Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Library of Monoclonal Antibodies to Torpedo Cholinergic Synaptosomes

Abstract: A library of monoclonal antibodies was generated to the cholinergic synaptosome. The immunogen was a preparation of highly purified synaptosomes from Torpedo electric organ. One hundred forty‐one hybridoma cell lines were generated from the fusion of a single mouse. Tests reveal these cells produce antibodies with a vast range of neuronal specificities. The initial screen for specificity of antibody production was solid phase radioimmune binding to the original, highly purified synaptosome preparation. Subsequent tissue specificity tests have indicated that most antibodies are synaptosome‐specific amongst the fish tissues tested: brain, liver, and purified synaptic vesicles. Less than 11% cross‐react with liver. Many antibodies cross‐react with frog and rat CNS. Localization within the frog and rat nervous tissue has revealed a vast array of antibody staining patterns. Some antibodies stain in a synaptic fashion. A few stain a restricted set of mammalian CNS neurons. Others define a broader set of CNS neurons. These Torpedo antibodies promise to be valuable probes with which to describe the molecular cell biology of the nervous system, of neurons in general, and of cholinergic neurons in particular.
Robust coordination in large convention spaces

Regulating the behavior of autonomous agents is necessary to solve coordination problems and minimize conflicts in multi-agent systems (MAS). Social conventions can be regarded as coordination schemes that can be employed by agents to successfully coordinate. However, to have agents agree on good conventions, without the need of a central authority, is a challenging issue. In this paper we design a novel spreading-based convention emergence mechanism that helps agents distributedly agree on the best convention when there are multiple alternatives. We apply our convention emergence mechanism to a problem with a large convention space: finding a common vocabulary (lexicon) for the agents of a MAS that allows them to perfectly communicate with neither ambiguity nor inconsistencies. Thus, we empirically show the scalability of our approach in large (in terms of agents and conventions) scenarios that change over time. Moreover, since communication is crucial to spreading, we also show that our proposed spreading mechanism is resilient to unreliable communications, thus guaranteeing the robust emergence of conventions.
Nutritional Status of Patients With Cystic Fibrosis With Meconium Ileus: A Comparison With Patients Without Meconium Ileus and Diagnosed Early Through Neonatal Screening

Objective. This study was pursued as an extension of a randomized clinical investigation of neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis (CF). The objective was to determine if CF patients with meconium ileus (MI) were more likely to be malnourished compared with those without MI who were diagnosed during early infancy through neonatal screening. Methodology. Nutritional status was evaluated from early infancy to 13 years of age based on anthropometric, biochemical, and dietary assessments. Results. MI patients (n = 32) were smaller at birth (3117 g compared with 3413 g) and were shorter (22nd percentile compared with 48th percentile) and thinner (24th percentile compared with 49th percentile) compared with non-MI early diagnosed patients (n = 50) up to 13 years of age. Poor growth was particularly evident in 26 MI patients who required surgery for MI (height and weight at the 20th percentile), whereas those treated without surgery (n = 6) showed better height (45th percentile) and weight (37th percentile). Abnormal essential fatty acid profiles were significantly more prevalent in MI compared with non-MI early-diagnosed patients before 3 years of age. Daily intakes of calorie (130% compared with 111% recommended dietary allowances) and protein (339% compared with 279% recommended dietary allowances) were higher but the percentage of fat (37% compared with 38%) and linoleic acid (4.5% compared with 4.7%) in the diet were similar between the two groups. Conclusions. These results demonstrated a clear association of MI with malnutrition in CF. The observed poor growth among our MI patients was not because of poor dietary intakes, but was related to surgical treatment for MI and poor essential fatty acid status. These findings present new challenges regarding the optimal medical treatment and nutritional intervention for CF patients with MI.
Space-frequency grouping based key extraction for MIMO-OFDM systems

Latest developments in wireless communication networks push the limits of conventional security methods. Security can be improved with a secret key that is dynamically generated based on the surrounding physical environment. With this objective, physical layer security approaches can be implemented by means of simple signal processing methods. In this paper, we propose novel key extraction approaches based on spatial and frequency characteristics of the wireless environment. In a 2 × 2 MIMO-OFDM system, low key disagreement rates and key error rates are observed, proving the potential of physical layer key extraction techniques.
Trajectory Planning and Learning of A Redundant Manipulator with Structured Intelligence

