Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combatting bacterial infections by killing persister cells with mitomycin C.

Persister cells are a multi-drug tolerant subpopulation of bacteria that contribute to chronic and recalcitrant clinical infections such as cystic fibrosis and tuberculosis. Persisters are metabolically dormant, so they are highly tolerant to all traditional antibiotics which are mainly effective against actively growing cells. Here, we show that the FDA-approved anti-cancer drug mitomycin C (MMC) eradicates persister cells through a growth-independent mechanism. MMC is passively transported and bioreductively activated, leading to spontaneous cross-linking of DNA, which we verify in both active and dormant cells. We find MMC effectively eradicates cells grown in numerous different growth states (e.g. planktonic cultures and highly robust biofilm cultures) in both rich and minimal media. Additionally, MMC is a potent bactericide for a broad range of bacterial persisters, including commensal Escherichia coli K-12 as well as pathogenic species of E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We also demonstrate the efficacy of MMC in an animal model and a wound model, substantiating the clinical applicability of MMC against bacterial infections. Therefore, MMC is the first broad-spectrum compound capable of eliminating persister cells, meriting investigation as a new approach for the treatment of recalcitrant infections.
Miranda-Persson's problem on extremal elliptic K3 surfaces

In one of their early works, Miranda and Persson have classified all possible configurations of singular fibers for semistable extremal elliptic fibrations on K3 surfaces. They also obtained the Mordell-Weil groups in terms of the singular fibers except for 17 cases where the determination and the uniqueness of the groups were not settled. In this paper, we settle these problems completely. We also show that for all cases with larger' Mordell-Weil groups, this group, together with the singular fibre type, determines uniquely the fibration structure of the K3 surface (up to based fibre-space isomorphisms).
Open Entity Extraction from Web Search Query Logs

In this paper we propose a completely unsupervised method for open-domain entity extraction and clustering over query logs. The underlying hypothesis is that classes defined by mining search user activity may significantly differ from those typically considered over web documents, in that they better model the user space, i.e. users' perception and interests. We show that our method outperforms state of the art (semi-)supervised systems based either on web documents or on query logs (16% gain on the clustering task). We also report evidence that our method successfully supports a real world application, namely keyword generation for sponsored search.
A fully visual based business document classification system

A fully visual approach for business documents classification is presented. The paper describes how SURF visual features, extracted from the documents, can be usefully used for business document recognition and their classification. Some of the extracted features are used to compute a prototype aiming at speed up the comparison of a document class while obtaining the best recognition rate. Moreover, we can determine which features are relevant and we can select zones of interest in the documents. Experimental setup has been performed on a set of real business documents of different typologies and companies. We tested also the robustness of our approach adding artificial defects and noise to the original documents and classifying them taking into account exclusively visual and graphical features. The capability of documents classification without any kind of text analysis has the great advantage to make the system totally independent from the idiom.
Effects of a parent training programme for the treatment of young children with separation anxiety disorder

Abstract Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for anxiety disorders in children. However, the majority of studies conducted to date have included heterogeneous samples of children combining social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) together. Few studies have examined the efficacy of CBT to specifically treat SAD. Moreover, research on the impact of CBT for SAD in children younger than 7 years old has been very limited. To address these issues, we examined the effects of a CBT parent training programme with six children with SAD aged between 4 and 7 years using a non-concurrent multiple baseline design. Parents completed semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and daily diaries to assess their child's anxiety symptoms, parental practices and parental stress. Results indicated that five of six children no longer met the criteria for SAD diagnosis after treatment and at 3-month follow-up. Moreover, the daily diaries showed that four of six children presented a systematic favourable change of the total weekly frequency of SAD symptoms. Finally, four mothers reported a decrease in overprotection, but we observed no changes in parental stress.
Submaximal exercise capacity and maximal power output in polio subjects.

OBJECTIVES To compare the submaximal exercise capacity of polio subjects with postpoliomyelitis syndrome (PPS) and without (non-PPS) with that of healthy control subjects, to investigate the relationship of this capacity with maximal short-term power and quadriceps strength, and to evaluate movement economy. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SETTING University hospital. PARTICIPANTS Forty-three polio subjects (25 PPS, 18 non-PPS) and 12 control subjects. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Power output, oxygen uptake, and heart rate were measured in an incremental submaximal cycle ergometry test. Maximal short-term power was measured in 5-second all-out efforts. Knee extensor strength was measured on a chair dynamometer. RESULTS The mean submaximal power +/- standard deviation at 80% of heart rate reserve of 83.8 +/- 29.9 watts in the polio subjects was significantly less than the mean submaximal power of 142.1 +/- 30.4 watts in the control group. However, expressed as a percentage of the maximal short-term power, submaximal power did not differ between the groups. Strength and maximal short-term power correlated significantly (p < .005) with submaximal power (r = .64 and .76, respectively). The oxygen uptake was higher than theoretically expected for the given submaximal power output in polio subjects, and appeared to increase with increasing asymmetry in strength and power between legs. No differences were found between PPS and non-PPS subjects. CONCLUSION The submaximal work capacity of polio subjects was severely reduced, mainly in association with the reduced muscle capacity. And, because of a reduced movement economy, their energy cost was elevated. Although muscle loads in activities such as walking and climbing stairs differ from cycling, they also may require elevated relative levels of effort, predisposing subjects to premature fatigue in sustained activity.
An affine-intuitionistic system of types and effects: confluence and termination

