Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Specificity of an Enzyme-1 Inked Immunosorbent Assay for Dog Ige Antibody to Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria Japonica) Pollen

ABSTRACT We developed a fluorometric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for allergen-specific IgE in dogs with the use of monoclonal anti-dog IgE; we assayed IgE antibody to Japanese cedar pollen in the sera of dogs with Japanese cedar pollinosis. To assess the specificity of this ELISA, a pooled serum sample from pollinosis dogs was subjected to gel chromatography. The peak of anti-pollen allergen IgE activity was different from the peaks of total IgA, IgG and IgM. When IgE antibody positive serum was heated at 56°C for 4 h, antibody activity was markedly reduced. Furthermore, polyclonal anti-dog IgA, IgG and IgM did not interfere with anti-pollen allergen IgE activity in the ELISA. From these results, this assay is considered to have a high specificity for dog IgE.
Magnesium and depression: a systematic review

Abstract Introduction The incidence of depression is increasing worldwide. Much is still unknown about the possible role of magnesium in depression prevention and treatment. Magnesium has an effect on biological and transduction pathways implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. The possible role of magnesium in depression prevention and treatment remains unclear. Objectives We systematically reviewed the possible links between magnesium and depression in humans. Methods Twenty-one cross-sectional studies, three intervention trials, one prospective study, one case only study, and one case series study were included based on specific selection criteria. Results A higher intake of dietary magnesium seems to be associated with lower depression symptoms though reverse causality cannot be excluded. The results assessing the association between blood and cerebrospinal fluid magnesium and depression are inconclusive. Discussion Magnesium seems to be effective in the treatment of depression but data are scarce and incongruous. Disturbance in magnesium metabolism might be related to depression. Oral magnesium supplementation may prevent depression and might be used as an adjunctive therapy. However, more interventional and prospective studies are needed in order to further evaluate the benefits of magnesium intake and supplementation for depression.
Tone Interference Estimation for OFDM Systems Using a Frequency Domain DFT

This paper investigates the problem of reliable tone interference estimation from noisy observations. Performing the DFT of time domain observations is a commonly used tone estimation technique. However, the use of one DFT block of frequency domain samples may not yield reliable estimation of tone interference. To solve this problem, we propose to combine multiple DFT blocks of frequency domain observations which are naturally provided in OFDM systems, improving the reliability of tone interference estimation. To this end, a frequency domain DFT is used to process multiple blocks of observations. It is shown that our estimator can achieve the performance close to the Cramer-Rao bound and the conventional DFT-based estimation with much higher complexity.
DHA status is positively related to motor development in breastfed African and Dutch infants

Abstract Objectives Docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (AA) acids are important for neurodevelopment. We investigated the relation between erythrocyte (RBC) DHA and AA contents and neurological development, by assessment of General Movements (GMs), in populations with substantial differences in fish intakes. Methods We included 3-month-old breastfed infants of three Tanzanian tribes: Maasai (low fish, n = 5), Pare (intermediate fish, n = 32), and Sengerema (high fish, n = 60); and a Dutch population (low–intermediate, fish, n = 15). GMs were assessed by motor optimality score (MOS) and the number of observed movement patterns (OMP; an MOS sub-score). RBC-DHA and AA contents were determined by capillary gas chromatography. Results We found no between-population differences in MOS. OMP of Sengerema infants (high fish) was higher than OMP of Dutch infants (low–intermediate fish). MOS related to age. OMP related positively to infant age (P < 0.001) and RBC-DHA (P = 0.015), and was unrelated to ethnicity and RBC-AA. Discussion The positive relation between RBC-DHA and the number of observed movement patterns of 3-month old infants might reflect the connection of DHA with motor development.
A Transmit Beamforming Algorithm for High-Speed Train Communication

