Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Expression of NADH/NADPH oxidase p22phox in human coronary arteries.

BACKGROUND NADH/NADPH oxidase is an important source of superoxide in the vasculature. Recently, we found that polymorphism of the gene p22phox, a critical component of this oxidase, is associated with a risk of coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the localization of p22phox in human coronary arteries and to examine its difference in expression between nonatherosclerotic and atherosclerotic coronary arteries. METHODS AND RESULTS Using coronary artery sections from autopsied cases (n=11), the expression of p22phox was examined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. In nonatherosclerotic coronary arteries, p22phox was weakly expressed, mainly in the adventitia. In atherosclerotic coronary arteries, intensive immunoreactivity was detected in neointimal and medial smooth muscle cells and infiltrating macrophages in hypercellular regions and at the shoulder region. Semiquantitative analysis and Western blotting showed that the expression of p22phox in atherosclerotic coronary arteries was more pronounced than that in nonatherosclerotic arteries. Double staining revealed p22phox expression in adventitial fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, macrophages in the neointima and media, and endothelial cells. CONCLUSIONS As atherosclerosis progressed, the expression of p22phox increased through the vessel wall. p22phox might participate in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of atherosclerotic coronary disease.
A.I.M. - advanced interactive map

This paper discusses the ongoing development of a tool to produce - through an authoring system - an interactive map with advanced functions. A first map has been produced in collaboration with the Municipality of Cetinje (Montenegro); a map of the Municipality of Gioia del Colle is still under construction with students of a secondary school. These activities concern the Mu.S. A. (Must See Advisor) Project, a cultural heritage booster aiming at giving visibility to less known sites - as potential tourism destinations - by valuing knowledge from selected communities.
Secure group communications using key graphs

Many emerging applications (e.g., teleconference, real-time information services, pay per view, distributed interactive simulation, and collaborative work) are based upon a group communications model, i.e., they require packet delivery from one or more authorized senders to a very large number of authorized receivers. As a result, securing group communications (i.e., providing confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of messages delivered between group members) will become a critical networking issue.In this paper, we present a novel solution to the scalability problem of group/multicast key management. We formalize the notion of a secure group as a triple (U,K,R) where U denotes a set of users, K a set of keys held by the users, and R a user-key relation. We then introduce key graphs to specify secure groups. For a special class of key graphs, we present three strategies for securely distributing rekey messages after a join/leave, and specify protocols for joining and leaving a secure group. The rekeying strategies and join/leave protocols are implemented in a prototype group key server we have built. We present measurement results from experiments and discuss performance comparisons. We show that our group key management service, using any of the three rekeying strategies, is scalable to large groups with frequent joins and leaves. In particular, the average measured processing time per join/leave increases linearly with the logarithm of group size.
An investigation of imitation learning algorithms for structured prediction

In the imitation learning paradigm algorithms learn from expert demonstrations in order to become able to accomplish a particular task. Daume III et al. [2009] framed structured prediction in this paradigm and developed the search-based structured prediction algorithm (Searn) which has been applied successfully to various natural language processing tasks with state-of-the-art performance. Recently, Ross et al. [2011] proposed the dataset aggregation algorithm (DAgger) and compared it with Searn in sequential prediction tasks. In this paper, we compare these two algorithms in the context of a more complex structured prediction task, namely biomedical event extraction. We demonstrate that DAgger has more stable performance and faster learning than Searn, and that these advantages are more pronounced in the parameter-free versions of the algorithms.
Factors Associated with the Development of Cross-Reactive Neutralizing Antibodies during Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infection

ABSTRACT The characterization of the cross-reactive, or heterologous, neutralizing antibody responses developed during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and the identification of factors associated with their generation are relevant to the development of an HIV vaccine. We report that in healthy HIV-positive, antiretroviral-naïve subjects, the breadth of plasma heterologous neutralizing antibody responses correlates with the time since infection, plasma viremia levels, and the binding avidity of anti-Env antibodies. Anti-CD4-binding site antibodies are responsible for the exceptionally broad cross-neutralizing antibody responses recorded only in rare plasma samples. However, in most cases examined, antibodies to the variable regions and to the CD4-binding site of Env modestly contributed in defining the overall breadth of these responses. Plasmas with broad cross-neutralizing antibody responses were identified that targeted the gp120 subunit, but their precise epitopes mapped outside the variable regions and the CD4-binding site. Finally, although several plasmas were identified with cross-neutralizing antibody responses that were not directed against gp120, only one plasma with a moderate breadth of heterologous neutralizing antibody responses contained cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies against the 4E10 epitope, which is within the gp41 transmembrane subunit. Overall, our study indicates that more than one pathway leads to the development of broad cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies during HIV infection and that the virus continuously escapes their action.
Alternate optical range finder geometries

