Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel RNA biomarkers of prostate cancer revealed by RNA-seq analysis of formalin-fixed samples obtained from Russian patients

Due to heterogeneous multifocal nature of prostate cancer (PCa), there is currently a lack of biomarkers that stably distinguish it from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), predict clinical outcome and guide the choice of optimal treatment. In this study RNA-seq analysis was applied to formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor and matched normal tissue samples collected from Russian patients with PCa and BPH. We identified 3384 genes differentially expressed (DE) (FDR < 0.05) between tumor tissue of PCa patients and adjacent normal tissue as well as both tissue types from BPH patients. Overexpression of four of the discovered genes (ANKRD34B, NEK5, KCNG3, and PTPRT) was validated by RT-qPCR. Furthermore, the enrichment analysis of overrepresented microRNA and transcription factor (TF) recognition sites within DE genes revealed common regulatory elements of which 13 microRNAs and 53 TFs were thus linked to PCa for the first time. Moreover, 8 of these TFs (FOXJ2, GATA6, NFE2L1, NFIL3, PRRX2, TEF, EBF2 and ZBTB18) were found to be differentially expressed in this study making them not only candidate biomarkers of prostate cancer but also potential therapeutic targets.
The Interplay of Hippocampus and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex in Memory-Based Decision Making

Episodic memory and value-based decision making are two central and intensively studied research domains in cognitive neuroscience, but we are just beginning to understand how they interact to enable memory-based decisions. The two brain regions that have been associated with episodic memory and value-based decision making are the hippocampus and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, respectively. In this review article, we first give an overview of these brain–behavior associations and then focus on the mechanisms of potential interactions between the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex that have been proposed and tested in recent neuroimaging studies. Based on those possible interactions, we discuss several directions for future research on the neural and cognitive foundations of memory-based decision making.
Molecular model of the A subunit of protein phosphatase 2A: interaction with other subunits and tumor antigens

Protein phosphatase 2A consists of three subunits, the catalytic subunit (C) and two regulatory subunits (A and B). The A subunit has a rod-like shape and consists of 15 nonidentical repeats. It binds the catalytic subunit through repeats 11 to 15 at the C terminus and the tumor antigens encoded by small DNA tumor viruses through overlapping but distinct regions at N-terminal repeats 2 to 8. A model of the A subunit was developed on the basis of the fact that uncharged or hydrophobic amino acids are conserved at eight defined positions within each repeat. Helical wheel projections suggested that each repeat can be arranged as two interacting amphipathic helixes connected by a short loop. Mutational analysis of the A subunit revealed that the proposed loops are important for binding of tumor antigens, the B subunit, and the C subunit. Native gel analysis of mutant A subunits synthesized in vitro demonstrated that the binding region for the B subunit, previously thought to include repeats 2 to 8, covers repeats 1 to 10 and that the B and C subunits cooperate in binding to the A subunit.
Automatic phonetic segmentation of Spanish emotional speech

To achieve high quality synthetic emotional speech, unitselection is the state-of-the-art technique. Nevertheless, a large expensive phonetically-segmented corpus is needed, and cost-effective automatic techniques should be studied. According to the HMM experiments in this paper: segmentation performance can depend heavily on the segmental or prosodic nature of the intended emotion (segmental emotions are more difficult to segment than prosodic ones), several emotions should be combined to obtain a larger training set (especially when prosodic emotions are involved; this is especially true for small training sets) and a combination of emphatic and nonemphatic emotional recordings (short sentences vs. long paragraphs) can degrade overall performance.
Weighted Competition Graphs

We introduce a generalization of competition graphs, called weighted competition graphs. The weighted competition graph of a digraph D = (V,A), denoted by Cw(D), is an edge-weighted graph (G,w) such that G = (V,E) is the competition graph of D, and the weight w(e) of an edge e = xy ∈ E is the number of the common preys of x and y in D. We investigate properties of weighted competition graphs.
The peculiar galaxy Mkn 298 revisited with integral field spectroscopy

Spectroscopic and imaging data of the peculiar galaxy Mkn 298 are presented. Narrow-band Hα and broad-band R images are used to study the star formation rate in the galaxy and its morphology, which is typical of a merging system. Long-slit and integral field spectra are used to assess the kinematics of gas and stars, and the nature of the ionizing source at dif- ferent distances from the nucleus. In particular, the nucleus of Mkn 298 is characterized by peculiar line ratios: (N )λ6583/Hα is typical of H -like regions, while (O )λ6300/Hα could indicate the presence of an active galactic nucleus. We show that models where a shock component is added to photoionization from a starburst allow us to reproduce the observed line ratios. Mkn 298 is thus most likely a star-forming galaxy, rather than a galaxy hosting an active nucleus.
Influence of a Vent Hole on the Retentive Force of a Cement-retained Superstructure before/after Thermocycling

