Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disruption of the Mouse μ-Calpain Gene Reveals an Essential Role in Platelet Function

ABSTRACT Conventional calpains are ubiquitous calcium-regulated cysteine proteases that have been implicated in cytoskeletal organization, cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell motility, and hemostasis. There are two forms of conventional calpains: the μ-calpain, or calpain I, which requires micromolar calcium for half-maximal activation, and the m-calpain, or calpain II, which functions at millimolar calcium concentrations. We evaluated the functional role of the 80-kDa catalytic subunit of μ-calpain by genetic inactivation using homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells. The μ-calpain-deficient mice are viable and fertile. The complete deficiency of μ-calpain causes significant reduction in platelet aggregation and clot retraction but surprisingly the mutant mice display normal bleeding times. No detectable differences were observed in the cleavage pattern and kinetics of calpain substrates such as the β3 subunit of αIIbβ3 integrin, talin, and ABP-280 (filamin). However, μ-calpain null platelets exhibit impaired tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins including the β3 subunit of αIIbβ3 integrin, correlating with the agonist-induced reduction in platelet aggregation. These results provide the first direct evidence that μ-calpain is essential for normal platelet function, not by affecting the cleavage of cytoskeletal proteins but by potentially regulating the state of tyrosine phosphorylation of the platelet proteins.
La prévention posturale des troubles de la déglutition chez l’adulte atteint de paralysie cérébrale. Rôle de l’ergothérapeute dans la formation des aidants professionnels, la construction de leur motivation et la consolidation de leur engagement

En France, la paralysie cerebrale (PC) constitue la plus frequente des deficiences motrices chez l’enfant. Elle concerne chaque annee 1 500 personnes supplementaires. Bien que l’atteinte ne soit pas evolutive, la croissance puis le vieillissement de la personne font evoluer les symptomes, avec une augmentation progressive des troubles posturaux et une diminution des capacites. Au cours du temps, les troubles de la deglutition de l’adulte atteint de PC augmentent en frequence et en gravite. Ce probleme de sante publique est la hantise des aidants professionnels en lieu de vie. Souvent non formes au positionnement au fauteuil roulant, ils redoutent les fausses routes alimentaires, sans forcement mesurer l’impact de la posture dans leur prevention. Dans une dynamique de travail pluridisciplinaire et d’amelioration de la qualite de vie des residents, l’ergotherapeute occupe une place de choix pour informer et former ces aidants. Mais comment doit-il s’y prendre pour que les competences soient bien transmises et les nouvelles pratiques ancrees dans la duree ? La construction de la motivation et la consolidation de l’engagement paraissent etre des enjeux importants.
Expectant management of small, recurrent, noninvasive papillary bladder tumors.

PURPOSE The majority of patients with stage Ta or T1 bladder cancer will have a subsequent tumor. Many of these patients invariably undergo multiple transurethral resections to manage small subsequent tumors or recurrences. We report our experience monitoring patients whose subsequent tumors appear to be small, low grade and papillary. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 32 patients with small, papillary, low grade appearing tumors and a history of Ta or T1 transitional cell carcinoma were monitored. The decision to delay resection or fulguration and observe these tumors was based on bladder cancer history, endoscopic appearance of the tumor and presence or lack of symptoms. All patients had a previous Ta tumor, and the tumor being observed was always papillary and appeared to be low grade. The decision to resect the tumor(s) was based on change in appearance (size or configuration) at followup endoscopy or hematuria. Patient records were reviewed, and bladder cancer history and tumor observation periods were recorded. Several patients underwent a number of observation periods. Tumor grade and stage before the observation interval were compared to the pathology of the observed tumor(s) after eventual resection. Tumor growth rate was calculated based on estimated tumor size documented at each interval. RESULTS Mean patient age was 72 years (range 39 to 88). Mean time since diagnosis of bladder cancer (initial urothelial tumor event) was 71 months (range 12 to 139). Mean number of subsequent tumor episodes or recurrences per patient was 3.8 (range 1 to 10). Mean number of transurethral resections was 3.8. Mean tumor-free interval before development of a subsequent tumor or mean time to recurrence was 13.4 months based on 104 tumor episodes. Not all tumor recurrences were observed. Mean number of tumor observation periods per patient was 1.8 (range 1 to 5) with a mean duration of 10.09 months per period based on 56 observation intervals. Mean time since the beginning of the initial observation period was 38 months (range 6 to 126). Mean tumor growth rate for 37 tumors was 1.77 mm per month (range 0 to 5.8). Only 3 of 45 (6.7%) patients had tumor progression from a pre-observation, low grade, noninvasive (TaG1 to 2) to a high grade Ta or T1 tumor. In the 3 observation periods in which the patient's most recent tumor was T1, 2 (67%) patients had TaG1 on resection after observation. Every patient with a T1 tumor before observation of a small new tumor had a history of a Ta tumor. No disease progressed to muscle invasion. CONCLUSIONS Small, recurrent, low grade appearing bladder tumors are slow growing and pose minimal risk. Therefore, as an alternative to in office fulguration to minimize morbidity and cost associated with repeat transurethral resection it may not be necessary to remove these tumors promptly at new tumor occurrence or recurrence.
Oxidation of acetoacetate and palmitylcarnitine by brain and liver mitochondria from suckling and adult rats.

