Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microquasar LS 5039: a TeV gamma-ray emitter and a potential TeV neutrino source

The recent detection of TeV γ-rays from the microquasar LS 5039 by HESS is one of the most exciting discoveries of observational gamma-ray astronomy in the very high energy regime. This result clearly demonstrates that X-ray binaries with relativistic jets (microquasars) are sites of effective acceleration of particles (electrons and/or protons) to multi-TeV energies. Whether the γ-rays are of hadronic or leptonic origin is a key issue related to the origin of Galactic Cosmic Rays. We discuss different possible scenarios for the production of γ-rays, and argue in favor of hadronic origin of TeV photons, especially if they are produced within the binary system. If so, the detected γ-rays should be accompanied by a flux of high energy neutrinos emerging from the decays of π± mesons produced at pp and/or pγ interactions. The flux of TeV neutrinos, which can be estimated on the basis of the detected TeV γ-ray flux, taking into account the internal γγ → e+ e− absorption, depends significantly on the location of γ-ray production region(s). The minimum neutrino flux above 1 TeV is expected to be at the level of 10−12 cm−2s−1; however, it could be up to a factor of 100 larger. The detectability of the signal of multi-TeV neutrinos significantly depends on the high energy cutoff in the spectrum of parent protons; if the spectrum of accelerated protons continues to 1 PeV and beyond, the predicted neutrino fluxes can be probed by the planned km3-scale neutrino detector.
The Impact of Combining Conformance and Experiential Quality on Health Care Clinical and Cost Performance

The quality of operational processes is an important driver of hospital performance. In particular, processes that reliably deliver both evidence-based and patient-centered care, which we refer to conformance and experiential quality, respectively, have been argued to result in better clinical outcomes. However, hospitals, in general, struggle to perform well on these process quality dimensions. Operations management theory suggests that this may be due to the cost involved in combining these dimensions. In other words, combining conformance and experiential quality may lead to a tradeoff between clinical and cost performance. To investigate this issue in detail, we use a 6-year secondary data from 3474 U.S. acute care hospitals to examine the effect of combining conformance and experiential quality on two dimensions of hospital performance: clinical outcomes and cost efficiency. We find that hospitals with high levels of both conformance and experiential quality demonstrate better clinical outcomes as measured by length of stay and readmission rate, but have worse performance with regard to cost efficiency as measured by cost per discharge. To understand this tradeoff better, we conduct post-hoc analyses that look at more granular elements of experiential quality: an action-focused dimension and a communication-focused dimension. Results from these analyses offer additional insights into the clinical outcomes-cost efficiency tradeoff encountered by hospitals and have important implications for researchers, hospital administrators, and policy makers.
The Olivo-Cerebellar System : Dynamical Processes and Computational Principles

The cerebellar cortex contains the majority of the neurons in the central nervous system, which are well organized in a lattice-like structure. Despite this apparent simplicity, the function of the olivo-cerebellar system is still largely unknown. In this thesis I have tried to contribute to the understanding of the system by studying three aspects of the dynamics of neurons and their relation to the function (see bellow). Although these questions have emerged from the study of the olivo-cerebllar system, the results are more general, and relate to neuronal dynamics and the function of other
Collusion-resistant unidirectional proxy re-encryption scheme from lattices

Most of the previous proxy re-encryption schemes rely on the average-case hardness problems such as the integer factorization problems and the discrete logarithm problems. Therefore, they cannot guarantee its security under quantum analysis, since there exist quantum algorithms efficiently solving the factorization and logarithm problems. In the paper, we propose the first proxy re-encryption scheme based on the hard worst-case lattice problems. Our scheme has many useful properties as follows: Unidirectional, collusion-resistant, noninteractive, proxy invisible, key optimal, and nontransitive. We also provided the formal security proof of the proposed scheme in the random oracle model.
RNA Interference Elucidates the Role of Focal Adhesion Kinase in HLA Class I-Mediated Focal Adhesion Complex Formation and Proliferation in Human Endothelial Cells1