A new time-domain transmit beamforming algorithm is proposed for cancelling inter-channel-interference (ICI) due to Doppler frequency shift under high speed train communication scenario. Simulation results show that by employing the algorithm a high speed train communication system is capable of providing continuous 100Mbps data rate for passengers at a speed of 450km/h. This would guarantee continuous data-intensive services for today's high speed train passengers.
Success of testicular sperm injection and intracytoplasmic sperm injection in men with klinefelter syndrome

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report the successful fertility treatment of men with Klinefelter syndrome using testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Methods: A total of 42 men with Klinefelter syndrome who underwent 54 TESE procedures were identified. Before TESE, patients with serum testosterone levels less than 15.6 nmol/liter were treated with an aromatase inhibitor. Sperm retrieval rates and results of ICSI, including fertilization and clinical pregnancy, were collected. Results: Mean pretreatment FSH and testosterone levels were 33.2 IU/liter and 9.8 nmol/liter. During medical therapy, the mean testosterone level rose to 17.0 nmol/liter (P < 0.01). Spermatozoa were found during 39 microdissection TESE procedures, on the day before, or day of oocyte retrieval during a programmed in vitro fertilization cycle. The sperm retrieval rate was 72% (39 of 54) per TESE attempt, and 29 of the 42 different men (69%) had adequate sperm found for ICSI. Thirty-three.
Experimental validation of the influence of kinematic redundancy on the pose accuracy of parallel kinematic machines

In this paper experimental results are presented to compare the performance of kinematically redundant parallel robots with respect to their non-redundant counterparts. The main purpose is to validate existing simulated, i.e. claimed, findings demonstrating the advantages of kinematic redundancy in terms of singularity avoidance and, therefore, accuracy and precision. Exemplarily, the kinematically redundant prototype of the Institute at Mechatronic Systems is introduced. It is based on the well known planar 3RRR mechanism. In order to achieve kinematic redundancy, a prismatic actuator is added to the structure allowing one base joint to move linearly. As a result, the mechanism is able to reconfigure, i.e. optimize, its geometry according to different performance criteria and motion strategies. While performing a geometrical reconfig- uration and following several desired (optimized) trajectories the pose of the end-effector is determined using an external measurement device. Hence, in addition to the encoder data of the actuators the performance can be analyzed without using any (uncertain) kinematic models. This allows for a meaningful comparative evaluation of the performance of kinematically redundant mechanisms.
Urinary CD4 T cells identify SLE patients with proliferative lupus nephritis and can be used to monitor treatment response

Objectives Proliferative lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the major concerns in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here we evaluate urinary CD4 T cells as a biomarker of active LN and indicator of treatment response. Methods Urinary CD3CD4 T cells were quantified using flow cytometry in 186 urine samples from 147 patients with SLE. Fourteen patients were monitored as follow-up. Thirty-one patients with other nephropathies and 20 healthy volunteers were included as controls. Results In SLE, urinary CD4 T cell counts ≥800/100 ml were observed exclusively in patients with active LN. Receiver operator characteristic analysis documented clear separation of SLE patients with active and non-active LN (area under the curve 0.9969). All patients with up-to-date kidney biopsy results showing proliferative LN had high urinary CD4 T cell numbers. In patients monitored under therapy, normalisation of urinary CD4 T cell counts indicated lower disease activity and better renal function. In contrast, patients with persistence of, or increase in, urinary T cells displayed worse outcomes. Conclusions Urinary CD4 T cells are a highly sensitive and specific marker for detecting proliferative LN in patients with SLE. Furthermore, monitoring urinary CD4 T cells may help to identify treatment responders and treatment failure and enable patient-tailored therapy in the future.
Cardiovascular risk factors and lifetime risk estimation in HIV-infected patients under antiretroviral treatment in Spain

