Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of Leukotriene B4–Triggered Monocyte Adhesion

Objective—Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) has been implicated in the trafficking of monocytes to inflammatory pathologic conditions, such as transplant rejection and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms by which LTB4 contributes to monocyte capture from the circulation. Methods and Results—In in vitro and in vivo vascular models, the lipid chemoattractant LTB4 was an equipotent agonist of monocyte adhesion compared with the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Adenoviral gene transfer of specific endothelial adhesion molecules and blocking monoclonal antibody studies demonstrated that LTB4 triggers both &bgr;1- and &bgr;2-integrin–dependent adhesion. Flow cytometry studies suggested that changes in integrin avidity or affinity, rather than alterations of integrin surface expression, were responsible for the chemoattractant-triggered arrest. Surprisingly, in contrast to the peptide chemokine MCP-1, LTB4 did not activate the phosphoinositide 3-kinase pathway, which is a functionally critical step in chemokine-triggered effector functions. Conclusions—LTB4 is a potent trigger of monocyte adhesion under flow yet mediates its effects via pathways that appear to differ from peptide chemoattractants. A better understanding of the mechanisms of LTB4-induced monocyte trafficking might shed insight into disease pathogenesis and pinpoint critical steps for therapeutic intervention for multiple human inflammatory pathologic conditions.
1.5 tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanners compared with 3.0 tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanners: systematic review of clinical effectiveness.

Medical technologies are continually changing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is no exception, where increasing the magnet strength has produced more sophisticated device capabilities. Most installed clinical MRI scanners in Canada are built around a 1.5 Tesla (T) magnet, but newer devices include magnets of greater strength at 3.0 T and at 7.0 T. In Canada, between 2008 and 2009, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reported a national average of 41.4 MRI examinations per 1,000 people.1 An MRI scanner works by emitting a strong magnetic field that aligns the nucleic spin orientation of hydrogen atoms at a low energy state in a patient. To manipulate the nucleic spin of hydrogen atoms in another direction (to a higher energy state), MRI emits a radiofrequency into an area in the body. The MRI then captures the energy that is released by hydrogen-bound molecules transitioning from a high to a low energy state. This exchange of energy between spin states is called resonance, hence resonance imaging. A resonance frequency receiver coil detects the energy emitted from the hydrogen atoms, and a computer displays the different resonance characteristics of various tissue types as an image. The image shows body tissues in various shades of grey.2 The amount of the signal (the strength of the energy emission from induced hydrogen atoms) that is used to compose an image is proportional to the magnetic field strength of the scanner. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), spatial resolution, and temporal resolution are common technical terms used to describe MRI image quality. This report is a review of the evidence comparing the clinical applications of 1.5 T MRI with those of 3.0 T MRI, and aims to provide health care decision-makers such as government purchasers, health care planners, and clinicians with information about the clinical effectiveness of the 1.5 T MRI and the 3.0 T MRI. Objective The purpose of this review is to evaluate the differences between 1.5 T MRI and 3.0 T MRI scanners. The research questions are: What are the clinical benefits, limitations, and safety considerations for imaging with a 1.5 T MRI scanner compared with a 3.0 T MRI scanner? What are the service delivery, personnel, and structural (renovation, installation) differences between a 1.5 T MRI scanner and a 3.0 T MRI scanner?
Top-N Recommendation with Novel Rank Approximation

The importance of accurate recommender systems has been widely recognized by academia and industry. However, the recommendation quality is still rather low. Recently, a linear sparse and low-rank representation of the user-item matrix has been applied to produce Top-N recommendations. This approach uses the nuclear norm as a convex relaxation for the rank function and has achieved better recommendation accuracy than the state-of-the-art methods. In the past several years, solving rank minimization problems by leveraging nonconvex relaxations has received increasing attention. Some empirical results demonstrate that it can provide a better approximation to original problems than convex relaxation. In this paper, we propose a novel rank approximation to enhance the performance of Top-N recommendation systems, where the approximation error is controllable. Experimental results on real data show that the proposed rank approximation improves the Top-$N$ recommendation accuracy substantially.
Human Polyclonal Antibodies Produced through DNA Vaccination of Transchromosomal Cattle Provide Mice with Post-Exposure Protection against Lethal Zaire and Sudan Ebolaviruses