Abstract This paper deals with trajectory planning and motion learning for a redundant manipulator. Recently, behavior engineering for robotic systems has been discussed as a new technological discipline. A robotic system requires the whole structure of intelligence, and acquires skill and knowledge through interaction with a dynamic environment. Consequently, the whole structure determines the potentiality of intelligence. This paper proposes a robotic system with structured intelligence. Based on perceptual information, a robot with structured intelligence makes decision and action from four levels in parallel. In addition, the robot generates its motion through interaction with the environment, and at the same time, gradually acquires its skill based on the generated motion. To acquire skill and motion, the robot requires internal and external evaluations at least. This paper applies a virus-evolutionary genetic algorithm for trajectory planning and applies neural network for motion learning. Furthermore, we discuss its effectiveness through computer simulation results.
Organic farm incomes in England and Wales 1995/96 - 1997/98

This report is associated with the less detailed final report of Defra project OF0190, on the same theme, archived at https://orgprints.org/6606 This report presents results from research work carried out for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) on the financial performance of organic farms over the years 1995/96 to 1997/98. The aim of the research was to assess the financial performance of organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to inform MAFF policy-making with respect to organic farming, and to provide a basis for assessments by farmers, advisers and other interested parties of the farm-level implications of conversion to, and continued organic farming. The specific objectives were the provision of information on different organic farm types. This was achieved through the collation of financial data collected under three different MAFF-funded research projects supplemented by data collected on other farm types, including data on dairy farms in the process of converting to organic production. Organic farm data is presented for LFA cattle and sheep farms for 1997/98 only. The samples of organic farms are small because of the limited number of organic holdings over 8 European Size Units with identifiable holding numbers in 1996 and farms with more than 50% of their land under organic management in 1997/98. Although the organic sample is small, it represents nearly 14% of organic farms with identifiable holding numbers registered with UKROFS in 1996, and this work gives an indication of the relative profitability of different organic and conventional farms of different types in the late 1990s. Detailed financial input, output, income, liabilities and assets and some physical performance measures are presented for each of the years studied. Outputs on organic dairy, horticulture and mixed farms increased each year. Outputs on organic lowland cattle and sheep farms were stable, but increasing inputs reduced Net Farm Income (NFI) each year in the study period. Outputs from organic cropping farms increased in 1996/97 and decreased in 1997/98, but results from this group are affected by the high levels of conventional cropping (25% of land area on average) and reduced conventional prices. To provide an indication of the likely performance of the organic farms if they were under conventional production, data from conventional farms are given. Conventional farms were selected by cluster analysis from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) (MAFF, 1999)1. In 1997/98 the average NFI (£/farm) of the organic farms exceeded that of the conventional farms for all farm types except cattle and sheep farms.
Buying Business Services

Purchasing is a function of growing interest and importance within most companies and organisations. We also live in a society where services are being produced and consumed as never before. This book aims to discuss the procurement of services in the context of the company as a whole, looking at both the integration of purchasing within the companies flow of activities and the system of supply chains which can affect the conditions for purchasing behaviour.
Comparative NMR study on the impact of point mutations on protein stability of Pseudomonas mendocina lipase

In this work we compare the dynamics and conformational stability of Pseudomonas mendocina lipase enzyme and its F180P/S205G mutant that shows higher activity and stability for use in washing powders. Our NMR analyses indicate virtually identical structures but reveal remarkable differences in local dynamics, with striking correspondence between experimental data (i.e., 15N relaxation and H/D exchange rates) and data from Molecular Dynamics simulations. While overall the cores of both proteins are very rigid on the pico‐ to nanosecond timescale and are largely protected from H/D exchange, the two point mutations stabilize helices α1, α4, and α5 and locally destabilize the H‐bond network of the β‐sheet (β7–β9). In particular, it emerges that helix α5, undergoing some fast destabilizing motions (on the pico‐ to nanosecond timescale) in wild‐type lipase, is substantially rigidified by the mutation of Phe180 for a proline at its N terminus. This observation could be explained by the release of some penalizing strain, as proline does not require any “N‐capping” hydrogen bond acceptor in the i+3 position. The combined experimental and simulated data thus indicate that reduced molecular flexibility of the F180P/S205G mutant lipase underlies its increased stability, and thus reveals a correlation between microscopic dynamics and macroscopic thermodynamic properties. This could contribute to the observed altered enzyme activity, as may be inferred from recent studies linking enzyme kinetics to their local molecular dynamics.
MicroRNA Locus Expression Analysis with Phylogenetic Relationship Based on MicroRNA Control from High Throughput Sequencing Data