Experiments in which we investigated the possible oxidative utilization of lipoid substrates by brain and liver mitochondria were carried out with rats aged 5 and 90 days, kept under completely standardized conditions. Brain mitochondria were isolated on a Ficoll gradient after Clark and Nicklas (1970). Respiratory activity (or the respiratory control index-R.C.) was determined in the manner described in an earlier paper (Dobesová and Mourek 1980). Na succinate or Na malate was used as the testing substrate; palmityl carnitine, acetyl carnitine and acetoacetate were used as lipoid substrates. Oxygen consumption was measured with a Clark's oxygen electrode and respiration was expressed in nAt oxygen per min per mg protein, which was measured by the method of Lowry et al. (1951). When using succinate or malate, in agreement with our previous results we did not find any development changes in the respiratory activity of the brain mitochondria. The oxidation of acetoacetate by the brain mitochondria of 5-day-old rats was about five times greater, and of acetyl carnitine over two times greater, compared with the CNS mitochondria of adult rats. The oxidative utilization of lipoid substrates by the liver mitochondria of 5-day-old rats was significantly greater than their utilization by CNS mitochondria (in the case of palmityl carnitine three times greater, for example) and was always significantly greater than in the liver mitochondria of adult rats. We demonstrated that mitochondria isolated from the brain of 5-day-old rats are equipped with an enzymatic apparatus which allows them to utilize lipoid substrates on a significantly greater scale than in adulthood.
Enhancement of insulin receptor mediated endocytosis in cultured osteoblastic cells under hypergravity.

Many cellular ligands are internalized by the cells after binding to a specific membrane receptor. This process, called Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis (RME) is an ubiquitous mechanism. It has been demonstrated on osteoblastic cells for many ligands, like insulin. The different steps of RME can be divided in 3 main phases. First takes place the binding phase corresponding to the interaction between the ligand and its specific membrane receptor. The second phase corresponds to the clathrin-mediated internalization of the ligand-receptor complex, by the mean of coated pits and coated vesicles. In the third phase are found the intracytoplasmic events, recycling or degradation, through endosomes and lysosomes. Insulin has been shown to bind to osteoblastic cells on specific receptors and to stimulate bone formation. The receptor-ligand complex is then internalized by RME. Visualization of this complex in transmission electron microscopy can be made effective by coupling the ligand to colloidal gold particles. In previous studies, we demonstrated that microgravity had no apparent effect on insulin binding to its specific receptor, but that RME process was accelerated by altered gravitational fields induced by parabolic flight. The aim of the present work was to determine, by the mean of a quantitative analysis of the three phases previously described, whether RME is sensitive to a continuous 2G exposition.
Fast algorithm for multiway regression

