Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spontaneous induction of murine pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (mPanIN) by acinar cell targeting of oncogenic Kras in adult mice

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is believed to arise through a multistep model comprised of putative precursor lesions known as pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN). Recent genetically engineered mouse models of PDAC demonstrate a comparable morphologic spectrum of murine PanIN (mPanIN) lesions. The histogenesis of PanIN and PDAC in both mice and men remains controversial. The most faithful genetic models activate an oncogenic KrasG12D knockin allele within the pdx1- or ptf1a/p48-expression domain of the entire pancreatic anlage during development, thus obscuring the putative cell(s)-of-origin from which subsequent mPanIN lesions arise. In our study, activation of this knockin KrasG12D allele in the Elastase- and Mist1-expressing mature acinar compartment of adult mice resulted in the spontaneous induction of mPanIN lesions of all histological grades, although invasive carcinomas per se were not seen. We observed no requirement for concomitant chronic exocrine injury in the induction of mPanIN lesions from the mature acinar cell compartment. The acinar cell derivation of the mPanINs was established through lineage tracing in reporter mice, and by microdissection of lesional tissue demonstrating Cre-mediated recombination events. In contrast to the uniformly penetrant mPanIN phenotype observed following developmental activation of KrasG12D in the Pdx1-expressing progenitor cells, the Pdx1-expressing population in the mature pancreas (predominantly islet β cells) appears to be relatively resistant to the effects of oncogenic Kras. We conclude that in the appropriate genetic context, the differentiated acinar cell compartment in adult mice retains its susceptibility for spontaneous transformation into mPanIN lesions, a finding with potential relevance vis-à-vis the origins of PDAC.
Handling Unbalanced Data in Nocturnal Epileptic Seizure Detection using Accelerometers

Data of nocturnal movements in epileptic patients is marked by an imbalance due to the relative small number of seizures compared to normal nocturnal movements. This makes developing a robust classifier more difficult, especially with respect to reducing the number of false positives while keeping a high sensitivity. In this paper we evaluated different ways to overcome this problem in our application, by using a different weighting of classes and by resampling the minority class. Furthermore, as we only have a limited number of training samples available per patient, additionally it was investigated in which manner the training set size affects the results. We observed that oversampling gives a higher performance than only adjusting the weights of both classes. Compared to its alternatives oversampling based on the probability density function gives the best results. On 2 of 3 patients, this technique gives a sensitivity of 95% or more and a PPV more than 70%. Furthermore, an increased imbalance in the dataset leads to lower performance, whereas the size of the dataset has little influence.
Complete Characterization of the Pareto Boundary for the MISO Interference Channel

In this correspondence, we study the achievable rate region of the multiple-input single-output (MISO) interference channel, under the assumption that all receivers treat the interference as additive Gaussian noise. Our main result is an explicit parametrization of the Pareto boundary for an arbitrary number of users and antennas. The parametrization describes the boundary in terms of a low-dimensional manifold. For the two-user case we show that a single real-valued parameter per user is sufficient to achieve all points on the Pareto boundary and that any point on the Pareto boundary corresponds to beamforming vectors that are linear combinations of the zero-forcing (ZF) and maximum-ratio transmission (MRT) beamformers. We further specialize the results to the MISO broadcast channel (BC). A numerical example illustrates the result.
NodeTrix: a Hybrid Visualization of Social Networks

The need to visualize large social networks is growing as hardware capabilities make analyzing large networks feasible and many new data sets become available. Unfortunately, the visualizations in existing systems do not satisfactorily resolve the basic dilemma of being readable both for the global structure of the network and also for detailed analysis of local communities. To address this problem, we present NodeTrix, a hybrid representation for networks that combines the advantages of two traditional representations: node-link diagrams are used to show the global structure of a network, while arbitrary portions of the network can be shown as adjacency matrices to better support the analysis of communities. A key contribution is a set of interaction techniques. These allow analysts to create a NodeTrix visualization by dragging selections to and from node-link and matrix forms, and to flexibly manipulate the NodeTrix representation to explore the dataset and create meaningful summary visualizations of their findings. Finally, we present a case study applying NodeTrix to the analysis of the InfoVis 2004 coauthorship dataset to illustrate the capabilities of NodeTrix as both an exploration tool and an effective means of communicating results.
Talker Discrimination, Emotion Identification, and Melody Recognition by Young Children with Bilateral Cochlear Implants