Ligation of class I molecules by anti-HLA Ab stimulates an intracellular signaling cascade resulting in endothelial cell (EC) survival and proliferation, and has been implicated in the process of chronic allograft rejection and transplant-associated vasculopathy. In this study, we used small interfering RNA blockade of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) protein to determine its role in class I-mediated organization of the actin cytoskeleton, cell survival, and cell proliferation in primary cultures of human aortic EC. Knockdown of FAK appreciably inhibited class I-mediated phosphorylation of Src at Tyr418, p85 PI3K, and Akt at both Thr308 and Ser473 sites. FAK knockdown also reduced class I-mediated phosphorylation of paxillin at Try118 and blocked class I-induced paxillin assembly into focal contacts. FAK small interfering RNA completely abrogated class I-mediated formation of actin stress fibers. Interestingly, FAK knockdown did not modify fibroblast growth factor receptor expression induced by class I ligation. However, FAK knockdown blocked HLA class I-stimulated cell cycle proliferation in the presence and absence of basic fibroblast growth factor. This study shows that FAK plays a critical role in class I-induced cell proliferation, cell survival, and focal adhesion assembly in EC and may promote the development of transplant-associated vasculopathy.
A Complex Regulatory Network Coordinating Cell Cycles During C. elegans Development Is Revealed by a Genome-Wide RNAi Screen

The development and homeostasis of multicellular animals requires precise coordination of cell division and differentiation. We performed a genome-wide RNA interference screen in Caenorhabditis elegans to reveal the components of a regulatory network that promotes developmentally programmed cell-cycle quiescence. The 107 identified genes are predicted to constitute regulatory networks that are conserved among higher animals because almost half of the genes are represented by clear human orthologs. Using a series of mutant backgrounds to assess their genetic activities, the RNA interference clones displaying similar properties were clustered to establish potential regulatory relationships within the network. This approach uncovered four distinct genetic pathways controlling cell-cycle entry during intestinal organogenesis. The enhanced phenotypes observed for animals carrying compound mutations attest to the collaboration between distinct mechanisms to ensure strict developmental regulation of cell cycles. Moreover, we characterized ubc-25, a gene encoding an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme whose human ortholog, UBE2Q2, is deregulated in several cancers. Our genetic analyses suggested that ubc-25 acts in a linear pathway with cul-1/Cul1, in parallel to pathways employing cki-1/p27 and lin-35/pRb to promote cell-cycle quiescence. Further investigation of the potential regulatory mechanism demonstrated that ubc-25 activity negatively regulates CYE-1/cyclin E protein abundance in vivo. Together, our results show that the ubc-25-mediated pathway acts within a complex network that integrates the actions of multiple molecular mechanisms to control cell cycles during development.
Renal access through the inferior calyx is associated with higher risk of severe bleeding after percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Introduction Hemorrhage is a major complication after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). In the current study, we analyzed the risk factors for severe bleeding after PCNL. Material and methods Medical records of 982 consecutive patients undergoing PCNL at the Department of Urology, the Third Xiangya Hospital, were reviewed. The type of stone included: solitary (n = 471), multiple (n = 192) and staghorn (n = 319). 139 patients had renal stones of solitary kidney or functional solitary kidney. The puncture site was the inferior calyx in 246 cases, the middle calyx in 651 cases, and the upper calyx in the remaining 85 cases. Results The success rate (complete removal of the stone) was 92.8%, 73.4%, and 80.9% for solitary, multiple and staghorn stones, respectively. Severe bleeding occurred in 3.25% (8/246) of the cases with inferior calyx access, and 0.3% (2/651) in cases with middle calyx access. No severe bleeding occurred in patients with upper calyx access. The bleeding was controlled successfully with focal embolization under angiography in all 10 cases. Conclusions Severe postoperative bleeding after PCNL is associated with renal puncture via the inferior calyx, multiple renal stones and solitary kidney stones.
COUNTING UNROOTED MAPS USING TREE-DECOMPOSITION

