Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PKCδ Is Required for Mitochondrial-dependent Apoptosis in Salivary Epithelial Cells*

We report here that the novel protein kinase C isoform, PKCδ, is required at or prior to the level of the mitochondria for apoptosis induced by a diverse group of cell toxins. We have used adenoviral expression of a kinase-dead (KD) mutant of PKCδ to explore the requirement for PKCδ in the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway. Expression of PKCδKD, but not PKCαKD, in salivary epithelial cells resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of apoptosis induced by etoposide, UV-irradiation, brefeldin A, and paclitaxel. DNA fragmentation was blocked up to 71% in parotid C5 cells infected with the PKCδKD adenovirus, whereas caspase-3 activity was inhibited up to 65%. The activation of caspase-9-like proteases by all agents was also inhibited in parotid C5 cells expressing PKCδKD. The ability of PKCδKD to block the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential was similarly determined. Expression of PKCδKD blocked the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential observed in cells treated with etoposide, UV, brefeldin A, or paclitaxel in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast to the protective function of PKCδKD, expression of PKCδWT resulted in a potent induction of apoptosis, which could be inhibited by co-infection with PKCδKD. These results suggest that PKCδ is a common intermediate in mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in salivary epithelial cells.
Vitamin D Supplementation Improves Quality of Life and Physical Performance in Osteoarthritis Patients

(1) Background: Lower levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are common in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. However, the effect of vitamin D supplementation on muscle strength and physical performance remains unclear. This study will investigate the effects of vitamin D2 supplementation on muscle strength and physical performance in knee OA patients; (2) Methods: One hundred and seventy-five primary knee OA patients with low levels of serum 25(OH)D (<30 ng/mL) received 40,000 IU vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) per week for six months. Body composition, muscle strength, physical performance, serum 25(OH)D level, leptin, interlukin-6 (IL-6), parathyroid hormone (PTH), protein carbonyl, and metabolic profile were analyzed; (3) Results: Baseline mean serum 25(OH)D levels in knee OA patients was 20.73 ng/mL. Regarding baseline vitamin D status, 58.90% of patients had vitamin D insufficiency, and 41.10% had vitamin D deficiency. After vitamin D2 supplementation for six months, mean serum 25(OH)D level was 32.14 ng/mL. For post-supplementation vitamin D status, 57.10% of patients had vitamin D sufficiency and 42.90% had vitamin D insufficiency. From baseline to six months, there was a significant increase in mean serum 25(OH)D level (p < 0.001), while mean LDL cholesterol (p = 0.001), protein carbonyl (p = 0.04), and PTH (p = 0.005) all significantly decreased. Patient quality of life (SF-12) and pain (visual analog scale, VAS) both improved significantly from baseline to the six-month time point (p = 0.005 and p = 0.002, respectively). Knee OA patients demonstrated significant improvement grip strength and physical performance measurements after vitamin D2 supplementation (p < 0.05); (4) Conclusions: Vitamin D2 supplementation for six months reduced oxidative protein damage, decreased pain (VAS), improved quality of life, and improved grip strength and physical performance in osteoarthritis patients.
Comments on Solutions for Nonsingular Currents in Open String Field Theories

We investigate analytic solutions to Witten's bosonic string field theory and Berkovits' WZW-type superstring field theory. We construct solutions with parameters out of simpler ones, using a commutative monoid that includes the family of wedge states. Our solutions are generalizations of solutions for marginal deformations by nonsingular currents, and can also reproduce Schnabl's tachyon vacuum solution in bosonic string field theory. This implies that such known solutions are generated from simple solutions which are based on the identity state. We also discuss gauge transformations and induced field redefinitions for our solutions in both bosonic and super string field theory.
Spotting false translation segments in translation memories

The problem of spotting false translations in the bi-segments of translation memories can be thought of as a classiﬁcation task. We test the accuracy of various machine learning algorithms to ﬁnd segments that are not true translations. We show that the Church-Gale scores in two large bi-segment sets extracted from MyMemory can be used for ﬁnding positive and negative training examples for the machine learning algorithms. The performance of the winning classiﬁcation algorithms, though high, is not yet sufﬁcient for automatic cleaning of translations memories.
Shift Contagion in Asset Markets

The authors develop a new methodology to investigate how crises cause the relationship between financial variables to change. Two possible sources of increased co-movement between markets during high-variance episodes are considered: larger common shocks operating through standard market linkages, and a structural change in the propagation of shocks between markets, called “shift contagion. ” The methodology has three key features: (i) high- and low-variance episodes are model-determined, rather than exogenously assigned; (ii) the markets where crises originate need not be known; and (iii) the approach provides an unambiguous test of shift contagion. Applications to bivariate returns in currency markets of developed countries and bond markets of emerging-market countries suggest that shift contagion occurs among the former but not the latter.
Enhanced and synthetic vision systems development based on Integrated Modular Avionics for civil aviation

