Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
POSTAR: a platform for exploring post-transcriptional regulation coordinated by RNA-binding proteins

We present POSTAR (http://POSTAR.ncrnalab.org), a resource of POST-trAnscriptional Regulation coordinated by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Precise characterization of post-transcriptional regulatory maps has accelerated dramatically in the past few years. Based on new studies and resources, POSTAR supplies the largest collection of experimentally probed (∼23 million) and computationally predicted (approximately 117 million) RBP binding sites in the human and mouse transcriptomes. POSTAR annotates every transcript and its RBP binding sites using extensive information regarding various molecular regulatory events (e.g., splicing, editing, and modification), RNA secondary structures, disease-associated variants, and gene expression and function. Moreover, POSTAR provides a friendly, multi-mode, integrated search interface, which helps users to connect multiple RBP binding sites with post-transcriptional regulatory events, phenotypes, and diseases. Based on our platform, we were able to obtain novel insights into post-transcriptional regulation, such as the putative association between CPSF6 binding, RNA structural domains, and Li-Fraumeni syndrome SNPs. In summary, POSTAR represents an early effort to systematically annotate post-transcriptional regulatory maps and explore the putative roles of RBPs in human diseases.
Money, Myths, and Change

How does the standard of living of gay men and lesbians compare with that of heterosexuals? Do homosexuals make financial and family decisions differently? Why are the professional lives of gay men and lesbians dissimilar from those of heterosexuals? Or do they even differ? Have gay people benefited from the recent economic boom? Or have public policies denied them their fair share? Money, Myths, and Change provides new answers to these complex questions. This is the first comprehensive work to explore the economic lives of gays and lesbians in the United States. M. V. Lee Badgett weaves through and debunks common stereotypes about gay privilege, income, and consumer behavior. Studying the ends and means of gay life from an economic perspective, she disproves the assumption that gay men and lesbians are more affluent than heterosexuals, that they inspire discrimination when they come out of the closet, that they consume more conspicuously, that they enjoy a more self-indulgent, even hedonistic lifestyle. Badgett gets to the heart of these misconceptions through an analysis of the crucial issues that affect the livelihood of gay men and lesbians: discrimination in the workplace, denial of health care benefits to domestic partners and children, lack of access to legal institutions such as marriage, the corporate wooing of gay consumer dollars, and the use of gay economic clout to inspire social and political change. Both timely and readable, Money, Myths, and Change stands as a much-needed corrective to the assumptions that inhibit gay economic equality. It is a definitive work that sheds new light on just what it means to be gay or lesbian in the United States.
"It's Like I Would Die as Well": Gratifications of Fearful Game Experience

Emotional game experiences have garnered increasing attention over the past few years, both from players and researchers. Previous research has not yet explored whether and what gratifications players derive from frightening game experiences. Interviews with eight players revealed several gratifications, including experiencing non-mundane negative emotions, overcoming emotional challenges and identification with the avatar. Although identification was regarded positively and amplified the emotional intensity of the frightening game experience, sometimes this close connection with the avatar almost became too intense. Based on these findings, we discuss opportunities for future research.
Verification of Multi-Party Ping-Pong Protocols via Program Transformation

The paper describes a verification technique based on program transformation with unfolding. The technique allows to find short attacks on multi-party ping-pong protocols in the Dolev–Yao intruder model. Protocols are modelled by prefix grammars, and questions of model optimization and complexity are considered. Examples of model programs for protocols were written in a functional language and were analyzed by a general-purpose supercompiler.
Interleukin-12p70 Expression by Dendritic Cells of HIV-1-Infected Patients Fails to Stimulate gag-Specific Immune Responses

A variety of immune-based therapies has been developed in order to boost or induce protective CD8+ T cell responses in order to control HIV replication. Since dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) with the unique capability to stimulate naïve T cells into effector T cells, their use for the induction of HIV-specific immune responses has been studied intensively. In the present study we investigated whether modulation of the activation state of DCs electroporated with consensus codon-optimized HxB2 gag mRNA enhances their capacity to induce HIV gag-specific T cell responses. To this end, mature DCs were (i) co-electroporated with mRNA encoding interleukin (IL)-12p70 mRNA, or (ii) activated with a cytokine cocktail consisting of R848 and interferon (IFN)-γ. Our results confirm the ability of HxB2 gag-expressing DCs to expand functional HIV-specific CD8+ T cells. However, although most of the patients had detectable gag-specific CD8+ T cell responses, no significant differences in the level of expansion of functional CD8+ T cells could be demonstrated when comparing conventional or immune-modulated DCs expressing IL-12p70. This result which goes against expectation may lead to a re-evaluation of the need for IL-12 expression by DCs in order to improve T-cell responses in HIV-1-infected individuals.
Aging in Biometrics: An Experimental Analysis on On-Line Signature

