Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of Beta-cell Granulation with Extractable Insulin of the Pancreas: Studies in Adult Human Diabetics and Nondiabetics

The authors have previously reported the degree of correlation between the amount of extractable insulin and the numbers of beta cell granules present in the pancreases of a series of ninety-two patients coming to autopsy in the Department of Pathology, University of Toronto (Hartroft; Wrenshall, Bogoch, and Ritchie). One-half the patients were known diabetics and the other half nondiabetics. The coefficient of linear correlation between the amounts of extractable insulin and the beta cell granulation, although statistically significant, was low (0.48). Since the appearance of these reports, we have not only added more cases to the series, but also have obtained new histologic data for all cases. The technic of measuring extractable insulin in the pancreases of the cases added to the series since 1950 was the same as that employed for the original members (Wrenshall, Bogoch, and Ritchie). We are now able to report that the coefficient of linear correlation between numbers of beta cell granules, estimated in sections stained by Wilson's modification of the Gomori aldehyde-fuchsin method, and the amount of extractable insulin obtained from pancreases of 86 nondiabetic human subjects is 0.584; for 80 diabetics the comparable figure is 0.680. Because these positive correlation coefficients differ very significantly from zero,
In vitro selection of one-step mutants of Streptococcus pneumoniae resistant to different oral beta-lactam antibiotics is associated with alterations of PBP2x

Many oral penicillins and cephalosporins are used to treat clinical infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, using different beta-lactams as selectors, we estimated the frequencies of one-step mutations leading to resistance. Resistant mutants were obtained from penicillin-susceptible, intermediately resistant, and penicillin resistant strains. For cefixime, cefuroxime, cefpodoxime, cefotaxime, and ceftriaxone, the frequencies of mutation ranged from 10(-6) to 10(-8) when resistant mutants were selected at 2- to 8-fold the MIC, and the MICs increased 2- to 16-fold. For ampicillin, ampicillin-sulbactam, amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefaclor, and loracarbef, the frequencies of mutation were about 10(-7) to 10(-8), and the MICs increased twofold at most. One to three resistance profiles of the resulting mutants were selected for each of the selecting antibiotics. Among those, some showed resistance to the cephalosporins associated with a 2- to 32-fold increase in susceptibility to the penicillins. Competition experiments showed a decreased affinity of PBP2x for cefpodoxime in all mutants. In some mutants that were more susceptible to amoxicillin, a decreased affinity of PBP2x for cefpodoxime was associated with an increased affinity for amoxicillin and a particular substitution of alanine for threonine at position 550 just after the KSG triad. From these results we infer (i) that among the beta-lactams tested the penicillins, cefaclor, and loracarbef selected one-step resistant mutants less frequently and that they achieved a lower level of resistance, and (ii) that mutants with different profiles may have acquired different point mutations in PBP2x.
Observations of the pulsating white Dwarf G 185-32

We observed the pulsating hydrogen atmosphere white dwarf G 185-32 with the Whole Earth Telescope in 1992. We report on a weighted Fourier transform of the data detecting 18 periodicities in its light curve. Using the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Spectrograph time resolved spectroscopy, and the wavelength dependence of the relative amplitudes, we identify the spherical harmonic degree (� ) for 14 pulsation signals. We also compare the determinations of effective temperature and surface gravity using the excited modes and atmospheric methods, obtaining Teff = 11 960 ± 80 K, log g = 8.02 ± 0.04 and M = 0.617 ± 0.024 M� .
Transplantation of autologous adipose-derived stem cells ameliorates cardiac function in rabbits with myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) are capable of differentiating into cardiomyogenic and endothelial cells in vitro. We tested the hypothesis that transplantation of ADSCs into myocardial scar may regenerate infracted myocardium and restore cardiac function. METHODS ADSCs were isolated from the fatty tissue of New Zealand white rabbits and cultured in Iscoves modified dulbeccos medium. Three weeks after ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery of rabbits, either a graft of untreated ADSCs (UASCs, n = 14), 5-azacytidine-pretreated ADSCs (AASCs, n = 13), or phosphate buffer saline (n = 13) were injected into the infarct region. Transmural scar size, cardiac function, and immunohistochemistry were performed 5 weeks after cell transplantation. RESULTS ADSCs in culture demonstrated a fibroblast-like appearance and expressed CD29, CD44 and CD105. Five weeks after cell transplantation, transmural scar size in AASC-implanted hearts was smaller than that of the other hearts. Many ADSCs were differentiated into cardiomyocytes. The AASCs in the prescar appeared more myotube-like. AASCs in the middle of the scar and UASCs, in contrast, were poorly differentiated. Some ADSCs were differentiated into endothelial cells and participate in vessel-like structures formation. All the ADSC-implanted hearts had a greater capillary density in the infarct region than did the control hearts. Statistical analyses revealed significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction, myocardial performance index, end-diastolic pressure, and peak +dP/dt, in two groups of ADSC-implanted hearts relative to the control hearts. AASC-implanted hearts had higher peak -dP/dt values than did control, higher ejection fraction and peak +dP/dt values than did UASC-implanted hearts. CONCLUSIONS ADSCs transplanted into the myocardial scar tissue formed cardiac islands and vessel-like structures, induced angiogenesis and improved cardiac function. 5-Azacytidine pretreatment before implantation is desirable for augmenting myogenesis. Transplantation of 5-azacytidine-treated ADSCs into the myocardial scar was more efficient than that of untreated ADSCs in preservation of cardiac function.
The acute effects of interval- Vs continuous-walking exercise on glycemic control in subjects with type 2 diabetes: a crossover, controlled study.

