Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SLAP Deficiency Enhances Number and Function of Regulatory T Cells Preventing Chronic Autoimmune Arthritis in SKG Mice

To test if manipulating TCR complex-mediated signaling (TCR signaling) could treat autoimmune disease, we generated the double SKG Src-like adapter protein (SLAP) knockout (DSSKO) mouse model. The SKG mutation in ZAP70 and SLAP have opposing functions on the regulation of TCR signaling. The combination of these two mutations alters TCR signaling in the context of a defined genetic background, uniform environmental conditions, and a well-characterized signaling disruption. In contrast to SKG mice, DSSKO mice do not develop zymosan-induced chronic autoimmune arthritis. This arthritis prevention is not due to significant alterations in thymocyte development or repertoire selection but instead enhanced numbers of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and decreased numbers of Th17 cells skewing the ratio of Tregs to autoreactive effector T cells. Treg depletion and/or functional blockade led to the development of arthritis in DSSKO mice. In vitro suppression of effector T cell proliferation was also enhanced, demonstrating that DSSKO mice have increased numbers of Tregs with increased function. Understanding how TCR signals influence development, expansion, and function of Tregs in DSSKO mice could advance our ability to manipulate Treg biology to treat ultimately autoimmune disease.
The coordination of breathing and swallowing in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE During deglutition, a strongly preferred exhale-swallow-exhale pattern has been shown in healthy adults. Disruption of this pattern can provoke prandial aspiration. Impaired coordination of breathing and swallowing has been measured in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during the exacerbated state, but no reports describe the coordination of breathing and swallowing in stable patients with COPD during oral intake. OBJECTIVES To test the hypothesis that persons with moderate to severe COPD would show disordered coordination of breathing and swallowing during oral intake when compared with a matched, healthy control group. METHODS This study used a prospective, repeated measures design using 25 subjects with COPD and 25 control subjects. Respiratory inductance plethysmography and nasal thermistry were used simultaneously to track respiratory signals. Submental surface EMG was used to mark the presence of each swallow within the respiratory cycle. Data were recorded while participants randomly and spontaneously swallowed solids and semi-solids. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Logistic regression showed that participants with COPD swallowed solid food during inhalation more frequently than normal subjects (P = 0.002) and had a significantly higher rate of inhaling after swallowing semi-solid material (P < 0.001). Subjects with COPD also swallowed pudding at low Vt significantly more often than they did the cookie (P = 0.006). Conversely, the control subjects swallowed cookie at low Vt significantly more often than pudding (P = 0.034). Significant differences in deglutitive apnea durations were also found. CONCLUSIONS Patients with COPD exhibit disrupted coordination of the respiratory cycle with deglutition. Disrupted breathing-swallowing coordination could increase the risk of aspiration in patients with advanced COPD and may contribute to exacerbations.
Bandwidth quantization in the broadband ISDN

The authors indicate that the number of rates supportable in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) broadband network has to be limited unless a network is acceptable without knowing its grade of service. The quantization of the channel bandwidth, given the traffic arrival rate as a function of requested bandwidth, is considered. Capacity sharing models in ATM networks are presented. The calculation procedure for blocking probability which will be affected by the quantization problem is described. A class of control methods that can render a product-form solution is introduced. The results indicate that there is little performance difference between a quantized channel and a continuous-rate channel as the level of quantization exceeds ten. <<ETX>>
Core promoter-selective coregulators of transcription by RNA polymerase II

The core promoter of eukaryotic genes is structurally and functionally diverse and contributes to the combinatorial control of gene-specific transcription. Recent findings identifying specific coactivators and architectural proteins as core promoter-specific basal cofactors for RNA polymerase II suggest possible mechanisms for the core promoter selectivity of certain regulators and enhancers.
High-Frequency Analysis of Cu-Carbon Nanotube Composite Through-Silicon Vias

A high-frequency analysis of Cu-carbon nanotube (CNT) composite through-silicon vias (TSVs) is conducted. The electrical modeling of the Cu-CNT composite TSVs is performed, with the effective complex conductivity formulated for accurate characterization of kinetic inductance. It is shown that, after codepositing CNT with Cu, the electrical conductivity of the TSVs can be improved and the influence of kinetic inductance variation can be suppressed in comparison with the CNT TSVs. On the other hand, the Cu-CNT composite TSVs can exhibit little compromise in performance yet much enhanced reliability by comparison to the Cu counterpart. That is, the Cu-CNT composite TSVs can provide a better tradeoff between reliability and performance than the Cu and CNT counterparts.
Experimental Studies of the Frequency Dependence of the Low-Barrier Mott Diode Impedance

