Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cranial neural crest cells regulate head muscle patterning and differentiation during vertebrate embryogenesis

In the vertebrate head, mesoderm cells fuse together to form a myofiber, which is attached to specific cranial neural crest (CNC)-derived skeletal elements in a highly coordinated manner. Although it has long been recognized that CNC plays a role in the formation of the head musculature, the precise molecular underpinnings of this process remain elusive. In the present study we explored the nature of the crosstalk between CNC and mesoderm cells during head muscle development, employing three models for genetic perturbations of CNC development in mice, as well as experimental ablation of CNC in chick embryos. We demonstrate that although early myogenesis is CNC-independent, the migration, patterning and differentiation of muscle precursors are regulated by CNC. In the absence of CNC cells, accumulated myoblasts are kept in a proliferative state, presumably because of an increase of Fgf8 in adjacent tissues, which leads to abnormalities in both differentiation and subsequent myofiber organization in the head. These results have uncovered a surprising degree of complexity and multiple distinct roles for CNC in the patterning and differentiation of muscles during craniofacial development. We suggest that CNC cells control craniofacial development by regulating positional interactions with mesoderm-derived muscle progenitors that together shape the cranial musculoskeletal architecture in vertebrate embryos.
Sulfation in the Golgi Lumen of Madin-Darby Canine Kidney Cells Is Inhibited by Brefeldin A and Depends on a Factor Present in the Cytoplasm and on Golgi Membranes*

Madin-Darby canine kidney cells are more resistant than most other cell types to the classical effects of brefeldin A (BFA) treatment, the induction of retrograde transport of Golgi cisternae components to the endoplasmic reticulum. Here we show that sulfation of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), and proteins in the Golgi apparatus is dramatically reduced by low concentrations of BFA in which Golgi morphology is unaffected and secretion still takes place. BFA treatment seems to reduce sulfation by inhibition of the uptake of adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS) into the Golgi lumen, and the inhibitory effect of BFA was similar for HSPGs, CSPGs, and proteins. This was different from the effect of chlorate, a well known inhibitor of PAPS synthesis in the cytoplasm. Low concentrations of chlorate (2–5 mm) inhibited sulfation of CSPGs and proteins only, whereas higher concentrations (15–30 mm) were required to inhibit sulfation of HSPGs. Golgi fractions pretreated with BFA had a reduced capacity for the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), but control level capacity could be restored by the addition of cytosol from various sources. This indicates that the PAPS pathway to the Golgi lumen depends on a BFA-sensitive factor that is present both on Golgi membranes and in the cytoplasm.
Urban probes: encountering our emerging urban atmospheres

Urban Atmospheres captures a unique, synergistic moment - expanding urban populations, rapid adoption of Bluetooth mobile devices, tiny ad hoc sensor networks, and the widespread influence of wireless technologies across our growing urban landscapes. The United Nations recently reported that 48 percent of the world's population current live in urban areas and that this number is expected to exceed the 50 percent mark world wide by 2007 [1]. In developed nations the number of urban dwellers is even more dramatic - expected to exceed 75%. Current studies project Bluetooth-enabled devices to reach 5.4 billion units by 2005 - five times the number of mobile phones or Internet connections [2]. Mobile phone penetration already exceeds 80% of the population in places like the European Union (EU) and parts of Asia [3]. WiFi hardware is being deployed at the astonishing rate of one every 4 seconds globally [4]. We argue that now is the time to initiate inspirational research into the very essence of these newly emerging technological urban spaces. We desire to move towards an improved understanding of the emotional experience of urban life. This paper describes Urban Probes - a lightweight, provocative, intervention methodology designed to rapidly deconstruct urban situations, reveal new opportunities for technology in urban spaces, and guide future long term research in urban computing. We also describe a completed Urban Probe exploring urban trash.
Quantitative Literacy and the Likelihood of Employment among Young Adults in the United States

This paper examines the effects of quantitative literacy on the likelihood of employment among young adults in the United States. The data set used is the 1985 Young Adult Literacy Assessment Survey. This survey of persons 21 to 25 years old makes available scores achieved by individuals sampled on a test measuring proficiency in the application of arithmetic skills to practical problems encountered every day. We use these scores as one of a set of variables in a probit model explaining the probability of a person being fully employed. It is found that quantitative literacy skills are a major factor raising the likelihood of full-time employment. Furthermore, low quantitative literacy appears to be critical in explaining the lower probability of employment of young Black Americans relative to Whites.
Mining Travel Patterns from Geotagged Photos