The paper describes current results of a research and development (R&D) project aimed to create an advanced prototype of an Enhanced and Synthetic Vision System (ESVS). The paper contains functional requirements for the ESVS prototype and discusses the main principles of its development. Brief overview of ESVS hardware and platform is given. The following image processing algorithms of ESVS are described: image enhancement based on modification of the Retinex algorithm, image fusion based on a morphological approach, runway detection based on the original modification of Hough transform - Projection Hough Transform, and runway obstacles detection based on photogrammetric method. The main features of the synthetic vision function of ESVS are described which provide computationally efficient creation of a realistic three-dimensional (3D) out- the-cabin view using terrain, objects, and texture databases.
Fast Multi-band Blending Using Run-Length Encoding

This paper presents a fast implementation of multi-band blending for combining a set of registered images into a composite mosaic with no visible seams and minimal texture distortion. We first compute a unique seam image using two-pass nearest distance transform, which is independent on the order of input images and has good scalability. Each individual mask can be extracted from this seam image quickly. To promote execution speed and reduce memory usage in building large area mosaics, the seam image and masks are compressed using run-length encoding, and all the following mask operations are built on run-length encoding scheme. We apply our fast blending system to large scale data sets and present detailed quantitative results compared with Open CV and Enblend to demonstrate the speed and memory improvements.
Collaborative Logistics Information Service Framework and Reference Model: Based on the Perspective of Service Ecosystem

This paper analyzed the system features and model constructs of collaborative logistics information services from the perspective of service ecosystem. With the example of public logistics services platform, this paper discussed the contents of its features, classified its technology realization and business model and put forward the corresponding system structure and key realization technologies, which provide reference model for collaborative logistics information development.
The substratum permanent structures of Roman Valencia

The territory and urban form of numerous cities in the region of Valencia were strongly conditioned by the imprint of Roman planning. Research on Roman planning in the Italian peninsula has allowed recognition of a number of types of plans, leading to the development of a general method of ‘reading’ similar structures derived from Roman planning. Application of this method to the territory of the region of Valencia is proposed. The two straight sections of Via Heraclea-Augusta, and the related agrarian tissues, provide a basis for reconstructing the original pattern, the structures of which influence all the subsequent expansions of the historical centre of Valencia.
high-tech firm start-ups and exit

If localized knowledge spillovers are present in the university setting, higher rates of both start-ups and/or survival than in the broader economy would be observed in areas that are geographically proximate to the university. Using a fully-disclosed Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for Texas for the years 1999:3-2006:2, this paper analyzes start-ups and exit rates for high-tech firms in Texas. We find that there is evidence that the presence of a research institution will affect the likelihood of technology start-ups. However, results suggest that geographic proximity to knowledge centers does not reduce hazard rates.
Potential Mechanisms for Thrombocytopenia Development with Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1)

Purpose: Trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) comprising the cytotoxic agent DM1 conjugated to trastuzumab with a stable linker. Thrombocytopenia was the dose-limiting toxicity in the phase I study, and grade ≥3 thrombocytopenia occurred in up to 13% of patients receiving T-DM1 in phase III studies. We investigated the mechanism of T-DM1–induced thrombocytopenia. Experimental Design: The effect of T-DM1 on platelet function was measured by aggregometry, and by flow cytometry to detect the markers of activation. The effect of T-DM1 on differentiation and maturation of megakaryocytes (MK) from human hematopoietic stem cells was assessed by flow cytometry and microscopy. Binding, uptake, and catabolism of T-DM1 in MKs, were assessed by various techniques including fluorescence microscopy, scintigraphy to detect T-[H3]-DM1 and 125I-T-DM1, and mass spectrometry. The role of FcγRIIa was assessed using blocking antibodies and mutant constructs of trastuzumab that do not bind FcγR. Results: T-DM1 had no direct effect on platelet activation and aggregation, but it did markedly inhibit MK differentiation via a cytotoxic effect. Inhibition occurred with DM1-containing ADCs but not with trastuzumab demonstrating a role for DM1. MKs internalized these ADCs in a HER2-independent, FcγRIIa-dependent manner, resulting in intracellular release of DM1. Binding and internalization of T-DM1 diminished as MKs matured; however, prolonged exposure of mature MKs to T-DM1 resulted in a disrupted cytoskeletal structure. Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis that T-DM1–induced thrombocytopenia is mediated in large part by DM1-induced impairment of MK differentiation, with a less pronounced effect on mature MKs. Clin Cancer Res; 21(1); 123–33. ©2014 AACR.
Using a Corpus of Sentence Orderings Defined by Many Experts to Evaluate Metrics of Coherence for Text Structuring