This paper introduces two unusual optical range finders and compares them to each other and to stereo and optical flow based range finding. The axially displaced sensor uses to optical flow sensitive cameras at different distances to the scene. The paraxial array sensor uses an array of light sensitive elements that can be optically or mechanically rotated to provide a range measurement. Both sensors are demonstrated in applications that are appropriate to their attributes. The displaced sensor is demonstrated as an altitude sensor for an aircraft, the paraxial sensor is demonstrated as a point range finder.
The in vivo effects of low-intensity radiofrequency fields on the motor activity of protozoa

Abstract Purpose: To analyze the direct and transgenerational effects of exposure to low-dose 1 GHz (mobile phone/wireless telecommunication range) and 10 GHz (radar/satellite communication range) radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on the motility of ciliates Spirostomum ambiguum. Materials and methods: S. ambiguum were exposed to 1 GHz and 10 GHz RF-EMF with power flux densities (PD) ranging from 0.05–0.5 W/m2 over a period of time from 0.05–10 h. The motility of directly exposed ciliates and their non-exposed progeny across 10–15 generations was measured. Results: Exposure to 0.1 W/m2 of either 1 or 10 GHz RF-EMF resulted in a significant decrease in the motility. The dose of exposure capable of altering the mobility of ciliates was inversely correlated with the flux density of RF-EMF. The motility of the non-exposed progeny of ciliates irradiated with 0.1 W/m2 of 10 GHz RF-EMF remained significantly compromised, at least, across 10–15 generations, thus indicating the presence of transgenerational effects. Conclusions: The results of our study show that low-dose exposure to RF-EMF can significantly affect the motility of irradiated ciliates and their non-exposed offspring, thus providing further insights into the unknown mechanisms underlying the in vivo effects of RF-EMF.
A study of factuality, objectivity and relevance: three desiderata in large-scale information retrieval?

Much of the information processed by Information Retrieval (IR) systems is unreliable, biased, and generally untrust-worthy [15, 45, 48]. Yet, factuality & objectivity detection is not a standard component of IR systems, even though it has been possible in Natural Language Processing (NLP) in the last decade. Motivated by this, we ask if and how factuality & objectivity detection may benefit IR. We answer this in two parts. First, we use state-of-the-art NLP to compute the probability of document factuality & objectivity in two TREC collections, and analyse its relation to document relevance. We find that factuality is strongly and positively correlated to document relevance, but objectivity is not. Second, we study the impact of factuality & objectivity to retrieval effectiveness by treating them as query independent features that we combine with a competitive language modelling baseline. Experiments with 450 TREC queries show that factuality improves precision by more than 10% over strong baselines, especially for the type of uncurated data typically used in web search; objectivity gives mixed results. An overall clear trend is that document factuality & objectivity is much more beneficial to IR when searching uncurated (e.g. web) documents vs. curated (e.g. state documentation and newswire articles). To our knowledge, this is the first study of factuality & objectivity for back-end IR, contributing novel findings about the relation between relevance and factuality/objectivity, and statistically significant gains to retrieval effectiveness in the competitive web search task.
The Spitzer c2d Survey of Large, Nearby, Interstellar Clouds. V. Chamaeleon II Observed with IRAC

We present IRAC (3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm) observations of the Chamaeleon II molecular cloud. The observed area covers about 1 deg2 defined by AV > 2. Analysis of the data in the 2005 c2d catalogs reveals a small number of sources (40) with properties similar to those of young stellar or substellar objects (YSOs). The surface density of these YSO candidates is low, and contamination by background galaxies appears to be substantial, especially for sources classified as Class I or flat spectral energy distribution (SED). We discuss this problem in some detail and conclude that very few of the candidate YSOs in early evolutionary stages are actually in the Cha II cloud. Using a refined set of criteria, we define a smaller, but more reliable, set of 24 YSO candidates.
Contents Contents Conversational Agents

Conversational agents integrate computational linguistics techniques with the communication channel of the Web to interpret and respond to statements made by users in ordinary natural language. Web-based conversational agents deliver high-volumes of interactive text-based dialogs. Recent years have seen significant activity in enterprise-class conversational agents. This chapter describes the principal applications of conversational agents in the enterprise and the technical challenges posed by their design and large-scale deployments. These technical challenges fall into two categories: accurate and efficient natural-language processing; and the scalability, performance, reliability, integration, and maintenance requirements posed by enterprise deployments.
Design of Sentiment Analysis System using Polarity Classification Technique

