Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The interleukin-1 beta-converting enzyme (ICE) is localized on the external cell surface membranes and in the cytoplasmic ground substance of human monocytes by immuno-electron microscopy

Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-converting enzyme (ICE) is a novel cysteine protease that cleaves the 31-kD inactive cytoplasmic IL-1 beta precursor into active extracellular 17-kD IL-1 beta. The ICE gene product is a 45-kD proenzyme that requires proteolytic processing to activate ICE. Active ICE is a heterodimer consisting of equal amounts of p20 and p10 subunits. Generation of active ICE is affected by the removal of an 11-kD NH2-terminal precursor domain (p11) and an internal 19-amino acid sequence that separates the 20- and 10-kD subunits. Immuno-electron microscopy was performed on human monocytes with immunoglobulins recognizing the active (p20) or precursor (p11) domains of ICE. Elutriated monocytes were stimulated with 50 pM lipopolysaccharide followed by heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus under conditions that induce maximal rates of IL-1 beta secretion. Ultrathin cryosections were cut from fixed frozen pellets of these monocytes and were immunogold labeled with either antibody. Active and precursor domain ICE epitopes were localized in the cytoplasmic ground substance, but they were not detected within the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, and secretory granules of activated or inactive monocytes. Importantly, numerous ICE p20 epitopes were also observed on the extracellular surfaces of the cell membrane, and were concentrated on the microvilli. Very similar patterns of ICE localization were obtained with unstimulated blood monocytes. In contrast, ICE p11 epitopes were not detected on the surfaces of these monocytes. Likewise, labeling of fixed ultrathin cryosections of monocytes with a biotinylated irreversible ICE inhibitor [Ac-Tyr-Val-Lys(biotin)-Asp-(acyloxy)-methyl- ketone] showed that the compound localized on the outer cell surface as well, and to a lesser extent, within the cytoplasmic ground substance. Furthermore, antipeptide antibodies specific for either the mature or precursor domains of IL-1 beta were both localized upon the cell membrane after stimulation of IL-1 beta secretion. Lipopolysaccaride- primed monocytes that synthesized, but did not secrete IL-1 beta, exhibited only cytoplasmic staining. The data suggests that mature IL-1 beta is generated via cleavage of the 31-kD inactive cytoplasmic IL-1 beta precursor by ICE after association with the plasma membrane during secretion.
Pain as the Only Manifestation of Internal Carotid Artery Dissection

Internal carotid artery dissection is a major cause of ischemic stroke in the young. Pain is the leading symptom and is associated with other focal signs such as Horner's syndrome and painful tinnitus or with signs of cerebral or retinal ischemia. We report two patients with angiographically confirmed extracranial internal carotid artery dissection presenting with cephalic pain as the only manifestation. The first patient had a diffuse headache and a latero-cervical pain lasting for 12 days, reminiscent of carotidynia. The second patient experienced an exploding headache suggestive of subarachnoid hemorrhage, which was ruled out by computed tomography of the head and cerebrospinal fluid study. These patients demonstrate that recognition of carotid artery dissection as a cause of carotidynia and headache suggestive of subarachnoid hemorrhage may permit an earlier diagnosis and possibly the prevention of a stroke through the use of anticoagulation.
Dynamic Portfolio Strategy Using Clustering Approach