This paper addresses two previously unresolved issues in the automatic evaluation of Text Structuring (TS) in Natural Language Generation (NLG). First, we describe how to verify the generality of an existing collection of sentence orderings deﬁned by one domain expert using data provided by additional experts. Second, a general evaluation methodology is outlined which investigates the previously unaddressed possibility that there may exist many optimal solutions for TS in the employed domain. This methodology is implemented in a set of experiments which identify the most promising candidate for TS among several metrics of coherence previously suggested in the literature. 1
Cross-Sectoral Perspectives of Market Implementation of the MVA Platform forInfluenza Vaccines: Regulatory, Industry and Academia

This study provides a quantitative multidisciplinary approach to identify and prioritize the main implementation challenges of the MVA platform for novel influenza vaccines using a tailor-made prioritization process. Influential key opinion leaders (KOL’s) in the field of vaccine research, development, and manufacturing were approached to participate in this study. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 32 KOL’s representing the regulatory, industry, and academia fields. The opinions were analyzed quantitatively, through various ranking methods that were integrated and adapted to fit the purpose of this study, identifying 6 implementation challenges main categories, 21 implementation challenges categories, and 39 implementation challenges underlying causes. The most significant barriers are associated with “production & speed” category whereas the least significant are associated with “regulatory” category. Perspectives among the KOL’s proved to be divergent with regard to implementation challenges for the MVA platform. Through comparing these perspectives, useful information on current and potential future implementation challenges of novel platforms in general may be expected. Providing an overview and assessment to reveal these challenges may lead to a more substantial situation for all stakeholders involved, given that such an overview allows for the recognition of various implementation challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective, making it possible to identify underlying causes that contribute to the successful implementation of the MVA platform. Remarkably, analysis of implementation challenges resulted in core challenges that resemble similarities between the three perspectives.
Analyzing the Analysts: When Do Recommendations Add Value?

We show that analysts from sell-side firms generally recommend "glamour" (i.e., positive momentum, high growth, high volume, and relatively expensive) stocks. Naive adherence to these recommendations can be costly, because the "level" of the consensus recommendation adds value only among stocks with favorable quantitative characteristics (i.e., value stocks and positive momentum stocks). In fact, among stocks with unfavorable quantitative characteristics, higher consensus recommendations are associated with worse subsequent returns. In contrast, we find that the quarterly "change" in consensus recommendations is a robust return predictor that appears to contain information orthogonal to a large range of other predictive variables. Copyright 2004 by The American Finance Association.
Smart service systems in restaurant management: a case study analysis

Purpose This work aims at rereading restaurant booking websites as smart service systems in which people, organizations, technology and shared information are integrated, according to the logic of Service Science (Maglio and Spohrer 2008; Spohrer and Maglio 2008; Spohrer et al. 2012). We seek to demonstrate how restaurateurs and customers, through the technology, exchange knowledge that brings to value co-creation. Seeing as extant research focuses on customer perceived usefulness of online tools (Liu and Park 2015; Sèlley-Rauscher 2015; Rassega et al. 2015), this paper intends to highlight technology role from restaurant owner’s point of view. Design/Methodology/approach The research is based on a qualitative approach and adopts a case study methodology (Yin 2003; Feagin et al. 1991; Tellis 1997). It is analyzed the case of TheFork, a restaurant booking website which serves as a guide for restaurants and in which customers post reviews. Firstly the paper re-configures TheFork as a smart service system, then semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants: the restaurant managers who adhere to the community of TheFork. Findings The findings reveal how the rereading of TheFork as a smart service system depends on two variables: reviews content and restaurateurs’ willingness to change. Research limitations Limitations of this work lie in the methodology. The case study approach, despite of quantitative technique, doesn't allow maximum soundness in terms of reliability (Yin 1984). Implications From a theoretical point of view, the reinterpretation of TheFork as a smart service system can contribute to service science and restaurant management advancements. From a practical point of view, the results of the study can address restaurateurs to identify the most adequate strategies for managing relationships with consumers in order to enhance value cocreation. Originality/value The originality of the research lies in providing development to the theory of the service science through the analysis of a specific case study, settled in Italian context. Moreover, for the first time restaurant owner’s point of view is pointed out.
The Wisent Demography Has Been More Fluctuating than the Bovine One during the Whole Pleistocene

