Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxidized LDL Promotes Peroxide-Mediated Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Cell Death in Human Macrophages: A Caspase-3–Independent Pathway

Abstract— Several studies suggest that macrophage death and subsequent lysis contribute to the development of advanced atherosclerotic lesions. Although oxidized LDL (OxLDL) is thought to contribute to lesion formation and induces macrophage apoptosis, the mechanisms underlying macrophage lysis have not been well defined. To determine if induction of apoptosis in human macrophages also promotes cell lysis, we studied caspase-3 activation by OxLDL and activating anti-Fas antibodies. We found that Fas-induced activation of caspase-3 does not promote macrophage lysis and caspase-3 activation is not required for OxLDL-induced macrophage lysis. OxLDL induces the formation of peroxides, but not superoxide, and decreases mitochondrial membrane potential. Scavengers of peroxyl radicals restore mitochondrial membrane potential and prevent macrophage lysis, implicating peroxyl radicals in both mitochondrial dysfunction and macrophage lysis induced by OxLDL. We conclude that macrophage death induced by OxLDL results in cell lysis, but it does not require activation of Fas or caspase-3. The full text of this article is available at http://www.circresaha. org.
Mixtract: A directable musical expression system

This paper describes a music performance design system focusing on phrasing, the design and development of an intuitive interface to assist music performance design system. The proposed interface has an editor to control the parameter curves of “dynamics” and “tempos” of hierarchical phrase structures, and supports analysis mechanisms for hierarchical phrase structures that lighten the users' work for music interpretation. We are interested in how a system can assist the users in designing music performances, but not to develop a full automatic system. Unlike the most automatic performance rendering systems to date, assisting the process of music interpretation and to convey the musical interpretive intent to the system are focused in this paper. The advantage of the proposed system was verified from shortening time required for music performance design. The proposed system is more beneficial from the viewpoint that it can be a platform to test various possibilities of phrasing expression.
Teams between Neo-Taylorism and Anti-Taylorism

Team working is of ten associated with sophisticated management control and inten-sification of work; however, many authors suggest that an alternative type exists to which this does not apply. One of the problems in the teams discussion is a confusion about terminology. The Toyota production system was relabelled 'team working'to increase its acceptability. Also, team working was used as a metonym for industrial democracy in order to increase its appeal to managers. A second problem is determinism: a tendency to prematurely lock different types of team working into different fields of production. This article presents a systematic, empirically grounded typology of team working. Neo-Tayloristic and anti-Tayloristic team working are contrasted to classical Taylorism. Neo-Tayloristic and anti-Tayloristic teamworking both entail intensification of work. However, autonomy in anti-Tayloristic team working is real; there is little evidence of a 'brave new teams'scenario. Neo-Tayloristic team working builds on the strengths of Taylorism. For anti-Tayloristic team working, the opportunity structure is less favourable; improving it remains a challenge.
Applications of Discrete Dirichlet Problem to Semi-supervised Community Detection by Label Propagation

We propose a new version of an algorithm based on Dirichlet boundary for community detection under the assumption of partially pre-labelled community members. We present a complete mathematical derivation of this method from the continuous Dirichlet boundary problem making explicit various assumptions underlying its discretization. We show, based on this derivation, how our algorithm differs from the ones previously derived in this spirit. Via a set of experiments we demonstrate how this new algorithm works for several benchmark data sets.
On the Association between Analysts' Forecast Errors and Past Stock Returns: A Re-Examination

Prior studies (e.g., Lys and Sohn 1990; Ali, Klein and Rosenfeld 1992) have documented a positive association between analysts' forecast errors and past stock returns and suggested cognitive bias on the part of analysts as a possible explanation. In this paper, we separately analyze the association between forecast errors and past negative returns and that between forecast errors and past positive returns. We find that forecast errors are only positively associated with past negative returns and are not associated with past positive returns. These results are robust to a series of sensitivity tests. They are inconsistent with analysts being subject to cognitive bias; instead, they are consistent with several explanations related to accounting conservatism or analysts' incentives: analysts having difficulty in forecasting discretionary charges associated with past negative returns, analysts not exerting effort in forecasting earnings of firms with poor performance, or analysts ignoring bad news in order to please managers.
Polysaccharide Nanosystems for Future Progress in Cardiovascular Pathologies

