Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hepatocyte growth factor regulates proteoglycan synthesis in interstitial fibroblasts.

BACKGROUND Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a clinically important growth factor with therapeutic potential for the treatment of interstitial fibrosis and chronic renal failure. Proteoglycans are components of the renal interstitium, which have multiple actions, including growth regulation. In this study, we examined the effects of HGF on proteoglycan synthesis in interstitial fibroblasts, and the mechanisms of these effects. METHODS AND RESULTS Expression and agonist-induced activation of the HGF receptor c-Met was detected in rat renal interstitial fibroblasts (NRK-49F) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and immune complex/immunoblot assay. Moreover, stimulation of the cells with HGF resulted in a marked increase (five- to tenfold) in phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related protein kinase (ERK) 1/2 and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), but not of c-Jun NH2 terminal kinase (JNK). Treatment with HGF resulted in a time- and dose-dependent increase (P < 0.01) in both cell-associated and secreted proteoglycan synthesis to two- to fourfold of control levels. This effect was attenuated by the MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059 and the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580. Ion-exchange chromatography suggested that chondroitin sulfate/dermatan sulfate proteoglycans were up-regulated after HGF treatment. Northern blot, RT-PCR, Western blot, and promoter activity assays revealed that HGF caused a significant increase in decorin mRNA and protein, as well as in biglycan mRNA, protein, and promoter activity, suggesting transcriptional control of gene expression. Since the effects of biglycan on fibroblast proliferation are still unclear, the effects of biglycan were examined by thymidine assay, and biglycan was found to attenuate transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-induced changes in cell proliferation. CONCLUSION These results suggest that HGF causes an increase in the small leucine-rich proteoglycans biglycan and decorin by ERK1/2- and p38 MAPK-mediated pathways in fibroblasts. These findings may be relevant for understanding potential mechanisms by which HGF can exert TGF-beta inhibitory actions in the kidney.
Effect of Al on the sharpness of the MgSiO3 perovskite to post‐perovskite phase transition

By means of static ab‐initio computations we investigate the influence of Al on the recently discovered perovskite to post‐perovskite phase transition in MgSiO3. We examine three substitution mechanisms for Al in the two structures: MgSi → AlAl; SiSiO → AlAl□; and Si → AlH. The substitutions introducing oxygen vacancies (highly unfavorable, energetically) and water (favorable) both lower the 0 Kelvin transition pressure, whereas charge coupled substitution increases it relative to 105 GPa for pure MgSiO3. From the transition pressures for 0, 6.25, and 100 mol% charge coupled Al2O3 incorporation and simple solution theories, we estimate the phase diagram of Al‐bearing MgSiO3 at low Al concentrations. Assuming the Clapeyron slope is independent of Al concentration, we find the perovskite‐to‐post‐perovskite transition region to span 127–140 GPa, at 6.25 mol% Al2O3. When the upper pressure limit is bounded by the core‐mantle boundary, the phase coexistence region has width 150 km.
Novel classes of side channels and covert channels

When assessing the security of security-critical systems, it is crucial to consider conceptually new attacks, as appropriate countermeasures can only be implemented against known threats. Consequently, in this thesis we explore new classes of attacks and evaluate countermeasures. Our contribution is three-fold. We identify two previously unknown side channel attacks, i.e., attacks that exploit unintended information leakage. First, we consider optical emanations, i.e., the unavoidable emanation of every monitor. We demonstrate how to exploit tiny reflections in stationary objects and the human eye, and even diffuse reflections in objects such as the user';s shirt. Second, we study acoustic emanations of dot-matrix printers and show that the printed text can be reconstructed from a recording of the sound emitted while printing. Furthermore, we demonstrate a conceptually new covert channel: whereas side channels leak information unintentionally, in a covert channel there is an explicit sender that cooperates with the receiver. We present a new covert channel in the peer-reviewing process in scientific publishing that reveals the reviewer';s identity to the author. We additionally expose several related problems in the design of the PostScript language. Das Aufdecken neuer Arten von Angriffen ist wichtig zur Verbesserung der Sicherheit von sicherheitskritischen Systemen, da nur fur bekannte Angriffe Gegenmasnahmen ergriffen werden konnen. Deshalb untersuchen wir in dieser Arbeit neue Arten von Angriffen sowie geeignete Gegenmasnahmen. Die Arbeit gliedert sich in drei Teile. Zunachst demonstrieren wir zwei neue Seitenkanalangriffe, also Angriffe die unbeabsichtigte Informationslecks ausnutzen. Zum Einen betrachten wir optische Abstrahlungen von Monitoren. Wir zeigen, dass das Bild des Monitors aus Reflexionen in verschiedenen Objekten rekonstruiert werden kann: aus winzigen Reflexionen in vielen stationaren Objekten sowie im menschlichen Auge, und sogar aus diffusen Reflexionen beispielsweise auf dem Hemd eines Nutzers. Zum Anderen untersuchen wir die akustischen Abstrahlungen von Nadeldruckern und zeigen, dass der gedruckte Text aus einer Aufnahme der Druckgerausche rekonstruiert werden kann. Des Weiteren demonstrieren wir einen neuen verdeckten Kanal: Wahrend Seitenkanale normalerweise durch unvorsichtige Implementierung entstehen, werden die Daten auf einem verdeckten Kanal absichtlich ubertragen. Wir demonstrieren einen neuen verdeckten Kanal im Peer-Review-Prozess zur Begutachtung wissenschaftlicher Publikationen, welcher die Identitat der Gutachter offenlegt. Daruberhinaus weisen wir auf mehrere grundlegende Probleme im Design der PostScript Sprache hin.
The Theory of Planned Behavior Applied to Young People's Use of Social Networking Web Sites

