Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological changes in hepatocytes of rats deprived of dietary nucleotides

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of dietary nucleotides on liver morphology. Adult rats were fed for 21 d on a nucleotide-containing diet or the same diet free of nucleotides. Liver sections were examined by light and transmission electron microscopy, as well as for nucleic acid and protein contents. Morphometric analysis was performed for different variables. Deprivation of dietary nucleotides resulted in a reduction in hepatocyte nuclear and nucleolar areas as well as in nuclear chromatin condensation. In addition, the rough endoplasmic reticulum was reduced, as were ribosome association and abundance, whereas fat accumulated. These findings portray dietary nucleotides as required nutrients for the liver under normal physiological conditions and suggest that an inadequate supply of nucleotides for a certain period of time has transient negative effects on liver ultrastructure and function.
A 3-Dimensional Relevance Model for Collaborative Software Engineering Spaces

Today's large software projects are often characterised by distributed environments with numerous developers separated in space and/or time. This separation means that the common understanding and tacit knowledge that is a feature of closely co-located project teams is very hard to come by. As a consequence, relatively simple tasks such as identifying functionally related modules or finding individuals who are experts in aspects of the system become more challenging and time-consuming. This paper presents a continuum of relevance index (CRI) model that uses information gathered from developer IDE interactions to generate orderings of relevant tasks, project artefacts and developers. A case study is used to demonstrate how the model can be used to attain a shared knowledge and common understanding of the extent to which tasks, artefacts and developers are relevant in a group development work context.
Reverse Genetics Modification of Cytomegalovirus Antigenicity and Immunogenicity by CD8 T-Cell Epitope Deletion and Insertion

The advent of cloning herpesviral genomes as bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) has made herpesviruses accessible to bacterial genetics and has thus revolutionised their mutagenesis. This opened all possibilities of reverse genetics to ask scientific questions by introducing precisely accurate mutations into the viral genome for testing their influence on the phenotype under study or to create phenotypes of interest. Here, we report on our experience with using BAC technology for a designed modulation of viral antigenicity and immunogenicity with focus on the CD8 T-cell response. One approach is replacing an intrinsic antigenic peptide in a viral carrier protein with a foreign antigenic sequence, a strategy that we have termed “orthotopic peptide swap”. Another approach is the functional deletion of an antigenic peptide by point mutation of its C-terminal MHC class-I anchor residue. We discuss the concepts and summarize recently published major scientific results obtained with immunological mutants of murine cytomegalovirus.
Kill your darlings? Experiencing, maintaining, and changing psychological ownership in creative work

TASK TARGET Concrete Interdependent Autonomous TASK COORDINATION OWNERSHIP SCOPE Shared (over abstract) Exclusive (over concrete) OUTCOMES Person: Transcendence Person: Resilience to future changes Product: Incorporation of multiple perspectives that requires coordination Person: Internalization of task fate Person & Product: Territoriality Product: Task investment Product: Responsibility is delineable Experience Work Style Preferences = Individual differences that cause path deviation Broad
Detection of falls among the elderly by a floor sensor using the electric near field

We present a new fall-detection method using a floor sensor based on near-field imaging. The test floor had a resolution of 9×16. The shape, size, and magnitude of the patterns are used for classification. A test including 650 events and ten people yielded a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 91%.
MECA : Mobile Edge Capture and Analysis Middleware for Real Time Decision Making

In real time decision making scenarios (e.g., a coalition environment), relevant and accurate information must be made available to decision makers in a timely manner. However, decision makers face a dual problem of both information overloading and starvation: the overwhelming majority of information from various sources may not be relevant to the investigation goal, while a significant gap exists in useful and pertinent information. To address such problems, we propose and develop MECA, a common middleware infrastructure for data collection and analysis from various data sources, especially modern mobile devices. MECA provides a high level abstraction of a phenomenon specification such that applications can accurately express their information needs in a declarative fashion. Thus only data relevant to the investigation are gathered. MECA supports primitive processing within the infrastructure to transform raw data to information at semantic levels much closer to decision making. It coordinates the data collection and transformation activities, such that data and information can be shared across applications without duplicate efforts. We showcase the capabilities of MECA through disaster management and military applications. Finally we discuss how to expand it to further automate the decision making process. keywords: data collection, decision making, real time
Conceptual frameworks in practice: evaluating end-user training strategy in an organization

