Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human oviductal epithelial cells express Toll-like receptor 3 and respond to double-stranded RNA: Fallopian tube-specific mucosal immunity against viral infection.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the site-specific immunoregulatory mechanisms against viral infection in human Fallopian tubes. METHODS We therefore investigated the effects of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) on the production of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (GCP-2) by cultured oviductal epithelial cells (OECs) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Phosphorylation of inhibitor kappaB-alpha (IkappaB-alpha) protein after dsRNA stimulation and the expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 in these cells were also evaluated by western blot analysis. RESULTS Polyriboinosinic:polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C), a synthetic dsRNA that antagonizes TLR3, stimulated the secretion of IL-6, IL-8 and GCP-2 by OECs. Poly I:C-induced production of these cytokines by OECs was inhibited by the pretreatment of these cells with anti-TLR3 antibody. The phosphorylation of IkappaB-alpha protein was detected in OECs after stimulation by poly I:C. The expression of TLR3 was also detected in OECs. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the epithelial cells of the human Fallopian tube have evolved a unique, site-specific mechanism for recognizing viral infection. TLR3-mediated production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in OECs in response to viral dsRNA may be important for antiviral immunity in the human female reproductive tract.
Recreation programs that work for at-risk youth : the challenge of shaping the future

This book presents case studies of 38 recreation programs that are serving the diverse needs of at-risk youth in small and large communities. Detail is provided that will enable communities facing the challenge of ameliorating potential problems created by at-risk youth to initiate or improve their work with this difficult target population. Information is provided on approaches that public agencies are using to collaborate with voluntary sector agencies and the business community, as well as methods being used to involve youth and other stake-holders in program planning. Background information for each program is provided, together with program descriptions, collaborative arrangements, financing, marketing and staffing arrangements, and, where available, evidence of program effectiveness and outcomes. This book is a must for recreation program planners and administrators in every community striving to develop and improve their services for youth in high-risk environments.
Active hydrate destabilization in Lake Baikal, Siberia?

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present new seismic and heat‐flow data that show the base of the hydrate stability zone (BHSZ) in Lake Baikal to be locally characterized by abnormal variations in depth, with distinct regions of deeper‐than‐normal and regions of shallower‐than‐normal BHSZ. These variations are related to strong lateral variations in heat flow, and occur in close association with important rift‐basin faults. Areas of shallow BHSZ are also characterized by the presence of several methane seeps and mud volcanoes at the lake floor. We infer that the seeps are the surface expression of escape pathways for overpressured fluids generated by the dissociation of pre‐existing hydrates, in response to a thermal pulse caused by an upward flow of hydrothermal fluids towards the BHSZ. It thus seems that present‐day hydrate dissociation in Lake Baikal is modulated by the tectonic activity in the rift rather than by – climatically controlled – changes in lake level or water temperature.
underpricing and after-market liquidity

The underpricing of the shares sold through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) is generally explained with asymmetric information and risk. We complement these traditional explanations with a new theory. Investors who buy IPO shares are also concerned by expected liquidity and by the uncertainty about its level when shares start trading on the after-market. The less liquid shares are expected to be, and the less predictable their liquidity is, the larger will be the amount of “money left on the table” by the issuer. We present a model that integrates such liquidity concerns within a traditional framework with adverse selection and risk. The model’s predictions are supported by evidence from a sample of 337 British IPOs effected between 1998 and 2000. Using various measures of liquidity, we find that expected after-market liquidity and liquidity risk are important determinants of IPO underpricing, after controlling for variables traditionally used to explain underpricing.
European Central Bank quantitative easing- the detailed manual

Please see the paper "The European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme- limits and risks" for updated calculations. The European quantitative easing programme, the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP), started on 9 March 2015 and will last at least until September 2016. Purchases will be composed of sovereign bonds and securities from European institutions and national agencies. The European Central Bank Governing Council imposed limits to ensure that the Eurosystem will.
Automatic attribution of ancient Roman imperial coins

Classification of coins is an important but laborious aspect of numismatics - the field that studies coins and currency. It is particularly challenging in the case of ancient coins. Due to the way they were manufactured, as well as wear from use and exposure to chemicals in the soil, the same ancient coin type can exhibit great variability in appearance. We demonstrate that geometry-free models of appearance do not perform better than chance on this task and that only a small improvement is gained by previously proposed models of combined appearance and geometry. Thus, our first major contribution is a new type of feature which is efficient in terms of computational time and storage requirements, and which effectively captures geometric configurations between descriptors corresponding to local features. Our second contribution is a description of a fully automatic system based on the proposed features, which robustly localizes, segments out and classifies coins from cluttered images. We also describe a large database of ancient coins that we collected and which will be made publicly available. Finally, we report the results of empirical comparison of different coin matching techniques. The features proposed in this paper are found to greatly outperform existing methods.
Hobby-related information-seeking behaviour of highly dedicated online museum visitors