CONTEXT Glycemic control improves with physical activity, but the optimal exercise mode is unknown. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to determine whether interval-based exercise improves postprandial glucose tolerance and free-living glycemia more than oxygen consumption- and time duration-matched continuous exercise. DESIGN This was a crossover, controlled study with trials performed in randomized order. SETTING The study was conducted in hospitalized and ambulatory care. PATIENTS PATIENTS diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n=10, no withdrawals) participated in the study. INTERVENTIONS Subjects performed three 1-hour interventions: 1) interval walking (IW; repeated cycles of 3 min of slow and fast walking); 2) continuous walking (CW); and 3) control (CON). Oxygen consumption (VO2) was measured continuously to match mean VO2 between exercise sessions (∼75% VO2peak). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A mixed-meal tolerance test (MMTT; 450 kcal, 55% carbohydrate) with stable glucose isotopic tracers was provided after each intervention, and glucose kinetics were measured during the following 4 hours. Free-living glycemic control was assessed for approximately 32 hours after the MMTT using continuous glucose monitoring. RESULTS VO2 was well matched between the exercise interventions. IW decreased the mean and maximal incremental plasma glucose during the MMTT when compared with the CON (mean 1.2 ± 0.4 vs 2.0 ± 0.5 mmol/L, P < .001; maximal 3.7 ± 0.6 vs 4.6 ± 0.7 mmol/L, P = .005) and mean when compared with CW (1.7 ± 0.4 mmol/L, P = .02). No differences in the mean or maximal incremental plasma glucose values were seen between the CW and CON. The metabolic clearance rate of glucose during the MMTT was increased in the IW compared with CW (P = .049) and CON (P < .001). Continuous glucose monitoring mean glucose was reduced in IW compared with CW for the rest of the intervention day (8.2 ± 0.4 vs 9.3 ± 0.7 mmol/L, P = .03), whereas no differences were found between IW and CW the following day. CONCLUSIONS One interval-based exercise session improves glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus subjects when compared with an oxygen consumption- and time duration-matched continuous exercise session.
Vector control for switched reluctance motor drives using an improved current controller

In general, switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are driven by the unipolar current excitation. The conventional drive technique requires simultaneous optimization process for some controlled-parameters: the turn-on angle, turn-off angle, and current chopping level. The difficulty in the current command generation makes the torque controller design complicated. In the previous paper, to give a general solution for the problem, the authors have described the vector control specialized for SRM drives. In the proposed technique, the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) condition is mathematically given and the SRM drive can be easily controlled by a single parameter under the MTPA operation. This paper presents an improved current controller for the vector control. The current control system can achieve the wide driving area without the parameter tuning and mitigate vibration and noise levels in operation. The proposed vector control using the improved current controller is evaluated by comparing with the conventional drive technique on a 1kW three-phase SRM.
A Method to Evaluate Contractures Effects during the Gait of Children with Duchenne Dystrophy

Joint contractures are the second major impairment affecting the locomotor system of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). While the negative influence of joint contractures has been documented, the passive moments produced by joint contractures could benefit the gait of patients with muscle weakness. We describe a biomechanical model that quantifies the mechanical contribution of ankle and hip flexion contractures to the gait of DMD children. Kinematic and kinetic parameters were measured under the same experimental conditions during the gait and passive resistance assessment of two subjects: one healthy child as a control, and one child with DMD. The child with DMD had a plantar flexion contracture and a greater ankle stiffness coefficient than the control child. During gait, the contribution of the ankle passive moment to the net moment was more important for the child with DMD than for the control child. At the hip, passive joint moments and passive moment contribution were more important for the control child but this was not related to the presence of hip flexion contrac-ture. These preliminary results suggest the model might be used to evaluate contractures effect on a larger cohort of subjects.
Bcl-2 and Immunoglobulin Gene Rearrangements in Patients with Malaria Related Chronic Splenomegaly

