Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous Retroviruses: A Potential Problem for Xenotransplantation? a

ABSTRACT: To overcome the shortage of suitable human donors for transplantation attention has recently turned to the possibility of using genetically modified pigs as a source of cells and organs. It has been suggested that such procedures might facilitate the introduction of novel retroviruses, normally resident in the pig germ line, into the human population (Stoye and Coffin, Nature Medicine 1: 1100, l995). The consequences of such a transfer remain unclear; however, the demonstration that certain porcine cell lines express infectious retroviruses which can infect human cells (Patience et al., Nature Medicine 3: 282–286, 1997) emphasizes that there are grounds for practical concern. We have now cloned the envelope genes of the expressed viruses and are using these clones in studies of the interaction of the porcine viruses with their cellular receptors. We have also initiated studies of the inheritance and expression of human‐tropic endogenous proviruses present in different pig populations. These studies reveal that at least two classes of human‐tropic endogenous porcine retrovirus are widely distributed in pigs (Le Tissier et al., Nature 389: 681–681, 1997). The implications of our results for assessing the potential risks of retroviral transfer during xenotransplantation are discussed.
Endogenous and Synthetic MicroRNAs Stimulate Simultaneous, Efficient, and Localized Regulation of Multiple Targets in Diverse Species[W]

Recent studies demonstrated that pattern formation in plants involves regulation of transcription factor families by microRNAs (miRNAs). To explore the potency, autonomy, target range, and functional conservation of miRNA genes, a systematic comparison between plants ectopically expressing pre-miRNAs and plants with corresponding multiple mutant combinations of target genes was performed. We show that regulated expression of several Arabidopsis thaliana pre-miRNA genes induced a range of phenotypic alterations, the most extreme ones being a phenocopy of combined loss of their predicted target genes. This result indicates quantitative regulation by miRNA as a potential source for diversity in developmental outcomes. Remarkably, custom-made, synthetic miRNAs vectored by endogenous pre-miRNA backbones also produced phenocopies of multiple mutant combinations of genes that are not naturally regulated by miRNA. Arabidopsis-based endogenous and synthetic pre-miRNAs were also processed effectively in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Synthetic miR-ARF targeting Auxin Response Factors 2, 3, and 4 induced dramatic transformations of abaxial tissues into adaxial ones in all three species, which could not cross graft joints. Likewise, organ-specific expression of miR165b that coregulates the PHABULOSA-like adaxial identity genes induced localized abaxial transformations. Thus, miRNAs provide a flexible, quantitative, and autonomous platform that can be employed for regulated expression of multiple related genes in diverse species.
GESTÃO DE PREÇOS: UM ESTUDO EM PEQUENAS EMPRESAS PARTICIPANTES DO PROGRAMA EMPREENDER – UBERLÂNDIA-MG

O objetivo geral deste estudo e identificar e analisar os principais fatores que influenciam na determinacao do preco de venda utilizados pelos gestores das pequenas empresas. A amostra corresponde a 48 empresas participantes do Programa Empreender da Associacao Comercial e Industrial de Uberlândia (ACIUB), tendo sido aplicado um questionario aos gestores de pequenas empresas. O instrumento e baseado nas proposicoes indicadas na literatura por Martins (2006); Santos et al . (2006); Cogan et al. (2007); Bruni e Fama (2008); Lima e Imoniana (2008); Teixeira, Leal e Miranda (2008); Canever, Schnorrenberger e Gasparetto (2010); e Santos, Leal e Miranda (2012). Para analisar os dados coletados, utilizaram-se a estatistica descritiva e a analise de conglomerados. As funcoes da gestao de custos no processo decisorio das empresas foram evidenciadas como muito importante pelos participantes da pesquisa. Na analise de conglomerados, identificaram-se dois clusters . O primeiro agrupou treze variaveis (fatores que influenciam e sao utilizados na determinacao do preco de venda) indicadas pelos gestores das pequenas empresas. Esses fatores sao recomendados na literatura e englobam a influencia dos consumidores, da concorrencia e dos custos. Ja o segundo cluster foi constituido por apenas uma variavel: ‘fatores politicos e legais’. Os resultados confirmaram a indicacao da abordagem mista para a gestao dos precos, o que e tratado na discussao teorica como o mais utilizado pelas empresas na decisao do preco de venda.
Electric coupling to the magnetic resonance of split ring resonators