Recently, the phenomenal advent of photo-sharing services, such as Flickr and Panoramio, have led to volumous community-contributed photos with text tags, timestamps, and geographic references on the Internet. The photos, together with their time- and geo-references, become the digital footprints of photo takers and implicitly document their spatiotemporal movements. This study aims to leverage the wealth of these enriched online photos to analyze people’s travel patterns at the local level of a tour destination. Specifically, we focus our analysis on two aspects: (1) tourist movement patterns in relation to the regions of attractions (RoA), and (2) topological characteristics of travel routes by different tourists. To do so, we first build a statistically reliable database of travel paths from a noisy pool of community-contributed geotagged photos on the Internet. We then investigate the tourist traffic flow among different RoAs by exploiting the Markov chain model. Finally, the topological characteristics of travel routes are analyzed by performing a sequence clustering on tour routes. Testings on four major cities demonstrate promising results of the proposed system.
Lycopene in the management of oral lichen planus: a placebo-controlled study.

CONTEXT Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of lichen planus, and a lower level of lycopene has been reported in erosive and atrophic oral lichen planus (OLP) patients. However, its efficacy in the management of OLP has not been reported. AIM This study was designed to assess the efficacy of systemic lycopene in the management of OLP. SETTINGS AND DESIGN This prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was done in the Oral Medicine Department of a postgraduate teaching dental hospital in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty symptomatic OLP patients, randomly divided into two groups of 15 each, were administered lycopene 8 mg/day and an identical placebo, respectively, for 8 consecutive weeks. Burning sensation using visual analogue scale and overall treatment response using Tel Aviv-San Francisco scale were recorded at every visit. The data obtained were analyzed statistically using Wilcoxon Rank test, Mann-Whitney and Fischer's Exact test. RESULTS A higher (84%) reduction in burning sensation was seen in lycopene than in the placebo group (67%). All 15 (100%) patients in the lycopene group showed 50% or more benefit and 11 (73.3%) patients showed 70-100% benefit, while this number was only 10 and 4 (26.7%), respectively, in the placebo group. CONCLUSION Lycopene was very effective in the management of OLP, and oxidative stress may have a role in disease pathogenesis.
THE CAUSES OF CORRUPTION : A CROSS-NATIONAL

Why is corruption—defined here as the misuse of public office for private gain—perceived to be more widespread in some countries than others? Different theories associate cross-national variation in the extent of corruption with particular historical and cultural traditions, levels of economic development, political institutions, and government policies. This paper analyzes which of various plausible determinants are significantly related to an index of “perceived corruption” compiled from business risk surveys for the mid-1990s. Using 2SLS to reduce problems of endogeneity and a variation of Leamer’s “extreme bounds analysis” to test for robustness, it finds three factors robustly significant. Countries that were more economically developed and those which are former British colonies were rated “less corrupt”. Those which have a federal structure were “more corrupt”.
Modulation of ATP‐gated non‐selective cation channel (P2X1 receptor) activation and desensitization by the actin cytoskeleton

1 ATP‐gated non‐selective cation channels from the rat vas deferens (P2X1 receptors) were stably expressed in HEK 293 cells, assayed by patch clamp on the first day after passage of the culture, and found to have whole‐cell current kinetics markedly faster in both activation and desensitization than those found in the native vas deferens tissue, in agreement with previous reports. 2 By the second day after passage of the culture, however, the whole‐cell current kinetics of the expressed receptors shifted, slowing in both activation and desensitization. The kinetic change correlated with a change in phenotype of the host cells from round to flat, and the slower kinetics were similar to native P2X1 currents recorded from dissociated rat vas deferens smooth muscle cells. Two point mutations in a pore‐like domain near or within the second transmembrane domain of the P2X1 receptor appeared to confer on the receptor the inability to effect this change in kinetics over time. 3 Treatment of cells on day 3 after passage with cytochalasins B or D caused a reversion to the rapid kinetics phenotype, implicating the actin cytoskeleton in the development of the native kinetics. P2X1 receptors may therefore require interaction with an intact actin cytoskeleton for native kinetics, and the mutants may be defective either in interaction with the actin skeleton or in coupling the interaction to gating.
Scalable Energy Efficiency with Resilience for High Performance Computing Systems

