Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ETA Receptor Mediates Altered Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Interaction and Adhesion Molecules Expression in DOCA–Salt Rats

Abstract—Leukocyte adhesion to endothelial cells plays a key role in inflammatory processes associated with end-organ injury. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), which stimulates inflammatory processes, contributes to cardiovascular damage in deoxycorticosterone (DOCA)–salt hypertension. We investigated whether ETA receptor blockade modulates in vivo leukocyte–endothelial cell interactions and expression of cell adhesion molecules (CAM) involved in these processes. DOCA–salt and control uninephrectomized rats were treated with the ETA antagonist BMS182874 (40 mg/kg per day) or vehicle. Analysis of CAMs expression by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry showed increased cardiac platelet selectin (P-selectin), detected mainly in endothelial cells, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), but not intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), in DOCA–salt rats. Cardiac expression of endothelial selectin (E-selectin) was decreased, whereas immunoreactivity to ED-1 and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, markers of macrophage and leukocyte infiltration, respectively, were increased in DOCA-salt. Leukocyte–endothelial cell interaction, functionally assessed in venules of internal spermatic fascia by intravital microscopy, was significantly altered in DOCA–salt rats as evidenced by increased leukocyte adhesion and decreased rolling. BMS182874 treatment normalized leukocyte–endothelium interactions, decreased cardiac VCAM-1 expression in DOCA and control groups, and had no effects on ICAM-1 expression. BMS182874 also increased E-selectin and abolished P-selectin expression in DOCA-salt, but not in control rats. The ETA antagonist reduced cardiac ED-1 content and MPO activity and prevented cardiac damage in DOCA–salt rats. These data indicate that ET-1 participates, via activation of ETA receptors, in altered leukocyte–endothelial cell interactions in DOCA–salt rats, possibly by modulating expression of CAMs, and that the inflammatory status is associated with cardiac damage in mineralocorticoid hypertension.
A rare variant of the leptin gene has large effects on blood pressure and carotid intima-medial thickness: a study of 1428 individuals in 248 families

Background: Rare mutations in the leptin (LEP) gene cause severe obesity. Common polymorphisms of LEP have been associated with obesity, but their association with cardiovascular disease has been little studied. We have examined the impact of both common and rare polymorphisms of the LEP gene on blood pressure (BP), subclinical atherosclerosis as measured by carotid intima-medial thickness (CIMT), and body mass index (BMI) in a large family study. Methods: Five polymorphisms spanning LEP were typed in 1428 individuals from 248 nuclear families. BP, CIMT, BMI, and plasma leptin were measured. Results: The polymorphisms typed captured all common haplotypes present at LEP. There was strong association between a rare polymorphism in the 3′ untranslated region of LEP (C538T) and both pulse pressure (p = 0.0001) and CIMT (p = 0.008). C/T heterozygotes had a 22% lower pulse pressure and a 17% lower CIMT than C/C homozygotes. The polymorphism accounted for 3–5% of the population variation in pulse pressure and CIMT. There was no association between any LEP polymorphism and either BMI or plasma leptin level. Conclusions: This large family study shows that the rare T allele at the C538T polymorphism of LEP substantially influences pulse pressure and CIMT, but does not appear to exert this effect through actions on plasma leptin level or BMI. This suggests that autocrine or paracrine effects in vascular tissue may be important physiological functions of leptin. This study also provides evidence that rare polymorphisms of particular genes may have substantial effects within the normal range of certain quantitative traits.
Synthesis of concurrent systems for an atomic read/atomic write model of computation

This invention provides a pre-tightening mechanism for effecting the initial application of a threaded closure on a threaded bottle neck. The pre-tightening mechanism includes a friction rail for effecting a turning movement of the closure relative to the bottle neck and a spring biased cap hold-down plate which maintains a substantially constant pressure on the closure and maintains the closure panel horizontal during the pre-tightening operation.
Platelet‐derived growth factor‐BB‐induced hypertrophy of peritubular smooth muscle cells is mediated by activation of p38 MAP‐kinase and of Rho‐kinase

