Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Inactivation of Arx in Pancreatic α-Cells Triggers Their Neogenesis and Conversion into Functional β-Like Cells

Recently, it was demonstrated that pancreatic new-born glucagon-producing cells can regenerate and convert into insulin-producing β-like cells through the ectopic expression of a single gene, Pax4. Here, combining conditional loss-of-function and lineage tracing approaches, we show that the selective inhibition of the Arx gene in α-cells is sufficient to promote the conversion of adult α-cells into β-like cells at any age. Interestingly, this conversion induces the continuous mobilization of duct-lining precursor cells to adopt an endocrine cell fate, the glucagon+ cells thereby generated being subsequently converted into β-like cells upon Arx inhibition. Of interest, through the generation and analysis of Arx and Pax4 conditional double-mutants, we provide evidence that Pax4 is dispensable for these regeneration processes, indicating that Arx represents the main trigger of α-cell-mediated β-like cell neogenesis. Importantly, the loss of Arx in α-cells is sufficient to regenerate a functional β-cell mass and thereby reverse diabetes following toxin-induced β-cell depletion. Our data therefore suggest that strategies aiming at inhibiting the expression of Arx, or its molecular targets/co-factors, may pave new avenues for the treatment of diabetes.
A rigorous geometry-probability equivalence in characterization of ℓ1-optimization

In this paper we consider under-determined systems of linear equations that have sparse solutions. This subject attracted enormous amount of interest in recent years primarily due to influential works \cite{CRT,DonohoPol}. In a statistical context it was rigorously established for the first time in \cite{CRT,DonohoPol} that if the number of equations is smaller than but still linearly proportional to the number of unknowns then a sparse vector of sparsity also linearly proportional to the number of unknowns can be recovered through a polynomial $\ell_1$-optimization algorithm (of course, this assuming that such a sparse solution vector exists). Moreover, the geometric approach of \cite{DonohoPol} produced the exact values for the proportionalities in question. In our recent work \cite{StojnicCSetam09} we introduced an alternative statistical approach that produced attainable values of the proportionalities. Those happened to be in an excellent numerical agreement with the ones of \cite{DonohoPol}. In this paper we give a rigorous analytical confirmation that the results of \cite{StojnicCSetam09} indeed match those from \cite{DonohoPol}.
Exploiting Unrelated Tasks in Multi-Task Learning

We study the problem of learning a group of principal tasks using a group of auxiliary tasks, unrelated to the principal ones. In many applications, joint learning of unrelated tasks which use the same input data can be beneficial. The reason is that prior knowledge about which tasks are unrelated can lead to sparser and more informative representations for each task, essentially screening out idiosyncrasies of the data distribution. We propose a novel method which builds on a prior multitask methodology by favoring a shared low dimensional representation within each group of tasks. In addition, we impose a penalty on tasks from different groups which encourages the two representations to be orthogonal. We further discuss a condition which ensures convexity of the optimization problem and argue that it can be solved by alternating minimization. We present experiments on synthetic and real data, which indicate that incorporating unrelated tasks can improve significantly over standard multi-task learning methods.
An Empirical Study of End-User Trust in a Web Information System

End-user trust has been increasingly recognized as important for successful management and use of web information systems (IS). This research investigates influential factors for the establishment of end-user trust toward web IS. The theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model are adopted as the theoretical foundation for the research model. Based on analysis of data collected from 88 participants of an international coffee company, the results reveal that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, user familiarity, and system normality have positively contributed to the establishment of end-user toward a web communication IS. This research highlights the importance of trust in web IS adoption and concludes with theoretical and practical contributions.
Mercury emission from crematories in Japan

Abstract. Anthropogenic sources of mercury emissions have a significant impact on global pollution. Therefore, finding uncharacterised sources and assessing the emissions from these sources are important. However, limited data are available worldwide on mercury emissions from crematories. In Japan, 99.9% of dead bodies are cremated, which is the highest percentage in the world, and more than 1600 crematories are in operation. We thus focused on emissions from crematories in Japan. The number of targeted facilities was seven, and we used continuous emission monitoring to measure the mercury concentrations and investigate mercury behaviour. The total mercury concentrations in stack gases were a few μg/Nm3 (normal cubic meters). Considering the time profile of mercury and its species in cremations, the findings confirmed that the mercury in stack gas originated from dental amalgam. The amount of mercury emissions was calculated using the total concentration and gas flow rate. Furthermore, the annual amount of mercury emission from crematories in Japan was estimated by using the total number of corpses. The emission amount was considerably lower than that estimated in the United Kingdom. From statistical analyses on population demographics and measurements, future total emissions from crematories were also predicted. As a result, the amount of mercury emitted by crematories will likely increase by 2.6-fold from 2007 to 2037.
Insights into the chemical composition of the metal-poor Milky Way halo globular cluster NGC 6426

