Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aberrant proteoglycan composition of the glomerular basement membrane in a patient with Denys-Drash syndrome.

BACKGROUND To ascertain whether changes in proteoglycans are involved in the pathogenesis of the nephrotic syndrome in Denys-Drash syndrome (DDS), we analysed the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content and composition of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in one child with this disorder and in children of comparable age who had died from unrelated disorders. METHODS The diagnosis of DDS was confirmed by the presence of a previously described mutation in the WT1 gene (a tumour suppressor gene). The GAG content and composition of the GBM and tubular basement membrane (TBM), both in the Denys-Drash patient as well as age-matched control infants, was analysed by biochemical studies and indirect immunofluorescence studies. Finally we investigated the urinary GAG excretion of the Drash patient. RESULTS The biochemical studies revealed that the total GAG content in the GBM as well as TBM was comparable in the Drash patient and the control group. However, the GAG composition of the GBM of the patient was clearly different, with relatively more chondroitin sulphate. The urinary GAG content (expressed as mg GAG/mmol creatinine) was elevated in the Denys-Drash patient due to an increased heparan sulphate (HS(GAG)) excretion. Indirect immunofluorescence (IF) studies for the core protein of human GBM heparan sulphate proteoglycan (HSPG) showed a similar linear staining of all renal basement membranes in the patient and the controls. A monoclonal antibody directed against the HS chain of HSPG (MoAb 403) displayed a strong GBM and a weak TBM staining of normal kidneys. Kidney tissue from the Drash patient displayed a reduced staining of the GBM with MoAb 403. IF studies for chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan (CSPG) showed increased staining of the mesangium and glomerular capillary loops in the Denys-Drash patient which is in agreement with the biochemical studies. No discernible differences in distribution or quality of staining with antibodies against collagen type IV and laminin were observed. CONCLUSIONS These biochemical and immunohistochemical results indicate that in our patient the proteoglycan composition of the GBM is altered. This alteration may play a role in the pathogenesis of proteinuria in this syndrome.
The theory, design, and applications of surface acoustic wave Fourier-transform processors

This paper addresses the theory, design, and applications of surface acoustic wave (SAW) Fourier-transform processors. These analog processors are shown to perform several sophisticated real-time signal-processing functions at wide bandwidth (tens of megahertz) making them attractive for use in radar, sonar, and communication equipments. Theoretical results show how specific arrangements of physically realizable SAW chirp filters permit Fourier transformation of both baseband and IF input signals. The operation of SAW Fourier-transform processors, with separate real- and imaginary-baseband inputs, highlights their use as wide-band "FFT-type" processors. The application of individual SAW-based processors to spectrum analysis, network analysis, beamforming, and frequency-hopped wave-form synthesis is discussed and demonstrated. Finally, the use of combinations of two or more SAW Fourier-transform processors for cepstrum analysis and programmable correlation is described.
Preparing US community greenhouse gas inventories for climate action plans

This study illustrates how alternative and supplemental community-level greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory techniques could improve climate action planning. Eighteen US community GHG inventories are reviewed for current practice. Inventory techniques could be improved by disaggregating the sectors reported, reporting inventory uncertainty and variability, and aligning inventories with local organizations that could facilitate emissions reductions. The potential advantages and challenges of supplementing inventories with comparative benchmarks are also discussed. While GHG inventorying and climate action planning are nascent fields, these techniques can improve CAP design, help communities set more meaningful emission reduction targets, and facilitate CAP implementation and progress monitoring.
Synchronizing Video, Ultrasound, and Audio with a Water Balloon

Synchronization complicates the use of ultrasound in phonetics research, particularly with methods that incorporate video data of external reference points (e.g., [3, 4]). The challenge of a third stream is compounded in longer spans of data at higher than NTSC standard frame rates. As part of work toward developing high-speed ultrasound techniques for long spans of running speech, this paper proposes using a water balloon to create a common analogue, non-speech reference event across tri-modal data. ‘Snapping’ the tied end of the balloon on camera while holding its base against an ultrasound transducer results in a synchronous optical and acoustic event. This allows for the validation of otherwise synchronized data as well as the alignment of otherwise unsalvageable, misaligned data. Using a water balloon clacker-board immediately before a span of interest potentially allows that immediate span to be synchronized to the point of analytical viability.
Multi-module Integration Approach to Realize Course Projects in Automotive-Electronics

