Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mucosal Targeting of a BoNT/A Subunit Vaccine Adjuvanted with a Mast Cell Activator Enhances Induction of BoNT/A Neutralizing Antibodies in Rabbits

Background We previously reported that the immunogenicity of Hcβtre, a botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) immunogen, was enhanced by fusion to an epithelial cell binding domain, Ad2F, when nasally delivered to mice with cholera toxin (CT). This study was performed to determine if Ad2F would enhance the nasal immunogenicity of Hcβtre in rabbits, an animal model with a nasal cavity anatomy similar to humans. Since CT is not safe for human use, we also tested the adjuvant activity of compound 48/80 (C48/80), a mast cell activating compound previously determined to safely exhibit nasal adjuvant activity in mice. Methods New Zealand White or Dutch Belted rabbits were nasally immunized with Hcβtre or Hcβtre-Ad2F alone or combined with CT or C48/80, and serum samples were tested for the presence of Hcβtre-specific binding (ELISA) or BoNT/A neutralizing antibodies. Results Hcβtre-Ad2F nasally administered with CT induced serum anti-Hcβtre IgG ELISA and BoNT/A neutralizing antibody titers greater than those induced by Hcβtre + CT. C48/80 provided significant nasal adjuvant activity and induced BoNT/A-neutralizing antibodies similar to those induced by CT. Conclusions Ad2F enhanced the nasal immunogenicity of Hcβtre, and the mast cell activator C48/80 was an effective adjuvant for nasal immunization in rabbits, an animal model with a nasal cavity anatomy similar to that in humans.
The Role of miRNA in Haematological Malignancy

Currently, there are over 1,800 annotated human miRNAs, many of which have tissue-specific expression. Numerous studies have highlighted their role in haematopoietic differentiation and proliferation, acting as master regulators of haematopoietic stem cell function. Aberrant expression of miRNAs has been observed in haematological cancers, exhibiting unique expression signatures in comparison to normal counterparts. Functional and target analyses as well as animal models have attempted to annotate how different miRNA may contribute to the pathophysiology of these malignancies from modulating cancer associated genes, functioning directly as oncogenes or tumour suppressor genes or acting as bystanders or regulators of the epigenetic mechanisms in cancer. miRNAs have also been shown to play a role in modulating drug resistance and determining prognosis between the various subtypes of blood cancers. This review discusses the important role that miRNAs play in haematological malignancies by exploring associations that exist between the two and trying to examine evidence of causality to support the tantalising possibility that miRNAs might serve as therapeutic targets in blood cancers.
Glottal Source Estimation Robustness - A Comparison of Sensitivity of Voice Source Estimation Techniques

This paper addresses the problem of estimating the voice source directly from speech waveforms. A novel principle based on Anticausality Dominated Regions (ACDR) is used to estimate the glottal open phase. This technique is compared to two other state-of-the-art well-known methods, namely the Zeros of the Z-Transform (ZZT) and the Iterative Adaptive Inverse Filtering (IAIF) algorithms. Decomposition quality is assessed on synthetic signals through two objective measures: the spectral distortion and a glottal formant determination rate. Technique robustness is tested by analyzing the influence of noise and Glottal Closure Instant (GCI) location errors. Besides impacts of the fundamental frequency and the first formant on the performance are evaluated. Our proposed approach shows significant improvement in robustness, which could be of a great interest when decomposing real speech.
X-Ray Emission from the Quasar PKS 1127–145: Comptonized Infrared Photons on Parsec Scales

We model the broadband spectral energy distribution of the innermost "core-jet" region of the redshift z = 1.187 quasar PKS 1127-145. We propose a scenario in which the high-energy photons are produced via the Compton scattering of thermal IR radiation by the relativistic particles in a parsec-scale jet. The high-energy spectrum, together with the observed radio variability and superluminal expansion, suggest that PKS 1127-145 may be a blazar, despite the fact that its optical/UV component is likely dominated by thermal radiation from an accretion disk. The relation of PKS 1127-145 to MeV blazars is discussed.
Succinct Queries for Linking and Tracking News in Social Media

Given a current news article, we wish to create a succinct query reflecting its content, which may be used to follow the news story over a period of days, or even weeks. In part, the need for succinct queries is occasioned by limitations of commercial social media search engines, which can perform poorly with longer queries. We start by applying established key phrase extraction methods to the article, creating an initial set of candidate query terms. We then generate a series of probe queries, each a subset of these candidate terms, which we apply to search current social media streams. By analyzing the results of these probes, we rank and trim the candidate set to create a succinct query. We present an experimental study of this method based on a collection of news articles taken from March-April 2014, with the resulting succinct queries used to re-query social media one week later.
Structure and Function of the First Full-Length Murein Peptide Ligase (Mpl) Cell Wall Recycling Protein

