Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monoclonal Antibodies of a Diverse Isotype Induced by an O-Antigen Glycoconjugate Vaccine Mediate In Vitro and In Vivo Killing of African Invasive Nontyphoidal Salmonella

ABSTRACT Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS), particularly Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis, is responsible for a major global burden of invasive disease with high associated case-fatality rates. We recently reported the development of a candidate O-antigen–CRM197 glycoconjugate vaccine against S. Typhimurium. Here, using a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies generated by the vaccine, we examined the relative efficiency of different antibody isotypes specific for the O:4 antigen of S. Typhimurium to effect in vitro and in vivo killing of the invasive African S. Typhimurium strain D23580. All O:4-specific antibody isotypes could mediate cell-free killing and phagocytosis of S. Typhimurium by mouse blood cells. Opsonization of Salmonella with O:4-specific IgA, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b, but not IgM, resulted in cell-dependent bacterial killing. At high concentrations, O:4-specific antibodies inhibited both cell-free complement-mediated and cell-dependent opsonophagocytic killing of S. Typhimurium in vitro. Using passive immunization in mice, the O:4-specific antibodies provided in vivo functional activity by decreasing the bacterial load in the blood and tissues, with IgG2a and IgG2b being the most effective isotypes. In conclusion, an O-antigen–CRM197 glycoconjugate vaccine can induce O-antigen-specific antibodies of different isotypes that exert in vitro and in vivo killing of S. Typhimurium.
Consensus , Control and Corporate Boards ∗

We investigate properties of shareholder-value maximizing corporate boards in situations where both the management and the board have expertise (or private information) relevant for the decision facing the corporation. We suppose that the board cannot directly monitor management in a way that eliminates distortions arising out of managerial agency. This creates a trade-off between improving information sharing and reducing distortions in decision-making, leading shareholders to often design a board that is imperfectly aligned with both shareholders and management. Indeed, even when management has complete control over decision-making and the board only has an advisory role, the optimal board may be designed to provide “bad” advice to management in order to limit the ex-post costs of managerial agency. We establish our results by investigating the relationship between shareholder value maximization and the possibility of generating ex-post consensus between management and the board. We also show that the optimal board will be able to generate shareholder consensus and investigate how this is affected by the transparency of board-management deliberations. These results add to our understanding of corporate governance as an instrument that facilitates efficient (though strategic) information transmission within the firm. JEL classification: C7, D2, D7, D8, G3, L2.
Imaging and 3D tomographic reconstruction of time-varying, inhomogeneous refractive index fields

Time varying, inhomogeneous refractive index fields are every-where, from hot air rising above a fire and mirages above hot roads in the summer, to gases flowing from pressurized containers, and mixtures of different liquids. We present a novel method for imaging and volumetric reconstruction of time-varying refractive index fields, based on the Background Oriented Schlieren (BOS) technique developed in the fluid imaging community [Meier 2002].
Gestión participativa y calidad educativa en el contexto del Plan de Mejoramiento Institucional en Escuelas Colombianas

El proposito es comprender los significados que actores educativos del Magdalena – Colombia, asignan al Plan de Mejoramiento Institucional; instrumento donde confluyen lo macro, meso y micro de la politica educativa, considerando la Gestion Participativa y Calidad Educativa. Desde un enfoque cualitativo, paradigma sociocritico, se generan procesos de reflexion, analisis, comprension y conferimiento de significados, mediante la conformacion de grupos focales (directivos, docentes, estudiantes, padres). Los resultados evidencian brechas entre lo normativo y la operacionalizacion del plan; se concluye en, la necesidad de una cultura estrategica de participacion para la toma de decisiones como fundamento de la gestion escolar.
Improving program efficiency by packing instructions into registers

