Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Curcumin on the Proliferation and Mineralization of Human Osteoblast-Like Cells: Implications of Nitric Oxide

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is found in the rhizomes of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa L.) and has been used for centuries as a dietary spice and as a traditional Indian medicine used to treat different conditions. At the cellular level, curcumin modulates important molecular targets: transcription factors, enzymes, cell cycle proteins, cytokines, receptors and cell surface adhesion molecules. Because many of the curcumin targets mentioned above participate in the regulation of bone remodeling, curcumin may affect the skeletal system. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous molecule generated from l-arginine during the catalization of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and it plays crucial roles in catalization and in the nervous, cardiovascular and immune systems. Human osteoblasts have been shown to express NOS isoforms, and the exact mechanism(s) by which NO regulates bone formation remain unclear. Curcumin has been widely described to inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase expression and nitric oxide production, at least in part via direct interference in NF-κB activation. In the present study, after exposure of human osteoblast-like cells (MG-63), we have observed that curcumin abrogated inducible NOS expression and decreased NO levels, inhibiting also cell prolifieration. This effect was prevented by the NO donor sodium nitroprusside. Under osteogenic conditions, curcumin also decreased the level of mineralization. Our results indicate that NO plays a role in the osteoblastic profile of MG-63 cells.
TagiCoFi: tag informed collaborative filtering

Besides the rating information, an increasing number of modern recommender systems also allow the users to add personalized tags to the items. Such tagging information may provide very useful information for item recommendation, because the users' interests in items can be implicitly reflected by the tags that they often use. Although some content-based recommender systems have made preliminary attempts recently to utilize tagging information to improve the recommendation performance, few recommender systems based on collaborative filtering (CF) have employed tagging information to help the item recommendation procedure. In this paper, we propose a novel framework, called tag informed collaborative filtering (TagiCoFi), to seamlessly integrate tagging information into the CF procedure. Experimental results demonstrate that TagiCoFi outperforms its counterpart which discards the tagging information even when it is available, and achieves state-of-the-art performance.
E-government, social media, and risk perception communication at the edge of disaster: findings from the Mt. Sinabung eruption in Indonesia

Despite operational volcano surveillance using meteorological satellite, thermal remote sensing and infrared camera technologies, predicting its hazardous activity and explosive eruption, with any accuracy, remains nearly impossible. Against this, volcanic hazards and risk literature identifies risk communication as a new research challenge. This study presents insights from the disaster risk communication practice, during the Mt. Sinabung eruptions in February 2014, causing 16 deaths and continuous evacuations of 30,000 local residents. We examined IT uses, including e-government websites and social media, which facilitated or inhibited communications of risk perceptions by governments, the affected villagers, and the public. Based on findings, we discuss socio-political and socio-technical implications for overcoming inter-agency coordination and clear cross-jurisdictional communication challenges so as to improve external political efficacy of volcanic risk communication and to empower the public living at the edge of disaster and take appropriate and timely responses that would mitigate the volcanic hazards and risk.
Instantaneous Pressure Distribution Along the Human Aorta

Pressures at various points of the human aorta were recorded and resolved into their sinusoidal components by Fourier analysis. A progressively decreasing phase angle with distance along the aorta was found. This was considered compatible with a traveling wave system. The pressure moduli generally increased with distance along the aorta. This was attributed to the progressively increasing stiffness of the aorta peripherally. Minor undulations in moduli could be explained on the basis of superimposed reflections. The apparent phase velocities were calculated for various points along the aorta. They tended to converge at higher frequencies to a value of 5 m/sec.
A Bovine Model of Respiratory Chlamydia psittaci Infection: Challenge Dose Titration

