Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caste and Punishment: The Legacy of Caste Culture in Norm Enforcement

Well-functioning groups enforce social norms that restrain opportunism, but the social structure of a society may encourage or inhibit norm enforcement. This paper studies how the exogenous assignment to different positions in an extreme social hierarchy - the caste system - affects individuals' willingness to punish violations of a cooperation norm. Although the analysis controls for individual wealth, education, and political participation, low-caste individuals exhibit a much lower willingness to punish norm violations that hurt members of their own caste, suggesting a cultural difference across caste status in the concern for members of ones own community. The lower willingness to punish may inhibit the low castes ability to sustain collective action and so may contribute to its economic vulnerability.
Comparison of Volatile Anesthetic Actions on Intracellular Calcium Stores of Vascular Smooth Muscle: Investigation in Isolated Systemic Resistance Arteries

Background Volatile anesthetic actions on intracellular Ca2+ stores (i.e., sarcoplasmic reticulum [SR]) of vascular smooth muscle have not been fully elucidated. Methods Using isometric force recording method and fura-2 fluorometry, the actions of four volatile anesthetics on SR were studied in isolated endothelium-denuded rat mesenteric arteries. Results Halothane (≥ 3%) and enflurane (≥ 3%), but not isoflurane and sevoflurane, increased the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in Ca2+-free solution. These Ca2+-releasing actions were eliminated by procaine. When each anesthetic was applied during Ca2+ loading, halothane (≥ 3%) and enflurane (5%), but not isoflurane and sevoflurane, decreased the amount of Ca2+ in the SR. However, if halothane or enflurane was applied with procaine during Ca2+ loading, both anesthetics increased the amount of Ca2+ in the SR. The caffeine-induced increase in [Ca2+]i was enhanced in the presence of halothane (≥ 1%), enflurane (≥ 1%), and isoflurane (≥ 3%) but was attenuated in the presence of sevoflurane (≥ 3%). The norepinephrine-induced increase in [Ca2+]i was enhanced only in the presence of sevoflurane (≥ 3%). Not all of these anesthetic effects on the [Ca2+]i were parallel with the simultaneously observed anesthetic effects on the force. Conclusions In systemic resistance arteries, the halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane differentially influence the SR functions. Both halothane and enflurane cause Ca2+ release from the caffeine-sensitive SR. In addition, both anesthetics appear to have a stimulating action on Ca2+ uptake in addition to the Ca2+-releasing action. Halothane, enflurane, and isoflurane all enhance, while sevoflurane attenuates, the Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release mechanism. However, only sevoflurane stimulates the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate–induced Ca2+ release mechanism. Isoflurane and sevoflurane do not stimulate Ca2+ release or influence Ca2+ uptake.
BEHAVIOR OF FRP PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES UNDER HUMAN INDUCED EXCITATION

The prediction of the dynamic response of pedestrian bridges under humaninduced excitation is a challenge in the design of pedestrian bridges, caused by the wide range of variables and the complex interaction effects. The use of new, lightweight materials, like FRP, and the trend to design long span and slender constructions lead to structures more sensitive to dynamical impact, which caused some vibrational problems at newly built bridges in the recent past. This brought increased attention to this topic. The present thesis aims to analyze the dynamic properties of the new material fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), to estimate the changes they cause in the dynamic response of respective constructions and to validate the current guidelines. The first part of the research includes a literature review in terms of pedestrian loading, their interaction with the structure, the characteristics of FRP and the specification of the current guidelines. In order to analyze the dynamic properties and the effects on the dynamic response, the second part presents a parametric analysis of simplified bridge structures and their dynamic response to different loads induced by pedestrians. In order to classify the new composite material, the estimated mechanical properties and dynamic characteristics are compared to the traditional material steel. FRPs are significantly lighter and less stiff than steel. The first property leads to a higher fundamental frequency, the later one counteracts this effect. The actual fundamental frequency of the unloaded system, which is also the main component in the dynamical evaluation specified in the AASHTO guideline, depends on the ratio stiffness to weight. In contrast to steel, FRP is more sensitive to human-induced loads. The additional mass of the pedestrians changes the fundamental frequency of the system significantly, due to the high ratio of live load to construction weight. This circumstance is disregarded by the current guidelines, which might have led to the vibrational problems at newly built pedestrian bridges. Furthermore, the lateralsynchronization-phenomenon, which is also not mentioned in the guidelines, has a significant impact on lively footbridges. A general approach for the consideration of the additional impact is introduced.
Liver metastases from colorectal cancer: regional intra-arterial treatment following failure of systemic chemotherapy