Rapid development in new information technology requires constant need for training end user. Organisations spend heavily on training, but do not take an integrative approach in formulating training strategies. This is mainly due to lack of guidance from the literature. A few frameworks that have been proposed have not been evaluated. In this paper, we use one such framework and use it to evaluate the training strategy in an organisation. This summative evaluation is followed by the formative evaluation of the framework itself. Based on our findings, we conclude that the framework is useful to evaluate organisational training efforts. However, we also point out deficiencies in the framework itself and suggest areas of improvement.
PRIVACY PRESERVING UPDATES USING GENERALIZATION-BASED AND SUPPRESSION-BASED K-ANONYMITY

One of the emerging concept in micro data protection is k-anonymity. It permits to assess the risk of disclosure for a data set protected with micro aggregation. Suppose if John owns a k-anonymous database and Kevin wants to insert his own tuple. A fter insertion if Kevin check the whole database to find out whether anonymity is maintained or not it will violate confidentiality maintained by John. On the other hand if John checks Kevin’s data it will violate privacy. The problem is checking k-anonymity of the database without letting John and Kevin know content of tuple and database. In this paper we propose two protocol s namely generalization-based and suppression based k anonymous and confidential databases. These protoco ls rely on cryptographic assumptions.
Impact Of E-Waste On The Operating Model Of A "Close The Digital Divide" Organisation

This paper aims to illustrate how a general operating model of re-use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), and specifically for PCs in developing countries, deals with the challenges and opportunities of increasing e-waste awareness. More specifically, we focus on the role of ICT in the complex societal problem of e-waste in developing countries. The research question we put forward: How can Close the Digital Divide organisations deal with e-waste challenges in a sustainable manner so they can continue to contribute to ICT4D? The paper describes one single organisation and illustrates how the operating model evolved from an open-loop to a closed-loop system i.e. from extending product lifecycles of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment (PCs) to including e-waste recycling in developing countries. This case illustrates how re-use of PCs for developing countries, which are mostly forward supply chains, can be complemented with end-of-life recycling-initiatives to reduce hazardous e-waste. The latter is implemented by the organisation as a global reverse supply chain.
An Implementation of Novel Cloud Computing Model - Improved Map-reduce Model

Although Map-reduce model is easy to deal with querying on a large scale data cluster, but difficult to deal with complex science computing due to its narrow application fields. Among complex applications, most user applications are not querying request simply, but query after complex computing, such as encryptions. This paper proposes a novel method which transforms user’s application task DAG? directed a cyclic graph? into MCST? minimum cost spanning tree? firstly, and then works with map-reduce to complete parallel query. This idea can effectively deal with comprehensive problems which include complex computing and query on a large scale data cluster, such as TSP? travel sales problem? , dynamic scheduling, route scheduling and others.
Genetically optimized controller for urban traffic emergency braking system based on ultrasonic sensors

In this work, an original controller for an emergency braking system for urban traffic based on ultrasonic sensors is presented, which is optimized by means of a Genetic Algorithm. The main advantage over similar controllers available in the market today, is that in order to maintain a safe distance to the preceding vehicle, it is not necessary to know the speed of either the controlled vehicle or the vehicle ahead. The only information used by the proposed controller is the distance between vehicles, which is measured by an ultrasonic system. In this way, the interaction with the electronics of the vehicle is avoided, except for the action on the braking system. Moreover, the use of ultrasonic sensors also makes possible the detection of pedestrians on the road, resulting in the avoidance of accidents, or at least lessening their consequences.
Hybridization isotherms of DNA microarrays and the quantification of mutation studies.