We study both theoretically and experimentally the transmission properties of a lattice of split ring resonators (SRRs) for different electromagnetic (EM) field polarizations and propagation directions. We find unexpectedly that the incident electric field E couples to the magnetic resonance of the SRR when the EM waves propagate perpendicular to the SRR plane and the incident E is parallel to the gap-bearing sides of the SRR. This is manifested by a dip in the transmission spectrum. A simple analytic model is introduced to explain this interesting behavior.
Analytic Combinatorics

Analytic Combinatorics is a self-contained treatment of the mathematics underlying the analysis of discrete structures, which has emerged over the past several decades as an essential tool in the understanding of properties of computer programs and scientific models with applications in physics, biology and chemistry. Thorough treatment of a large number of classical applications is an essential aspect of the presentation. Written by the leaders in the field of analytic combinatorics, this text is certain to become the definitive reference on the topic. The text is complemented with exercises, examples, appendices and notes to aid understanding therefore, it can be used as the basis for an advanced undergraduate or a graduate course on the subject, or for self-study.
kappa-Opioid withdrawal in Planaria.

Many drug-abusers engage in poly-drug abuse, but there has been relatively little quantification of withdrawal from poly-drug use. Planarians are an advantageous model for these studies due to mammalian-relevant neurotransmitter systems (e.g. dopamine, opioid, and 5-HT). We recently developed a metric that quantified an acute cocaine withdrawal phenomenon in planarians. However, despite much indirect evidence, we lacked direct evidence of a receptor- or carrier-mediated effect. We now report dose-related, naloxone- and nor-binaltorphine-sensitive acute abstinence-induced withdrawal and naloxone-precipitated withdrawal from the kappa-opioid agonist U-50,488H (trans-(+/-)-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-(2-[1-pyrrolidinyl]cyclohexyl)-benzeneacetamide). The less active enantiomer [1R,2R]U-50,488 produced significantly less withdrawal and U-50,488H withdrawal was not due to pH or osmolarity. These data provide pharmacologic evidence of a kappa-opioid receptor-mediated withdrawal phenomenon and neuroadaptation to a pharmacologic stimulus (adaptations in transduction mechanisms) in this model.
On the Cusp Catastrophe Model and Stability

In this paper, we present results on the projection of the folding part of the cusp catastrophe model on the control space to find stability and catastrophic phenomenon of the periodic solutions of some nonlin ear differential equations by using methods of catastrophe theory. We have shown here, that the occurrence of the folding of the cusp surface is always accompani ed with the saddle - node bifurcation, and that the saddle - node bifurcation can be classified as cusp type catastrophe.
Emerging Concepts in the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms: Stents, Coated Coils, and Liquid Embolic Agents

ENDOVASCULAR TECHNIQUES FOR the treatment of intracranial aneurysms are rapidly evolving. Modifications of more traditional coils have been introduced. Such modifications include newer coils coated with various polymers to increase both coil thrombogenicity and degree of aneurysm packing. In addition, newer coil designs aimed at improving the conformability of the coil to the aneurysm have been used with promising preliminary results. The availability of a newer generation of stents specifically designed for intracranial navigation allows for more effective treatment of aneurysms with wide necks, which usually have been considered unsuitable for optimal endovascular treatment. Endovascular alternatives to coil embolization, such as liquid embolic materials, also have been explored for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms, with varying results. We summarize the rationale for use of these newer devices and early clinical experiences. Areas of current research and future directions of endovascular aneurysm treatment also are discussed.
Oligonucleotide array‐based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) of 90 neuroblastomas reveals aberration patterns closely associated with relapse pattern and outcome