The first consistent and reproducible evaluation of the effect of aging on dynamic signature is reported. Experiments are carried out on a database generated from two previous datasets which were acquired, under very similar conditions, in 6 sessions distributed in a 15-month time span. Three different systems, representing the current most popular approaches in signature recognition, are used in the experiments, proving the degradation suffered by this trait with the passing of time. Several template update strategies are also studied as possible measures to reduce the impact of aging on the system’s performance. Different results regarding the way in which signatures tend to change with time, and their most and least stable features, are also given.
Weather Derivatives, Spatial Aggregation, and Systemic Risk: Implications for Reinsurance Hedging

Previous studies identify limited potential efficacy of weather derivatives in hedging agricultural exposures. In contrast to earlier studies which investigate the problem at low levels of aggregation, we find that better weather hedging opportunities may exist at higher levels of spatial aggregation. Aggregating production exposures reduces idiosyncratic risk, leaving a greater proportion of the total risk in the form of systemic weather risk which can be effectively hedged using relatively simple weather derivatives. The aggregation effect suggests that the potential for weather derivatives in agriculture may be greater than previously thought, particularly for aggregators of risk such as reinsurers.
MaC: A Probabilistic Framework for Query Answering with Machine-Crowd Collaboration

The popularity of crowdsourcing has recently brought about brand new opportunities for engaging human intelligence in the process of data analysis. Most existing works on crowdsourcing have developed sophisticated methods to utilize the crowd as a new kind of processor, a.k. a. Human Processor Units (HPU). In this paper, we propose a framework, called MaC, to combine the powers of both CPUs and HPUs. In order to build MaC, we need to tackle the following two challenges: (1) HIT Selection: Selecting the "right" HITs (Human Intelligent Tasks) can help reducing the uncertainty significantly and the results can converge quickly. Thus, we propose an entropy-based model to evaluate the informativeness of HITs. Furthermore, we find that selecting HITs has factorial complexity and the optimization function is non-linear, thus, we propose an efficient approximation algorithm with a bounded error. (2) Uncertainty Management: Crowdsourced answers can be inaccurate. To address this issue, we provide effective solutions in three common scenarios of crowdsourcing: (a) the answer and the confidence of each worker are available; (b) the confidence of each worker and the voting score for each HIT are available; (c) only the answer of each worker is available. To verify the effectiveness of the MaC framework, we built a hybrid Machine-Crowd system and tested it on three real-world applications - data fusion, information extraction and pattern recognition. The experimental results verified the effectiveness and the applicability of our framework.
The No Surcharge Rule and Card User Rebates: Vertical Control by a Payment Network

The No Surcharge Rule (NSR) prevents merchants from charging more to consumers who pay by card versus other means ("cash"). We consider a payment network facing local monopolist merchants that serve two consumer groups, card users and cash users. Unlike in prior work, transaction quantities are variable. The NSR raises network profit and harms cash users and merchants; overall welfare rises if and only if the ratio of cash to card users is sufficiently large. With the NSR, the network will grant rebates to card users whenever feasible. If rebates are not feasible, the NSR can harm even card users.
On Decentralization of Control Functions for Distributed Real-Time Motion Control

Machine design is to a great extent simplified by the use of mechatronic modules, in which control system parts are integrated with actuators and sensors. To fully exploit the concept requires that modularity is obtained also on control function level. A framework for investigating and viewing the decomposition of real–time motion control functions is presented. Different aspects on allocation are discussed
Resource Margin Accounting: A Theoretical Perspective

In this paper a valuation framework known as Resource Margin Accounting (RMA) is described and elucidated. The framework overcomes a number of the deficiencies of traditional cash-flow methods, and is methodologically superior to Economic Value Added (EVA). Resource margins have their origins in the microeconomics of industrial structure, and are robust performance measures well-captured by accounting systems. Through the adoption of clean-surplus accounting, resource margins may be made entirely compatible with financial portfolio theory, and at the level of individual companies they may be the focus of value creation through competitive strategy initiatives. In a further paper empirical evidence to validate this new approach to valuation of companies and strategies will be presented.
Sensitivity to scope in contingent valuation : testing two aids to communicate mortality risk reductions