Abstract Background and objectives: Cardiovascular disease is a major concern in HIV-infected patients. Lifetime risk estimations use the risk of developing it over the course of remaining lifetime, and are useful in communicating this risk to young patients. We aim to describe the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among a representative sample of HIV-infected subjects under antiretroviral therapy in Spain, and to estimate their lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods: Cross-sectional survey about cardiovascular risk factors in 10 HIV units across Spain. Lifetime risk assessed according to Barry was classified in two major categories: low and high lifetime risk. Results: We included 895 subjects, 72% men, median age 45.7 years; median CD4 lymphocyte count 598 cells/μl, median time since HIV diagnosis 11 years, median time on antiretroviral treatment 6.3 years, 87% had undetectable HIV viral load. Tobacco smoking was the most frequent risk factor (54%), followed by dyslipidemia (48.6%) and hypertension (38.6%). Estimated 10-year coronary risk (Framingham/Regicor Risk Score) risk was low ( < 5%) in 78% of the patients, and intermediate (5–10%) in 20%. Lifetime risk estimation showed a high risk profile for 71.4% of the population studied, which was associated with increasing age, prolonged antiretroviral therapy and patient's place of origin. Conclusions: Modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in this population are very common. There are significant disparities between the low 10-year risk estimated with the Framingham/Regicor score and the higher lifetime risk in HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy. A more aggressive management of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in these patients seems advisable.
The estimation of the energy requirement of two communities in rural Burundi (Africa).

Data on the activity pattern of two Burundese population groups indicate that the metabolic constants, as adopted by the 1985 joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Committee, overrate the actual energy expenditure for physical activity in these groups. Of the several possible reasons, the most obvious is that due to malnutrition in late childhood the working capacity in these individuals has been reduced. To account for this reduction, the metabolic constants should be adjusted according to the work intensity. As yet, insufficient data are available to evaluate the possibility of a changed work efficiency. In view of the importance of nutritional planning in developing countries, further research into the subject seems to be indispensable.
The global burden of occupationally related low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study

Objectives The study was part of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study and aimed to quantify the burden arising from low back pain (LBP) due to occupational exposure to ergonomic risk factors. Methods Exposure prevalence was based on occupation distribution; estimates of relative risk came from a meta-analysis of relevant published literature. The work-related burden was estimated as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Estimates were made for each of 21 world regions and 187 countries, separately for 1990 and 2010 using consistent methods. Results Worldwide, LBP arising from ergonomic exposures at work was estimated to cause 21.7 million DALYs in 2010. The overall population attributable fraction was 26%, varying considerably with age, sex and region. 62% of LBP DALYs were in males—the largest numbers were in persons aged 35–55 years. The highest relative risk (3.7) was in the agricultural sector. The largest number of DALYs occurred in East Asia and South Asia, but on a per capita basis the biggest burden was in Oceania. There was a 22% increase in overall LBP DALYs arising from occupational exposures between 1990 and 2010 due to population growth; rates dropped by 14% over the same period. Conclusions LBP arising from ergonomic exposures at work is an important cause of disability. There is a need for improved information on exposure distributions and relative risks, particularly in developing countries.
Effects of Repetitive High Frequency Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (HF-TENS) on Spasticity and Motor Function following Spinal Cord Injury in Rats