BACKGROUND Diagnostic DNA arrays for detection of point mutations as markers for cancer usually function in the presence of a large excess of wild-type DNA. This excess can give rise to false positives as a result of competitive hybridization of the wild-type target at the mutation spot. Analysis of the DNA array data is typically qualitative, aimed at establishing the presence or absence of a particular point mutation. Our theoretical approach yields methods for quantifying the analysis to obtain the ratio of concentrations of mutated and wild-type DNA. METHOD The theory is formulated in terms of the hybridization isotherms relating the hybridization fraction at the spot to the composition of the sample solutions at thermodynamic equilibrium. It focuses on samples containing an excess of single-stranded DNA and on DNA arrays with a low surface density of probes. The hybridization equilibrium constants can be obtained by the nearest-neighbor method. RESULTS Two approaches allow acquisition of quantitative results from the DNA array data. In one, the signal of the mutation spot is compared with that of the wild-type spot. The implementation requires knowledge of the saturation intensity of the two spots. The second approach requires comparison of the intensity of the mutation spot at two different temperatures. In this case, knowledge of the saturation signal is not always necessary. CONCLUSIONS DNA arrays can be used to obtain quantitative results on the concentration ratio of mutated DNA to wild-type DNA in studies of somatic point mutations.
“I like to be different from how I normally am”: Heavy alcohol consumption among female Spanish adolescents and the unsettling of traditional gender norms

Abstract Public debate on the consumption of alcohol by adolescents has grown over recent years. It has intensified in Spain after epidemiological reports of a significant increase in alcohol consumption among adolescent girls. We designed this study to gain insights into this new trend from a gender perspective. The objective was to understand the meanings and motivations attributed to alcohol consumption by female adolescents. A qualitative study was undertaken with 96 female and male adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years, using focus groups and in-depth individual interviews. The analysis presented in this paper is based largely on the female sample. We subjected their narratives to summative content analysis. The results show how the attributed meanings of disinhibition and having a good time may be contributing to the generation of new expectations and demands in relation to codes of femininity and breaks with the gender system. We discuss the results in terms of the implications for preventive interventions with a gender perspective.
CD28-B7 blockade after alloantigenic challenge in vivo inhibits Th1 cytokines but spares Th2

Blocking the CD28-B7 T cell costimulatory pathway with the fusion protein CTLA4Ig inhibits alloimmune responses in vitro and in vivo and induces tolerance to cardiac allografts in mice and rats, but the mechanisms mediating the tolerant state in vivo are unknown. Here, we report the effects and potential mechanisms of CTLA4Ig in the rat renal allograft model. LEW rats were nephrectomized and received renal allografts from major histocompatibility complex-incompatible WF rats. While all untreated and control immunoglobulin (Ig)-treated animals acutely rejected their allografts and died, 86% of rats that received a single injection of CTLA4Ig on day 2 after transplantation had prolonged survival (> 60-100 days) with preserved renal function. By contrast, only 29% of animals that received CTLA4Ig on the day of engraftment had prolonged survival. Long-term survivors (> 100 days) exhibited donor-specific tolerance, accepting donor-matched WF but acutely rejecting third-party BN cardiac allografts. Immunohistological analysis of grafts sampled at 1 week after transplantation showed that both control and CTLA4Ig-treated animals had mononuclear cell infiltrates, with a higher percentage of CD4+ cells in the CTLA4Ig- treated group. However, while this was associated with vasculitis and tubulitis in control grafts, there was no evidence of tissue injury in CTLA4Ig-treated animals. The immune response leading to graft rejection in control animals was characterized by expression of the T helper (Th) type 1 cytokines interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon-gamma. In contrast, the persistent CD4+ infiltrate without graft rejection in CTLA4Ig- treated animals was associated with increased staining for the Th2- related cytokines IL-4 and IL-10. Furthermore, grafts from CTLA4Ig- treated animals had marked upregulation of intragraft staining for IgG1, but not IgG2a or IgG2b. Administration of rIL-2 to CTLA4Ig- treated animals restored allograft rejection in 50% of animals tested. These results confirm that blockade of the CD28-B7 pathway after alloantigenic challenge induces donor-specific acceptance of vascularized organ allografts, and indicates in this model that CTLA4Ig inhibits Th1 but spares Th2 cytokines in vivo.
Morphological transformation of synaptic terminals of a phasic motoneuron by long-term tonic stimulation