Ever-growing performance of supercomputers nowadays brings demanding requirements of energy efficiency and resilience, due to rapidly expanding size and duration in use of the large-scale computing systems. Many application/architecture-dependent parameters that determine energy efficiency and resilience individually have causal effects with each other, which directly affect the trade-offs among performance, energy efficiency and resilience at scale. To enable high-efficiency management for large-scale High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems nowadays, quantitatively understanding the entangled effects among performance, energy efficiency, and resilience is thus required. While previous work focuses on exploring energy-saving and resilience-enhancing opportunities separately, little has been done to theoretically and empirically investigate the interplay between energy efficiency and resilience at scale. In this article, by extending the Amdahl’s Law and the Karp-Flatt Metric, taking resilience into consideration, we quantitatively model the integrated energy efficiency in terms of performance per Watt and showcase the trade-offs among typical HPC parameters, such as number of cores, frequency/voltage, and failure rates. Experimental results for a wide spectrum of HPC benchmarks on two HPC systems show that the proposed models are accurate in extrapolating resilience-aware performance and energy efficiency, and capable of capturing the interplay among various energy-saving and resilience factors. Moreover, the models can help find the optimal HPC configuration for the highest integrated energy efficiency, in the presence of failures and applied resilience techniques.
The Assessment of Aphasia and Related Disorders

The primary purpose of the first edition was to provide the ra­ tionale, administrative and scoring procedures, statistical back­ ground, and interpretation for the BDAE. The second edition fol­ lows an identical format. The last 32 pages of the book is a copy of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination booklet (protocol and score sheet for the administration of the BDAE). In addition to the bound copy of the book, the materials which complete the BDAE consist of test stimulus cards (16), the Boston Naming Test, and test-scoring booklet.
Parafrase-2: an Environment for Parallelizing, Partitioning, Synchronizing, and Scheduling Programs on Multiprocessors

Parafrase-2 is a vectorizing/parallelizing compiler implemented as a source to source code restructurer. This paper discusses the organization of Parafrase-2 and goals of the project. Specific topics discussed are : dependence analysis, timing and overhead analysis, interprocedural analysis, automatic scheduling and the graphical user interface.
Which SSRI? A meta-analysis of pharmacotherapy trials in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE The authors conducted a meta-analysis of published randomized, controlled medication trials in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to assess evidence for differential efficacy based on type of drug, study design, and outcome measure. METHOD A systematic literature search was performed for articles pertaining to the pharmacological treatment of pediatric and/or adolescent OCD. All baseline, posttreatment, and change scores with standard deviations reported in each study were included in the analyses. Effect sizes for dependent measures were expressed as standardized mean differences. The analysis included data on efficacy for four selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (paroxetine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, and sertraline) and clomipramine, four study designs, four dependent outcome measures, and two types of outcome scores (change and posttreatment scores). Multivariate regression was performed to assess the degree to which the effect sizes varied with the methodological features of each study. RESULTS Twelve studies with a total of 1,044 participants met all inclusion criteria for the analysis. The pooled standardized mean difference for the results of all studies was 0.46 and showed a highly significant difference between drug and placebo treatment. Only one of the four outcome measures evaluated was not sensitive to change with treatment. A multivariate regression analysis of drug effect with other variables controlled showed that clomipramine was significantly superior to each of the SSRIs but that the SSRIs were comparably effective. CONCLUSIONS Although highly significant, the overall effect sizes for medication were modest. Similarities and differences between the variables studied that emerged in the meta-analysis may have implications for both clinical care and future research.
The Coherent Heart Heart-Brain Interactions, Psychophysiological Coherence, and the Emergence of System-Wide Order

This article presents theory and research on the scientific study of emotion that emphasizes the importance of coherence as an optimal psychophysiological state. A dynamic systems view of the interrelations between psychological, cognitive and emotional systems and neural communication networks in the human organism provides a foundation for the view presented. These communication networks are examined from an information processing perspective and reveal a fundamental order in heart-brain interactions and a harmonious synchronization of physiological systems associated with positive emotions. The concept of coherence is drawn on to understand optimal functioning which is naturally reflected in the heart's rhythmic patterns. Research is presented identifying various psychophysiological states linked to these patterns, with neurocardiological coherence emerging as having significant impacts on well being. These include psychophysiological as well as improved cognitive performance. From this, the central role of the heart is explored in terms of biochemical, biophysical and energetic interactions. Appendices provide further details and research on; psychophysiological functioning, reference previous research in this area, details on research linking coherence with optimal cognitive performance, heart brain synchronization and the energetic signature of the various psychophysiological modes.
Antimicrobial Activity of Human EPPIN, an Androgen-Regulated, Sperm-Bound Protein with a Whey Acidic Protein Motif1