Users of cochlear implants typically have difficulty differentiating talkers, identifying vocal expressions of emotion, and recognizing familiar melodies because of the degraded spectral cues provided by conventional implants. This thesis examined these abilities in a small, relatively privileged sample of young bilateral implant users. In Study 1 child implant users and a control sample of hearing children were required to judge whether various utterances were produced by a man, woman, or girl (Experiment 1) and to identify the voices of cartoon characters from familiar television programs (Experiment 2). Child implant users’ performance on talker classification was comparable to that of hearing children. Their identification of cartoon characters’ voices was less accurate than that of hearing children but well above chance levels. These findings challenge conventional wisdom about the talker identification difficulties of implant users. In Study 2 the children were required to indicate whether semantically neutral utterances (Experiment 1) or classical piano excerpts (Experiment 2) sounded “happy” or “sad”. In both cases, implant users performed less accurately than hearing children but well above chance levels. Although the findings on emotion recognition in music are in line with those of previous research, the findings on emotion in speech are at odds with claims that young implant users are insensitive to vocal affect. In Study 3 the children were required to identify the theme songs from familiar television programs on the basis of combined timing and pitch cues as well as timing or pitch cues alone. Implant users’ performance was comparable to that of hearing children except when the cues were restricted to pitch relations, which resulted in performance at chance levels. The findings suggest that the musical representations of young implanted listeners include precise information about timing and coarser information about pitch. They also demonstrate, for the first time, that children, both implant users and those with normal hearing, can identify familiar music on the basis of timing cues alone. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of timing cues for implant users, the range of individual differences, and habilitation possibilities for the recognition of talkers, emotion, and music.
Isolation and Characterization of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Viruses Associated with the 2013 Disease Outbreak among Swine in the United States

ABSTRACT Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) was detected in May 2013 for the first time in U.S. swine and has since caused significant economic loss. Obtaining a U.S. PEDV isolate that can grow efficiently in cell culture is critical for investigating pathogenesis and developing diagnostic assays and for vaccine development. An additional objective was to determine which gene(s) of PEDV is most suitable for studying the genetic relatedness of the virus. Here we describe two PEDV isolates (ISU13-19338E and ISU13-22038) successfully obtained from the small intestines of piglets from sow farms in Indiana and Iowa, respectively. The two isolates have been serially propagated in cell culture for over 30 passages and were characterized for the first 10 passages. Virus production in cell culture was confirmed by PEDV-specific real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR), immunofluorescence assays, and electron microscopy. The infectious titers of the viruses during the first 10 passages ranged from 6 × 102 to 2 × 105 50% tissue culture infective doses (TCID50)/ml. In addition, the full-length genome sequences of six viruses (ISU13-19338E homogenate, P3, and P9; ISU13-22038 homogenate, P3, and P9) were determined. Genetically, the two PEDV isolates were relatively stable during the first 10 passages in cell culture. Sequences were also compared to those of 4 additional U.S. PEDV strains and 23 non-U.S. strains. All U.S. PEDV strains were genetically closely related to each other (≥99.7% nucleotide identity) and were most genetically similar to Chinese strains reported in 2011 to 2012. Phylogenetic analyses using different genes of PEDV suggested that the full-length spike gene or the S1 portion is appropriate for sequencing to study the genetic relatedness of these viruses.
Disability Arts: from the social model to the affirmative model

I begin this article by developing an argument that disability arts can only be understood in the context of the wider disabled people’s movement, as part of the ongoing struggle by disabled people for equality and inclusion. I suggest that disability arts is characterised by the principles of transgression, resistance and affirmation and is properly regarded as a conversation between disabled people involved in critiquing the oppression required by normalcy. In the second part of the article I explain and outline the affirmative model, a recently-developed theoretical tool rooted in perspectives developed within the disability arts movement.
Isolating Neural Correlates of the Pacemaker for Food Anticipation

