Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HerMES: THE FAR-INFRARED EMISSION FROM DUST-OBSCURED GALAXIES

Dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) are an ultraviolet-faint, infrared-bright galaxy population that reside at z ∼ 2 and are believed to be in a phase of dusty star-forming and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. We present far-infrared (far-IR) observations of a complete sample of DOGs in the 2 deg2 of the Cosmic Evolution Survey. The 3077 DOGs have 〈z〉 = 1.9 ± 0.3 and are selected from 24 μm and r+ observations using a color cut of r+ − [24] ⩾ 7.5 (AB mag) and S24 ⩾ 100 μJy. Based on the near-IR spectral energy distributions, 47% are bump DOGs (star formation dominated) and 10% are power-law DOGs (AGN-dominated). We use SPIRE far-IR photometry from the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey to calculate the IR luminosity and characteristic dust temperature for the 1572 (51%) DOGs that are detected at 250 μm (⩾3σ). For the remaining 1505 (49%) that are undetected, we perform a median stacking analysis to probe fainter luminosities. Herschel-detected and undetected DOGs have average luminosities of (2.8 ± 0.4) × 1012 L☉ and (0.77 ± 0.08) × 1012 L☉, and dust temperatures of (33 ± 7) K and (37 ± 5) K, respectively. The IR luminosity function for DOGs with S24 ⩾ 100 μJy is calculated, using far-IR observations and stacking. DOGs contribute 10%–30% to the total star formation rate (SFR) density of the universe at z = 1.5–2.5, dominated by 250 μm detected and bump DOGs. For comparison, DOGs contribute 30% to the SFR density for all z = 1.5–2.5 galaxies with S24 ⩾ 100 μJy. DOGs have a large scatter about the star formation main sequence and their specific SFRs show that the observed phase of star formation could be responsible for their total observed stellar mass at z ∼ 2.
Determinants of Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the cross-country and cross-industry determinants of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements. Authors find that PPPs tend to be more common in countries where governments suffer from heavy debt burdens and where aggregate demand and market size are large. Their findings also suggest that macroeconomic stability is essential for PPPs. They provide evidence on the importance of institutional quality, where less corruption and effective rule of law are associated with more PPP projects. PPPs are also more prevalent in countries with previous PPP experiences. At the industry level, they find that PPP determinants vary across industries depending on the nature of public infrastructure, capital intensity, and technology required. They also find that private participation in PPP projects depends on the expected marketability, the technology required, and the degree of 'impurity' of the goods or services.
High Mobility Group 1 Protein (Hmg-1) Stimulates Proinflammatory Cytokine Synthesis in Human Monocytes

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is lethal to animals because it activates cytokine release, causing septic shock and tissue injury. Early proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., tumor necrosis factor [TNF] and interleukin [IL]-1) released within the first few hours of endotoxemia stimulate mediator cascades that persist for days and can lead to death. High mobility group 1 protein (HMG-1), a ubiquitous DNA-binding protein, was recently identified as a “late” mediator of endotoxin lethality. Anti–HMG-1 antibodies neutralized the delayed increase in serum HMG-1, and protected against endotoxin lethality, even when passive immunization was delayed until after the early cytokine response. Here we examined whether HMG-1 might stimulate cytokine synthesis in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures. Addition of purified recombinant HMG-1 to human monocyte cultures significantly stimulated the release of TNF, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1RA, IL-6, IL-8, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, and MIP-1β; but not IL-10 or IL-12. HMG-1 concentrations that activated monocytes were within the pathological range previously observed in endotoxemic animals, and in serum obtained from septic patients. HMG-1 failed to stimulate cytokine release in lymphocytes, indicating that cellular stimulation was specific. Cytokine release after HMG-1 stimulation was delayed and biphasic compared with LPS stimulation. Computer-assisted image analysis demonstrated that peak intensity of HMG-1–induced cellular TNF staining was comparable to that observed after maximal stimulation with LPS. Administration of HMG-1 to Balb/c mice significantly increased serum TNF levels in vivo. Together, these results indicate that, like other cytokine mediators of endotoxin lethality (e.g., TNF and IL-1), extracellular HMG-1 is a regulator of monocyte proinflammatory cytokine synthesis.
Online Task Assignment in Crowdsourcing Markets