This study was designed to determine response rate, survival and toxicity associated with combination chemotherapy delivered intra-arterially to liver in patients with hepatic metastases of colorectal origin refractory to standard systemic treatment. A total of 28 patients who failed prior systemic treatment with fluoropyrimidines received a median of 5 cycles of intra-arterial treatment consisting of 5-fluorouracil 700 mg/m2/d, leucovorin 120 mg/m2/d, and cisplatin 20 mg/m2/d for 5 consecutive days. Cycles were repeated at intervals of 5–6 weeks. A major response was achieved in 48% of patients: complete response in 8% and partial response in 40%. The median duration of response was 11.5 months. Median survival was 12 months at a median follow up of 12 months. On multivariate analysis, the only variables with a significant impact on survival were response to treatment and performance status. Toxicity was moderate: grades III–IV neutropenia occurred in 29% of patients. Most of the patients complained of fatigue lasting for a few days following each cycle. There were no cases of hepatobiliary toxicity. These findings indicate that regional intra-arterial treatment should be considered in selected patients with predominantly liver disease following failure of standard treatment. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer. com
FLEXDROID: Enforcing In-App Privilege Separation in Android

—Mobile applications are increasingly integrating third-party libraries to provide various features, such as advertising, analytics, social networking, and more. Unfortunately, such integration with third-party libraries comes with the cost of potential privacy violations of users, because Android always grants a full set of permissions to third-party libraries as their host applications. Unintended accesses to users’ private data are underestimated threats to users’ privacy, as complex and often obfuscated third-party libraries make it hard for application developers to estimate the correct behaviors of third-party libraries. More critically, a wide adoption of native code (JNI) and dynamic code executions such as Java reﬂection or dynamic code reloading, makes it even harder to apply state-of- the-art security analysis. In this work, we propose F LEX D ROID , a new Android security model and isolation mechanism, that provides dynamic, ﬁne-grained access control for third-party libraries. With F LEX D ROID , application developers not only can gain a full control of third-party libraries (e.g., which permissions to grant or not), but also can specify how to make them behave after detecting a privacy violation (e.g., providing a mock user’s information or kill). To achieve such goals, we deﬁne a new notion of principals for third-party libraries, and develop a novel security mechanism, called inter-process stack inspection that is effective to JNI as well as dynamic code execution. Our usability study shows that developers can easily adopt F LEX D ROID ’s policy to their existing applications. Finally, our evaluation shows that F LEX D ROID can effectively restrict the permissions of third-party libraries with negligible overheads.
Study of the activity of quaternary ammonium compounds in the mitigation of biofouling in heat exchangers–condensers cooled by seawater

The effectiveness of two quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) (non-oxidising biocides) to reduce the growth of biofilm adhering to the tubes of a heat exchanger-condenser cooled by seawater was evaluated. Their effectiveness was compared to that of a conventional oxidising biocide (sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl]) under the same testing conditions. Each biocide was applied intermittently (6 h on, 6 h off) in a first shock stage (1.5 ppm over 8 days) and a second stabilising stage (0.5 ppm over 20 days). The results showed that the antifouling effectiveness of the first of the QACs (fifth generation) was comparable to that shown by the oxidising power of NaOCl. Although the reaction time was longer than that of NaOCl, both the compounds removed the biofilm, and the tube was practically restored to its clean condition. Treatment with the second of the QACs (fourth generation) allowed for the stabilisation of biofilm growth, but not for its removal. Ecotoxicology studies classified the QACs as environmentally harmless under the testing conditions.
Graph Convolutional Networks for Named Entity Recognition

In this paper we investigate the role of the dependency tree in a named entity recognizer upon using a set of GCN. We perform a comparison among different NER architectures and show that the grammar of a sentence positively influences the results. Experiments on the ontonotes dataset demonstrate consistent performance improvements, without requiring heavy feature engineering nor additional language-specific knowledge.
Emergence and spread of B2-ST131-O25b, B2-ST131-O16 and D-ST405 clonal groups among extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in Japan.