Bacterial cell walls contain peptidoglycan, an essential polymer made by enzymes in the Mur pathway. These proteins are specific to bacteria, which make them targets for drug discovery. MurC, MurD, MurE and MurF catalyze the synthesis of the peptidoglycan precursor UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-γ-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelyl-D-alanyl-D-alanine by the sequential addition of amino acids onto UDP-N-acetylmuramic acid (UDP-MurNAc). MurC-F enzymes have been extensively studied by biochemistry and X-ray crystallography. In Gram-negative bacteria, ∼30–60% of the bacterial cell wall is recycled during each generation. Part of this recycling process involves the murein peptide ligase (Mpl), which attaches the breakdown product, the tripeptide L-alanyl-γ-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate, to UDP-MurNAc. We present the crystal structure at 1.65 Å resolution of a full-length Mpl from the permafrost bacterium Psychrobacter arcticus 273-4 (PaMpl). Although the Mpl structure has similarities to Mur enzymes, it has unique sequence and structure features that are likely related to its role in cell wall recycling, a function that differentiates it from the MurC-F enzymes. We have analyzed the sequence-structure relationships that are unique to Mpl proteins and compared them to MurC-F ligases. We have also characterized the biochemical properties of this enzyme (optimal temperature, pH and magnesium binding profiles and kinetic parameters). Although the structure does not contain any bound substrates, we have identified ∼30 residues that are likely to be important for recognition of the tripeptide and UDP-MurNAc substrates, as well as features that are unique to Psychrobacter Mpl proteins. These results provide the basis for future mutational studies for more extensive function characterization of the Mpl sequence-structure relationships.
VersuS, The Digital Lives of Cities Transforms into Usable Interconnective Intelligence

While we perform our daily tasks we reinterpret space and personalize it, according to tactics which reveal significant information about ourselves. We are now able to fill and stratify space/time with digital information layers, completely wrapping cities in a membrane of information and of opportunities for interaction and communication. Mobile devices, smartphones, wearables, digital tags, near field communication devices, location based services and mixed/augmented reality have turned the world into an essentially read/write, ubiquitous publishing surface. The usage of mobile devices and ubiquitous technologies alters the understanding of place. The scenario described in this paper sees urban spaces progressively filling with multiple layers of real-time, ubiquitous, digital information, creating usage cases in which urban narratives are read in different ways, highlighting how cities express points of view on the environment, culture, economy, transports, energy and politics. The research presented in this paper analyses multiple opportunities to capture, understand and visualize the real-time digital lives of cities, from a variety of points of view and objectives, dedicated to the needs of administrations, citizens and organizations, and to the possibility to transform these representations into a form of disseminated, ubiquitous, interconnective intelligence.
A New Judging and Revising Method for Ordinal Consistency of Fuzzy Judgment Matrix

In uncertainty decision making, experts can use interval-fuzzy number, triangular fuzzy number, trapezoidal fuzzy number , linguistic 2-tuple or linguistic indices to express their preferences. Using kernel function, the fuzzy numbers can be converted into fuzzy number range from 0 to 1. Thus, different fuzzy judgment matrix can be expressed in a unified style. A judging method for ordinal consistency of fuzzy judgment matrix was proposed according to the transitivity of binary relation. And two concepts of non-transitiv e route number (NTRN) and non-transitiv e route contribution number(NTCN) were put forward. Through the non-transitiv e route number and non-transitiv e route contribution number guidance, a revising method for fuzzy judgment matrix without ordinal consistency was put forward, in which the irrational element can be identified . The revising method can help the decision-maker revise his/her judgment matrix effectively . Finally, the non-financial performance evaluation attributes were selected and experts were asked to give the judgment matrix, fuzzy matrix without ordinal consistency was used to demonstrate the idea of the new judging and revising method for ordinal consistency of the fuzzy judgment matrix.
Impact of hierarchical structures in image categorization systems

Image categorization refers to the process of assigning images to a number of predefined categories. The difficulty of problem solving is proportional to the number of categories the system addresses. This paper proposes an image categorization system, and studies the impact of dividing the categorization problem into smaller problems in a hierarchical structure. We compare examples solved with and without the proposed approach, to conclude its pros and cons.
The Single Actuator Control Analysis of a Planar 3 DOF Hopping Robot