The problem of portfolio optimization is one of the most important issues in asset management. We here propose a new dynamic portfolio strategy based on the time-varying structures of MST networks in Chinese stock markets, where the market condition is further considered when using the optimal portfolios for investment. A portfolio strategy comprises two stages: First, select the portfolios by choosing central and peripheral stocks in the selection horizon using five topological parameters, namely degree, betweenness centrality, distance on degree criterion, distance on correlation criterion and distance on distance criterion. Second, use the portfolios for investment in the investment horizon. The optimal portfolio is chosen by comparing central and peripheral portfolios under different combinations of market conditions in the selection and investment horizons. Market conditions in our paper are identified by the ratios of the number of trading days with rising index to the total number of trading days, or the sum of the amplitudes of the trading days with rising index to the sum of the amplitudes of the total trading days. We find that central portfolios outperform peripheral portfolios when the market is under a drawup condition, or when the market is stable or drawup in the selection horizon and is under a stable condition in the investment horizon. We also find that peripheral portfolios gain more than central portfolios when the market is stable in the selection horizon and is drawdown in the investment horizon. Empirical tests are carried out based on the optimal portfolio strategy. Among all possible optimal portfolio strategies based on different parameters to select portfolios and different criteria to identify market conditions, 65% of our optimal portfolio strategies outperform the random strategy for the Shanghai A-Share market while the proportion is 70% for the Shenzhen A-Share market.
Low‐conductance intercellular coupling between mouse chromaffin cells in situ

1 Patch‐clamp experiments were used to compare membrane properties of mouse chromaffin cells in thin tissue slices and of isolated cells in primary culture. The mean membrane input resistance (Rin) and membrane capacitance were 3.1 ± 0.5 GΩ and 9.1 ± 0.5 pF in situ and 9.9 ± 1.8 GΩ and 8.2 ± 0.2 pF in isolated cells. 2 Spike‐like currents were observed on top of the calcium currents during depolarizations in thirty out of forty‐nine cells in situ. They were not seen in isolated cells nor after addition of Cd2+ (100 μM) and TTX (10 μM) to the perfusate of the slices. The mean Rin of cells which displayed current spikes (2.3 ± 0.18 GΩ) was significantly smaller than that of cells lacking spikes (3.9 ± 0.25 GΩ). It is suggested that the current spikes represent intercellular currents which result from action potential firing in neighbouring cells during the depolarization of the patch‐clamped cell. 3 Investigation of capacitative currents induced by square voltage pulses showed a slow component in twenty‐four out of twenty‐seven cells in situ. 4 It is concluded that a large fraction of mouse chromaffin cells in situ are electrically coupled. From the slow capacitative currents and the amplitude of the intercellular current spikes a junctional conductance between chromaffin cells of below 1 nS was deduced. 5 This junctional conductance appears to be too low to support spreading of electrical activity in cases where a single cell is stimulated by an action potential. However, the junctional conductance could allow longer depolarizations of one cell or simultaneous firing of several cells to trigger electrical activity in neighbouring cells.
Real-time and model-free object tracking using particle filter with Joint Color-Spatial Descriptor

This paper presents a novel point-cloud descriptor for robust and real-time tracking of multiple objects without any object knowledge. Following with the framework of incremental model-free multiple object tracking from our previous work [5][7][6], 6 DoF pose of each object is firstly estimated with input point-cloud data which is then segmented according to the estimated objects, and incremental model of each object is updated from the segmented point-clouds. Here, we propose Joint Color-Spatial Descriptor (JCSD) to enhance the robustness of the pose hypothesis evaluation to the point-cloud scene in the particle filtering framework. The method outperforms widely used point-to-point comparison methods, especially in the partially occluded scene, which is frequently happened in the dynamic object manipulation cases. By means of the robust descriptor, we achieved unsupervised multiple object segmentation accuracy higher than 99%. The model-free multiple object tracking was implemented by using a particle filtering with JCSD as a likelihood function. The robust likelihood function is implemented with GPU, thus facilitating real-time tracking of multiple objects.
A Corpus-Based Study of Interruptions in Spoken Dialogue

We examine interruptions in a corpus of spontaneous taskoriented dialogue. We present evidence that interruptions occur at particular places in conversation. They are likely to occur during or after speech with certain acoustic/prosodic properties. We also examine the speech of interruptions themselves and find a number of significant differences between interrupting and non-interrupting turns.
Using video game development to engage undergraduate students of assembly language programming

