Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human Stromal Cells in the Peripheral Zone of the Prostate Promote Tumorigenesis of Prostatic Cancer Stem Cells through Up-regulation of C-Kit Expression

Objective: Most prostate cancers originate from the prostatic peripheral zone (PZ). We tested the hypothesis that the stromal cells from PZ and transitional zone (TZ) have differential effects on the ability of tumorigenesis. Methods: Stromal cells isolated from the PZ and TZ of normal human prostates mixed with DU145 cells subcutaneously injected into athymic nude mice. The volume and weight of tumors was measured and analyzing the ability of purified DU145 cells isolated from the tumors to migrate and proliferate. The expression patterns of stem cell-specific genes of these DU145 cells were examined. The C-Kit inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, was administrated to confirm the effect of stromal cells on the tumorigenesis. Results: The volume and weight of tumors were significantly higher in mice transplanted with DU145 and stromal cells from PZ. In contrast, the data was significantly lower with DU145 and stromal cells from TZ than DU145 alone. The purified DU145 cells isolated from the tumors with DU145 and stromal cells in PZ had increased ability to migrate and proliferate, and had increased expression of C-Kit. These effects of the stromal cells in the PZ on DU145 cells could be blocked using imatinib mesylate. Conclusions: Human stromal cells in the PZ promote the in vivo tumorigenesis of DU145 through up-regulating C-Kit; in contrast, the stromal cells in the TZ inhibit it through down-regulating the expression of C-Kit. The model will be useful for understanding the mechanisms by which the prostatic stem cell niche controls the tumorigeneis of prostatic cancer stem cells.
Controller synthesis for piecewise-affine time-delay slab systems based on invariant sets: An LMI approach

This paper presents a controller synthesis method to stabilize piecewise-affine (PWA) time-delay slab systems. Based on invariant set ideas and using Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals sufficient conditions for exponential stability will be proposed. The resulting conditions are cast as a set of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs) which can be efficiently solved. A numerical example demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach.
Code Similarity Using Program Dependence Graphs

—Propose a system which uses Program Dependence Graphs as an intermediate representation of codes to perform approximate sub graph isomorphism using graph alignment techniques for ﬁnding similar code. The document aims at deﬁning all of the concepts used to build the system along with the results being compared with the current state of the art, JPLAG. The proposed system only works for Java codes for now.
User-Centric Evaluation of Government of Kenya Online Services: The Case of iTax

National and local governments have been working to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to increase citizen participation in their operations. While many of these efforts have been driven from a government perspective, the users‟ needs, motivations and behavior have been largely ignored. This paper explores a user-centric approach to e-governance and looks at how user perspectives and attitudes affect adoption of online government services. A user-centric evaluation model of online government services was developed in this research. The iTax online system, which facilitates electronic filing of tax returns in Kenya, was selected as a case study. The research framework was based on the technology acceptance models focusing on the aspects of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Interviews, questionnaires and a usability study were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the qualitative data, while coding and usability metrics were used to analyze the quantitative data. The findings show that to increase the adoption of online government services, governments need to focus their strategies on addressing the needs of their users, their attitudes towards to the electronic services, and respond to the identified needs appropriately.
Alcohol reduces aversion to ambiguity

Several years ago, Cohen et al. (1958) demonstrated that under the influence of alcohol drivers became more risk prone, although their risk perception remained unchanged. Research shows that ambiguity aversion is to some extent positively correlated with risk aversion, though not very highly (Camerer and Weber, 1992). The question addressed by the present research is whether alcohol reduces ambiguity aversion. Our research was conducted in a natural setting (a restaurant bar), where customers with differing levels of alcohol intoxication were offered a choice between a risky and an ambiguous lottery. We found that alcohol reduced ambiguity aversion and that the effect occurred in men but not women. We interpret these findings in terms of the risk-as-value hypothesis, according to which, people in Western culture tend to value risk, and suggest that alcohol consumption triggers adherence to socially and culturally valued patterns of conduct different for men and women.
Pipeline vectorization

This paper presents pipeline vectorization, a method for synthesizing hardware pipelines based on software vectorizing compilers. The method improves efficiency and ease of development of hardware designs, particularly for users with little electronics design experience. We propose several loop transformations to customize pipelines to meet hardware resource constraints while maximizing available parallelism. For runtime reconfigurable systems, we apply hardware specialization to increase circuit utilization. Our approach is especially effective for highly repetitive computations in digital signal processor (DSP) and multimedia applications. Case studies using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)-based platforms are presented to demonstrate the benefits of our approach and to evaluate tradeoffs between alternative implementations. For instance, the loop-tiling transformation, has been found to improve vectorization performance 30-40 times above a PC-based software implementation, depending on whether runtime reconfiguration (RTR) is used.
Payment, compensation and replacement – the ethics and motivation of blood and plasma donation