Despite the increasing popularity of social networking Web sites (SNWs), very little is known about the psychosocial variables that predict people's use of these Web sites. The present study used an extended model of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), including the additional variables of self-identity and belongingness, to predict high-level SNW use intentions and behavior in a sample of young people ages 17 to 24 years. Additional analyses examined the impact of self-identity and belongingness on young people's addictive tendencies toward SNWs. University students (N = 233) completed measures of the standard TPB constructs (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control), the additional predictor variables (self-identity and belongingness), demographic variables (age, gender, and past behavior), and addictive tendencies. One week later, they reported their engagement in high-level SNW use during the previous week. Regression analyses partially supported the TPB: attitude and subjective norm significantly predicted intentions to engage in high-level SNW use with intention significantly predicting behavior. Self-identity, but not belongingness, significantly contributed to the prediction of intention and, unexpectedly, behavior. Past behavior also significantly predicted intention and behavior. Self-identity and belongingness significantly predicted addictive tendencies toward SNWs. Overall, the present study revealed that high-level SNW use is influenced by attitudinal, normative, and self-identity factors, findings that can be used to inform strategies that aim to modify young people's high levels of use or addictive tendencies for SNWs.
Visualizing and enhancing a deep learning framework using patients age and gender for chest x-ray image retrieval

We explore the combination of text metadata, such as patients’ age and gender, with image-based features, for X-ray chest pathology image retrieval. We focus on a feature set extracted from a pre-trained deep convolutional network shown in earlier work to achieve state-of-the-art results. Two distance measures are explored: a descriptor-based measure, which computes the distance between image descriptors, and a classification-based measure, which performed by a comparison of the corresponding SVM classification probabilities. We show that retrieval results increase once the age and gender information combined with the features extracted from the last layers of the network, with best results using the classification-based scheme. Visualization of the X-ray data is presented by embedding the high dimensional deep learning features in a 2-D dimensional space while preserving the pairwise distances using the t-SNE algorithm. The 2-D visualization gives the unique ability to find groups of X-ray images that are similar to the query image and among themselves, which is a characteristic we do not see in a 1-D traditional ranking.
The use of near‐infrared spectroscopy in skin care applications

Background: Near‐infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to document the skin water content as a function of product usage and changes in the % relative humidity (%RH) in vitro and in vivo. The objective of the investigation was to determine if the NIR could provide comparable skin water content information as that obtained using gravimetric, conductivity, or visual assessment methods without having to invoke complex chemometric calculations.
(1, -1)-Matrices with Near-Extremal Properties

We prove the existence of $(-1,1)$-matrices with near-extremal properties. In particular, we find matrices having either small inner products between all pairs of distinct rows or having determinants approaching Hadamard's bound. Our approach is to study the $m \times n$ submatrices of a Hadamard matrix of order $k$. We use both the probabilistic method to obtain information about randomly selected submatrices and also combinatorial bounds which hold for all submatrices. Our existence results depend upon the gaps between successive primes. Beyond the applications presented in this paper, the study of randomly selected submatrices of combinatorial designs is of intrinsic interest.
Analysis and characterisation of interplant competition on maize canopy morphology for modelling

Plant growth models able to simulate phenotypic plasticity are increasingly required because (i) they should enable better predictions of the observed variations in crop morphology and production, and (ii) their parameters are expected to have a more robust genetic basis compared to conventional crop models, with possible implications for selection of quantitative traits such as interplant competition tolerance. In this paper, plant density effect on maize canopy morphological development was studied in China during 2009, with a particular focus on characterizing canopy morphological response to increase plant density. Field experiment was composed of four plant densities i.e. 2, 6, 12 and 20 plants m-2 with three replicates. Detailed records on extension of laminae, sheaths and internodes were made throughout the vegetative stages from the field experiment. The relationships of organ size changes to increased plant density were quantified using either polynomial or linear equations. As such, the findings in this study will be used in predicting canopy morphological characteristics as affected as interplant competition.
Sophia Stavrou, L’université au diapason du marché. Une sociologie du changement curriculaire dans les universités françaises