We present a new method to count unrooted maps on the sphere up to orientation-preserving homeomorphisms. The principle, called tree-decompo- sition, is to deform a map into an arborescent structure whose nodes are occupied by constrained maps. Tree-decomposition turns out to be very efficient and flexible for the enumeration of constrained families of maps. In this article, the method is applied to count unrooted 2-connected maps and, more importantly, to count unrooted 3-connected maps, which correspond to the combinatorial types of oriented convex polyhedra. Our method improves significantly on the previously best-known complexity to enumerate unrooted 3-connected maps. Acknowledgments. The author would like to thank Gilles Schaeffer for his in- valuable help in developing this new method. In particular he pointed out the idea of tree-decomposition and helped to do some calculations and to correct the article.
Does Poor Legal Enforcement Make Households Credit-Constrained?

This paper analyzes the relation between the quality of the legal enforcement of loan contracts and the allocation of credit to households, both theoretically and empirically. We use a model of household credit market with secured debt contracts, where the judicial system affects the cost incurred by banks to actually repossess the collateral. The model shows that the working of the judicial system affects both the probability of being credit-constrained and the equilibrium amount of debt. In the empirical part, we test our predictions using data on Italian households and on the performance of Italian judicial districts. Controlling for household characteristics, unobserved heterogeneity at judicial district level and aggregate shocks, we document that an increment in the backlog of trials pending has a statistically and economically significant positive effect on the household probability of being turned down from the credit. Endowing the households living in high-cost judicial districts like Campobasso or Caltanissetta (in southern Italy) with the best enforcement in the sample would reduce the probability of their being credit-constrained by 70% and 63%, respectively. This effect is stronger for poorer than for wealthier households. Moreover, we document that an increment in the backlog of trials pending reduces the availability of credit for poorer households but, surprisingly, has the opposite effect on wealthy households, whose debt volume increases. Again, this effect is found to be significant both statistically and economically.
Rehabilitation of stroke patients using Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate whether acupuncture, especially Yamamoto's New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA), is of value in additional to standard poststroke motor rehabilitation. DESIGN A prospective, assessor-blinded randomized control trial was carried out in an inpatient stroke rehabilitation unit with day hospital service. After inclusion, patients were stratified into control group and acupuncture group, randomly. OUTCOME MEASURES The Barthel Index, the Rivermead Scale Index, and the Visual Analogue Scale were used to follow the efficacy of treatment. RESULTS In the acupuncture group, all the sensory, motor, and functional scores improved significantly during the examination period until 2 years after injury. The Barthel Index is increased from 4±2 to 95±4 in the acupuncture group. This index also increased in the control group (from 4±2 to 75±4), but the changes were significantly less than in the acupuncture group. A significant spontaneous recovery during the 2-year follow-up was found, but the YNSA treatment facilitated the functional recovery. Improved moving function and more flexible joints and ligaments were observed in comparison to the patients' condition prior to treatment. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that the YNSA is a useful method to treat stroke patients and enhance their quality of life.
Analyses of multiple evidence combination

It hsa been known that different representations of a query ret rieve different sets of documents. Recent work suggests that significant improvements in retrieval performance can be achieved by combining multiple representations of an information need. However, little effort has been made to understand the reason why combining multiple sources of evidence improves retrieval effectiveness. In this paper we analyze why improvements can be achieved with evidence combination, and investigate how evidence should be combined. We describe a rationale for multiple evidence combination, and propose a combining method whose properties coincide wit h the rationale. We also investigate e the effect of using rank instead of similarity on retrieval effectiveness.
The bispectrum of galaxies from high-redshift galaxy surveys: Primordial non-Gaussianity and non-linear galaxy bias