Natural polysaccharides have received a lot of attention in the biomedical field. Indeed, sources of polysaccharides, extracted or produced from plants, bacteria, fungi or algae, are diverse and renewable. Moreover, recent progresses in polysaccharide chemistry and nanotechnologies allow elaborating new dedicated nanosystems. Polysaccharide-based nanosystems may be designed for interacting in several biological processes. In particular, the atherothrombotic pathology is highly concerned by polysaccharide-mediated recognition. Atherothrombotic diseases, regardless of the anatomical localization, remain the main causes of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized world. This review intends to provide an overview on polysaccharide-based nanosystems as drug delivery systems and targeted contrast agents for molecular imaging with an emphasis on the treatment and imaging of cardiovascular pathologies.
Comparison of Pap Smear Quality With Anatomical Spatula Method and the Common Method (Spatula-Cytobrush): A Single Blind Clinical Trial

Background Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women in the world. Papanicolaou smear is known as a standard test for cervical cancer screening; however, the most important challenge is high rates of false negative results. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of smears obtained by anatomical spatula and spatula-cytobrush. The most important factor in false negative result is inappropriate tool of sampling. Methods One hundred married women participated in this single blind clinical trial. All participants were interviewed; two samples were obtained from every participant: one with spatula-cytobrush and another one with anatomical spatula. All slides were encoded and were assessed by two pathologists. Then, data were analyzed by means of kappa coefficient. Results Cell adequacy was 96.1 % in anatomical spatula method and 91.2 % in spatula-cytobrush method (p= 0.016). The rates for endocervical cells and metaplasia cells in anatomical spatula method were 70.6% and 24.5% respectively and these amounts were 69.6% and 24.5% respectively in the spatula-cytobrush method (p <0.001). No one reported any pain and the amount of bleeding was 38.2% in both methods (P>0.05). Regarding infection and inflammatory reactions there was no statistically significant difference between two methods (p>0.05). Conclusion Based on our findings in this study, results of sampling with anatomical spatula method were more acceptable and better than those with spatula-cytobrush sampling.
Clinical implications of hypoxia biomarker expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review

Awareness increases that the tumor biology influences treatment outcome and prognosis in cancer. Tumor hypoxia is thought to decrease sensitivity to radiotherapy and some forms of chemotherapy. Presence of hypoxia may be assessed by investigating expression of endogenous markers of hypoxia (EMH) using immunohistochemistry (IHC). In this systematic review we investigated the effect of EMH expression on local control and survival according to treatment modality in head and neck cancer (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [HNSCC]). A search was performed in MEDLINE and EMBASE. Studies were eligible for inclusion that described EMH expression in relation to outcome in HNSCC patients. Quality was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool. Hazard ratios for locoregional control and survival were extracted. Forty studies of adequate quality were included. HIF‐1a, HIF‐2a, CA‐IX, GLUT‐1, and OPN were identified as the best described EMHs. With exception of HIF‐2a, all EMHs were significantly related to adverse outcome in multiple studies, especially in studies where patients underwent single‐modality treatment. Positive expression was often correlated with adverse clinical characteristics, including disease stage and differentiation grade. In summary, EMH expression was common in HNSCC patients and negatively influenced their prognosis. Future studies should investigate the effect of hypoxia‐modified treatment schedules in patients with high In summary, EMH expression. These may include ARCON, treatment with nimorazole, or novel targeted therapies directed at hypoxic tissue. Also, the feasibility of surgical removal of the hypoxic tumor volume prior to radiotherapy should be investigated.
Author ' s personal copy Thermodynamic model for uplift and de fl ation episodes ( bradyseism ) associated with magmatic – hydrothermal activity at the Campi Flegrei ( Italy )

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: Thermodynamic model for uplift and deflation episodes (bradyseism) associated with magmatic–hydrothermal activity at the Campi Flegrei (Italy) a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Campi Flegrei (CF) is a large volcanic complex located west of the city of Naples, Italy. Repeated episodes of bradyseism (slow vertical ground movement) near the town of Pozzuoli have been documented since Roman times. Bradyseismic events are interpreted as the consequence of aqueous fluid exsolution during magma solidification on a slow timescale (10 3 –10 4 yr) superimposed upon a shorter (1–10 yr) timescale for the episodic expulsion of fluid from a deep (~3–5 km) lithostatically-pressured low-permeability reservoir to an overlying hydrostatic reservoir. Cycles of inflation and deflation occur during short duration transient events when connectivity is established between deep and shallow hydrothermal reservoirs. The total seismic energy released (4× 10 13 J) during the 1983–1984 bradyseismic crisis is consistent with the observed volume change (uplift) and consistent with the notion that seismic failure occurs in response to the shear stress release induced by volume change. Fluid transport and concomitant propagation of hydrofractures as fluid expands from lithostatic to hydrostatic pressure during decompression leads to ground surface displacement. Fluid decompression occurs along the fluid isenthalp (Joule–Thompson expansion) during transient periods of reservoir connectivity and leads to mineral precipitation. Each kilogram of fluid precipitates about 3 × 10 − 3 kg of silica along a typical decompression path along the isenthalp. Mineral precipitation modifies the permeability and acts to reseal connection paths thereby isolating lithostatic and hydrostatic reservoirs ending one bradyseism phase and beginning another. Crystallization and exsolution of the magmatic fluid generates ≈7×10 15 J of mechanical (PΔV) energy, and this is sufficient to accomplish the observed uplift at CF. Although magma emplacement is the ultimate origin of bradyseism, fresh recharge of magma is not a prerequisite. Instead, short to intermediate timescale phenomena associated with fluid decompression and expansion in the crust with large variations in permeability, including permeability anisotropy, are the key elements at CF.
State-Dependent AMPA Receptor Trafficking in the Mammalian Retina