Higher-Order Partial Least Squares (HOPLS) regression is a powerful framework for dealing with ill-conditioned and multiway data. However, it relies on Higher-Order Orthogonal Iteration (HOOI) for extracting the latent factors which can be time consuming in case of large matrices. In this work, we propose an improved version of HOPLS, called fast Higher-Order Partial Least Squares (fHOPLS), which inherits the predictive property of HOPLS while demoting its time complexity by requiring less iterations for extracting the latent components. We compare fHOPLS and HOPLS on two sets of synthetic data and, for the sake of exposition, also unfolded partial least squared (PLS) and N-way PLS (NPLS). Results from the first data set confirms that the predictive performance of fHOPLS is comparable to HOPLS, and outperforms both PLS and NPLS, while results from the second data set confirm the faster computation of fHOPLS over HOPLS.
Representation and classification of iris textures based on diagonal linear discriminant analysis

Subspace methods are frequently used in pattern recognition problems aiming to reduce space dimension by determining its projection vectors. This paper presents subspace methods for feature extraction in an iris image called two-dimensional linear discriminant analysis (2DLDA), diagonal linear discriminant analysis (DiaLDA) and their combination (DiaLDA+2DLDA). The methods were applied in an UBIRIS image database, and the experimental results showed that DiaLDA+2DLDA overcame the 2DLDA method in recognition accuracy. Both methods are powerful in terms of dimension reduction and class discrimination.
Langerhans' cell histiocytosis – A rare cause of sudden onset unilateral sensorineural hearing loss

Abstract Langerhans' cell histiocytosis is a rare disorder of unknown aetiology in which pathological Langerhans' cells accumulate and destroy local tissue. We report a 38-year-old female who presented with a sudden onset of left sensormeural hearing loss. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a contrast-enhancing lesion in the left mastoid and a second lesion in the hypothalamus. Following left mastoid exploration and biopsy a definitive diagnosis of Langerhans' cell histiocytosis was made and the patient was treated with external beam radiotherapy. Subsequent right femur and right mastoid involvement were successfully treated with steroids and cytotoxic chemotherapy. At one year follow-up the patient had residual left-sided sensorineural hearing loss with normal hearing in the right ear. To our knowledge, Langerhans' cell histiocytosis has not been previously reported as a cause of unilateral sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of this condition.
Partitioning Message Patterns for Bundled Omega Networks

Considers a strategy for dealing with communication conflicts in omega networks. Specifically, the authors consider the problem of partitioning a set of conflicting messages into a minimum number of subsets, called rounds, each free of communication conflicts. In addition to standard omega networks, they consider this problem for a more general class of networks called bundled omega networks, where interconnection links in the network are replaced by bundles of wires. Although the partitioning problem has previously been considered in the literature, its computational complexity has remained open. The authors show that for a number of cases, the problem is NP-complete, but for certain special cases, it is solvable in polynomial time. In addition, they present a class of distributed, on-line heuristics for the problem. Finally, they give a lower bound of /spl Omega/(log N) on the performance ratio for one of these heuristics. >
Molecular framework for angiogenesis: a complex web of interactions between extravasated plasma proteins and endothelial cell proteins induced by angiogenic cytokines.

In this issue, the report by Dellian et a1' describes novel quantitative assays that permit continuous monitoring and characterization of angiogenesis in adult mice. The authors describe the employment of these assays to test an intriguing hypothesis that the physiological properties of newly formed vessels are determined more by vessel origin and microenvironment than by the initial angiogenic stimulus. Their findings support this hypothesis, illustrating that both basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular permeability factor/ vascular endothelial growth factor comparably provoked angiogenesis in two different tissues.
Stability of human mesenchymal stem cells during in vitro culture: considerations for cell therapy

