Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcriptome and metabolome analysis of plant sulfate starvation and resupply provides novel information on transcriptional regulation of metabolism associated with sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorus nutritional responses in Arabidopsis

Sulfur is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. Reaching a thorough understanding of the molecular basis for changes in plant metabolism depending on the sulfur-nutritional status at the systems level will advance our basic knowledge and help target future crop improvement. Although the transcriptional responses induced by sulfate starvation have been studied in the past, knowledge of the regulation of sulfur metabolism is still fragmentary. This work focuses on the discovery of candidates for regulatory genes such as transcription factors (TFs) using ‘omics technologies. For this purpose a short term sulfate-starvation/re-supply approach was used. ATH1 microarray studies and metabolite determinations yielded 21 TFs which responded more than 2-fold at the transcriptional level to sulfate starvation. Categorization by response behaviors under sulfate-starvation/re-supply and other nutrient starvations such as nitrate and phosphate allowed determination of whether the TF genes are specific for or common between distinct mineral nutrient depletions. Extending this co-behavior analysis to the whole transcriptome data set enabled prediction of putative downstream genes. Additionally, combinations of transcriptome and metabolome data allowed identification of relationships between TFs and downstream responses, namely, expression changes in biosynthetic genes and subsequent metabolic responses. Effect chains on glucosinolate and polyamine biosynthesis are discussed in detail. The knowledge gained from this study provides a blueprint for an integrated analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics and application for the identification of uncharacterized genes.
Non-rigid Registration and Restoration of Double-Sided Historical Manuscripts

This paper presents a fully automatic framework for the restoration of double-sided historical manuscripts which are impaired by ink bleed-through distortions. First, the recto side and the verso side of a manuscript are precisely registered with a non-rigid registration method. The registration procedure selects salient control points as features, employs a free-form transformation model as mapping function and uses residual complexity as similarity measure. Next, we extract prominent foreground feature images with the two registered images. By referring to the feature images, we iteratively perform wavelet decomposition and construction to smear bleed-through interferences and to enhance foreground texts on the manuscript. We test the proposed framework with real manuscripts from the archives and the experimental results are encouraging.
Impact of Interviewer's Sex on Volunteering by Females

Relatively few studies of impact of interviewer's sex on the response rate have been undertaken. A first, partial test of the hypothesis that the interviewer's sex only has an influence on the rate of volunteering when the topic is sex-related, was carried out. Male and female interviewers tried to gain cooperation from a sample of female respondents in a study of women's liberation. In agreement with the hypothesis, female interviewers obtained a significantly higher response rate than male interviewers.
Kin caregivers of the cognitively impaired elderly: Problems and interventions

Much can be found in the literature concerning the burdens, problems and stressors that caregivers experience. The following is an attempt to identify special needs of kin caregiver subgroups. It is hoped that the problems of the female categories within these subgroups are understood and that health care professionals will begin to develop an awareness that will lead to better ways to provide appropriate interventions.
Adaptive Neural Control of Pure-Feedback Nonlinear Time-Delay Systems via Dynamic Surface Technique

This paper is concerned with robust stabilization problem for a class of nonaffine pure-feedback systems with unknown time-delay functions and perturbed uncertainties. Novel continuous packaged functions are introduced in advance to remove unknown nonlinear terms deduced from perturbed uncertainties and unknown time-delay functions, which avoids the functions with control law to be approximated by radial basis function (RBF) neural networks. This technique combining implicit function and mean value theorems overcomes the difficulty in controlling the nonaffine pure-feedback systems. Dynamic surface control (DSC) is used to avoid “the explosion of complexity” in the backstepping design. Design difficulties from unknown time-delay functions are overcome using the function separation technique, the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, and the desirable property of hyperbolic tangent functions. RBF neural networks are employed to approximate desired virtual controls and desired practical control. Under the proposed adaptive neural DSC, the number of adaptive parameters required is reduced significantly, and semiglobal uniform ultimate boundedness of all of the signals in the closed-loop system is guaranteed. Simulation studies are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design scheme.
The Financialization of Capitalism

Changes in capitalism over the last three decades have been commonly characterized using a trio of terms: neoliberalism, globalization, and financialization. Although a lot has been written on the first two of these, much less attention has been given to the third. * Yet, financialization is now increasingly seen as the dominant force in this triad. The financialization of capitalism-the shift in gravity of economic activity from production (and even from much of the growing service sector) to finance—is thus one of the key issues of our time. More than any other phenomenon it raises the question: has capitalism entered a new stage? This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website , where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
Generating Concise Entity Matching Rules

