Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A voltage-gated ion channel expressed specifically in spermatozoa

Calcium ions play a primary role in the regulation of sperm cell behavior. We report finding a voltage-gated ion channel (CatSper2) that is expressed in male germ cells but not in other cells. The putative channel contains 6 transmembrane segments, making it more similar to the voltage-gated potassium channels, but the ion selectivity pore domain sequence resembles that of a Cav channel. The mRNA is expressed during the meiotic or postmeiotic stages of spermatogenesis, and the protein is localized to the sperm flagellum, suggesting a role in the regulation of sperm motility. The mRNA for the channel is present in mouse, rat, and human sperm cells, and the gene is found on chromosome 2 E5–F1 in the mouse and 15q13 in the human. Recently, another voltage-gated channel (CatSper) that has features similar to the one reported here was discovered. It also is expressed within the flagellum and is required for normal fertility of mice. However, expression of CatSper2 alone or coexpression with CatSper in cultured cells, or attempts to coimmunoprecipitate the two proteins from germ cells failed to demonstrate that these two unique but similar α-like subunits form either a homo- or heterotetramer. It is possible, therefore, that two independent α subunits, different from other known voltage-gated channels, regulate sperm motility.
Transitions in Parental Repartnering After Divorce

Abstract Following divorce, the majority of parents will become involved with new partners. While many look forward to the opportunity to establish satisfying romantic relationships, the process of dating and courtship presents challenges to child and family adjustment. There is limited literature on how this process unfolds, and thus, a need for systematic research on divorce and remarriage. This should include considerations of postdivorce repartnering. Toward directing future research, we provide empirical support for nine potential relationship transitions that come into play as adults manage the process of forming new romantic relationships and incorporating them into existing relationships with their children.
Application of Computer Vision and Vector Space Model for Tactical Movement Classification in Badminton

Performance profiling in sports allow evaluating opponents' tactics and the development of counter tactics to gain a competitive advantage. The work presented develops a comprehensive methodology to automate tactical profiling in elite badminton. The proposed approach uses computer vision techniques to automate data gathering from video footage. The image processing algorithm is validated using video footage of the highest level tournaments, including the Olympic Games. The average accuracy of player position detection is 96.03% and 97.09% on the two halves of a badminton court. Next, frequent trajectories of badminton players are extracted and classified according to their tactical relevance. The classification performs at 97.79% accuracy, 97.81% precision, 97.44% recall, and 97.62% F-score. The combination of automated player position detection, frequent trajectory extraction, and the subsequent classification can be used to automatically generate player tactical profiles.
Modélisation Multiformalisme du Système Cardiovasculaire associant Bond Graph, Equations Différentielles et Modèles Discrets. (Multiformalism Modeling of the Cardiovascular System combining Bond Graphs, Differential Equations and Discret Events Models)

Une methode d'aide a l'interpretation de donnees physiologiques, a base de modeles, est proposee. Un modele du Systeme Cardiovasculaire (SCV) et du Systeme Nerveux Autonome (SNA) a ete developpe en considerant les particularites de ces deux systemes caracterises par la grande diversite : i) des echelles spatiales (cellule, tissu ou organe.), ii) des echelles temporelles (echange au niveau des portes ioniques, frequence cardiaque.), iii) des domaines energetiques (electrique, mecanique, hydraulique .). Pour prendre en compte cette complexite, differents formalismes continus et discrets sont utilises : Bond Graph, Equations Differentielles et Automates Cellulaires. Cette methode est appliquee a deux problemes cliniques : analyse de l'influence du SNA sur le SCV et etude de l'activite ventriculaire. Apres l'acquisition des donnees experimentales, les parametres du modele sont adaptes a chaque patient pour reproduire en simulation les signaux reels et proposer une interpretation physiologique personnalisee a chaque cas.
Towards Secure User-space Provenance Capture