Introduction. This paper explores the characteristics of online museum visitors in an everyday life, informationseeking context. Method. A triangulation of research methods was applied. A Web questionnaire survey gave initial, quantitative information about online museum visitors to a military museum. Follow-up interviews (n = 24) obtained rich, qualitative data to validate and elaborate the characteristics of online museum visitors' information-seeking behaviour. Analysis. Based on the serious leisure perspective, data analysis led to the identification of two different user groups named collectors and liberal arts enthusiasts. Analysis showed that the two hobby classes have distinct profiles including differences in the nature of their knowledge acquisition. Results. Across the two hobby classes, participants can be characterised as special interest museum visitors pursuing a long-standing interest or hobby. The identified information needs were surprisingly well-defined known item needs and only few exploratory information needs were identified. Participants stressed the importance of personal channels and the social context of the hobby. Conclusions. The present study contributes to the research area of everyday life information seeking within serious leisure. It also contributes to the emerging field of museum informatics by adding to the characteristics of the online museum visitor.
Guide to the Carnegie Mellon University Multimodal Activity (CMU-MMAC) Database

This document summarizes the technology, procedures, and database organization of the CMU Multi-Modal Activity Database (CMU-MMAC). The CMU-MMAC database contains multimodal measures of the human activity of subjects performing the tasks involved in cooking and food preparation. The CMU-MMAC database was collected in Carnegie Mellon University’s Motion Capture Lab. A kitchen was built and to date twenty ﬁve subjects have been recorded cooking ﬁve different recipes: brown-ies, pizza, sandwich, salad and scrambled eggs. Additionally, we recorded a dataset of anomalous situations while cocking. The following modalities were recorded:
Examining attitudes, norms, and perceived control: Young African American males’ views of social media as a mode for condom use education

Abstract Background Gender-based data indicates that within-race STI rate disparities exist for young African Americans males, (YAAMs) ages 18 to 24. Social media may prove to be a valuable tool for delivering theory-driven messages about sexual health knowledge and behaviors, including condom usage, directly to YAAMs in promoting safer sex behaviors for this population. Purpose To examine the current attitudes, norms and perceived controls related to the influence of social media on condom use among YAAMs ages 18 to 21. Methods Nine group-depth interviews were held with 41 participants, mean age 19, SD +1.2, were conducted in metro Detroit to understand use of social media for condom use education, and health messages among YAAMs ages 18 to 21. Results Participants demonstrated positive attitudes about using social media for condom use education. Social media sites that were educational (n = 12) and engaging (n = 5) made it easy to seek out sexual health information related to condom use. Similarly, participants liked social media for condom use education if the sites provided educational (n = 9) content and had creative advertisements. (n = 7). Top reasons to dislike social media as a mode for condom use education included negative comments (n = 6) displayed on the sites or if the site provided misinformation (n = 5) about the use of condoms. Conclusion The findings here can help healthcare providers, the community and researchers understand media preference, navigation, and better understand the role of social media in adolescent health care.
Analysis of current sampling errors in PWM, VSI drives

Current measurement and pulse-width modulation (PWM) are critical components of modern current controlled voltage source inverters (VSI). Current measurement enables accurate and robust closed-loop control of current, while PWM enables the efficient, high bandwidth regulation of the voltage. These two components do not operate independently, however. The synthesized voltage from PWM, a sequential series of discrete voltage levels, from a predefined finite set of possible levels, is only equivalent to the desired voltage on an average basis. As a result, the response of the electrical current to this synthesized voltage deviates from the response to the desired voltage. This deviation from the desired response, when combined with the standard synchronous sampling method, results in current measurement errors. This paper will present an analytical derivation of this current response deviation. This can be used to model the current measurement errors. A better understanding of this phenomenon will result in better design and control of power converter systems. The analytical work will be evaluated and verified using simulations and experimental measurements.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Their Place in American Higher Education

Preface Study Objectives and the Case for Historically Black Colleges and Universities The History of Black Higher Education in the United States Profiles of HBCUs HBCU Demographics, Academic Programs, Faculty and Staff Review of Literature on Campus Race Relations Race Relations on Five White and Ten Black Campuses Summary and Conclusions References Index
Elements of geometry processing

