Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dig a Bit Deeper Law, Regulation and the Illicit Antiquities Market

The UK market in antiquities is the site of trade of an unknown number of illicit artefacts. These illicit antiquities are often the product of looting in underdeveloped nations. The UK has recently passed a new statute criminalizing the knowing purchase of a looted cultural object. The statute, however, is likely to have little effect on the trading practices of London's antiquity dealers, due to peculiarities of their style of transacting, which will be examined here. This paper is therefore (a) a study of an illicit market which is still in the early stages of a slow move from non-criminal to criminal, as its destructive tendencies are increasingly brought to public and official recognition and (b) yet another note of warning to regulators who feel that, on the implementation of a token criminal prohibition, markets will sanitize themselves.
3′ Uridylation controls mature microRNA turnover during CD4 T-cell activation

Activation of T lymphocytes requires a tight regulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression. Terminal uridyltransferases (TUTases) catalyze 3′ nontemplated nucleotide addition (3′NTA) to miRNAs, which may influence miRNA stability and function. Here, we investigated 3′NTA to mature miRNA in CD4 T lymphocytes by deep sequencing. Upon T-cell activation, miRNA sequences bearing terminal uridines are specifically decreased, concomitantly with down-regulation of TUT4 and TUT7 enzymes. Analyzing TUT4-deficient T lymphocytes, we proved that this terminal uridyltransferase is essential for the maintenance of miRNA uridylation in the steady state of T lymphocytes. Analysis of synthetic uridylated miRNAs shows that 3′ addition of uridine promotes degradation of these uridylated miRNAs after T-cell activation. Our data underline post-transcriptional uridylation as a mechanism to fine-tune miRNA levels during T-cell activation.
Comparison of Serologic and Genetic porB-Based Typing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Consequences for Future Characterization

ABSTRACT Due to temporal changes in the epidemiology of gonorrhea, a precise characterization of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is essential. In the present study genetic heterogeneity in the porB genes of N. gonorrhoeae was examined, and serovar determination was compared to porB gene sequencing. Among 108 N. gonorrhoeae isolates, phylogenetic analysis of the entire porB alleles (924 to 993 bp) identified 87 unique sequences. By analyzing only the four to six most heterogeneous porB gene regions (174 to 363 bp), 86 out of these 87 genetic variants were identified. Consequently, analysis of shorter highly variable regions of the porB gene generates high-level discriminatory ability as well as fast, objective, reproducible, and portable data for epidemiological characterization of N. gonorrhoeae. Regarding putative antigenic epitopes of PorB for Genetic Systems monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), some of the previous findings were confirmed, but new findings were also observed. For several of the MAbs, however, the precise amino acid residues of PorB critical for single-MAb reactivity were difficult to identify. In addition, repeated serovar determination of 108 N. gonorrhoeae isolates revealed discrepancies for 34 isolates, mostly due to nonreproducible reactivity with single MAbs. Thus, the prospects of a genetic typing system with congruent translation of the serovar determination seem to be limited. In conclusion, analysis of short highly variable regions of the porB gene could form the basis for a fast molecular epidemiological tool for the examination of emergence and transmission of N. gonorrhoeae strains within the community.
Natural Families of Triangles II: A Locus of Symmedian Points

We group triangles into families based on three parameters: the distance between the circumcenter O and the centroid G , the circumradius, and the measure of angle ∠GOA where A is one vertex. We focus on the family of triangles which allows ∠GOA to vary and fixes the other two parameters. By construction, this grouping produces triangles which share the same Euler line. Perhaps unexpectedly, if we examine the family’s locus of a triangle center known as the symmedian point, we find that it always forms an arc of a circle centered at a specified point on the Euler line.
Health care in the circumpolar world: Greenland

Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and it is the world’s largest island. An ice cap covers 85% of its territory. The population is about 57,000 inhabitants, with 14,000 living in the capital Nuuk, and 10,000 in villages and other small settlements. There are pronounced regional variations in lifestyle and living conditions. The Greenland Home Rule Government assumed responsibility for health care on 1 January 1992. Greenland’s territory is divided into 16 health care districts. Queen Ingrid’s Hospital in Nuuk is the national hospital and has 156 beds and numerous specialist physicians associated with it. Each health district has a health care centre with one or more physicians, nurses and other health care personnel appropriate for the number of people living in the district. Each district health centre is responsible for primary health care in towns, villages and other small settlements, and the health centres treat all common illnesses. The health centres handle uncomplicated births, minor surgery, common treatment in internal medicine and community mental health services. The centres have a number of inpatient beds proportional to the number of people in the health district. People with more complicated illnesses are referred to Queen Ingrid’s Hospital in Nuuk or to specialised treatment in Denmark.
Tumor Resection Recruits Effector T Cells and Boosts Therapeutic Efficacy of Encapsulated Stem Cells Expressing IFNβ in Glioblastomas