Ex vivo expansion and manipulation of human mesenchymal stem cells are important approaches to immunoregulatory and regenerative cell therapies. Although these cells show great potential for use, issues relating to their overall nature emerge as problems in the field. The need for extensive cell quantity amplification in vitro to obtain sufficient cell numbers for use, poses a risk of accumulating genetic and epigenetic abnormalities that could lead to sporadic malignant cell transformation. In this study, we have examined human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow, over extended culture time, using cytogenetic analyses, mixed lymphocyte reactions, proteomics and gene expression assays to determine whether the cultures would retain their potential for use in subsequent passages. Results indicate that in vitro cultures of these cells demonstrated chromosome variability after passage 4, but their immunomodulatory functions and differentiation capacity were maintained. At the molecular level, changes were observed from passage 5 on, indicating initiation of differentiation. Together, these results lead to the hypothesis that human mesenchymal stem cells cultures can be used successfully in cell therapy up to passage 4. However, use of cells from higher passages would have to be analysed case by case.
Accurate localization using biased estimation

Localization of mobile stations(MS) is of considerable interest in wireless communication. In this paper, three algorithms are developed for accurate mobile location using the time-of-arrival measurements. The first algorithm is an unconstrained least square estimator(LSE) which has implementation simplicity. Our methods referring linear bias estimator(LBE) and affine bias estimator(ABE) are proposed based on the recently published research on biased estimation theory. Using MSE as the performance measure, we evaluate and compare the performance of such estimators. To our knowledge, performance improvement of our approaches over LSE is not resulted from additional information supplied by the constraint of MS itself, but from an expansion of the class of estimator under consideration. Traditional CRLB only acts as a theoretic bound of the unbiased estimator. Theoretical analysis and simulation demonstrate that the biased estimators are preferable to unbiased estimators at low or moderate SNR level.
Blood Rheology as Diagnostic and Predictive Tool in Cardiovascular Diseases

* Haemorheology Unit and Medical Research, Kanematsu Institute, Sydney Hospital, and Department of Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia. This study was supported in part by the National Health and Medical Reseach Council of Australia. My studies in blood rheology evolved along a number of converging lines of research. These included a development of instrumentation (the cone-in-cone and rhombospheroid viscometers,l2 the variable-frequency-thromboviscometer) , 3, 4 a development or elaboration of the basic rheologic concepts (such as that of blood thixotropy at very low shear rates ;5, 6of the internal viscosity of the red cell;7, 8, 9 of the capillary ’inversion’ phenomenon ;3, 4, so, 11 of a fluid membrane of the red cell;~2, 13 of the dynamic thrombus formation as a function of velocity gradient) ~4. 15. 16 and a development of the concept of blood high viscosity syndromes.17, 18, 19, 20 It would have been difficult to formulate such a program in early 1960’ties, when this field of endeavour-now covered by hundreds of investigators-was in its infancy. It was partly by good fortune that I was given access to patients suffering from myocardial infarction or venous thrombosis and found greatly elevated blood viscosity. Following this lead it was possible eventually to comprehend the role of blood viscosity in the circulatory and ischaemic diseases.21
User-Centered Critical Parameters for Design Specification, Evaluation, and Reuse: Modeling Goals and Effects of Notification Systems

Responding to the need within the human-computer interaction field to address ubiquitous and multitasking systems more scientifically, this research extends the usefulness of a new research framework for a particular class of systems. Notification systems are interfaces used in a divided-attention, multitasking situation, attempting to deliver current, valued information through a variety of platforms and modes in an efficient and effective manner. Through review of literature and experiences with empirical dual-task perceptual studies, we recognize a lack of unifying framework for understanding, classifying, analyzing, developing, evaluating, and discussing notification systems—fundamentally inhibiting scientific growth and knowledge reuse that should help designers advance the state-of-the-art. To this end, we developed a framework (referred to as the IRC framework) for notification systems research based on a core taxonomy of critical parameters describing user goals. Next, we extend the framework, focusing on three key aspects: (1) a system description process , allowing articulation of abstract design objectives that focus on critical user requirements; (2) interface usability evaluation tools, enabling comparison of the design and user's models, while supporting generalizability of research and early identification of usability concerns; and (3) design comparison and reuse mechanisms , saving time and effort in requirements analysis and early design stages by enabling design reuse and appreciation of design progress. Results from this research include the development of tools to express IRC design models (IRCspec) and user's models (IRCresults ), and the extension of the critical parameters concept. Validation studies with novice designers show sufficient assessment accuracy and consistency. Leveraging these tools that help designers express abstract, yet critical, design intentions and effects as classification and retrieval indices, we develop a repository for reusable design knowledge (a claims library ). Responding to challenges of design knowledge access that we observed through initial user testing, we introduce a vision for an integrated design environment (LINK-UP) to operationalize the IRC framework and notification systems claims library in a computer-aided design support system. Proof-of-concept testing results encourage the thought that when valuable design tools embody critical parameters and are coupled with readily accessible reusable design knowledge, interface development will improve as a scientific endeavor.
Nonuniform Fourier Transforms for Rigid-Body and Multidimensional Rotational Correlations

