Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intracellular trafficking and release of intact edible mushroom lectin from HT29 human colon cancer cells.

Our previous studies have shown that the Galbeta1-3GalNAcalpha- (Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen)-binding lectin from the common edible mushroom Agaricus bisporus (ABL) reversibly inhibits cell proliferation, and this effect is a consequence of inhibition of nuclear localization sequence-dependent nuclear protein import after ABL internalization [Yu, L.G. , Fernig, D.G. , White, M.R. H. , Spiller, D.G. , Appleton, P., Evans, R.C. , Grierson, I. , Smith, J.A. , Davies, H. , Gerasimenko, O.V. , Petersen, O.H. , Milton, J.D. & Rhodes, J.M. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 4890-4899]. Here, we have investigated further the intracellular trafficking and fate of ABL after internalization in HT29 human colon cancer cells. Internalization of 125I-ABL occurred within 30 min of the lectin being bound to the cell surface. Subcellular fractionation after pulse labelling of the cells with 125I-ABL for 2 h at 4 degrees C followed by culture of the cells at 37 degrees C demonstrated a steady increase in radioactivity in a crude nuclear extract. The radioactivity in this extract reached a maximum after 10 h and declined after 20 h. Release of ABL from the cell, after pulse labelling, was assessed using both fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled ABL and 125I-ABL and was slow, with a t1/2 of 48 h. Most of the 125I-ABL both inside cells and in the medium remained intact, as determined by trichloroacetic acid precipitation and SDS/PAGE, and after 48 h only 22 +/- 2% of ABL in the medium and 14 +/- 2% inside the cells was degraded. This study suggests that the reversibility of the antiproliferative effect of ABL is associated with its release from cells after internalization. The internalization and subsequent slow release, with little degradation of ABL, reflects the tendency of lectins to resist biodegradation and implies that other endogenous or exogenous lectins may be processed in this way by intestinal epithelial cells.
A Fuzzy Support Vector Machine with Weighted Margin for Flight Delay Early Warning

Flight delay early warning can reduce the negative impact of the delay. Determining the delay grade of each interval is essentially a multi-class classification problem. This paper presents a flight delay early warning model based on a fuzzy support vector machine with weighted margin (WMSVM) , which adjust the penalties to samples and the margins between samples and the hyperplane according to the fuzzy membership to produce a more reasonable optimal hyperplane. Through one-against-one (OAO) method, the original FSVM is extended to solve multi-class classification problem . Experiments show that the method used to establish the early warning model can predict the delay grade effectively and also prove that the OAO-WMSVM has better performance than OAO-SVM.
X-irradiation induces ER stress, apoptosis, and senescence in pulmonary artery endothelial cells

Abstract Purpose: The use of clinical radiation for cancer treatment is limited by damage to underlying normal tissue including to the vascular endothelium. We investigated the mechanisms of X-ray-induced cell damage to endothelial cells. Methods: We evaluated necrosis, apoptosis, cellular senescence, and the contribution of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC) irradiated with X-rays (2–50 Gray [Gy]). Results: Clonogenic assays showed that 10 Gy induced ∼99.9% loss of cell viability. No necrosis was detected using lactate dehydrogenase assays, but a low population underwent extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis, as indicated by the activation of caspases 3, 8, and 9 as well as by neutral comet assay. A majority of PAEC underwent accelerated senescence, as indicated by morphological changes, increased 21 kD cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (p21/waf1), decreased sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), and elevated senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal). ER stress was detected by assays for glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), and growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible protein 34 (GADD34) mRNA, and transient phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α). The ER stress inhibitor salubrinal blocked ∼50% of apoptosis with no effect on senescence. Conclusions: X-rays primarily induced cellular senescence with limited levels of apoptosis in endothelial cells. ER stress contributed to apoptosis but not to senescence.
Fast and Robust 3-D Image Registration Algorithm Based on Principal Component Analysis

This paper presents a new3-D image registration method based on principal component analysis (PCA) and mutual information (MI), named as PCA-MI algorithm. First, principal component analysis is applied to align the volumes roughly. Second, registration is refined via maximizing the MI. We evaluate the effectiveness of the PCA-MI approach by applying it to the real image data. The experimental results indicate that the algorithm is effective in reducing computation time as well as in helping to avoid local minima.
Investigating the Bias of Alternative Statistical Inference Methods in Sequential Mixed-Mode Surveys