A "multi-module" project involves more than onesubcomponent, with possible dependencies between components. An automotive electronics, a core course taught for the studentsof circuit branches is mainly application oriented involvingsystem level concepts. The course was introduced to cater to theneeds of automotive industries. The concepts of entire course canbe divided into five main domains, power train, safety systems, body, driver assistance and infotainment systems. Accordingly tocomplement the learning it was decided to introduce an extendedactivity in the form of course projects wherein the theme was todevelop electronic control units (ECUs) for every domain. AnECU of an automotive has multiple functionalities, eachrepresenting a sub-module of a bigger system. The integration ofsub-modules to realize a specific ECU was major objective of theactivity. The sub-module development involves modeling, hardware/software development and communication protocolimplantation. To impart the industry like working cultureamongst students, every sub-module belonging to specific ECUwas assigned to the students of different department. Submodules were developed independently by specialized dedicatedteam of a particular department and were integrated todemonstrate a final ECU by different department teams. ThePrototype models with an option of testing on a test vehicle werethe results of this activity. The student learning was measured interms of their ability to work in a team, project managementskills and their technical competencies to develop sub-modulesand integration of sub modules.
Metabolic and health effects of isomeric fatty acids

Purpose of review Isomeric fatty acids have the same number of carbon and hydrogen atoms, but may have distinct metabolic and health effects. Two well-known examples of isomeric fatty acids are cis and trans monounsaturated fatty acids, and conjugated isomers of linoleic acid (CLA). The purpose of this review is to summarize recent findings from human studies on the metabolic and health effects of these two classes of isomeric fatty acids. Recent findings Apart from an unfavorable effect on serum lipoproteins, trans monounsaturated fatty acids from hydrogenated oils may increase plasma markers for a low-grade inflammatory state. From epidemiological studies, however, it is not possible to conclude if effects of ruminant and industrial trans fatty acids on cardiovascular risk are different. In contrast to in-vitro and animal studies, there are no indications that in humans the two most common CLA isomers (cis9,trans11-CLA and trans10,cis12-CLA) affect body composition differently. Longer-term supplementation, however, may slightly decrease body fat mass without apparent effects on plasma markers for glucose and lipid metabolism. Other studies have even reported adverse effects of CLA supplementation on insulin resistance and lipid peroxidation. Summary Evidence is increasing that trans monounsaturated fatty acids from hydrogenated oils increase plasma markers of low-grade chronic inflammation. From epidemiological studies, however, it is not clear if effects of ruminant and industrial trans fatty acids on cardiovascular risk are different. Effects of CLA on body composition remain controversial and more research is needed before the widely available CLA supplements should be advocated as an adjunct to control body weight. Abbreviations CLA: conjugated linoleic acid; C-RP: C-reactive protein.
Perspectives of patients with cystic fibrosis on preventive counseling and transition to adult care

The purpose of this study was to investigate how adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) view preventive counseling and their transition to adult‐centered care within a children's hospital. Thirty‐two patients ≥16 years old diagnosed with CF were recruited from a pediatric tertiary care setting. During face‐to‐face interviews, patients were asked 27 structured questions and completed a 30‐item self‐administered questionnaire on preventive counseling by healthcare providers and on transition issues. The median age of patients was 25.5 years (range, 16–43 years); 69% of patients identified a pulmonologist as their “main doctor,” even though 78% had a primary care provider. Participants felt that 13–16 years of age was the best time for them to begin spending time alone with their main doctor. Less than half of the participants recalled receiving preventive counseling during the previous 12 months, and more patients wanted to discuss issues than actually did. Qualitative data emphasized the importance of independence in making decisions in healthcare and establishing relationships with providers, and many patients did not desire to transfer care to an adult hospital. Participants identified adult‐focused services such as inpatient rooms, discussion groups, work options, and social service support that would enhance care. In conclusion, the majority of adolescent/young adult patients with CF receiving care in a pediatric institution reported satisfaction with their healthcare. However, patients identified preventive issues that they desired to be more regularly addressed, starting in early adolescence, and changes in the delivery of services to enhance transition to adult‐oriented care. This study underscored the understanding of the integration of transition planning into the facilitation of healthcare decision‐making by the adolescent in issues of self‐care, sexuality, education, and finances. Future initiatives to enhance the care of patients with CF should provide training of pulmonologists in preventive care and increased attention to helping patients utilize appropriate primary‐care services during the adult years. In addition, prospective studies are needed to compare outcomes of CF patients who have transitioned and transferred to adult hospitals and those transitioning to adult‐oriented services in a pediatric institution. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2003; 36:376–383. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Designing Stable Compensation Networks for Single Phase Voltage Mode Buck Regulators

The peak to peak voltage of the oscillator can be obtained from the data sheet for the controller IC. Output Filter The output filter consists of the output inductor and all of the output capacitance. It is important to include the DC resistance (DCR) of the output inductor and the total Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) of the output capacitor bank. The input to the output filter is the PHASE node and the output is the regulator output. Figure 3 shows the equivalent circuit of the output filter and its transfer function.
The sliding mode pitch angle controller design for squirrel-cage induction generator wind power generation system