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine whether high frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (HF-TENS) influences spasticity and motor function recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). [Subjects] Thirty six male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-250 g) were received contusive SCI at T10 level. One week after SCI, 20 rats with SCI showed increased spasticity. Rats with spasticity after SCI were randomly assigned into two groups: the HF-TENS group (n=10) and the control group (n=10). [Methods] HF-TENS stimulation (100 Hz, 200 μs) was applied to anterior tubercle of the tibia near the knee joint and ankle joint in front of the achilles tendon. To test the effects of HF-TENS on spasticity and motor function recovery, we assessed BBB, combined behavioral score and Modified Ashworth scale for 9 days, at 1 hour after HF-TENS application on hindlimb. [Results] Rats with HF-TENS showed a significant decrease in spasticity 7 days after the HF-TENS application and a prominent improvement in functional outcome 5 days after the HF-TENS application compared to the control group. [Conclusion] Our results suggest that HF-TENS may help relieve spasticity and improve recovery of motor function after SCI.
Cluster-Based Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Assignment Strategy in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio is proposed as an efficient way to address the issue of spectrum shortage and under- utilization, in which cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) is used to enhance the sensing performance. One of the most fundamental problems of CSS is: how to appropriately assign the secondary users (SUs) to sense the primary user (PU) channels? In this paper, We study the CSS problem under a more practical scenario where taking the heterogeneous characteristics of both SUs and PU channels into consideration. With the objective to maximize the achievable throughput for SUs, we propose a cluster- based CSS to obtain a proper assignment policy, in which all the cluster members cooperative in sensing the same channels, moreover, the CSS problem is formulated as a Maximum Weight One-Sided Biclique Problem, and a greedy heuristic algorithm is proposed to find the suboptimal assignment policy. To evaluate the tradeoff between sensing accuracy and spectrum opportunity, the simulation is conducted between the number of sensed channels and the achievable throughput.
Coordinated Adaptive Control in Device-to-Device Communications Based on Delayed Limited Feedback

This paper studies adaptive coordinated control of device-to-device (D2D) communications underlaying a cellular network with a multi-antenna base station (BS). We analyze the performance of cellular and D2D users under the channel imperfections including both quantization error and feedback delay. More specifically, we derive the received signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) distributions of both D2D and cellular users. Based upon this, we further obtain a closed-form approximation of the achievable rate, which serves as a theoretical support for choosing transmit beamforming strategies adaptively.
How much does Disease Activity Score in 28 joints ESR and CRP calculations underestimate disease activity compared with the Simplified Disease Activity Index?

Objectives Disease Activity Score in 28 joints calculated with C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) is used instead of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR) to assess rheumatoid arthritis disease activity; however, values for remission and low disease activity (LDA) for DAS28-CRP have not been validated. American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) guidelines suggest remission should be calculated by Simplified Disease Activity Index (SDAI) rather than DAS28-ESR. We examined values of remission and LDA of DAS28-CRP that correspond to the respective cut-off points for DAS28-ESR and SDAI from five clinical trials. Methods DAS28-CRP cut-offs that best correspond to DAS28-ESR remission <2.6 and LDA ≤3.2 were obtained by cumulative distribution plots, receiver operating curves and maximum concordance and averaged for each approach, treatment group and study. Level of agreement between DAS28-CRP and DAS28-ESR remission and LDA cut-offs was compared against each other and versus SDAI remission ≤3.3 and LDA ≤11. Results Percentage of patients who achieved remission and LDA by DAS28-ESR cut-offs was greater for DAS28-CRP versus DAS28-ESR regardless of patient population or treatment group. Discordance between CRP and ESR cut-offs ranged from 4%–26% and 8%–23% for remission and LDA, respectively, and 19%–40% and 6%–11% for DAS28-CRP versus SDAI, respectively. Estimated (range) remission and LDA thresholds were 2.4 (2.2–2.6) and 2.9 (2.6–3.3), 1.9 (1.6–2.2) and 3.1 (3.1–3.3) and 2.2 (1.1–2.9) and 3.6 (3.4–4.0) for DAS28-CRP versus DAS28-ESR, DAS28-CRP versus SDAI and DAS28-ESR versus SDAI, respectively. Conclusions DAS28-CRP underestimates disease activity when using cut-off points validated for DAS28-ESR; therefore, DAS28-ESR cut-off values should not be applied to DAS28-CRP. Although DAS28-CRP and DAS28-ESR cut-offs for LDA ≤3.2 correspond to SDAI LDA, neither corresponds well to SDAI remission.
Outdoor place recognition in urban environments using straight lines