The first paper examines the value of a statistical life (VSL) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) victims. We found VSL values to be higher for OHCA victims than for people who die in road traffic accidents and a lower-bound estimate of VSL for OHCA would be in the range of 20 to 30 million Swedish crowns (SEK). The second paper concerns hypothetical bias in contingent valuation (CV) studies. We investigate the link between the determinants and empirical treatment of uncertainty through certainty calibration and find that the higher the confidence of the respondents the more we can trust that stated WTP is correlated to actual WTP. The third paper investigates the performance of two communication aids (a flexible community analogy and an array of dots) in valuing mortality risk reductions for OHCA. The results do not support the prediction of expected utility theory, i.e. that WTP for a mortality risk reduction increases with the amount of risk reduction (weak scope sensitivity), for any of the communication aids. The fourth paper presents a cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the effects of dual dispatch defibrillation by ambulance and fire services in the County of Stockholm. The intervention had positive economic effects, yielding a benefit-cost ratio of 36, a cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) of € 13 000 and the cost per saved life was € 60 000. The fifth paper explores how different response times from OHCA to defibrillation affect patients’ survival rates by using geographic information systems (GIS). The model predicted a baseline survival rate of 3.9% and reducing the ambulance response time by 1 minute increased survival to 4.6%. The sixth paper analyzes demographic determinants of incident experience and risk perception, and the relationship between the two, for eight different risk domains. Males and highly educated respondents perceive their risks lower than what is expected compared to actual incident experience.
A new Constant Pushing Force Device for human walking analysis

Walking mechanics has been studied for a long time, being essentially simple but nevertheless including quite tricky aspects. During walking, muscular forces are needed to support body weight and accelerate the body, thereby requiring a metabolic demand. In this paper, a new Constant Pushing Force Device (CPFD) is presented. Based on a novel actuation concept, the device is totally passive and is used to apply a constant force to the pelvis of a subject walking on a treadmill. The device is a serial manipulator featuring springs that provide gravity balancing to the device and exert a constant force regardless of the pelvis motion during walking. This is obtained using only two extension springs and no auxiliary links, unlike existing designs. A first experiment was carried out on a healthy subject to experimentally validate the device and assess the effect of the external force on gait kinematics and timing. Results show that the device was capable of exerting an approximately constant pushing force, whose action affected subject's cadence and the motion of the hip and ankle joints.
[Ca 2 1 ] i as a potential downregulator of a 2 b 1 -integrin-mediated A2058 tumor cell migration to type IV collagen

[Ca 2 1 ] i as a potential downregulator of a 2 b 1 -integrin-mediated A2058 tumor cell migration to type IV collagen. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 281: C106–C113, 2001. —We have investigated cellular Ca 2 1 regulation during A2058 human melanoma cell chemotaxis to type IV collagen (CIV). We have identiﬁed a 2 b 1 -integrin as the primary mediator of A2058 cell response to CIV in vitro. Integrin ligation initiated a characteristic intracellular Ca 2 1 concentration ([Ca 2 1 ] i ) response consisting of an internal release and a receptor-mediated Ca 2 1 entry. Thapsigargin (TG) pretreatment drained overlapping and CIV-inducible internal Ca 2 1 stores while initiating a store-operated Ca 2 1 release (SOCR). CIV-mediated Ca 2 1 entry was additive to TG-SOCR, suggesting an independent signaling mechanism. Similarly, ionophore application in a basal medium containing Ca 2 1 initiated a sustained inﬂux. Elevated [Ca 2 1 ] i from TG-SOCR or ionophore signiﬁcantly attenuated cell migration to CIV by recruiting the Ca 2 1 /calcineurin-mediated signaling pathway. Furthermore, low [Ca 2 1 ] i induced by EGTA application in the presence of ionophore fully restored cell motility to CIV. Together, these results suggest that [Ca 2 1 ] i signaling accompanying A2058 cell response to a 2 b 1 -integrin ligation is neither necessary nor sufﬁcient and that elevated [Ca 2 1 ] i downregulates cell motility via a calcineurin-medi-ated mechanism in
Slip based pick-and-place by universal robot hand with force/torque sensors