New processors, both embedded and general purpose, often have conflicting design requirements involving space, power, and performance. Architectural features and compiler optimizations often target one or more design goals at the expense of the others. This paper presents a novel architectural and compiler approach to simultaneously reduce power requirements, decrease code size, and improve performance by integrating an instruction register file (IRF) into the architecture. Frequently occurring instructions are placed in the IRF. Multiple entries in the IRF can be referenced by a single packed instruction in ROM or LI instruction cache. Unlike conventional code compression, our approach allows the frequent instructions to be referenced in arbitrary combinations. The experimental results show significant improvements in space and power, as well as some improvement in execution time when using only 32 entries. These advantages make packing instructions into registers an effective approach for improving overall efficiency.
Cognitive-behavioral theory

C therapy (CBT) approaches are rooted in the fundamental principle that an individual’s cognitions play a significant and primary role in the development and maintenance of emotional and behavioral responses to life situations. In CBT models, cognitive processes, in the form of meanings, judgments, appraisals, and assumptions associated with specific life events, are the primary determinants of one’s feelings and actions in response to life events and thus either facilitate or hinder the process of adaptation. CBT includes a range of approaches that have been shown to be efficacious in treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this chapter, we present an overview of leading cognitive-behavioral approaches used in the treatment of PTSD. The treatment approaches discussed here include cognitive therapy/reframing, exposure therapies (prolonged exposure [PE] and virtual reality exposure [VRE]), stress inoculation training (SIT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and Briere’s selftrauma model (1992, 1996, 2002). In our discussion of each of these approaches, we include a description of the key assumptions that frame the particular approach and the main strategies associated with the treatment. In the final section of this chapter, we review the growing body of research that has evaluated the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD.
Mediating the past: museums and the family social life

This chapter discusses how family museum visits offer opportunities for both adults and children to engage with archaeology. Museum visits play an important role in the social and cultural life of the family, and meet specific family needs through the use of a variety of resources and media as well as through mediating social behaviours and learning. The Archaeology Resource Centre in York is used as a case study of an archaeology-rich environment where such social interactions and mediation can take place. Using findings from a basic research study, we argue that families visit museums for a wide variety of reasons: to enjoy a day out; to learn; to have fun; to repeat a childhood experience; to visit a destination emblematic of a locality or a region. Moreover, an important motivation for adult family members is to introduce and to help socialize children in the community. On the other hand, children want to share the museum visit experience with their family and follow up their personal interests. Of particular interest is how families construct their identity and the social reality in which family members live through their engagement in archaeology-rich conversations. Family conversations are the means through which both adult and child family members construct and appropriate (new) knowledge. Hence, these social interactions are as important for making meaning during the family museum visit as the interactions between family members and the museum resources are. In archaeology-rich environments in particular, these conversations mediate not only content knowledge related to the objects but also what roles these objects play today as material evidence of the past but also as the focus of the study of archaeologists.
Anaerobic bacteria colonizing the lower airways in lung cancer patients.

Anaerobes comprise most of the endogenous oropharyngeal microflora, and can cause infections of airways in lung cancer patients who are at high risk for respiratory tract infections. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and species diversity of anaerobes in specimens from the lower airways of lung cancer patients. Sensitivity of the isolates to conventional antimicrobial agents used in anaerobe therapy was assessed. Respiratory secretions obtained by bronchoscopy from 30 lung cancer patients were cultured onto Wilkins-Chalgren agar in anaerobic conditions at 37°C for 72-96 hours. The isolates were identified using microtest Api 20A. The minimal inhibitory concentrations for penicillin G, amoxicillin/clavulanate, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoxitin, imipenem, clindamycin, and metronidazole were determined by E-test. A total of 47 isolates of anaerobic bacteria were detected in 22 (73.3%) specimens. More than one species of anaerobe was found in 16 (53.3%) samples. The most frequently isolated were Actinomyces spp. and Peptostreptococcus spp. , followed by Eubacterium lentum, Veillonella parvula, Prevotella spp. , Bacteroides spp. , Lactobacillus jensenii. Among antibiotics used in the study amoxicillin/clavulanate and imipenem were the most active in vitro (0% and 2% resistant strains, respectively). The highest resistance rate was found for penicillin G and metronidazole (36% and 38% resistant strains, respectively). The results obtained confirm the need to conduct analyses of anaerobic microflora colonizing the lower respiratory tract in patients with lung cancer to monitor potential etiologic factors of airways infections, as well as to propose efficient, empirical therapy.
NPB-MPJ: NAS Parallel Benchmarks Implementation for Message-Passing in Java