System and library call interception performed entirely in user-space is a viable technique for provenance capture. The primary advantages of such an approach are that it is lightweight, has a low barrier to adoption and does not require root privileges to install and configure. However, since both the user's application and the provenance capture mechanism execute at the same privilege level and as part of the same address there is ample opportunity for an untrustworthy user or application to either circumvent or falsify provenance during capture. We describe a security threat model for such provenance capture mechanisms, discuss various attack vectors to circumvent or falsify provenance collection and finally argue that hardening against such attacks is possible if the application is sandboxed using contemporary techniques in the area of user-space software-based fault isolation.
Post-translational modification of the membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) cytoplasmic tail impacts ovarian cancer multicellular aggregate dynamics

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP, MMP-14) is a transmembrane collagenase highly expressed in metastatic ovarian cancer and correlates with poor survival. Accumulating evidence shows that the cytoplasmic tail of MT1-MMP is subjected to phosphorylation, and this post-translational modification regulates enzymatic activity at the cell surface. To investigate the potential role of MT1-MMP cytoplasmic residue Thr567 phosphorylation in regulation of metastasis-associated behaviors, ovarian cancer cells that express low endogenous levels of MT1-MMP were engineered to express wild-type MT1-MMP, a phosphomimetic mutant (T567E), or a phosphodeficient mutant (T567A). Results show that Thr567 modulation influences behavior of both individual cells and multicellular aggregates (MCAs). The acquisition of either wild-type or mutant MT1-MMP expression results in altered cohesion of epithelial sheets and the formation of more compact MCAs relative to parental cells. Cells expressing MT1-MMP-T567E phosphomimetic mutants exhibit enhanced cell migration. Furthermore, MCAs formed from MT1-MMP-T567E–expressing cells adhere avidly to both intact ex vivo peritoneal explants and three-dimensional collagen gels. Interaction of these MCAs with peritoneal mesothelium disrupts mesothelial integrity, exposing the submesothelial collagen matrix on which MT1-MMP-T567E MCAs rapidly disperse. Together, these findings suggest that post-translational regulation of the Thr567 in the MT1-MMP cytoplasmic tail may function as a regulatory mechanism to impact ovarian cancer metastatic success.
PDE-PEDA: A New Pareto-Based Multi-objective Optimization Algorithm

Differential evolution (DE) algorithm puts emphasis particularly on imitating the microscopic behavior of individuals, while estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) tries to estimate the probabilistic distribution of the entire population. DE and EDA can be extended to multi-objective optimization problems by using a Pareto-based approach, called Pareto DE (PDE) and Pareto EDA (PEDA) respectively. In this study, we describe a novel combination of PDE and PEDA (PDE-PEDA) for multi-objective optimization problems by taking advantage of the global searching ability of PEDA and the local optimizing ability of PDE, which can, effectively, maintain the balance between exploration and exploitation. The basic idea is that the offspring population of PDE-PEDA is composed of two parts, one part of the trial solution generated originates from PDE and the other part is sampled in the search space from the constructed probabilistic distribution model of PEDA. A scaling factor Pr used to balance contributions of PDE and PEDA can be adjusted in an on-line manner using a simulated annealing method. At an early evolutionary stage, a larger Pr should be adopted to ensure PEDA is used more frequently, whereas at later stage, a smaller Pr should be adopted to ensure that offspring is generated more often using PDE. The hybrid algorithm is evaluated on a set of benchmark problems and the experimental results show that PDE-PEDA outperforms the NSGA-II and PDE algorithms.
Exposure to domestic violence associated with adult smoking in India: a population based study

Objective: To investigate the relation between domestic violence and tobacco use among adults in India. Design: Multilevel cross sectional analyses of a nationally representative population based sample from the 1998–9 Indian national family health survey. Participants: 278 977 individuals aged 15 or older; and 89 092 ever married women aged 15–49. Main outcome: Dichotomous variables for smoking and chewing tobacco. Results: Women who reported being abused more than one year ago and those who reported being abused in the past year were more likely to smoke and chew tobacco than women who have never experienced domestic violence. Compared to individuals who lived in homes where no abuse was reported, those who lived in homes where a woman reported experiencing domestic violence were more likely to smoke and chew tobacco. Conclusion: Domestic violence is associated with higher odds of smoking and chewing tobacco in India. Efforts to control tobacco use need to consider the larger psychosocial circumstances within which individuals who practise such harmful health behaviours reside.
Coronary segmentation based motion corrected cardiac CT reconstruction

