Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cellular Preoxygenation Partially Attenuates the Antitumoral Effect of Cisplatin despite Highly Protective Effects on Renal Epithelial Cells

Our previous in vitro studies demonstrated that oxygen pretreatment significantly protects human embryonic renal tubular cell against acute cisplatin- (CP-) induced cytotoxicity. The present study was designed to investigate whether this protective effect is associated with decreasing therapeutic effects of cisplatin on malignant cells. For this purpose, cultured human embryonic kidney epithelial-like (AD293), cervical carcinoma epithelial-like (Hela), and ovarian adenocarcinoma epithelial-like (OVCAR-3) cells were subjected to either 2-hour pretreatment with oxygen (≥90%) or normal air and then to a previously determined 50% lethal dose of cisplatin for 24 hours. Cellular viability was evaluated via MTT and Neutral Red assays. Also, activated caspase-3 and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, as the biochemical markers of cell apoptosis, were determined using immunoblotting. The hyperoxic preexposure protocol significantly protects renal AD293 cells against cisplatin-induced toxicity. Oxygen pretreatment also partially attenuated the cisplatin-induced cytotoxic effects on Hela and OVCAR-3 cells. However, it did not completely protect these cells against the therapeutic cytotoxic effects of cisplatin. In summary, the protective methods for reducing cisplatin nephrotoxic side effects like oxygen pretreatment might be associated with concurrent reduction of the therapeutic cytotoxic effects of cisplatin on malignant cells like cervical carcinoma (Hela) and ovarian adenocarcinoma (OVCAR-3) cells.
Clean Deconvolution Applied to Passive Compressed Beamforming

In this article, a matching pursuit algorithm is developed to improve the performance of a passive multiplexing technique based on compressed sensing. This deconvolution technique is applied to RADAR imaging in the microwave range, starting from previous studies based on a compact coding device and L 1 -norm regularizations. This study demonstrates that in this context, the quality of the reconstructed RADAR images can be improved using an algorithm close to Hogbom's Clean, and based on a dictionary built with Tikhonov pseudo-inversions. The theoretical principle of this new algorithm is developed, followed by a parameters study. Finally, an experimental validation is presented to demonstrate the efficiency of this iterative algorithm.
Submicroscopic Gametocytes and the Transmission of Antifolate-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Western Kenya

Background Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the dhfr and dhps genes are associated with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) treatment failure and gametocyte carriage. This may result in enhanced transmission of mutant malaria parasites, as previously shown for chloroquine resistant parasites. In the present study, we determine the association between parasite mutations, submicroscopic P. falciparum gametocytemia and malaria transmission to mosquitoes. Methodology/Principal Findings Samples from children treated with SP alone or in combination with artesunate (AS) or amodiaquine were genotyped for SNPs in the dhfr and dhps genes. Gametocytemia was determined by microscopy and Pfs25 RNA–based quantitative nucleic acid sequence–based amplification (Pfs25 QT-NASBA). Transmission was determined by membrane-feeding assays. We observed no wild type infections, 66.5% (127/191) of the infections expressed mutations at all three dhfr codons prior to treatment. The presence of all three mutations was not related to higher Pfs25 QT-NASBA gametocyte prevalence or density during follow-up, compared to double mutant infections. The proportion of infected mosquitoes or oocyst burden was also not related to the number of mutations. Addition of AS to SP reduced gametocytemia and malaria transmission during follow-up. Conclusions/Significance In our study population where all infections had at least a double mutation in the dhfr gene, additional mutations were not related to increased submicroscopic gametocytemia or enhanced malaria transmission. The absence of wild-type infections is likely to have reduced our power to detect differences. Our data further support the use of ACT to reduce the transmission of drug-resistant malaria parasites.
Differential Requirements for NAIP5 in Activation of the NLRC4 Inflammasome

ABSTRACT Inflammasomes are cytosolic multiprotein complexes that assemble in response to infectious or noxious stimuli and activate the CASPASE-1 protease. The inflammasome containing the nucleotide binding domain-leucine-rich repeat (NBD-LRR) protein NLRC4 (interleukin-converting enzyme protease-activating factor [IPAF]) responds to the cytosolic presence of bacterial proteins such as flagellin or the inner rod component of bacterial type III secretion systems (e.g., Salmonella PrgJ). In some instances, such as infection with Legionella pneumophila, the activation of the NLRC4 inflammasome requires the presence of a second NBD-LRR protein, NAIP5. NAIP5 also is required for NLRC4 activation by the minimal C-terminal flagellin peptide, which is sufficient to activate NLRC4. However, NLRC4 activation is not always dependent upon NAIP5. In this report, we define the molecular requirements for NAIP5 in the activation of the NLRC4 inflammasome. We demonstrate that the N terminus of flagellin can relieve the requirement for NAIP5 during the activation of the NLRC4 inflammasome. We also demonstrate that NLRC4 responds to the Salmonella protein PrgJ independently of NAIP5. Our results indicate that NAIP5 regulates the apparent specificity of the NLRC4 inflammasome for distinct bacterial ligands.
The Information Technology Workforce: A Comparison of Critical Skills of Clients and Service Providers