This study aimed to establish and evaluate a bovine respiratory model of experimentally induced acute C. psittaci infection. Calves are natural hosts and pathogenesis may resemble the situation in humans. Intrabronchial inoculation of C. psittaci strain DC15 was performed in calves aged 2–3 months via bronchoscope at four different challenge doses from 106 to 109 inclusion-forming units (ifu) per animal. Control groups received either UV-inactivated C. psittaci or cell culture medium. While 106 ifu/calf resulted in a mild respiratory infection only, the doses of 107 and 108 induced fever, tachypnea, dry cough, and tachycardia that became apparent 2–3 days post inoculation (dpi) and lasted for about one week. In calves exposed to 109 ifu C. psittaci, the respiratory disease was accompanied by severe systemic illness (apathy, tremor, markedly reduced appetite). At the time point of most pronounced clinical signs (3 dpi) the extent of lung lesions was below 10% of pulmonary tissue in calves inoculated with 106 and 107 ifu, about 15% in calves inoculated with 108 and more than 30% in calves inoculated with 109 ifu C. psittaci. Beside clinical signs and pathologic lesions, the bacterial load of lung tissue and markers of pulmonary inflammation (i.e., cell counts, concentration of proteins and eicosanoids in broncho-alveolar lavage fluid) were positively associated with ifu of viable C. psittaci. While any effect of endotoxin has been ruled out, all effects could be attributed to infection by the replicating bacteria. In conclusion, the calf represents a suitable model of respiratory chlamydial infection. Dose titration revealed that both clinically latent and clinically manifest infection can be reproduced experimentally by either 106 or 108 ifu/calf of C. psittaci DC15 while doses above 108 ifu C. psittaci cannot be recommended for further studies for ethical reasons. This defined model of different clinical expressions of chlamydial infection allows studying host-pathogen interactions.
AIDS education in Tanzania: promoting risk reduction among primary school children.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to test the effects of an education program in Tanzania designed to reduce children's risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and to improve their tolerance of and care for people with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). METHODS A randomized controlled community trial including baseline and 12-month follow-up surveys was employed. Public primary schools in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania were stratified according to location and randomly assigned to intervention (n = 6) or comparison (n = 12) conditions. Of the 1063 sixth-grade students (average age: 13.6 years) who participated at baseline, 814 participated in the follow-up survey. RESULTS At follow-up, statistically significant effects favoring the intervention group were observed for exposure to AIDS information and communication, AIDS knowledge, attitudes toward people with AIDS, and subjective norms and behavioral intentions toward having sexual intercourse. A consistent positive but nonsignificant trend was seen for attitudes toward having sexual intercourse and for initiation of sexual intercourse during the previous year (7% vs 17%). CONCLUSIONS It is feasible and effective to train local teachers and health workers to provide HIV/AIDS education to Tanzanian primary school children.
Low Data Drug Discovery with One-Shot Learning

Recent advances in machine learning have made significant contributions to drug discovery. Deep neural networks in particular have been demonstrated to provide significant boosts in predictive power when inferring the properties and activities of small-molecule compounds (Ma, J. et al. J. Chem. Inf. Model.2015, 55, 263–27425635324). However, the applicability of these techniques has been limited by the requirement for large amounts of training data. In this work, we demonstrate how one-shot learning can be used to significantly lower the amounts of data required to make meaningful predictions in drug discovery applications. We introduce a new architecture, the iterative refinement long short-term memory, that, when combined with graph convolutional neural networks, significantly improves learning of meaningful distance metrics over small-molecules. We open source all models introduced in this work as part of DeepChem, an open-source framework for deep-learning in drug discovery (Ramsundar, B. deepchem.io. https://github.com/deepchem/deepchem, 2016).
The effects of grain processing method, wet and dry distiller’s grains with soluble and roughage level on performance and carcass characteristics of finishing cattle

A series of five trials were conducted to evaluate grain processing, distiller’s grains inclusion in finishing diets, interactions between distiller’s grains and dry-rolled corn (DRC) or steam-flaked corn (SFC), efficacy of removing roughage in the presence of distiller’s grains and the digestibility of distiller’s grains in steam-flaked and dry-rolled corn diets. The first trial was designed to determine the optimum flake density of SFC in beef finishing diets. Diets consisted of corn flaked to densities of 360, 411, or 462 g/L. Observed improvements in mill production would support increasing flake density; however numerical decreases in animal performance offset economic benefits of increased productivity. The second trial was conducted to evaluate optimum levels of sorghum wet distiller’s grains in finishing diets. Crossbred yearling steers were fed diets containing DRC or SFC and levels of distiller’s grains were 0, 10, 20, or 30% of diet dry matter. Distiller’s grains can effectively replaced a portion of the corn in finishing diets, but their nutritional value was greater in DRC diets than in SFC diets. In trial 3, crossbred heifers were fed diets containing SFC with 0% DDG and 15% corn silage (CS), 25% DDG and 15% CS, or 25% DDG and 5% CS. In trial 4, crossbreed heifers were fed diets similar containing DRC or SFC with 0% DDG and 15% CS, 25% DDG and 15% CS, or 25% DDG and 5% CS. Results indicate that roughage levels can be reduced in feedlot diets containing DDG with no adverse effects on performance or carcass quality. The fifth trial was a metabolism study conducted to evaluate the digestibility of DDG in beef cattle. Treatments consisted of DRC with 0% DDG, DRC with 25% DDG, SFC with 0% DDG, and SFC with 25% DDG. There were no significant grain processing by distiller’s grain interactions observed in main effects. In conclusion optimum flake density was 360 g/L, feeding distiller’s grains has a greater value in DRC diets vs. SFC diets, roughage level and type are important in formulating finishing diets, roughage can be reduced when feeding distiller’s grains, and ruminal ammonia, and pH are decreased and ruminal lactate is increased when feeding DDG and SFC.
The Aging Risk and Atherosclerosis: A Fresh Look at Arterial Homeostasis