Twitter is a medium that we can use for communication. All posted tweets we can store in one location and create archive. Archive contains new and old tweets. Now we can start the analyzation on archive tweets that’s we can design effective sentiment analysis system. This paper main aim is to determine parts of speech opinion words using polarity classification technique and support vector machine learning algorithm. Surveys of methods are used in various levels of sentiment analysis. It does analyze the tweets information in limited levels of content only. Now in this paper we design new sentiment analysis tool using polarity classification technique. Polarity classification techniques discover top 20emoticons, learning different classes of words and other features information. These techniques perform in depth tweets analysis. It does provide better analysis results compare to previous methods.
Towards a Unified Behavioral Science

The various behavioral disciplines model human behavior in distinct and incompatible ways. Yet, recent theoretical and empirical developments have created the conditions for rendering coherent the areas of overlap of the various behavioral disciplines, as outlined in this paper. The analytical tools deployed in this task incorporate core principles from several behavioral disciplines. The proposed framework recognizes evolutionary theory, covering both genetic and cultural evolution, as the integrating principle of behavioral science. Moreover, if decision theory and game theory are broadened to encompass non-self-regarding preferences, they become capable of contributing to the modeling of all aspects of decision making, including those normally considered “psychological,” “sociological” or “anthropological. ” The mind as a decision-making organ then becomes the organizing principle of psychology.
Estimating People Perception of Intimacy in Daily Life from Context Data Collected with Their Mobile Phone

Nowadays, personal context is extensively used in personalized mobile services. However, gathering this kind of information may compromise the privacy of the user. Moreover, the number of services that collect and share the personal context with others is growing. Yet, the users are not able to easily control what information is shared and with whom. An important step towards this goal is to understand how and when the user wants to share his personal context. The literature suggests that the willingness to disclose personal information depends on the level of intimacy perceived in given contexts. In this paper we show how the MDC data enabled us to estimate the level of intimacy of the user in a given contexts of his/her daily life.
MyD88-Dependent Signals Are Essential for the Host Immune Response in Experimental Brain Abscess1

Brain abscesses form in response to a parenchymal infection by pyogenic bacteria, with Staphylococcus aureus representing a common etiologic agent of human disease. Numerous receptors that participate in immune responses to bacteria, including the majority of TLRs, the IL-1R, and the IL-18R, use a common adaptor molecule, MyD88, for transducing activation signals leading to proinflammatory mediator expression and immune effector functions. To delineate the importance of MyD88-dependent signals in brain abscesses, we compared disease pathogenesis using MyD88 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice. Mortality rates were significantly higher in MyD88 KO mice, which correlated with a significant reduction in the expression of several proinflammatory mediators, including but not limited to IL-1β, TNF-α, and MIP-2/CXCL2. These changes were associated with a significant reduction in neutrophil and macrophage recruitment into brain abscesses of MyD88 KO animals. In addition, microglia, macrophages, and neutrophils isolated from the brain abscesses of MyD88 KO mice produced significantly less TNF-α, IL-6, MIP-1α/CCL3, and IFN-γ-induced protein 10/CXCL10 compared with WT cells. The lack of MyD88-dependent signals had a dramatic effect on the extent of tissue injury, with significantly larger brain abscesses typified by exaggerated edema and necrosis in MyD88 KO animals. Interestingly, despite these striking changes in MyD88 KO mice, bacterial burdens did not significantly differ between the two strains at the early time points examined. Collectively, these findings indicate that MyD88 plays an essential role in establishing a protective CNS host response during the early stages of brain abscess development, whereas MyD88-independent pathway(s) are responsible for pathogen containment.
Clinical significance of disease‐specific MYD88 mutations in circulating DNA in primary central nervous system lymphoma

Recent sequencing studies demonstrated the MYD88 L265P mutation in more than 70% of primary central nervous system lymphomas (PCNSL), and the clinical significance of this mutation has been proposed as diagnostic and prognostic markers in PCNSL. In contrast, mutational analyses using cell‐free DNAs have been reported in a variety of systemic lymphomas. To investigate how sensitively the MYD88 L265P mutation can be identified in cell‐free DNA from PCNSL patients, we carried out droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) and targeted deep sequencing (TDS) in 14 consecutive PCNSL patients from whom paired tumor‐derived DNA and cell‐free DNA was available at diagnosis. The MYD88 L265P mutation was found in tumor‐derived DNA from all 14 patients (14/14, 100%). In contrast, among 14 cell‐free DNAs evaluated by ddPCR (14/14) and TDS (13/14), the MYD88 L265P mutation was detected in eight out of 14 (ddPCR) and in 0 out of 13 (TDS) samples, implying dependence on the detection method. After chemotherapy, the MYD88 L265P mutation in cell‐free DNAs was traced in five patients; unexpectedly, the mutations disappeared after chemotherapy was given, and they remained undetectable in all patients. These observations suggest that ddPCR can sensitively detect the MYD88 L265P mutation in cell‐free DNA and could be used as non‐invasive diagnostics, but may not be applicable for monitoring minimal residual diseases in PCNSL.
Describing and classifying multimedia using the description logic GRAIL