OBJECTIVES The increasing prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli has been associated with the emergence of the CTX-M-producing sequence type 131 (ST131) pandemic clonal group, a member of the O25b serogroup and the B2 phylogenetic group. To assess the clonal spread of ESBL-producing E. coli in Japan, a regional surveillance programme was conducted. METHODS A total of 581 ESBL-producing clinical specimen E. coli isolates were collected between 2001 and 2010. Clonal groups, including ST131, D-ST405, D-ST393 and D-ST69, were determined using the PCR O type, phylogenetic grouping by triplex PCR, allele-specific PCR and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). A subset of clonal groups underwent PFGE. RESULTS Among clonal strains, 215 isolates (37%) were identified as belonging to the ST131 group, 185 as B2-ST131-O25b (32%), 26 as B2-ST131-O16 (4%), 3 as B1-ST131-O25b (0.5%) and 1 as B2-ST131-O-non-typeable (0.1%). Forty-one isolates (7%) were identified as belonging to the D-ST405 clonal group, seven (1%) as D-ST69 and two (0.3%) as D-ST393. The B2-ST131-O16 clonal group was characterized by CTX-M-14 and a significantly lower ciprofloxacin resistance rate than the B2-ST131-O25b clonal group. The B2-ST131-O16 and B2-ST131-O25b clonal groups each made up a single PFGE cluster, with 65% similarity. The rate of ESBL-producing E. coli increased over the years (0.2% in 2001 to 9.7% in 2010) and corresponded to increases in the numbers of the B2-ST131-O25b, B2-ST131-O16 and D-ST405 clonal groups. CONCLUSIONS The B2-ST131-O25b, B2-ST131-O16 and D-ST405 clonal groups have contributed to the spread of ESBL-producing E. coli in Japan.
Molecular characterization and antibiotic resistance of enterotoxigenic and entero-aggregative Escherichia coli isolated from raw milk and unpasteurized cheeses

The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of enterotoxigenic and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strains and antibiotic resistance of the isolates in raw milk and unpasteurized cheese. Out of 200 samples of raw milk and 50 samples of unpasteurized cheeses, 96 and 24 strains of E. coli were isolated, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the genes encoding heat-stable enterotoxin a (STa), heat-stable enterotoxin b (STb), heat labile toxin (LT) and enteroaggregative heat-stable toxin1 (EAST1). Twelve out of 120 (10.00%) isolates harbored the gene for EAST1, 2(1.66%) isolates were detected as producing STb and LT toxins and 12 (10.00%) strains contained STb and EAST1 genes. None of the strains contain the STa gene. All of the strains were tested for antibiotic resistance by disk diffusion method. Disks included: ciprofloxacin (CFN), trimetoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TSX), oxytetracycline (OTC), gentamicin (GMN), cephalexin (CPN), nalidixic acid (NDA) and nitrofurantoin (NFN), ampicillin (AMP), neomycin (NEO) and streptomycin (STM). Among 120 isolated strains of E. coli, the resistance to each antibiotics were as follows: OTC100%, CPN 86.00%, NDA 56.00%, NFN 42.00%, GMN 30.00%, TSX 28.00%, CFN 20%, AM 23.40% and STM 4.25%. None of the isolates were resistant to NEO. The present data indicate that different resistant E. coli pathogens may be found in raw milk and unpasteurized cheese. It poses an infection risk for human and transferring the resistant factors to microflora of the consumers gut.
Tumor Suppressors p53, p63TAα, p63TAy, p73α, and p73β Use Distinct Pathways to Repress Telomerase Expression*

