Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Idiotypic analysis of lymphocytes in vitro. I. Specificity and heterogeneity of B and T lymphocytes reactive with anti-idiotypic antibody

Guinea pig anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-Id) of the IgG1 class, directed to an A/J antibody to Group A streptococcal carbohydrate (A- CHO), or directed to a BALB/c myeloma protein that binds the same antigen, stimulate B-precursor cells as well as T-helper cells when injected into mice of the appropriate strain. The strain-specific induction of both precursor and helper activity was detected by in vitro secondary responses of primed spleen cells to A-CHO or to 2,4,6- trinitrophenyl (TNP) upon challenge with Group A streptococcal vaccine (Strep.A) or with TNP-Strep.A, respectively. B- and T-cell populations primed with anti-Id were uniform with respect to the binding of antigen and of anti-Id. This was in contrast to cells primed with Strep.A, which were heterogenous. Taken together, B and T cells that possess the same antigen-binding specificity share idiotypic determinants, reveal the same idiotypic polymorphism, and may display similar degrees of heterogeneity with respect to the binding of antigen and anti-Id. Since the anti-Id used in this study detect Id determinants associated with the heavy chain of the variable region of mouse antibodies, the data suggest that this region of the immunoglobulin molecule is shared between T- and B-cell antigen receptors.
Cooperativity of Hydrophobic Anchor Interactions: Evidence for Epitope Selection by MHC Class II as a Folding Process1

Peptide binding to MHC class II (MHCII) molecules is stabilized by hydrophobic anchoring and hydrogen bond formation. We view peptide binding as a process in which the peptide folds into the binding groove and to some extent the groove folds around the peptide. Our previous observation of cooperativity when analyzing binding properties of peptides modified at side chains with medium to high solvent accessibility is compatible with such a view. However, a large component of peptide binding is mediated by residues with strong hydrophobic interactions that bind to their respective pockets. If these reflect initial nucleation events they may be upstream of the folding process and not show cooperativity. To test whether the folding hypothesis extends to these anchor interactions, we measured dissociation and affinity to HLA-DR1 of an influenza hemagglutinin-derived peptide with multiple substitutions at major anchor residues. Our results show both negative and positive cooperative effects between hydrophobic pocket interactions. Cooperativity was also observed between hydrophobic pockets and positions with intermediate solvent accessibility, indicating that hydrophobic interactions participate in the overall folding process. These findings point out that predicting the binding potential of epitopes cannot assume additive and independent contributions of the interactions between major MHCII pockets and corresponding peptide side chains.
Censored Sample Bias, Macroeconomic Factors, and Time on Market of Residential Housing

This paper reexamines the time on market (TOM) of residential housing. We use a larger sample of data to analyze the factors that effect TOM. The research provides evidence of the impact of macroeconomic factors on TOM and demonstrates the application procedure in correcting the censored sample bias in this area of research.
Asymmetric loss utility: an analysis of decision under risk

This paper develops a utility model for evaluating lotteries. In estimating utility, risk averse people use an asymmetric loss function. Expected utility is seen as a special case that is a good approximation of the general case in some cases. The model resolves several paradoxes and makes easily falsifiable predictions. When used in hypothesis testing, the model allows researchers to directly specify their attitudes toward risk. The model is advantageous for two reasons. First, it is based on established principles of probability; second, it resolves several well- known paradoxes.
The effect of shyness on children's formation and retention of novel word–object mappings*

Abstract This study set out to examine whether shyness, an aversion to novelty and unfamiliar social situations, can affect the processes that underlie early word learning. Twenty-four-month-old children (n =32) were presented with sets of one novel and two familiar objects, and it was found that shyer children were less likely to select a novel object as the referent of a novel label. Furthermore, not-shy children then showed evidence of retaining these novel mappings, but shy children did not. These findings suggest that shy children's aversion to novelty and to the unfamiliar context can impact on their word learning.
On the QoS of IPTV and its Effects on Home Networks

In Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) systems, Quality-of-Service (QoS) is a critical factor for the user satisfaction. In this paper, we first propose a queueing model for IPTV systems and discuss how to ensure the QoS of IPTV. We then use the model to analyze the effects of IPTV traffic on other applications in home networks. We find that TCP congestion control may not work well under this circumstance and propose a new approach to improve the performance of TCP. We also verify our results through ns2 simulations.
Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus looks more deeply into the concept of social business, an alternative to unfettered capitalism that channels the best energies of capitalism while addressing pressing human needs, by showing how the theory and practice of this idea is growing in the business, academic and philanthropic worlds. Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and, with his Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his world-changing efforts, here develops his bold new concept that promises to revolutionize the free-enterprise system: social business. Designed to fill the gap between profit-making and human needs, social business applies entrepreneurial thinking to problems like poverty, hunger, pollution, and disease, creating self-supporting, self-replicating enterprises that create jobs and generate economic growth even as they provide goods and services that make the world a better place. Partnering with some of the world's greatest corporations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have already launched several social businesses that are addressing challenges like malnutrition, lack of potable water, and endemic illness in Yunus' homeland of Bangladesh, and other organizations around the world are developing their own experiments in social business. In this book, Yunus traces the development of the social business idea; explains its lessons for entrepreneurs, social activists, and policy makers; offers practical guidance for those who want to create social businesses of their own; and, shows why social business holds the potential to redeem the failed promise of free enterprise.
Fall prevention control of passive intelligent walker based on human model