We present our detailed spectroscopic analysis of the chemical composition of four red giant stars in the halo globular cluster NGC 6426. We obtained high-resolution spectra using the Magellan2/MIKE spectrograph, from which we derived equivalent widths and subsequently computed abundances of 24 species of 22 chemical elements. For the purpose of measuring equivalent widths, we developed a new semi-automated tool, called EWCODE. We report a mean Fe content of [Fe/H] =−2.34 ± 0.05 dex (stat.) in accordance with previous studies. At a mean α-abundance of [(Mg, Si, Ca)/3 Fe] = 0.39 ± 0.03 dex, NGC 6426 falls on the trend drawn by the Milky Way halo and other globular clusters at comparably low metallicities. The distribution of the lighter α-elements as well as the enhanced ratio [Zn/Fe] = 0.39 dex could originate from hypernova enrichment of the pre-cluster medium. We find tentative evidence for a spread in the elements Mg, Si, and Zn, indicating an enrichment scenario, where ejecta of evolved massive stars of a slightly older population have polluted a newly born younger one. The heavy element abundances in this cluster fit well into the picture of metal-poor globular clusters, which in that respect appear to be remarkably homogeneous. The pattern of the neutron-capture elements heavier than Zn points toward an enrichment history governed by the r-process with little, if any, sign of s-process contributions. This finding is supported by the striking similarity of our program stars to the metal-poor field star HD 108317.
Potential Anticancer Properties of Grape Antioxidants

Dietary intake of foods rich in antioxidant properties is suggested to be cancer protective. Foods rich in antioxidant properties include grape (Vitis vinifera), one of the world's largest fruit crops and most commonly consumed fruits in the world. The composition and cancer-protective effects of major phenolic antioxidants in grape skin and seed extracts are discussed in this review. Grape skin and seed extracts exert strong free radical scavenging and chelating activities and inhibit lipid oxidation in various food and cell models in vitro. The use of grape antioxidants are promising against a broad range of cancer cells by targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its downstream pathways, inhibiting over-expression of COX-2 and prostaglandin E2 receptors, or modifying estrogen receptor pathways, resulting in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Interestingly, some of these activities were also demonstrated in animal models. However, in vivo studies have demonstrated inconsistent antioxidant efficacy. Nonetheless, a growing body of evidence from human clinical trials has demonstrated that consumption of grape, wine and grape juice exerts many health-promoting and possible anti-cancer effects. Thus, grape skin and seed extracts have great potential in cancer prevention and further investigation into this exciting field is warranted.
THE EFFECT OF LIDAR POSTING DENSITY ON DEM ACCURACY AND FLOOD EXTENT DELINEATION A GIS-SIMULATION APPROACH

Recently a number of local communities and a few statewide agencies have undertaken efforts to acquire more accurate digital elevation surfaces for various applications including flood hazard mapping. The technology most widely adopted for this purpose has been LIDAR remote sensing. The acquisition of a spatially dense set of elevation postings representing the " bare " ground may be the greatest factor in deriving an accurate elevation surface. Creating such a dense elevation dataset using LIDAR remote sensing requires two elements – a high raw posting density during the collection phase and rigorous post-processing to identify the " ground " returns. A higher posting density generally requires significantly higher cost associated with the LIDAR sensor and the addition technical personnel time and computing resources (processor speed, RAM, storage space, etc.) that are required to process higher posting densities to produce digital elevation models (DEMs) of the bare ground. The goal of this research is to develop a relationship between LIDAR posting density and DEM accuracy. Specifications for data collection/processing in future mapping efforts could use this empirical relationship to match target accuracy requirements with data collection/processing parameters. For this research, a simple GIS simulation was developed in order to create a LIDAR data collection over two GIS generated surfaces. The vertical and surface form accuracy of the resulting DEMs are compared to the posting density in order to establish the relationship between these variables. The research further investigates the sensitivity of horizontal accuracy (for flood extent delineation) using the generated DEMs. The results indicate that these relationships exist and validate the need for an empirical study to explore the patterns further.
Antioxidant Properties and Gastroprotective Effects of 2-(Ethylthio)Benzohydrazones on Ethanol-Induced Acute Gastric Mucosal Lesions in Rats