Background: Inactivation of p53 and reactivation of telomerase expression are two of the most common events in human cancer. Results: Here we report the mechanisms used by p53, p63, and p73 to suppress telomerase expression. Conclusion: p53, p63, and p73 suppress telomerase expression through distinct pathways that involve E2F, E-box, c-Myc, and NF-YB. Significance: This study provides new insights into the cellular pathways used by p53, p63, and p73 to suppress hTERT expression. The promoter of the telomerase catalytic subunit (TERT) is subject to tight regulation and remains repressed in somatic cells to ensure their limited life span and to prevent tumor initiation. Here we report that the hTERT promoter is strongly repressed by p53 and the related family members p63 and p73. We found that p53-mediated repression was different in human and mouse cells and occurred through p53-dependent transcription inhibition of c-Myc or through E-box/E2F pathways, respectively. Although p63TAα-mediated repression occurred through SP1, p63TAy-mediated repression occurred through E2F signaling. Finally, p73α- and p73β-mediated repression occurred through NF-YB2. Our results show a complex multifactorial mechanism used by p53 and its family members to keep hTERT expression under tight control.
The influence of oculomotor tasks on postural control in dyslexic children

Dual task is known to affect postural stability in children. We explored the effect of visual tasks on postural control in thirty dyslexic children. A selected group of thirty chronological age-matched non-dyslexic children (mean age: 9.92 ± 0.35 years) and a group of thirty reading age-matched non-dyslexic children (mean reading age: 7.90 ± 0.25 years) were chosen for comparison. All children underwent ophthalmologic and optometric evaluation. Eye movements were recorded by a video-oculography system (EyeBrain® T2) and postural sway was recorded simultaneously by a force platform (TechnoConept®). All children performed fixations, pursuits, pro- and anti-saccades tasks. Dyslexic children showed significantly poor near fusional vergence ranges (convergence and divergence) with respect to the non-dyslexic children groups. During the postural task, quality of fixation and anti-saccade performance in dyslexic children were significantly worse compared to the two non-dyslexic children groups. In contrast, the number of catch-up saccades during pursuits and the latency of pro- and anti-saccades were similar in the three groups of children examined. Concerning postural quality, dyslexic children were more unstable than chronological age-matched non-dyslexic children group. For all three groups of children tested we also observed that executing saccades (pro- and anti-saccades) reduced postural values significantly in comparison with fixation and pursuit tasks. The impairment in convergence and divergence fusional capabilities could be due to an immaturity in cortical structures controlling the vergence system. The poor oculomotor performance reported in dyslexic children suggested a deficit in allocating visual attention and their postural instability observed is in line with the cerebellar impairment previously reported in dyslexic children. Finally, pro- or anti-saccades reduce postural values compared to fixation and pursuit tasks in all groups of children tested, suggesting a different influence of visual tasks on postural control according to their attentional demand.
Cerebellar direct current stimulation modulates pain perception in humans.

PURPOSE The cerebellum is involved in a wide number of integrative functions, but its role in pain experience and in the nociceptive information processing is poorly understood. In healthy volunteers we evaluated the effects of transcranial cerebellar direct current stimulation (tcDCS) by studying the changes in the perceptive threshold, pain intensity at given stimulation intensities (VAS:0-10) and laser evoked potentials (LEPs) variables (N1 and N2/P2 amplitudes and latencies). METHODS Fifteen subjects were studied before and after anodal, cathodal and sham tcDCS. LEPs were obtained using a neodymium:yttrium-aluminium-perovskite (Nd:YAP) laser and recorded from the dorsum of the left hand. VAS was evaluated by delivering laser pulses at two different intensities, respectively two and three times the perceptive threshold. RESULTS Cathodal polarization dampened significantly the perceptive threshold and increased the VAS score, while the anodal one had opposite effects. Cathodal tcDCS increased significantly the N1 and N2/P2 amplitudes and decreased their latencies, whereas anodal tcDCS elicited opposite effects. Motor thresholds assessed through transcranial magnetic stimulation were not affected by cerebellar stimulation. CONCLUSIONS tcDCS modulates pain perception and its cortical correlates. Since it is effective on both N1 and N2/P2 components, we speculate that the cerebellum engagement in pain processing modulates the activity of both somatosensory and cingulate cortices. Present findings prompt investigation of the cerebellar direct current polarization as a possible novel and safe therapeutic tool in chronic pain patients.
Metabolic Alterations in Cancer Cells and the Emerging Role of Oncometabolites as Drivers of Neoplastic Change