It is widely accepted that the instruction of programming in assembly language is often a challenging and frustrating experience, both to educators and undergraduate students. Although little can be done to simplify the curriculum, it is absolutely crucial that frustration not compel students to abandon the subject. Our use of game development in a second-year course affords a unique opportunity to present this complex subject, without omission, in such a way as to create an experience that most students find entertaining. The results of a class survey indicated that 65% of participants agree or strongly agree that the experience was enjoyable (with only 11% in disagreement). We conclude that this ensures a sufficiently engaging experience that offsets the tedium inherent to the subject. The consensus of most students was that the complexity of video game design does not detract from their enjoyment of the course and contrarily has a positive impact on their learning overall. This position is supported by additional survey results.
The effects of titanium Ti-6Al-4V powders manufactured using electron beam melting (EBM) - additive manufacturing on metallurgical evaluation

Multiple methods of manufacturing Ti-6Al-4V powders for Additive Manufacturing (AM) are available. The effects of the powder quality, properties and post-processing conditions on microstructure and mechanical properties in Electron Beam Melting (EBM) process are investigated in this work. Two powders manufactured using Plasma (PA) and Gas (GA) Atomisation were fully characterised. Test specimens were built using default manufacturer’s (Arcam) parameters and mechanically tensile tested in different post-processing conditions: as built (near net-shape), heat treated using Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), and on surface machined. Each build specimen was cut and polished to analyse for porosity, defects, and microstructure. The microstructure of as-built samples was found to be of very fine and acicular morphology due to high solidification rate. HIP heat treatment has been observed to homogenise as-built anisotropic grain microstructure, with reduction and elimination of gas pores and defects for as-built EBM samples. However, this (HIP) also resulted in coarser grain microstructure. Both GA and PA specimens yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) measured, with PA found to have higher values in comparison to GA. The study found that lack of fusion/un-melted particles caused lower elongation for as-built PA samples due to un-optimised parameters and process instability. Spherical gas pores (argon trapped) in GA powders and parts were predominately found due to atomisation process thus inherited in as-built parts. Nonetheless, all samples had better and some above the minimum ASTM F294-14 titanium tensile requirement. The PA yield strength and tensile strength of the EBM as-built specimens were 850 and 925 MPa irrespectively, while GA yield strength and tensile strengths were 810 and 887 MPa irrespectively.
Neonatal rotavirus infection in Bangladesh: strain characterization and risk factors for nosocomial infection.

BACKGROUND Rotavirus (RV) diarrhea is an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in Bangladesh and is responsible for 24% of hospital admissions for diarrhea in children from 3 months to 2 years of age. However, the prevalence of neonatal RV infections and characteristics of RV strains infecting neonates have not been explored in Bangladesh. METHODS We investigated neonates at six hospitals in Bangladesh to determine the prevalence of neonatal RV infection, to identify risk factors for infection and to characterize neonatal RV strains by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Of 381 neonates screened at 6 hospitals 61 of 146 infants (42%) at 2 hospitals in Dhaka were RV-positive. Of these 62% were detected within the first 5 days of life. We found an increased risk for neonatal RV infection among infants whose mothers reported no handwashing during care of the neonate (P = 0.03). Analysis of RV strains in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-positive specimens identified P[6]G4 and P[6]G1 genotypes to be most common; 7% (2 of 27) of strains were nontypable. A concurrent analysis of RV strains circulating in Bangladesh suggested that RV genotypes infecting neonates had a distinct P genotype, because most community strains were P-nontypable compared with neonatal strains, which carried the P[6] genotype. CONCLUSIONS Hospitalized neonates in Dhaka have increased risk for infection with RV as early as the first week of life with strains having the unusual P[6] genotype. Our findings confirm studies in India showing that neonatal RV infection can be common and may occur with strains distinct from those circulating in the community. Neonatal RV infections could alter a child's response to the RV vaccine as well as the calculation of RV vaccine efficacy in these populations.
Bipedal walking with toe-off, heel-strike and compliance with external disturbances