Java is a valuable and emerging alternative for the development of parallel applications, thanks to the availability of several Java message-passing libraries and its full multithreading support. The combination of both shared and distributed memory programming is an interesting option for parallel programming multi-core systems. However, the concerns about Java performance are hindering its adoption in this field, although it is difficult to evaluate accurately its performance due to the lack of standard benchmarks in Java.This paper presents NPB-MPJ, the first extensive implementation of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB), the standard parallel benchmark suite, for Message-Passing in Java (MPJ) libraries. Together with the design and implementation details of NPB-MPJ, this paper gathers several optimization techniques that can serve as a guide for the development of more efficient Java applications for High Performance Computing (HPC). NPB-MPJ has been used in the performance evaluation of Java against C/Fortran parallel libraries on two representative multi-core clusters. Thus, NPB-MPJ provides an up-to-date snapshot of MPJ performance, whose comparative analysis of current Java and native parallel solutions confirms that MPJ is an alternative for parallel programming multi-core systems.
Children’s levels of contingent self-esteem and social and emotional outcomes

Abstract Contingent self-esteem (CSE) describes the degree to which self-esteem is dependent on meeting day-to-day appraisals from oneself and others. This will vary between individuals, ranging from lower to higher CSE. A lower CSE is related to a range of adaptive social and emotional outcomes in adolescents and young adults. This study explores children’s CSE and how this associates with behavioural outcomes. A total of 280 children between the ages of 9 and 11 years completed a composite questionnaire on aspects of their self-esteem and behaviour. Children’s class teachers completed behavioural outcome questionnaires for a random sample of 100 of these children. Based on teachers’ and children’s scores, high levels of global self-esteem were associated with lower CSE and fewer behavioural difficulties. CSE domains of social feedback and physical appearance retained significant associations with behavioural outcomes after controlling for global self-esteem. This may relate to the degree that children depend on the perceived evaluations of others. Implications for educational psychologists are highlighted.
MiR-495 inhibits esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression by targeting Akt1

MicroRNAs are involved in tumor initiation and progression by regulating oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Here we found that miR-495 are lower in clinical ESCC tissues than in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Moreover, the lower miR-495 expression correlated with increased lymph node metastasis (LNM), invasion and TNM stage. miR-495 overexpression predicted a favorable outcome in ESCC patients. miR-495 targeted a site in the 3′-UTR of Akt1, and miR-495 levels correlated inversely with Akt1 protein levels in ESCC tissue samples. Overexpression of miR-495 suppressed cell proliferation, blocked G1/S phase transition, and decreased migration and invasion by two ESCC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Restoration of Akt1 protein levels in miR-495-overexpressing ESCC cells attenuated the inhibitory effects of miR-495. In addition, miR-495 suppressed cell cycle transition and the EMT signaling pathway through targeting Akt1, thereby inhibiting ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Our results suggest that miR-495 may act as a tumor suppressor by targeting Akt1 in ESCC.
LECTURES ON HARMONIC MAPS

§1 Background and Setup Let M be an m-dimensional, compact, Riemannian manifold endowed with the metric dsM = gij dx i dx , where {x, x, · · · , x} is a local coordinate system of M. Suppose N is an n-dimensional, complete, Riemannian manifold with metric given by dsN = hαβ du α du , where {u, u, · · · , u} is a local coordinate system of N. Let f : M → N be a C mapping from M into N . Definition 1.1. The energy density of f is defined to be the trace of the pullback of the metric of N by f . It is denoted by e(f) = trMf (dsN ). The total energy of f us defined by the integral of the energy density over M, denoted by
A 1.3–2.4-GHz 3.1-mW VCO Using Electro-Thermo- Mechanically Tunable Self-Assembled MEMS Inductor on HR Substrate