In this article the authors explore similarities and differences in skill needs of IT service providers and the firms that providers service (clients). The results show that providers and clients are more similar than different with regard to desired skills. Client firms emphasize technical skills for new hires more than providers do despite saying that these are the skills they would outsource to providers. The results have implications for organizations' recruiting and retention, for individuals' career development, and for educational programs.
Opportunities and limits of the one gene approach: the ability of Atoh1 to differentiate and maintain hair cells depends on the molecular context

Atoh1 (Math1) was the first gene discovered in ear development that showed no hair cell (HC) differentiation when absent and could induce HC differentiation when misexpressed. These data implied that Atoh1 was both necessary and sufficient for hair cell development. However, other gene mutations also result in loss of initially forming HCs, notably null mutants for Pou4f3, Barhl1, and Gfi1. HC development and maintenance also depend on the expression of other genes (Sox2, Eya1, Gata3, Pax2) and several genes have been identified that can induce HCs when misexpressed (Jag1) or knocked out (Lmo4). In the ear Atoh1 is not only expressed in HCs but also in some supporting cells and neurons that do not differentiate into HCs. Simple removal of one gene, Neurod1, can de-repress Atoh1 and turns those neurons into HCs suggesting that Neurod1 blocks Atoh1 function in neurons. Atoh1 expression in inner pillar cells may also be blocked by too many Hes/Hey factors but conversion into HCs has only partially been achieved through Hes/Hey removal. Detailed analysis of cell cycle exit confirmed an apex to base cell cycle exit progression of HCs of the organ of Corti. In contrast, Atoh1 expression progresses from the base toward the apex with a variable delay relative to the cell cycle exit. Most HCs exit the cell cycle and are thus defined as precursors before Atoh1 is expressed. Atoh1 is a potent differentiation factor but can differentiate and maintain HCs only in the ear and when other factors are co-expressed. Upstream factors are essential to regulate Atoh1 level of expression duration while downstream, co-activated by other factors, will define the context of Atoh1 action. We suggest that these insights need to be taken into consideration and approaches beyond the simple Atoh1 expression need to be designed able to generate the radial and longitudinal variations in hair cell types for normal function of the organ of Corti.
Constraint-based automatic symmetry detection

We present an automatic approach to detecting symmetry relations for general concurrent models. Despite the success of symmetry reduction in mitigating state explosion problem, one essential step towards its soundness and effectiveness, i.e., how to discover sufficient symmetries with least human efforts, is often either overlooked or oversimplified. In this work, we show how a concurrent model can be viewed as a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP), and present an algorithm capable of detecting symmetries arising from the CSP which induce automorphisms of the model. To the best of our knowledge, our method is the first approach that can automatically detect both process and data symmetries as demonstrated via a number of systems.
Human-computer interaction: psychology as a science of design

Human-computer interaction (HCI) study is the region of intersection between psychology and the social sciences, on the one hand, and computer science and technology, on the other. HCI researchers analyze and design specific user interface technologies (e.g. pointing devices). They study and improve the processes of technology development (e.g. task analysis, design rationale). They develop and evaluate new applications of technology (e.g. word processors, digital libraries). Throughout the past two decades, HCI has progressively integrated its scientific concerns with the engineering goal of improving the usability of computer systems and applications, which has resulted in a body of technical knowledge and methodology. HCI continues to provide a challenging test domain for applying and developing psychological and social theory in the context of technology development and use.
A Simulated Annealing Technique for Optimizing Time Warp Simulation

According to Moore's law the complexity of VLSI circuits has doubled approximately every two years, resulting in simulation becoming the major bottleneck in the circuit design process. Parallel and distributed simulations can be applied as fast, cost effective approaches to the simulation of large, complex circuits. In this paper, a simple yet effective simulated annealing-based approach is proposed to optimize the choice of a time window for optimistic parallel simulation. We chose gate level circuits simulations as our experimental vehicle. Our results show up to a 52% improvement in the simulation time using our simulated annealing algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that SA has been applied to optimize the performance of Time Warp simulations.
The history and purview of phylogeography: a personal reflection

Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the birth of phylogeography as a formal discipline. However, the field’s gestation began in the mid‐1970s with the introduction of mitochondrial (mt) DNA analyses to population genetics, and to the profound shift toward genealogical thought at the intraspecific level (now formalized as coalescent theory) that these methods prompted. This paper traces the early history and explosive growth of phylogeography, and closes with predictions about future challenges for the field that centre on several facets of genealogical concordance.
A Study on Potential of Integrating Multimodal Interaction into Musical Conducting Education

