Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Captopril on the Renin Angiotensin System, Oxidative Stress, and Endothelin in Normal and Hypertensive Rats

There is substantial evidence suggesting that angiotensin II plays an important role in elevating blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats, despite normal plasma renin activity, and that converting enzyme inhibitors (captopril) can effectively normalize blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. One mechanism by which angiotensin II induces hypertension is via oxidative stress and endothelin, as seen in subpressor angiotensin II–induced hypertension. In fact, it has been shown that antioxidants lower mean arterial pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. However, the relationship between angiotensin II, oxidative stress, and endothelin in the spontaneously hypertensive rats is still relatively undefined. This study examines the relationship between mean arterial pressure, plasma renin activity, angiotensin II, oxidative stress, and endothelin in spontaneously hypertensive rats compared with normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats, and the effects of captopril on this association. Untreated spontaneously hypertensive rats had increased plasma angiotensin II levels despite normal plasma renin activity, oxidative stress, and endothelin. Captopril treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats lowered mean arterial pressure, angiotensin II, oxidative stress, and endothelin, and increased plasma renin activity. In contrast, captopril increased plasma renin activity (suggesting effective captopril treatment) but did not significantly alter mean arterial pressure, angiotensin II, oxidative stress, or endothelin of Wistar Kyoto rats. These results suggest that in spontaneously hypertensive rats, angiotensin II is a primary instigator of hypertension, and that captopril selectively lowers angiotensin II, oxidant stress, and endothelin, which in turn may contribute to the blood pressure-lowering efficacy of captopril in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Morphology in Spanish-speaking children with Williams syndrome*

abstract Aims. Morphological skills in Williams syndrome (WS) are a controversial issue, particularly cross-linguistically. Methods. We assessed pluralization patterns of nouns, inflection of verbs in the past, and gender assignment, inflection, and agreement within the noun phrase in a sample of Spanish-speaking children with WS compared to typically developing (TD) children matched on mental age (VA-TD) and on chronological age (CA-TD) age. Results. Children with WS attribute grammatical gender correctly in a production task, but they have problems with inferring the referent’s sex from the gender of the noun in a comprehension task. Additionally, they correctly pluralize nouns and properly inflect regular verbs, but they have problems with irregular verbs. Our findings suggest that they have mastered the productive rules, but they perform like younger children regarding irregular items.
Subjective evaluation of car door sound

INTRODUCTION Sounds when the door of a car is closed tell us whether the door is properly closed. At the same time, the sound is one of the main factors to determine the impression of the car and much effort has been made to improve the sound quality. In this study, the images of cars were estimated from the sounds and the relation between estimated images and subjective impression of the sounds was examined.
Hypocholesterolemic and Antiatherosclerotic Potential of Basella alba Leaf Extract in Hypercholesterolemia-Induced Rabbits

Hypercholesterolemia is the major risk factor that leads to atherosclerosis. Nowadays, alternative treatment using medicinal plants gained much attention since the usage of statins leads to adverse health effects, especially liver and muscle toxicity. This study was designed to investigate the hypocholesterolemic and antiatherosclerotic effects of Basella alba (B. alba) using hypercholesterolemia-induced rabbits. Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were divided into 5 groups and fed with varying diets: normal diet, 2% high cholesterol diet (HCD), 2% HCD + 10 mg/kg simvastatin, 2% HCD + 100 mg/kg B. alba extract, and 2% HCD + 200 mg/kg B. alba extract, respectively. The treatment with B. alba extract significantly lowered the levels of total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides and increased HDL and antioxidant enzymes (SOD and GPx) levels. The elevated levels of liver enzymes (AST and ALT) and creatine kinase were noted in hypercholesterolemic and statin treated groups indicating liver and muscle injuries. Treatment with B. alba extract also significantly suppressed the aortic plaque formation and reduced the intima: media ratio as observed in simvastatin-treated group. This is the first in vivo study on B. alba that suggests its potential as an alternative therapeutic agent for hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis.
Phrase-based Memory-based Machine Translation