A multi-fingered robot hand receives much attention in various fields. We have developed the multi-fingered robot hand with the multi-axis force/torque sensors. For stable transportation, the robot hand must pick up an object without dropping it and places it without damaging it. This paper deals with a pick-and-place motion by the developed robot hand. In this motion, the robot hand detects a slip by using the multi-axis force/torque sensors and implements the pick-and-place motion according to the detected slip. The effectiveness of the proposed grasp selection is verified through some experiments with the universal robot hand.
Detection of Cosmic Shear with the Hubble Space Telescope Survey Strip

Weak lensing by large-scale structure provides a unique method to directly measure matter fluctuations in the universe and has recently been detected from the ground. Here we report the first detection of this "cosmic shear" based on space-based images. The detection was derived from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Survey Strip (or "Groth Strip"), a 4′ × 42′ set of 28 contiguous Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) pointings with I < 27. The small size of the HST point-spread function affords both a lower statistical noise and a much weaker sensitivity to systematic effects, a crucial limiting factor of cosmic shear measurements. Our method and treatment of systematic effects were discussed in an earlier paper. We measure an rms shear of 1.8% on the WFPC2 chip scale (1.′27), in agreement with the predictions of cluster-normalized cold dark matter (CDM) models. Using a maximum likelihood analysis, we show that our detection is significant at the 99.5% confidence level (CL) and measure the normalization of the matter power spectrum to be σ8Ω = 0.51, in a ΛCDM universe. These 68% CL errors include (Gaussian) cosmic variance, systematic effects, and the uncertainty in the redshift distribution of the background galaxies. The signal comes primarily from the chip scale (1.′27) with gradually decreasing contributions up to roughly 10'. Our result is consistent with earlier lensing measurements from the ground and with the normalization derived from cluster abundance. We discuss how our measurement can be improved with the analysis of a large number of independent WFPC2 fields.
Developmental expression of Toll-like receptors in the guinea pig lung

The guinea pig is a useful model for investigating infectious and non-infectious lung diseases due to the sensitivity of its respiratory system and susceptibility to infectious agents. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important components of the innate immune response and are critical for lung immune function. In the present study, the differentiation of epithelial cells in the guinea pig lung was examined during gestation by studying anatomic morphology and the major epithelial cell types using cell type-specific markers. The developmental expression of all 9 TLRs and the TLR signaling adaptors myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF-6) were investigated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting analysis. The formation of lung lobes in guinea pigs was observed at 45 days of gestation (dGA), along with the expression of the basal cell marker keratin 14 and the alveolar type II cell marker pro-surfactant protein. However, the cube cell marker secretoglobin family1A member 1 and ciliated cell marker b-tubulin IV were only detected in the lungs from 52 dGA onward. The expression levels of all TLRs, MyD88 and TRAF-6 were determined in lung tissues harvested from embryos, newborn, postnatal and adult animals. The expression levels of all TLR signaling components displayed similar dynamic expression patterns with gestation age and postnatal maturation time, except for TLR-4 and TLR-7. mRNA expression levels of TLR components were significantly increased in the lungs at 45 and 52 dGA, compared with later developmental stages. These results suggest that TLR expression in the guinea pig lung is developmentally regulated, enhancing the understanding of lung biology in guinea pig models.
Cost management practices for supply chain management: an exploratory analysis

Cost management within a supply chain management domain has lately received a great deal of interest from academics and practitioners; however, the literature is still dominated by conceptual and anecdotal work. The major issue is that it is difficult at best to draw conclusion with any level of confidence concerning the actual degree of usage of various cost management practices. The study reported in this article uses split sample analysis to determine the extent to which firms actually use 18 SCM-related cost management practices. The sample that was developed included 126 medium- and large-sized Swiss firms. The results show that only supplier evaluation and purchasing performance benchmarking are regularly employed by companies and that cost management practices linked to integrated logistics are applied only rarely in corporate practice. In this study, seven of the cost management practices were associated with higher supply chain performance, which suggests that firms should carefully consider their implementation.
Image Segmentation Using Active Contour Model

Image segmentation is one of the substantial techniques in the field of image processing. It is vastly used for medical purposes , tracking growth of tumor for surgical planning and simulation. Active contours or snakes are used extensively for image segmentation and processing applications, particularly to locate object boundaries. Active contours are regarded as promising and vigorously researched model-based approach to computer assisted medical image analysis. However, its utility is limited due to poor convergence of concavities and small capture range. This paper shows the application of an external force that largely solves both problems. This external force is called gradient vector flow (GVF). Using several examples to show that, GVF because of its large capture range moves snakes into boundary concavities.