We explore the problem of assigning heterogeneous tasks to workers with different, unknown skill sets in crowdsourcing markets such as Amazon Mechanical Turk. We first formalize the online task assignment problem, in which a requester has a fixed set of tasks and a budget that specifies how many times he would like each task completed. Workers arrive one at a time (with the same worker potentially arriving multiple times), and must be assigned to a task upon arrival. The goal is to allocate workers to tasks in a way that maximizes the total benefit that the requester obtains from the completed work. Inspired by recent research on the online adwords problem, we present a two-phase exploration-exploitation assignment algorithm and prove that it is competitive with respect to the optimal offline algorithm which has access to the unknown skill levels of each worker. We empirically evaluate this algorithm using data collected on Mechanical Turk and show that it performs better than random assignment or greedy algorithms. To our knowledge, this is the first work to extend the online primal-dual technique used in the online adwords problem to a scenario with unknown parameters, and the first to offer an empirical validation of an online primal-dual algorithm.
Heat treatment of cross-linked polyethylene and its effect on morphology and space charge evolution

It is believed that space charge build-up in cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulation is the main cause of premature failure of underground power cables. The space charge activities in XLPE depend on many factors such as additives, material treatment, ambient temperature, insulator/electrode interface, etc. Degassing is the process of subjecting the XLPE to a moderately high temperature, thereby removing volatile residual by-products and additives that are commonly employed in cable manufacturing to improve insulation performance. While there have been reports comparing space charge activities (as-received) un-degassed and degassed samples, little attention has been placed on degassing conditions effect on space charge. In this paper, investigations of morphology and space charge distribution of planar XLPE samples was carried out as parameters such as degassing temperature, degassing duration and sample thickness were adjusted. Changes in the morphological structure of the material were probed with the differential scanning calorimeter and the transmission electron microscopy, whereas space charge distribution of the samples subjected to DC electric stress was monitored for 24 h using the laser induced pressure pulsed technique. It was revealed that degassing temperature, duration and the thickness of the degassed sample has a direct effect on the morphological structure and space charge distributions of the samples. It is believed that the presence and amount of by-products takes precedence over the morphology of the material as far as space charge evolution is concerned.
Bisindolylmaleimide prevents cerebellar granule cells apoptosis: a possible role for PKC

CEREBELLAR granule cells (CGC) are amongst the most abundant neuronal cells in the mammalian central nervous system. In vitro, they undergo apoptosis when deprived of depolarizating concentrations of KCl, providing an interesting system to study neuronal apoptosis. Despite its significance, the intracellular mechanisms that follow an apoptotic insult are poorly understood. Bisindolylmaleimide, a specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, blocks cell death and apoptosis with an optimal concentration of 10 μM. Bisindolylmaleimide also blocks apoptosis up to 7 h after KCl deprivation, suggesting that it blocks a secondary process. Ro-31-8220, another PKC inhibitor, also blocks apoptosis, but it is less effective, probably due to its lack of specificity. A possible PKC role in increasing the transcription or activating protein(s) involved in neuronal apoptosis is proposed.
An Improved Decision-DNNF Compiler

We present and evaluate a new compiler, called D4 , targeting the Decision-DNNF language. As the state-of-the-art compilers C2D and Dsharp targeting the same language, D4 is a top-down tree-search algorithm exploring the space of propositional interpretations. D4 is based on the same ingredients as those considered in C2D and Dsharp (mainly, disjoint component analysis, conﬂict analysis and non-chronological backtracking, component caching). D4 takes advantage of a dynamic decomposition approach based on hypergraph partitioning, used sparingly. Some simpliﬁcation rules are also used to minimize the time spent in the partitioning steps and to promote the quality of the decompositions. Experiments show that the compilation times and the sizes of the Decision-DNNF representations computed by D4 are in many cases signiﬁcantly lower than the ones obtained by C2D and Dsharp .
Versatile, Accurate, and Analytically Tractable Approximation for the Gaussian Q-Function