DNA vaccination of transchromosomal bovines (TcBs) with DNA vaccines expressing the codon-optimized (co) glycoprotein (GP) genes of Ebola virus (EBOV) and Sudan virus (SUDV) produce fully human polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) that recognize both viruses and demonstrate robust neutralizing activity. Each TcB was vaccinated by intramuscular electroporation (IM-EP) a total of four times and at each administration received 10 mg of the EBOV-GPco DNA vaccine and 10 mg of the SUDV-GPco DNA vaccine at two sites on the left and right sides, respectively. After two vaccinations, robust antibody responses (titers > 1000) were detected by ELISA against whole irradiated EBOV or SUDV and recombinant EBOV-GP or SUDV-GP (rGP) antigens, with higher titers observed for the rGP antigens. Strong, virus neutralizing antibody responses (titers >1000) were detected after three vaccinations when measured by vesicular stomatitis virus-based pseudovirion neutralization assay (PsVNA). Maximal neutralizing antibody responses were identified by traditional plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNT) after four vaccinations. Neutralizing activity of human immunoglobulins (IgG) purified from TcB plasma collected after three vaccinations and injected intraperitoneally (IP) into mice at a 100 mg/kg dose was detected in the serum by PsVNA up to 14 days after administration. Passive transfer by IP injection of the purified IgG (100 mg/kg) to groups of BALB/c mice one day after IP challenge with mouse adapted (ma) EBOV resulted in 80% protection while all mice treated with non-specific pAbs succumbed. Similarly, interferon receptor 1 knockout (IFNAR -/-) mice receiving the purified IgG (100 mg/kg) by IP injection one day after IP challenge with wild type SUDV resulted in 89% survival. These results are the first to demonstrate that filovirus GP DNA vaccines administered to TcBs by IM-EP can elicit neutralizing antibodies that provide post-exposure protection. Additionally, these data describe production of fully human IgG in a large animal system, a system which is capable of producing large quantities of a clinical grade therapeutic product.
Speculative Bubbles - An introduction and application of the Speculation Elicitation Task (SET)

We introduce the speculation elicitation task (SET) to measure speculative tendencies of individuals. The resulting SET-score allows us to investigate the role of individual speculative behavior on experimental asset market bubbles. The experimental results show that overpricing in asset markets composed of subjects with a high propensity to speculate (high SET-score) is significantly higher than in markets composed of subjects with a low propensity to speculate (low SET-score). We conclude that speculative tendencies are an important driver of price bubbles in experimental asset markets.
Professional spaces for pre-service teachers: sites of reality, imagination and resistance

Questions about the practicum within teacher education tend to focus on the amount of time allocated to it in programs. In this research, we were interested in the quality of the experience rather than assuming “more is better”. To understand what is going on and where, this study focussed on the school and especially the departmental office or room as a site for workplace learning. Using qualitative methods we constructed narratives from the data provided by a cohort of four-year bachelor degree pre-service teachers during and following their final major (10 week) practicum experience. Using theories of spatiality to make sense of the data, we found that the narratives revealed stories of spaces where compliance, disappointment were the key features of the practicum, and where resistance through absence (from the departmental office) was an important strategy to manage the experience. This research challenges the “more is better” argument.
Variable Requirements for DNA-Binding Proteins at Polycomb-Dependent Repressive Regions in Human HOX Clusters

ABSTRACT Polycomb group (PcG)-mediated repression is an evolutionarily conserved process critical for cell fate determination and maintenance of gene expression during embryonic development. However, the mechanisms underlying PcG recruitment in mammals remain unclear since few regulatory sites have been identified. We report two novel prospective PcG-dependent regulatory elements within the human HOXB and HOXC clusters and compare their repressive activities to a previously identified element in the HOXD cluster. These regions recruited the PcG proteins BMI1 and SUZ12 to a reporter construct in mesenchymal stem cells and conferred repression that was dependent upon PcG expression. Furthermore, we examined the potential of two DNA-binding proteins, JARID2 and YY1, to regulate PcG activity at these three elements. JARID2 has differential requirements, whereas YY1 appears to be required for repressive activity at all 3 sites. We conclude that distinct elements of the mammalian HOX clusters can recruit components of the PcG complexes and confer repression, similar to what has been seen in Drosophila. These elements, however, have diverse requirements for binding factors, which, combined with previous data on other loci, speaks to the complexity of PcG targeting in mammals.
Virtual Social Interactions in Social Anxiety - The Impact of Sex, Gaze, and Interpersonal Distance

In social interactions, interpersonal distance between interaction partners plays an important role in determining the status of the relationship. Interpersonal distance is an important nonverbal behavior, and is used to regulate personal space in a complex interplay with other nonverbal behaviors such as eye gaze. In social anxiety, studies regarding the impact of interpersonal distance on within-situation avoidance behavior are so far rare. Thus the present study aimed to scrutinize the relationship between gaze direction, sex, interpersonal distance, and social anxiety in social interactions. Social interactions were modeled in a virtual-reality (VR) environment, where 20 low and 19 high socially anxious women were confronted with approaching male and female characters, who stopped in front of the participant, either some distance away or close to them, and displayed either a direct or an averted gaze. Gaze and head movements, as well as heart rate, were measured as indices of avoidance behavior and fear reactions. High socially anxious participants showed a complex pattern of avoidance behavior: when the avatar was standing farther away, high socially anxious women avoided gaze contact with male avatars showing a direct gaze. Furthermore, they showed avoidance behavior (backward head movements) in response to male avatars showing a direct gaze, regardless of the interpersonal distance. Overall, the current study proved that VR social interactions might be a very useful tool for investigating avoidance behavior of socially anxious individuals in highly controlled situations. This might also be the first step in using VR social interactions in clinical protocols for the therapy of social anxiety disorder.
At concentrations that inhibit mTOR, resveratrol suppresses cellular senescence

Here we demonstrated that, at cytostatic, near-toxic concentrations, resveratrol inhibited S6 phosphorylation and prevented the senescence morphology in human cells. Using a sensitive functional assay, we found that resveratrol partially prevented loss of the proliferative potential associated with cellular senescence. Resveratrol was less effective than rapamycin, because aging-suppression by resveratrol was limited by its toxicity at high concentrations. We discuss whether concentrations of resveratrol that inhibit mTOR (target of rapamycin) and suppress cellular senescence are clinically achievable and whether partial inhibition of mTOR by resveratrol might be sufficient to affect organismal aging.
Manual Asymmetries in Motor Performance

Biological and Anthropological Antecedents of Motor Asymmetry Motor Asymmetries in Birds and Nonprimate Mammals, L.J. Rogers and J.L. Bradshaw Tool Use and the Evolutionary Development of Manual Asymmetry, J.L. Bradshaw and L.J. Rogers Human Handedness The Measurement of Handedness and Its Relation to Neuropsychological Issues, M.P. Bryden, M.B. Bulman-Fleming, and V. MacDonald Pathological Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness, S. Coren Hand Preference and Performance in Lefthanders, M. Peters Manual Performance Asymmetries Hand Preference and Performance in Skilled and Unskilled Activities, R.E. Steenhuis Manual Asymmetries in Goal-Directed Movement, D. Elliott and R. Chua Putative Right Hemisphere Contributions to the Preparation of Reaching and Aiming Movements, R.G. Carson The Implications of Asymmetric Motor Function Asymmetry in Bimanual Skills, Y. Guiard and T. Ferrand Manual Asymmetries in Children with Developmental Disablilities, D. Dewey Hemispheric and Manual Asymmetries in Limb Gesturing, E.A. Roy Index
Lyric Text Mining in Music Mood Classification