In this paper we explore the mechanism of energy transfer between the single actuated DOF of a one-legged hopping robot and the remaining unactuated DOFs, during stable running. The concept of the energy transfer mechanism is laid out, after which follows an analytical study. Using this study, an initial controller is derived for the control of a simple SLIP model with friction in the leg and hip, using a single actuator at the hip. We show that while this controller is capable of stable motion for the SLIP model, it does not lead to stable locomotion for the full realistic robot model with pitching body, leg inertia and friction in hip and leg. This indicates that the SLIP model often used for controller design may be unsuitable for this purpose. The necessary modifications are then made to the controller to achieve stable locomotion for the full model, again with a single, easy-to-implement actuator located at the hip. Finally, results are shown from applying the controller to the full model for a wide range of parameters leading to stable motions.
Spectral evolution simulation on leading multi-socket, multicore platforms

Spectral evolution simulations based on the observed Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio-maps are of paramount importance to understand the nature of extragalactic objects in astrophysics. This work analyzes the performance and scaling of a spectral evolution algorithm on three leading multi-socket, multi-core architectures. We evaluate three parallel models with different levels of data-sharing: a sharing approach, a privatizing approach and a hybrid approach. Our experiments show that the data-privatizing model is reasonably efficient on medium scale multi-socket, multi-core systems (up to 48 cores) while regardless algorithmic and scheduling optimizations, sharing approach is unable to reach acceptable scalability on more than one socket. However, the hybrid model with a specific level of data-sharing gives the best scalability over all the considered multi-socket, multi-core systems.
An analysis of students' narrative writings using the systemic functional grammar

This research used Systemic Functional Grammar by Halliday (1994) to investigate students’ strengths and weaknesses in terms of genre writing, like Narrative. The populations of this study were taken from two different schools, situated in Bangkok and Southern, Thailand areas where students were asked to write a narrative text based on the picture given to them. The three areas of SFG were investigated, 1) the processes which tell what’s going on in the story. 2) The complex nominal groups which are focusing on N12 to N19, and 3) the thematic development of the text. The analysis found that the students from Bangkok had greater ability to write the texts using higher numbers of material, relational, existential, and mental while the texts produced by students from Southern part were weaker in terms of variation of the processes. The findings of how students employed complex nominal groups, indicated that both areas missed N13, N15, and N16. The Bangkok group, however, had greater ability to employ N12, N14, N17, N18, and N19. Additionally, students who were under studied had both problems with tenses. With regards to the narrative text structures, the students from Southern had better understanding of the narrative structure than students from Bangkok. The thematic development of the students’ writings from both schools were quite satisfying in terms of the marked topical themes used to mark the time. However, most of the students had limited knowledge about how to use the complex nominal groups, the complex clauses to develop their themes in order to produce a more interesting narrative text. As students are still lacking different linguistic knowledge, thus teaching the students how to create long nominal groups and how to apply different processes in various contexts can be very helpful. Using SFG’s curriculum cycle perhaps is a better way to let students start a writing course with more practical ways of learning.
G x E interaction in the organization of attachment: mothers' responsiveness as a moderator of children's genotypes.

BACKGROUND Scholars acknowledge that both biologically-founded child temperament and environmental factors are influential in determining the quality of infant-mother attachment. We present evidence for gene by environment (G x E) interaction in the organization of attachment. METHODS Participants were 88 typically developing infants and their mothers. Molecular genetic measures of the infants focused on the polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR, ss/sl vs. ll genotype). Mothers' responsiveness to their infants at 7 months was observed in lengthy naturalistic interactions, and was conceptualized as the environmental influence. RESULTS For infants with a short allele (ss/sl ), variation in mothers' responsiveness was significantly associated with attachment security, assessed at 15 months in the Strange Situation. For those infants, low responsiveness predicted particularly high risk for insecure attachment, and high responsiveness offset that risk. For infants homozygous for the long allele (ll ), there was no association between responsiveness and attachment organization. CONCLUSIONS The findings show that the quality of early care serves to amplify or offset the risk conferred by genotype.
Two unconstrained optimization approaches for the Euclidean κ-centrum location problem