Sequential mixed-mode surveys combine different data collection modes sequentially to reduce nonresponse bias under certain cost constraints. However, as a result of nonignorable mode effects, nonrandom mixes of modes may yield unknown bias properties for population estimates such as means and totals. The assumption of ignorable mode effects governs the existing inference methods for sequential mixed-mode surveys. The objective of this paper is to describe and empirically evaluate the proposed multiple imputation estimation methods that account for both nonresponse and nonrandom mixtures of modes in a mixed-mode survey. This paper presents some empirical and simulation results for the bias of mean wage and salary income based on the public-use Current Population, 1973, Social Security Records Exact Match data.
Loss of STAT3 in CD4+ T Cells Prevents Development of Experimental Autoimmune Diseases

Th17 cells are implicated in CNS autoimmune diseases. We show that mice with targeted-deletion of Stat3 in CD4+ T cells (CD4Stat3−/−) do not develop experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) or experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Defective Th17 differentiation noted in CD4Stat3−/− mice is compensated by exaggerated increases in Foxp3-, IL-10-, IL-4-, and IFN-γ-expressing T cells, suggesting critical roles of STAT3 in shaping Ag-specific CD4+ T cell repertoire. In mice with EAU, a high percentage of IL-17-expressing T cells in their peripheral lymphoid organs also secrete IFN-γ while these double-expressors are absent in CD4Stat3−/− and wild-type mice without EAU, raising the intriguing possibility that uveitis maybe mediated by Th17 and IL-17-expressing Th1 cells. Resistance of Stat3-deficient mice to EAU derives in part from an inability of uveitogenic Th17 and Th1 cells to enter eyes or brain of the CD4Stat3−/− mouse because of the reduction in the expression of activated α4/β1 integrins on CD4Stat3−/− T cells. Adoptive transfer of activated interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein-specific uveitogenic T cells induced in CD4Stat3−/− mice a severe EAU characterized by development of retinal folds, infiltration of inflammatory cells into the retina, and destruction of retinal architecture, underscoring our contention that the loss of STAT3 in CD4+ T cells results in an intrinsic developmental defect that renders CD4Stat3−/− resistant to CNS inflammatory diseases. STAT3 requirement for IL-17 production by Th17, generation of double positive T cells expressing IL-17 and IFN-γ, and for T cell trafficking into CNS tissues suggests that STAT3 may be a therapeutic target for modulating uveitis, sceritis, or multiple sclerosis.
Design of frequency-division multiplexing front-end receiver electronics for CMUT-on-CMOS based intracardiac echocardiography

Designing Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE) imaging catheters using 2D arrays with large number of elements is extremely challenging with standard interconnect and transducer technology. Using microbeamformers inside the catheter reduces the number of cables; however it requires complex front-end electronics which consumes considerable amount of real estate. By using the CMUT-on-CMOS technology, one can incorporate on-chip transmit electronics and efficiently optimize the 2D transducer array to use less number of active elements to reduce the number of cables by combining multiple channels on a single output cable. Reducing the number of cables with integrated electronics may provide a flexible catheter which can be used for 3D ICE imaging under MRI as well as X-Ray. In this study, we explore the design of the CMOS receiver circuit which implements a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) scheme to achieve reduced number of output channels. We discuss design details of an 8×1 multiplexing chip designed in 0. 35μm CMOS process. We also present post layout simulation results from the chip showing the viability of the approach.
Modeling Price Volatility for Some Selected Agricultural Products in Ethiopia: ARIMA-GARCH Applications

Currently change of price in agricultural products is a global problem. Agricultural products market policies in Ethiopia have undergone dramatic changes over the past several years, the desirable outcome of any policy measure or other system of intervention to prevent the markets from going into market price volatility, however, remained very unsatisfactory. The main objective of this study is to fit an appropriate model that best describes the log-returns price volatility of agricultural products under consideration. The appropriate methodology in this research, a time series econometric model, for capturing behavior of financial time series data price returns and volatility having changing variance is the ARCH and GARCH models. Hence ARCH/GARCH models were employed to capture the log-return price volatility under the study. It’s observed that GARCH( 1,1), GARCH( 1,2 ) and GARCH(2,1 ) models are the most appropriate fitted models to use one has to evaluate the volatility of the log-returns of price of Cereal, pulse and oil crops respectively. Prices volatility is persistent in all three categories of selected agricultural crops.
Prevalent hyperglycemia in older obese population and age-dependent convergence of obese indices: Results of a cross-sectional study of Japanese generations over the adult life span