A considerable volume of research over the last decade has focused on understanding the fundamental mechanisms for the progression of atherosclerosis—the underlying cause for the vast majority of all cardiovascular (CVD)-related complications. Aging is the dominant risk factor for clinically significant atherosclerotic lesion formation, yet the heightened impact of aging on the disease is not accounted for by changes in traditional risk factors, such as lack of physical activity, smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or diabetes mellitus. This review will examine the pathological and biochemical processes of atherosclerotic plaque formation and growth, with particular focus on the aging risk vis-a-vis arterial homeostasis. Particular focus will be placed on the impact of a number of important contributors to arterial homeostasis including bone marrow (BM)-derived vascular progenitor cells, differential monocyte subpopulations, and the role of cellular senescence. Finally, this review will explore many critical observations in the way the disease process has been reassessed both by clinicians and researchers, and will highlight recent advances in this field that have provided a greater understanding of this aging-driven disease.
An Identity Authentication System Based On Human Computer Interaction Behaviour

Human behaviour has been used in biometrics. In this paper we describe a new behavioural biometric technic based on human computer interaction. We developed a system that captures the user interaction via a pointing device, and uses this behavioural information to verify the identity of an individual. Using statistical pattern recognition technics, we developed a sequential classifier that processes user interaction, according to which the user identity is considered genuine if a predefined accuracy level is achieved, and the user is classified as an impostor otherwise. We found that the normal user interaction with the computer entails discriminant information, useful for creating a behavioural biometric identity authentication system. The paper presents experimental results revealing that our system can achieve good performance in the collected interaction information.
Pancreas transplantation modulates reverse cholesterol transport

Abstract Hyperinsulinemia secondary to insulin resistance in type-II diabetes or in the metabolic syndrome is associated with the “atherogenetic lipoprotein phenotype”: high triglycerides, small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. In contrast, hyperinsulinemia in pancreas–kidney transplant recipients (PKT-R), secondary to systemic venous drainage of the heteropically implanted pancreas graft, leads to high lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity and a presumably antiatherogenic lipoprotein profile with very attenuated postprandial lipemia, high HDL cholesterol, and a preponderance of large-sized HDL (HDL2) and large buoyant LDL particles. We interpret these findings to suggest that in PKT-R, peripheral hyperinsulinemia upregulates LPL activity in peripheral tissues, which induces rapid clearance of chylomicron triglycerides from plasma and, thus, attenuates postprandial lipemia. Low postprandial lipemia allows little net cholesteryl ester transfer from HDL to triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, keeping the levels of the antiatherogenic lipoprotein HDL high and potentially increasing, thereby reverse cholesterol transport. The type of lipoprotein metabolism and pattern present in PKT-R is associated with a low cardiovascular risk in the general population; it cannot be excluded, however, that hyperinsulinemia as found in PKT-R may contribute to atherosclerosis by effects unrelated to lipoprotein metabolism.
Learning emergent tasks for an autonomous mobile robot

We present an implementation of a reinforcement learning algorithm through the use of a special neural network topology, the AHC (adaptive heuristic critic). The AHC is used as a fusion supervisor of primitive behaviors in order to execute more complex robot behaviors, for example go to goal, surveillance or follow a path. The fusion supervisor is part of an architecture for the execution of mobile robot tasks which are composed of several primitive behaviors which act in a simultaneous or concurrent fashion. The architecture allows for learning to take place at the execution level, it incorporates the experience gained in executing primitive behaviors as well as the overall task. The implementation of this autonomous learning approach has been tested within OPMOR, a simulation environment for mobile robots and with our mobile platform, the UPM Robuter. Both, simulated and actual results are presented. The performance of the AHC neural network is adequate. Portions of this work has been implemented within the EEC ESPRIT 2483 PANORAMA Project. <<ETX>>
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Measured by the Gamma Camera After Direct Injection of 133 Xe into the Distal Stump of the Occluded Middle Cerebral Artery

: Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Measured by the Gamma Camera After Direct Injection of U3 Xe into the Distal Stump of the Occluded Middle Cerebral Artery • Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured after intracarotid injection of 133 Xe con-currently with measurements of local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) after injection of 133 Xe directly into the distal stump of the occluded middle cerebral artery (MCA) by the use of the gamma camera after producing experimental ischemia in baboons by occluding the MCA. Regional MCA stump pressure (rMCAP) was also measured. Regions of ischemia assessed by intracarotid injection of 133 Xe correlated well with the territory of infarct defined by injection of 133 Xe into the distal MCA stump. Flow values in ischemic regions obtained by direct injection of 133 Xe into the MCA were 15% to 20% lower than those obtained by intracarotid injection of 133 Xe. Possible explanations for these differences are discussed. During induced hypertension autoregulation in ischemic areas was abolished and paradoxical responses of LCBF and rMCAP to changes in arterial carbon dioxide tension (Paco' 2 ) were confirmed.
Topology of syngameons