As aging progresses, fall accident of the person using the walker is an acute problem. It is necessary to know the situation of the userpsilas fall to prevent it. In this paper, we propose a method for estimating the userpsilas fall by modeling of the user in real time as a solid body link model, and pay attention to the center of gravity of the model. We also propose a method for controlling a passive intelligent walker to prevent the userpsilas fall according to the support polygon and the walking characteristic of the user. We experimented with passive intelligent walker in which we implement the proposed fall prevention control and show the effectiveness of the proposal method.
A Critical Look at Open Source

In recent years, open source software - more properly, free and open source software - has emerged as one popular solution to the so-called "software crisis". Advocates regard F/OSS as an agile, practice-led initiative that addresses three key issues namely cost, time scale and quality. F/OSS products are usually freely available for public download. The collaborative, parallel efforts of globally distributed developers allow many F/OSS products to be developed much more quickly than conventional software. Many F/OSS offerings are recognized for their high standards of reliability, efficiency, and robustness; products such as GNU/Linux, Apache, and Bind have become "category killers" stifling the incentive to develop any competing products.
Optimal Control of Heteroskedastic Macroeconomic Moldes

This paper analyses the implications of heteroscedasticity for optimal macroeconomic policy and welfare. We find that changes in the variance structure driven by exogenous processes like GARCH affect welfare but not the optimal feedback rule. Conversely, changes in the variance structure driven by state-dependent processes affect both. We also derive Certainty-Equivalent Transformations of state-dependent volatility models that allow standard dynamic programming algorithms to be employed to study optimal policy. These results are illustrated numerically using a reduced-form model of the U.S. economy in which changes in volatility are linked to a GARCH process and the rate of inflation.
The effect of tax-benefit changes on the income distribution in 2008-2014

More than half of the EU countries have become poorer and more unequal since the start of the crisis in 2008. Despite lack of timely household micro data, using microsimulation techniques with up-to-date information on policy rules enables us to estimate the direct effect of tax-benefit policy changes in 2008-2014 on the income distribution, poverty and inequality levels in 10 EU countries, as well as track most recent trends by evaluating policy effects in 2013-2014. We identify and quantify these effects using the EU tax-benefit model EUROMOD to construct relevant counterfactual scenarios. Our results indicate that among these countries, most managed to pursue policies without adverse distributional effects, despite of challenging economic problems in this period. However, this has been accompanied by reductions in household income in several countries. There have also been some cases of clearly regressive changes in particular policy instruments. Overall, our results demonstrate the importance of comprehensive regular indexation to avoid the erosion of benefit amounts and tax thresholds over time, and specific population groups systematically gaining or losing relative to others.
Uncovering Different Masking Factors on Wrist Skin Temperature Rhythm in Free-Living Subjects

Most circadian rhythms are controlled by a major pacemaker located in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus. Some of these rhythms, called marker rhythms, serve to characterize the timing of the internal temporal order. However, these variables are susceptible to masking effects as the result of activity, body position, light exposure, environmental temperature and sleep. Recently, wrist skin temperature (WT) has been proposed as a new index for evaluating circadian system status. In light of previous evidence suggesting the important relationship between WT and core body temperature regulation, the aim of this work was to purify the WT pattern in order to obtain its endogenous rhythm with the application of multiple demasking procedures. To this end, 103 subjects (18–24 years old) were recruited and their WT, activity, body position, light exposure, environmental temperature and sleep were recorded under free-living conditions for 1 week. WT demasking by categories or intercepts was applied to simulate a “constant routine” protocol (awakening, dim light, recumbent position, low activity and warm environmental temperature). Although the overall circadian pattern of WT was similar regardless of the masking effects, its amplitude was the rhythmic parameter most affected by environmental conditions. The acrophase and mesor were determined to be the most robust parameters for characterizing this rhythm. In addition, a circadian modulation of the masking effect was found for each masking variable. WT rhythm exhibits a strong endogenous component, despite the existence of multiple external influences. This was evidenced by simultaneously eliminating the influence of activity, body position, light exposure, environmental temperature and sleep. We therefore propose that it could be considered a valuable and minimally-invasive means of recording circadian physiology in ambulatory conditions.
Racial Differences in Fringe Benefits and Compensation