The supply of blood and plasma to produce haemotherapies varies around the world, but all environments need donors to furnish the raw material. Many countries still lack adequate supply, and the question of what amounts of blood and plasma are required for optimal treatment is still unresolved. The issue of compensating donors has been a controversial and emotive one in blood transfusion for many decades. Donors are conventionally classified as paid, voluntary or replacement, and a level of stigma, based on safety and ethical considerations, has been attached to paid donation. This review points to evidence which renders many of these concerns redundant. Purist arguments against compensated donation have little basis in evidence and would lead to many of today’s voluntary donors being designated as paid, because of the large range of incentives used to recruit and retain them. Misplaced application of ‘Titmussian’ volunteerism has precipitated its own safety and supply problems. Current systems of compensation and replacement are needed to maintain supplies of essential products and lead to safe products in controlled environments. We propose that a plurality of routes towards donation is an appropriate paradigm in the heterogeneous landscape of blood and plasma product supply.
Decision-Related Activity in Sensory Neurons May Depend on the Columnar Architecture of Cerebral Cortex

Many studies have reported correlations between the activity of sensory neurons and animals' judgments in discrimination tasks. Here, we suggest that such neuron-behavior correlations may require a cortical map for the task relevant features. This would explain why studies using discrimination tasks based on disparity in area V1 have not found these correlations: V1 contains no map for disparity. This scheme predicts that activity of V1 neurons correlates with decisions in an orientation-discrimination task. To test this prediction, we trained two macaque monkeys in a coarse orientation discrimination task using band-pass-filtered dynamic noise. The two orientations were always 90° apart and task difficulty was controlled by varying the orientation bandwidth of the filter. While the trained animals performed this task, we recorded from orientation-selective V1 neurons (n = 82, n = 31 for Monkey 1, n = 51 for Monkey 2). For both monkeys, we observed significant correlation (quantified as “choice probabilities”) of the V1 activity with the monkeys' perceptual judgments (mean choice probability 0.54, p = 10−5). In one of these animals, we had previously measured choice probabilities in a disparity discrimination task in V1, which had been at chance (0.49, not significantly different from 0.5). The choice probabilities in this monkey for the orientation discrimination task were significantly larger than those for the disparity discrimination task (p = 0.032). These results are predicted by our suggestion that choice probabilities are only observed for cortical sensory neurons that are organized in maps for the task-relevant feature.
A Novel Antenna Assignment Algorithm for Spectrum Underlay in Cognitive MIMO Networks

We consider a point-to-multipoint cognitive network sharing the same frequency band with a primary network assuming a spectrum underlay model. We investigate the scenario where a cognitive base station equipped with multiple antennas attempts to serve secondary users through an antenna assignment scheme. We consider quality of service constraints for secondary users and an interference constraint for the primary receiver. Hence, the cognitive base station performs both antenna assignment and optimal power allocation for the selected secondary users. Due to the high computational complexity of this problem, we propose a heuristic algorithm that separates the two tasks and tries to maximize the number of served secondary users with respect to the system constraints. The antenna assignment phase is performed using an efficient selection criterion followed by an optimal power allocation as a second phase. We show that the proposed algorithm has a very low computational complexity compared to the brute force algorithm. Furthermore, simulation results show that the proposed heuristic algorithm is able to achieve performance very close to that of the optimal solution.
Occurrence of 20S RNA and 23S RNA replicons in industrial yeast strains and their variation under nutritional stress conditions

We have characterized industrial yeast strains used in the brewing, baking, and winemaking industries for the presence or absence of cytoplasmic single‐stranded 20S and 23S RNAs. Furthermore, the variation of intracellular concentrations of these replicons in brewing and laboratory strains under nutritional stress conditions was determined. Our results show a correlation between the relative abundance of these replicons and exposure of yeast to nutritionally stressful conditions, indicating that these RNAs could be employed as molecular probes to evaluate the exposure of 20S+ and/or 23S+ yeast strains to stress situations during industrial manipulation. During this study, several 20S−23S+ Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were isolated and identified. This is the first time that a yeast strain containing only 23S RNA has been reported, demonstrating that 20S RNA is not required for 23S RNA replication. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Localization of tissues in high-resolution digital anatomic pathology images

High resolution digital pathology images have a wide range of variability in color, shape, size, number, appearance, location, and texture. The segmentation problem is challenging in this environment. We introduce a hybrid method that combines parametric machine learning with heuristic methods for feature extraction as well as pre- and post-processing steps for localizing diverse tissues in slide images. The method uses features such as color, intensity, texture, and spatial distribution. We use principal component analysis for feature reduction and train a two layer back propagation neural network (with one hidden layer). We perform image labeling at pixel-level and achieve higher than 96% automatic localization accuracy on 294 test images.
Ontological Semantic Analysis and Difficult Reference Resolution Informing Each Other