L’ouvrage aborde un sujet qui ne manquera pas de susciter l’interet d’un large public, des enseignants-chercheurs aux etudiants en parcours de professionnalisation et autres personnels des universites vivant de l’interieur les mutations que connait l’institution depuis plusieurs annees. Issu d’un travail de these, soutenu en 2012 a l’Universite d’Aix-Marseille sous la direction de Nicole Ramognino, l’ouvrage rend compte d’une enquete de terrain realisee au cours de la periode 2006-2012, juste.
Theoretical and experimental investigations of mercury adsorption on hematite surfaces

ABSTRACT One of the biggest environmental concerns caused by coal-fired power plants is the emission of mercury (Hg), which is toxic metal. To control the emission of Hg from coal-derived flue gas, it is important to understand the behavior and speciation of Hg as well as the interaction between Hg and solid materials in the flue gas stream. In this study, atomic-scale theoretical investigations using density functional theory (DFT) were carried out in conjunction with laboratory-scale experimental studies to investigate the adsorption behavior of Hg on hematite (α-Fe2O3). According to the DFT simulation, the adsorption energy calculation proposes that Hg physisorbs to the α-Fe2O3(0001) surface with an adsorption energy of −0.278 eV, and the subsequent Bader charge analysis confirms that Hg is slightly oxidized. In addition, Cl introduced to the Hg-adsorbed surface strengthens the Hg stability on the α-Fe2O3(0001) surface, as evidenced by a shortened Hg-surface equilibrium distance. The projected density of states (PDOS) analysis also suggests that Cl enhances the chemical bonding between the surface and the adsorbate, thereby increasing the adsorption strength. In summary, α-Fe2O3 has the ability to adsorb and oxidize Hg, and this reactivity is enhanced in the presence of Cl. For the laboratory-scale experiments, three types of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles were prepared using the precursors Fe(NO3)3, Fe(ClO4)3, and FeCl3, respectively. The particle shapes varied from diamond to irregular stepped and subrounded, and particle size ranged from 20 to 500 nm depending on the precursor used. The nanoparticles had the highest surface area (84.5 m2/g) due to their highly stepped surface morphology. Packed-bed reactor Hg exposure experiments resulted in this nanoparticles adsorbing more than 300 μg Hg/g. The Hg LIII-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy also indicated that HgCl2 physisorbed onto the α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Implications: Atomic-scale theoretical simulations proposes that Hg physisorbs to the α-Fe2O3(0001) surface with an adsorption energy of −0.278 eV, and the subsequent Bader charge analysis confirms that Hg is slightly oxidized. In addition, Cl introduced to the Hg-adsorbed surface strengthens the Hg stability on the α-Fe2O3(0001) surface, as evidenced by a shortened Hg-surface equilibrium distance. The PDOS analysis also suggests that Cl enhances the chemical bonding between the surface and the adsorbate, thereby increasing the adsorption strength. Following laboratory-scale experiment of Hg sorption also shows that HgCl2 physisorbs onto α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles which have highly stepped structure.
Sleep in Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome

overnight polygraphic sleep studies, which included accelerometry and video monitoring, were performed on 14 Tourette patients before therapy and on 11 age-matched controls. Tourette patients less than 23 years old had a significantly increased percentage of stage 314 sleep, had an increased number of awakenings, had a decreased percentage of REM sleep, experienced paroxysmal events during stage 4 sleep, and had motor tics during all stages of sleep. Three patients were treated with tetrabenazine and subsequently showed significant decreases in percentage of total sleep, number of awakenings, and number of tics during sleep. These findings suggest a disorder of arousal in Tourette patients.
Mineralocorticoid receptors and 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone binding in the kidney of the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Mineralocorticoid excess in the form of elevated 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone (18-OH-DOC) has recently been implicated in some forms of genetic hypertension. Spontaneously hypertensiverats (SHR) of the Kyoto Wistar strain do not appear to secrete increased levels of this steroid compared to controls. If mineralocorticoids are etiologically involved, a plausible alternate hypothesis is that the genetic defect in these rats is an abnormality in the mineralocorticoid receptors present in target tissue. To evaluate this possibility, the renal mineralocorticoidreceptors of SHR were compared to those of normal rats (NR). Binding assays were performed with kidney slices from adrenalectomized rats utilizing 3Haldosterone and 10-fold excessunlabeled dexamethasone to prevent tracer binding to glucocorticoid sites. Scatchard analysis of 3H-aldosterone binding to the mineralocorticoid receptors revealed — NR: Kdiss(25C) = 7 × 10–10–10M and Nmnx= 1.8 × 10–14 moles/mg protein; SHR: Kdlss(25C) =9 × 10–10M and Nmnx= 1.8.
The computing professional skills assessment utilized with graduate students