The study of genomic alterations in neuroblastoma is of particular importance since several cytogenetic markers proved to be closely associated with the clinical phenotype. To disclose patterns of gains and losses, we performed high‐resolution oligonucleotide array‐based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). A total cohort of 90 patients was classified into 6 subsets according to tumor stage and outcome: Stages 1‐3+ (with event), Stage 1‐3− (no event), Stage 4+/−, and Stage 4S+/−. The aberration patterns in Stages 1‐3− and 4S− tumors differed from all other groups as they were predominantly characterized by losses (3, 4, 14, X) and gains (7, 17) of whole chromosomes. However, 59/65 (91%) tumors of Stages 1‐3+ or Stage 4 revealed numerous structural copy number alterations (sCNA). While deletions in chromosomes 1, 3, and 11 discriminated outcome in Stage 4, there were no specific sCNA that distinguished tumor stage within the subgroup of unfavorable tumors. sCNA in 1p, 3p, 11q, 17q, or MYCN amplification (MNA) was seen among 22/24 patients who died, 10/12 with metastatic relapses, and 5/9 with local recurrences. Detailed breakpoint analyses on chromosomes 1, 3, 11, and 17 disclosed preferred breaking areas, although breakpoints were not identical. Amplifications were found in 18 patients and involved 2p24 (MYCN) and other segments of chromosome 2, as well as regions on chromosome arms 6q, 12q, and 17q. One single feature in 21q21.1 (BU678720, without known function yet) attracted particular attention since five patients showed a homozygous loss of this sequence. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Socially Intelligent Agents - Creating Relationships with Computers and Robots

Socially Intelligent Agents: Creating Relationships with Computers and Robots Understanding Social Intelligence Modeling Social Relationship: An Agent Architecture for Voluntary Mutual Control Developing Agents Who can Relate to Us: Putting Agents in Our Loop via Situated Self-Creation Party Hosts and Tour Guides: Using Nonverbal Social Cues in the Design of Interface Agents to Support Human-Human Social Interaction Increasing SIA Architecture Realism by Modeling and Adapting for Affect and Personality Cooperative Interface Agents Playing the Emotion Game with Feelix: What Can a LEGO Robot Tell Us about Emotion?
American Youth Cultures

Table of Contents Introduction: On Youth Cultural Studies Neil Campbell (University of Derby) 1. Fresh Contacts: Global Culture and the Concept of Generation Charles R. Acland (Concordia University, Canada) 2. Children of the Revolution: Fiction Takes to the Streets Elizabeth Young 3. Disposable Youth / Disposable Futures: The Crisis of Politics and Public Life Henry A. Giroux (Penn State University) 4. 'Splendid Fun' in 'Elsewhere': Textual Treats for Contemporary Readers in What Katy Did and other 'Classic' North American Stories for Girls' Jenny Robinson (University of Derby) 5. Ideologies of Youth and the Bildungsromane of S.E. Hinton David Holloway (University of Derby) 6. 'Something You Can't Unhear': Youth, History and the West in Larry Watson's Montana 1948 Neil Campbell (University of Derby) 7. Teensomething: American Youth Programming in the 1990s Simon Philo (University of Derby) 8. The Body's in the Trunk: (Re-) Presenting Generation X Jon Lewis (Oregon State University) 9. 'Be Childish, Be Irresponsible, Be Disrespectful, Be Everything this Society Hates': Punk, Youth and Protest Simon Philo (University of Derby) 10. Wanting to be Lisa: Generational Rifts, Girl Power, and the Globalization of Surf Culture Krista Comer (Rice University, Houston) The Contributors Charles Acland is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University, Montreal. He is co-editor of Harold Innis in the New Century: Reflections and Refractions (1999) and author of Screen Traffic: Cinema Going in a Global Context (2003) and Youth, Murder, Spectacle: The Cultural Politics of 'Youth in Crisis' (1995). Neil Campbell is subject leader for American Studies at the University of Derby. He is co-author of American Cultural Studies (1997) and author of The Cultures of the American New West (2000). Krista Comer is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Rice University, Houston. She is author of Landscapes of the New West (1999). Henry Giroux is the Waterbury Chair Professor at Penn State University. His most recent books include Fugitive Cultures: Race, Violence and Youth (1996), Channel Surfing: Racism, the Media and the Destruction of Youth (1997), Stealing Innocence: Youth, Corporate Power and the Politics of Culture (2000) and Impure Acts: The Practical Politics of Cultural Studies (2000). David Holloway teaches American Studies at the University of Derby. He is author of The Late Modernism of Cormac McCarthy (2001). Jon Lewis is Professor of English at Oregon State University. His books include The Road to Romance and Ruin: Teen Films and Youth Culture (1992), Whom God Wishes to Destroy! Francis Coppola and the New Hollywood (1995) and The New American Cinema (1998). Simon Philo teaches American Studies at the University of Derby. He is author of American Popular Music (forthcoming). Jenny Robinson is a teacher of English and American Studies at the University of Derby and Burton College. Elizabeth Young was a freelance writer who published widely on contemporary culture and fiction. She was co-author of Shopping in Space (1992).
Evaluation and Sociolinguistic Analysis of Text Features for Gender and Age Identification