Consider the single-facility Euclidean κ-centrum location problem in R. This problem is a generalization of the classical Euclidean 1-median problem and 1-center problem. In this paper, we develop two efficient algorithms that are particularly suitable for problems where n is large by using unconstrained optimization techniques. The first algorithm is based on the neural networks smooth approximation for the plus function and reduces the problem to an unconstrained smooth convex minimization problem. The second algorithm is based on the Fischer-Burmeister merit function for the second-order cone complementarity problem and transforms the KKT system of the second-order cone programming reformulation for the problem into an unconstrained smooth minimization problem. Our computational experiments indicate that both methods are extremely efficient for large problems and the first algorithm is able to solve problems of dimension n up to 10,000 efficiently.
Design of a BCI System for Piloting a Wheelchair Using Five Class MI Based EEG

Motor imagery is the recreation of a motor activity which can be used to design Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI). A BCI bypasses the neuromuscular system and provides a communication link, which directly connects the human brain to an external device. Each individual is able to control his EEG through imaginary motor act it supports to control devices. In this work for designing a BCI system five class motor imagery EEG is used. EEG recorded from the sensory motor cortex is analyzed using wavelet transform. Features extracted from the wavelet coefficients are classified using Support Vector Machine. In this work the motor imagery EEG signal is translated into control signal using a five class BCI to control the directional movement of a wheelchair.
Statistical aspects of the analysis of data from retrospective studies of disease.

The role and limitations of retrospective investigations of factors possibly associated with the occurrence of a disease are discussed and their relationship to forward-type studies emphasized. Examples of situations in which misleading associations could arise through the use of inappropriate control groups are presented. The possibility of misleading associations may be minimized by controlling or matching on factors which could produce such associations; the statistical analysis will then be modified. Statistical methodology is presented for analyzing retrospective study data, including chi-square measures of statistical significance of the observed association between the disease and the factor under study, and measures for interpreting the association in terms of an increased relative risk of disease. An extension of the chi-square test to the situation where data are subclassified by factors controlled in the analysis is given. A summary relative risk formula, R, is presented and discussed in connection with the problem of weighting the individual subcategory relative risks according to their importance or their precision. Alternative relative-risk formulas, R I , R2, Ra, and R4/ which require the calculation of subcategory-adjusted proportions ot the study factor among diseased persons and controls for the computation of relative risks, are discussed. While these latter formulas may be useful in many instances, they may be biased or inconsistent and are not, in fact, overages of the relative risks observed in the separate subcategories. Only the relative-risk formula, R, of those presented, can be viewed as such an average. The relationship of the matched-sample method to the subclassification approach is indicated. The statistical methodolo~y presented is illustrated with examples from a study of women with epidermoid and undifferentiated pulmonary ccrclnomc.e-J. Nat. Cancer Inst, 22: 719748, 1959.
Endowments, Market Potential, and Industrial Location: Evidence from Interwar Poland (1918-1939)

The paper explores the determinants of industry location across interwar Poland. After more than 120 years of political and economic separation, Poland was reunified at the end of 1918. In consequence, its industry faced massive structural changes: the removal of internal tariff barriers and improved infrastructure strengthened the domestic market, while foreign market relations were cut off. Similarly, the geographical dispersion of factor endowments was changed through internal migration and new institutional arrangements (education system, patent laws, etc.). How did these forces interact to determine the location of industry? Did a new interregional division of labour emerge after unification? We survey the dynamics of industrial location between 1925 and 1937 and estimate a specification that nests market potential and comparative advantage to quantify their respective impact over time. The results point to a role for both, comparative advantage and market potential, but there was a dominating and ever increasing impact of the availability of skilled labour.
RACE, JUSTICE, POLICING, AND THE 2016 AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Abstract Scholars have long been interested in the intersection of race, crime, justice, and presidential politics, focusing particularly on the “southern strategy” and the “war on crime. ” A recent string of highly-publicized citizen deaths at the hands of police and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement have brought renewed visibility to this racially-driven intersection, and in particular to issues involving contact with and attitudes toward the police. Using data from the 2016 Pilot Study of the American National Election Studies, this study explores how contact with the criminal justice system and perceptions of police injustice shape political behavior in the modern era, with a specific emphasis on prospective participation and candidate choice in the 2016 presidential election. The results indicate that being stopped by the police—an experience that can feel invasive and unjust—may motivate political participation, while spending time in jail or prison—an experience associated with a marginalization from mainstream civic life—appears to discourage political participation. Perceiving the police as discriminatory also seems to motivate political engagement and participation, though in opposite directions for conservative versus liberal voters. In addition, perceptions of police injustice were related to candidate choice, driving voters away from Donald Trump. Affective feelings about the police were not associated with candidate choice. Perceptions of the police appear to act in part as a proxy for racial resentments, at least among potential voters in the Republican primary. In sum, the intersection of race, justice, and policing remains highly relevant in U.S. politics.