The existing approximations for the Gaussian Q-function have been developed bearing in mind applications that require high estimation accuracies (e.g., derivation of the error probability for digital modulation schemes). Unfortunately, the associated mathematical expressions are too complex to be easily employed in many other analytical studies, even if they do not require such a high accuracy. This letter proposes a simple, yet accurate mathematical approximation to the Gaussian Q-function. When compared to other existing approximations, the proposed model provides an adequate balance between accuracy and analytical tractability. Its simplicity enables its application over a wider range of analytical studies at reasonable accuracy levels. As an illustrative example, the proposed approximation is employed to obtain a new and simple closed-form expression for the probability of detection of an energy detector under Rayleigh fading channels.
The Wise Experiencing Traveling Salesman (WETS): Introduction to a simple evolutionary solution for the problem

In this paper a new idea to solve the traveling salesman problem is introduced. The idea is categorized within meta-heur istic algorithms and is based on a normal wise human-being thinking method. Star ting from an arbitr ary star ting point, three factor s ar e considered to generate a score vector by which the next position is selected. Distance from the non-visited points, successful previous exper iments, and a randomly changing factor are the components that make the scor e vector. The effect of each factor can be adjusted by a weighting parameter. The algorithm is implemented and tested on many small (less than 100 cities) benchmarks. The pr imary surpr ising results obtained by this soft computing approach, in compar ison to many other recently developed methods, turn a light on its bright per spective to be known as an efficient simple solution to the problem.
Endovascular recanalization of the completely occluded internal carotid artery using a flow reversal system at the subacute to chronic stage.

OBJECT The efficacy and pitfalls of endovascular recanalization were evaluated in cases of internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion in the subacute to chronic stage. METHODS Fourteen cases (15 lesions) of symptomatic ICA occlusion with hemodynamic compromise or recurrent symptoms were treated at the subacute to chronic stage using an endovascular technique. The Parodi embolic protection system was used during the recanalization procedure to prevent embolic stroke by reversing the flow from the distal ICA to the common carotid artery. RESULTS Recanalization of the occluded ICA was possible in 14 of 15 lesions. The occlusion points were 10 cervical ICAs and 4 petrous/cavernous ICAs in successfully recanalized cases. Ischemic symptoms disappeared completely after the treatment, and new ischemic symptoms did not appear related to the treated lesion. Single photon emission computed tomography findings demonstrated the improvement of hemodynamic compromise in all cases. One case showed right middle cerebral artery branch occlusion during the procedure, but this patient's neurological symptoms were stable due to preexisting hemiparesis. Endovascular recanalization was possible and effective in improving hemodynamic compromise. However, there are still several problems with this technique, such as hyperperfusion syndrome after recanalization, cerebral embolism during treatment, durability after treatment, and identification of the occlusion point before treatment. CONCLUSIONS Endovascular recanalization using an embolic protection device can be considered as an alternative treatment for symptomatic ICA occlusion with hemodynamic compromise or refractoriness to antiplatelet therapy, even in the subacute to chronic stage of the illness.
Vaginal Lactobacillus microbiota of healthy women in the late first trimester of pregnancy

Objective This study was undertaken to characterise the dominant species of Lactobacillus colonising the vagina of healthy pregnant women, to examine some of their phenotypic and genotypic properties, and to gain a better understanding of the potential role of species, which might be associated with infection‐free status.
Policy and Planning for Large-Infrastructure Projects: Problems, Causes, Cures

This paper focuses on problems and their causes and cures in policy and planning for large-infrastructure projects. First, it identifies as the main problem in major infrastructure developments pervasive misinformation about the costs, benefits, and risks involved. A consequence of misinformation is cost overruns, benefit shortfalls, and waste. Second, it explores the causes of misinformation and finds that political-economic explanations best account for the available evidence: planners and promoters deliberately misrepresent costs, benefits, and risks in order to increase the likelihood that it is their projects, and not those of their competition, that gain approval and funding. This results in the ‘survival of the unfittest’, in which often it is not the best projects that are built, but the most misrepresented ones. Finally, it presents measures for reforming policy and planning for large-infrastructure projects with a focus on better planning methods and changed governance structures, the latter being more important.
Cytosolic, Autocrine Alpha-1 Proteinase Inhibitor (A1PI) Inhibits Caspase-1 and Blocks IL-1β Dependent Cytokine Release in Monocytes