The new pitch angle controller is designed for squirrel-cage induction generator (SCIG) wind power generation system by using sliding mode control method. Firstly, wind turbine generation (WTG) model is established by using the state variables of angular speed of windmill rotor, wind speed, pitch angle and so on. Secondly, the sliding mode pitch angle controller is designed making use of the constant reaching law which keep the output power of WTG at the rated power. Then, the proposed method is compared with traditional PID pitch angle controller via matlab software. The simulation results show that the system has more rapid and robust response and little deviations.
Carbohydrate concentrations in crown fractions from winter oat during hardening at sub-zero temperatures.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Contradictory results in correlation studies of plant carbohydrates with freezing tolerance may be because whole crown tissue is analysed for carbohydrates while differences exist in the survival of specific tissue within the crown. The aim of this study was to see if carbohydrate changes in tissue within oat crowns during second phase hardening (sub-zero hardening) are tissue specific. METHODS The lower portion of oat (Avena sativa) crowns was exposed to mild grinding in a blender and the remaining crown meristem complex, consisting of tough root-like vessels, was ground in a device developed specifically for grinding cereal crown tissue. Carbohydrates were extracted by water and measured by HPLC. Carbohydrate concentrations were compared in the two regions of the crown before and after hardening at sub-zero temperatures. KEY RESULTS Fructan of all size classes except DP>6 decreased during sub-zero hardening in both stems (base of leaf sheath) and crown meristem complex. Total simple sugar increase, including sucrose, was significantly higher in the crown meristem complex than in the stem. CONCLUSIONS Results support the hypothesis that carbohydrate change in mildly frozen plants is tissue specific within crowns and underscore the need to evaluate specific tissue within the crown when correlating the biochemistry of plants with freezing tolerance.
Molecular and Physiological Evidence for Glutamate (Umami) Taste Transduction via a G Protein‐Coupled Receptor a

ABSTRACT: Recent molecular analyses have demonstrated that a metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR4, is expressed in taste buds from rat circumvallate and foliate papillae. Behavioral studies demonstrated that l(+)‐2‐amino‐4‐phosphonobutyric acid (L‐AP4), an agonist for mGluR4 and related receptors, mimics the taste of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in rats. mGluR4 is known to signal through inhibition of the cyclic adenosine‐5′,3′‐monophosphate (cAMP) cascade. Circumvallate and foliate taste buds exhibit decreases of cAMP levels following stimulation with MSG, and the response is potentiated by 5′‐inosine monophosphate, suggesting that it is related to umami taste. Further, experiments on mice with the mGluR4 gene knocked out support the interpretation that mGluR4 is a key component in glutamate taste. Glutamate may also stimulate taste buds through an ionotropic receptor pathway. In patch‐clamp studies, glutamate evokes two types of currents, similar to those elicited by N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate (N MDA) and L‐AP4. We speculate upon the significance of two glutamate receptor pathways in taste buds.
Mutation in Mitochondrial DNA as a Cause of Presbyacusis

Much of the hearing loss that occurs in old age is likely to be due to the long-term deterioration of the mitochondria in the different structures of the cochlea. The current review surveys some of the basic information on mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA, as a background to their possible involvement in presbyacusis. It is likely that oxygen radicals damage mitochondrial DNA and other components of the mitochondria, such as their proteins and lipids. This further compromises both oxidative phosphorylation and the repair processes in mitochondria, setting up a vicious cycle of degradation. Evidence is presented from inherited point mutations on the possibly most critical sites for mutations in mitochondrial DNA associated with hearing loss. It is suggested that random sorting and clonal expansion of mutations both maintain the integrity of the pool of mitochondrial DNA molecules and give rise to the apoptosis that leads to loss of vulnerable cells, and hence to deafness. It is moreover suggested that apoptosis of the vulnerable cells of the inner ear may to some extent be preventable, or at least delayed.
Apprentissage discriminant de modèles neuronaux pour la traduction automatique [Discriminative training of continuous space translation models]

Les methodes utilisees pour entrainer des reseaux de neurones en traitement des langues reposent, pour la plupart, sur l'optimisation de criteres qui sont decorreles de l'application finale. Nous proposons un nouveau cadre d'apprentissage discriminant pour l'estimation des modeles neuronaux en traduction automatique. Ce cadre s'appuie sur la definition d'un critere d'apprentissage qui prend en compte, d'une part, la metrique utilisee pour l'evaluation automatique de la traduction et, d'autre part, le processus d'integration de ces modeles au sein des systemes de traduction automatique. Cette methode est comparee aux criteres d'apprentissage usuels que sont le maximum de vraisemblance et l'estimation contrastive bruitee. Les experiences menees sur les tâches de traduction des seminaires Tedtalks et de textes medicaux, depuis l'anglais vers le francais, montrent la pertinence d'un cadre d'apprentissage discriminant et l'importance d'une initialisation judicieuse, en particulier dans une perspective d'adaptation au domaine.
The Impact of Methylprednisolone on Lesion Severity Following Spinal Cord Injury