The paper describes the benefits of carrying out ontologicallygrounded text analysis and reference resolution uniformly and simultaneously rather than by different systems or as pipelined modules within the same system. It shows how the resolution of some of the more difficult referring expressions – namely, the pronouns it, that and this – can be carried out by priming the lexicon and ontology of a text-processing system with expectations that can significantly constrain, or even narrow down to one, the choice space of candidate sponsors. It also shows how reference resolution can inform basic semantic analysis, particularly in cases of unexpected input, non-literal language and other difficult natural language phenomena. Central tenets of this line of research are that automatic semantic analysis is necessary, feasible, and best carried out using static knowledge resources that centrally include a property-rich, unambiguous ontology.
LCL filter design for grid-connected voltage-source converters in high power systems

This paper deals with an LCL filter for the grid-connected converter. Active and passive damping methods are compared in a resonance suppression point of view and necessity of the passive damping is claimed, especially for high power systems in which switching frequency is limited lower than 2.5 kHz. Based on the analysis, LCL filter design procedure with passive damping for a two level voltage source converter is introduced. The filter components are optimally selected by investigating stored total energy in the filter and capacity of the converter. Then the resistors are inserted at several locations and comparisons are made to determine the most proper way of passive damping by examining the losses. The effectiveness of the study is supported by simulation and laboratory scale experiment.
Mitigating Active Attacks Towards Client Networks Using the Bitmap Filter

With the emergence of active worms, the targets of attacks have been moved from well-known Internet servers to generic Internet hosts, and since the rate at which patches can be applied is always much slower than the spread of a worm, an Internet worm can usually attack or infect millions of hosts in a short time. It is difficult to eliminate Internet attacks globally; thus, protecting client networks from being attacked or infected is a relatively critical issue. In this paper, we propose a method that protects client networks from being attacked by people who try to scan, attack, or infect hosts in local networks via unpatched vulnerabilities. Based on the symmetry of network traffic in both temporal and spatial domains, a bitmap filter is installed at the entry point of a client network to filter out possible attack traffic. Our evaluation shows that with a small amount of memory (less than 1 megabyte), more than 95% of attack traffic can be filtered out in a small- or medium-scale client network
Fundamental Tradeoffs and Constrained Coalitional Games in Autonomic Wireless Networks

Autonomic networks depend on collaboration between their nodes for all their functionalities. The nodes, even if modeled as selfish, gain from such collaboration, in the sense that they can accomplish functionality and performance that is impossible to achieve without such collaboration. However, such gains from collaboration do not come for free. There are costs for such collaboration incurred by each node (e.g. energy consumption for forwarding other nodes packets). In this paper we use constrained coalitional games (i.e. collaborative dynamic games subject to constraints or costs for collaboration) to investigate several key problems in autonomic wireless networks including: network formation, efficient topologies and stability of coalitions.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of gamithromycin in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid in naturally occurring bovine respiratory disease in multisource commingled feedlot cattle.

The objectives of this study were to determine (i) whether an association exists between individual pharmacokinetic parameters and treatment outcome when feeder cattle were diagnosed with bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and treated with gamithromycin (Zactran(®) ) at the label dose and (ii) whether there was a stronger association between treatment outcome and gamithromycin concentration in plasma or in the pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF) effect compartment. The study design was a prospective, blinded, randomized clinical trial utilizing three groups of 60 (362-592 lb) steers/bulls randomly allocated within origin to sham injection or gamithromycin mass medication. Cattle were evaluated daily for signs of BRD by a veterinarian blinded to treatment. Animals meeting the BRD case definition were enrolled and allocated to a sample collection scheme consisting of samples for bacterial isolation (bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and nasopharyngeal swabs) and gamithromycin concentration determination (PELF and plasma). Gamithromycin susceptibility of M. haemolytica (n = 287) and P. multocida (n = 257) were determined using broth microdilution with frozen panels containing gamithromycin at concentrations from 0.03 to 16 μg/mL. A two-compartment plasma pharmacokinetic model with an additional compartment for gamithromycin in PELF was developed using rich data sets from published and unpublished studies. The sparse data from our study were then fit to this model using nonlinear mixed effects modeling to estimate individual parameter values. The resulting parameter estimates were used to simulate full time-concentration profiles for each animal in this study. These profiles were analyzed using noncompartmental methods so that PK/PD indices (AUC24 /MIC, AUC∞ /MIC, CMAX /MIC) could be calculated for plasma and PELF (also T>MIC) for each individual. The calculated PK/PD indices were indicative that for both M. haemolytica and P. multocida a higher drug exposure in terms of concentration, and duration of exposure relative to the MIC of the target pathogen, was favorable to a successful case outcome. A significant association was found between treatment success and PELF AUC0-24 /MIC for P. multocida. The calves in this study demonstrated an increased clearance and volume of distribution in plasma as compared to the healthy calves in two previously published reports. Ultimately, the findings from this study indicate that higher PK/PD indices were predictive of positive treatment outcomes.
On mapping properties of the general relativistic constraints operator in weighted function spaces

