Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
p38α Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Plays a Critical Role in Cardiomyocyte Survival but Not in Cardiac Hypertrophic Growth in Response to Pressure Overload

ABSTRACT The molecular mechanism for the transition from cardiac hypertrophy, an adaptive response to biomechanical stress, to heart failure is poorly understood. The mitogen-activated protein kinase p38α is a key component of stress response pathways in various types of cells. In this study, we attempted to explore the in vivo physiological functions of p38α in hearts. First, we generated mice with floxed p38α alleles and crossbred them with mice expressing the Cre recombinase under the control of the α-myosin heavy-chain promoter to obtain cardiac-specific p38α knockout mice. These cardiac-specific p38α knockout mice were born normally, developed to adulthood, were fertile, exhibited a normal life span, and displayed normal global cardiac structure and function. In response to pressure overload to the left ventricle, they developed significant levels of cardiac hypertrophy, as seen in controls, but also developed cardiac dysfunction and heart dilatation. This abnormal response to pressure overload was accompanied by massive cardiac fibrosis and the appearance of apoptotic cardiomyocytes. These results demonstrate that p38α plays a critical role in the cardiomyocyte survival pathway in response to pressure overload, while cardiac hypertrophic growth is unaffected despite its dramatic down-regulation.
The Difference That Women Make

Empirical research on the difference that gender makes is sparse. This study is the first step toward providing evidence that agencies led by women perform better than those led by men. Using the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) data, this study examines the research question: Are women improving federal government agency performance? Preliminary results indicate that they do. The broader goal of social justice frames the discussion of findings.
Are smoking and passive smoking related with heart rate variability in male adolescents?

Objective To analyze the relation between smoking and passive smoking with heart rate variability parameters in male adolescents. Methods The sample consisted of 1,152 males, aged 14 and 19 years. Data related to smoking and passive smoking were collected using a questionnaire. RR intervals were obtained by a heart rate monitor, on supine position, for 10 minutes. After collecting the RR intervals, time (standard deviation of all RR intervals, root mean square of the squared differences between adjacent normal RR intervals and the percentage of adjacent intervals over 50ms) and frequency domains (low and high frequency and sympathovagal balance) parameters of heart rate variability were obtained. Results No significant differences between smoker and nonsmoker adolescents were observed in heart rate variability parameters (p>0.05). Similarly, heart rate variability parameters did not show significant difference between exposed and not exposed to passive smoking (p>0.05). Conclusion Cigarette smoking and passive smoking are not related to heart rate variability in adolescence.
On the computational design of concentric tube robots: Incorporating volume-based objectives

Concentric tube continuum robots provide an infinite-dimensional design space, consisting of individual tube space curves and other tube parameters. Even when design choices are made to restrict the design space to a small number of discrete parameters, ad hoc selection of parameter values to achieve coverage of a desired volume, in the presence of geometric workspace constraints, is essentially impossible - even for experienced researchers. General design algorithms proposed to date have focused on reaching a discrete set of specific points, and have made non-physical approximations in the robot model (most significantly assuming infinite torsional rigidity), to speed up model computation. In this paper, we extend prior algorithms to use more accurate models and incorporate volume-based objectives. These extensions are illustrated in a case study on the design of a concentric tube robot for endonasal pituitary surgery. We show that volume-based design optimization increases the reachable percentage of the surgical workspace by an average of approximately 50%, in comparison to various sets of manually selected design parameters. We conclude that volume-based objectives should be included in future multi-objective design optimization procedures for concentric tube continuum robots.
Bortezomib Can Suppress Activation of Rapamycin-Resistant Memory T Cells Without Affecting Regulatory T-Cell Viability in Non-Human Primates

Background. Memory T cells specific for donor antigens are currently recognized as a significant barrier for maintaining a successful transplant. Furthermore, it has been shown that commonly used immunosuppressive drugs do not alleviate this memory response. Here, we report that rapamycin allows significant proliferation of memory T cells and bortezomib can abrogate the proliferation of rapamycin-resistant memory T cells when preserving the survival of regulatory T cells. Methods. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells freshly isolated from non-human primates were stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies, and inhibitory and apoptotic effects of rapamycin and bortezomib on memory T-cell proliferation were investigated. The CD95 marker in CD3+ T cells was used for the separate enrichment of memory T cells and naïve T cells. Results. Rapamycin at the level even higher than therapeutic concentration could not suppress the proliferation of a significant proportion of memory T cells. However, the combined administration of bortezomib and rapamycin abrogated the proliferation of rapamycin-resistant memory T cells. Furthermore, bortezomib preserved the survival of preexisting CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells, while inducing apoptosis of CD4+FoxP3− conventional T cells. The combined administration of low doses of rapamycin and bortezomib also exerted an additive effect on suppressing T-cell proliferation. Cytokine analysis demonstrated that bortezomib could not only suppress rapamycin-permissive interleukin (IL)-6 production, but also production of interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4, and IL-10. Conclusions. This article provides in vitro data from which immunosuppressive regimens for the effective control of memory T cells in non-human preclinical experiments and in clinical trials are selected.
Path Finding for the Animation of Walking Characters