Peritubular smooth muscle cells (PSMC) from rat testis in primary serum‐free cultures unexpectedly undergo contraction and subsequent cell hypertrophy in response to the growth factor PDGF‐BB, remaining stationary. The present study investigates the transduction pathways involved in the observed paradoxical upregulation of the differentiated phenotype and induction of hypertrophy in PSMC. PI3K, ERK, JNK, and p38 kinases, known to mediate PDGF‐BB signaling in the canonic dedifferentiative and proliferative response of smooth muscle cells (SMC) were rapidly activated by PDGF‐BB but only p38 remained activated after 2‐day stimulation. Immunofluorescence and immunoblotting experiments showed that in 4‐day treatment: (i) continuous inhibition of PI3K, of ERK, of JNK, failed to inhibit either cell enlargement and formation of prominent α‐SM actin containing stress fibers or the typical increase in α‐SM actin; (ii) when stimulated in the presence of the p38 inhibitor SB203580 both responses were significantly inhibited and cytofluorimetric analysis of cell size showed a remarkable reduction of the hypertrophic response. PDGF‐BB was also found to activate the small GTPase RhoA and inhibition of Rho‐dependent kinase ROCK by Y27632 counteracted the effects of PDGF‐BB similarly to SB203580. Both the transcription factor ATF2 and the nucleosomal kinase MSK1, downstream targets of p38, were activated by PDGF‐BB, but p38 inhibitor SB203580 inhibited only the phosphorylation of MSK1 which appeared unaffected by ROCK inhibitor Y27632. In concluding, p38 and the Rho‐ROCK system were found to play prominent, probably independent roles in the upregulation of PSMC differentiated phenotype and induction of hypertrophy by PDGF‐BB. J. Cell. Physiol. 207: 123–131, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Autism spectrum conditions

This book chapter explores autism as defined by people diagnosed with the condition and focuses specifically on: sensory and information processing difficulties and anxiety. An exploration of the concepts of: civil rights; inclusion are independence are discussed in relation to the lived experiences of people on the autism spectrum. The book develops a practical way to support people with autism live a fully inclusive and independent lifestyle with the support of a communication profile which highlights potential barriers and enablers in the support environment.
Effects of the inflammatory response on serum omentin levels in early acute and chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammation of the parenchyma of the pancreas. Several adipokines have been investigated in acute pancreatitis, and these cytokines contribute to inflammation in acute pancreatitis. However, not enough data exist regarding omentin in injuries of the pancreas. Because of a possible common pathogenesis, we aimed to study the association between pancreatic damage and serum omentin levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-four Sprague Dowley rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly placed into three groups: a sham group (n=8), an acute pancreatitis group (n=8), and a chronic pancreatitis group (n=8). Both rats in the sham group underwent laparotomy, and 0.1 cc of saline solution was injected through the pancreatic canal. On the seventh day, a blood sample was obtained by abdominal aorta puncture, and the pancreas was resected for histological examination. In the acute and chronic pancreatitis groups, 0.1 cc of 4.5% Sodium Taurocholote was injected through the pancreatic canal. Blood samples were obtained and pancreatic resection was performed after 24 hours for the acute pancreatitis group and after 7 days for the chronic pancreatitis group. RESULTS Serum omentin levels of rats with chronic pancreatitis (49.37±2.82 ng/ml) were increased compared to both acute pancreatitis (37.79±1.24 ng/ml) (p<0.01) and sham rats (22.49±1.4 ng/ml) (p<0.01). In addition, the omentin level of rats with acute pancreatitis was significantly increased compared to the sham group (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS The elevation in omentin levels in rats in the early stage of pancreatitis was due to the anti-inflammatory effects of omentin; hence, elevated omentin levels improved insulin resistance and caused a significant reduction in glucose levels.
Recidivism Following Mandated Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for Felony Probationers

Substance abuse is common among probationers, and treatment programs have become an integral part of community corrections. The current study presents findings from a modified therapeutic community (TC) serving drug abusing probationers in a large metropolitan area. Findings show that treatment dropouts were more likely to be rearrested for a serious felony within 2 years of leaving the TC program than were treatment graduates and probationers from an untreated comparison group. Also, a significantly smaller proportion of graduates were rearrested during the 2nd year after release compared to those who drop out of treatment or who do not receive treatment. Logistic regression analysis that adjusted for pre-existing group differences suggests there was a small impact of the TC program on recidivism, with treatment graduates only slightly less likely to be arrested within 2 years of leaving the program.
ON THE HOMOGENEOUS FUNCTIONS WITH TWO PARAMETERS AND ITS MONOTONICITY

Suppose f(x, y) is a positive homogeneous function defined on U(j R+ ×R+), call Hf (a, b; p, q) = [ f(a, b) f(aq, bq) ] 1 p−q homogeneous function with two parameters. If f(x, y) is 2nd differentiable, then the monotonicity for parameters p and q ofHf (a, b; p, q) depend on the sign of I1 = (ln f)xy, for variable a and b depend on the sign of I2a = [(ln f)x ln(y/x)]y and I2b = [(ln f)y ln(x/y)]x respectively. As applications of these results, a serial of inequalities for arithmetic mean, geometric mean, exponential mean, logarithmic mean, power-Exponential mean and exponential-geometric mean are deduced.
Carriage and antibiotic susceptibility of Haemophilus influenzae type b and non b in Danish day‐care attendees