The paper presents an interdisciplinary study in the field of automatic gender and age identification, under the scope of sociolinguistic knowledge on gendered and age linguistic choices that social media users make. The authors investigated and gathered standard and novel text features used in text mining approaches on the author's demographic information and profiling and they examined their efficacy in gender and age detection tasks on a corpus consisted of social media texts. An analysis of the most informative features is attempted according to the nature of each feature and the information derived after the characteristics' score of importance is discussed.
A compact circularly polarized patch antenna with ring reflector

A miniaturized antenna with circular polarization and directional pattern is presented in this paper. The conventional ground plane is replaced by a rectangular ring reflector to form the directional pattern. Since the side length of the ring reflector is around quarter-wavelength, the total size of the proposed antenna is reduced dramatically, which is about λg/2 × λg/2 in the horizontal plane. In addition, the performance of the proposed antenna is still comparable with the convetional microstrip antenna. The simulated gain is 6.1 dB at the 1.575 GHz, while the back radiation is only -11.6 dB. To verify the proposed design, a protype is fabricated and measured. Good agreement is observed between the measured and simulated results.
A qualitative analysis of male couples’ coping with HIV: Disentangling the “we”

Research suggests that optimal couple functioning depends on adopting a “we” orientation to health. Using qualitative data from 20 male couples in which at least one partner was HIV-positive, we examined how couples viewed their health involvement and its relation to social support. One group described their health as highly interconnected; in a second group, at least one partner viewed health as a personal responsibility. Results revealed that there was not a uniform “we” approach toward health; rather, sero-concordance, sero-discordance, and coping with other chronic illnesses strongly contributed to orientations toward health. Orientations toward health were not found to determine social support.
Improving the horizontal current bipolar transistor breakdown voltage by floating field plates

A method for improvement of breakdown voltage of the Horizontal Current Bipolar Transistor (HCBT) by application of floating field plates (FFPs) is presented. The FFPs are used for shaping of the potential distribution and the electric field in the base-collector depletion region. The BVCEo improvement from 13 V to 25 V by the addition of one FFP to a double-emitter HCBT is demonstrated by measurements of fabricated devices. The FFP is fabricated by the extrinsic base implantation and is aligned to the extrinsic base, allowing for ideal control of the electric field shaping. New structure is added to the HCBT BiCMOS process flow at zero-cost. Simulations show that multiple FFPs can be used for the increase of the BVceo in discrete steps. BVCEO of 44 V is achieved by using 5 FFPs.
Unsupervised Change Detection for Satellite Images Using Dual-Tree Complex Wavelet Transform

In this paper, an unsupervised change-detection method for multitemporal satellite images is proposed. The algorithm exploits the inherent multiscale structure of the dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DT-CWT) to individually decompose each input image into one low-pass subband and six directional high-pass subbands at each scale. To avoid illumination variation issue possibly incurred in the low-pass subband, only the DT-CWT coefficient difference resulted from the six high-pass subbands of the two satellite images under comparison is analyzed in order to decide whether each subband pixel intensity has incurred a change. Such a binary decision is based on an unsupervised thresholding derived from a mixture statistical model, with a goal of minimizing the total error probability of change detection. The binary change-detection mask is thus formed for each subband, and all the produced subband masks are merged by using both the intrascale fusion and the interscale fusion to yield the final change-detection mask. For conducting the performance evaluation of change detection, the proposed DT-CWT-based unsupervised change-detection method is exploited for both the noise-free and the noisy images. Extensive simulation results clearly show that the proposed algorithm not only consistently provides more accurate detection of small changes but also demonstrates attractive robustness against noise interference under various noise types and noise levels.
NF-κB-Driven STAT2 and CCL2 Expression in Astrocytes in Response to Brain Injury1

