Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Human Cathelicidin LL-37 Has Antiviral Activity against Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Respiratory syncytial virus is a leading cause of lower respiratory tract illness among infants, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Currently, there is no effective vaccine or disease modifying treatment available and novel interventions are urgently required. Cathelicidins are cationic host defence peptides expressed in the inflamed lung, with key roles in innate host defence against infection. We demonstrate that the human cathelicidin LL-37 has effective antiviral activity against RSV in vitro, retained by a truncated central peptide fragment. LL-37 prevented virus-induced cell death in epithelial cultures, significantly inhibited the production of new infectious particles and diminished the spread of infection, with antiviral effects directed both against the viral particles and the epithelial cells. LL-37 may represent an important targetable component of innate host defence against RSV infection. Prophylactic modulation of LL-37 expression and/or use of synthetic analogues post-infection may represent future novel strategies against RSV infection.
A Novel Tree Cluster Approach Based on Least Closed Tree

The extensive application of tree model has made tree mining become a hot field in data mining research. As an important branch of tree mining, tree cluster plays a fundamental analysis role in many areas. In this paper, a tree cluster algorithm was proposed based on least closed tree, which effectively solved problems in large amount of data in practical application. The basic method is bringing forward least closed tree as the candidate cluster feature, using dynamic threshold by similarity cluster to make tree cluster operation be more quick and accurate. Experimental results show that the method has higher speed and efficiency than that of other similar ones especially when large number of tree nodes.
Foreign Cash: Taxes, Internal Capital Markets, and Agency Problems

The greater is the fraction of a firm’s cash held overseas, the lower shareholders value that cash. This goes beyond a pure tax effect — the repatriation tax friction disrupts the firm’s internal capital market, distorting its investment policy. Firms underinvest domestically and overinvest abroad. Our findings are more pronounced when firms are subject to higher repatriation tax rates, higher costs of borrowing, and more agency problems. Overall, our evidence suggests that a combination of taxes, financing frictions, and agency problems leads to a valuation discount for foreign cash and documents real effects of how foreign earnings are taxed.
Video game design using an eye-movement-dependent model of visual attention

Eye movements can be used to infer the allocation of covert attention. In this article, we propose to model the allocation of attention in a task-dependent manner based on different eye movement conditions, specifically fixation and pursuit. We show that the image complexity at eye fixation points during fixation, and the pursuit direction during pursuit are significant factors in attention allocation. Results of the study are applied to the design of an interactive computer game. Real-time eye movement information is taken as one of inputs for the game. The utility of such eye information for controlling game difficulty is shown.
The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research

In a qualitative framework, research based on interviews often seeks to penetrate social life beyond appearance and manifest meanings. This requires the researcher to be immersed in the research field, to establish continuing, fruitful relationships with respondents and through theoretical contemplation to address the research problem in depth. Therefore a small number of cases (less than 20, say) will facilitate the researcher’s close association with the respondents, and enhance the validity of fine-grained, in-depth inquiry in naturalistic settings. Epistemologically prior to these considerations, however, is the explanatory status of such research. From a realist standpoint, here concept formation through induction and analysis aims to clarify the nature of some specific situations in the social world, to discover what features there are in them and to account, however partially, for those features being as they are. Since such a research project scrutinizes the dynamic qualities of a situation (rather than elucidating the proportionate relationships among its constituents), the issue of sample size - as well as representativeness - has little bearing on the project’s basic logic. This article presents this argument in detail, with an example drawn from a study of persons with a past history of cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Speeding While Black? Assessing the Generalizability of Lange et al.’s (2001, 2005) New Jersey Turnpike Speeding Survey Findings

Across three months during 2001, Lange, Blackman, Johnson and Voas collected data from the New Jersey Turnpike to determine whether there were differences in speeding behavior grounded in race and ethnicity, while controlling for age and gender. They reported that Black drivers were more likely to speed at high rates (15 mph or more over the speed limit) in 65 mph speed zones, as were young drivers and male drivers. In the scholarly report of their research, Lange and colleagues concluded: “our research offer[s] a plausible explanation for the findings that Black drivers are represented among traffic stops at a higher rate than they are represented in the population. ” The present research assesses the generalizability of the findings reported by Lange and colleagues using data reported by Massachusetts State Police officers during April and May of 2001. We also find that Black drivers, young drivers, and male drivers are more likely to speed at high rates in 65 mph speed zones. We therefore remind scholars that Lange and colleagues’ findings and our own are entirely consistent with theory and research on the correlates of law violative actions. Our fundamental conclusion, however, is that more research is needed to determine whether traffic stops for Driving While Black are in small part the result of Speeding While Black.
Islet Cell Survival Determined by Morphology An Immunocytochemical Study of the Islets of Langerhans in Juvenile Diabetes Mellitus