Geometry processing is a fast-growing area of research that designs efficient algorithms for the acquisition, reconstruction, analysis, manipulation, simulation and transmission of 3D models. This course covers different aspects of Geometry Processing, related with the reconstruction of high-level information from raw data. The first part of the course explains how starting with a point set (e.g. acquired with a 3D scanner), one can reconstruct a valid mesh, and then recover higher-level information (symmetry, structuration into parts). The second part is related with mesh-based computations (e.g. UV mapping and deformations) that need to define a function space over the mesh. We will introduce finite elements, spectral function bases and some of their applications. The course is based on the following courses/book, together with new elements: • Geometry Processing based on Polygonal Meshes (SIGGRAPH and EUROGRAPHICS Courses, Botsch et. al) • Polygon Mesh Processing (AK Peters/CRC Press, Botsch et. al) • Spectral Mesh Processing (SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH ASIA Course, Levy and Zhang)
Perceptions of Certified EFL Teachers Pertaining to Teacher Certification Program in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

The state and condition of Indonesian teachers have gradually changed to a better nuance due to the compensation of teacher certification program (TCP). The program has conceivably raised the status of the teachers in social and economic lives. However, the impact of the program on the improvement of overall teacher‘s quality—teaching performance as mandated by Teacher and Lecturer Law remains questionable, and the big question is what and how teachers perceive and act in response to the objective of the program. The program aims not only to increase the teachers‘ salary, but also to improve the quality of their teaching performance based on the teacher standard competence, that is pedagogical, personality, social, and professional competences. Therefore, the study explore and describe certified EFL teachers‘ perceptions concerning benefits of the program on thier social and economic lives, improvement and quality of their teaching practices; perceptions on the ways management ran the program; and expectations for better services of the TCP management.
ffects of feeding field peas in combination with distillers grains plus solubles in finishing and growing diets on cattle performance and carcass characteristics 1

Two studies were conducted to evaluate field peas and wet or dry corn distillers grains with solubles (WDGS and DDGS, respectively) in finishing and growing diets. In Exp. 1, British crossbred steers (n = 352, initial BW 356 ± 27 kg) were used in a randomized block design with factors being 0 or 20% field peas and 0 or 30% WDGS in dry-rolled corn (DRC) based finishing diets (DM basis). There was an interaction (P < 0.01) for DMI and G:F. Feeding WDGS increased ADG (P < 0.01), whereas peas had no effect on ADG (P = 0.33). Including WDGS increased G:F in diets without peas (P < 0.01), but had no impact (P = 0.12) in diets containing peas. Peas increased G:F (P = 0.04) in diets without WDGS, but decreased G:F (P = 0.03) with WDGS. Feeding WDGS increased HCW (P < 0.01). In Exp. 2, Continental crossbred heifers (yr. 1; n = 108, initial BW 338 ± 14 kg) and British crossbred steers (yr. 2; n = 90, initial BW 321 ± 10 kg) were assigned randomly to 1 of 9 pastures. Treatments were supplementation with loose DDGS meal on the ground (GROUND), in a bunk (BUNK) or a 25% field peas, 75% DDGS cube on the ground (CUBE) at equal CP. Final BW and ADG were less (P < 0.01) for GROUND than for CUBE and BUNK, which were similar. These data indicate up to 50% DRC could be replaced by peas and WDGS, and peas are an acceptable binder for DDGS range cubes.
REGIO AL I EQUALITY OF EDUCATIO

This article examines the relationship between quantity, inequality and quality of education and regional income per capita across provinces in Indonesia. Using nationally comparable examination scores from 2003-2005, the overall empirical results show that quality-inclusive growth model specification is preferred to avoid upward bias due the significance of quality of education. I find that the social marginal effect of years of schooling is only two-thirds the estimate using standard analysis but it is still significant. Classifying education into two types— Islamic and non-Islamic education— suggests that while there is no difference between rates of return to the quantity of new human capital stock from Islamic education and non-Islamic education background, quality-adjusted new labour stock from non-Islamic education background is more significant than the new stock from Islamic education background for regional income per capita growth. But, once we take into account inequality, the difference disappears. The results call actions of the Indonesian government to improve quality and inequality of Islamic education as well as to ensure fair distribution of resources across provinces.
Consistency management with repair actions