This master thesis aims to investigate a phrase-based approach of Memory-based Machine Translation. This is a form of automatic translation powered by lazy-learning classifiers to translate fragments of the input sentence. A parallel corpus serves as the basis for training such a classifier. In the phrase-based approach the principal component of these fragments is a phrase of arbitrary length. This can be contrasted to prior research in the field in which this component was a single word. A key element in the research is a comparison of three methods of phrase extraction. A new decoder has been developed to deal with the characteristics unique to this approach, and re-assemble the translated fragments into one final translation. This research will show that one of the proposed phrase-extraction methods is capable of outperforming previous word-based approaches, even though this gain is limited and the impact of phrases proves to be smaller than anticipated.
HYBRID DISTRIBUTED ADAPTIVE NEURAL ROUTER

This paper describes DIANNER, a Hybrid Distributed Adaptive Neural Router for a communication network based on neural networks. By combining a simple neural network for the routing decision and a rule based system for the updating and learning process, DIANNER can implement more features for the router to quickly respond to more complex and dynamically changing real world environments. Furthermore, adaptive components of the DIANNER make decisions based on local information so that global routing information is eliminated.
Who Signed Up for the Do-Not-Call List?

Author(s): Varian, Hal; Wallenberg, Fredrik; Woroch, Glenn | Abstract: This paper uses the results of a natural experiment to assess consumer demand for a particular kind of privacy—protection from unwanted telemarketing calls. We obtained the phone numbers placed on the Federal Trade Commission's do-not-call (DNC) registry, redacted for privacy. After matching those numbers to demographic and other information based on geographic location, we regressed the observed signup frequencies on individual demographic variables to profile the DNC registrants. Grouped logits of county averages of signup frequencies were run on explanatory variables suggested by a simple choice model of the DNC registration decision and the calling pattern of telemarketers. We find that a parsimonious specification accounts for most of the variance explained by the full set of variables. Signup frequencies are larger in areas of higher incomes and greater educational attainment. They are lower for areas with greater incidence of Latino origin and linguistic isolation. The results show that a state DNC list acts as a substitute for the FTC registry unless the two are merged. Finally, we make some crude estimates of the value of the FTC's DNC list, and also use the signup patterns, and the apparent independence from Internet access, to predict the popularity of a hypothetical do-not-spam registry.
Effects of kumi-kata grip laterality and throwing side on attack effectiveness and combat result in elite judo athletes

The aim of this study was to identify the effects of kumi-kata grip laterality and throwing side combinations (i.e., attacking on the same side of the gripping, or vice versa) on attack effectiveness and combat result in elite male and female judo athletes. Through systematic observation, 242 combats from 12 World Ranking tournaments were analysed. Results from logistic regression showed that attacking on the same side of the kumi-kata increase the chance of scoring (χ2 (4) = 10.688, P = 0.030; OR = 1.65, P = 0.009) and winning the combat (χ2 (4) = 11.181, P = 0.025; OR = 1.35, P = 0.018), independently of sex and weight category. Perform same-side attacks by kenka-yotsu (adversaries using reverse grip, right versus left) was the most effective (χ2 (4) = 11.321, P = 0.023; OR = 1.84, P = 0.023), especially for lightest weight judo fighters. Perform same-side attacks by ai-yotsu (both opponents using right or left grip at the same time; χ2 (4) = 9.630, P = 0.047; OR = 2.02; P = 0.009) and only one athlete gripping (only the athlete attacking performing the grip; χ2 (4) = 9.512, P = 0.050; OR = 3.08; P = 0.035) increased the likelihood of winning the combat. This information should be considered for coaches to plan combat strategies and design training situations close to the real competition.
Extensive air showers' arrival direction distribution by TBS array