This paper reports implementation and wafer-level testing of a self-assembled tunable microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inductor with electrostatic, electrothermal, and thermal tuning capability. The surface micromachined inductor was fabricated on a high-resistivity (HR) substrate ( ρ = 5 kΩ·cm) using a doped polysilicon and Au-Cr metal combination as a bimorph structural layer for providing self-assembled elevation with an enhanced Q factor. Extensive electro-thermo-mechanical and RF characterization was carried out for the inductor, the latter over a temperature range from -30 °C to 150 °C. Furthermore, the tunable inductor was integrated in the tank circuit of a CMOS oscillator and wafer-level MEMS-CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator testing revealed a best figure-of-merit of -197.6 dB with a frequency tuning range of 1.3-2.4 GHz with a power consumption of 3.07 mW.
Functional programming on a stack-based embedded processor

This paper describes the implementation of a functional programming language interpreter. The interpreter is written in Forth and runs on any Forth system, including a novel processor called the Scalable Configurable Instrument Processor (SCIP), designed at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. The combination of this novel processor, Forth, and functional programming provides a layering of simple technologies that yields a unique programming and execution environment. The SCIP processor also has a clear transition path to use in space-borne applications
Phosphorylated 4E-BP1 Is Associated with Poor Survival in Melanoma

Purpose: Both phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT and RAS/mitogen-activated protein kinase signal transduction pathways mediate 4E-BP1 phosphorylation, releasing 4E-BP1 from the mRNA cap and permitting translation initiation. Given the prevalence of PTEN and BRAF mutations in melanoma, we first examined translation initiation, as measured by phosphorylated 4E-BP1 (p-4E-BP1), in metastatic melanoma tissues and cell lines. We then tested the association between amounts of total and p-4E-BP1 and patient survival. Experimental Design: Seven human metastatic melanoma cells lines and 72 metastatic melanoma patients with accessible metastatic tumor tissues and extended follow-up information were studied. Expression of 4E-BP1 transcript, total 4E-BP1 protein, and p-4E-BP1 was examined. The relationship between 4E-BP1 transcript and protein expression was assessed in a subset of patient tumors (n = 41). The association between total and p-4E-BP1 levels and survival was examined in the larger cohort of patients (n = 72). Results: 4E-BP1 was hyperphosphorylated in 4 of 7 melanoma cell lines harboring both BRAF and PTEN mutations compared with untransformed melanocytes or RAS/RAF/PTEN wild-type melanoma cells. 4E-BP1 transcript correlated with 4E-BP1 total protein levels as measured by the semiquantitative reverse-phase protein array (P = 0.012). High levels of p-4E-BP1 were associated with worse overall and post-recurrence survival (P = 0.02 and 0.0003, respectively). Conclusion: Our data show that translation initiation is a common event in human metastatic melanoma and correlates with worse prognosis. Therefore, effective inhibition of the pathways responsible for 4E-BP1 phosphorylation should be considered to improve the treatment outcome of metastatic melanoma patients.
The Effect of Body Part-dependent Resistance Training on Lipid Profiles and Hormonal Levels in Young Males