ABSTRACT Purpose/aim: An age-dependent decline has been observed in the association between obesity and type 2 diabetes, a major comorbidity of obesity, although the evidence is limited. Therefore, we investigated the association and the plausible underlying mechanism in a large epidemiological study. Materials and methods: We examined the association between the degree of obesity and hyperglycemia in five age groups (20–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70–85 years) in a cross-sectional study of 78,776 apparently healthy Japanese men and women who underwent a checkup in 2012. Hyperglycemia was defined as glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of ≥5.7% and/or pharmacotherapy for diabetes. Results: The incidence of hyperglycemia was three times higher in the 70–85-year-old group (62%) than in the 20–39-year-old group (20%) in obese individuals (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 27.0 kg/m2). However, the incidence was 12 times higher in reference-weight individuals (21.0–22.9 kg/m2; 48% and 4%, respectively). As age increased, mean BMI and waist circumference approached certain non-obese ranges (22–24 kg/m2 and 80–86 cm, respectively), even in hyperglycemic subjects. Logistic regression analysis revealed an age-dependent decline in the association between obesity and hyperglycemia, relative to that in reference-weight individuals. Conclusions: Our results confirmed the previously reported age-dependent decline in the association between obesity and hyperglycemia, although hyperglycemia was still prevalent in older obese subjects than in older reference-weight subjects. Therefore, the decline in the association may be accelerated due to an age-dependent increase in the prevalence of hyperglycemia in reference-weight individuals.
Spillover Effects of The Russian Economy: Regional Specificity

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the strength and direction of the distribution of the foreign direct investments (FDI) in regional economy. The subject matter of the research is FDI to the regions of Russia. The subject of the study is relevant as it makes possible to estimate the long-term consequences from the restrictions of the West countries (in connection with sanctions) against the inflow of the foreign capital to the regions of the Russian Federation. The study is based on the following hypotheses: 1. Russian regional economy has horizontal (distribution of effects from FDI within an industry) and vertical spillover effects (distribution according to a technological chain, from product suppliers to product consumers). Vertical effects are more important and have greater amplitude than horizontal effects. An industry competition is one of the causes of negative horizontal spillover effect, and the scale of the company is the reason of positive horizontal spillover effect. 2. FDI generates the positive regional spillover effects on the productivity of domestic firms in the Russian economy. 3. Regional industry specificity influences the sign and magnitude of spillovers from FDI. 4. Time sensitivity is revealed for horizontal spillovers, so the regional effects may change the direction. As an empirical basis of the study, the statements of 23567 Russian companies with FDI and 25354 Russian enterprises without FDI for the 5 years were used. The methodology of the research is the calculation of spillover effects, Cobb-Douglas production function and panel data regression. The study has found, that the direct vertical spillover effects are almost absent. That means that industrial consumers do not notice the effect of inward FDI. At the same time, the converse effect related to the product suppliers is positive, but as the direct effect, it is not more important in any group of regions then the horizontal effect. The Russian economy has a positive regional spillover effect of FDI. The positive effect of FDI for a region of investment attractiveness, first of all, extends to regions with similar investment climate, and after that residually extends to less successful regions. The regional spillover effect is unstable and has high volatility. Therefore, regional administration has to develop the anti-crisis policy and try to improve the investment climate. The findings of the study may be useful for the regional authorities to formulate the investment policy.
Chapter 8 Mid–Late Permian Upukerora Formation, South Island, New Zealand: fault-controlled mass wasting of the Early Permian Dun Mountain ophiolite and initiation of the Permian–Triassic Maitai continental margin forearc basin

Abstract The Dun Mountain ophiolite and related oceanic-arc rocks (Otama Complex) formed above a westward-dipping subduction zone within Panthalassa, with implications for the emplacement of Cordilleran-type ophiolites and arcs elsewhere. The ophiolite is overlain by the Mid–Late Permian Upukerora Formation (up to 850 m), a predominantly very coarse breccia-conglomerate that mainly accumulated by mass flow. Lesser amounts of sediment accumulated from turbidity currents and as background hemipelagic sediments. The succession unconformably overlies ophiolitic basaltic or, rarely, gabbroic rocks after a regional hiatus. Much of the coarse clastic debris was derived from the underlying ophiolite. However, clasts of plagioclase-phyric basalt, felsic volcanics and quartz-bearing intrusive rocks, including plagiogranite, are over-represented compared to the ophiolite. The evolved igneous material was derived from an incipient oceanic arc (the Otama Complex) that bordered or covered the ophiolite, especially in the south. The coarse clastic material accumulated following the activation of north–south-trending, subaqueous, extensional growth faults within the underlying oceanic crust. Large blocks of mainly basalt, diabase and gabbro were also shed down fault scarps from relatively shallow-water to deeper-water settings. Fault-controlled talus accumulated soon after Mid-Permian docking of the ophiolite and oceanic arc with SE Gondwana to initiate the Mid-Permian–Mid-Triassic Maitai continental margin forearc basin.
An Ensemble of Invariant Features for Person Reidentification