Arrival zenith angle distribution for the Extensive Air Showers (EAS) with a wide range of number of charged particles is studied using the experimental data obtained using the EAS 4-detector array TBS in Tbilisi. The station is a part of the GELATICA net in Georgia (GEorgian Large-area Angle and Time Coincidence Array). This experiment is devoted to the study of possible correlations in the arrival times and directions of separate EAS events over large distances and to the Primary Cosmic Ray energy spectrum investigation at very high energies. It is shown that the distribution function with the exponential dependence of showers' flux on absorbing atmospheric depth provides a good approximation for the angular distribution despite the existing azimuth anisotropy of array. The dependence of the EAS absorption path estimation on the angular measure cutoff boundary is studied.
No Evidence for XMRV in German CFS and MS Patients with Fatigue Despite the Ability of the Virus to Infect Human Blood Cells In Vitro

Background Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV), a novel human retrovirus originally identified in prostate cancer tissues, has recently been associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a disabling disease of unknown etiology affecting millions of people worldwide. However, several subsequent studies failed to detect the virus in patients suffering from these illnesses or in healthy subjects. Here we report the results of efforts to detect antibody responses and viral sequences in samples from a cohort of German CFS and relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with fatigue symptoms. Methodology Blood samples were taken from a cohort of 39 patients fulfilling the Fukuda/CDC criteria (CFS), from 112 patients with an established MS diagnosis and from 40 healthy donors. Fatigue severity in MS patients was assessed using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Validated Gag- and Env-ELISA assays were used to screen sera for XMRV antibodies. PHA-activated PBMC were cultured for seven days in the presence of IL-2 and DNA isolated from these cultures as well as from co-cultures of PBMC and highly permissive LNCaP cells was analyzed by nested PCR for the presence of the XMRV gag gene. In addition, PBMC cultures were exposed to 22Rv1-derived XMRV to assess infectivity and virus production. Conclusion None of the screened sera from CFS and MS patients or healthy blood donors tested positive for XMRV specific antibodies and all PBMC (and PBMC plus LNCaP) cultures remained negative for XMRV sequences by nested PCR. These results argue against an association between XMRV infection and CFS and MS in Germany. However, we could confirm that PBMC cultures from healthy donors and from CFS patients can be experimentally infected by XMRV, resulting in the release of low levels of transmittable virus.
Exocytotic mechanism studied by truncated and zero layer mutants of the C‐terminus of SNAP‐25

The highly conserved SNARE proteins, SNAP‐25, syntaxin and synaptobrevin, form a tight ternary complex, which is essential for exocytosis. Crystallization of this complex revealed a four‐helix bundle with an unusual hydrophilic layer (zero layer) in its center. In order to evaluate the role of this layer in different kinetic components of secretion, we used the Semliki Forest virus (SFV) system to infect adrenal chromaffin cells with SNAP‐25 Q174L, a point mutant in the zero layer. Using combined flash photolysis of caged calcium and membrane capacitance measurements, we investigated its effect on the exocytotic burst and sustained phase of exocytosis with high time resolution. Cells expressing SNAP‐25 Q174L displayed a selective reduction in the sustained phase, while the two components of the exocytotic burst remained unaffected. Furthermore, the exocytotic response to the second flash was significantly reduced, indicating a decrease in refilling kinetics. We therefore conclude that the zero layer is critical for the formation of SNARE complexes, but that it plays no role in the dynamic equilibrium between the two exocytosis‐competent vesicle pools.
Response of selected glyphosate-resistant broadleaved weeds to premix of fluthiacet-methyl and mesotrione (Solstice™) applied at two growth stages