High throughput sequencing technology is widely applied to discover and profile microRNAs (miRNAs) to gain insights into the biogenesis and function of miRNAs. In the study, we developed an approach for comparing relative expression levels of different miRNAs based on suitable endogenous miRNA control and their locus in the genome, miRNA group (such as miRNA cluster and miRNA family), and phylogenetic relationship between corresponding precursor sequences. According to the approach, we analyzed miR-17-92 cluster and miR-17 family in mouse NIH3T3 cells from high throughput sequencing data using SOLIDTM system. Expression analysis of miR-17-92 cluster and miR-17 (mir-17) family showed evident diversity although some miRNAs were transcribed as a single polycistronic transcript. Combining locus on chromosome and phylogenetic relationship between precursors, different expression levels of these miRNAs might imply complex regulatory networks with gene locus and provide evolutionary and functional implication in miRNA biogenesis, especially for comparing miRNA expression &#61472;profiles under varying conditions or between mutants and wild type. Our studies show that expression comparison of miRNAs correlated with locus, miRNA group, and phylogenetic relationship, can reveal important insights into the biogenesis, evolution, and function of miRNAs.
Collateral Risk, Repo Rollover and Shadow Banking

I build a dynamic model of the shadow banking system that intermediates funds through the interbank repo market to understand its efficiency and stability. The model emphasizes a key friction: the maturity mismatch between the short-term repo and the long-term investment that banks need to finance. The haircut, interest rate, default rate of the repo contract and liquidity hoarding of banks are all determined endogenously in the equilibrium with repo rollover. And default is contagious. When collateral risk increases unexpectedly, the haircut and interest rate overshoot, triggering massive initial default and persistently hiking default rate and depressed investment.
Sonographic and Cytopathologic Correlation of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Variants

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid cancer and constitutes more than 70% of thyroid malignancies. Although TNM staging is the most widely used parameter for determination of therapeutic plans, recent studies have suggested that different histopathologic variants of PTC can also have different clinical courses and patient prognoses. Sonographic criteria for PTC are well established and include a taller‐than‐wide shape, an irregular margin, microcalcifications, and marked hypoechogenicity. The role of sonography has expanded to enable the characterization of PTC variants based on their sonographic features. Tall cell and diffuse sclerosing variants appear to have more aggressive clinical courses with unfavorable prognoses, whereas the more recently described cribriform‐morular and Warthin‐like variants have relatively indolent clinical courses. The prognoses of patients with follicular, solid, columnar cell, and oncocytic variants are still controversial and may be similar to the prognosis of conventional PTC. Understanding the sonographic characteristics of PTC variants with clinicopathologic correlation may be helpful for suggesting an appropriate treatment plan.
The Impact of an Urban Wal-Mart Store on Area Businesses: An Evaluation of One Chicago Neighborhood's Experience

seeks to promote equality and to improve people's lives in communities throughout the Chicago metropolitan region. CURL pursues this goal by building and supporting collaborative university-community research and education efforts. These partnerships connect Loyola faculty and students with community and nonprofit organizations, civic groups, and government agencies. Such collaborations link the skills and knowledge present within every community with the specialized knowledge and academic discipline of a vital urban university. Executive Summary Having achieved nearly complete coverage of non-urban and suburban markets, mega-retailer Wal-Mart has turned its attention to urban expansion. Evaluations of Wal-Mart's impact on urban retail businesses and local employment are necessary to inform policy makers, scholars, and community activists looking to improve economic opportunities for inner-city residents. This study focuses on the Wal-Mart store that opened on the West Side of Chicago in September 2006. The research team conducted a series of three surveys of retail businesses in an area within a four-mile radius of the Wal-Mart location at 4650 W. North Ave, Chicago IL 60639. This area is roughly bounded by Irving Park Avenue to the north, Western Avenue on the east, Roosevelt Avenue on the south, and Harlem Avenue on the west. The surveys were administered in the summers of 2006 (before the Wal-Mart opening), 2007 and 2008. The basic sample follows 306 enterprises 82 of which went out of business over the study period. A key finding of the survey is that the probability of going out of business during the study period was significantly higher for establishments close to the Wal-Mart location. This probability fell off at a rate of 6 percent per mile in all directions from the Wal-Mart store. The relationship to distance was particularly strong for establishments in electronics, toys, office supplies, general merchandise, hardware, home furnishings, and drugs. Closings for apparel stores, shoe stores, sporting goods, children's stores and video/music showed no statistically significant relation to distance. Based on the estimated relationship between probability of store closings and proximity to Wal-Mart, the research team estimates that Wal-Mart's opening has resulted in the loss of about 300 full-time equivalent jobs in its own and nearby zip codes. There is considerable uncertainty attached to these calculations. However, they suggest a loss about equal to Wal-Mart's own addition to employment in the area. These estimates support the contention that large-city Wal-Marts absorb retail sales from other city stores without significantly expanding the …
Determination of the circulating red cell volume in man by radioactive chromium.