A series of new 2-(ethylthio)benzohydrazone derivatives (1–6) were prepared and characterised by IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The newly prepared compounds were screened for their in vitro antioxidant activities using free radical scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Among them, most powerful antioxidant, compound 1 has been selected in order to illustrate anti-ulcer effect on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal lesions in rats. Four groups of Sprague Dawley rats were respectively treated with 10% Tween 20 as ulcer control group, 20 mg/kg omeprazole as reference group, 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg compound 1 as experimental animals. Macroscopically, ulcer control group showed extensive hemorrhagic lesions of gastric mucosa compared with omeprazole or compound 1. Rats pre-treated with compound 1 showed increased in gastric pH and gastric mucus. Histologically, ulcer control group showed severe damage to gastric mucosa with edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer. In immunohistochemical analysis, rats which were pre-treated with compound 1 showed up-regulation of HSP70 and down-regulation of Bax proteins. In conclusion, the gastroprotective effect of compound 1 may be due to its antioxidant activity, and/or due to up-regulation of HSP70 and down-regulation of Bax protein in stained tissue section.
Detecting Structural Metadata with Decision Trees and Transformation-Based Learning

Abstract : The regular occurrence of disfluencies is a distinguishing characteristic of spontaneous speech. Detecting and removing such disfluencies can substantially improve the usefulness of spontaneous speech transcripts. This paper presents a system that detects various types of disfluences and other structural information with cues obtained from lexical and prosodic information sources. Specifically, combinations of decision trees and language models are used to predict sentence ends and interruption points and given these events transformation based learning is used to detect edit disfluencies and conversational fillers. Results are reported on human and automatic transcripts of conversational telephone speech.
Pole dynamics and oscillations for the complex Burgers equation in the small-dispersion limit

A meromorphic solution to the Burgers equation with complex viscosity is analysed. The equation is linearized via the Cole - Hopf transform which allows for a careful study of the behaviour of the singularities of the solution. The asymptotic behaviour of the solution as the dispersion coefficient tends to zero is derived. For small dispersion, the time evolution of the poles is found by numerically solving a truncated infinite-dimensional Calogero-type dynamical system. The initial data are provided by high-order asymptotic approximations of the poles at the critical time for the dispersionless solution via the method of steepest descents. The solution is reconstructed using the pole expansion and the location of the poles. The oscillations observed via the singularities are compared to those obtained by a classical stationary phase analysis of the solution as the dispersion parameter . A uniform asymptotic expansion as of the dispersive solution is derived in terms of the Pearcey integral in a neighbourhood of the caustic. A continuum limit of the pole expansion and the Calogero system is obtained, yielding a new integral representation of the solution to the inviscid Burgers equation.
The Role of Fibrocytes in Sickle Cell Lung Disease

Background Interstitial lung disease is a frequent complication in sickle cell disease and is characterized by vascular remodeling and interstitial fibrosis. Bone marrow-derived fibrocytes have been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of other interstitial lung diseases. The goal of this study was to define the contribution of fibrocytes to the pathogenesis of sickle cell lung disease. Methodology/Principal Findings Fibrocytes were quantified and characterized in subjects with sickle cell disease or healthy controls, and in a model of sickle cell disease, the NY1DD mouse. The role of the chemokine ligand CXCL12 in trafficking of fibrocytes and phenotype of lung disease was examined in the animal model. We found elevated concentration of activated fibrocytes in the peripheral blood of subjects with sickle cell disease, which increased further during vaso-occlusive crises. There was a similar elevations in the numbers and activation phenotype of fibrocytes in the bone marrow, blood, and lungs of the NY1DD mouse, both at baseline and under conditions of hypoxia/re-oxygenation. In both subjects with sickle cell disease and the mouse model, fibrocytes expressed a hierarchy of chemokine receptors, with CXCR4 expressed on most fibrocytes, and CCR2 and CCR7 expressed on a smaller subset of cells. Depletion of the CXCR4 ligand, CXCL12, in the mouse model resulted in a marked reduction of fibrocyte trafficking into the lungs, reduced lung collagen content and improved lung compliance and histology. Conclusions These data support the notion that activated fibrocytes play a significant role in the pathogenesis of sickle cell lung disease.
Clinical features and determinants of COPD exacerbation in the Hokkaido COPD cohort study

Exacerbations are among the major factors that may affect the natural history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim was to investigate the clinical characteristics and determinants of COPD exacerbations in our 5-year observational cohort study which had a very low exacerbation frequency. A total of 279 patients with COPD participated in the Hokkaido COPD cohort study, and 268 subjects who had clinical data for multiple visits were analysed. Exacerbation was defined in multiple ways: the patient’s subjective complaint, symptom definition, requiring prescription change, requiring antibiotic treatment, or requiring hospital admission. Exacerbation frequency (events per person per year) was 0.78±1.16, 0.24±0.47, 0.20±0.43, 0.13±0.28 and 0.06±0.19 for subjective complaint and symptom, prescription, antibiotic and hospital admission definitions, respectively. Exacerbation events did not significantly affect the annual decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 s. A high St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire total score, especially activity score, and a low body mass index were strongly associated with exacerbation-free survival, exacerbation frequency and development of recurrent exacerbations. Despite the low exacerbation frequency in our cohort, impaired health-related quality of life and weight loss were found to be independent risk factors for COPD exacerbations. Impaired health-related quality of life and weight loss are independent risk factors for COPD exacerbations http://ow.ly/qQRAG
Intergalactic stars in z∼ 0.25 galaxy clusters: systematic properties from stacking of Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging data

We analyse the spatial distribution and colour of the intracluster light (ICL) in 683 clusters of galaxies between z = 0.2 and 0.3, selected from ∼1500 deg 2 of the first data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR1). Surface photometry in the g-, r- and i-bands is conducted on stacked images of the clusters, after rescaling them to the same metric size and masking out resolved sources. We are able to trace the average surface brightness (SB) profile of the ICL out to 700 kpc, where it is less than 10 -4 of the mean surface brightness of the dark night sky. The ICL appears as a clear surface brightness excess with respect to an inner R 1/4 profile which characterizes the mean profile of the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). The surface brightness of the ICL ranges from 27.5 mag arcsec -2 at 100 kpc to ∼32 mag arcsec -2 at 700 kpc in the observed r-band. This corresponds to a value of SB in the range 26.5-31 in the rest-frame g-band. We find that, on average, the ICL contributes only a small fraction of the total optical emission in a cluster. Within a fixed metric aperture of 500 kpc, this fraction is 10.9 ± 5.0 per cent for our clusters. A further 21.9 ± 3.0 per cent is contributed on average by the BCG itself. The radial distribution of the ICL is more centrally concentrated than that of the cluster galaxies, but the colours of the two components are identical within the statistical uncertainties. In the mean the ICL is aligned with and more flattened than the BCG itself. This alignment is substantially stronger than that of the cluster light as a whole. We find the surface brightness of the ICL to correlate both with BCG luminosity and with cluster richness, while the fraction of the total light in the ICL is almost independent of these quantities. These results support the idea that the ICL is produced by stripping and disruption of galaxies as they pass through the central regions of clusters. Our measurements of the diffuse light also constrain the faint-end slope of the cluster luminosity function. Slopes a < -1.35 would imply more light from undetected galaxies than is observed in the diffuse component.
Flexibility provisions in multilateral environmental treaties

In international politics, intergovernmental treaties provide the rules of the game. In this paper, we investigate the rules under which the contents of treaties may be changed, such as rules for adoption and entry into force and rules for dispute resolution. In the first part of the paper, we describe how frequently these rules are used in practice and how they are typically combined, based on 400 treaties and supplementary agreements from the field of international environmental law. Using correspondence analysis, we show that treaty provisions can be represented by a two-dimensional property space. The detected underlying dimensions express varying degrees of institutionalisation and flexibility, respectively. In the second part of the paper, we place amendment rules into the framework of a formal model in the incomplete contracts tradition. It is shown that there exists a trade-off between the risk of too little flexibility, which leads to frequent inefficient breach of the treaty, and the danger that the binding nature of the treaty and hence, the level of commitment by treaty members, is being undermined if the treaty can be amended too easily.
Trends and Disparities in Infant and Child Mortality in Nigeria Using Pooled 2003 and 2008 Demographic and Health Survey Data

We analyze infant and under-5 mortality trends in Nigeria using data from the demographic and health surveys (DHS) of 2003 and 2008. We use pooled data to enable us carry out logistic regression analysis at the state level and allow for robustness of our results. Our analysis shows wide disparities in both infant and under-5 mortality rates in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria and the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. Furthermore, the results show highly significant differences in infant and under-5 mortality rates among the six geopolitical zones and among the 36 states of Nigeria. Our result shows that urban advantage over rural areas in under-5 mortality rate only exist among the richest quintiles in Nigeria. We find no evidence of statistically significant difference between the urban poorest and poorer quintiles and the rural poorest and poorer quintiles in both infant and under-5 mortality in Nigeria. We find wealth, educational attainment of the mother, the use of health facility, religion, gender of a child, and number of births in the last 3 years to be highly correlated with infant and under-5 mortality in Nigeria. Both infant and under-5 mortality rates declined between 2003 and 2008 in Nigeria.
Decidable Problems for Probabilistic Automata on Infinite Words

We consider probabilistic automata on infinite words with acceptance defined by parity conditions. We consider three qualitative decision problems: (i) the positive decision problem asks whether there is a word that is accepted with positive probability; (ii) the almost decision problem asks whether there is a word that is accepted with probability 1; and (iii) the limit decision problem asks whether words are accepted with probability arbitrarily close to 1. We unify and generalize several decidability results for probabilistic automata over infinite words, and identify a robust (closed under union and intersection) subclass of probabilistic automata for which all the qualitative decision problems are decidable for parity conditions. We also show that if the input words are restricted to lasso shape (regular) words, then the positive and almost problems are decidable for all probabilistic automata with parity conditions. For most decidable problems we show an optimal PSPACE-complete complexity bound.