Generalising an analysis of Corvino and Schoen, we study surjectivity properties of the constraint map in general relativity in a large class of weighted Sobolev spaces. As a corollary we prove several perturbation, gluing, and extension results: we show existence of non-trivial, singularityfree, vacuum space-times which are stationary in a neighborhood of i; for small perturbations of parity-covariant initial data sufficiently close to those for Minkowski space-time this leads to space-times with a smooth global I ; we prove existence of initial data for many black holes which are exactly Kerr – or exactly Schwarzschild – both near infinity and near each of the connected components of the apparent horizon; under appropriate conditions we obtain existence of vacuum extensions of vacuum initial data across compact boundaries; we show that for generic metrics the deformations in the Isenberg-Mazzeo-Pollack gluings can be localised, so that the initial data on the connected sum manifold coincide with the original ones except for a small neighborhood of the gluing region; we prove existence of asymptotically flat solutions which are static or stationary up to r−m terms, for any fixed m, and with multipole moments freely prescribable within certain ranges. ∗Partially supported by a Polish Research Committee grant 2 P03B 073 24; email piotr@ gargan.math.univ-tours.fr †Visiting Scientist. Permanent address: Departement de Mathematiques, Faculte des Sciences, Parc de Grandmont, F37200 Tours, France. ‡Partially supported by the ACI program of the French Ministry of Research; email delay@ gargan.math.univ-tours.fr
Articulating Resources: The Impact of Electronic Health Records on Cross-Professional Healthcare Work

The UK National Health Service is in the midst of enormoustechnological and organisational change. By 2005 all acutehospital trusts will have made the transition to ElectronicPatient Records (EPR). By 2008 the national Electronic HealthRecord (EHR) service is supposed to be up and running.Despite the widely held belief that computerisation is the wayforward the enormous complexity of the task in combinationwith the rapid transition concerns many healthcareprofessionals. While the NHS goes to great length to ensuregood systems and a smooth implementation, major concernsarise from previous computerisation disasters in the NHScombined with a lack of progress with implementingelectronic health records. This situation leaves even hard-nosed advocates with a sense of unease.It is in the context of such debate that we intend to investigateorganisational and cross-professional issues related to theintroduction of EPR/EHR systems. In this paper we present theconceptual resources underpinning our research, much ofwhich seems highly relevant for information handling in amuch wider context than medical records, i.e. medical digitallibraries and beyond.
Reactivity of urinary albumin (microalbumin) assays with fragmented or modified albumin.

BACKGROUND Controversy exists regarding occurrence and measurement of structural variants of albumin in urine. In this study, we examined cross-reactivity of in vitro modified albumins in assays for urine albumin (microalbumin). METHODS We analyzed albumin modified by reagents, trypsin, or physical treatments or differing in primary sequence (animal albumins) with an immunoturbidimetric assay (Beckman LX20) using goat antiserum and a competitive immunoassay (Siemens Immulite) using a monoclonal antibody. We assessed occurrence of albumin fragments in urine by use of Western blotting of 24 specimens. RESULTS Chemical modification, modest sequence substitution (gorilla albumin), or cleavage of albumin by cyanogen bromide (CNBr) had little effect on reactivity in the LX20 assay. Albumin extensively cleaved with trypsin retained partial reactivity. The Immulite assay generally was affected more severely by albumin modifications and sequence changes. Western blots of fresh urine specimens or specimens stored at -80 degrees C showed little albumin fragmentation, but some specimens stored for 3 years at -20 degrees C had extensively fragmented albumin that was detected by the LX20 but not the Immulite assay. CONCLUSIONS Nearly equivalent reactivity of intact albumin and CNBr fragments in the immunoturbidimetric assay indicates reactivity of antibodies with multiple epitopes throughout albumin. Therefore, it is difficult to abolish reactivity of albumin in this type of urine albumin assay. Differential sensitivity of 2 assays to albumin modification identifies a potential source of assay nonequivalence in measuring urinary albumin, particularly for specimens stored at -20 degrees C.
Reliability of Satellite Data Sets

In their Report “Influence of satellite data uncertainties on the detection of externally forced climate change” (23 May, p. [1280][1]), B. D. Santer et al. compare climate model output of atmospheric-layer temperature changes since 1978 with satellite-based data sets from Remote Sensing Systems