In vivo stimulation of a relatively “silent” phasic crayfish motoneuron changes the ultrastructure of its synaptic terminals to a more tonic phenotype. The closer muscle of the crayfish claw is supplied by only 2 excitatory motoneurons, one of which is phasic and the other tonic. The ultrastructures of conditioned phasic, unconditioned phasic, and tonic motor terminals were compared. The terminals of the tonic motor axon were larger in cross-sectional area, had larger mitochondria, greater synaptic contact area, and were more varicose than unconditioned phasic terminals. Following long-term tonic stimulation of the phasic axon, its terminals became more varicose, mitochondrial cross-sectional area more than doubled, and synapses and mitochondria came into closer proximity, although mean terminal cross-sectional area did not change. Thus, the conditioned phasic terminals became more similar to those of the tonic motor axon. These changes in ultrastructure correlate with, and may be causally linked to, previously reported changes in neuromuscular synaptic physiology produced by in vivo tonic stimulation of this motoneuron. We conclude that the ongoing level of impulse activity can affect the ultrastructural differentiation of synaptic terminals and synapses of the phasic motoneuron.
Spruce Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Oral Secretions II: Chemistry

ABSTRACT As sessile organisms, plants have evolved different methods to defend against attacks and have adapted their defense measures to discriminate between mechanical damage and herbivory by insects. One of the ways that plant defenses are triggered is via elicitors from insect oral secretions (OS). In this study, we investigated the ability of second-instar (L2) spruce budworm [SBW; Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)] to alter the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of four conifer species [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. , Picea mariana (Miller) B.S.P., Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, Picea rubens (Sargent)] and found that the emission profiles from all host trees were drastically changed after herbivory. We then investigated whether some of the main elicitors (fatty acid conjugates [FACs], &bgr;-glucosidase, and glucose oxidase) studied were present in SBW OS. FACs (glutamine and glutamic acid) based on linolenic, linoleic, oleic, and stearic acids were all observed in varying relative quantities. Hydroxylated FACs, such as volicitin, were not observed. Enzyme activity for &bgr;-glucosidase was also measured and found present in SBW OS, whereas glucose oxidase activity was not found in the SBW labial glands. These results demonstrate that SBW L2 larvae have the ability to induce VOC emissions upon herbivory and that SBW OS contain potential elicitors to induce these defensive responses. These data will be useful to further evaluate whether these elicitors can separately induce the production of specific VOCs and to investigate whether and how these emissions benefit the plant.
Two-Level Algorithm for MCs Detection in Mammograms Using Diverse-Adaboost-SVM

Clustered micro calcifications (MCs) are one of the early signs of breast cancer. In this paper, we propose a new computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system for automatic detection of MCs in two steps. First, pixels corresponding to potential micro calcifications are found using a multilayer feed-forward neural network. The input of this network consists of 4 wavelet and 2 gray-level features. The output of the network is then transformed to potential micro calcification objects using spatial 4-point connectivity. Second, we extract 25 features from the potential MC objects and use Diverse Adaboost SVM (DA-SVM) and 3 other classifiers to detect individual MCs. A free-response operating characteristics (FROC) curve issued to evaluate the performance of the CAD system. The 90.44% mean TP detection rate is achieved at the cost of 1.043 FP per image by using DA-SVM shows a quite satisfactory detection performance of CAD system.
Work Incentives of Medicaid Beneficiaries and the Role of Asset Testing