Both disturbance rejection and human-like motions, like toe-off and heel-strike, are important for a biped robot to enhance its performance. However, the required motions for them may influence each other, which is why few studies consider them simultaneously. This paper presents a method to realize stable walking with toe-off and heel-strike even when the robot experiences disturbances. We propose a walking controller which can constrain the desired ground reaction force. On the one hand, the controller can adjust the torso acceleration to make the supporting leg compliant with the external disturbances on the torso. On the other hand, it can rotate the supporting foot by adjusting the ZMP to an appropriate location. The linear inverted pendulum is utilized to generate the CoM trajectory and the foot placement. Meanwhile, its ZMP can be predefined as required so that the toe-off and heel-strike can be achieved by the controller. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by simulations.
A new upper bound on the minimum distance of turbo codes

In this paper, a new upper bound on the minimum distance of turbo codes is derived. The new bound is obtained by construction of an undirected graph which reflects the characteristics of the constituent codes and the interleaver. The resulting expression shows that the minimum distance of a turbo code grows approximately with the base-3 logarithm of the information word length. The new bound is easy to compute, applies to rate k/sub 0//n/sub 0/ constituent encoders, and often improves over existing results.
The Exploration of Carrier Behavior in the Inverted Mixed Perovskite Single‐Crystal Solar Cells

Perovskite single crystal (PSC) possesses fewer bulk defects than the polycrystalline film counterpart, which has received extensive attention in a number of optoelectronic device applications. But the management of carrier behavior in an efficient solar cell based on PSC is not reported yet. Here, the carrier behavior within the device based on the ITO/NiOx/(FAPbI3)0.85(MAPbBr3)0.15/TiO2/Ag structure (FA = CH(NH2)2+, MA = CH3NH3+), in which the mixed PSC is successfully implemented into solar cells for the first time, is investigated. The PSC films with lateral dimension from 500 µm to 2 mm and thickness over tens of micrometers, are obtained through the polydimethylsiloxane‐assisted solvent evaporation method. The highest power conversion efficiency derived from the present device approaches 12.18%. It is revealed that the surface roughness and thickness of PSC, the operation temperature and thickness of transport layers, and the interfaces of transport layers/PSC largely impact the carrier extraction and device performance of the perovskite single‐crystal solar cell (PSCSC). This work indicates that the carrier behavior in the absorber layer and transport layer has large impact on the performance of PSCSCs, while the underlying design rule represents an important step to advance the PSCSCs and other optoelectronic devices.
THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.

Decisions concerning marriage, fertility, participation, and the education of children are explained using a two-stage game-theoretical model. The paper examines the effects of (i) family law (cost of obtaining a divorce, alimony, availability of quasi-marriages such as PACS in France, and civil partnership in the UK), (ii) legislation concerning the assignment of property rights over total goods and assets acquired within marriage, (iii) enforceability of bride-price contracts, and (iv) length and effective enforcement of compulsory education. The predictions are consistent with two empirical observations. One is that, the tendency in developed countries is towards mother and father sharing market work and the care of the children equally between them, while the predominant pattern in developing countries is for the father to specialize in market work leaving the care of the children to the mother. The other is that the sign of the cross-country correlation between fertility and female labour market participation, negative until the mid-1970s, has turned positive where developed, but not developing countries are concerned since that date. The model provides a gender-neutral explanation of why girls in developing countries tend to get less education than boys of the same educational ability, and of why a substantial minority of women in some developed countries work and earn more than their male partners. We also derive and discuss the implications of a number of normative propositions. JEL Code: D13, J12, J13, J24, K39.
Laparoscopic splenectomy for splenomegaly using a homemade retrieval BAG