Purpose: Despite tumor resection being the first-line clinical care for glioblastoma (GBM) patients, nearly all preclinical immune therapy models intend to treat established GBM. Characterizing cytoreductive surgery-induced immune response combined with the administration of immune cytokines has the potential of offering a new treatment paradigm of immune therapy for GBMs. Experimental Design: We developed syngeneic orthotopic mouse GBM models of tumor resection and characterized the immune response of intact and resected tumors. We also created a highly secretable variant of immune cytokine IFNβ to enhance its release from engineered mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-IFNβ) and assessed whether surgical resection of intracranial GBM tumor significantly enhanced the antitumor efficacy of targeted on-site delivery of encapsulated MSC-IFNβ. Results: We show that tumor debulking results in substantial reduction of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and simultaneous recruitment of CD4/CD8 T cells. This immune response significantly enhanced the antitumor efficacy of locally delivered encapsulated MSC-IFNβ via enhanced selective postsurgical infiltration of CD8 T cells and directly induced cell-cycle arrest in tumor cells, resulting in increased survival of mice. Utilizing encapsulated human MSC-IFNβ in resected orthotopic tumor xenografts of patient-derived GBM, we further show that IFNβ induces cell-cycle arrest followed by apoptosis, resulting in increased survival in immunocompromised mice despite their absence of an intact immune system. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the importance of syngeneic tumor resection models in developing cancer immunotherapies and emphasizes the translational potential of local delivery of immunotherapeutic agents in treating cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 23(22); 7047–58. ©2017 AACR.
Mental control and visual illusions : Toward explaining race-biased weapon misidentifications q

People are biased to misidentify harmless objects as weapons when the objects are associated with African Americans (Payne, 2001). Two studies examined the processes underlying this bias. The illusory perception hypothesis argues that stereotypes alter the subjective construal of the object. In contrast, the executive failure hypothesis argues that even when perception of the item is intact, misidentifications can result from failures to control responses. Immediately after making an error, participants were able to accurately express that they had made a mistake via confidence ratings (Experiment 1) and by correcting their judgment (Experiment 2). Subjective confidence judgments were extremely well calibrated to accuracy, and participants virtually never believed their own mistakes. Conditions likely to create errors through both illusions and control failures are discussed. 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Rosbin: A Novel Homeobox-Like Protein Gene Expressed Exclusively in Round Spermatids

Abstract Mammalian spermiogenesis is a complex process occurring in a highly coordinated fashion within the seminiferous tubules. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms controlling haploid germ cell differentiation, we have isolated haploid germ cell- specific cDNA clones from a subtracted cDNA library of mouse testis. One of these cDNAs, Rosbin, is 3.2 kilobases (kb) long and has an open reading frame of 2385 nucleotides encoding a putative protein of 795 amino acid residues. A computer-mediated homology search revealed that it contained a domain similar to that of homeobox genes. Northern blot analysis revealed a 3.2-kb mRNA expressed exclusively in male germ cells. Transcription of the Rosbin gene was not observed in prepubertal testis but became detectable after Day 23. By Western blot analysis the protein encoded by this gene had a molecular mass of 89 kDa, expressing specifically in the testis and localized to the nucleus of stages IV–VIII haploid round spermatids, predominantly at stages VII–VIII of spermatogenesis. ROSBIN is associated with and is most likely phosphorylated by protein kinase A. We suggest that it plays an important role in transcriptional regulation in haploid germ cells.
Real-time implementations of sparse linear prediction for speech processing

Employing sparsity criteria in linear prediction of speech has been proven successful for several analysis and coding purposes. However, sparse linear prediction comes at the expenses of a much higher computational burden and numerical sensitivity compared to the traditional minimum variance approach. This makes sparse linear prediction difficult to deploy in real-time systems. In this paper, we present a step towards real-time implementation of the sparse linear prediction problem using hand-tailored interior-point methods. Using compiled implementations the sparse linear prediction problems corresponding to a frame size of 20ms can be solved on a standard PC in approximately 2ms and orders faster than with general purpose software.
Interpersonal Sensitivity and Skills in Decoding Nonverbal Channels: The Value of Face Value

The relationship between skills at decoding nonverbal cues in the visual versus audio channels and the ability to sense variation in how someone feels about you during a specific interaction was examined. Results suggested that greater skill at decoding visual nonverbal cues may actually detract from sensitivity to another person's feelings. However, greater skill at decoding audio cues seemed especially valuable to sensitivity to whether someone feels liked by you, whereas it is irrelevant to the assessment of whether someone likes you. The differences in these relationships was discussed in light of one's desire to hide one's true feelings and one's desire to be liked.
Bamboo salt attenuates CCl4-induced hepatic damage in Sprague-Dawley rats