This paper proposes an ensemble of invariant features (EIFs), which can properly handle the variations of color difference and human poses/viewpoints for matching pedestrian images observed in different cameras with nonoverlapping field of views. Our proposed method is a direct reidentification (re-id) method, which requires no prior domain learning based on prelabeled corresponding training data. The novel features consist of the holistic and region-based features. The holistic features are extracted by using a publicly available pretrained deep convolutional neural network used in generic object classification. In contrast, the region-based features are extracted based on our proposed two-way Gaussian mixture model fitting, which overcomes the self-occlusion and pose variations. To make a better generalization during recognizing identities without additional learning, the ensemble scheme aggregates all the feature distances using the similarity normalization. The proposed framework achieves robustness against partial occlusion, pose, and viewpoint changes. Moreover, the evaluation results show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art direct re-id methods on the challenging benchmark viewpoint invariant pedestrian recognition and 3D people surveillance data sets.
The Korean Wave Who are behind the success of Korean popular culture

Never before in the history of popular culture has a nation been able to draw so much attention worldwide to its music, drama and movies in such a short period. From the moment that South Korea was forced to open its markets by the IMF and America as a result of the Asian financial crisis, their popular culture has been gaining worldwide recognition. On every continent we can find k-pop fans and Korean dramas on television. This phenomenon got the interest of the media, politicians and scholars. In this paper I’ve been trying to answer the questions who are behind the success of the Korean wave and how do they think about the Korean wave? It turns out that the Korean wave deliberately was created by the Korean government. In 1998 the government decided that the movie industry would be their key industry of growth. The idea was that the exports of movies would bring in a lot of money. The policies of the 1980s had an indirect effect on the drama and music industries. Korean entertainment companies used the popularity of Korean movies and dramas in other countries to successfully export k-pop. For entertainment companies it is essential to export their music to other countries, because the Korean music market is too small to sustain itself.
Game Theoretic D2D Content Sharing: Joint Participants Selection, Routing and Pricing

Device-to-device (D2D) content sharing holds great promise to alleviate the growing strain on cellular networks, as it offloads popular content data onto direct peer-to-peer links. However, it is still largely unexplored how content sharing could benefit from utilizing multi-hop rather than conventional single-hop D2D communications. As a step towards this end, this paper proposes a generalized two-level Stackelberg game theoretic framework to enable content sharing with multi-hop D2D communication capabilities. At the lower level, a Nash bargaining subgame is proposed to provide the routing and pricing graphs, where a novel incentive mechanism is adopted to stimulate cooperation. At the upper level, the set of participants is decided to ensure all participants contribute to the content sharing. An additional pricing plan is introduced to make sure that the final pricing is practical and feasible. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate that the proposed game theoretic framework could not only jointly deal with participants selection, routing and pricing in D2D content sharing, but also effectively restrict utilities and transmission resources to only contributive participants.
Evidence that POB1, a Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein that binds to DNA polymerase alpha, acts in DNA metabolism in vivo

Potential DNA replication accessory factors from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have previously been identified by their ability to bind to DNA polymerase alpha protein affinity matrices (J. Miles and T. Formosa, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:1276-1280, 1992). We have now used genetic methods to characterize the gene encoding one of these DNA polymerase alpha-binding proteins (POB1) to determine whether it plays a role in DNA replication in vivo. We find that yeast cells lacking POB1 are viable but display a constellation of phenotypes indicating defective DNA metabolism. Populations of cells lacking POB1 accumulate abnormally high numbers of enlarged large-budded cells with a single nucleus at the neck of the bud. The average DNA content in a population of cells lacking POB1 is shifted toward the G2 value. These two phenotypes indicate that while the bulk of DNA replication is completed without POB1, mitosis is delayed. Deleting POB1 also causes elevated levels of both chromosome loss and genetic recombination, enhances the temperature sensitivity of cells with mutant DNA polymerase alpha genes, causes increased sensitivity to UV radiation in cells lacking a functional RAD9 checkpoint gene, and causes an increased probability of death in cells carrying a mutation in the MEC1 checkpoint gene. The sequence of the POB1 gene indicates that it is identical to the CTF4 (CHL15) gene identified previously in screens for mutations that diminish the fidelity of chromosome transmission. These phenotypes are consistent with defective DNA metabolism in cells lacking POB1 and strongly suggest that this DNA polymerase alpha-binding protein plays a role in accurately duplicating the genome in vivo.