A study of carriage of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and non b in Danish day‐care facilities, employing a highly selective medium supplemented with three antibiotics and direct detection of the type b capsular antigen by latex‐agglutination and coagglutination, was carried out. Of 329 children, 217 (66%) were found to be carriers of Haemophilus influenzae. Among 64 children from day‐care centers in which a case of invasive Hib infection had occurred, four carriers of type b were found, whereas no type b carriers were identified among 265 children from unexposed day‐care centers (p < 0.003). Of 217 isolated strains, seven (3.2%) were found to have lowered susceptibility to ampicillin, two (0.9%) to chloramphenicol, two (0.9%) to cefuroxim, and one (0.5%) to cefotaxim.
Cross‐cultural comparisons of consumer satisfaction ratings: A perspective from Albert Hirschman's theory

Purpose – This paper seeks to propose Albert Hirschman's theory of “exit, voice and loyalty” as a complementary conceptual framework to Hofstede's cultural dimensions and use them in conjunction to compare consumer satisfaction with services across cultures.Design/methodology/approach – A model of satisfaction with complex services (higher education) is developed and then tested in two different cultures, Colombia and Spain, with a sample of 879 students. Structural equation modeling based on the partial least squares algorithm is used to test the proposed model.Findings – Colombian students are more satisfied with the educational system than Spanish ones. This is explained by cultural and contextual differences that pose greater restrictions on accessibility to higher education, provide fewer choice alternatives and present more switching costs for the Colombian student.Originality/value – This study applies the conditions of Hirschman's theory in an international setting, offering a rich basis for under.
Chloroplast signaling within, between and beyond cells

The most conspicuous function of plastids is the oxygenic photosynthesis of chloroplasts, yet plastids are super-factories that produce a plethora of compounds that are indispensable for proper plant physiology and development. Given their origins as free-living prokaryotes, it is not surprising that plastids possess their own genomes whose expression is essential to plastid function. This semi-autonomous character of plastids requires the existence of sophisticated regulatory mechanisms that provide reliable communication between them and other cellular compartments. Such intracellular signaling is necessary for coordinating whole-cell responses to constantly varying environmental cues and cellular metabolic needs. This is achieved by plastids acting as receivers and transmitters of specific signals that coordinate expression of the nuclear and plastid genomes according to particular needs. In this review we will consider the so-called retrograde signaling occurring between plastids and nuclei, and between plastids and other organelles. Another important role of the plastid we will discuss is the involvement of plastid signaling in biotic and abiotic stress that, in addition to influencing retrograde signaling, has direct effects on several cellular compartments including the cell wall. We will also review recent evidence pointing to an intriguing function of chloroplasts in regulating intercellular symplasmic transport. Finally, we consider an intriguing yet less widely known aspect of plant biology, chloroplast signaling from the perspective of the entire plant. Thus, accumulating evidence highlights that chloroplasts, with their complex signaling pathways, provide a mechanism for exquisite regulation of plant development, metabolism and responses to the environment. As chloroplast processes are targeted for engineering for improved productivity the effect of such modifications on chloroplast signaling will have to be carefully considered in order to avoid unintended consequences on plant growth and development.
Role of Parent Literacy and Numeracy Expectations and Activities in Predicting Early Numeracy Skills

The home numeracy environment (i.e., parents' numeracy expectations and activities), is related to early numeracy in young children. As recent studies have shown that both cognitive and linguistic factors play an important role in predicting numeracy development, it may be assumed that rather than the home numeracy environment, the home literacy environment predicts early numeracy. The present study examined this hypothesis by focusing on the specificity of the home numeracy environment. In a sample of 60 kindergartners, we assessed cognitive (nonverbal reasoning, working memory) and linguistic abilities (phonological awareness, grammatical skills), as well as early numeracy skills, while exploring their home literacy environment and home numeracy environment from parent questionnaires. We found that home numeracy environment predicted early numeracy skills, after controlling for child factors and home literacy environment. The home numeracy environment can be seen as a unique factor in the home environment in predicting numeracy outcomes.
A Simulation Tool to Predict the Impact of Soil Topologies on Coupling Between a Light Rail System and Buried Third-Party Infrastructure

The production of stray currents by DC light rail systems leads to the corrosion of the supporting and third-party infrastructure in close proximity to the rail system. This paper simulates two parallel tracks that are occupied by two trains: one on each track. This type of modeling constitutes a case study that is utilized to investigate the effect of soil topologies on the corrosion performance of a floating DC light rail system focusing on the supporting and third-party infrastructure. The modeling technique used involves the accurate computation of the shunt and series parameters for use in a resistive-type model using a commercially available software package. The results demonstrate the importance that soil resistivity has on the corrosion risk to traction system and third-party infrastructure. Such information could ultimately be used to vary the level of stray current protection across a light rail system to ensure a consistent lifetime across the whole system.
Robot-Mediated Interviews: a Robotic Intermediary for Facilitating Communication with Children