Bamboo salt, a Korean folk medicine, is prepared with solar salt (sea salt) and baked several times at high temperatures in a bamboo case. In this study, we compared the preventive effects of bamboo salt and purified and solar salts on hepatic damage induced by carbon tetrachloride in Sprague-Dawley rats. Compared with purified and solar salts, bamboo salts prevented hepatic damage in rats, as evidenced by significantly reduced serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase (P < 0.05). Bamboo salt (baked 9×) triggered the greatest reduction in these enzyme levels. In addition, it also reduced the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, interferon (IFN)-γ, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Histopathological sections of liver tissue demonstrated the protective effect of bamboo salt, whereas sections from animals treated with the other salt groups showed a greater degree of necrosis. We also performed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses of the inflammation-related genes iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-1β in rat liver tissues. Bamboo salt induced a significant decrease (~80%) in mRNA and protein expression levels of COX-2, iNOS, TNF-α, and IL-1β, compared with the other salts. Thus, we found that baked bamboo salt preparations could prevent CCl4-induced hepatic damage in vivo.
Computerized support for neuropsychological test interpretation in clinical situations

Abstract This study describes and evaluates a computer program developed for improving the speed and quality of neuropsychological test interpretation. The study shows that the within-session (i.e., during testing session) interpretation of test results can support the hypothesis-testing approach. Within-session interpretation facilitates flexible selection of tests according to patient-specific criteria. The core of the program is a syndrome profile that reflects the likelihood of each predefined cognitive function as an explanatory hypothesis for poor test results. A clinical comparison shows clear consistency between the syndromes detected by the program and the diagnostic reports created by experienced neuropsychologists. The overall results encourage conducting further studies on modeling the within-session decision making process for patient-specific neuropsychological testing.
New Schedulability Test Conditions for Non-preemptive Scheduling on Multiprocessor Platforms

We study the schedulability analysis problem for nonpreemptive scheduling algorithms on multiprocessors. To our best knowledge, the only known work on this problem is the test condition proposed by Baruah for non-preemptive EDF scheduling, which will reject a task set with arbitrarily low utilization if it contains a task whose execution time is equal or greater than the minimal relative deadline among all tasks. In this paper, we firstly derive a linear-time test condition which avoids the problem mentioned above, by building upon previous work for preemptive multiprocessor scheduling. This test condition works on not only non-preemptive EDF, but also any other work-conserving non-preemptive scheduling algorithms. Then we improve the analysis and present test conditions of pseudo-polynomial time-complexity for Non-preemptive Earliest Deadline First scheduling and Non-preemptive Fixed Priority scheduling respectively. Experiments with randomly generated task sets show that our proposed test conditions, especially the improved test conditions, have significant performance improvements compared with [BAR-EDFnp].
Dual Repression by Fe2+-Fur and Mn2+-MntR of the mntH Gene, Encoding an NRAMP-Like Mn2+ Transporter in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT The uptake of Mn2+, a cofactor for several enzymes inEscherichia coli, is mediated by MntH, a proton-dependent metal transporter, which also recognizes Fe2+ with lower affinity. MntH belongs to the NRAMP family of eukaryotic Fe2+ and Mn2+ transporters. In E. coli strains with chromosomal mntH-lacZ fusions,mntH was partially repressed by both Mn2+ and Fe2+. Inactivation of fur resulted in the loss of Fe2+-dependent repression of mntHtranscription, demonstrating that Fe2+ repression depends on the global iron regulator Fur. However, these furmutants still showed Mn2+-dependent repression ofmntH. The Mn2+-responsive transcriptional regulator of mntH was identified as the gene product ofo155 (renamed MntR). mntR mutants were impaired in Mn2+ but not Fe2+ repression ofmntH transcription. Binding of purified MntR to themntH operator was manganese dependent. The binding region was localized by DNase I footprinting analysis and covers a nearly perfect palindrome. The Fur binding site, localized within 22 nucleotides of the mntH operator by in vivo operator titration assays, resembles the Fur-box consensus sequence.
Low Frequency Filter Design using Operational Transconductance Amplifier

Biomedical signal processing requires low power consumption and low frequency filters. Biomedical signals are usually of 10-mHz to 100-Hz and maximum of 500Hz frequency range. The equipments used in the design of biomedical applications require portability and circuit needs to be operated with low supply voltage. These requirements can be fulfilled by using active filters designed by Operational Transconductance Amplifier.
A Hyperlipemia Information Analysis System based on immune algorithm

