research is required to evaluate whether this QTL could be used in breeding programs by marker assisted selection. Resistance to mastitis is a multifactorial trait that involves a variety of pathogens and physiological defense mechanisms. To dissect the trait into sub-traits of resistance to individual pathogens, bacteriological data on mastitis pathogens were analyzed. The most common pathogen in the data set was Staphylococcus aureus. Genetic variation in resistance to individual mastitis pathogens was found. Estimated heritabilities for the sub-traits were higher compared to heritabilities for general resistance to mastitis in most other studies. Haplotypes of a QTL previously shown to affect resistance to mastitis were analyzed for effects on resistance to pathogen specific mastitis. No significant allele substitution effect of haplotype on occurrence of the various mastitis pathogens was found, but there was a significant difference between the effects of two of the haplotypes on the presence of Streptococcus dysgalactiae.
Modeling and multi-objective optimization of 2.5D inductor-based Fully Integrated Voltage Regulators for microprocessor applications

This work presents the modeling and the multi-objective optimization of a 2.5D inductor-based Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator (FIVR) with respect to efficiency η and/or chip area power density α, i.e. based on the η-α-Pareto-front, for microprocessor applications. The Voltage Regulator consists of a four-phase interleaved buck converter operated in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM). The rated power of the considered converter is 1W, and input and output voltages are constant and equal to Vin = 1.7V and Vout = 0.85V. The optimization employs analytical models for the switches, which reside on chip and are manufactured in a 32nm CMOS SOI process, and for the passive components, i.e. racetrack inductors with magnetic core material and deep-trench capacitors that are fabricated in a silicon interposer. The optimization procedure considers thermal aspects and disregards solutions that lead to excessive component temperatures. According to the optimization results, either high efficiencies, greater than 90%, or high area power densities, with chip power densities greater than 20W/mm2 and interposer power densities higher than 1.5W/mm2 are achievable. The optimized design point, selected from the η-α-Pareto-front, features an efficiency of 90.1%, interposer power density of 0.309W/mm2, and a chip power density of 27.4W/mm2.
Cult-Images and Religious Ethnology: The European Exploration of Medieval Asia and the Discovery of New Iconic Religions

In their exploration of the Mongol Empire during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Western merchants and missionaries experienced for the first time the contact with peoples and cultural traditions which had been almost completely unknown in the times past. Unexpectedly, some features of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Taoist use of religious images proved to look quite similar to Western practices and contributed to suggest a feeling of affinity between European and Far Eastern devotional habits. Such a feeling relied on at least three important issues: first of all, the widespread use of three-dimensional statues (instead of icons, as in the Christian East) caught the Westerners’ imagination; second, they were struck by the complex and highly developed iconographic code employed by the religions of the Far East; third, they understood that the “idolaters” of Asia shared the Christian conception of the sacred image as a reproduction of a much older archetype, being an authentic, original, or even “acheir.