With the rapid development of computer technology, computer music has begun to appear in the laboratory. Many potential utility of computer music is gradually increasing. The purpose of this paper is attempted to analyze the possibility of integrating multimodal interaction such as vision-based hand gesture and speech interaction into musical conducting education. To achieve this purpose, this paper is focus on discuss some related research and the traditional musical conducting education. To do so, six musical conductors had been interviewed to share their musical conducting learning/ teaching experience. These interviews had been analyzed in this paper to show the syllabus and the focus of musical conducting education for beginners.
HandsDown: hand-contour-based user identification for interactive surfaces

HandsDown is a novel technique for user identification on interactive surfaces. It enables users to access personal data on a shared surface, to associate objects with their identity, and to fluidly customize appearance, content, or functionality of the user interface. To identify, users put down their hand flat on the surface. HandsDown is based on hand contour analysis; neither user instrumentation nor external devices are required for identification. Characteristic features of the hand are initially extracted from images captured by the surface's camera system and then classified using Support Vector Machines (SVM). We present a proof-of-concept implementation and show results of our evaluation which indicates the technique's robustness for user identification within small groups. Additionally, we introduce a set of interaction techniques to illustrate how HandsDown can improve the user experience, and we discuss the design space of such interactions.
Optimal tradeoffs for location-based routing in large-scale ad hoc networks

Existing location-based routing protocols are not versatile enough for a large-scale ad hoc environment to simultaneously meet all of the requirements of scalability, bandwidth efficiency, energy efficiency, and quality-of-service routing. To remedy this deficiency, we propose an optimal tradeoff approach that: 1) constructs a hybrid routing protocol by combining well-known location-update schemes (i.e., proactive location updates within nodes' local regions and a distributed location service), and 2) derives its optimal configuration, in terms of location-update thresholds (both distance and time-based), to minimize the overall routing overhead. We also build a route-discovery scheme based on an Internet-like architecture, i.e., first querying the location of a destination, then applying a series of local-region routing until finding a complete route by aggregating the thus-found partial routes. To find the optimal thresholds for the hybrid protocol, we derive the costs associated with both location updates and route discovery as a function of location-update thresholds, assuming a random mobility model and a general distribution for route request arrivals. The problem of minimizing the total cost is then cast into a distributed optimization problem. We first prove that the total cost is a convex function of the thresholds, and then derive the optimal thresholds. Finally, we show, via simulation, that our analysis results indeed capture the real behavior.
An Ultra-Compact Common-Mode Bandstop Filter With Modified-T Circuits in Integrated Passive Device (IPD) Process

Based on multi-cell modified-T circuits, this paper proposes a novel circuit topology to realize a common-mode bandstop filter with differential-mode all-pass characteristics for high-speed digital differential circuits. The circuit behaviors for both differential and common modes are analyzed based on symmetrical network analysis techniques. Two transmission zeros at common mode can be synthesized by the derived formulas. The proposed design flow is used to realize a test sample in the integrated passive device process. Simulated and measured results are in good agreement. The common-mode suppression band is from 1.6 to 4.7 GHz, whose fractional bandwidth is nearly 100%. The cutoff frequency of the differential mode can maintain up to 10 GHz with a constant group delay. Moreover, eye diagrams under different signaling rates all perform well. Compared with the other literature, the proposed common-mode filter has a very wide common-mode stopband, the highest differential-mode cutoff frequency up to 10 GHz, and the most compact circuit size of 0.017 λg×0.016 λg .
Performance enhancement of distributed network system by phase-wise dynamic task allocation

A Distributed NetworkSystem (DNS) is a set of application and system programs, and data exchanges across a number of independent personal computers connected by a communication network. Task allocation in distributed network system is always a challenging task and also very helpful in order to enhance the performance of DNS. Although there are two types of approaches for task allocation and these are dynamic and static. Dynamic approach of task allocation is much appropriate manner and it also makes the best use of available computational power in DNS. Task allocation problem can be explained as `m' number tasks are required to execute on `n' number of processors where number tasks (m) is always greater than number of processors (n) (m>n). This research paper proposed a dynamic task allocation model to allocate the `m' number of tasks on `n' number of processors in distributed network system and execution completes in k number of phases. Proposed dynamic model will help to reduce the cost of task allocation. Phase wise execution cost, inter task communication cost, residing cost of each task on different processors, and reallocation cost for each task also have taken into the consideration to design a dynamic task allocation model.
From Local Geometry to Global Structure: Learning Latent Subspace for Low-resolution Face Image Recognition