A method to obtain motion artifact-free reconstructed images of the coronary arteries is proposed and evaluated. The method relies on the integration of coronary motion estimation in an iterative computed tomography reconstruction technique. Coronary motion fields are derived from a set of coronary centerlines extracted at multiple cardiac phases within the R-R interval. Start and end points are provided by the user in one time-frame only. Corresponding centerline positions are used to determine the motion fields from phase to phase. Finally, dense motion fields are achieved by thin-plate-spline interpolation and are used to perform a motion-corrected iterative reconstruction of a selected region of interest, which results in an effective improvement of the reconstructed image quality.
The effects of token reinforcement versus cognitive behavior modification on learning‐disabled students' math skills

The effects of token reinforcement, cognitive behavior modification, and direct instruction on learning-disabled students' math skills were compared. Math skills were measured by 2-minute classroom timings of basic addition and subtraction problems, and the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test. Treatment was provided to 94 students for 4 weeks in daily 1-hour sessions. Significant differential gain between treatment and direct instruction groups in achievement test scores was found, F(4, 182) = 4.03, p<. 01. Token reinforcement and cognitive behavior modification were found to be equally effective. All three groups improved with 2-minute classroom timings, F(2, 91) = 8.53,p<. 001. Retention of skills for both treatments was maintained over a 2-week no-treatment period. Teachers' social validity ratings indicated differences between the two treatments relative to student behaviors and teacher roles. It is concluded that token reinforcement and cognitive behavior modification are equally effective techniques to remediate learning-disabled students' math achievement, and both are superior to direct instruction in some cases.
Extracellular Loop 2 of the Free Fatty Acid Receptor 2 Mediates Allosterism of a Phenylacetamide Ago-Allosteric Modulator

Allosteric agonists are powerful tools for exploring the pharmacology of closely related G protein-coupled receptors that have nonselective endogenous ligands, such as the short chain fatty acids at free fatty acid receptors 2 and 3 (FFA2/GPR43 and FFA3/GPR41, respectively). We explored the molecular mechanisms mediating the activity of 4-chloro-α-(1-methylethyl)-N-2-thiazolylbenzeneacetamide (4-CMTB), a recently described phenylacetamide allosteric agonist and allosteric modulator of endogenous ligand function at human FFA2, by combining our previous knowledge of the orthosteric binding site with targeted examination of 4-CMTB structure-activity relationships and mutagenesis and chimeric receptor generation. Here we show that 4-CMTB is a selective agonist for FFA2 that binds to a site distinct from the orthosteric site of the receptor. Ligand structure-activity relationship studies indicated that the N-thiazolyl amide is likely to provide hydrogen bond donor/acceptor interactions with the receptor. Substitution at Leu173 or the exchange of the entire extracellular loop 2 of FFA2 with that of FFA3 was sufficient to reduce or ablate, respectively, allosteric communication between the endogenous and allosteric agonists. Thus, we conclude that extracellular loop 2 of human FFA2 is required for transduction of cooperative signaling between the orthosteric and an as-yet-undefined allosteric binding site of the FFA2 receptor that is occupied by 4-CMTB.
Document Embeddings for Arabic Sentiment Analysis

Research and industry are more and more focusing in finding automatically the polarity of an opinion regarding a specific subject or entity. Paragraph vector has been recently proposed to learn embeddings which are leveraged for English sentiment analysis. This paper focuses on Arabic sentiment analysis and investigates the use of paragraph vector within a machine learning techniques to determine the polarity of a given text. We tested some preprocessing method, and we show that light stemming enhance the performance of classification.
CIP2A is a candidate therapeutic target in clinically challenging prostate cancer cell populations