The greatest challenge in the interpretation of galaxy clustering data from any surveys is galaxy bias. Using a simple Fisher matrix analysis, we show that the bispectrum provides an excellent determination of linear and non-linear bias parameters of intermediate and high-z galaxies, when all measurable triangle configurations down to mildly non-linear scales, where perturbation theory is still valid, are included. The bispectrum is also a powerful probe of primordial non-Gaussianity. The planned galaxy surveys at z {approx}> 2 should yield constraints on non-Gaussian parameters, f{sub NL}{sup loc. } and f{sub NL}{sup eq.}, that are comparable to, or even better than, those from CMB experiments. We study how these constraints improve with volume, redshift range, as well as the number density of galaxies. Finally we show that a halo occupation distribution may be used to improve these constraints further by lifting degeneracies between gravity, bias, and primordial non-Gaussianity.
Sonic boom or bust?: application of high-power ultrasound for fluid milk processing

Ultrasonication has potential application in the dairy industry for extending milk shelf life by killing bacteria and spores that survive pasteurization. However, ultrasound treatment may result in off-aromas or undesirable milk quality consequences, which increase as treatment time and intensity increase. The primary objective of this research was to determine whether short treatments of acoustic energy, in conjunction with pasteurization, increase refrigerated shelf life while producing no adverse aroma effect. Shelf life was determined by performing total aerobic counts (TAC) on skim milk that had been inoculated with Paenibacillus amylolyticus, a spore-forming, thermotolerant and psychrophilic milk contamination bacterium. Pasteurized control milk was plated against thermosonicated (TS) milk and cold sonicated (CS) milk. Both treatments were pasteurized; however TS milk was sonicated after pasteurization while CS milk was sonicated before pasteurization. CS delivered significantly more acoustic energy to milk compared to TS under the same amplitude and treatment duration. TAC for almost all TS and CS treatments were higher than TAC for pasteurized control through 50 d refrigerated storage. Aroma quality of two TS treatment intensities (20 J/mL and 80 J/mL) and pasteurized controls were also evaluated by a trained descriptive sensory panel. No differences in cooked or lacks freshness aroma attributes were noted. The 80 J/mL TS sample had significantly higher rubbery aroma on day 1 after treatment compared to 20 J/mL sample but the aroma dissipated by day 8 or 22. Under the conditions evaluated in the present study, neither TS nor CS were more effective at reducing bacteria in milk than standard pasteurization conditions. Neither TS nor CS extended the shelf life of milk beyond standard pasteurization.
Structure of Arp2/3 Complex in Its Activated State and in Actin Filament Branch Junctions

The seven-subunit Arp2/3 complex choreographs the formation of branched actin networks at the leading edge of migrating cells. When activated by Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp), the Arp2/3 complex initiates actin filament branches from the sides of existing filaments. Electron cryomicroscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction of Acanthamoeba castellanii andSaccharomyces cerevisiae Arp2/3 complexes bound to the WASp carboxy-terminal domain reveal asymmetric, oblate ellipsoids. Image analysis of actin branches indicates that the complex binds the side of the mother filament, and Arp2 and Arp3 (for actin-related protein) are the first two subunits of the daughter filament. Comparison to the actin-free, WASp-activated complexes suggests that branch initiation involves large-scale structural rearrangements within Arp2/3.
Effects of valproate and other antiepileptic drugs on brain glutamate, glutamine, and GABA in patients with refractory complex partial seizures

Preclinical studies suggested valproate increased brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with no major effects on brain glutamate or glutamine. Valproate increased human cerebrospinal fluid GABA and glutamine in some studies; others reported no effect. In vivo measurements of glutamate, glutamine, and GABA were made of a 14 cm3volume in the occipital cortex using a1H spectroscopy with a 2.1 Tesla magnetic resonance spectrometer and an 8 cm surface coil. Ten control subjects and 14 patients with refractory complex partial seizures were examined. Brain glutamine concentrations were above normal in three of five patients taking valproate and two of nine taking carbamazepine or phenytoin. Mean glutamine levels of patients taking valproate were higher than control subjects and patients taking carbamazepine or phenytoin. Brain glutamate concentrations were above normal in four of nine patients taking phenytoin or carbamazepine and two of five taking valproate. Brain GABA levels were below normal in four of nine patients taking carbamazepine or phenytoin and one of five taking valproate. Above normal glutamate or below normal GABA was present in nine of 14 patients and may contribute to their refractory epilepsy. Increased brain glutamine associated with valproate therapy may reflect mild hyperammonemia.
Concept-level access control for the Semantic Web

Recently, the notion of the Semantic Web has been introduced to define a machine-interpretable web targeted for automation, integration and reuse of data across different applications. Under the Semantic Web, web pages are annotated by concepts that are formally defined in ontologies along with the relationships among them. As information pertaining to different concepts has varying access control requirements, in this paper, we propose an access control model for the semantic web that is capable of specifying authorizations over concepts defined in ontologies and enoforcing them upon data instances annotated by the concepts. It is important to note that semantic relationships among concepts play a key role in making access control decisions. This is because, based on the relationship, one may infer information contained in one concept node from that of the other. Therefore, we first identify the important domain-independent relationships among concepts, categorize them and propose propagation policies based on these categories of relationships. In particular, we allow propagation of authorizations based on the semantic relationships among concepts to prevent illegal inferences. We then show how concept-level security polices can be represented in an OWL-based access control language. Finally, we demonstrate how users' requests can be handled under our access control model. Our concept-level model is especially suitable for the specification and administration of access control over semantically related web data under the Semantic Web even if they conform to different DTDs or use different tag names.
On the maximal number of 3‐term arithmetic progressions in subsets of ℤ/pℤ

Let α ∈ [0, 1] be a real number. Ernie Croot (Canad. Math. Bull. 51 (2008) 47–56) showed that the quantity maxA # (3‐term arithmetic progressions in A)/p2, where A ranges over all subsets of ℤ/pℤ of size at most α p, tends to a limit as p → ∞ through primes. Writing c(α) for this limit, we show that c(α)=α2/2 provided that α is smaller than some absolute constant. In fact, we prove rather more, establishing a structure theorem for sets having the maximal number of 3‐term progressions amongst all subsets of ℤ/p ℤ of cardinality m, provided that m < cp.
Prognostic Significance of Uric Acid Serum Concentration in Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose— We sought to assess in 881 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke the clinical relevance in regard to functional outcome of the natural antioxidant uric acid measured at hospital admission. Methods— Patients had serum uric acid (mg/dL) measured by standard procedures 18.2±15.5 hours from clinical onset. At hospital discharge (11.0±6.0 days), neurological impairment was classified as moderate/severe (Mathew score ≤75; n=304) or mild/absent (Mathew score >75; n=577). Demographics, atherosclerotic risk factors, history of organ disease, baseline neurological score, stroke subtype, infarction size, renal function, aspirin use before stroke, stroke therapy, diuretic use, and laboratory markers, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, were analyzed in both outcome groups with the use of backward logistic regression. Results— Increased uric acid values were found in men, hypertensives, alcohol drinkers, and patients with coronary, pulmonary, or renal diseases. Diabetic patients had lower uric acid levels on admission. Uric acid was directly associated with hematocrit (P =0.001), sodium (P =0.001), creatinine (P =0.001), and triglycerides (P =0.001) and inversely related with nonfasting glucose (P =0.001) levels. Neurological impairment on admission (P =0.001) and final infarction size on CT/MRI (P =0.01) were also inversely associated with uric acid. A logistic regression adjusted for confounders confirmed the following independent (odds ratio, 95% CI) good outcome predictors: age (0.97, 0.96 to 0.99), Mathew score on admission (1.14, 1.12 to 1.17), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (0.98, 0.97 to 0.99), infarction volume (0.98, 0.98 to 0.99), and uric acid (1.12, 1.00 to 1.25). Conclusions— In patients with acute ischemic stroke, there is a 12% increase in the odds of good clinical outcome for each milligram per deciliter increase of serum uric acid. This finding reinforces the relevance of oxidative damage in ischemic stroke.