Two cases of malaria related chronic splenomegaly, one with tropical splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes (TSLVL) and the other with hyperreactive malarial splenomegaly (HMS) were analyzed by cytology, histology, karyotyping, immunophenotyping, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of bcl-2/JH and FR3/JH rearrangements on blood and bone marrow samples, at diagnosis and 12 months after malarial prophylaxis. The reported data suggest that the detection of FR3/JH rearrangement might contribute to the diagnosis of TSLVL in patients with malaria related chronic splenomegaly, for whom bcl-2/JH rearrangement may be a common molecular event.
Longitudinal Study of Nutrient Intakes in Infants Aged 12 to 18 Months

Objective. To examine the nutrient intakes in young children and to compare their intakes with the dietary reference intakes (DRIs). Design. Longitudinal study observing the child’s food and beverage intakes as he or she grows from 12 to 18 months. Methods. Three interviewer-administered 24-hour dietary recalls over 1 week were collected from the mother to assess the child’s intakes at 12 and 18 months of age. Intakes were calculated at the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles and compared with the DRIs to determine the proportions below and above cutoff values. Results. Nutrient intakes met or exceeded energy and nutrient requirements, with some exceptions. Diets were deficient in healthy fats, iron, fiber, and potassium and excessive in calories, synthetic folate, preformed vitamin A, zinc, and sodium. Conclusions. Health professionals should emphasize foods that are nutrient dense while decreasing highly processed foods for children.
Engineering the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa for lipid production from lignocellulosic biomass

Microbially produced triacylglycerol (TAG) is a potential feedstock for the production of biodiesel, but its commercialization will require high yields from low‐cost renewable feedstocks such as lignocellulose. The present study employs a multi‐gene approach to increasing TAG biosynthesis in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. We demonstrate the redirection of carbon flux from glycogen biosynthesis towards fatty acid biosynthesis in a glycogen synthase deletion strain (Δgsy‐1). Furthermore, combining Δgsy‐1 with an enhanced TAG biosynthetic strain (acyl‐Coenzyme A synthase; Δacs‐3) of N. crassa yielded a twofold increase in total fatty acid accumulation over the control strain. The cellulose degrading potential of this double deletion strain was improved by deleting of the carbon catabolite regulation transcription factor (Δcre‐1) to create the triple deletion strain Δacs‐3 Δcre‐1; Δgsy‐1. This strain exhibited early and increased cellulase expression, as well as fourfold increased total fatty acid accumulation over the control on inhibitor‐free model cellulose medium. The Δcre‐1 mutation, however, was not beneficial for total fatty acid accumulation from pretreated lignocellulose. Conversion of dilute‐acid pretreated Miscanthus to TAG was maximum in the constructed strain Δacs‐3; Δgsy‐1, which accumulated 2.3‐fold more total fatty acid than the wild‐type control strain, corresponding to a total fatty acid yield of 37.9 mg/g dry untreated Miscanthus. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2014;111: 1097–1107. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Sliding-Mode Control for Transformation to an Inverted Pendulum Mode of a Mobile Robot With Wheel-Arms

This paper proposes a control method for locomotion mode transformation of a mobile robot with wheel-arms. The proposed method aims at transformation from a four-wheeled mode for high-speed mobility to an inverted pendulum mode, which has advantages of high viewing position and small turning radius. Since the initial state of the system is far away from the target equilibrium point of the wheeled inverted pendulum system, we use a nonlinear controller based on sliding-mode control. While the previous transformation methods cannot control the robot velocity until the robot body is lifted up, the proposed method can take into account the robot velocity from the beginning of the transformation, which enables us to complete the transformation in a smaller space. To analyze the asymptotic stability of the control system on the sliding surface, we derive an invariant set in which the system state converges to the origin without going out. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in both simulations and real robot experiments.
On a Power Allocation Method for IDMA Systems

A method was proposed in this journal (vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 192-201, 2007), which tackles a power allocation problem for interleave-division multiple-access (IDMA) systems over fading channels. In this paper, we show that the method may not provide valid solutions in some situations. We illustrate this with many numerical examples. Our findings indicate that the method should be applied carefully, and further investigation is required to find efficient methods for more general situations.
Scrub Typhus Vaccines: Past History and Recent Developments

Scrub typhus, an acute, febrile and potentially fatal disease, caused by infection with the obligate intracellular bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi, is commonly seen in the Asia-Pacific region. This disease can be handled successfully with rapid diagnosis, proper antibiotic treatment, and rodent and chigger control. However, recent reports of scrub typhus outbreaks in endemic areas, and a decreased effectiveness of antibiotic treatment suggest a continued need for a suitable vaccine. This review describes the early and recent attempts in making prophylactic preparations to prevent scrub typhus, the successes and failures of these attempts, and future directions of scrub typhus vaccine development.
Canadian immigration policy: the effectiveness of the point system and other instruments.