Residual androgen receptor (AR)-signaling and presence of cancer stem-like cells (SCs) are the two emerging paradigms for clinically challenging castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Therefore, identification of AR-target proteins that are also overexpressed in the cancer SC population would be an attractive therapeutic approach. Our analysis of over three hundred clinical samples and patient-derived prostate epithelial cultures (PPECs), revealed Cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A (CIP2A) as one such target. CIP2A is significantly overexpressed in both hormone-naïve prostate cancer (HN-PC) and CRPC patients. CIP2A is also overexpressed, by 3- and 30-fold, in HN-PC and CRPC SCs respectively. In vivo binding of the AR to the intronic region of CIP2A and its functionality in the AR-moderate and AR-high expressing LNCaP cell-model systems is also demonstrated. Further, we show that AR positively regulates CIP2A expression, both at the mRNA and protein level. Finally, CIP2A depletion reduced cell viability and colony forming efficiency of AR-independent PPECs as well as AR-responsive LNCaP cells, in which anchorage-independent growth is also impaired. These findings identify CIP2A as a common denominator for AR-signaling and cancer SC functionality, highlighting its potential therapeutic significance in the most clinically challenging prostate pathology: castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitors for prostate cancer chemoprevention.

PURPOSE There is increasing evidence that using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs decreases the incidence of clinically apparent prostate cancer. We review the potential mechanisms of cancer reduction with cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 inhibitors and the clinical evidence suggesting their effectiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS A literature review using MEDLINE was conducted of animal, observational, and clinical studies of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in cancer, specifically prostate cancer. The Physician Data Query database was searched for current studies of COX-2 inhibitors for chemoprevention of prostate cancer. RESULTS Research suggests that COX-2 inhibiting medications are determinants in lower cancer incidence rates. Other studies have suggested up-regulation of the COX-2 enzyme in prostate cancer compared with normal prostate tissue. Selective COX-2 inhibitors are currently under study to evaluate their potential roles in preventing prostate cancer in high-risk patients (rofecoxib) or the recurrence of bladder cancer (celecoxib). Agents such as exisulind, which is a selective apoptotic antineoplastic drug, are also under investigation. CONCLUSION COX-2 inhibitors are promising agents for the chemoprevention of prostate cancer but further research is needed.
Sample Complexity of Multi-task Reinforcement Learning

Transferring knowledge across a sequence of reinforcement-learning tasks is challenging, and has a number of important applications. Though there is encouraging empirical evidence that transfer can improve performance in subsequent reinforcement-learning tasks, there has been very little theoretical analysis. In this paper, we introduce a new multi-task algorithm for a sequence of reinforcement-learning tasks when each task is sampled independently from (an unknown) distribution over a finite set of Markov decision processes whose parameters are initially unknown. For this setting, we prove under certain assumptions that the per-task sample complexity of exploration is reduced significantly due to transfer compared to standard single-task algorithms. Our multi-task algorithm also has the desired characteristic that it is guaranteed not to exhibit negative transfer: in the worst case its per-task sample complexity is comparable to the corresponding single-task algorithm.
Real-time traffic monitoring by fusing floating car data with stationary detector data

Applying the current technological possibilities has led to a wide range of traffic monitoring systems. These heterogeneous data sources individually provide a view on the current traffic state, each source having its own properties and (dis)advantages. However, these different sources can be aggregated to create a single traffic state estimation. This paper presents a data fusion algorithm that combines data on the data sample level. The proposed system fuses floating car data with stationary detector data and was implemented on live traffic. Results show the fusion algorithm allows to eliminate individual source bias and alleviates source-specific limitations.
Routing in distributed networks: overview and open problems

with group communication primitives. The proceedings of the conference were published by Springer in LNCS number 1914. They were edited by Maurice Herlihy who also chaired the program committee. Most of us found time outside of the technical sessions to enjoy Toledo. Angel Alvarez was the local arrangements chair. With the help of his team from the Technical University of Madrid, he made our visit to Toledo particularly memorable. It included a evening of banqueting in Spanish style and a fine afternoon on a guided walking tour of old Toledo. The orga~zizers of DISC 2001 have a tough act to follow. But I hear they are up to the challenge. See you in Lisboa in October.
Low-dose rhBMP2/7 heterodimer to reconstruct peri-implant bone defects: a micro-CT evaluation.