As the largest European herbivore, the wisent (Bison bonasus) is emblematic of the continent wildlife but has unclear origins. Here, we infer its demographic and adaptive histories from two individual whole-genome sequences via a detailed comparative analysis with bovine genomes. We estimate that the wisent and bovine species diverged from 1.7 10 to 850,000 years before present (YBP) through a speciation process involving an extended period of limited gene flow. Our data further support the occurrence of more recent secondary contacts, posterior to the Bos taurus and Bos indicus divergence ( 150,000 YBP), between the wisent and (European) taurine cattle lineages. Although the wisent and bovine population sizes experienced a similar sharp decline since the Last Glacial Maximum, we find that the wisent demography remained more fluctuating during the Pleistocene. This is in agreement with a scenario in which wisents responded to successive glaciations by habitat fragmentation rather than southward and eastward migration as for the bovine ancestors. We finally detect 423 genes under positive selection between the wisent and bovine lineages, which shed a new light on the genome response to different living conditions (temperature, available food resource, and pathogen exposure) and on the key gene functions altered by the domestication process.
Next-day Convection-allowing Wrf Model Guidance: a Second Look at 2 vs. 4 Km Grid Spacing

During the 2007 NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Spring Experiment, the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) at the University of Oklahoma produced convection-allowing forecasts from a single deterministic 2 km model and a 10-member 4 km resolution ensemble. In this study, the 2 km deterministic output was compared with forecasts from the 4 km ensemble control member. Other than the difference in horizontal resolution, the two sets of forecasts featured identical WRF-ARW configurations, including vertical resolution, forecast domain, initial and lateral boundary conditions, and physical parameterizations. Therefore, forecast disparities were attributed solely to differences in horizontal grid spacing. This study is a follow-up to similar work that was based on results from the 2005 Spring Experiment. Unlike the 2005 Experiment, however, model configurations were more rigorously controlled in the present study, providing a more robust dataset and a cleaner isolation of the dependence on horizontal resolution. Additionally, in this study, the 2 and 4 km output were compared to 12 km forecasts from the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model. Model forecasts were analyzed using objective verification of mean hourly precipitation and visual comparison of individual events, primarily during the 21-to 33-hour forecast period to examine the utility of the models as next-day guidance. On average, both the 2 and 4 km model forecasts showed substantial improvement over the 12 km NAM. However, although the 2 km forecasts produced more detailed structures on the smallest resolvable scales, the patterns of convective initiation, evolution, and organization were remarkably similar to the 4 km output. Moreover, on average, metrics 3 such as equitable threat score, frequency bias, and fractions skill score revealed no statistical improvement of the 2 km forecasts compared to the 4 km forecasts. These results, based on the 2007 dataset, corroborate previous findings, suggesting that decreasing horizontal grid spacing from 4 to 2 km provides little added value as next-day guidance for severe convective storm and heavy rain forecasters in the U. S.
A New Typology for Economic Sectors with a view to Policy Implications

This paper is an attempt to tease out a typology of economic sectors based on a systems approach to innovation and economic growth that may be useful for policy analysis. The typology explored here revolves around novel products rather than ethereal knowledge-producing entities. This insight goes back to Allyn Young (1928) and Joseph Schumpeter (1934) who argued that the introduction of new goods was the engine of economic growth. More precisely, our typology of sectors focuses on novel products which are efficiency-enhancing within and between sectors through the market mechanism. The scheme revolves around the relationship between 'Enabling' and 'Recipient' sectors (which gives the typology its name: ER), and offers a lens for viewing and interpreting a substantive part of the mechanics of modern economic growth. The last part of the paper briefly discusses a few immediate policy implications, although it has the potential for greater use and value in this regard.
The basic income experiment 2017–2018 in Finland: preliminary results

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's Government set customer orientation of services as one of the strategic objectives of the Governmental Programme. To achieve this goal, Sipilä’s government decided to launch a basic income experiment during its term. By experimenting with basic income, Sipilä’s government tried to find out whether the introduction of a basic income could make the social security system in Finland more inclusive and further increase the labour supply. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and Kela The Social Insurance Institution of Finland have agreed on the assessment of the basic income experiment. The assessment of the basic income experiment is carried out by Kela, together with the VATT Institute for Economic Research, the University of Turku, the University of Helsinki, the La-bour Institute for Economic Research, the Finnish Association for Mental Health and Tänk. The scientific director of the research project is Programme Director (SRC) Olli Kangas, from the University of Turku, and the administrative director is Research Professor Jaana Martikainen, from Kela. The Basic Income Experiment Evaluation Project studies the effects of basic income, utilizing both registry, survey and interview data. The research results of the subprojects will be reported in stages during the evaluation research project running from 2019 to 2020. This report is the first research publication presenting the effects of the basic income experiment in Finland. It includes a preliminary register-based statistical analysis of the employment effects of the experiment for 2017. An analysis based on survey data examines the impact of the experiment on the wellbeing of the basic income recipients Publisher Ministry of Social Affairs and Health Publication sales/ Distributed by Online version: julkaisut.valtioneuvosto. fi Publication sales: julkaisutilaukset.valtioneuvosto. fi