"This paper examines the effects of changes in Canadian immigration policy on the occupational composition of immigration. We focus on 1967 changes that created a regulatory system, including the point system, that still forms the framework of Canadian immigration policy. We find that the point system provides some control over occupational composition but that its effectiveness in fine tuning is limited by the large number of other characteristics it seeks to control. We also find that entry class and source country composition of inflow have impacts that have swamped the effects of the point system in the last two decades. " (SUMMARY IN FRE)
Energy-efficient Low-delay TDMA Scheduling Algorithm for Industrial Wireless Mesh Networks

Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a widely used media access control (MAC) technique that can provide collision-free and reliable communications, save energy and bound the delay of packets. In TDMA, energy saving is usually achieved by switching the nodes’ radio off when such nodes are not engaged. However, the frequent switching of the radio’s state not only wastes energy, but also increases end-to-end delay. To achieve high energy efficiency and low delay, as well as to further minimize the number of time slots, a multi-objective TDMA scheduling problem for industrial wireless mesh networks is presented. A hybrid algorithm that combines genetic algorithm (GA) and simulated annealing (SA) algorithm is then proposed to solve the TDMA scheduling problem effectively. A number of critical techniques are also adopted to reduce energy consumption and to shorten end-to-end delay further. Simulation results with different kinds of networks demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms traditional scheduling algorithms in terms of addressing the problems of energy consumption and end-to-end delay, thus satisfying the demands of industrial wireless mesh networks.
Conformational Changes, Plasma Membrane Penetration, and Infection by Human Rhinovirus Type 2: Role of Receptors and Low pH

ABSTRACT Human rhinovirus type 2 (HRV2) is internalized by members of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (LDLR) family. It then progresses into late endosomes, where it undergoes conversion from D- to C-antigenicity at pH < 5.6. Upon uncoating, the viral RNA is transferred into the cytoplasm across the endsosomal membrane. However, C-antigenic particles fail to attach to LDLR; this raised the question of whether the virus remains attached to the receptors and is carried to late compartments or rather falls off at the higher pH in early endosomes. We therefore determined the pH dependence of virus-receptor dissociation and virus conversion to C-antigen under conditions preventing endocytosis. 35S-HRV2 was attached to HeLa cells at 4°C and incubated in buffers of pH 7.4 to 5.0; levels of native virus and C-antigenic particles remaining cell associated or having been released into the medium were determined by immunoprecipitation. At pH 6.0, HRV2 was readily released from plasma membrane receptors in its native form, whereas at pH ≤ 5.4, it was entirely converted to C-antigen, which, however, only dissociated from the surface upon prolonged incubation. The antigenic conversion occurred at the same pH regardless of whether HRV2 was free in solution or bound to its receptors. These data suggest that, in vivo, the virus is no longer bound to its receptors when the antigenic conversion and uncoating occur in more acidic late endosomes. When virus was bound to HeLa cells at 4°C, converted into C-antigen by exposure to pH 5.3, and subsequently warmed to 34°C in the presence of bafilomycin (to prevent endosomal uncoating), viral de novo synthesis was detected. This study demonstrates for the first time that a nonenveloped virus such as HRV2 can infect from the plasma membrane when artificially exposed to low pH. This implies that the viral RNA can gain access to the cytoplasm from the plasma membrane.
Hybrid Cramér-Rao bound for moving array

Using the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) as an indicator of potential performance, in this work we study a moving array's ability to estimate parameters of a narrow-band signal. Specifically, the hybrid CRB on source frequency and bearing are studied for signals containing both random fading parameters and unknown deterministic ones. The derived hybrid CRB is compared to the traditional deterministic CRB (Edelson and Tufts, 1992) and the Gaussian CRB in the literature. The study provides information for the effective utilization of a moving aperture in estimating source bearing and frequency.
“Our Hands Are Tied Up”: Current State of Safer Conception Services Suggests the Need for an Integrated Care Model

We conducted in-depth interviews with a variety of health care providers (n = 33) in Uganda to identify current services that could support and act as barriers to the provision of safer conception counseling (SCC). Consistent with their training and expertise, providers of all types reported provision of services for people living with a diagnosis of HIV or AIDS who desire a child. Important barriers, including a lack of service integration, poor communication between stakeholders, and the absence of policy guidelines, were identified. Drawing on these data, we propose a model of integrated care that includes both SCC services and prevention of unplanned pregnancies.
Jordan-Wigner transformation for quantum-spin systems in two dimensions and fractional statistics.

I show that the spin-one-half XY model (i.e., a hard-core Bose system) is equivalent (on any two-dimensional Bravais lattice) to a system of spinless fermions and gauge fields satisfying the constraint that the gauge flux on a plaquette must be proportional to the spin (particle) density on site. The constraint is enforced by the addition of a Chern-Simons term of strength θ to the Lagrangian of the theory. For the particular value θ=1/2π, the resulting particles are fermions. In general they are anyons