Should asset testing be used in means-tested programs? These programs target low-income people, but low income can result not only from low productivity but also from low labor supply. We aim to show that in the asymmetric information environment, there is a positive role for asset testing. We focus on Medicaid, one of the largest means-tested programs in the US, and we ask two questions: 1) Does Medicaid distort work incentives? 2) Can asset testing improve the insurance-incentives trade-off of Medicaid? Our tool is a general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents that matches many important features of the data. We find that 23% of Medicaid enrollees do not work in order to be eligible. These distortions are costly: if individuals' productivity was observable and could be used to determine Medicaid eligibility, this results in substantial ex-ante welfare gains. When productivity is unobservable, asset testing is effective in eliminating labor supply distortions, but to minimize saving distortions, asset limits should be different for workers and non-workers. This work-dependent asset testing can produce welfare gains close to the case of observable productivity.
Interaction of the Multikinase Inhibitors Sorafenib and Sunitinib with Solute Carriers and ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters

Purpose: To compare side-by-side the uptake of sorafenib and sunitinib in vitro by human uptake solute carriers of the SLC22A and SLCO families, the transport by and inhibition of efflux ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, and the role of ABCB1 in the plasma pharmacokinetics and brain penetration of these agents. Experimental Design: Uptake of [3H]sorafenib or [3H]sunitinib was assessed in Xenopus laevis oocytes or mammalian cells transfected with cDNAs coding for human OATP1A2, OATP1B1, OATP1B3, OCT1, OAT2, OAT3, OCTN1, or OCTN2. Efflux and inhibition experiments were conducted in cells transfected with human ABCB1, ABCG2, ABCC2, or ABCC4. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies were done in knockout mice lacking Abcb1-type transporters. Results: Intracellular uptake was not appreciably affected by any of the studied solute carriers and was minute relative to the respective prototypical substrates. Sorafenib and sunitinib showed concentration-dependent (1 and 10 μmol/L), low to moderate affinity for ABCB1 but were not affected by the other ABC transporters. Both agents inhibited all tested ABC transporters. The absence of Abcb1 had no affect on plasma pharmacokinetics, but brain penetration was moderately increased by 1.9- and 2.9-fold for sorafenib and sunitinib, respectively, in knockout animals versus controls. Conclusions: Unlike other tyrosine kinase inhibitors, sorafenib and sunitinib do not appear to rely on active transport to enter the cell nor are they high-affinity substrates for ABC efflux transporters. Based on these characteristics, these two drugs may be less susceptible to transporter-mediated alterations in systemic exposure and transporter-related resistance mechanisms. (Clin Cancer Res 2009;15(19):6062–9)
Breaking symmetries †

A well-known result by Palamidessi tells us that πmix (the π-calculus with mixed choice) is more expressive than πsep (its subset with only separate choice). The proof of this result analyses their different expressive power concerning leader election in symmetric networks. Later on, Gorla offered an arguably simpler proof that, instead of leader election in symmetric networks, employed the reducibility of ‘incestual’ processes (mixed choices that include both enabled senders and receivers for the same channel) when running two copies in parallel. In both proofs, the role of breaking (initial) symmetries is more or less apparent. In this paper, we shed more light on this role by re-proving the above result – based on a proper formalization of what it means to break symmetries – without referring to another problem domain like leader election. Both Palamidessi and Gorla rephrased their results by stating that there is no uniform and reasonable encoding from πmix into πsep. We indicate how their proofs can be adapted and exhibit the consequences of varying notions of uniformity and reasonableness. In each case, the ability to break initial symmetries turns out to be essential. Moreover, by abandoning the uniformity criterion, we show that there indeed is a reasonable encoding. We emphasize its underlying principle, which highlights the difference between breaking symmetries locally instead of globally.