Tissue response to injury includes expression of genes encoding cytokines and chemokines. These regulate entry of immune cells to the injured tissue. The synthesis of many cytokines and chemokines involves NF-κB and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT). Injury to the CNS induces glial response. Astrocytes are the major glial population in the CNS. We examined expression of STATs and the chemokine CCL2 and their relationship to astroglial NF-κB signaling in the CNS following axonal transection. Double labeling with Mac-1/CD11b and glial fibrillary acidic protein revealed that STAT2 up-regulation and phosphorylation colocalized exclusively to astrocytes, suggesting the involvement of STAT2 activating signals selectively in astroglial response to injury. STAT1 was also up-regulated and phosphorylated but not exclusively in astrocytes. Both STAT2 up-regulation and phosphorylation were NF-κB -dependent since they did not occur in the lesion-reactive hippocampus of transgenic mice with specific inhibition of NF-κB activation in astrocytes. We further showed that lack of NF-κB signaling significantly reduced injury-induced CCL2 expression as well as leukocyte infiltration. Our results suggest that NF-κB signaling in astrocytes controls expression of both STAT2 and CCL2, and thus regulates infiltration of leukocytes into lesion-reactive hippocampus after axonal injury. Taken together, these findings indicate a central role for astrocytes in directing immune-glial interaction in the CNS injury response.
Aging effect on dichotic listening of Cantonese

Abstract Cantonese dichotic digits recognition was evaluated in free-recall, directed-attention right, and directed-attention left response conditions. All participants were right-handed and included a group of young adults with normal hearing and a group of older adults with minimal sensorineural hearing loss. In all conditions, performance by the young adults was better than performance by the older adults. A right-ear advantage was observed for both groups. Due to a greater deficit in dichotic digits recognition performance in the left ear of older subjects their right-ear advantages were larger than those for the young adults. The results support an age-related disadvantage in recognition performance for dichotic stimuli presented to the left ear of older subjects that is not entirely accounted for by differences in hearing sensitivity between subject groups but may be related to a primary cognitive deficit. Sumario El reconocimiento dicótico de dígitos en cantonés fue evaluado en condiciones de forma libre, con atención dirigida a la derecha y con atención dirigida a la izquierda. Todos los participantes eran diestros y se incluyó un grupo de adultos jóvenes con audición normal y un grupo de adultos mayores con hipoacusia sensorineural mínima. En todas las condiciones, el desempeño de la adultos jóvenes fue mejor que el desempeño de los adultos mayores. Se observó una ventaja del oído derecho en ambos grupos. Debido a una mayor deficiencia en el desempeño de reconocimiento dicótico de dígitos en el oído izquierdo en los sujetos más viejos, su ventaja para el oído derecho fue mayor que aquella de los adultos jóvenes. Estos resultados apoyan una desventaja relacionada con la edad en el desempeño para el reconocimiento de estímulos dicóticos presentados al oído izquierdo de sujetos mayores, que no se explica totalmente por las diferencias en sensibilidad auditiva entre los sujetos de los grupos pero que puede estar relacionada con una deficiencia cognitiva primaria.
Computationally efficient maximum likelihood estimation of structured covariance matrices

By invoking the extended invariance principle (EXIP), we present herein a computationally efficient method that provides asymptotic (for large samples) maximum likelihood (AML) estimation for structured covariance matrices and is referred to as the AML algorithm. A closed-form formula for estimating the Hermitian Toeplitz covariance matrices that makes AML computationally simpler than most existing Hermitian Toeplitz matrix estimation algorithms is derived. Although the AML covariance matrix estimator can be used in a variety of applications, we focus on array processing. Our simulation study shows that AML enhances the performance of angle estimation algorithms, such as MUSIC, by making them very close to the corresponding Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) for uncorrelated signals. Numerical comparisons with several structured and unstructured covariance matrix estimators are also presented.