Abstract The role of epididymal sperm-binding proteins in reproductive tract immunity is now well recognized in addition to their role in sperm maturation. Spermatozoa acquire forward motility and fertilizing ability during their passage through the epididymis, where they acquire a wide variety of proteins belonging to different classes. Previously, we demonstrated that EPPIN (epididymal protease inhibitor), an androgen-regulated, sperm-binding protein containing protease-inhibitory motifs, is expressed specifically in the testis and epididymis. In the present study, we investigated the antibacterial activity of EPPIN against Escherichia coli and the mechanism of antimicrobial action. EPPIN exhibited dose- and time-dependent antibacterial activity that was relatively insensitive to salt. However, EPPIN lost its antibacterial activity completely on reduction and alkylation of its cysteines, indicating the importance of disulfide bonds for its activity. EPPIN permeabilized the outer and inner membranes of E. coli, which is consistent with its ability to induce striking morphological alterations of E. coli membranes as shown by scanning electron microscopy. EPPIN did not cause disruption of eukaryotic membranes in the rat erythrocyte hemolytic assay. The present results indicate that EPPIN has a role in the innate immune system of human epididymis.
Leveraging Social Networks to Identify Likely Adopters

With the availability of social network data, it has become possible to relate the behavior of individuals to that of their acquaintances on a large scale. While the similarity of connected individuals is well established, it is unclear whether behavioral predictions based on social data are more accurate than those arising from current marketing practices. We employ a communications network of over 100 million people to forecast highly diverse behaviors, from patronizing an offline department store to responding to advertising to joining a recreational league. Across all domains, we find that social data are informative in identifying individuals who are most likely to undertake actions. In identifying such individuals, social data improved upon both demographic and behavioral models. When rich transactional data were available, social data did little to improve prediction.
Where Economics Has Been Headed? Multiple Identities and Diversity in Economic Literature: Evidence from Top Journals Over the Period 2000-2006 - A First Note

This short paper presents some preliminary results of an ongoing research work focusing on richness and diversity of economic literature. The key idea is that each article published in an economic journal retains multiple identities. These multiple identities are captured through the use of Jel codes. A sample of ten top generalist journals has been selected. The relative abundance of all Jel categories has been computed for the period 2000-2006. Moreover, a degree of diversity has been proposed for both the sampled journals and the entire Econlit database.
Deep Reinforcement Learning From Raw Pixels in Doom

Using current reinforcement learning methods, it has recently become possible to learn to play unknown 3D games from raw pixels. In this work, we study the challenges that arise in such complex environments, and summarize current methods to approach these. We choose a task within the Doom game, that has not been approached yet. The goal for the agent is to fight enemies in a 3D world consisting of five rooms. We train the DQN and LSTM-A3C algorithms on this task. Results show that both algorithms learn sensible policies, but fail to achieve high scores given the amount of training. We provide insights into the learned behavior, which can serve as a valuable starting point for further research in the Doom domain.
Ethics and Virtue

The human species is the youngest one among living primates. Its encephalic conformation differentiates it from all other living species, especially on account of the presence of language and of logical-conceptual thought. However, greater than all the hallmarks of humanity are the need to place its life within a finalistic plan and the capacity of choice which drives it to the formulation and assumption of values. Hence, human life is an ethical life; the “ethical system” is defined as a system of values that we call “ethical principles”. Although an ethical system is originally founded on the genetic code, it cannot be reduced to a biological basis since it is also a set of answers to all the questions formulated by Man during his anthropological history. Human behaviour has, beyond its rational components, irrational ones, and those even more complex belonging to the affectional, sentimental and expressive spheres. The presence of ethics represents the rational component; thus the ethical way becomes t.
U . ter for Research on the of Technology Influence Transfers , Performance , and Performance Ratings

Most large companies use formal systems in which supervisors rate the performance of employees. These systems are normally seen as reporting instruments which help to resolve moral hazard by revealing information about each employee's efforts. However, a number of studies have cast doubt on this interpretation by showing that actual ratings exhibit very little variance and thus do not distinguish between effort levels. We here identify a second function of rating systems, namely that they induce collusion which facilitates social transfers from ratees to raters. Not all of these transfers are inefficient "influence costs"; in some cases the value of the transfers received by the supervisor may greatly exceed the cost to the employee of their provision. We show how the firm can design reward systems such that only efficient transfers take place. We also demonstrate that, in the presence of such transfers, rating systems may indeed resolve moral hazard despite their lack of merit as reporting instruments. To support our argument, we show that firms can design collusion-proof rating schemes. The fact that they do not use such schemes is consistent with our contention that collusion helps them take advantage of social transfers. Finally, we make an initial measurement of the cost and value of social transfers using a questionnaire study of one hundred and twenty-one managers. We find that the potential value created by transfers, defined as the perceived value to the supervisor less the perceived cost to the employee, can be quite substantial.