The cytologic composition of the pancreatic islets of 58 insulin-dependent diabetics with age of onset of the disease before the age of 40 and a duration of from a few days to 37 years was studied with the aid of Sternberger's immunocytochemical method. Four types of islet cells were stained with specific antisera: β cells (insulin), α cells (glucagon), D cells (somatostatin), and PP cells (pancreatic polypeptide). β cells were found in 14 of 16 recent-onset cases, in seven of 14 patients having diabetes for less than 11 years, and in five of 28 patients in whom the disease had been present for a longer time. In all these cases, the number of β cells was well below normal. They showed cytologic features of functional hyperactivity. The majority of the islets, even in recent-onset cases, were devoid of β cells and were composed of thin cords of islet cells. Immunocytochemical staining revealed that, contrary to the classic opinion, these cells are not inactive but are actively secreting glucagon or somatostatin. In many long-term juvenile diabetics, the glucagon-containing α cells appeared very numerous, but it remains to be ascertained whether this represents an apparant or a true hyperplasia. Insulitis was found in 11 of the 16 recent-onset cases. In one case, the lymphocytic infiltration was found only in islets containing β cells but was strikingly absent in the islets composed of glucagon-, somatostatin-, and PP-cells. Images of islet regeneration, with neoformation of β cells and other islet-cell types from centroacinar and ductular cells could still be detected focally in a few recent-onset cases. With a disease of longer duration, an atypical type of islet regeneration, originating in the epithelium of small- and medium-sized ducts, becomes more prevalent and produces islets solely composed of PP cells.
A Periplasmic LolA Derivative with a Lethal Disulfide Bond Activates the Cpx Stress Response System

ABSTRACT LolA accommodates the acyl chains of lipoproteins in its hydrophobic cavity and shuttles between the inner and outer membranes through the hydrophilic periplasm to place lipoproteins in the outer membrane. The LolA(I93C/F140C) derivative, in which Cys replaces Ile at position 93 and Phe at position 140, strongly inhibited growth in the absence of a reducing agent because of the lethal intramolecular disulfide bond between the two Cys residues. Expression of I93C/F140C was found to activate the Cpx two-component system, which responds to cell envelope stress. The inhibition of growth by I93C/F140C was partly suppressed by overproduction of LolCDE, which is an ATP-binding cassette transporter and mediates the transfer of lipoproteins from the inner membrane to LolA. A substantial portion of the oxidized form, but not the reduced one, of I93C/F140C expressed on LolCDE overproduction was recovered in the membrane fraction, whereas wild-type LolA was localized in the periplasm even when LolCDE was overproduced. Moreover, LolCDE overproduction stabilized I93C/F140C and therefore caused an increase in its level. Taken together, these results indicate that oxidized I93C/F140C stably binds to LolCDE, which causes strong envelope stress.
JRC's Participation in the Guided Summarization Task at TAC 2010

In this paper we describe our participation in the Guided Summarization Task at the Text Analysis Conference 2010 (TAC’10). The goal of the task was to encourage a deeper semantic analysis of the source documents instead of relying only on document word frequencies to select important concepts. We used the output of our event extraction system and automatic learning of semantically-related terms to capture the required aspects of each particular article category. We submitted two runs: the first uses information extraction tools in combination with co-occurrence of features, the second uses only co-occurrence information. In the following sections we describe our runs and discuss the results attained.
Functionality and specific membrane localization of transport GTPases carrying C‐terminal membrane anchors of synaptobrevin‐like proteins.

Ras‐related guanine nucleotide‐binding proteins of the Ypt/Rab family fulfill a pivotal role in vesicular protein transport both in yeast and in mammalian cells. Proper functioning of these proteins involves their cycling between a GTP‐ and a GDP‐bound state as well as their reversible association with specific membranes. Here we show that the yeast Ypt1 and Sec4 proteins, essential components of the vesicular transport machinery, allow unimpaired vesicular transport when permanently fixed to membranes by membrane‐spanning domains replacing their two C‐terminal cysteine residues. Membrane detachment of the GTPases therefore is not obligatory for transport vesicle docking to or fusion with an acceptor membrane. It was also found that the membrane anchors derived from different synaptobrevin‐related proteins have targeting information and direct the chimeric GTPases to different cellular compartments, presumably from the endoplasmic reticulum via the secretory pathway.
Merging of Galaxies with Central Black Holes. II. Evolution of the Black Hole Binary and the Structure of the Core