Entity matching (EM) is a critical part of data integration and cleaning. In many applications, the users need to understand why two entities are considered a match, which reveals the need for interpretable and concise EM rules. We model EM rules in the form of General Boolean Formulas (GBFs) that allows arbitrary attribute matching combined by conjunctions (∨), disjunctions (∧), and negations. (¬) GBFs can generate more concise rules than traditional EM rules represented in disjunctive normal forms (DNFs). We use program synthesis, a powerful tool to automatically generate rules (or programs) that provably satisfy a high-level specification, to automatically synthesize EM rules in GBF format, given only positive and negative matching examples. In this demo, attendees will experience the following features: (1) Interpretability -- they can see and measure the conciseness of EM rules defined using GBFs; (2) Easy customization -- they can provide custom experiment parameters for various datasets, and, easily modify a rich predefined (default) synthesis grammar, using a Web interface; and (3) High performance -- they will be able to compare the generated concise rules, in terms of accuracy, with probabilistic models (e.g., machine learning methods), and hand-written EM rules provided by experts. Moreover, this system will serve as a general platform for evaluating different methods that discover EM rules, which will be released as an open-source tool on GitHub.
The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the indigenous I pig (Sus scrofa) in Vietnam

Objective The I pig is a long nurtured longstanding breed in Vietnam, and contains excellent indigenous genetic resources. However, after 1970s, I pig breeds have become a small population because of decreasing farming areas and increasing pressure from foreign breeds with a high growth rate. Thus, there is now the risk of the disappearance of the I pigs breed. The aim of this study was to focus on classifying and identifying the I pig genetic origin and supplying molecular makers for conservation activities. Methods This study sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome and used the sequencing result to analyze the phylogenetic relationship of I pig with Asian and European domestic pigs and wild boars. The full sequence was annotated and predicted the secondary tRNA. Results The total length of I pig mitochondrial genome (accession number KX094894) was 16,731 base pairs, comprised two rRNA (12S and 16S), 22 tRNA and 13 mRNA genes. The annotation structures were not different from other pig breeds. Some component indexes as AT content, GC, and AT skew were counted, in which AT content (60.09%) was smaller than other pigs. We built the phylogenetic trees from full sequence and D loop sequence using Bayesian method. The result showed that I pig, Banna mini, wild boar (WB) Vietnam and WB Hainan or WB Korea, WB Japan were a cluster. They were a group within the Asian clade distinct from Chinese pigs and other Asian breeds in both phylogenetic trees (0.0004 and 0.0057, respectively). Conclusion These results were similar to previous phylogenic study in Vietnamese pig and showed the genetic distinctness of I pig with other Asian domestic pigs.
Walrasian Allocations without Price-Taking Behavior

Consider an exchange economy where agents are arbitragers, in that they try to upset allocations imagining plausible beneficial trades. With an introspective algorithm, each agent constructs an interactive choice set (ICS), i.e., a set of bundles that he considers achievable through a sequence of plausible trades with other agents. We show that Walrasian allocations can be characterized as those where each agent chooses optimally from his ICS, which is always contained in a budget set (with differentiability, both sets coincide). Our analysis provides a different behavioral assumption underlying Walrasian allocations, offers an explanation for the source of competitive prices, and connects with the core convergence theorem.
Hospital - Heritage - Home: Reconstructing the Nineteenth Century Lunatic Asylum

This paper concerns the story of the nineteenth century lunatic asylum; a unique building type which arose in response to constructions of the perceived problem of madness. Over time, responses both to madness and to the asylum itself have changed, resulting in a new future for the built form of the asylum. The paper takes a historical perspective to draw out the ways in which societal and spatial processes are interconnected, with ideological positions, political interventions, societal attitudes, professional power, spatial contexts, and individual actions all implicated in outcomes. The origin of asylums as containers of the mad is reviewed, and emphasis given to the role of eminent architects in their monumental design. Over time the distinctive built form became symbolic of horror and dread, whilst the next phase of asylum history led to closure and abandonment. However, a changing political and social climate and a renewed appreciation of asylums as heritage has led to possibilities of reconstruction. Three case study examples illustrate the phases of asylum history, including their recent redevelopment for housing, whilst also demonstrating how spatial form has the capacity to embody and represent past and present social practices.
Immunohistochemical and Proteomic Evaluation of Nuclear Ubiquitous Casein and Cyclin-Dependent Kinases Substrate in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast

Nuclear ubiquitous casein and cyclin-dependent kinases substrate (NUCKS) is 27 kDa chromosomal protein of unknown function. Its amino acid composition as well as structure of its DNA binding domain resembles that of high-mobility group A, HMGA proteins. HMGA proteins are associated with various malignancies. Since changes in expression of HMGA are considered as marker of tumor progression, it is possible that similar changes in expression of NUCKS could be useful tool in diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. For identification and analysis of NUCKS we used proteomic and histochemical methods. Analysis of patient-matched samples of normal and breast cancer by mass spectrometry revealed elevated levels of NUCKS in protein extracts from ductal breast cancers. We elicited specific antibodies against NUCKS and used them for immunohistochemistry in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast. We found high expression of NUCKS in 84.3% of cancer cells. We suggest that such overexpression of NUCKS can play significant role in breast cancer biology.
On the Objectivity of the Objective Function - Problems with Unsupervised Segmentation Evaluation Based on Global Score and a Possible Remedy

Image segmentation is a crucial stage at the very beginning of many geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) workflows. While segmentation quality is generally deemed of great importance, selecting adequate tuning parameters for a segmentation algorithm can be tedious and subjective. Procedures to automatically choose parameters of a segmentation algorithm are meant to make the process objective and reproducible. One of those approaches, and perhaps the most frequently used unsupervised parameter optimization method in the context of GEOBIA is called the objective function, also known as Global Score. Unfortunately, the method exhibits a hitherto widely neglected, yet severe source of instability, which makes quality rankings inconsistent. We demonstrate the issue in detail and propose a modification of the Global Score to mitigate the problem. This hopefully serves as a starting point to spark further development of the popular approach.
Use of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring to assess blood pressure control: a comparison of olmesartan medoxomil and amlodipine besylate

ObjectiveOlmesartan medoxomil is an angiotensin II receptor blocker with similar antihypertensive efficacy as the calcium channel blocker amlodipine besylate in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. In addition to a drug's ability to lower blood pressure, the effectiveness of the agent in enabling patients to achieve specific blood pressure targets is an important clinical consideration. This secondary analysis of a randomized, double-blind study compared the efficacy of olmesartan medoxomil with that of amlodipine besylate in achieving ambulatory blood pressure goals among patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. MethodsFollowing a 4-week placebo run-in, 440 study participants aged ≥18 years were randomized to olmesartan medoxomil (20 mg/day), amlodipine besylate (5 mg/day), or placebo for 8 weeks. The proportion of participants achieving specific systolic and diastolic ambulatory blood pressure goal levels was calculated by dividing the number of participants who had achieved a particular blood pressure goal by the total number of patients in the intent-to-treat population. ResultsAfter 8 weeks of treatment, a mean 24-h ambulatory blood pressure of <130/80 or <130/85 mmHg was achieved by significantly more participants in the olmesartan medoxomil group (18.1 and 30.4%, respectively) than in the amlodipine besylate (7.0 and 14.0%, respectively) or placebo (1.9% for both) groups. The target daytime ambulatory blood pressure of <135/85 mmHg was achieved by more participants in the olmesartan medoxomil group than in the amlodipine besylate group (15.8 vs. 5.8%, respectively; P<0.01). ConclusionIn a previous publication of the same study, we demonstrated that starting doses of olmesartan medoxomil and amlodipine besylate produced similar mean reductions in blood pressure. In this subanalysis of the blood pressure data from that primary publication, however, olmesartan medoxomil therapy was shown to result in a greater proportion of patients achieving specific ambulatory blood pressure goals than therapy with amlodipine besylate. As blood pressure goal attainment may be of more direct clinical relevance than numerical blood pressure lowering, the achievement of blood pressure goals should be a key efficacy parameter assessed in clinical trials of antihypertensive medications.
Treatment of Mucosa-associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma in Sjögren’s Syndrome: A Retrospective Clinical Study

Objective. To retrospectively analyze the clinical course of patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)-type lymphoma of the parotid gland and associated Sjögren’s syndrome (SS). Methods. All consecutive patients with SS and MALT lymphoma (MALT-SS) diagnosed in the University Medical Center Groningen between January 1997 and January 2009 were analyzed. Clinical course and treatment outcome of SS and MALT lymphoma were evaluated. Results. From a total of 329 patients with SS, 35 MALT-SS patients were identified, with a median followup of 76 months (range 16–153 mo). MALT lymphoma was localized in the parotid gland in all cases. Treatment consisted of “watchful waiting” (n = 10), surgery (n = 3), radiotherapy (n = 1), surgery combined with radiotherapy (n = 2), rituximab only (n = 13), or rituximab combined with chemotherapy (n = 6). Complete response was observed in 14 patients, partial response in 1 patient, and stable disease in 20 patients. In 6 of 7 patients with initially high SS disease activity (M-protein, cryoglobulins, IgM rheumatoid factor > 100 KIU/l, severe extraglandular manifestations), MALT lymphoma progressed and/or SS disease activity increased after a median followup of 39 months (range 4–98 mo), necessitating retreatment. Only 1 patient with MALT who had low SS disease activity showed progression of lymphoma when left untreated. Conclusion. An initially high SS disease activity likely constitutes an adverse prognostic factor for progression of lymphoma and/or SS. Such patients may require treatment for both MALT lymphoma and SS. In SS patients with localized asymptomatic MALT lymphoma and low SS disease activity, a “watchful waiting” strategy seems justified.
The contribution of part-word phonological factors to the production of regular noun plural –s by children with and without specific language impairment