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of a vent hole on the retentive force of a cement-retained superstructure to an abutment.Methods: The retentive force of superstructures with/without a vent hole, retained using one of two luting cements, was measured using a universal testing machine both before and after thermocyclingResults: The retentive force of the cement-retained superstructure with the vent hole was greater than that of the cement-retained superstructure without the vent hole. While the retentive force decreased significantly after thermocycling, the size of the vent hole had little influence on the retentive force.Conclusion: It was concluded that placement of a vent hole in the superstructure is useful, with little adverse effect on the retentive force of the restoration.
Montgomery® Salivary Bypass Tube in the Reconstruction of the Hypopharynx Cost-Benefit Study

This study analyzes the postoperative complications and the functional results in 61 patients who underwent total laryngectomy with partial or total (circumferential) pharyngectomy reconstructed with a pectoralis major myocutaneous flap, in relation to the use of the Montgomery® Salivary Bypass Tube (MSBPT). There were no significant differences regarding frequency of postoperative cervical complications in relation to the use of the MSBPT. The median hospital stay for patients without the MSBPT (36 days) was significantly higher than that for patients with the MSBPT (25 days). Although the MSBPT did not modify the rate of complications at the cervical level, it did reduce their severity. A financial study showed the cost-effectiveness of using the MSBPT. Systematic use of the MSBPT is recommended after total laryngectomy with partial or total pharyngectomy reconstructed with a pectoralis major myocutaneous flap.
Normalization by evaluation for typed lambda calculus with coproducts

Solves the decision problem for the simply typed lambda calculus with a strong binary sum, or, equivalently, the word problem for free Cartesian closed categories with binary co-products. Our method is based on the semantic technique known as "normalization by evaluation", and involves inverting the interpretation of the syntax in a suitable sheaf model and, from this, extracting an appropriate unique normal form. There is no rewriting theory involved and the proof is completely constructive, allowing program extraction from the proof.
Enabling Confidentiality in Content-Based Publish/Subscribe Infrastructures

Content-based publish/subscribe (CBPS) is an interaction model where the interests of subscribers are stored in a content-based forwarding infrastructure to guide routing of notifications to interested parties. In this paper, we focus on answering the following question: can we implement content-based publish/subscribe while keeping subscriptions and notifications confidential from the forwarding brokers? Our contributions include a systematic analysis of the problem, providing a formal security model and showing that the maximum level of attainable security in this setting is restricted. We focus on enabling provable confidentiality for commonly used applications and subscription languages in CBPS and present a series of practical provably secure protocols, some of which are novel and others adapted from existing work. We have implemented these protocols in Siena, a popular CBPS system. Evaluation results show that confidential content-based publish/subscribe is practical: a single broker serving 1000 subscribers is able to route more than 100 notifications per second with our solutions
Response of Human Glioma U87 Xenografted on Mice to Non Thermal Plasma Treatment

Non thermal atmospheric plasma is a new promising candidate in anticancer therapy. We have already reported the absence of skin damage induced by our plasma treat- ment. Preliminary results suggested that this treatment could also induce an antitumor effect on U87 malignant glioma xenografts, and we conducted this work to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of plasma in this model. Antitumor effects were assessed by tumor volume measure - ment and bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Plasma treatment was applied during five consecu - tive days in open air with a µs-duration pulsed floating electrode dielectric barrier discharge (FE-DBD), which delivered about 0.75 W at 200 Hz on the mouse skin. Our results showed a significant tumor volume decrease of 56% for treated mice at the end of the treatment, with a concomitant decrease of BLI intensity. Moreover, this tumor volume reduction translated into an increase of mouse life span of 60%, median survival being 9.5 and 15.0 days for control and plasma-treated mice, respectively. In conclusion, our study demonstrates a marked antitumor effect of plasma treatment in U87 glioma xenografts. These results, obtained in both a radio and chemoresistant model, are very promising and highlight the potential of plasma treatment as an anticancer treatment with little or no toxic side effects.
Designing Parameterizable Hardware IPs in a Model-Based Design Environment for High-Level Synthesis

Model-based hardware design allows one to map a single model to multiple hardware and/or software architectures, essentially eliminating one of the major limitations of manual coding in C or RTL. Model-based design for hardware implementation has traditionally offered a limited set of microarchitectures, which are typically suitable only for some application scenarios. In this article we illustrate how digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms can be modeled as flexible intellectual property blocks to be used within the popular Simulink model-based design environment. These blocks are written in C and are designed for both functional simulation and hardware implementation, including architectural design space exploration and hardware implementation through high-level synthesis. A key advantage of our modeling approach is that the very same bit-accurate model is used for simulation and high-level synthesis. To prove the feasibility of our proposed approach, we modeled a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm and synthesized it for different DSP applications with very different performance and cost requirements. We also implemented a high-level-synthesis (HLS) intellectual property (IP) generator that can generate flexible FFT HLS-IP blocks that can be mapped to multiple micro-/macroarchitectures, to enable design space exploration as well as being used for functional simulation in the Simulink environment.
Hormesis and Its Place in Nonmonotonic Dose–Response Relationships: Some Scientific Reality Checks

Objective This analysis is a critical assessment of current hormesis literature. I discuss definitions, characterization, generalizability, mechanisms, absence of empirical data specific for hormesis hypothesis testing, and arguments that hormesis be the “default assumption” in risk assessment. Data sources Hormesis, a biological phenomenon typically described as low-dose stimulation from substances producing higher-dose inhibition, has recently garnered interest in several quarters. The principal sources of published materials for this analysis are the writings of certain proponents of hormesis. Surprisingly few systematic critiques of current hormesis literature exist. Limits to the phenomenon’s appropriate role in risk assessment and health policy have been published. Data synthesis Serious gaps in scientific understanding remain: a stable definition; generalizability, especially for humans; a clear mechanistic basis; limitations in the presence of multiple toxic end points, target organs, and mechanisms. Absence of both arms-length, consensus-driven, scientific evaluations and empirical data from studies specifically designed for hormesis testing have limited its acceptance. Conclusions Definition, characterization, occurrence, and mechanistic rationale for hormesis will remain speculative, absent rigorous studies done specifically for hormesis testing. Any role for hormesis in current risk assessment and regulatory policies for toxics remains to be determined.
Effect of L-glutamine on immune response in rabbit--a preliminary report.

Fifteen albino rabbits of both sexes (1-2.5 kg) were randomly divided into 3 groups of 5 anim81s each. Group I served as control while groups II and III were given orally 50 ar.d 100 mg/kg of L-glutamine, respectively, everyday for 10 days. On day -1, all groups received sc injection of 1 m/ of typhoid 'H' antigen (Central Research Institute, Kasauli). Blood was taken from ear veins on day 11. Antibody titres were determined in sera by the Widal's agglutination test (2) and expressed as the reciprocal of dilutions.
Study of the Effects of Surface Coating on Magnetic Barkhausen Noise in Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel

Magnetic Barkhausen Noise (BN) is a useful parameter for analysing physical and micro structural properties of electrical steel. It is believed to be due to microscopic discontinuities in domain wall motion due to the presence of defects. Grain-oriented electrical steel has an insulating surface coating which provides a beneficial stress in the steel. BN is sensitive to changes in the surface condition of steels. Measurements have been carried out on strips of high permeability grain-oriented (HGO) and conventional grain-oriented (CGO) 3% silicon steels, at 50 Hz in the peak flux density range 8.0 mmmT to 1.0 T before and after chemical removal of the coatings. Coating removal from HGO and CGO materials increases BN at high and low fields. This can be explained in terms of widening of 180° domains due to the release of coating stresses so that domain walls move further between pinning sites thereby generating higher rates of change of magnetisation which result in higher BN. In the coated materials, BN was found to be higher in HGO than in CGO at flux densities above around 0.2 T but the trend changes at lower flux densities because of grain size/misorientation effects. However, it is interesting to note that in the decoated material the BN is higher in HGO at all flux densities. Application of a 3 MPa tensile stress to the decoated samples caused the BN below 0.2 T to become higher in CGO than in HGO demonstrating that domain refinement due to coating stress and externally applied stress produce similar effects on BN. A significant correlation was found between the average velocities of domain wall movement and changes in BN at all the peak flux densities in the test materials.
A New Method for Determining the Leakage Inductances of a Nine-Phase Synchronous Machine From No-Load and Short-Circuit Tests

The accurate determination of stator leakage inductances is presently an open issue in the analysis and testing of multiphase electric machines. Calculation methods are available, which involve complicated and often poorly precise three-dimensional (3-D) analyses. Experimental determination techniques, using measurements on the wound stator with the rotor removed, are also possible, but quite impractical, as they need to be performed during machine manufacturing or require rotor withdrawal. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to determine all the stator self- and mutual leakage inductances of a nine-phase synchronous machine based on a minimal set (a couple) of magnetostatic finite-element (FE) simulations, and on the measurements taken during no-load and short-circuit routine tests. The procedure is applied to a wound-field salient pole nine-phase synchronous generator for validation, showing good accordance with the results obtained from measurements on the machine with the rotor removed. A discussion is also proposed on the possibility to extend the presented procedure to other multiphase topologies.
Study of Temperature Change and Vibration Induced Fretting on Intrinsically Conducting Polymer Contact Systems

The study of fretting and the associated corrosion has always been a key focus for many researchers involved in the field of electrical contacts. This phenomenon usually occurs when subjecting contacts to thermal cycling or vibration. Often, it is also the direct cause for failure in electrical connector systems and eventually leads to undesirable consequences in numerous applications. With an increasing interest invested in developing new contact materials, conducting polymers are explored as possible alternatives to improve reliability by reducing the influence of fretting degradation. In this paper, the intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) used in the experiments are poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiopene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) and its blends with different weight ratios of dimethylformamide. They have conductivity levels reaching the order of 10-2S·cm-1 and possess easy processing capabilities. Contact samples are fabricated by spin-coating or drop-coating ICP onto copper surfaces to form conducting polymer contact interfaces. These samples are then placed in two different types of fretting apparatus and tested independently using the thermal cycling and vibration procedures. Field vehicles tests are also conducted. The initial experimental results reveal that the resistance decreases as temperature and the number of fretting cycles increase. Furthermore, for the same polymer blend, the type of coating technique and the coating thickness also affect the output resistance.
Cardioprotection of Controlled and Cardiac-Specific Over-Expression of A2A-Adenosine Receptor in the Pressure Overload

Adenosine binds to three G protein-coupled receptors (R) located on the cardiomyocyte (A1-R, A2A-R and A3-R) and provides cardiac protection during both ischemic and load-induced stress. While the role of adenosine receptor-subtypes has been well defined in the setting of ischemia-reperfusion, far less is known regarding their roles in protecting the heart during other forms of cardiac stress. Because of its ability to increase cardiac contractility and heart rate, we hypothesized that enhanced signaling through A2A-R would protect the heart during the stress of transverse aortic constriction (TAC). Using a cardiac-specific and inducible promoter, we selectively over-expressed A2A-R in FVB mice. Echocardiograms were obtained at baseline, 2, 4, 8, 12, 14 weeks and hearts were harvested at 14 weeks, when WT mice developed a significant decrease in cardiac function, an increase in end systolic and diastolic dimensions, a higher heart weight to body weight ratio (HW/BW), and marked fibrosis when compared with sham-operated WT. More importantly, these changes were significantly attenuated by over expression of the A2A-R. Furthermore, WT mice also demonstrated marked increases in the hypertrophic genes β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC), and atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) – changes that are mediated by activation of the transcription factor GATA-4. Levels of the mRNAs encoding β-MHC, ANP, and GATA-4 were significantly lower in myocardium from A2A-R TG mice after TAC when compared with WT and sham-operated controls. In addition, three inflammatory factors genes encoding cysteine dioxygenase, complement component 3, and serine peptidase inhibitor, member 3N, were enhanced in WT TAC mice, but their expression was suppressed in A2A-R TG mice. A2A-R over-expression is protective against pressure-induced heart failure secondary to TAC. These cardioprotective effects are associated with attenuation of GATA-4 expression and inflammatory factors. The A2A-R may provide a novel new target for pharmacologic therapy in patients with cardiovascular disease.
Durability of Glass‐Fiber‐Reinforced Cements with Different Alkali‐Resistant Glass Fibers

The durability of glass-fiber-reinforced cement composites prepared with different commercial alkali-resistant glass fiber strands was studied to determine the effect of aging in different environments on the flexural behavior of the composites and on their microstructure. Considerable differences in degradation of mechanical properties could be observed in composites prepared with different glass fiber strands, and they could be correlated with the SEM observations: higher rates of degradation were obtained in composites in which hydration products grew more readily between the glass filaments. It is suggested that during the first year of aging in water at 207deg;C, this growth of hydration products is mainly responsible for the reduction in mechanical properties; chemical degradation of the glass does not play an important role, at least not at this earlier stage.
A Typology of Collaboration Platform Users

In this paper we present a review of the existing typologies of Internet service users. We zoom in on social networking services including blogs and crowdsourcing websites. Based on the results of the analysis of the considered typologies obtained by means of FCA we developed a new user typology of a certain class of Internet services, namely a collaboration innovation platform. Cluster analysis of data extracted from the collaboration platform Witology was used to divide more than 500 participants into six groups based on three activity indicators: idea generation, commenting, and evaluation (assigning marks) The obtained groups and their percentages appear to follow the "90 - 9 - 1" rule.