In this paper, we propose a visual place recognition algorithm which uses only straight line features in challenging outdoor environments. Compared to point features used in most existing place recognition methods, line features are easily found in man-made environments and more robust to environmental changes such as illumination, viewing direction, or occlusion because they are more likely to be extracted from structures. Candidate matches are found using a vocabulary tree and their geometric consistency is verified by a motion estimation algorithm using line segments. The proposed algorithm operates in real-time, and it is tested with a challenging real-world dataset with more than 10,000 database images acquired in urban driving scenarios.
A Low-Complexity Routing Algorithm Based on Load Balancing for LEO Satellite Networks

The mesh topology structure constituted by inter- satellite links(ISLs) along with longitude and latitude, as a feature of most LEO satellite constellations, has not been fully used. Additionally, most LEO networks design its routing protocol depending on path distance, which is only proportional to the propagation delay without consideration of the queue delay. In this paper, a low-complexity routing algorithm (LCRA) based on load balancing is proposed, which can obtain the best path by distributed computation with the location information of the current node and destination. There is no iteration process in the computation, thus saving the computational cost. Additionally, each node informs its neighbouring nodes of its congestion information so that packets can choose the next hop dynamically according to the status of links, so as to shorten the mean queue delay and reduce the packet loss rate. Results assessed by NS2 presents the superiority of LCRA in terms of end-to-end delay, throughput and packet loss rate in comparison with other routing algorithms.
It's not easy seeing green: Lighting-resistant stereo Visual Teach & Repeat using color-constant images

Stereo Visual Teach & Repeat (VT&R) is a system for long-range, autonomous route following in unstructured 3D environments. As this system relies on a passive sensor to localize, it is highly susceptible to changes in lighting conditions. Recent work in the optics community has provided a method to transform images collected from a three-channel passive sensor into color-constant images that are resistant to changes in outdoor lighting conditions. This paper presents a lighting-resistant VT&R system that uses experimentally trained color-constant images to autonomously navigate difficult outdoor terrain despite changes in lighting. We show through an extensive field trial that our algorithm is capable of autonomously following a 1km outdoor route spanning sandy/rocky terrain, grassland, and wooded areas. Using a single visual map created at midday, the route was autonomously repeated 26 times over a period of four days, from sunrise to sunset with an autonomy rate (by distance) of over 99.9%. These experiments show that a simple image transformation can extend the operation of VT&R from a few hours to multiple days.
Activating transcription factor 3 regulates canonical TGFβ signalling in systemic sclerosis

Background Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), a member of the ATF/cAMP-responsive element binding (CREB) family of transcription factors, regulates cellular response to stress including oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to analyse the role of ATF3 in fibroblast activation in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods ATF3 was analysed by reverse transcription quantitative PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. ATF3 knockout fibroblasts and mice were used to study the functional role of ATF3. Knockdown experiments, reporter assays and coimmunoprecipitation were performed to study the effects of ATF3 on Smad and activation protein 1 (AP-1) signalling. The role of c-Jun was analysed by costaining, specific inactivation and coimmunoprecipitation. Results Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) upregulates the expression of ATF3 in SSc fibroblasts. ATF3-deficient fibroblasts were less sensitive to TGFβ, whereas ectopic expression of ATF3 enhanced the profibrotic effects of TGFβ. Mechanistically, ATF3 interacts with Smad3 directly on stimulation with TGFβ and regulates Smad activity in a c-Jun-dependent manner. Knockout of ATF3 protected mice from bleomycin-induced fibrosis and fibrosis induced by overexpression of a constitutively active TGFβ receptor I. Reporter assays and analyses of the expression of Smad target genes demonstrated that binding of ATF3 regulates the transcriptional activity of Smad3. Conclusions We demonstrate for the first time a key role for ATF3 in fibrosis. Knockout of the ATF3 gene reduced the stimulatory effect of TGFβ on fibroblasts by interfering with canonical Smad signalling and protected the mice from experimental fibrosis in two different models. ATF3 might thus be a candidate for molecular targeted therapies for SSc.