We investigated the evolution of the black hole binary formed by the merging of two galaxies, each containing a central massive black hole. Our main goal here is to determine if the black hole binary can merge through the hardening by dynamical friction and the gravitational wave radiation. We performed N-body simulations of the merging of two galaxies with a wide range of the total number of particles to investigate the effect of the number of particles on the evolution of the black hole binary. We found that the evolution timescale was independent of the number of particles in the galaxy N until the semimajor axis reached a critical value. After the semimajor axis became smaller than this critical value, the evolution timescale was longer for larger numbers of particles. Qualitatively, this behavior is understood naturally as the result of the “loss cone” effect. However, the dependence of the timescale on N is noticeably weaker than the theoretical prediction. In addition, the critical semimajor axis is smaller than the theoretical prediction. The timescale of evolution through gravitational radiation at this critical semimajor axis is longer than the Hubble time. We discuss the reason of this discrepancy and the implication of the present result on the structure of the elliptical galaxies and QSO activities.
Mapping Intertextuality: Towards a Cognitive Model

This article engages with intertextuality and proposes a cognitively oriented approach partially based on Evans’ LCCM Theory. After presenting the traditional views on the concept from literary theory and linguistics, it introduces the notion of intertextual frames as the online construction that regulates the creation of intertextual links. Then it focuses on one particular type, the semantic intertextual frames, explaining how they are created and their role in the construction of intertextual links. In the final part of the article, a concept that will enable us to assess the quality of intertextual connections is proposed.
Attenuation of latent inhibition after compound conditioning

Using a conditioned suppression procedure with rats, three experiments examined the effects of compound conditioning on the degree of latent inhibition. Experiment 1 suggested that latent inhibition of the preexposed target was not enhanced but rather attenuated when a second stimulus was presented in compound conditioning. Experiment 2 showed that a similar result was obtained when, in subjects given only compound conditioning, the salience of the target was reduced to the level where it was overshadowed by the second stimulus. Experiment 3 proved that addition of the second stimulus only during preexposure, or during both preexposure and conditioning, did not attenuate the latent inhibition to the target. These results are difficult to explain by any model of Pavlovian conditioning which assumes that both latent inhibition and overshadowing effects are a consequence of acquisition deAcit; other possible accounts are discussed.
Exercise science and the development of evidence-based practice: A “better practices” framework

Abstract Exercise and sport scientists are increasingly faced with the need to demonstrate that their work is based on a sound evidence base and has an impact on professional practice and policy. This evidence is often derived from systematic reviews of rigorously designed studies such as randomized controlled trials. This paper addresses some of the limitations of the exclusive reliance on such trials and highlights the importance of addressing issues of effectiveness and practical concerns when synthesizing research evidence. The “Better Practices” model is then described in the context of a current project examining exercise and smoking cessation. This model provides one framework for integrating critical reviews of empirical evidence with contextual and practical considerations relevant to organizations interested in the translation of the synthesis into practice. Strengths and weaknesses of the model are discussed regarding its potential consideration and application by exercise and sport scientists.
Using the SAT and High School Record in Academic Guidance

This study appraised the utility of SAT scores in combination with grades in high school courses and the number and quality of these courses in predicting college grades in various fields of study, with the object of providing students with predictions of their academic performance for guidance purposes. The possible impact of this feedback on the flow of students into these fields was also assessed. Data for an entering class at a large state university were used. The SAT and collateral variables were able to predict college grades in different academic areas by taking account of marked variations in grade distributions among fields. These predictions could be potentially useful in guidance. Students' predicted grades in the fields and their intended majors were unrelated, and many students had their highest predicted grades in the humanities, though few intended to major in this field. Hence this feedback would probably stimulate students to take courses or major in the humanities.
Systematic technology transfer from biology to engineering

Solutions to problems move only very slowly between different disciplines. Transfer can be greatly speeded up with suitable abstraction and classification of problems. Russian researchers working on the TRIZ (Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch) method for inventive problem solving have identified systematic means of transferring knowledge between different scientific and engineering disciplines. With over 1500 person years of effort behind it, TRIZ represents the biggest study of human creativity ever conducted, whose aim has been to establish a system into which all known solutions can be placed, classified in terms of function. At present, the functional classification structure covers nearly 3 000 000 of the world's successful patents and large proportions of the known physical, chemical and mathematical knowledge–base. Additional tools are the identification of factors which prevent the attainment of new technology, leading directly to a system of inventive principles which will resolve the impasse, a series of evolutionary trends of development, and to a system of methods for effecting change in a system (Su–fields). As yet, the database contains little biological knowledge despite early recognition by the instigator of TRIZ (Genrich Altshuller) that one day it should. This is illustrated by natural systems evolved for thermal stability and the maintenance of cleanliness.
Relationship of exclusive breast-feeding to infections and growth of Tanzanian children born to HIV-infected women