Ganie, Z. A. , Stratman, G. and Jhala, A. J. 2015. Response of selected glyphosate-resistant broadleaved weeds to premix of fluthiacet-methyl and mesotrione (Solstice™) applied at two growth stages. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 861-869. A premix of fluthiacet-methyl and mesotrione (1:17.5 ratio) has recently been registered for post-emergence (POST) broadleaf weed control in corn. The objective of this study was to determine the response of glyphosate-resistant common waterhemp, giant ragweed, and kochia to a premix of fluthiacet-methyl and mesotrione when applied to 10- and 20-cm-tall plants. Greenhouse dose response studies were conducted and log-logistic models were used to determine how the response varies between the weed species at two growth stages under various rates ranging from 21.8 to 218.5 g a.i. ha-1 (0.25× to 2.5×). The effective rate required to achieve >90% control and shoot biomass reduction varied depending on the weed species and growth stage. The rates required for 90% control (ED90) of 10-cm-tall glyphosate-resistant common waterhemp, giant ragweed, and kochia were 78, 251, and 17 g a.i. ha-1, respectively, compared with 144, 489, and 79,349 g a.i. ha-1, respectively, for 20-cm-tall plants at 21 d after treatment (DAT). Based on visual control estimates at ED90 level, glyphosate-resistant common waterhemp was the most sensitive at both growth stages; kochia was sensitive at 10-cm height, while giant ragweed was the least sensitive at both growth stages. Irrespective of weed species or growth stage, the ED90 values calculated on the basis of shoot biomass reduction were mostly higher compared with visual control estimates. It is concluded that premix of fluthiacet-methyl plus mesotrione can be potentially used as a POST herbicide in corn for controlling glyphosate-resistant common waterhemp and kochia (≤ 10 cm tall) at the labeled rate (87 g a.i. ha-1).
A Bayesian Framework for Learning Words From Multiword Utterances

Current computational models of word learning make use of correspondences between words and observed referents, but as of yet cannot—as human learners do—leverage information regarding the meaning of other words in the lexicon. Here we develop a Bayesian framework for word learning that learns a lexicon from multiword utterances. In a set of three simulations we demonstrate this framework’s functionality, consistency with experimental work, and superior performance in certain learning tasks with respect to a Bayesian word leaning model that treats word learning as inferring the meaning of each word independently. This framework represents the first step in modeling the potential synergies between referential and distributional cues in word learning.
Seyfert Galaxies and the Hard X-Ray Background: Artificial Chandra Observations of Active Galaxies

Deep X-ray surveys have resolved much of the X-ray background radiation below 2 keV into discrete sources, but the background above 8 keV remains largely unresolved. The obscured (type 2) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that are expected to dominate the hard X-ray background have not yet been detected in sufficient numbers to account for the observed background flux. However, deep X-ray surveys have revealed large numbers of faint quiescent and starburst galaxies at moderate redshifts. In hopes of recovering the missing AGN population, it has been suggested that the defining optical spectral features of low-luminosity Seyfert nuclei at large distances may be overwhelmed by their host galaxies, causing them to appear optically quiescent in deep surveys. We test this possibility by artificially redshifting a sample of 23 nearby, well-studied active galaxies to z = 0.3, testing them for X-ray AGN signatures, and comparing them to the objects detected in deep X-ray surveys. We find that these redshifted galaxies have properties consistent with the deep-field normal and optically bright, X-ray-faint galaxy (OBXF) populations, supporting the hypothesis that the numbers of AGNs in deep X-ray surveys are being underestimated and suggesting that OBXFs should not be ruled out as candidate AGN hosts that could contribute to the hard X-ray background source population.
Competitive and cooperative dynamics of large-scale brain functional networks supporting recollection

Analyses of functional interactions between large-scale brain networks have identified two broad systems that operate in apparent competition or antagonism with each other. One system, termed the default mode network (DMN), is thought to support internally oriented processing. The other system acts as a generic external attention system (EAS) and mediates attention to exogenous stimuli. Reports that the DMN and EAS show anticorrelated activity across a range of experimental paradigms suggest that competition between these systems supports adaptive behavior. Here, we used functional MRI to characterize functional interactions between the DMN and different EAS components during performance of a recollection task known to coactivate regions of both networks. Using methods to isolate task-related, context-dependent changes in functional connectivity between these systems, we show that increased cooperation between the DMN and a specific right-lateralized frontoparietal component of the EAS is associated with more rapid memory recollection. We also show that these cooperative dynamics are facilitated by a dynamic reconfiguration of the functional architecture of the DMN into core and transitional modules, with the latter serving to enhance integration with frontoparietal regions. In particular, the right posterior cingulate cortex may act as a critical information-processing hub that provokes these context-dependent reconfigurations from an intrinsic or default state of antagonism. Our findings highlight the dynamic, context-dependent nature of large-scale brain dynamics and shed light on their contribution to individual differences in behavior.
The Sub-Prime Crisis and UK Monetary Policy