Abstract Syngameons are sets of species linked by interspecific hybridization. Common observations regarding the structure of syngameons are that hybridization propensity is not uniform across species and that patterns of hybridization are dominated by a few species. I use computer simulations to test these claims in naturally occurring syngameons selected from the literature and from personal observation. Natural syngameons, especially those involving plants, typically exhibit nonrandom structure: The first three order statistics for the number of hybrid partners and the variance in the number of hybrid partners are larger than chance alone would predict. The structure of two insect syngameons examined is not significantly different from random. To test a hypothesis that variation in hybridization propensity across species in natural syngameons is simply an artifact of hybridization opportunity, I examine the structure of four artificial syngameons (fertility relationships) produced by full diallel crosses. Three of four artificial syngameons exhibit nonrandom structure, as the observed variation in number of successful crosses is larger than chance alone would predict. In general, there are no significant results involving the order statistics. Finally, I discuss biogeographic, ecological, and phylogenetic hypotheses for variation in hybridization propensity across species in natural syngameons.
A Neuromuscular Mechanism of Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis Associated with ACL Injury

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury leads to early-onset osteoarthritis. Quadriceps weakness is a consequence of ACL injury and is considered to result from arthrogenic inhibition (AMI). AMI is the neurological "shutdown" of muscles surrounding an injured joint, preventing full activation, reducing strength, and promoting atrophy. As quadriceps function is critical for energy absorption, its dysfunction may contribute to posttraumatic osteoarthritis.
The Anti-Proliferative Activity of BTG/TOB Proteins Is Mediated via the Caf1a (CNOT7) and Caf1b (CNOT8) Deadenylase Subunits of the Ccr4-Not Complex

The human BTG/TOB protein family comprises six members (BTG1, BTG2/PC3/Tis21, BTG3/Ana, BTG4/PC3B, TOB1/Tob, and TOB2) that are characterised by a conserved BTG domain. This domain mediates interactions with the highly similar Caf1a (CNOT7) and Caf1b (CNOT8) catalytic subunits of the Ccr4-Not deadenylase complex. BTG/TOB proteins have anti-proliferative activity: knockdown of BTG/TOB can result in increased cell proliferation, whereas over-expression of BTG/TOB leads to inhibition of cell cycle progression. It was unclear whether the interaction between BTG/TOB proteins and the Caf1a/Caf1b deadenylases is necessary for the anti-proliferative activity of BTG/TOB. To address this question, we further characterised surface-exposed amino acid residues of BTG2 and TOB1 that mediate the interaction with the Caf1a and Caf1b deadenylase enzymes. We then analysed the role of BTG2 and TOB1 in the regulation of cell proliferation, translation and mRNA abundance using a mutant that is no longer able to interact with the Caf1a/Caf1b deadenylases. We conclude that the anti-proliferative activity of BTG/TOB proteins is mediated through interactions with the Caf1a and Caf1b deadenylase enzymes. Furthermore, we show that the activity of BTG/TOB proteins in the regulation of mRNA abundance and translation is dependent on Caf1a/Caf1b, and does not appear to require other Ccr4-Not components, including the Ccr4a (CNOT6)/Ccr4b (CNOT6L) deadenylases, or the non-catalytic subunits CNOT1 or CNOT3.
Diagonal free field matrix correlators, global symmetries and giant gravitons

We obtain a basis of diagonal free field multi-matrix 2-point correlators in a theory with global symmetry group G. The operators fall into irreducible representations of G. This applies for gauge group U(N) at finite N. For composites made of n fundamental fields, this is expressed in terms of Clebsch-Gordan coefficients for the decomposition of the n-fold tensor products of the fundamental field representation in terms of G × Sn representations. We use this general construction in the case of the SL(2) sector of = 4 SYM. In this case, by using oscillator constructions, we reduce the computation of the relevant Clebsch-Gordans coupling infinite dimensional discrete series irreps of SL(2) to a problem in symmetric groups. Applying these constructions we write down gauge invariant operators with a Fock space structure similar to that arising in a large angular momentum limit of worldvolume excitations of giant gravitons. The Fock space structure emerges from Clebsch multiplicities of tensor products of symmetric group representations. We also give the action of the 1-loop dilatation operator of = 4 SYM on this basis of multi-matrix operators.