OBJECTIVES To delineate the dynamic micro-architectures of bone induced by low-dose bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2/7 heterodimer in peri-implant bone defects compared to BMP2 and BMP7 homodimer. MATERIAL AND METHODS Peri-implant bone defects (8 mm in diameter, 4 mm in depth) were created surrounding SLA-treated titanium implants (3.1 mm in diameter, 10 mm in length) in minipig's calvaria. We administrated collagen sponges with adsorbed low-dose (30 ng/mm(3) ) BMP2/7 to treat the defects using BMP2, BMP7 or no BMP as controls.2, 3 and 6 weeks after implantation, we adopted micro-computer tomography to evaluate the micro-architectures of new bone using the following parameters: relative bone volume (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), connectivity density, and structure mode index (SMI). Bone implant contact (BIC) was also revealed histologically. RESULTS Consistent with 2 and 3 weeks, after 6 weeks post-operation, BMP2/7 resulted in significantly higher BV/TV (63.033 ± 2.055%) and significantly lower SMI (-4.405 ± 0.500) than BMP2 (BV/TV: 43.133 ± 2.001%; SMI: -0.086 ± 0.041) and BMP7 (BV/TV: 41.467 ± 1.850%; SMI: -0.044 ± 0.016) respectively. Significant differences were also found in Tb.N, Tb.Th and Tb.Sp at all time points. At 2 weeks, BMP2/7 resulted in significantly higher BIC than the controls. CONCLUSIONS Low-dose BMP2/7 heterodimer facilitated more rapid bone regeneration in better quality in peri-implant bone defects than BMP2 and BMP7 homodimers.
Digital re-creation of a seven-story building shake during an earthquake

Introduction It is often desirable to recreate environments and events based on observed data. Uses of such reconstructions are varied, ranging from documentary use to a specific scientific analysis. Computer graphics has become a mature discipline used to recreate past events in accurate and realistic detail. In this article, we explore the re-creation of a seismic response of a seven-story building based on recorded data of a full scale shake table test. This re-creation can potentially be used by structural engineers to study and analyze the data, and to understand the structural nuances from a 360-degree viewpoint.
Localization and navigation assisted by cooperating networked sensors and robots

In this paper we discuss how a network of sensors and robots can cooperate to solve important robotics problems such as localization and navigation. We use a robot to localize sensor nodes, and we then use these localized nodes to navigate robots and humans through the sensorized space. We explore these novel ideas with results from two large-scale sensor network and robot experiments involving 50 motes, two types of flying robot: an autonomous helicopter and a large indoor cable array robot, and a human-network interface. We present the distributed algorithms for localization, geographic routing, path definition and incremental navigation. We also describe how a human can be guided using a simple hand-held device that interfaces to this same environmental infrastructure.
Analysis of the Cognitions Stimulated by the Items on the Expectations about Counseling-Brief Form: An Analysis of Construct Validity.

Etude de trois aspects de la validite de construct du EAC-B, test destine a connaitre les attentes vis-a-vis du conseil psychologique, sous sa forme breve (est-ce que ce sont bien ces attentes qui sont mesurees? les items du test sont-ils clairement compris? Le test maintient-il l'attention du sujet? )
Linking SweFN++ with Medical Resources, towards a MedFrameNet for Swedish

In this pilot study we define and apply a methodology for building an event extraction system for the Swedish scientific medical and clinical language. Our aim is to find and describe linguistic expressions which refer to medical events, such as events related to diseases, symptoms and drug effects. In order to achieve this goal we have initiated actions that aim to extend and refine parts of the ongoing compilation of the Swedish FrameNet++ (SFN++). SFN++, as its English original predecessor, is grounded in Frame Semantics which provides a sound theoretical ground for modeling and linking linguistic structures encountered in general language and in specific domains (after specialization). Using such resource we have started to manually annotate domain texts for enriching SFN++ with authentic samples and for providing training data for automated event extraction techniques.