We study the microwaave impedance of low-barrier Mott diodes with a δ-doped layer near the metal contact. Parameters of the elements of the diode equivalent circuit are determined and their dependences on the dc bias voltage are examined. The effects of injection of electrons into the i layer and their time delay in the potential well of the δ layer under a forward bias are discussed. An original method of the incoming test of epitaxial wafers and the diagnostics of their linear characteristics for the epitaxial structures intended for manufacturing of low-barrier Mott diodes is proposed.
On frame-based scheduling for directional mmWave WPANs

Millimeter wave (mmWave) communications in the 60 GHz band can provide multi-gigabit rates for emerging bandwidth-intensive applications, and has thus gained considerable interest recently. In this paper, we investigate the problem of efficient scheduling in mmWave wireless personal area networks (WPAN). We develop a frame-based scheduling directional MAC protocol, termed FDMAC, to achieve the goal of leveraging collision-free concurrent transmissions to fully exploit spatial reuse in mmWave WPANs. The high efficiency of FDMAC is achieved by amortizing the scheduling overhead over multiple concurrent, back-to-back transmissions in a row. The core of FDMAC is a graph coloring-based scheduling algorithm, termed greedy coloring (GC) algorithm, that can compute near-optimal schedules with respect to the total transmission time with low complexity. The proposed FDMAC is analyzed and evaluated under various traffic models and patterns. Its superior performance is validated with extensive simulations.
Role of the Arf6 GDP/GTP Cycle and Arf6 GTPase-activating Proteins in Actin Remodeling and Intracellular Transport*

We have analyzed both biochemically and functionally a series of Arf6 mutants, providing new insights into the molecular mode of action of the small G protein Arf6. First, by comparing a fast-cycling mutant (Arf6(T157N)) and a GTPase-deficient mutant (Arf6(Q67L)), we established the necessity for completion of the Arf6 GDP/GTP cycle for recycling of major histocompatibility complex molecules to the plasma membrane. Second, we found that aluminum fluoride (AlF), known for inducing membrane protrusion in cells expressing exogenous wild-type Arf6, stabilized a functional wild-type Arf6·AlFx · GTPase-activating protein (GAP) complex in vitro and in vivo. We also found that the tandem mutation Q37E/S38I prevented the binding of two Arf GAPs, but not the effector ARHGAP10, and blocked the formation of membrane protrusion and actin reorganization. Together, our results with AlFx and Arf6(Q37E/S38I) demonstrate the critical role of the Arf6 GAPs as effectors for Arf6-regulated actin cytoskeleton remodeling. Finally, competition experiments conducted in vivo suggest the existence of a membrane receptor for GDP-bound Arf6.
La cohésion paratactique: une approche constructionnelle

La question a deja ete etudiee par Deulofeu (1989) qui parle a cet egard de « couplage ». Nous developpons ici trois points principaux : la nature de ces interpretations cohesives (section 2), les differents facteurs de ce type d’interpretation (section 3), le statut constructionnel des parataxes (section 4) et notamment des conditionnelles (section 5). Pour des raisons de temps, nous avons laisse de cote les phrases averbales et n’avons pas compare avec les constructions correlatives, aussi appelees « siamoises », telles qu’elles sont etudiees par Savelli (1995) ou encore Abeille et al. (2006). Par ailleurs, nous n’avons depouille qu’une petite partie des donnees du corpus a notre disposition.
A Wideband Noise Cancelling Low Noise Amplifier for 3GPP LTE Standard

This paper presents the design of a wideband low noise amplifier (LNA) for the 3GPP LTE (3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution) standard. The proposed LNA uses a common gate topology with a noise cancellation technique for wideband (0.7 to 2.7GHz) and low noise operation. The capacitive cross coupling technique is adopted for the common gate amplifier. Consequently input matching is achieved with lower transconductance, thereby reducing the power consumption and noise contribution. The LNA is designed in a 0. 18µm process and the simulations show lower than -10dB input return loss (S11), and 2.4∼2.6dB noise figure (NF) over the entire operating band (0.7∼2.7GHz) while drawing 9mA from a 1.8V supply.
Does Lung Adenocarcinoma Subtype Predict Patient Survival?: A Clinicopathologic Study Based on the New International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society International Multidisciplinary Lung Adenocarcinoma Classification