In this letter, we propose a novel approach for learning coupled mappings to improve the performance of low-resolution (LR) face image recognition. The coupled mappings aim to project the LR probe images and high-resolution (HR) gallery images into a unified latent subspace, which is efficient to measure the similarity of face images with different resolutions. In the training phase, we first construct local optimization for each training sample according to the relationship of neighboring data points. The local optimization aims to: (1) ensure the consistency for each LR face image and corresponding HR one; (2) model the intrinsic geometric structure between each given sample and its neighbors; and (3) preserve the discriminative information across different subjects. We finally incorporate the local optimizations together for building the global structure. The coupled mappings can be learned by solving a standard eigen-decomposition problem, which avoids the small-sample-size problem. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method on public face databases.
Formal model of certificate omission schemes in VANET

The benefits of certificate omission schemes in VANET have been so far proven by simulation. However, the research community is lacking of a formal model that would allow implementers and policy makers to select the optimal parameters for such schemes. In this paper, we lay the foundations of the formal model for certificate omission schemes in VANET. We apply the model to `No Omission' and `Periodic Omission', which validates the previous simulation and formulates the optimal parameters for these schemes.
The Static Approximation to B Meson Mixing using Light Domain Wall Fermions: Perturbative Renormalization and Ground State Degeneracies

We discuss the theoretical input into the current RBC-UKQCD calculation of fBd,s and BBd,s using a smeared static heavy quark propagator, light domain-wall quarks and the Iwasaki gauge action. We present the complete one-loop, mean-field improved matching of heavy-light current and fourfermion lattice operators onto the static continuum theory renormalized in MS(NDR). The large degeneracies present in a static calculation are addressed, and a method for extracting fB and BB using only box sources is described; implications for future calculations are discussed.
Abnormal event detection using Bayesian networks at a smart home

Existing methods have addressed the issue of detecting abnormal events at a smart home for medical care or security monitoring services extensively in the past decades. However, most of approaches use wearable sensors that require users to be equipped with the sensor devices at every moment. If the monitored users stop or pause the sensors, any abnormal events are not able to be detected. The use of non-wearable and non-intrusive sensors (e.g., IP cameras) is necessary for providing better user experiences and achieving sustainable and reliable detection model. However, it is still very challenging to analyze such non-wearable sensor data with a high accuracy. In this work, we propose an event detection model using a Bayesian Network. We first obtain the features by analyzing the daily videos and audios captured from different angles by multiple IP cameras at a smart home. These features are then used to construct a Bayesian network. We propose a probabilistic graph model where the dependence relations are defined in the graph as opposed to the naive Bayesian network. The experiments are presented to demonstrate the performance and utility of our model.
The Polarisation of Work and the Distribution of Income in Britain

Recent studies have highlighted a polarisation in the distribution of work during the 1980s, and some have conjectured that this polarisation has been a principal cause of the rise in income inequality. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, we document the pattern of work polarisation during the first half of the 1990s and show that polarisation was not mainly responsible for income inequality growth over this period and argue that it was unlikely to have done so during most of the 1980s either. It played a supporting role rather than a leading one. JEL classification numbers: D31, J21. Running title: Work polarisation and the distribution of income. Acknowledgements This note derives from an Institute of Labour Research programme of research on “Labour Market Dynamics in a Changing Environment” funded by the Leverhulme Trust. We also acknowledge core funding support from the UK Economic and Social Research Council and the University of Essex. Thanks to Centre and Institute colleagues for comments and advice. Address for correspondence: Stephen P. Jenkins, ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom. Email: stephenj@essex.ac. uk. The Polarisation of Work and the Distribution of Income in Britain by Marco G. Ercolani and Stephen P. Jenkins Non-technical summary Recent studies, notably by Gregg and Wadsworth (1995, 1996a, 1996b), have highlighted a polarisation in the distribution of work in Britain: a decline in numbers of ‘traditional’ singleearner households has coincided with a rise in both the fraction of ‘work rich’ households (in which all adults work) and the fraction of ‘work poor’ households (within which no adults work). It has been conjectured that this polarisation has been a principal cause of the rise in income inequality, and we subject this hypothesis to scrutiny. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, we document the pattern of work polarisation during the first half of the 1990s and show, using shift-share counter-factual simulations, that polarisation was not mainly responsible for income inequality growth over this period, and argue that it was unlikely to have been so for most of the 1980s either. It has played a supporting role rather than a leading role. Our results should not be interpreted as saying that the changing distribution of work is irrelevant for understanding the changing distribution of income. In fact we tend to the opposite conclusion: it is precisely by comparing the experience of different groups within the population characterised in terms of attachment to work (rather than by age, say) that a coherent explanation of recent income inequality trends can be constructed. Our point is to reiterate that the focus should be on the changes within work status groups rather than the changes in subgroup sizes themselves.