This paper designs a Hyperlipemia Information Analysis System, which can realize hyperlipemia document classification and information analysis. In document indexing, we propose an improved approach, called Term Frequency, Inverted Document Frequency and Inverted Entropy (TFIDFIE), to compute term weights in document indexing. In addition, an improved immune algorithm proposed by us is used in this system, which called Clonal Selection Algorithm Based on Antibody Density (CSABAD). According to the clonal selection principle and density control mechanism, only those cells that have higher affinity and lower density are selected to proliferate. The system obtains better classification performance. In further work, we will research the feature selection and data mining for hyperlipemia.
Black in a Blonde World: Race and Girls' Interpretations of the Feminine Ideal in Teen Magazines

This qualitative study examines culture as a mitigating factor in adolescents' media uses and gratifications. Middle-class African-American and White female readers of the three most popular teen magazines were interviewed for their interpretations of the feminine ideal presented in these texts. While Black girls in this study sought out mainstream teen magazines for what they saw as relatively generic content on topics like social issues and entertainment, these girls were largely uninterested in teen magazines' beauty images because they conflict with African-American standards of attractiveness. Featured brands of makeup and hair care products—as well as advice on their use—were also seen as being specifically intended for White girls, who consequently invest more authority in the magazines' counsel and images. The magazines are a one-way mirror through which Black girls observe and critique White beauty culture. White girls were generally unaware of any racial bias in the magazines.
General decidability theorems for infinite-state systems

Over the last few years there has been an increasing research effort directed towards the automatic verification of infinite state systems. This paper is concerned with identifying general mathematical structures which can serve as sufficient conditions for achieving decidability. We present decidability results for a class of systems (called well-structured systems), which consist of a finite control part operating on an infinite data domain. The results assume that the data domain is equipped with a well-ordered and well-founded preorder such that the transition relation is "monotonic" (is a simulation) with respect to the preorder. We show that the following properties are decidable for well-structured systems: reachability; eventuality; and simulation. We also describe how these general principles subsume several decidability results from the literature about timed automata, relational automata, Petri nets, and lossy channel systems.
Exploring the interplay of gender, discourse, and (im)politeness

Drawing upon the method of discourse analysis, this article explores the complex relationship between gender, discourse, and (im)politeness. By examining an extended excerpt of interaction taken from the popular US reality TV show The Apprentice, I examine the role of gender stereotyping and gender assumptions in the assessment of (im)politeness by the discourse participants. Following Mills (2002), I shall argue that gender plays a role in the judgments of (im)politeness by the interactants, and that judgments seem to vary among individuals. The analysis shows that a woman's relatively masculine verbal behaviour, albeit politic in view of the stereotypically ‘masculine’ context, is perceived as inappropriate and impolite. It is suggested that women professionals may be subjected to more stringent gender norms which govern what constitutes polite behaviour, as linguistic behaviour may be evaluated against the ‘norms’ of women's speech which is assumed to be stereotypically more polite than men's speech. The analysis also raises the issue of a double bind (Lakoff 1975) that women may confront regularly in the work-place.
Referees' Decision Making about Transgressions: The Influence of Player Gender at the Highest National Level

Prior research has found that referees are harsher toward sporting offenses in regional-level matches between women than in regional-level matches between men. We tested whether this bias also occurs at a higher, national level of competition, despite the greater pressures for objectivity and fairness at this level. Referees' decisions were examined in 15 national-level handball matches between women and 15 national-level handball matches between men after transgressions that varied in severity. The results suggest that referees made harsher decisions in female than in male matches. Although more research is needed, this study supported the hypothesis that referees may use the gender of players as a powerful judgmental heuristic for deciding how to respond to aggression.
Cooperative Communications With Wireless Energy Harvesting Over Nakagami- $m$ Fading Channels

In this paper, a dual-hop decode-to-forward cooperative system is considered where multiple relays are with finite energy storage and can harvest energy from the destination. In our analysis, the relays are spatially randomly located with invoking stochastic geometry. In an effort to improve spectral efficiency, an optimal source-relay link scheme is employed. Assuming Nakagami- $m$ fading, two different scenarios are considered: 1) the single-antenna source with perfect channel state information (CSI) and 2) the multiple-antenna source with transmit antenna selection and imperfect CSI. In both scenarios, the destination node is equipped with a single transmit antenna to forward power via frequency radio signal to the relay candidates. For improving the system performance, multiple antennas at the destination are considered to process the multiple copies of the received signal from the best relay. For characterizing the performance of the proposed scenarios, exact closed-form analytical expressions for the outage probability are derived. To obtain further insights, we carry out diversity gain analysis by adopting asymptotic relative diversity. We also derive the exact closed-form analytical expression for the system throughput. Finally, simulation results are presented to corroborate the proposed analysis and to show that: 1) the system performance is improved by enlarging the area of the circle and the density of the relays and 2) the energy storage size has impacts on the performance of considered networks, which determines the maximal transmit power at relays.