Rationale Activation state-dependent secretion of alpha-1 proteinase inhibitor (A1PI) by monocytes and macrophages was first reported in 1985. Since then, monocytes and tissue macrophages have emerged as key sentinels of infection and tissue damage via activation of self-assembling pattern recognition receptors (inflammasomes), which trigger inflammation and cell death in a caspase-1 dependent process. These studies examine the relationship between A1PI expression in primary monocytes and monocytic cell lines, and inflammatory cytokine expression in response to inflammasome directed stimuli. Methods IL-1 β expression was examined in lung macrophages expressing wild type A1PI (A1PI-M) or disease-associated Z isoform A1PI (A1PI-Z). Inflammatory cytokine release was evaluated in THP-1 monocytic cells or THP-1 cells lacking the inflammasome adaptor ASC, transfected with expression vectors encoding A1PI-M or A1PI-Z. A1PI-M was localized within monocytes by immunoprecipitation in hypotonic cell fractions. Cell-free titration of A1PI-M was performed against recombinant active caspase-1 in vitro. Results IL-1 β expression was elevated in lung macrophages expressing A1PI-Z. Overexpression of A1PI-M in THP-1 monocytes reduced secretion of IL-1β and TNF-α. In contrast, overexpression of A1PI-Z enhanced IL-1β and TNF- α secretion in an ASC dependent manner. A1PI-Z-enhanced cytokine release was inhibited by a small molecule caspase-1 inhibitor but not by high levels of exogenous wtA1PI. Cytosolic localization of A1PI-M in monocytes was not diminished with microtubule-inhibiting agents. A1PI-M co-localized with caspase-1 in gel-filtered cytoplasmic THP-1 preparations, and was co-immunoprecipitated with caspase 1 from nigericin-stimulated THP-1 cell lysate. Plasma-derived A1PI inhibited recombinant caspase-1 mediated conversion of a peptide substrate in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions Our results suggest that monocyte/macrophage-expressed A1PI-M antagonizes IL-1β secretion possibly via caspase-1 inhibition, a function which disease-associated A1PI-Z may lack. Therapeutic approaches which limit inflammasome responses in patients with A1PI deficiency, in combination with A1PI augmentation, may provide additional respiratory tissue-sparing benefits.
Family Perspective on Community Treatment Orders: A New Zealand Study

Background: People with serious mental disorders typically live with family members. Despite increasing interest in compulsory community treatment for such patients, the experience and views of their family members have been little studied. Material: Qualitative interviews with 27 family members, whose relatives have been subject to compulsory community treatment. Discussion and conclusions: Family members are generally in favour of the use of compulsory community treatment orders. They perceive a positive influence on their relative, on themselves, on family relationships, and on relations with the clinical team. Family members are aware of the ethical and other dilemmas that attend the use of compulsory community care.
Diagnostic FDG and FDOPA positron emission tomography scans distinguish the genomic type and treatment outcome of neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a heterogeneous childhood cancer that requires multiple imaging modalities for accurate staging and surveillances. This study aims to investigate the utility of positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 18F-fluoro-dihydroxyphenylalanine (FDOPA) in determining the prognosis of NB. During 2007–2014, forty-two NB patients (male:female, 28:14; median age, 2.0 years) undergoing paired FDG and FDOPA PET scans at diagnosis were evaluated for the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of FDG or FDOPA by the primary tumor. Patients with older age, advanced stages, or MYCN amplification showed higher FDG and lower FDOPA SUVmax (all P < 0.02). Receiver operating characteristics analysis identified FDG SUVmax≥ 3.31 and FDOPA SUVmax < 4.12 as an ultra-high-risk feature (PET-UHR) that distinguished the most unfavorable genomic types, i.e. segmental chromosomal alterations and/or MYCN amplification, at a sensitivity of 81.3% (54.4%–96.0%) and a specificity of 93.3% (68.1%–99.8%). Considering with age, stage, MYCN status, and anatomical image-defined risk factor, PET-UHR was an independent predictor of inferior event-free survival (multivariate hazard ratio, 4.9 [1.9–30.1]; P = 0.012). Meanwhile, the ratio between FDG and FDOPA SUVmax (G:D) correlated positively with HK2 (Spearman's ρ = 0.86, P < 0.0001) and negatively with DDC (ρ = −0.58, P = 0.02) gene expression levels, which might suggest higher glycolytic activity and less catecholaminergic differentiation in NB tumors taking up higher FDG and lower FDOPA. In conclusion, the intensity of FDG and FDOPA uptake on diagnostic PET scans may predict the tumor behavior and complement the current risk stratification systems of NB.
Toxic and micronutrient elements in organic, brown and polished rice in Brazil