We present an affine-intuitionistic system of types and effects which can be regarded as an extension of Barber-Plotkin Dual Intuitionistic Linear Logic to multi-threaded programs with effects. In the system, dynamically generated values such as references or channels are abstracted into a finite set of regions. We introduce a discipline of region usage that entails the confluence (and hence determinacy) of the typable programs. Further, we show that a discipline of region stratification guarantees termination.
Are Transactions and Market Orders More Important Than Limit Orders in the Quote Updating Process

Transactions, market orders and limit orders are three major factors which affect a specialist's information set and her inventory position. In modeling a specialist's quote updating process, before any exclusion of any of these factors, one should first address the fundamental question of their relative importance in this process. This question, however, has received little attention both in the theoretical and empirical microstructure literature. Using a simple nonparametric test we investigate the relative importance of these three factors. We demonstrate that both market orders and transactions affect the quote updating process significantly more than limit orders, and that transactions affect it more than market orders. These results also hold after controlling for transaction and order size. We demonstrate that the importance of market orders relative to limit orders is due to their potential impact on a specialist's inventory position. In fact, after controlling for the specialist's inventory risk exposure, on average, limit orders convey more information about the value of the underlying security.
Selective Gene Expression Analysis of Muscular and Vascular Components in Hearts Using Laser Microdissection Method

Background. The heart consists of various kinds of cell components. However, it has not been feasible to separately analyze the gene expression of individual components. The laser microdissection (LMD) method, a new technology to collect target cells from the microscopic regions, has been used for malignancies. We sought to establish a method to selectively collect the muscular and vascular regions from the heart sections and to compare the marker gene expressions with this method. Methods and Results. Frozen left ventricle sections were obtained from Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-SP) at 24 weeks of age. Using the LMD method, the muscular and vascular regions were selectively collected under microscopic guidance. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that brain-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), a marker of cardiac myocytes, was expressed in the muscular samples, but not in the vascular samples, whereas α-smooth muscle actin, a marker of smooth muscle cells, was detected only in the vascular samples. Moreover, SHR-SP had significantly greater BNP upregulation than WKY (P < 0.05) in the muscular samples. Conclusions. The LMD method enabled us to separately collect the muscular and vascular samples from myocardial sections and to selectively evaluate mRNA expressions of the individual tissue component.
Distinct microbiome in pouchitis compared to healthy pouches in ulcerative colitis and familial adenomatous polyposis

Background: Pouchitis occurs in up to 50% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) undergoing ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA). Pouchitis rarely occurs in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) who undergo IPAA. Our aim was to compare mucosal and luminal flora in patients with UC‐associated pouchitis (UCP), healthy UC pouches (HUC), and healthy FAP pouches (FAP). Methods: Nineteen patients were enrolled in this cross‐sectional study (nine UCP, three HUC, seven FAP). Patients with active pouchitis were identified using the Pouchitis Disease Activity Index (PDAI). Ileal pouch mucosal biopsies and fecal samples were analyzed with a 16S rDNA‐based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) approach. Pooled fecal DNA from four UCP and four FAP pouches were sequenced for further speciation. Results: TRFLP data revealed statistically significant differences in the mucosal and fecal microbiota between each group of patients. UCP samples exhibited significantly more TRFLP peaks matching Clostridium and Eubacterium genera compared to HUC and FAP pouches and fewer peaks matching Lactobacillus and Streptococcus genera compared to FAP. DNA Sanger sequencing of a subset of luminal samples revealed UCP having more identifiable sequences of Firmicutes (51.2% versus 21.2%) and Verrucomicrobia (20.2% versus 3.2%), and fewer Bacteroidetes (17.9% versus 60.5%) and Proteobacteria (9.8% versus 14.7%) compared to FAP. Conclusions: The pouch microbial environment appears to be distinctly different in the settings of UC pouchitis, healthy UC, and FAP. These findings suggest that a dysbiosis may exist in pouchitis which may be central to understanding the disease. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2010;)
Differential Patterns of ERK and STAT3 Phosphorylation after Sciatic Nerve Transection in the Rat

Peripheral nerve injury induces a specific pattern of expression of growth factors and cytokines, which regulate injury responses and regeneration. Distinct classes of growth factors and cytokines signal through specific intracellular phosphorylation cascades. For example, the ERK phosphorylation cascade mediates signaling through transmembrane tyrosine kinase receptors and the JAK/STAT cascade mediates signaling through the GP130 receptor complex. We tested whether specific phosphorylation patterns of ERK and STAT3 result from nerve injury and whether such phosphorylation correlates with the expression of specific growth factors and cytokines. At sites adjacent to a nerve transection, we observed that ERK phosphorylation peaked early, persisted throughout 16 days, and was equally intense at proximal and distal sites. In contrast, STAT3 phosphorylation peaked later than ERK but did not persist as long and was stronger in the proximal than in the distal segment adjacent to the injury. In addition, in distal segments further away from the injury site, ERK became phosphorylated with a delayed time course, while STAT3 remained unphosphorylated. These patterns of phosphorylation correlated well with the expression of neurotrophin and interleukin-6 mRNAs in the distal stump. In addition, we found that the pattern of SAPK phosphorylation is similar to the pattern observed for STAT3, while the pattern of macrophage infiltration into the transected nerve was distinct from all the phosphorylation patterns observed. Together, these observations suggest that ERK activation is important in the establishment of a regeneration-promoting extracellular environment in the far distal stump of transected nerves and that STAT3 activation is important in the control of cellular responses close to the site of injury.
MOBILE ROBOT LOCALIZATION FROM LANDMARK BEARINGS

Mobile robots need their position in the workspace. A standard GPS will allow an absolute po- sitioning of the robot in the field, but the position accu- racy is not enough to perform unmanned field task. This paper proposes a system for robot localization based on landmark bearings measured by the robot. Since the equipment setup is very simple our proposed technique would be useful for real-world robotic applications such as lawnmowers. Some results are presented to show the performance of the proposed technique.
Algebras and Hopf Algebras in Braided Categories

This is an introduction for algebraists to the theory of algebras and Hopf algebras in braided categories. Such objects generalise super-algebras and super-Hopf algebras, aswell as colour-Lie algebras. Basic facts about braided categories C are recalled, the modules and comodules of Hopf algebras in such categories are studied,the notion of `braided -commutative' or `braided-cocommutative' Hopf algebras (braided groups) is reviewed and a fully diagrammatic proof of the reconstruction theorem for a braided group aut(C) is given. The theory has important implications for the theory of quasitriangular Hopf algebras (quantum groups). It also includes important examples such as the degenerate Sklyanin algebra and the quantum plane.
Linking international experience and cultural intelligence development: The need for a theoretical foundation

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the literature on the relationship between international experience (IE) and cultural intelligence (CQ) development, and advocate for the utilization of theory to explain this relationship. ,On the basis of the premise that CQ can be developed through IE, the authors review existing empirical research in regards to this relationship. The authors conducted a search of the main business, education, and psychology databases for articles published from 2003, the year when the CQ construct was introduced, through 2017. The search focused on studies where CQ was tested as a dependent variable or as a mediator between IE and a dependent variable, and resulted in 15 empirical articles and three book chapters. ,A critical analysis of the relationship between IE and CQ reveals considerable variation and inconsistencies among findings within the extant empirical literature. The authors argue that this is mainly because most studies fail to apply a theory to explain the link between these two constructs. The authors draw from social learning theory (SLT) to illustrate how it can be utilized to detail the relationship between IE and CQ development. The authors also suggest how future research can advance the understanding of this relationship, and outline the implications of such examinations for practice. ,While substantive knowledge has been generated to understand CQ as an antecedent, the authors investigate CQ development as the dependent variable. The critical review of this literature identifies a specific weakness within previous research and the authors offer a way to resolve it. SLT, which views learning as being affected by both observation and experience, and includes attention, retention, and participative reproduction, is one potentially powerful tool that can explain why and how IE can lead to CQ development. This is a far more fine- grained and detailed approach to understanding and explaining the relationship between the two constructs than provided by previous studies.
Artificial intelligence based P&O MPPT method for photovoltaic systems

The output characteristics of photovoltare arrays are nonlinear and change with the cell's temperature and solar radiation. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) methods are used to maximize the PV array output power by tracking continuously the maximum power point (MPP). Among all MPPT methods existing in the literature, perturb and observe (PO however, it presents drawbacks such as slow response speed, oscillation around the MPP in steady state, and even tracking in wrong way under rapidly changing atmospheric conditions. In this paper, it is shown that the negative effects associated to such a drawback can be greatly reduced if the Artificial Intelligence (Al) concepts are used to improve P&O algorithm. The perturbation step is continuously approximated by using artificial neural network (ANN). By the simulation. the validity of the proposed control algorithm is proved.
Ultra high precision circuit diagnosis through seebeck generation and charge monitoring

This work investigates the generator properties of the Seebeck effect and the advantages of current detection via internal charge monitoring over external SMU measurement. Each of the two aspects increases precision in circuit diagnostics. A detailed study of the Seebeck signal enables classification of not only malfunctions, but local characterization of each circuit cell, node or device in terms of operating condition or logical state. Hence, this technique provides a new level of precise circuit diagnosis. Charges are a widely neglected physical quantity in electronic circuit analysis. An ultra-precise measurement of local currents can be derived from monitoring small scale charge collection. This concept increases current sensitivity by several orders of magnitude compared to the most precise SMU results. For example, the faint degradation currents of dielectrics under stress can be detected well below breakdown. A current sensitivity to the 10 aA regime is demonstrated here for the first time in microelectronics.
Many-body theory of non-equilibrium systems

Lectures notes for 2004 Les Houches Summer School on "Nanoscopic Quantum Transport". These lectures contain an introduction to Keldysh formalism for interacting bosonic and fermionic systems, presented in the functional integral framework. Covered topics include: kinetic theory, relation to classical techniques (such as Martin--Siggia--Rose and Fokker--Planck), non--linear sigma model for disordered fermions, etc.
Document Expansion for Cross-Lingual Passage Retrieval

This article describes the participation of the joint Elhuyar-IXA group in the ResPubliQA exercise at QA&CLEF 2010. In particular, we participated in the English–English monolingual task and in the Basque– English cross-lingual one. Our focus was threefold: (1) to check to what extent information retrieval (IR) can achieve good results in passage retrieval without question analysis and answer validation, (2) to check dictionary techniques for Basque to English retrieval when faced with the lack of parallel corpora for Basque in this domain, and (3) to check the contribution of semantic relatedness based on WordNet to expand the passages to related words. Our results show that IR provides good results in the monolingual task, that our performance drop in the cross-lingual system was much greater than in previous CLIR experiments, and that expansion improves the results in the monolingual task.
Latina/o Parent Activation in Children’s Mental Health Treatment: The Role of Demographic and Psychological Factors

Patient activation has recently emerged as a critical component of effective health care (Hibbard & Greene, 2013), but Latina/o populations demonstrate lower levels of activation compared to non-Latina/o Whites (Cunningham, Hibbard, & Gibbons, 2011). The current study examined demographic and psychological factors associated with immigrant Latina/o parent activation in parents seeking mental health services for their children. Additionally, the study tested whether psychological factors (parental depressive symptoms, parenting stress, perceived severity of child psychopathology) were associated with the effectiveness of an activation intervention among immigrant Latina/o parents (MEPREPA— short for “me preparo”/I prepare [MEtas, PReguntar, Escuchar, Preguntar para Aclarar/goals, questioning, listening, questioning to clarify]). Results demonstrated that parenting stress and perceived severity of child psychopathology were associated with lower levels of parent activation. Additionally, although there was a treatment effect for all parents, stratified group analyses suggested that parents with higher depressive symptoms and greater parenting stress benefited more from the MEPREPA intervention compared to controls. Stratified analyses also showed that the intervention had a greater positive impact on parent activation in health care among parents whose children had more severe symptoms. Clinical and research implications are discussed. La activación del paciente ha emergido recientemente como un componente vital en la asistencia médica efectiva (Hibbard & Greene, 2013), pero las poblaciones Latinas suelen demostrar niveles más bajos de activación en comparación con poblaciones blancas no-Latinas (Cunningham, Hibbard, & Gibbons, 2011). Este estudio examinó factores demográficos y psicológicos asociados con la activación en padres Latinos emigrantes con hijos en tratamiento de salud mental. Adicionalmente, el estudio investigó si factores psicológicos (síntomas depresivos de los padres, estrés parental, la severidad percibida de la patología del niño) fueron asociados con la efectividad de una intervención de activación para padres Latinos emigrantes (MEPREPA). Los resultados demostraron que el estrés parental y la severidad percibida de la patología del niño fueron asociados con niveles más bajos de activación del paciente. Adicionalmente, a pesar de que se encontró un efecto del tratamiento para todos los padres en el estudio, análisis estratificados de los grupos sugirieron que padres con síntomas depresivos mayores y un mayor estrés parental recibieron un mayor beneficio de la intervención en comparación con los padres en el grupo de control. Los análisis estratificados también demostraron que la intervención tuvo un mayor impacto positivo en la activación de los padres de niños con síntomas más graves. Se discuten implicaciones clínicas y de investigación en base de estos resultados.