Both path finding and character animation play an important role in virtual environments. In this paper we describe a new approach to plan the path for a single character, taking into account constraints put forth by the availability of the motion capture data. The final path of the character is guaranteed to be valid in the way that the final animation along the path is valid and correct. We also extend the approach to groups of characters. Experiments show that the approach produces paths and animations that are valid and correct. The performance of the approach is good, making the approach applicable in real-time applications.
Achieving Rapid Growth in the Transition Economies of Central Europe

This paper describes ways that the CEEs can speed their convergence with the EU by emulating the growth strategies of the very fast growing economies. In Section II, we introduce the VFGEs, and discuss some of the sources of their superior growth performance. In Section III, we demonstrate the role of key policy variables in the context of cross-country growth equations. In Section IV, we examine how the CEEs can emulate key aspects of the economic policies of the VFGEs, in order to raise their growth in the coming years.
Cellular prion protein conformation and function

In the otherwise highly conserved NMR structures of cellular prion proteins (PrPC) from different mammals, species variations in a surface epitope that includes a loop linking a β-strand, β2, with a helix, α2, are associated with NMR manifestations of a dynamic equilibrium between locally different conformations. Here, it is shown that this local dynamic conformational polymorphism in mouse PrPC is eliminated through exchange of Tyr169 by Ala or Gly, but is preserved after exchange of Tyr 169 with Phe. NMR structure determinations of designed variants of mouse PrP(121–231) at 20 °C and of wild-type mPrP(121–231) at 37 °C together with analysis of exchange effects on NMR signals then resulted in the identification of the two limiting structures involved in this local conformational exchange in wild-type mouse PrPC, and showed that the two exchanging structures present characteristically different solvent-exposed epitopes near the β2–α2 loop. The structural data presented in this paper provided a platform for currently ongoing, rationally designed experiments with transgenic laboratory animals for renewed attempts to unravel the so far elusive physiological function of the cellular prion protein.
Texture Analysis and Indexing Using Gabor-like Hermite Filters

paper, we study texture discrimination base d on two filter families, Gabor and Hermite, which agree with the Gaussian derivative model of the human visual system. In the first part, discrimination of different textures, based on the output energy of these filters, is compared using the Fisher criteri on and classification result. Results show that the presen ted filter bank is suitable for purposes of texture feature extraction and discrimination. The second part of this paper is de dicated to global and local texture feature extraction for ima ge indexing and retrieval based on Hermite filters.
Refactoring Delta-Oriented Product Lines to achieve Monotonicity

Delta-oriented programming (DOP) is a flexible transformational approach to implement software product lines. In delta-oriented product lines, variants are generated by applying operations contained in delta modules to a (possibly empty) base program. These operations can add, remove or modify named elements in a program (e.g., classes, methods and fields in a Java program). This paper presents algorithms for refactoring a delta-oriented product line into monotonic form, i.e., either to contain add and modify operations only (monotonic increasing) or to contain remove and modify operations only (monotonic decreasing). Because of their simpler structure, monotonic delta-oriented product lines are easier to analyze. The algorithms are formalized by means of a core calculus for DOP of product lines of Java programs and their correctness and complexity are given.
Einflussgrößen auf das Stromsparen im Haushalt aus psychologischer Perspektive

Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Dehmel, C. , & Krömker, D. (2010). Einflussgrößen auf das Stromsparen im Haushalt aus psychologischer Perspektive (Transpose Working Paper, 6). Münster: Universität Münster, FB Erziehungswissenschaft und Sozialwissenschaften, Institut für Politikwissenschaft; Freie Universität Berlin, Forschungsstelle für Umweltpolitik. https://nbn-resolving.org/ urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-257446
Skills Augmenting Online Shopping Behavior: A Study of Need for Cognition Positive Segment

The present study takes into account “need for cognition” (NFC), which represents the tendency of individuals to engage in and enjoy thinking. The NFC has been described as the need to structure relevant situation into meaningful, integrated ways and a need to understand and make a reasonable understanding of the experiential world. The article attempts to identify the specific skill dimensions, which operate in respondents who shop online and are positive on NFC, and try to seek difference in online shopping behavior of the respondents with different level of these skills. Principal Component Analysis, ANOVA, and confirmatory factor analysis were the statistics used in the study. Six factors were identified explaining dimensions operating in NFC positive segment, namely, preference for being advance user, confident user of latest in information technology, using it as tool for knowledge exploration, ability to assess behavior of program, efficient end user and knowledge of hardware. Significant difference in online shopping behavior was identified for users having skills clubbed under the dimension of confident user of latest in information technology.
Identification of Two Proteins Associated with Mammalian ATP Synthase*S

Bovine mitochondrial ATP synthase commonly is isolated as a monomeric complex that contains 16 protein subunits and the natural IF1 inhibitor protein in substoichiometric amounts. Alternatively ATP synthase can be isolated in dimeric and higher oligomeric states using digitonin for membrane solubilization and blue native or clear native electrophoresis for separation of the native mitochondrial complexes. Using blue native electrophoresis we could identify two ATP synthase-associated membrane proteins with masses smaller than 7 kDa and isoelectric points close to 10 that previously had been removed during purification. We show that in the mitochondrial membrane both proteins are almost quantitatively bound to ATP synthase. Both proteins had been identified earlier in a different context, but their association with ATP synthase was unknown. The first one had been named 6.8-kDa mitochondrial proteolipid because it can be isolated by chloroform/methanol extraction from mitochondrial membranes. The second one had been denoted as diabetes-associated protein in insulin-sensitive tissue (DAPIT), which may provide a clue for further functional and clinical investigations.
On designing improved controllers for AQM routers supporting TCP flows

In this paper we study a previously developed linearized model of TCP and active queue management (AQM). We use classical control system techniques to develop controllers well suited for the application. The controllers are shown to have better theoretical properties than the well known RED controller. We present guidelines for designing stable controllers subject to network parameters like load level propagation delay etc. We also present simple implementation techniques which require a minimal change to RED implementations. The performance of the controllers are verified and compared with RED using ns simulations. The second of our designs, the proportional integral (PI) controller is shown to outperform RED significantly.
Transistor channel decomposition for structured analog layout, manufacturability and low-power applications

This paper addresses the problem of transistor decomposition in channel length direction aiming at structured analog layout generation, manufacturability and low-power applications. We propose a channel decomposition method to generate structured layout for analog circuits with transistor array, and evaluate the error arising from the decomposition in both large and small signal analysis. The measurement results from a test chip suggests that the error can be ignored and the design with transistor array is applicable. Our test chip also demonstrates the effectiveness of design with transistor array with several typical analog circuits.
Preventive Inference Control in Data-centric Business Models

Inference control is a modern topic in data usage management, especially in the context of data-centric business models. However, it is generally not well understood how protection mechanisms could be designed to protect the users. The contributions of this paper are threefold: firstly, it describes the inference problem and relate it to protection mechanisms; secondly, it reports on a simple mechanism to provide a-priori inference protection; thirdly, it discusses on the drawbacks of such a mechanism, as well as on the acceptance it had on a preliminary, controlled field study. In particular, the study shows that, contrary to our expectations, participants prefer an a-posteriori approach based upon audits to detect whether inferences happened.
Survival of Vibrio cholerae in Nutrient-Poor Environments Is Associated with a Novel “Persister” Phenotype

In response to antibiotic and/or environmental stress, some species of bacteria shift to a “persister” phenotype. Although toxigenic Vibrio cholerae, responsible for the disease cholera, can be found in nutrient-poor aquatic environments in endemic areas, the underlying mechanism(s) by which culturable cells persist in these environmental reservoirs is largely unknown. Here we report that introduction of V. cholerae into a nutrient-poor filter sterilized lake water (FSLW) microcosm promoted a shift to what we have defined as a “persister” phenotype (PP) which was culturable for >700 days. Direct transfer of PP of V. cholerae from original microcosms to freshly prepared FSLW resulted in the same pattern of persistence seen in the original microcosms. Scanning electron microscopy of cells persisting for over 700 days demonstrated cell morphologies that were very small in size, with a high degree of aggregation associated with flagella emanating from all aspects of the cell. V. cholerae PP cells reverted to a typical V. cholerae morphology when transferred to nutrient-rich L- broth. Cell-free supernatants obtained from microcosms at 24 hours, 180 days, and 700 days all showed >2-fold increase in CAI-1 signaling molecules, consistent with quorum sensing activity, as has been described for Pseudomonas aeruginosa persister cells. Chitin and phosphate promoted cell growth. Our data suggest that nutrient stress can select a V. cholerae persister phenotype in environmental reservoirs, with these strains then seeding subsequent cholera epidemics in response to chitin and phosphate availability.
Once-daily gentamicin therapy for experimental Escherichia coli meningitis

In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that the bacteriologic efficacy of once-daily aminoglycoside therapy is equivalent to that achieved with conventional multiple daily dosing. The impact of once-daily dosing for meningitis has not been studied. Using the well-characterized rabbit meningitis model, we compared two regimens of the same daily dosage of gentamicin given either once or in three divided doses for 24 or 72 h. The initial 1 h mean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gentamicin concentration for animals receiving a single dose (2.9 +/- 1.7 micrograms/ml) was threefold higher than that for the animals receiving multiple doses. The rate of bacterial killing in the first 8 h of treatment was significantly greater for the animals with higher concentrations in their CSF (-0.21 +/- 0.19 versus -0.03 +/- 0.22 log10 CFU/ml/h), suggesting concentration-dependent killing. By 24h, the mean reduction in bacterial titers was similar for the two regimens. In animals treated for 72 h, no differences in bactericidal activity was noted for 24, 48, or 72 h. Gentamicin at two different dosages was administered intracisternally to a separate set of animals to achieve considerably higher CSF gentamicin concentrations. In these animals, the rate of bacterial clearance in the first 8 h (0.52 +/- 0.15 and 0.58 +/- 0.15 log10 CFU/ml/h for the lower and higher dosages, respectively) was significantly greater than that in animals treated intravenously. In conclusion, there is evidence of concentration-dependent killing with gentamicin early in treatment for experimental E. coli meningitis, and once-daily dosing therapy appears to be at least as effective as multiple-dose therapy in reducing bacterial counts in CSF.
Evidence of large-scale amplitude modulation on the near-wall turbulence

The relationship between large- and small-scale motions remains a poorly understood process in wall-bounded turbulence. Such misunderstanding is perhaps, in part, due to the limited scale separation typical of many laboratory-scale facilities. A recent investigation performed by Hutchins and Marusic [11] in a high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layer has qualitatively shown the existence of a modulating influence of the large-scale log region motions on the small-scale near-wall cycle. For this study we build upon these observations, using the Hilbert transformation applied to the spectrally filtered smallscale component of fluctuating velocity signals, in order to quantitatively determine the degree of amplitude modulation imparted by the large-scale structures onto the near-wall cycle.
Traditional Masculinity and Femininity: Validation of a New Scale Assessing Gender Roles

Gender stereotype theory suggests that men are generally perceived as more masculine than women, whereas women are generally perceived as more feminine than men. Several scales have been developed to measure fundamental aspects of gender stereotypes (e.g., agency and communion, competence and warmth, or instrumentality and expressivity). Although omitted in later version, Bem's original Sex Role Inventory included the items “masculine” and “feminine” in addition to more specific gender-stereotypical attributes. We argue that it is useful to be able to measure these two core concepts in a reliable, valid, and parsimonious way. We introduce a new and brief scale, the Traditional Masculinity-Femininity (TMF) scale, designed to assess central facets of self-ascribed masculinity-femininity. Studies 1–2 used known-groups approaches (participants differing in gender and sexual orientation) to validate the scale and provide evidence of its convergent validity. As expected the TMF reliably measured a one-dimensional masculinity-femininity construct. Moreover, the TMF correlated moderately with other gender-related measures. Demonstrating incremental validity, the TMF predicted gender and sexual orientation in a superior way than established adjective-based measures. Furthermore, the TMF was connected to criterion characteristics, such as judgments as straight by laypersons for the whole sample, voice pitch characteristics for the female subsample, and contact to gay men for the male subsample, and outperformed other gender-related scales. Taken together, as long as gender differences continue to exist, we suggest that the TMF provides a valuable methodological addition for research into gender stereotypes.
Modeling Personalized and Context Sensitive Behavior for Location Aware Services by Employing Fuzzy Logic

Location-aware technologies will have a great impact on potential applications in the civilian secu- rity domain. For applications involving lone worker protection or security officer's guide, there is a need for se- lecting and ranking the context information from a vast amount of vague and incomplete data. Moreover, the bulk of information available is dynamic and incomplete and our preferences about certain actions are vague, ambiguous and otherwise fuzzy. A fuzzy approach for making-decisions in such an environment is facilitated by the natural accommodation of linguistic grades for all possible alternatives. The objective is to find the best alternative, which satisfies the interest and will of the user. This paper discuses the potential of fuzzy decision- making on ubiquitous data and demonstrates how such an approach may be employed for improving the level of services for mobile users in a context aware application where precise positioning is provided by an aug- mented satellite positioning system. It also presents an overview of the location-based information system and it formulates a process for making fuzzy decisions under uncertainty in a context aware environment.