The circulating red cell volume of man and animals has been investigated heretofore by the injection of red cells labeled with the radioisotopes of iron (Fe55 and Fe59) and phosphorus (P32) (1-10). The preparation of red cells tagged with radioactive iron necessitates the administration of radioiron for one or more weeks to volunteer donors who incorporate it into the hemoglobin of their red cells (1, 2) which must then be transfused into the experimental subject. Radioactive phosphorus may be added in vitro to a small volume of the experimental subject's own red cells which become labeled rapidly. This technical advantage, however, is counter-balanced by the rapid phosphate exchange in vivo between the red cells and the plasma, causing the radioactivity of the tagged cells to fall significantly after one to three hours (5-8). In the present investigation a new biological tracer, radioactive chromium (Cr51), with a halflife of 26.5 days, has been employed for the determination of the circulating red cell volume. When this isotope was added to erythrocytes in vitro as Na2Cr5104, it was taken up avidly by the red cells, which retained their radioactivity without significant loss to the plasma for periods of one day or more after injection into experimental animals (11). Since the exchange of Crp5 between the red cells and plasma was negligible for 24 hours, radioactive chromate appeared to be ideal for the tagging of red blood cells and the measurement of the circulating red cell volume. The application of this method to studies in dogs
Implicit personalization of public environments using bluetooth

Implicit and remote personalization of public environments is technically easily possible by using Bluetooth technology. We present a concept to allow people to individually influence public content such as songs played in shopping malls, news displayed on big displays, and advertisements shown etc. based on the Bluetooth functionality in their mobile. Users define once their preferences and store them encoded in the Bluetooth friendly name of their mobile phone. We describe the underlining idea, the implementation of the prototype "Bluemusic" as well as the conducted online survey and the initial user trail. The results suggested that the participants are cautious regarding privacy issues but very interested in such implicit interaction possibilities with public environments.
Accelerated recycling of transferrin receptor in Theileria‐transformed B cells

We found that phoshatidylinositol‐3 kinase (PI3‐K) markedly contributes to the increased surface expression of bovine transferrin receptor (TfR) on Theileria‐infected lymphocytes. We observed that all aspects of TfR turnover are upregulated in parasitized B cells and we were able to detect TfR colocalizing with EEA1 (early endosome antigen 1) and Rab11 at the ultrastructure level in Theileria‐infected B cells. We demonstrated recycling of TfR through Rab5‐ and Rab11‐positive compartments by transfection of dominant negative guanosine diphosphate (GDP)‐on mutants of the GTPases. Therefore, in Theileria‐transformed B cells constitutive PI3‐K activity leads to accelerated TfR recycling through Rab5‐ and Rab11‐positive compartments.
Executive function and theory of mind

This thesis examined the relationship between Executive Function (EF) and Theory of Mind (ToM). EF consists of higher-order cognitive processes (Carlson, Mandell, & Williams, 2004) that encompass processes involved in goal-oriented behavior, such as planning and sequencing (Royall et al., 2002). ToM refers to the ability to understand the views and beliefs of another person (Baron-Cohen, 1988). This thesis examined which of nine EF variables contributed significant unique variance in three tests of ToM. Three separate regression analyses were conducted and the pattern of EF domains associated with ToM performance differed for each test. In total, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, design fluency, problem solving, and deductive reasoning accounted for a significant and unique amount of variance in the ToM tests. However, each tests yielded a different EF pattern. Index words: Executive Function, Theory of Mind EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND THEORY OF MIND
Measuring Childhood Abuse and Neglect in a Group of Female Indoor Sex Workers in the Netherlands: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Dutch Version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form

Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the responses to the Dutch version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form from a sample of 123 female indoor sex workers in The Netherlands. Results indicate the expected five-factor structure fit the data well. In line with Bernstein and others, the instrument was a valid measure of retrospective childhood abuse and neglect in this sample.
HSS: Compact Set of Partitions via Hybrid Selection

Inability to identify partitions of different sizes and shapes is a fundamental limitation of any clustering algorithm, especially when different regions ofthe search space contain clusters with varied characteristics. It is possible to apply diverse clustering algorithms, with different parameters, but then, it is necessary to deal with a large number of partitions. Techniques such as ensemble and multiobjective clustering treat this problem using distinct criteria, but they have high computational cost. Moreover, the ensemble technique generates a single solution, which may not represent every real partition present in the data. On the other hand, multiobjective clusteringmay generate a large number of partitions difficult to be analysed manually. In this paper, we propose a hybrid multiojective algorithm, HSS, that aims to return a reduced and yet diverse set of solutions. It can be divided in threesteps: (i) the application of a multiobjective algorithm to a set of base partitions for the generation of a Pareto Front (PF), (ii) the division of the solutions from the PF into a certain number of regions and (iii) the selectionof a solution per region, through the application of the Adjusted Rand Index. Experiments show the effectiveness of HSS in selecting a reduced number of partitions.