Concentration levels of As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Tl, Sn, Sb Co, Cu, Mn, Se, Zn, Cr, Ni and Mo in different types of rice cultivated in irrigated fields in Brazil were evaluated. Arsenic, Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn and Cu were found in higher concentrations in brown rice samples, suggesting the prevalence of these elements in the bran. Meanwhile, lower concentrations of Pb, Mo, Cr, Se and Co were found in parboiled rice. Organic rice did not differ of cultivated conventionally rice. Thallium, Hg and Sb were not detected in any rice sample whose limits of detection were 0.7 μg kg−1, 2.5 μg kg−1 and 8 μg kg−1, respectively. The concentrations of the investigated elements were compared with those reported for polished rice and brown rice from other countries, unveiling concentrations in general at the same level for rice produced at non-contaminated sites.
A Descent Lemma Beyond Lipschitz Gradient Continuity: First-Order Methods Revisited and Applications

The proximal gradient and its variants is one of the most attractive first-order algorithm for minimizing the sum of two convex functions, with one being nonsmooth. However, it requires the differentiable part of the objective to have a Lipschitz continuous gradient, thus precluding its use in many applications. In this paper we introduce a framework which allows to circumvent the intricate question of Lipschitz continuity of gradients by using an elegant and easy to check convexity condition which captures the geometry of the constraints. This condition translates into a new descent lemma which in turn leads to a natural derivation of the proximal-gradient scheme with Bregman distances. We then identify a new notion of asymmetry measure for Bregman distances, which is central in determining the relevant step-size. These novelties allow to prove a global sublinear rate of convergence, and as a by-product, global pointwise convergence is obtained. This provides a new path to a broad spectrum of problems arising in key applications which were, until now, considered as out of reach via proximal gradient methods. We illustrate this potential by showing how our results can be applied to build new and simple schemes for Poisson inverse problems.
Cells Isolated from Umbilical Cord Tissue Rescue Photoreceptors and Visual Functions in a Rodent Model of Retinal Disease

Progressive photoreceptor degeneration resulting from genetic and other factors is a leading and largely untreatable cause of blindness worldwide. The object of this study was to find a cell type that is effective in slowing the progress of such degeneration in an animal model of human retinal disease, is safe, and could be generated in sufficient numbers for clinical application. We have compared efficacy of four human‐derived cell types in preserving photoreceptor integrity and visual functions after injection into the subretinal space of the Royal College of Surgeons rat early in the progress of degeneration. Umbilical tissue‐derived cells, placenta‐derived cells, and mesenchymal stem cells were studied; dermal fibroblasts served as cell controls. At various ages up to 100 days, electroretinogram responses, spatial acuity, and luminance threshold were measured. Both umbilical‐derived and mesenchymal cells significantly reduced the degree of functional deterioration in each test. The effect of placental cells was not much better than controls. Umbilical tissue‐derived cells gave large areas of photoreceptor rescue; mesenchymal stem cells gave only localized rescue. Fibroblasts gave sham levels of rescue. Donor cells were confined to the subretinal space. There was no evidence of cell differentiation into neurons, of tumor formation or other untoward pathology. Since the umbilical tissue‐derived cells demonstrated the best photoreceptor rescue and, unlike mesenchymal stem cells, were capable of sustained population doublings without karyotypic changes, it is proposed that they may provide utility as a cell source for the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa.