Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallel pathways and convergence onto HVc and adjacent neostriatum of adult zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

The structure and connectivity of the forebrain nucleus HVc, a site of sensorimotor integration in the song control system of oscine birds, were investigated in adult zebra finches. HVc in males comprises three cytoarchitectonic subdivisions: the commonly recognized central region with large and medium‐sized darkly staining cells, a ventral caudomedial region with densely packed small and medium‐sized cells, and a dorsolateral region with oblong cells and rows of cells. All three subdivisions project to area X and the robust nucleus of the archistriatum, with more complexity in the classes and distribution of cells than previously reported. In females, HVc is very small and has a cytoarchitecture distinct from that of the three male subdivisions. The structure of HVc in females treated with estradiol at 15 days of age is similar to male HVc.
Isolation of low-molecular albumins of 2S fraction from soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill).

Numerous studies have shown that consumption of soybean products decrease the risk of cancers in humans. Experiments at the molecular level have demonstrated that in most cases proteins and peptides are responsible for the anticancer properties of soybeen. Special attention should be paid to lunasin - a peptide described for the first time 16 years ago. Due to its structure it causes i.a. , inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. A novel procedure for the isolation and purification of low-molecular-mass 2S soybean albumin protein is described in the present paper. A fraction of four peptides one of them corresponding to molecular mass and isoelectric point characteristic for lunasin. The obtained peptides decreased on the rate of HeLa cell proliferation.
Increased levels and reduced catabolism of asymmetric and symmetric dimethylarginines in pulmonary hypertension

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and has been implicated in endothelial dysfunction. ADMA is metabolized by the enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH), with DDAH2 representing the predominant endothelial DDAH isoform. Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), also originating from arginine methylation by protein arginine methyltransferases, is an inhibitor of intracellular arginine uptake. In both chronic pulmonary hypertensive rats and patients suffering from idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH; NYHA class III and IV), a marked increase in plasma ADMA and SDMA levels, as well as tissue levels of asymmetric and symmetric dimethylated proteins, was observed. Moreover, when comparing lung tissue from pulmonary hypertensive rats and IPAH patients to corresponding normal lung tissue, expression of DDAH2 was found to be reduced at both the mRNA and the protein level with no significant changes in DDAH1 expression. These findings were further supported by demonstrating a decrease in DDAH2 function in the experimental pulmonary hypertension model. Immunohistochemistry in human and rat control tissue demonstrated both isoforms of DDAH in the endothelial layer and in the alveolar epithelium. In contrast, in pulmonary hypertensive tissue, the immunoreactivity of DDAH2 in pulmonary endothelium was significantly decreased compared with DDAH1. Therefore, altogether we can conclude that enhanced dimethylarginine levels may contribute to vascular abnormalities in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Suppression of endothelial DDAH2 expression and function represents an important underlying mechanism.
Improving posterior marginal approximations in latent Gaussian models

We consider the problem of correcting the posterior marginal approximations computed by expectation propagation and Laplace approximation in latent Gaussian models and propose correction methods that are similar in spirit to the Laplace approximation of Tierney and Kadane (1986). We show that in the case of sparse Gaussian models, the computational complexity of expectation propagation can be made comparable to that of the Laplace approximation by using a parallel updating scheme. In some cases, expectation propagation gives excellent estimates, where the Laplace approximation fails. Inspired by bounds on the marginal corrections, we arrive at factorized approximations, which can be applied on top of both expectation propagation and Laplace. These give nearly indistinguishable results from the non-factorized approximations in a fraction of the time.
A Continuous-Time Linear System Identification Method for Slowly Sampled Data

Both direct and indirect methods exist for identifying continuous-time linear systems. A direct method estimates continuous-time input and output signals from their samples and then use them to obtain a continuous-time model, whereas an indirect method estimates a discrete-time model first. Both methods rely on fast sampling to ensure good accuracy. In this paper, we propose a more direct method where a continuous-time linear model is directly fitted to the available samples. This method produces an exact model asymptotically, modulo some possible aliasing ambiguity, even when the sampling rate is relatively slow. We also state conditions under which the aliasing ambiguity can be resolved, and we provide experiments showing that the proposed method is a valid option when a slow sampling frequency must be used but a large number of samples is available.
On the Impact of Greedy Strategies in BitTorrent Networks: The Case of BitTyrant

The success of BitTorrent has fostered the development of variants to its basic components. Some of the variants adopt greedy approaches aiming at exploiting the intrinsic altruism of the original version of BitTorrent in order to maximize the benefit of participating to a torrent. In this work we study BitTyrant, a recently proposed strategic client. BitTyrant tries to determine the exact amount of contribution necessary to maximize its download rate by dynamically adapting and shaping the upload rate allocated to its neighbors. We evaluate in detail the various mechanisms used by BitTyrant to identify their contribution to the performance of the client. Our findings indicate that the performance gain is due to the increased number of connections established by a BitTyrant client, rather than for its subtle uplink allocation algorithm; surprisingly, BitTyrant reveals to be altruistic and particularly efficient in disseminating the content, especially during the initial phase of the distribution process. The apparent gain of a single BitTyrant client, however, disappears in the case of a widespread adoption: our results indicate a severe loss of efficiency that we analyzed in detail. In contrast, a widespread adoption of the latest version of the mainline BitTorrent client would provide increased benefit for all peers.
Interaction of Fast-Scale and Slow-Scale bifurcations in Current-Mode Controlled DC/DC converters

This paper investigates the interaction of fast-scale and slow-scale bifurcations in the boost converter under current-mode control operating in continuous conduction mode. Effects of varying some chosen parameters on the qualitative behaviors of the system are studied in detail. Analysis is performed to identify the different types of bifurcation. Boundaries of stable region, slow-scale bifurcation region, fast-scale bifurcation region, interacting fast and slow-scale bifurcation regions are identified.
Optical phenomena in the field of braneworld Kerr black holes

We study the influence of the tidal charge parameter of the braneworld models onto some optical phenomena in rotating black hole spacetimes. The escape photon cones are determined for special families of locally non-rotating, circular geodetical and radially free falling observers. The silhuette of a rotating black hole, the shape of an equatorial thin accretion disk and time delay effect for direct and indirect images of a radiation hot spot orbiting the black hole are given and classified in terms of the black hole rotational and tidal parameters. It is shown that rising of negatively-valued tidal parameter, with rotational parameter fixed, generally strenghtens the relativistic effects and suppresses the rotation induced asymmetries in the optical phenomena.
Hardware Trojan detection for gate-level ICs using signal correlation based clustering

Malicious tampering of the internal circuits of ICs can lead to detrimental results. Insertion of Trojan circuits may change system behavior, cause chip failure or send information to a third party. This paper presents an information-theoretic approach for Trojan detection. It estimates the statistical correlation between the signals in a design, and explores how this estimation can be used in a clustering algorithm to detect the Trojan logic. Compared with the other algorithms, our tool does not require extensive logic analysis. We neither need the circuit to be brought to the triggering state, nor the effect of the Trojan payload to be propagated and observed at the output. Instead we leverage already available simulation data in this information-theoretic approach. We conducted experiments on the TrustHub benchmarks to validate the practical efficacy of this approach. The results show that our tool can detect Trojan logic with up to 100% coverage with low false positive rates.
The Prevalence of and Factors Associated with the Use of Smoking Cessation Medication in Korea: Trend between 2005–2011

Background In Korea, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) has been widely used in government-led, public health center-based smoking cessation services since 2004 and varenicline has become available from 2007 but without reimbursement. In this study which used a series of nationwide cross-sectional surveys in Korea performed from 2005 to 2011, we examined the prevalence of smoking cessation medication use and factors associated with it. Methods We analyzed data from the third to fifth waves of Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005–2011). Prevalence of each smoking cessation method use was calculated for each year, and its secular trend was tested by multivariate logistic regression. Results Among smokers who made quit attempt during the previous year, 15.7% had used smoking cessation medications,15.3% had used NRT, and 0.7% had used prescription medication. There was a significant increasing trend for NRT use (P<0.001) during the study period, but use of prescription medication did not show any increase over time (P = 0.654) Education on smoking prevention and cessation was associated with smoking cessation medications use (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.58–2.75). Conclusions While the use of NRT has increased over years through government-sponsored smoking cessation programs, use of prescription drugs remained very low and flat probably due to lack of reimbursement. Education of smokers about effective smoking cessation methods and change in reimbursement policy are suggested to stimulate evidence-based smoking cessation practice.
SQL’s Three-Valued Logic and Certain Answers

The goal of the article is to bridge the difference between theoretical and practical approaches to answering queries over databases with nulls. Theoretical research has long ago identified the notion of correctness of query answering over incomplete data: one needs to find certain answers, which are true regardless of how incomplete information is interpreted. This serves as the notion of correctness of query answering, but carries a huge complexity tag. In practice, on the other hand, query answering must be very efficient, and to achieve this, SQL uses three-valued logic for evaluating queries on databases with nulls. Due to the complexity mismatch, the two approaches cannot coincide, but perhaps they are related in some way. For instance, does SQL always produce answers we can be certain about? This is not so: SQL’s and certain answers semantics could be totally unrelated. We show, however, that a slight modification of the three-valued semantics for relational calculus queries can provide the required certainty guarantees. The key point of the new scheme is to fully utilize the three-valued semantics, and classify answers not into certain or noncertain, as was done before, but rather into certainly true, certainly false, or unknown. This yields relatively small changes to the evaluation procedure, which we consider at the level of both declarative (relational calculus) and procedural (relational algebra) queries. These new evaluation procedures give us certainty guarantees even for queries returning tuples with null values.
INFLUENCE OF INTERFACE ANISOTROPY ON GRAIN GROWTH AND COARSENING

▪ Abstract It has recently become possible to measure the anisotropic distribution of interfaces in polycrystals and composites. Because classical theories for grain growth and coarsening assume isotropic interface properties, they are incapable of explaining how these distributions arise. The purpose of this paper is to review the results of recent experiments, simulations, and theories that document the effects of anisotropy on the capillarity-driven evolution of granular systems. The results suggest that meaningful predictions of evolving microstructural characteristics can be made using models that incorporate the anisotropy of the interfacial energy and mobility.
PlanetSeer: Internet Path Failure Monitoring and Characterization in Wide-Area Services

Detecting network path anomalies generally requires examining large volumes of traffic data to find misbehavior. We observe that wide-area services, such as peer-to-peer systems and content distribution networks, exhibit large traffic volumes, spread over large numbers of geographically-dispersed endpoints. This makes them ideal candidates for observing wide-area network behavior. Specifically, we can combine passive monitoring of wide-area traffic to detect anomalous network behavior, with active probes from multiple nodes to quantify and characterize the scope of these anomalies. This approach provides several advantages over other techniques: (1) we obtain more complete and finer-grained views of failures since the wide-area nodes already provide geographically diverse vantage points; (2) we incur limited additional measurement cost since most active probing is initiated when passive monitoring detects oddities; and (3) we detect failures at a much higher rate than other researchers have reported since the services provide large volumes of traffic to sample. This paper shows how to exploit this combination of wide-area traffic, passive monitoring, and active probing, to both understand path anomalies and to provide optimization opportunities for the host service.
SPARC is a source of copper-binding peptides that stimulate angiogenesis

SPARC is a transiently expressed extracellular matrix-binding protein that alters cell shape and regulates endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. In this study, we show that SPARC mRNA and protein are synthesized by endothelial cells during angiogenesis in vivo. SPARC and peptides derived from a cationic region of the protein (amino acids 113- 130) stimulated the formation of endothelial cords in vitro; moreover, these peptides stimulated angiogenesis in vivo. Mapping of the active domain demonstrated that the sequence KGHK was responsible for most of the angiogenic activity; substitution of the His residue decreased the effect. We found that proteolysis of SPARC provided a source of KGHK, GHK, and longer peptides that contained these sequences. Although the Cu(2+)-GHK complex had been identified as a mitogen/morphogen in normal human plasma, we found KGHK and longer peptides to be potent stimulators of angiogenesis. SPARC113-130 and KGHK were shown to bind Cu2+ with high affinity; however, previous incubation with Cu2+ was not required for the stimulatory activity. Since a peptide from a second cationic region of SPARC (SPARC54-73) also bound Cu2+ but had no effect on angiogenesis, the angiogenic activity appeared to be sequence specific and independent of bound Cu2+. Thus, specific degradation of SPARC, a matrix-associated protein expressed by endothelial cells during vascular remodeling, releases a bioactive peptide or peptides, containing the sequence (K)GHK, that could regulate angiogenesis in vivo.
Networks and Linkages in African Manufacturing Cluster: A Nigerian Case Study

Employing survey data, this paper investigates the basis for long-term sustainable development of industrial clusters in Lagos, Nigeria. We compare these metropolitan clusters with the Nnewi cluster, located within a rural setting in a homogeneous ethnic community. The characteristics of clustering examined are: the forms and intensity of inter-firm linkages, including the formation of trade networks, and the role of business associations. We found a significant level of collaboration among firms in sharing utilities and modest forms of subcontracting non-core activities among Lagos firms, but this is less so at Nnewi. The Lagos clusters have relatively high proportions of educated manpower but this important asset is underemployed in a situation of low grow rate of demand for quality products. The firms at Nnewi on the other hand are owned by seem-illiterates who came from trading backgrounds into manufacturing. Networks such as Industry associations are playing vital roles as information providers and as links into the global market although the benefits are yet to fully manifest. Ethnic and kinship ties play a prominent role at Nnewi while social networks and non-family ties are more important in the Lagos clusters. This study suggests that non-economic factors exert profound influence on the evolving forms industrial organisations in late industrialisation
An Intelligent Software Architecture for Semi � autonomous Robot Control