The mitochondrion is an important organelle and provides energy for a plethora of intracellular reactions. Metabolic dysregulation has dire consequences for the cell, and alteration in metabolism has been identified in multiple disease states—cancer being one. Otto Warburg demonstrated that cancer cells, in the presence of oxygen, undergo glycolysis by reprogramming their metabolism—termed “aerobic glycolysis”. Alterations in metabolism enable cancer cells to gain a growth advantage by obtaining precursors for macromolecule biosynthesis, such as nucleic acids and lipids. To date, several molecules, termed “oncometabolites”, have been identified to be elevated in cancer cells and arise from mutations in nuclear encoded mitochondrial enzymes. Furthermore, there is evidence that oncometabolites can affect mitochondrial dynamics. It is believed that oncometabolites can assist in reprogramming enzymatic pathways and providing cancer cells with selective advantages. In this review, we will touch upon the effects of normal and aberrant mitochondrial metabolism in normal and cancer cells, the advantages of metabolic reprogramming, effects of oncometabolites on metabolism and mitochondrial dynamics and therapies aimed at targeting oncometabolites and metabolic aberrations.
The psychosocial situation of obese children: Psychological factors and quality of life

The psychosocial situation of obese children at the beginning of the Freiburg Intervention Trial for Obese Children (FITOC) program influences the course and outcome of intervention therapy. At the beginning of FITOC, mothers of 30 children (12 ♂ age 10.5 ± 1.4, 18 ♀; 10.2 ± 1.3) rated the psychopathological symptoms using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the quality of life of their children (Inventar zur Erfassung der Lebensqualität [ILK]). 46.6% of mothers rated their children to be disturbed (normal population group, 2% disturbed). There was no correlation between the body mass index of the child and the CBCL score. On the ILK, the obese children themselves selected “good” while the mother’s view of their childrens’ quality of life varied around “poor”. The stress on the mother increased with the degree of the child’s obesity and number of critical life events (p = 0.030). The CBCL and the ILK at the beginning of treatment serve as a good screening instrument for psychopathology and distress in children with obesity.
The Gene ssl3076 Encodes a Protein Mediating the Salt-Induced Expression of ggpS for the Biosynthesis of the Compatible Solute Glucosylglycerol in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803

ABSTRACT Acclimation to high salt concentrations involves concerted changes in gene expression. For the majority of salt-regulated genes, the mechanism underlying the induction process is not known. The gene ggpS (sll1566), which encodes the glucosylglycerol-phosphate synthase responsible for the synthesis of the compatible solute glucosylglycerol (GG), is specifically induced by salt in the cyanobacterial model strain Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. To identify mechanisms mediating this salt-specific gene regulation, the ggpS promoter was analyzed in more detail. 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5′-RACE) experiments revealed that the adjacent open reading frame (ORF), which is annotated as unknown protein Ssl3076, overlaps with the transcriptional start site of the ggpS gene. Reporter gene expression analyses indicated an essential role for the intact ssl3076 gene in the salt-regulated transcription of a gfp reporter gene. Promoter fragments containing a mutated ssl3076 lost the salt regulation; similarly, a frameshift mutation in ssl3076 resulted in a high level of ggpS expression under low-salt conditions, thereby establishing this small ORF, named ggpR, as a negative regulator of ggpS. Interestingly, small ORFs were also found adjacent to ggpS genes in the genomes of other GG-accumulating cyanobacteria. These results suggest that the GgpR protein represses ggpS expression under low-salt conditions, whereas in salt-shocked and salt-acclimated cells a stress-proportional ggpS expression occurs, leading to GG accumulation.