The rapid cycling of AMPA receptors (AMPARs) at the membrane maintains synaptic transmission at a number of CNS synapses and may play a role in several forms of synaptic plasticity. It is unclear, however, how prevalent the trafficking of AMPARs is in the CNS, particularly at synapses not known to exhibit activity-dependent plasticity. Because trafficking is regulated by basal synaptic activity, a question also remains as to how receptor trafficking is modulated at synapses subject to different patterns of synaptic activation. We have investigated whether trafficking of AMPARs occurs in retinal neurons, which are subject to tonic glutamate release. We find two distinct states of AMPAR trafficking in ON ganglion cells. Light adaptation serves to stabilize AMPARs in a noncycling mode. However, dark adaptation for as little as 8 h triggers a switch to a second state of trafficking characterized by rapid cycling. We provide evidence that the activation of AMPARs is critical for switching between cycling and noncycling states. The induction of cycling further appears to be modulated by changes in the function of glutamate receptor 2/3-interacting proteins. Our results suggest that there is a strong link between synaptic activity and AMPAR trafficking in retinal neurons. These results further suggest the existence of a previously unknown form of activity-dependent plasticity in the retina that may be regulated in the course of a normal light/dark cycle.
The Herme Database of Spontaneous Multimodal Human-Robot Dialogues

This paper presents methodologies and tools for language resource (LR) construction. It describes a database of interactive speech collected over a three-month period at the Science Gallery in Dublin, where visitors could take part in a conversation with a robot. The system collected samples of informal, chatty dialogue – normally difficult to capture under laboratory conditions for human-human dialogue, and particularly so for human-machine interaction. The conversations were based on a script followed by the robot consisting largely of social chat with some task-based elements. The interactions were audio-visually recorded using several cameras together with microphones. As part of the conversation the participants were asked to sign a consent form giving permission to use their data for human-machine interaction research. The multimodal corpus will be made available to interested researchers and the technology developed during the three-month exhibition is being extended for use in education and assisted-living applications.
An efficient scan-to-map matching approach for autonomous driving

Accurately localizing the vehicle against a pre-built high precision map is an essential step for the Autonomous Land Vehicle (ALV). This paper proposes an efficient scan-to-map matching approach based on multi-channel lidar. We firstly advocate the usage of both the lidar reflectance map and the height map, as these two maps contain complementary information. Then, borrowing ideas from image optical flow literature, we formulate the scan-to-map matching problem as an optical flow computation problem, and propose an efficient gradient descent approach to solve it. Finally, the proposed approach is integrated into a filtering framework for realtime online localization. Experiments on real-world dataset have demonstrated the validity of our approach. The dataset is also made publicly available for future research.
Animate mobiles: proxemically reactive posture actuation as a means of relational interaction with mobile phones

In this paper, we explore body language in mobile phones as a means of relational interaction. We describe a prototype that allows the simulation of proxemic reactions to the nearing hand of a user, ranging from affection to aversion, based on nearness-based input and shape change-based output. A user study is reported, which indicates that users were able to interpret the prototype's behavior drawing on animal parallels. It is concluded that proxemically reactive actuation may be a viable means of actively integrating the relationship between the user and the device into the interaction.
Portfolio Management Implications of Volatility Shifts: Evidence from Simulated Data

Based on weekly data of the Dow Jones Country Titans, the CBT-municipal bond, spot and futures prices of commodities for the period 1992-2005, we analyze the implications for portfolio management of accounting for conditional heteroskedasticity and structural breaks in long-term volatility. In doing so, we first proceed to utilize the ICSS algorithm to detect volatility shifts, and incorporate that information into PGARCH models fitted to the returns series. At the next stage, we simulate returns series and compute a wavelet-based value at risk, which takes into consideration the investor’s time horizon. We repeat the same procedure for artificial data generated from distribution functions fitted to the returns by a semi-parametric procedure, which accounts for fat tails. Our estimation results show that neglecting GARCH effects and volatility shifts may lead us to overestimate financial risk at different time horizons. In addition, we conclude that investors benefit from holding commodities as their low or even negative correlation with stock indices contribute to portfolio diversification.
Neuroimmune consequences of teratological insult induced by cyclophosphamide exposure during intrauterine life in mice