2 Chapter 1: Introduction 11 1.1. Motivation 12 1.2. Research questions 15 1.3. Overview of thesis 19 1.4. Contribution to knowledge 22 Chapter 2: Background and motivations 25 2.1. Interviewing children 25 2.1.1. Current approach 25 2.1.2. Additional interview techniques 28 2.1.3. A chat application compared to a face to face interview 29 2.1.4. Inherent difficulties of interviewing children 30 2.1. 5. Interviewing children with special needs 31 2.2. Potential impact of increased accessibility of technology 32 2.2.1. Child-Robot Interaction with social robots 32 2.2.2. Evaluating Child-Robot Interaction in contrast to Child-Adult 35 2.2.3. Robots working with children that have special needs 37 2.2. 4. Robots performing information acquisition tasks 39 2.2. 5. Child-robot interactions in sensitive contexts 41 2.2. 6. Using the right robot for the task 42 2.2. 7. HRI factors worth considering when conducting studies 43 2.3. Research questions generated from literature 45
A SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE APPROACH FOR OBJECT BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS

The Support Vector Machine is a theoretically superior machine learning methodology with great results in classification of highdimensional datasets and has been found competitive with the best machine learning algorithms. In the past, SVMs have been tested and evaluated only as pixel-based image classifiers. Moving from pixel-based techniques towards object-based representation, the dimensions of remote sensing imagery feature space increases significantly. This results increasing complexity of the classification process, and causes problems to traditional sample-based classification schemes. The objective of this study was to evaluate SVMs for effectiveness and prospects for object-based image classification as a modern computational intelligence method. An SVM approach for multi-class classification was followed, based on primitive image objects produces by a multi-resolution segmentation algorithm. The segmentation algorithm produced primitive objects of variable sizes and shapes. Then, a feature selection step took place in order to provide the features for classification which involved spectral, texture and shape information. Contextual information was not used. Following the feature selection step, a module integrating an SVM classifier and the segmentation algorithm was developed in C++ and based on XML technology for feature representation. For training the SVM, sample image objects, derived from the segmentation procedure were used. The SVM procedure produced the final object classification results which were compared to the Nearest Neighbor classifier results, of the eCognition software, and were found satisfactory. The SVM approach seems very promising for Object Based Image Analysis and future work will focus on the integration SVM classifiers with rule-based classifiers. * Heroon Polytechneiou 9, 15780, Zografou, Athens, Greece. Tel. +302107722684
Beyond the others’ world : An essay about the experience of social work with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome

The essay presents a reflection on being a foreign and inexperienced social worker within a Norwegian social work context. I discuss challenges I have met in my work with when Asperger syndrome is diagnosed and reflect on power relations and the issue of self-determination within the field, in addition to analysing some critical incidents that made me rethink and reconstruct all of my experiences. I view my story from different angles and find different perspectives that show various ways of perceiving one thing. I discover the dangerousness of thinking in “black and white” and placing things in exclusive extremes, and lastly, I understand that I need to learn to solve problems by changing attitudes towards them.
PLDA based speaker recognition on short utterances

This paper investigates the effects of limited speech data in the context of speaker verification using a probabilistic linear discriminant analysis (PLDA) approach. Being able to reduce the length of required speech data is important to the development of automatic speaker verification system in real world applications. When sufficient speech is available, previous research has shown that heavy-tailed PLDA (HTPLDA) modeling of speakers in the i-vector space provides state-of-the-art performance, however, the robustness of HTPLDA to the limited speech resources in development, enrolment and verification is an important issue that has not yet been investigated. In this paper, we analyze the speaker verification performance with regards to the duration of utterances used for both speaker evaluation (enrolment and verification) and score normalization and PLDA modeling during development. Two different approaches to total-variability representation are analyzed within the PLDA approach to show improved performance in short-utterance mismatched evaluation conditions and conditions for which insufficient speech resources are available for adequate system development. The results presented within this paper using the NIST 2008 Speaker Recognition Evaluation dataset suggest that the HTPLDA system can continue to achieve better performance than Gaussian PLDA (GPLDA) as evaluation utterance lengths are decreased. We also highlight the importance of matching durations for score normalization and PLDA modeling to the expected evaluation conditions. Finally, we found that a pooled total-variability approach to PLDA modeling can achieve better performance than the traditional concatenated total-variability approach for short utterances in mismatched evaluation conditions and conditions for which insufficient speech resources are available for adequate system development.
The Application of Number Needed to Treat (NNT) to Clinical Problems in Radiotherapy

The goals of this report are: 1) to review the number needed to treat (NNT) concept, which, although well established in many sectors of medicine, is still relatively new to the radiotherapy community; 2) to discuss several clinical radiotherapy examples illustrating the inherent advantages of the NNT approach; and 3) to discuss potential future roles of the NNT concept within radiotherapy.