Introduction: Lung adenocarcinoma is a heterogeneous group of tumors with a highly variable prognosis, not well predicted by the current pathologic classification system. The 2004 World Health Organization classification results in virtually all tumors encountered in clinical practice being allocated to the adenocarcinoma of mixed subtype category. A new classification developed by an international multidisciplinary expert panel sponsored by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, American Thoracic Society, and European Respiratory Society, is based on histomorphologic subtype and has recently been validated in a North American series of 514 stage I lung adenocarcinomas. We investigated the relationship between the new classification and patient survival in a series of Australian patients with stages I, II, and III lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: We identified 210 patients from a surgical database who underwent resection of lung adenocarcinoma from 1996 to 2009. Two pathologists, blinded to patient outcome, independently performed histopathologic subtyping according to the new classification. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to calculate 5-year survival for each separate histopathologic subtype/variant. Univariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken to control for validated prognostic factors. Results: We confirmed that the new subtypes of adenocarcinoma in situ, minimally invasive adenocarcinoma and lepidic-predominant adenocarcinoma had a 5-year survival approaching 100%, whereas micropapillary-predominant and solid with mucin-predominant adenocarcinomas were associated with particularly poor survival. Papillary-predominant and acinar-predominant adenocarcinomas had an intermediate prognosis. This effect persisted after controlling for stage. Conclusions: Classification of lung adenocarcinoma according to the new International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society classification correlated with 5-year survival. These relationships persisted after controlling for known prognostic patient and tumor characteristics. The new classification has advantages not only for individual patient care but also for better selection and stratification for clinical trials and molecular studies.
Analysis of reliability and throughput under saturation condition of IEEE 802.15.6 CSMA/CA for wireless body area networks

The standardization of the IEEE 802.15. 6 protocol for wireless body area networks (WBANs) dictates the physical layer and medium access control layer standards from the communication perspective. The standard supports short-range, extremely low power wireless communication with high quality of service and data rates upto 10 Mbps in the vicinity of any living tissue. In this paper, we develop a discrete-time Markov model for the accurate analysis of reliability and throughput of an IEEE 802.15. 6 CSMA/CA-based WBAN under saturation condition. Existing literature on Markov chain-based analysis of IEEE 802.15. 6, however, do not take into consideration the time a node spends waiting for the immediate acknowledgement frame after transmission of a packet, until time-out occurs. In this work, we take into consideration the waiting time for a node after its transmission, and accordingly modified the structure of the discrete-time Markov chain (DTMC). We also show that as the payload length increases, the reliability of a node decreases; whereas its throughput sharply increases.
Determination of the basic device parameters of a GaAs MESFET

This paper describes a new technique to determine the basic properties of the active channel of a gallium arsenide (GaAs) metal-semiconductor field effect transistor (mesfet). The effective gate length, channel thickness, and carrier concentration are determined from dc parameters. A precise method of measuring the dc parameters is also given. The new techniques are demonstrated using a wide variety of sample devices. It is also shown that microwave performance parameters, such as the maximum output power and minimum noise figure, are well predicted by dc parameters. Calculated values of the intrinsic and extrinsic dc parameters, using simple analytical expressions developed in terms of the geometrical and material parameters of a device, are shown to be in excellent agreement with their measured values. These expressions can be used as a basis for device design.
Risk factors for poor self-rated health in women at 2 months and 1 year after childbirth.

OBJECTIVE To investigate risk factors for poor self-rated health (SRH) in primiparous and multiparous women 2 months and 1 year after childbirth in a nationwide Swedish sample. METHODS Women were recruited at their first booking visit at 593 (97%) antenatal clinics in Sweden during 3 weeks evenly spread over 1 year (1999-2000). Data were collected by questionnaires in early pregnancy, 2 months and 1 year after childbirth, and from the Medical Birth Register. In total, 2424 women filled in all the questionnaires, including a global question on SRH. The representativity of the sample was assessed by comparison with the total Swedish birth cohort of 1999. Data were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Physical problems, such as tiredness, musculoskeletal symptoms, and abdominal pain, and emotional problems, such as depressive symptoms, increased the risk of poor SRH in both primiparas and multiparas at one or both time points. Infant-related risk factors in both groups were negative experience of breastfeeding (2 months) and infant sleeping problems (1 year), and prematurity was a risk factor in primiparas at 2 months. Insufficient social support increased the risk in multiparas. In primiparas, outcome of labor, such as negative birth experience after operative delivery, was associated with poor SRH at 1 year and perineal pain at 2 months. CONCLUSIONS A new mother's SRH is associated with her life situation. Ongoing physical and emotional problems, lack of support, and infant factors seem more important than sociodemographic background. Mode of delivery and childbirth experience may have a longterm effect on SRH.
Electrical remodeling contributes to complex tachyarrhythmias in connexin43‐deficient mouse hearts