This paper examines differences in two important components of non-wage compensation, employer provided health insurance and pensions, across African Americans and the whites in the United States. Using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we study the recent trends in the recipiency of this non-wage compensation across race groups. Our results show that African American men on average are significantly less likely to receive employer provided health insurance and pension than whites in the last decade. We also find that the inclusion of racial differences in ability as measured by the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score reduces the unexplained racial gap in fringe benefit offers, highlighting the importance of human capital variables in fringe benefit recipiency. Finally, we re-examine racial inequality in the labor market by examining within-group inequality in compensation over the last decade and also the role of ability in between-group inequality in compensation.
A Mirror Symmetric Construction of Qh

Let G be a simple simply connected complex algebraic group. We give a Lie-theoretic construction of a conjectural mirror family associated to a general flag variety G/P, and show that it recovers the Peterson variety presentation for the T -equivariant quantum cohomology rings qH∗ T (G/P )(q) with quantum parameters inverted. For SLn/B we relate our construction to the mirror family defined by Givental and its T -equivariant analogue due to Joe and Kim.
In Silico Risk Assessment of HLA-A*02:06-Associated Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Caused by Cold Medicine Ingredients

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are severe drug hypersensitivities with high mortality. Typical over-the-counter drugs of cold medicines are suggested to be causative. As multiple ingredients are generally contained in cold medicines, it is of particular interest to investigate which ingredients are responsible for SJS/TEN. However, experimental examination of causal relationships between SJS/TEN and a particular drug molecule is not straightforward. Significant association between HLA-A*02:06 and SJS/TEN with severe ocular surface complications has been observed in the Japanese. In the present study, we have undertaken in silico docking simulations between various ingredients contained in cold medicines available in Japan and the HLA-A*02:06 molecule. We use the composite risk index (CRI) that is the absolute value of the binding affinity multiplied by the daily dose to assess the potential risk of the adverse reactions. The drugs which have been recognized as causative drugs of SJS/TEN in Japan have revealed relatively high CRI, and the association between SJS/TEN and HLA-A*02:06 has been qualitatively verified. The results have also shown that some drugs whose links to SJS/TEN have not been clinically recognized in Japan show the high CRI and suggested that attention should be paid to their adverse drug reactions.
The Economics of Tropical Forest Land Use Options

Tropical deforestation is generally characterized as conversion of forest land to alternative uses, notably agriculture. This would suggest the need for rational decision making concerning the optimal allocation of tropical forest land between competing uses. The following paper explores this problem by devising rules for determining optimal land use allocation between timber and agriculture at the stand and forest levels. A complementary intertemporal model for optimal allocation of forest land to agricultural conversion at the forest level is also developed and used to derive a demand relationship for agricultural conversion, which is then approximated through empirical estimation.
Chemotaxis of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli towards Flavonoid Inducers of the Symbiotic Nodulation Genes

Summary: Chemotaxis of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar phaseoli RP8002 towards a range of carbohydrates, phenolic compounds and flavonoids was assayed. Xylose (peak response 10−4 M), sucrose (peak response 10−6 M) and raffinose (peak response 10−5 M) were strong chemoattractants amongst the carbohydrates, whilst glucose, fructose, galactose and maltose produced little or no detectable response. Of the monocyclic phenolic compounds, vanillyl alcohol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid (both peak responses 10−6 M) and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (peak response 10−4 M) all evoked strong chemotactic responses. Amongst the nod-inducing flavonoids, apigenin and luteolin were both strong chemoattractants (peaks at 10−5 M) while naringenin produced a very low response. Competition experiments suggest that apigenin and luteolin are recognized by a common receptor, but that there exists a separate receptor for luteolin alone. The inhibitors of nod-induction, umbelliferone and acetosyringone, both produced strong chemotactic responses, with peaks at 10−3 M and 10−2 M respectively. This evidence is indicative of a role for chemotaxis towards nod-inducing flavonoids in the initiation of root nodule formation by rhizobia, and also suggests that chemotaxis may influence the host range of the interaction.
White Matter Correlates of Auditory Comprehension Outcomes in Chronic Post-Stroke Aphasia