Abstract Objective We examined the relationships between exclusive breast-feeding and the risks of respiratory, diarrhoea and nutritional morbidities during the first 2 years of life among children born to women infected with HIV-1. Design We prospectively determined the incidence of respiratory illnesses, diarrhoea, fever, hospitalizations, outpatient visits and nutritional morbidities. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the relative risks for morbidity episodes and Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the incidence rate ratios of nutritional morbidities. Setting Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Subjects The sample consisted of 666 children born to HIV-infected women. Results The 666 children were followed for 2 years. Exclusive breast-feeding was associated with lower risk for cough (rate ratio (RR) = 0·49, 95 % CI 0·41, 0·60, P < 0·0001), cough and fever (RR = 0·44, 95 % CI 0·32, 0·60, P < 0·0001) and cough and difficulty breathing or refusal to feed (RR = 0·31, 95 % CI 0·18, 0·55, P < 0·0001). Exclusive breast-feeding was also associated with lower risk of acute diarrhoea, watery diarrhoea, dysentery, fever and outpatient visits during the first 6 months of life, but showed no effect at 6–24 months of life. Exclusive breast-feeding did not significantly reduce the risks of nutritional morbidities during the first 2 years of life. Conclusions Exclusive breast-feeding is strongly associated with reductions in the risk of respiratory and diarrhoea morbidities during the first 6 months of life among children born to HIV-infected women.
Incremental Hill-Climbing Search Applied to Bayesian Network Structure Learning

We propose two general heuristics to transform a batch Hill-climbing search into an incremental one. Then, we apply our heuristics to two Bayesian network structure learning algorithms and experimentally see that our incremental approach saves a signiﬁcant amount of computing time while it yields similar networks than the batch algorithms.
Individual and Dyadic Coping Strategies in the Aftermath of a Traumatic Experience

This study was designed to explore individual and dyadic coping strategies in the aftermath of a traumatic event. Eighteen persons having experienced a physical assault or a road accident within six to twelve months before the study, and eighteen matched control persons were recruited together with their partners. Each participant and his/her partner filled in several questionnaires on individual and dyadic coping strategies, level of stress and PTSD-symptomatology. Results indicate that participants having experienced a trauma, compared to controls, report a general lack of dyadic coping and, when facing daily hassles, specific decreases in individual coping strategies. These differences are discussed in the context of marital coping processes.
Phase Error Cancellation for OFDM Systems Using Adaptive Filters

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multi-plexing (OFDM) is a significant technology to provide a high-rate wireless transmissions. In this paper, a scheme called as a step size delta - least mean square (SSD-LMS) is used for phase error cancellation. The results show that SSD-LMS algorithm can provide a rapid convergence with a low steady-state fluctuation error than that with the conventional LMS algorithm.
Problems in Assessing Prevalence and Membership Characteristics of Self-Help Group Participants

Relying on secondary analysis of three surveys, this study examines the prevalence of self-help group (SHG) use. Two of the surveys are based on large household probability samples (Epidemiological Catchment Area and Mellinger-Balter surveys) and the third on the population of self-help groups in California. Based on the best available survey information, an estimated 7.5 million adults participated in a SHG during 1992. Self-help group use for mental health problems appears to be a predominately White, middle-class phenomenon. Use of services is overlapping; those who seek out help do so in multiple service delivery modalities. Highlighted in this article are the problems of accurately assessing SHG participation based on current survey information.
Early peripheral and foveal processing in fixations during scene perception

To compare early foveal and peripheral information extraction, visual scenes were masked either foveally or peripherally during the initial part of fixations, using an eye-movement contingent display-change technique. The sequential attention model of eye-movement control predicts a substantial effect of early foveal masking, and early peripheral masking should not affect the ongoing processing. Foveal masking indeed postponed foveal processing as reflected by a considerable increase of average fixation durations with longer masking (Experiments 1 and 3). However, there was also an effect of peripheral masking, mainly on the saccade target selections with an increased number of fixations (Experiment 3) in conjunction with smaller saccade amplitudes (Experiments 2 and 3). Overall, scene perception was more influenced by early foveal masking than by early peripheral masking, and this is partly in agreement with the sequential attention model of eye-movement control.