This paper describes a software architecture that al lows for traded control of a robot manipulator per forming a pick and place task The software architec ture combines multi agent planning conditional se quencing robot control and user interfaces to allow for a user to intervene at any level of robot task ex ecution At the heart of the software architecture is the T architecture which allows for hybrid delibera tive reactivecontrol of a robot Tis augmentedwith user interfacetools thatgive theoperators insight into the robot s actions and possible operator actions
Novel Surface Structures Are Associated with the Adhesion of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans to Collagen

ABSTRACT Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is a gram-negative, facultative, anaerobic bacterium that colonizes the human oral cavity and the upper respiratory tract. This bacterium is strongly associated with localized aggressive periodontitis and adult periodontitis and is the causative agent for other serious systemic infections. Recently, we have identified a protein, EmaA (extracellular matrix protein adhesin A), that mediates the adhesion of A. actinomycetemcomitans to collagen. The conserved sequence and predicted secondary structure suggest that EmaA is an orthologue of the Yersinia enterocolitica adhesin YadA. Electron microscopy examinations of A. actinomycetemcomitans have identified antenna-like protrusions associated with the surface of the bacterium. These structures are absent on emaA mutant strains and can be restored by transformation of the mutant strain with emaA in trans. The loss of these structures is associated with a decrease in the binding of this bacterium to collagen. The antenna-like structures are composed of a long rod that terminates in an ellipsoidal head region. The analysis of these structures using image processing techniques has provided an initial estimate of the overall dimensions, which suggests that the appendages are oligomeric structures formed by either three or four subunits. Together, the data suggest that emaA is required for the expression of novel appendages on the surface of A. actinomycetemcomitans that mediate the adhesion of the bacterium to collagen.
An Evolutionarily Conserved Synthetic Lethal Interaction Network Identifies FEN1 as a Broad-Spectrum Target for Anticancer Therapeutic Development

Harnessing genetic differences between cancerous and noncancerous cells offers a strategy for the development of new therapies. Extrapolating from yeast genetic interaction data, we used cultured human cells and siRNA to construct and evaluate a synthetic lethal interaction network comprised of chromosome instability (CIN) genes that are frequently mutated in colorectal cancer. A small number of genes in this network were found to have synthetic lethal interactions with a large number of cancer CIN genes; these genes are thus attractive targets for anticancer therapeutic development. The protein product of one highly connected gene, the flap endonuclease FEN1, was used as a target for small-molecule inhibitor screening using a newly developed fluorescence-based assay for enzyme activity. Thirteen initial hits identified through in vitro biochemical screening were tested in cells, and it was found that two compounds could selectively inhibit the proliferation of cultured cancer cells carrying inactivating mutations in CDC4, a gene frequently mutated in a variety of cancers. Inhibition of flap endonuclease activity was also found to recapitulate a genetic interaction between FEN1 and MRE11A, another gene frequently mutated in colorectal cancers, and to lead to increased endogenous DNA damage. These chemical-genetic interactions in mammalian cells validate evolutionarily conserved synthetic lethal interactions and demonstrate that a cross-species candidate gene approach is successful in identifying small-molecule inhibitors that prove effective in a cell-based cancer model.
Effect of inclusion of crumb rubber on the unconfined compressive strength and wet-dry durability of cement stabilized clayey soil

In the present study, the effect of inclusion of waste crumb rubber and cement on the unconfined compressive strength and wet-dry durability of clayey soil has been investigated. Crumb rubber and cement were added to clayey soil at ranges of 2.5%-10% and 3%-6% respectively. The results of the investigation revealed that the incorporation of crumb rubber influenced the unconfined compressive strength, axial strain at failure, energy absorption capacity and wet-dry durability of the cement-stabilized clay. The study reveals that as the content of crumb rubber in the cement-stabilized clayey soil increases the unconfined compressive strength decreases but prosperously changes the behavior of the cement-stabilized clay from brittle to ductile. The axial strain corresponding to peak axial stress and energy absorption capacity of the specimens can be increased by limiting the content of crumb rubber up to 5%. The weight loss of the cement-stabilized clay mixed with crumb rubber increases as the content of crumb rubber increases. With the prolongation of the curing period, the weight loss of cement-stabilized clay mixed with crumb rubber decreases. Further, the weight loss of 90 days cured specimens of clayey soil incorporated with 6% cement and crumb rubber up to 5% meets the recommendation of the material to be used in construction of road pavements as a base, sub-base, and shoulder. Most importantly, the utilization/disposal of this hazardous waste material reduces its impact on environment and health.