This research examines the role lyric text can play in improving audio music mood classification. A new method is proposed to build a large ground truth set of 5,585 songs and 18 mood categories based on social tags so as to reflect a realistic, user-centered perspective. A relatively complete set of lyric features and representation models were investigated. The best performing lyric feature set was also compared to a leading audio-based system. In combining lyric and audio sources, hybrid feature sets built with three different feature selection methods were also examined. The results show patterns at odds with findings in previous studies: audio features do not always outperform lyrics features, and combining lyrics and audio features can improve performance in many mood categories, but not all of them.
Rapid typing of Pasteurella multocida isolates from haemorrhagic septicaemia cases by multiplex PCR for their virulence

A total of 12 P. multocida isolates recovered from field outbreaks of haemorrhagic septicaemia in buffaloes were studied for the presence of 4 virulence genes (pfhA, tbpA, hgbB & toxA) in comparison with vaccine strain by multiplex PCR. The study showed the presence of pfhA and tbpA in all the field isolates and vaccine strain. None of the isolates harboured toxA and hgbB. The virulence genes tbPA and pfhA appear to be closely related to bovine P. multocida serogroup B isolates and are important for severe form of the disease.
Convolutional Rectifier Networks as Generalized Tensor Decompositions

Convolutional rectifier networks, i.e. convolutional neural networks with rectified linear activation and max or average pooling, are the cornerstone of modern deep learning. However, despite their wide use and success, our theoretical understanding of the expressive properties that drive these networks is partial at best. On the other hand, we have a much firmer grasp of these issues in the world of arithmetic circuits. Specifically, it is known that convolutional arithmetic circuits possess the property of "complete depth efficiency", meaning that besides a negligible set, all functions that can be implemented by a deep network of polynomial size, require exponential size in order to be implemented (or even approximated) by a shallow network. In this paper we describe a construction based on generalized tensor decompositions, that transforms convolutional arithmetic circuits into convolutional rectifier networks. We then use mathematical tools available from the world of arithmetic circuits to prove new results. First, we show that convolutional rectifier networks are universal with max pooling but not with average pooling. Second, and more importantly, we show that depth efficiency is weaker with convolutional rectifier networks than it is with convolutional arithmetic circuits. This leads us to believe that developing effective methods for training convolutional arithmetic circuits, thereby fulfilling their expressive potential, may give rise to a deep learning architecture that is provably superior to convolutional rectifier networks but has so far been overlooked by practitioners.
Stormwater contaminant loading following southern California wildfires

Contaminant loading associated with stormwater runoff from recently burned areas is poorly understood, despite the fact that it has the potential to affect downstream water quality. The goal of the present study is to assess regional patterns of runoff and contaminant loading from wildfires in urban fringe areas of southern California. Postfire stormwater runoff was sampled from five wildfires that each burned between 115 and 658 km2 of natural open space between 2003 and 2009. Between two and five storm events were sampled per site over the first one to two years following the fires for basic constituents, metals, nutrients, total suspended solids, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Results were compared to data from 16 unburned natural areas and six developed sites. Mean copper, lead, and zinc flux (kg/km2) were between 112‐ and 736‐fold higher from burned catchments and total phosphorus was up to 921‐fold higher compared to unburned natural areas. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon flux was four times greater from burned areas than from adjacent urban areas. Ash fallout on nearby unburned watersheds also resulted in a threefold increase in metals and PAHs. Attenuation of elevated concentration and flux values appears to be driven mainly by rainfall magnitude. Contaminant loading from burned landscapes has the potential to be a substantial contribution to the total annual load to downstream areas in the first several years following fires. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 2625–2638. © 2012 SETAC
Improved SPICE macromodel of phase change random access memory