The task of evaluating correlations is central to computational structural biology. The rigid-body correlation problem seeks the rigid-body transformation (R, t), R ∈ SO(3), t ∈ ℝ3 that maximizes the correlation between a pair of input scalar-valued functions representing molecular structures. Exhaustive solutions to the rigid-body correlation problem take advantage of the fast Fourier transform to achieve a speedup either with respect to the sought translation or rotation. We present PFcorr, a new exhaustive solution, based on the non-equispaced SO(3) Fourier transform, to the rigid-body correlation problem; unlike previous solutions, ours achieves a combination of translational and rotational speedups without requiring equispaced grids. PFcorr can be straightforwardly applied to a variety of problems in protein structure prediction and refinement that involve correlations under rigid-body motions of the protein. Additionally, we show how it applies, along with an appropriate flexibility model, to analogs of the above problems in which the flexibility of the protein is relevant.
Can an 18F-ALF-NOTA-PRGD2 PET/CT Scan Predict Treatment Sensitivity to Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma?

This study examined the value of a novel 1-step labeled integrin αvβ3–targeting 18F-AlF-NOTA-PRGD2 (denoted as 18F-RGD) scan in assessing sensitivity to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Methods: Twenty-five patients with newly diagnosed GBM were enrolled in this study 3–5 wk after surgical resection. All participants were investigated with 18F-RGD PET/CT on baseline (T1) and at the third week (T2) after the start of CCRT. Tumor volume, maximal and mean standardized uptake value of the tumor (SUVmax, SUVmean), and tumor-to-nontumor ratios of the tumor volume were obtained. The MRI treatment response was assessed at the 11th week (T3). The change in the lesion volume from T1 to T3 on MRI was used as an endpoint to evaluate the predictive ability of 18F-RGD PET/CT. Results: With 18F-RGD PET/CT imaging, we successfully visualized the residual lesions of GBM. Twenty-five and 23 18F-RGD PET/CT scans at baseline and the third week, respectively, were available for analysis. We found that 18F-RGD PET/CT parameters, both pretreatment SUVmax on baseline (P < 0.05) and intratreatment SUVmax at the third week (SUVmaxT2) (P < 0.05) and tumor-to-nontumor ratios at the third week (P < 0.05), were predictive of treatment sensitivity to CCRT. Additionally, the change of volume from T1 to T2 on MRI was also predictive (P < 0.05). According to receiver-operating-characteristic curve analysis, the most significant parameter was SUVmaxT2 (area under the curve, 0.846). The threshold of SUVmaxT2 was 1.35, and its sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 84.6%, 90.0% and 87.0%, respectively. Conclusion: 18F-RGD PET/CT allows for the noninvasive visualization of GBM lesions and the prediction of sensitivity to CCRT as early as 3 wk after treatment initiation.
Integration of streaming and elastic traffic: Modeling and Performance Analysis

We study a flow-level model where elastic flows compete with fixed-rate streaming flows. We assume that streaming flows are served with priority, the remaining bandwidth being shared by elastic flows according to Balanced Fairness. We derive exact performance results for streaming flows, and propose performance approximations for elastic flows. Simulation results show that the relevant performance metrics are well estimated with the proposed approximations.