Neuroimaging studies have shown that speech comprehension involves a number of widely distributed regions within the frontal and temporal lobes. We aimed to examine the differential contributions of white matter connectivity to auditory word and sentence comprehension in chronic post-stroke aphasia. Structural and diffusion MRI data were acquired on 40 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia. A battery of auditory word and sentence comprehension tests were administered to all the patients. Tract-based spatial statistics were used to identify areas in which white matter integrity related to specific comprehension deficits. Relevant tracts were reconstructed using probabilistic tractography in healthy older participants, and the mean values of fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) of the entire tracts were examined in relation to comprehension scores. Anterior temporal white matter integrity loss and involvement of the uncinate fasciculus related to word-level comprehension deficits (RFA = 0.408, P = 0.012; RMD = −0.429, P = 0.008; RAD = −0.424, P = 0.009; RRD = −0.439, P = 0.007). Posterior temporal white matter integrity loss and involvement of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus related to sentence-level comprehension deficits (RFA = 0.382, P = 0.02; RMD = −0.461, P = 0.004; RAD = −0.457, P = 0.004; RRD = −0.453, P = 0.005). Loss of white matter integrity in the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus related to both word- and sentence-level comprehension (word-level scores: RFA = 0.41, P = 0.012; RMD = −0.447, P = 0.006; RAD = −0.489, P = 0.002; RRD = −0.432, P = 0.008; sentence-level scores: RFA = 0.409, P = 0.012; RMD = −0.413, P = 0.011; RAD = −0.408, P = 0.012; RRD = −0.413, P = 0.011). Lesion overlap, but not white matter integrity, in the arcuate fasciculus related to sentence-level comprehension deficits. These findings suggest that word-level comprehension outcomes in chronic post-stroke aphasia rely primarily on anterior temporal lobe pathways, whereas sentence-level comprehension relies on more widespread pathways including the posterior temporal lobe.
Recent Methodology in Ginseng Analysis

As much as the popularity of ginseng in herbal prescriptions or remedies, ginseng has become the focus of research in many scientific fields. Analytical methodologies for ginseng, referred to as ginseng analysis hereafter, have been developed for bioactive component discovery, phytochemical profiling, quality control, and pharmacokinetic studies. This review summarizes the most recent advances in ginseng analysis in the past half-decade including emerging techniques and analytical trends. Ginseng analysis includes all of the leading analytical tools and serves as a representative model for the analytical research of herbal medicines.
Leveraged Management Buy-Ins: Role of Investors, Means of Exit, and the Predictive Powers of the Financial Markets

In this paper I empirically test whether the involvement of a special type of investors can help improve the performance of targets within leveraged management buy-in transactions. I also test the market's ability in discriminating between those management buy-in targets that fail or succeed subsequent to going private and find that the markets are in fact capable of predicting failures and successes at the time of the announcement of these bids. The results reveal that the involvement of LBO-Associations improves the chances of post-transaction success, and that MBIs that subsequently fail do not underperform their industrial peers prior to the bid, they were simply over-priced by the bidders. The bidding teams who bought into these failing MBIs, those which the markets deemed unsuitable, were simply faced with the winner's curse and had over-estimated their abilities in bringing about substantial improvements within the management of these targets.
A closer look into the AER Model

Commercial-of-the-shelf based multi-core systems present timing anomalies that cannot be ignored by the real-time systems community due to their unpredictable behaviour. These timing anomalies, often caused by applications' uncontrolled accesses to shared resources such as the components in the memory hierarchy or in the I/O subsystem, introduce interference that may lead to deadline misses if the problem is neglected. The Acquisition Execution Restitution (AER) execution model was previously proposed to circumvent this problem and, therefore, mitigate inter-task interference. In this model, applications decouple communication (acquisition and restitution phases) from the actual execution in a way that at most one acquisition or restitution phase is in execution at any instant of time while the execution phase of different tasks can progress in parallel on multiple cores. Thus, keeping each task's derived worst-case execution time closer to the one measured in isolation. In this paper, we study the AER execution model and compare it against a global Earliest Deadline First (EDF) approach where interferences are considered. Our results show that a priority assignment heuristic which assigns the priorities based on the tasks' periods dominates all the other proposed heuristics and that due to interference it can also schedule task sets which are not schedulable by using the global EDF approach.
A hamster model of equine herpesvirus 9 induced encephalitis.

An acute and lethal infection of equine herpesvirus 9 (EHV-9), a new type of equine herpesvirus, was established in Syrian hamsters by intranasal inoculation. Clinical symptoms included the loss of body weight, nasal and ocular discharges and apparent neurological symptoms. Both LD50 and ID50 were equal at 33 plaque forming units. Histological and immunohistochemical examination demonstrated that the virus replicated in the olfactory mucosal cells and in the neurons of the olfactory bulbs, cerebrum and mesencephalon. The induction of encephalitis by intranasal but not by other routes of inoculation (i.v., i.p., i.m.) indicated that EHV-9 entered the brain via the olfactory nerve and then spread trans-synaptically to connecting neurons along the olfactory tract. This animal model should be useful for studying the pathogenesis and neurovirulence of this newly discovered neurotropic virus as well as other neurotropic herpesviruses.