A wide spectrum of the teratogenic effects of cyclophosphamide (CP) have been reported involving multiple tissues and organ systems of animals, but more population based studies may still be essential to conclusively demonstrate teratogenicity of CP in humans. However, a number of studies demonstrate that CP is a human teratogen due to its effects such as intrauterine growth retardation and multiple anomalies including microbrachycephaly, coronal craniosynostosis, hypotelorism, shallow orbits, proptosis, blepharophimosis, abnormal and small ears, unilateral preauricular pit, broad, flat nasal bridge, microstomia, high-arched palate, micrognathia, cranial anomalies, preaxial upper limb and post-axial lower limb defects consisting of hypoplastic thumbs, and oligodactyly like bilateral absence of 4th and 5th toes [1]. Tissue distribution of CP is wide. The drug can cross placenta, found in breast milk and ascitic fluid. Moreover, it is remarkable to note that CP and its metabolites can cross blood brain barrier. This may be particularly important in relation to the fact that CNS anomalities are the foremost among the malformations induced by the drug. Investigations provide evidences implicating CP induced cell death as a common event in the pathogenesis associated with tissues destined to be malformed [2]. Although the importance of this cell death is recognized, little information is available concerning the biochemistry of teratogen-induced cell death. Teratogen-induced cell death is also selective, i.e. some cells within a tissue die while others survive. In addition, cells within some tissues die when exposed to CP while other cells are relatively resistant to the CP induced cell death [2]. The spectrum of teratogenic effects produced by cyclophosphamide in various species shows a striking similarity. Cyclophosphamide exposure leads to multiple central nervous systems (CNS) anomalies, the mode of neuronal damage need to be established and we have chosen murine system for our study. We also intend to investigate the teratological insult caused by cyclophosphamide on murine fetal thymuses. Since some preliminary studies have indicated the involvement of nervous system in cylophosphamide induced immune disorders [3], neuroimmunological consequences of cyclophosphamide exposure need to be explored.
Theories, Methods and Tools in Program Comprehension: Past, Present and Future

Program comprehension research can be characterized by both the theories that provide rich explanations about how programmers comprehend software, as well as the tools that are used to assist in comprehension tasks. During this talk the author review some of the key cognitive theories of program comprehension that have emerged. Using these theories as a canvas, the author then explores how tools that are popular today have evolved to support program comprehension. Specifically, the author discusses how the theories and tools are related and reflect on the research methods that were used to construct the theories and evaluate the tools. The reviewed theories and tools will be further differentiated according to human characteristics, program characteristics, and the context for the various comprehension tasks. Finally, the author predicts how these characteristics will change in the future and speculate on how a number of important research directions could lead to improvements in program comprehension tools and methods.
X-Ray Emission from Young Brown Dwarfs in the Orion Nebula Cluster

We use the sensitive X-ray data from the Chandra Orion Ultradeep Project (COUP) to study the X-ray properties of 34 spectroscopically identified brown dwarfs with near-infrared spectral types between M6 and M9 in the core of the Orion Nebula Cluster. Nine of the 34 objects are clearly detected as X-ray sources. The apparently low detection rate is in many cases related to the substantial extinction of these brown dwarfs; considering only the brown dwarfs with AV ≤ 5 mag, nearly half of the objects (7 out of 16) are detected in X-rays. Our 10 day long X-ray light curves of these objects exhibit strong variability, including numerous flares. While one of the objects was only detected during a short flare, a statistical analysis of the light curves provides evidence for continuous ("quiescent") emission in addition to flares for all other objects. Of these, the ~M9 brown dwarf COUP 1255 (=HC 212) is one of the coolest known objects with a clear detection of quiescent X-ray emission. The X-ray properties (spectra, fractional X-ray luminosities, flare rates) of these young brown dwarfs are similar to those of the low-mass stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster, and thus there is no evidence for changes in the magnetic activity around the stellar/substellar boundary, which lies at ~M6 for Orion Nebula Cluster sources. Since the X-ray properties of the young brown dwarfs are also similar to those of M6-M9 field stars, the key to the magnetic activity in very cool objects seems to be the effective temperature, which determines the degree of ionization in the atmosphere.