The Computing Professional Skills Assessment (CPSA) is the only direct method for assessing the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission's professional skills learning outcomes simultaneously for undergraduate program-level purposes. This paper presents results from the first implementation of the method with graduate students. Findings indicate that graduate students achieved the target performance level more than half the time and that graduates students rated the method very highly and appreciated the activity as a method to help them achieve the professional skills learning outcomes. This implementation of the CPSA is the first stage of the evolution of using the CPSA as both a teaching and assessment method at the graduate level.
Association of Epstein-Barr virus with leiomyosarcomas in young people with AIDS.

BACKGROUND Children with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have an unusually high incidence of smooth-muscle tumors (leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas) in addition to malignant lymphomas. We tested the hypothesis that the smooth-muscle tumors in these children are associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). METHODS Tissue specimens of five leiomyosarcomas and two leiomyomas from six children with AIDS were studied for evidence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and EBV by in situ hybridization and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Comparison specimens included samples of leiomyosarcoma and leiomyoma from HIV-negative children. EBV clonality of leiomyosarcomas was determined by Southern blot analysis with oligonucleotide probes for EBV terminal-repeat fragments. Tumor specimens were tested by immunoperoxidase staining for infiltration by B lymphocytes and expression of the EBV receptor. Serologic testing for EBV was performed. RESULTS In situ hybridization showed EBV genomes in all muscle cells of the five leiomyosarcomas and the two leiomyomas from the six HIV-infected children. Quantitative PCR demonstrated strikingly high levels of EBV in tumor tissue, with as many as 4.3 genome copies per cell. Two colonic leiomyosarcomas obtained from different sites at different times from one patient contained different episomal EBV clones, signifying the presence of distinct monoclonal EBV-related tumors. We found biclonal EBV infection in the leiomyosarcoma of another patient. No EBV was detected in normal muscle or tumor specimens from HIV-negative patients. Immunostaining for the EBV receptor was strongly positive in six of the seven leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas from the patients with AIDS. CONCLUSIONS EBV can infect smooth-muscle cells, at least in patients with AIDS, and it may contribute to the pathogenesis of leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas in children with AIDS. EBV seems to play no part in smooth-muscle tumors in HIV-negative children.
Growth and survival of northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) tadpoles exposed to two common pesticides

Aquatic pollution is an important factor implicated in global amphibian declines. Often amphibians are exposed to sublethal levels of agrochemicals continuously throughout their larval period either because of application regimes or persistence of the chemicals in the larvae's environment. Although most studies have examined the effects of one‐time or short‐term exposure to contaminants on amphibian larvae, few have investigated the implications of continuous exposure over a substantial interval during larval development. We examined the effects of continuous exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of two common pesticides—endosulfan (0.2, 1, and 5 μg/L) and mancozeb (16, 80, and 400 μg/L)—on the growth and survival of leopard frog tadpoles. The concentrations used are comparable to those estimated to be found in waterbodies near agricultural fields. The exposure period was seven weeks. Mortality was recorded daily, and length was measured photographically once before and twice during the exposure period. Both chemicals greatly reduced survival at these concentrations. Hazard ratios were significantly positive for all treatments. Growth rates of tadpoles exposed to endosulfan were not significantly reduced, but exposure to all three levels of mancozeb resulted in reduced growth rates. These results underscore the importance of further investigation into the effects of endosulfan and mancozeb on environmental and wildlife health.
Assembly of an abundant endogenous major histocompatibility complex class II/peptide complex in class II compartments

To identify the intracellular site(s) of formation of an endogenous class II/peptide complex in a human B cell line, we employed kinetic pulse‐chase labeling experiments followed by subcellular fractionation by Percoll density gradient centrifugation and immunogold labeling on ultrathin cryosections. For direct demonstration of assembly of such complexes, we used the monoclonal antibody YAe, which detects an endogenous complex of the mouse class II molecule I‐Ab with a 17‐amino acid peptide derived from the α chain of HLA‐DR (DRα52–68). We show that in human B lymphocytes, these class II/peptide complexes assemble and transiently accumulate in major histocompatibility complex class II‐enriched compartments before reaching the cell surface.