Comprehensive consistency management requires a strong mechanism for repair once inconsistencies have been detected In this paper we present a repair framework for inconsistent distributed documents. The core piece of the framework is a new method for generating interactive repairs from full first order logic formulae that constrain these documents. We present a full implementation of the components in our repair framework, as well as their application to the UML and related heterogeneous documents such as EJB deployment descriptors. We describe how our approach can be used as an infrastructure for building higher-level, domain specific frameworks and provide an overview of related work in the database and software development environment community.
The insula: anatomic study and MR imaging display at 1.5 T.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The insula is important for gustatory sensation, motor speech control, vestibular function, and sympathetic control of cardiovascular tone. The purpose of this study was to test two hypotheses: 1) gross anatomic study of the insula will disclose reproducible patterns of insular structure, and 2) analysis of MR appearance will enable physicians to recognize these patterns on imaging studies. METHODS Gross insular anatomy was determined in 16 normal human cadaveric hemispheres. The 1.5-T MR images of 300 insulae were analyzed to determine the gyral and sulcal patterns displayed; their relationship to the Heschl gyrus, to the overlying opercula, and to the vertical planes perpendicular to the Talairach-Tournoux baseline at the anterior commissure (VAC) and posterior commissure (VPC); their continuity into the orbitofrontal cortex; and appropriate landmarks for the anterior border, apex, and posterior border of the insula. RESULTS MR images displayed the central sulcus of the insula (97%); the anterior (99%), middle (78%), and posterior (98%) short insular gyri that converge to the apex (100%) anteriorly; and the anterior (99%) and posterior (58%) long insular gyri posteriorly. The middle short gyrus was often hypoplastic (33%). The anterior intersections of the internal and external capsules typically delimit the anterior insular border (87%). VAC intersects the anterior insula (99%), usually at the precentral sulcus. The Heschl gyrus circumscribes the posteroinferior insula (100%). VPC demarcates the posterior insular border (94%). CONCLUSION The two hypotheses were proved correct. The insula shows reproducible patterns of gross anatomy that are demonstrable on routine clinical MR images obtained at 1.5 T.
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia with hyperleukocytosis at presentation

Background Hyperleukocytosis caused by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is associated with early morbidity and mortality due to hyperviscosity arising from the excessive number of leukocytes.This study was designed to assess the incidence of hyperleukocytosis, survival outcomes, and adverse features among pediatric ALL patients with hyperleukocytosis. Methods Between January 2001 and December 2010, 104 children with previously untreated ALL were enrolled at the Pusan National University Hospital. All of them were initially stratified based on the National Cancer Institute (NCI) risk; 48 (46.2%) were diagnosed with high-risk ALL. The medical charts of these patients were retrospectively reviewed. Results Twenty (19.2%) of the 104 children with ALL had initial leukocyte counts of >100×109/L, and 11 patients had a leukocyte count of >200×109/L. Male gender, T-cell phenotype, and massive splenomegaly were positively associated with hyperleukocytosis. Common early complications during induction therapy included renal dysfunction, and central nervous system hemorrhage. The complete remission (CR) rate for the pediatric ALL patients with hyperleukocytosis (94.1%) was similar to the overall CR rate (95.6%). The estimated 3-year event free survival (EFS) and overall survival of ALL children with hyperleukocytosis were 75.0% and 81.2%, respectively. However, patients with initial leukocyte counts >200×109/L had a lower EFS than those with initial leukocyte counts 100-200×109/L (63.6% vs. 100%; P=0.046). Conclusion The outcome of pediatric ALL cases with an initial leukocyte count >200×109/L was very poor, probably due to early toxicity-related death during induction therapy.
On two extensions of the vector quantization scheme

In this paper, we present results pertaining to two different extensions of vector quantization and the related question of k􀀀means clustering. The first part of the paper is about the theoretical performance of quantization and clustering with Bregman divergences. The second one is dedicated to model selection issues for principal curves. Some numerical illustrations are provided in each case. Dans cet article, nous presentons des resultats relatifs a deux extensions differentes de la quantification vectorielle et de la question liee de classification par la methode des centres mobiles. La premiere partie de l’article concerne la performance theorique de la quantification et du clustering avec des divergences de Bregman ; la seconde est dediee a des problemes de selection de modele pour les courbes principales. Chaque partie est completee par quelques illustrations numeriques. Aurelie Fischer est laureate du prix Marie-Jeanne Laurent-Duhamel 2014
Application of Total Least Squares to the Derivation of Closed-Form Green's Functions for Planar Layered Media

A new technique is presented for the numerical derivation of closed-form expressions of spatial-domain Green's functions for multilayered media. In the new technique, the spectral-domain Green's functions are approximated by an asymptotic term plus a ratio of two polynomials, the coefficients of these two polynomials being determined via the method of total least squares. The approximation makes it possible to obtain closed-form expressions of the spatial-domain Green's functions consisting of a term containing the near-field singularities plus a finite sum of Hankel functions. A judicious choice of the coefficients of the spectral-domain polynomials prevents the Hankel functions from introducing nonphysical singularities as the horizontal separation between source and field points goes to zero. The new numerical technique requires very few computational resources, and it has the merit of providing single closed-form approximations for the Green's functions that are accurate both in the near and far fields. A very good agreement has been found when comparing the results obtained with the new technique with those obtained via a numerically intensive computation of Sommerfeld integrals