Introduction Operating on an enlarged spleen via the laparoscopic approach presents several challenges. A homemade bag may facilitate retrieval of the enlarged spleen assisted by a laparoscope and save medical expense. Aim To assess the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic splenectomy for moderate or massive splenomegaly using our technique and a homemade retrieval bag. Material and methods Fifty patients underwent laparoscopic splenectomy for moderate or massive splenomegaly which was defined as the major axis exceeding 17 cm by abdominal computed tomography. A homemade retrieval bag made from a commercial sterile infusion container which costs about US$ 1–2 per piece was used for spleen retrieval. Two transabdominal sutures for suspension of the retrieval bag were made to aid specimen removal in this technique. Results There were 31 males and 19 females with mean age of 56 ±11 years. Laparoscopic splenectomy was successfully completed in 49 of these 50 patients. Overall, mean operative time was 149 ±31 min (range: 100–252 min). Median estimated blood loss was 189 ±155 ml (range: 50–920 ml). There were 12 minor complications but no mortality. Time to discharge after surgery ranged from 3 to 9 (mean: 4.7 ±1.7 days). The average splenic weight was 729 ±74 g (range: 632–930 g). Conclusions Our preliminary results indicate that laparoscopic splenectomy is feasible and safe for moderate or massive splenomegaly and may be a well-tolerated alternative to open splenectomy. Not only is the cost of our homemade retrieval bag low, but also it is easy to make and ready to use.
Decision procedures for guarded logics

Different variants of guarded logics (a powerful generalization of modal logics) are surveyed and the recent decidability result for guarded fixed point logic (obtained in joint work with I. Walukiewicz) is explained. The exposition given here emphasizes the tree model property of guarded logics: every satisfiable sentence has a model of bounded tree width. Based on the tree model property, different methods for reasoning with guarded fixed point sentences are presented: (1) reduction to the monadic theory of countable trees (SwS); (2) reduction to the μ-calculus with backwards modalities; (3) the automata theoretic method (which gives theoretically optimal complexity results).
Profile of children with head injuries treated at the trauma unit of Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, 1991 - 2001.

OBJECTIVE To describe the profile of childhood head injury patients treated in a trauma unit. DESIGN A retrospective record-based study. SETTING The trauma unit of the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital. SUBJECTS Children (under 13 years of age) presenting with head injuries between January 1991 and December 2001. RESULTS Of the almost 94 000 records, more than one-third were children presenting with head injuries. Fifty-nine per cent were boys, with more than half the sample under 5 years of age. The majority of children presented with superficial lacerations and abrasions, mostly affecting the scalp and skull. Injuries were mainly caused by falls from a variety of heights, and traffic-related injuries. Almost two-thirds of traffic-related injuries involved children as pedestrians being struck by a motor vehicle. More than 60% of injuries occurred in or around the child's own home. CONCLUSIONS Head injuries in children are a significant cause of morbidity. Prevention, especially in the home and on the streets, needs urgent attention.
Oral Exposure to Phytomonas serpens Attenuates Thrombocytopenia and Leukopenia during Acute Infection with Trypanosoma cruzi

Mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease, rapidly develop anemia and thrombocytopenia. These effects are partially promoted by the parasite trans-sialidase (TS), which is shed in the blood and depletes sialic acid from the platelets, inducing accelerated platelet clearance and causing thrombocytopenia during the acute phase of disease. Here, we demonstrate that oral immunization of C57BL/6 mice with Phytomonas serpens, a phytoflagellate parasite that shares common antigens with T. cruzi but has no TS activity, reduces parasite burden and prevents thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. Immunization also reduces platelet loss after intraperitoneal injection of TS. In addition, passive transfer of immune sera raised in mice against P. serpens prevented platelet clearance. Thus, oral exposure to P. serpens attenuates the progression of thrombocytopenia induced by TS from T. cruzi. These findings are not only important for the understanding of the pathogenesis of T. cruzi infection but also for developing novel approaches of intervention in Chagas disease.