This paper presents an improved SPICE macromodel of phase change random access memory (PCRAM). Based on the circuit-based model architecture in [1], the novelty of this work lies in (1) accurate modeling the current-voltage (I-V) plot including the snapback phenomenon, and (2) solution to the falling edge problem to avoid misrepresentation of the PCRAM state, and (3) calibration of the crystallization time for potential multilevel (ML) operation of the PCRAM.
Autonomously Communicating Conceptual Knowledge Through Visual Art

In visual art, the communication of meaning or intent is an important part of eliciting an aesthetic experience in the viewer. We present a computer system, called DARCI, that is designed to automatically create original images that convey meaning. Building on previous work, we present three new components of DARCI that enhances its ability to communicate concepts through the images it creates. The ﬁrst component is a model of semantic memory based on word associations that helps to provide meaning to concepts. The second component composes universal icons into a single image and then renders the image to match an associated adjective. The third component is a similarity metric that keeps the icons recognizable, but still allows for artistic elements to be discovered during the adjective rendering phase. We use an online survey to show that the system is successful at creating images that communicate concepts to human viewers.
The Effects of Discovery Learning on Students' Success and Inquiry Learning Skills

Problem Statement: In this study, the unit “If It Weren’t for The Pressure? ” in the Science and Technology course at the Elementary 7th grade was tackled in two different ways. The first way is the discovery learning method along with the daily plans and activities. The second is the traditional teaching method. This study particularly aims at answering the question: “How does teaching science through the discovery learning approach affect students’ academic achievement, perception of inquiry learning skills, and retention of knowledge? ” Purpose of Study: This study aims at identifying the effects of the discovery learning method upon the students’ perceptions of inquiry learning skills, academic achievements, and retention of knowledge. This research also investigates whether there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in learning the subjects of the unit “If It Weren’t for The Pressure? ” from the point of cognitive and affective learning levels.
Melodic-Expectation Rules as Learned Heuristics

Evidence is presented that certain rules of melodic expectation are learned rather than innate. In an experiment, 28 trained musicians and 12 non-musicians were asked to predict the direction of controlled experimental melodies. Whereas the musicians’ expectations fit two well-known rules, the rules were not evident in the expectancies of non-musicians. Moreover, the rules corresponded only approximately to melodic structure, not unlike the heuristics that people use to make predictions in other cognitive domains. In sum, the results suggest that musicians have learned imperfect but serviceable heuristics for making predictions in their area of expertise.
Quality of Life and Burden of Spouses of Alzheimer Disease Patients

The objective of the study was to explore, in a sample of spouses of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease patients, predictors of quality of life (QoL) by rating QoL and burden. The authors assessed 97 spouses in a cross-sectional study with the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual Quality of Life (SEIQoL), Self-Rated Burden scale (SRB), self-perceived stress scale (EDIZ; Ervaren Druk door Informele Zorg/Self-Perceived Pressure from Informal Care), and Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). Patient cognition was rated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Factors best predicting QoL were analyzed with multiple regression analysis. Eighty-seven (53% male, mean 72 y) fulfilled the SEIQoL internal reliability criteria, and had a mean SEIQoL score of 68.6±14.8. Most important QoL domains were condition of patient (31%) and marriage (26%). Caregiver burden scores on SRB, Ervaren Druk door Informele, Zorg, and ZBI were 44.1±23.5 (n=67), 4.9±2.2 (n=53), and 13.1±6.2 (n=53), respectively. Mean patient MMSE score (0 to 30) was 20.3±4.2. Spouses experienced lower QoL than Alzheimer disease patients and healthy elderly (historical controls), and perceived moderate levels of burden. Patient cognition is a significant predictor of caregiver QoL. Burden, measured by ZBI, is significantly negatively correlated with SEIQoL. The results underline the importance of implementing health services known to improve QoL and alleviate burden, and to explore new effective interventions.