Loss of connexin43 (Cx43) gap junction channels in the heart results in a marked increase in the incidence of spontaneous and inducible polymorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmias (PVTs). The mechanisms resulting in this phenotype remain unclear. We hypothesized that uncoupling promotes regional ion channel remodeling, thereby increasing electrical heterogeneity and facilitating the development of PVT. In isolated‐perfused control hearts, programmed electrical stimulation elicited infrequent monomorphic ventricular tachyarrhythmias (MVT), and dominant frequencies (DFs) during MVT were similar in the right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV). Moreover, conduction properties, action potential durations (APDs), and re‐polarizing current densities were similar in RV and LV myocytes. In contrast, PVT was common in Cx43 conditional knockout (OCKO) hearts, and arrhythmias were characterized by significantly higher DFs in the RV compared to the LV. APDs in OCKO myocytes were significantly shorter than those from chamber‐matched controls, with RV OCKO myocytes being most affected. APD shortening was associated with higher levels of sustained current in myocytes from both chambers as well as higher levels of the inward rectifier current only in RV myocytes. Thus, alterations in cell‐cell coupling lead to regional changes in potassium current expression, which in this case facilitates the development of reentrant arrhythmias. We propose a new mechanistic link between electrical uncoupling and ion channel remodeling. These findings may be relevant not only in cardiac tissue but also to other organ systems where gap junction remodeling is known to occur. Danik, S. B. , Rosner, G. , Lader, J., Gutstein, D. E. , Fishman, G. I. , Morley, G. E. Electrical remodeling contributes to complex tachyarrhythmias in connexin43‐deficient mouse hearts. FASEB J. 22, 1204–1212 (2008)
Trichloroethylene. I. Carcinogenicity of trichloroethylene.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) as an industrial pollutant may damage human health and can be considered as carcinogen. TCE has been detected in the environment and in various human organs, e.g., liver, kidney and brain etc. There are histological alterations such as depletion of glycogen and hydropic degeneration in the liver, however, other signs of TCE effects can be found in various organs as well. TCE and its metabolites, e.g., trichlorethanol, trichloro-acetic acid and epoxides were recently identified as strong mutagens in Ames mutagenicity test inducing frameshift and base-substitution mutations. TCE induced predominantly hepatocellular carcinoma after long term administration in mice. In these animals, kidneys and liver were supposed to be primary target organs with low epoxy-hydrolase activity. A high level of mitotic gene conversion (or gene rearrangement) was indicated by the metabolism of TCE after repeated administration. Purified TCE by was a weak mutagen in the presence of S9 microsomal fraction of rats and as a consequence, the carcinogenic activity was low in the kidney of rats. However, a dose related increase of Leydig cell tumors was found in male rats.
Idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis--new lessons from kidney transplantation.

The study of renal allografts has provided insight into the pathogenesis of renal diseases.1 In patients with some disorders, such as Liddle's syndrome (in which long-standing hypertension may severely impair renal function), kidney transplantation cures the original disease, demonstrating that the distal tubular defect is intrinsic to the native kidney. In patients with other disorders, the original disease may recur in the graft. In patients with primary hyperoxaluria type I, the disease recurs because the metabolic defect in the liver persists, and in those with various glomerular diseases, the disease recurs because the triggering mechanism, which is often immunologic, is .
Designing and Using Software Tools for Educational Purposes: FLAT, a Case Study

Educational software tools are considered to enrich teaching strategies, providing a more compelling means of exploration and feedback than traditional blackboard methods. Moreover, software simulators provide a more motivating link between theory and practice than pencil-paper methods, encouraging active and discovery learning in the students. The use and development of educational software is a field that has grasped the attention of teachers and researchers from different disciplines and theoretical frameworks in the last few years. In this paper, the authors present SoftwarE for Learning Formal languages and Automata theory (SELFA), an educational software simulator tool, designed to improve the quality of teaching in Theory of Computation courses. The aim of this tool is to make it easier to teach and to learn the main concepts of this subject, whose level of abstraction makes both activities difficult. The main advantage of this tool over other software tools designed with the same purpose, is that it has been developed using web technologies. This allows the user to collect and analyze data on how and when a student or group has used the tool. These numerical data can then be used to evaluate the student's work.
Development of system thinking skills in the context of earth system education

The current study deals with the development of system thinking skills at the junior high school level. The sample population included about 50 eighth-grade students from two different classes of an urban Israeli junior high school who studied an earth systems-based curriculum that focused on the hydro cycle. The study addressed the following research questions: (a) Could the students deal with complex systems? ; (b) What has influenced the students' ability to deal with system perception? ; and (c) What are the relationship among the cognitive components of system thinking? The research combined qualitative and quantitative methods and involved various research tools, which were implemented in order to collect the data concerning the students' knowledge and understanding before, during, and following the learning process. The findings indicated that the development of system thinking in the context of the earth systems consists of several sequential stages arranged in a hierarchical structure. The cognitive skills that are developed in each stage serve as the basis for the development of the next higher-order thinking skills. The research showed that in spite of the minimal initial system thinking abilities of the students most of them made some meaningful progress in their system thinking skills, and a third of them reached the highest level of system thinking in the context of the hydro cycle. Two main factors were found to be the source of the differential progress of the students: (a) the students' individual cognitive abilities, and (b) their level of involvement in the knowledge integration activities during their inquiry-based learning both indoors and outdoors. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.