Background. The impact of movement pattern of resistance training on some factors related to cardiovascular diseases is not clear. Objectives. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8 week different resistance training patterns on lipid profile and hormonal responses in young males. Methods. Forty untrained students in 23.8±2.66 average years old and weight of 67.43±4.96 kg were randomly selected, who participated volunteering in this investigation. They were randomly divided into practice groups including upper-body, lower-body, and compound for 3 sessions during 8 weeks (%60 to %80 of a maximum repetition) (control n=10). In order to assess lipid profile and hormone concentration, body composition and blood samples of subjects were measured in similar conditions in three stages: pre-test, end of the 4 th week, and end of the 8 th week. Results. fat percentage (P<0.002) had a significant reduction and TG (P<0.002), HDL (P<0.001), and testosterone (P<0.002) had significant increases compared to the pretest in upper-body group. In lower-body group, however, a significant reduction in fat percentage (P<0.006) was observed, and HDL (P<0.001), VLDL (P<0.002), and testosterone (P<0.000) values had significant increases compared to the pretest. there was a significantly increase after 8 weeks in BMI (P=0.006), TG (P<0.030), and muscle mass (P<0.007), and a significant reduction in cortisol (P<0.016) compared to the pretest after a four-week exercise in compound group. Conclusion. It seems that upper-body and lower-body resistance training optimal methods make desirable changes in some cardiovascular risk factors, for example reduction in fat percentage and increase in HDL, the facts which could leads about prevention of cardiovascular diseases in untrained individuals.
The nucleus-limited Hsr-omega-n transcript is a polyadenylated RNA with a regulated intranuclear turnover

The Drosophila Hsr-omega puff, one of the largest heat shock puffs, reveals a very unusual gene, identified by heat shock but constitutively active in nearly all cell types. Surprisingly, Hsr-omega yields two transcription end-products with very different roles. The larger, omega-n, is a nuclear RNA with characteristics suggesting a new class of nuclear RNAs. Although it neither leaves the nucleus nor undergoes processing, omega-n RNA is polyadenylated, showing that polyadenylation is not limited to cytoplasmic RNA, but possibly has a function in the nucleus. The amount of omega-n within the nucleus is specifically regulated by both transcription and turnover. Heat shock and several other agents cause rapid increases in omega-n. A rapid return to constitutive levels follows withdrawal of the agents. Degradation of omega-n is inhibited by actinomycin D, suggesting a novel intranuclear mechanism for RNA turnover. Within the nucleus, some omega-n RNA is concentrated at the transcription site; however, most is evenly distributed over the nucleus, showing no evidence of a concentration gradient which might be produced by simple diffusion from the site of transcription. Previous studies suggested that omega-n has a novel regulatory role in the nucleus. The actinomycin D-sensitive degradation system makes possible rapid changes in the amount of omega- n, allowing the putative regulatory activities to reflect cellular conditions at a given time. Omega-n differs from the best studied nuclear RNAs, snRNAs, in many ways. Omega-n demonstrates the existence of intranuclear mechanisms for RNA turnover and localization that may be used by a new class of nuclear RNAs.
Neuromorphic Implementation of Attractor Dynamics in a Two-Variable Winner-Take-All Circuit with NMDARs: A Simulation Study

Neural networks configured with winner-take-all (WTA) competition and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-mediated synaptic dynamics are endowed with various dynamic characteristics of attractors underlying many cognitive functions. This paper presents a novel method for neuromorphic implementation of a two-variable WTA circuit with NMDARs aimed at implementing decision-making, working memory and hysteresis in visual perceptions. The method proposed is a dynamical system approach of circuit synthesis based on a biophysically plausible WTA model. Notably, slow and non-linear temporal dynamics of NMDAR-mediated synapses was generated. Circuit simulations in Cadence reproduced ramping neural activities observed in electrophysiological recordings in experiments of decision-making, the sustained activities observed in the prefrontal cortex during working memory, and classical hysteresis behavior during visual discrimination tasks. Furthermore, theoretical analysis of the dynamical system approach illuminated the underlying mechanisms of decision-making, memory capacity and hysteresis loops. The consistence between the circuit simulations and theoretical analysis demonstrated that the WTA circuit with NMDARs was able to capture the attractor dynamics underlying these cognitive functions. Their physical implementations as elementary modules are promising for assembly into integrated neuromorphic cognitive systems.