The “sub-prime” crisis, which led to major turbulence in global financial markets beginning in mid-2007, has posed major challenges for monetary policymakers. We analyse the impact on monetary policy of the widening differential between policy rates and the 3-month Libor rate, the benchmark for private sector interest rates. We show that the optimal monetary policy rule should include the determinants of this differential, adding an extra layer of complexity to the problems facing policymakers. Our estimates reveal significant effects of risk and liquidity measures, suggesting the widening differential between base rates and Libor was largely driven by a sharp increase in unsecured lending risk. We calculate that the crisis increased libor by up to 60 basis points; in response base rates fell further and quicker than would otherwise have happened as policymakers sought to offset some of the contractionary effects of the sub-prime crisis.
The role of emotions in predicting sperm and egg donation

Across two studies, we assessed the role of social-cognitive and emotional factors in promoting and deterring sperm and egg donation. Study 1 (N = 138 men) found that feeling anxiety towards discovering a fertility problem and pride positively predicted sperm donation intention and information seeking behaviour. By contrast, feeling anxiety towards the process of donation negatively predicted sperm donation intention and information seeking behaviour. Study 2 (N = 193 women) found that pride positively and the anxiety towards the process negatively predicted egg donation intentions, but not information seeking behaviour. These results suggest that it is important to consider the role of emotions in motivating and deterring people from becoming a sperm and egg donor.
MicroRNA-29B (mir-29b) regulates the Warburg effect in ovarian cancer by targeting AKT2 and AKT3

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal and aggressive gynecological malignancy, and abnormal cellular metabolism significantly contributes to cancer onset and progression. Here, we report that miR-29b negatively regulates AKT2/AKT3 expression, causing HK2/PKM2 downregulation and leading to a decreased Warburg effect and slowed ovarian cancer progression. Compared to normal ovaries, ovaries with epithelial cancer exhibited lower miR-29b expression at both cellular/histological levels. Glucose consumption and lactate production experiments confirmed miR-29b's regulation of EOC metabolism. A luciferase reporter assay confirmed the direct binding of miR-29b to AKT2/AKT3 3′ UTRs. miR-29b silencing correlated with increased expression of AKT2/3, pAKT2/3, HK2, and PKM2. Pyruvic acid and NAD+/NADH levels also changed when miR-29b expression was suppressed; this effect could be blocked by specific AKT inhibitors, suggesting the miR-29b-AKT axis regulates the Warburg effect in ovarian cancer. In xenograft mouse models, miR-29b inhibited tumor formation in vivo. In vivo imaging also demonstrated that miR-29b agomir inhibited the relative uptake of 18F-FDG in the xenograft tumors, suggesting that miR-29b over-expression could negatively modulate tumor glucose metabolism in vivo. Taken together, our study suggests that miR-29b regulates the Warburg effect in EOC via AKT2/AKT3 and may provide novel options for future treatments for EOC.
QUASI-INDICATORS , KNOWLEDGE REPORTS , AND DISCOURSE

We present a computational analysis of de re, de dicto, and de se belief and knowledge reports. Our analysis solves a problem first observed by Castaneda, namely, that the simple rule • (A knows that p) implies P , apparently does not hold if P contains a quasi -indicator. We present a single rule, in the context of an AI representation and reasoning system, that holds for all propositions P, including quasi-indexical ones. In so doing, we demonstrate the importance of representing proper names expli­ citly, and we provide support for the necessity of considering sentences in the context of extended text (e.g., discourse or narrative) in order to fully capture certain features of their semantics.