Study Design. Retrospective study comparing spinal cord injury (SCI) lesion characteristics in methylprednisolone (MPS) treated versus untreated patients as demonstrated by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Objective. Determine if the administration of MPS immediately following SCI affects lesion severity. Summary of Background Data. The administration of MPS in the setting of acute SCI has become controversial. Since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is sensitive for the detection of spinal cord edema and hemorrhage, changes in lesion characteristics would support a biologic effect due to MPS. Methods. Patients with cervical spinal injury treated with the recommended dose of methylprednisolone (bolus 30 mg/kg + 5.4 mg/kg per hour over 24 hours) initiated within 8 hours of injury were compared to historical controls that did not receive steroids. All patients (n = 82) sustained clinically complete SCI (ASIA Grade A) and underwent MRI on the same 1.5 Tesla unit. The length of spinal cord edema, presence/absence of intramedullary hemorrhage, and length of intramedullary hemorrhage were measured on T2-weighted and gradient echo MR images. Comparisons of lesion severity were then made between untreated and treated subjects. Results. Forty-eight of 82 patients with complete injuries received MPS therapy. After accounting for differences in the mean age of the treatment and control groups, multiple regression analysis demonstrated a persistent reduction in the mean length of intramedullary hemorrhage, 2.6 U in the treatment group versus 4.4 U in the control group (P = 0.04). Although there was a reduction in the number of patients exhibiting spinal cord hemorrhage in the treated group compared with the untreated group (65% vs. 91%), this result was not statistically significant (P = 0.16). There was no statistically significant effect of MPS treatment on the mean length of the spinal cord edema between treated versus untreated subjects (10.3 vs. 12.0, respectively, P = 0.85). Conclusions. MRI suggests MPS therapy in the acute phase of spinal cord injury may decrease the extent of intramedullary spinal cord hemorrhage.
Notice of RetractionBased on Support Vector Machine's Tumor Image Classifier Design

In this paper, we designed a tumor image classification and recognition system. With a series approaches of image pre-processing, segmentation and tracking, extract the global image characteristic parameters ( the characteristics of the whole picture). According to obtain the characteristic parameters to realize the image classification and identification. Since this article mainly related to small sample data, so the use of Fisher method, KNN method and support vector machine (SVM) Comparison of three methods of classification and recognition rate, experimental results show that the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification recognition rate higher, more reliable.
Reducing the standby power consumption of a PC monitor

This paper presents a way to reduce the standby power consumption of a personal computer (PC) monitor in sleep status. Although a PC monitor enters sleep by means of the power management of the operating system (OS) after a preset idle time and awakens when the keyboard is hit or the mouse is moved, the monitor still consumes 0.3-1 W power in sleep status. This design features a socket to plug-in the PC monitor, which consumes 0.003 W in sleep status and is not only easy to set up but also inexpensive. This socket supplies the monitor with power when the user appears; when the user leaves it turns the monitor off, and the electric power is cut off to reduce the standby power. A micro control unit (MCU) receives signals from an infrared (IR) sensor module which detects the user approaching the monitor. The MCU controls the solid state relay (SSR) On/Off when used as a switch for cutting off the standby power.
15.7 14b 35MS/S SAR ADC achieving 75dB SNDR and 99dB SFDR with loop-embedded input buffer in 40nm CMOS

In this paper the authors present a 14b 35MS/s SAR ADC in 40nm CMOS with a loop-embedded input buffer that consumes 23% of the total ADC power. The buffer uses a source follower (SF) topology whose nonlinearities are cancelled by the SAR algorithm, enabling 99dB SFDR despite the small amount of invested power.
Existential loneliness in a palliative home care setting.

BACKGROUND The diagnosis of an incurable disease implies an existential crisis. This study focused on the emotions, perceptions, and experiences of existential isolation in palliative patients with cancer and their families. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 40 respondents (20 patients and 20 family members) were interviewed in depth. All were Swedes who defined themselves as nonreligious. The patients were enrolled in an advanced hospital-based home care team. The interviews were taped, transcribed, and analyzed with a qualitative, hermeneutic method. RESULTS The data revealed experiences of existential loneliness with the impending death as a primary source. Experiences of being alone in "a world of one's own" were common. The changes in everyday life and the increasingly restricted social interaction because of the illness meant that the patient partly lost the protection against isolation that the spirit of community normally provides. Other situations that had a triggered the existential isolation were, for example, when a patient in need of support was left alone, when he or she was treated disrespectfully or in a way that made him or her feel invisible, or when people avoided contact because of uneasiness or fear. Changes in one's own body and mood gave rise to feelings of loneliness and unfamiliarity toward oneself. When a staff member touched the patient's body in a nonempathic way, this could induce feelings of being treated like an animal.