Potential phonological contributions to the inconsistent use of regular noun plural –s were examined in two groups of children who were inconsistent in their use of plural –s: 26 children with specific language impairment and 26 younger, typically developing children with comparable mean lengths of utterance. The children’s degree of plural –s use in spontaneous speech was examined according to the stem-final phoneme type (vowel, consonant, or consonant cluster), and the type of context that immediately followed the obligatory context for –s in the child’s utterance (vowel-initial word, consonant-initial word). Both groups of children had greater inflection accuracy when noun stems ended in a vowel as compared to a consonant or in a consonant cluster.
Irrational beliefs revisited: Exploring the role of gambling preferences in the development of misconceptions in gamblers

This study looks at the association between irrational beliefs and gambling and gambling preferences in 4963 adults (15–74 years old). The results from a hierarchical linear regression showed that increased gambling frequency was associated with increased irrational beliefs for all gamblers, but that this effect was stronger for gamblers who preferred gambling machines, bingo automats, card games and Internet gambling. It is suggested that these games have structural characteristics that encourage superstitious thinking more. Finally, it is suggested that a more rapid increase in irrational thinking associated with increased gambling frequency is one of the mechanisms that makes these games more risky.
Tailoring the police response to people with mental illness to community characteristics in the USA

In recent years, law enforcement agencies across the USA have successfully developed programs to transform the police response to people who are in a state of mental health crisis. Many of these programs have required strong partnerships between such agencies and mental health teams as well as community members. In this paper, a description is given of the origins of these programs; the nature of the problems they seek to address; and their outcomes. Ten elements common to police‐based programs are highlighted and practical examples given of how communities have tailored these elements to fit unique community problems and characteristics.
NEUROVASCULAR UNIT DYSFUNCTION: A VASCULAR COMPONENT OF ALZHEIMER DISEASE?

I read the article by Bennaroch on neurovascular unit dysfunction being implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD) with interest, especially since it may be an early event in the development of AD.1 Dysregulation of the neurovascular unit could lead to increased levels of abeta forms, and abeta may in fact lead to such dysregulation. Abeta treated neuroblastoma cells show a dose dependent decrease in nitric oxide release, while morphine …
Quantitative Doppler-Echocardiographic Imaging and Clinical Outcomes With Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction: Independent Effect of Pulmonary Hypertension

Background—Doppler-echocardiography provides quantitative imaging of systolic and diastolic left ventricular (LV) function, functional mitral regurgitation (FMR), and pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with LV systolic dysfunction. Whether PH is linked to survival independently of LV features and FMR in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients is unknown. Methods and Results—Patients with LV ejection fraction ⩽40% and quantitative Doppler-echocardiography assessment of FMR and PH were studied. Patients were frequency matched for those with Doppler-echocardiography estimated pulmonary systolic pressure ≥45 mm Hg (n=692) and those without PH (n=692; pulmonary systolic pressure, <45 mm Hg) for age, sex, LV ejection fraction, and quantified FMR severity and analyzed for long-term survival after diagnosis. During follow-up (median, 8.9 years), 885 deaths (63.5%) occurred, with PH being associated with higher 5-year mortality: 51±2% versus 37±2%, P<0.001. In multivariate analysis, PH demonstrated increased mortality risk independent of age, sex, severity of diastolic and systolic LV dysfunction, FMR, comorbidities, and symptom (hazard ratio, 1.34; 95% confidence limit, 1.17–1.53; P<0.001). Subgroup analysis, stratified by symptoms, degree of FMR, and severity of LV dysfunction, demonstrated that PH was associated with excess mortality in all subgroups. Conclusions—In this large cohort of patients with LV systolic dysfunction, in whom FMR and LV characteristics were quantified and matched between those with and without PH, the presence of PH was an independent factor for excess mortality and not a surrogate for the severity of LV systolic dysfunction or FMR. In asymptomatic or symptomatic patients with or without FMR, PH is a critical marker for poor outcomes.
Witt groups of Grassmann varieties

We compute the Witt groups of split Grassmann varieties, over any regular base X. The answer is that the total Witt group of the Grassmannian is a free module over the total Witt ring of X . W e provide an explicit basis for this free module, which is indexed by a special class of Young diagrams, that we call even Young diagrams.