Many applications would benefit if media objects such as images could be selected and classified (or clustered) such that 'conceptually similar' images are grouped together by content. This requires that image content be described by some coherent semantic domain model rather than relying on the use of keywords as in most commercial image database systems. However, a description of image contents cannot be predefined by prescribing what should be in the images but must incrementally evolve to link image instances with descriptions of what is actually there. Flexibility is required as the same image may be reused from many different application perspectives, and classified and reclassified by many different, unpredictable, and possibly contradictory interpretations of the same contents. We present preliminary work on the incremental and flexible description of image and video semantic content by the use of a description logic (DL), GRAIL, developed at the University of Manchester. GRAIL progressively bridges the gap between the uninterpreted raw image and the application's semantic domain of 'world' objects by supporting the incremental specification of a schema, the automatic classification of descriptions (and hence images), the notion of 'conceptual similarity' for imprecise queries, multiple granularity of views and reuse. We then present a model for a video database system based on this approach. A primary aim is to determine if GRAIL in particular, and DLs in general, are suitable for such an application.
An efficient approach to the exponentially correlated Rayleigh distribution

A useful formulation for the multivariate Rayleigh probability density function (PDF) with an exponential form for its correlation matrix is presented. Furthermore, the corresponding multivariate Rayleigh cumulative distribution function (CDF) is derived in a nested infinite series representation, which converges rapidly and can be efficiently used in many wireless applications with diversity reception. Finally, bounds on the error resulting from truncation of the infinite series are also derived.
Novel Isoforms of Dlg Are Fundamental for Neuronal Development inDrosophila

Drosophila discs-large (dlg) mutants exhibit multiple developmental abnormalities, including severe defects in neuronal differentiation and synaptic structure and function. These defects have been ascribed to the loss of a single gene product, Dlg-A, a scaffold protein thought to be expressed in many cell types. Here, we describe that additional isoforms arise as a consequence of different transcription start points and alternative splicing of dlg. At least five differentdlg gene products are predicted. We identified a subset of dlg-derived cDNAs that include novel exons encoding a peptide homologous to the N terminus of the mammalian protein SAP97/hDLG (S97N). Dlg isoforms containing the S97N domain are expressed at larval neuromuscular junctions and within the CNS of both embryos and larvae but are not detectable in epithelial tissues. Strong hypomorphic dlg alleles exhibit decreased expression of S97N, which may account for neural-specific aspects of the pleiomorphicdlg mutant phenotype. Selective inhibition of the expression of S97N-containing proteins in embryos by double-strand RNA leads to severe defects in neuronal differentiation and axon guidance, without overt perturbations in epithelia. These results indicate that the differential expression of dlg products correlates with distinct functions in non-neural and neural cells. During embryonic development, proteins that include the S97N domain are essential for proper neuronal differentiation and organization, acting through mechanisms that may include the adequate localization of cell fate determinants.
High aromatase expression in uterine leiomyoma tissues of African-American women.

CONTEXT Symptomatic uterine leiomyoma is associated with irregular uterine bleeding, anemia, and recurrent pregnancy loss. African-American women develop uterine leiomyomas at an earlier age and with higher frequency compared with Caucasian-American women or other races; however, the underlying mechanism for this discrepancy is unknown. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to determine whether gene targets of emerging leiomyoma therapeutics such as aromatase inhibitors and antiprogestins, which reduce tumor size and symptoms, are differentially expressed in tissues of African-American (n = 31), Caucasian-American (n = 34), and Japanese women (n = 36). RESULTS We found strikingly higher aromatase mRNA levels in leiomyoma compared with adjacent myometrium in African-American (83 fold), Caucasian-American (38 fold), and Japanese women (33 fold). Among the four major promoters that regulate aromatase expression in leiomyoma, the proximal promoter II accounted for higher aromatase mRNA levels in tissues from African-American women. Estrogen receptor subtype alpha mRNA levels were significantly, and 1.8- to 2.6-fold, higher in leiomyoma compared with adjacent myometrium in all groups, whereas leiomyoma estrogen receptor subtype beta mRNA levels were significantly elevated only in Japanese women. Leiomyoma progesterone receptor mRNA levels were significantly higher in Japanese women compared with African-American or Caucasian-American women. CONCLUSIONS Leiomyoma tissues from African-American women contained the highest level of aromatase expression, which may result in elevated tissue concentrations of estrogen, and account for the higher prevalence and earlier incidence. Analysis of leiomyoma tissue for biomarkers may predict the response to hormonal treatments such as aromatase inhibitors.