Mice fed a single daily meal at intervals within the circadian range exhibit food anticipatory activity. Previous investigations strongly suggest that this behaviour is regulated by a circadian pacemaker entrained to the timing of fasting/refeeding. The neural correlate(s) of this pacemaker, the food entrainable oscillator (FEO), whether found in a neural network or a single locus, remain unknown. This study used a canonical property of circadian pacemakers, the ability to continue oscillating after removal of the entraining stimulus, to isolate activation within the neural correlates of food entrainable oscillator from all other mechanisms driving food anticipatory activity. It was hypothesized that continued anticipatory activation of central nuclei, after restricted feeding and a return to ad libitum feeding, would elucidate a neural representation of the signaling circuits responsible for the timekeeping component of the food entrainable oscillator. Animals were entrained to a temporally constrained meal then placed back on ad libitum feeding for several days until food anticipatory activity was abolished. Activation of nuclei throughout the brain was quantified using stereological analysis of c-FOS expressing cells and compared against both ad libitum fed and food entrained controls. Several hypothalamic and brainstem nuclei remained activated at the previous time of food anticipation, implicating them in the timekeeping mechanism necessary to track previous meal presentation. This study also provides a proof of concept for an experimental paradigm useful to further investigate the anatomical and molecular substrates of the FEO.
Isolation and identification of alkaloids and anthocyanins from flower and bulb of Lycoris radiata using HPLC and LC-ESI-MS

Three anthocyanins (cyanidin 3-diglucoside, cyanidin 3-sambubioside and cyanidin 3-glucoside) together with eleven known alkaloids (lycoricidine, hipppeastrine,O-Demethyllycoramin, lycoricidinol, galanthine, lycorine, lycorenine, lycoramine, galanthamine, homolycorine and pretazettine) were identified in the flower and bulb of Lycoris radiata using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Anthocyanins play a major role in protecting plant’s DNA from the UV spectrum of sunlight and also in attracting insects for the purpose of pollination. Thus, knowledge on the contents and types of anthocyanins of L. radiata will help to evaluate the adaptive evolution of flowers and provide useful information for the ornamental breeding.
Analysing the effects of tax-benefit reforms on income distribution: A decomposition approach

To assess the impact of tax-bene t policy changes on income distribution over time, we suggest a methodology based on counterfactual simulations. We start by decomposing changes in inequality/poverty indices into three contributions: reforms of the tax-bene t structure (rules, rates, etc.), changes in nominal levels of market incomes and tax-bene t parameters (bene t amounts, tax bands, etc.), and all other changes in the underlying population (market income inequality, demographic composition, employment level, etc.). Then, the decomposition helps to extract an absolute measure of the impact of tax-bene t changes on inequality when evaluated against a distributionally-neutral benchmark, i.e. a situation where tax-bene t parameters are adjusted in line with income growth. We apply this measure to assess recent policy changes in twelve European countries. Finally, the full decomposition allows quantifying the relative role of policy changes compared to all other factors. We provide an illustration on France and Ireland and check the sensitivity of the results to the decomposition order. Key Words : Tax-bene t policy, inequality, poverty, decomposition, microsimulation. JEL Classi cation : H23, H53, I32 Acknowledgement: We are grateful to Tony Atkinson and Brian Nolan for useful comments. We are indebted to all past and current members of the EUROMOD consortium as well as to those involved in the development of the model. Any remaining errors, results produced, interpretations or views presented are the authors responsibility. Simulations performed in this study rely on national micro-data sets and on the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) for Austria, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Spain. The Austrian version of the ECHP is made available by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences; the Panel Survey on Belgian Households is made available by the Universities of Liège and Antwerp; the Income Distribution Survey is made available by Statistics Finland; the public use version of the German Socio Economic Panel Study is made available by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Berlin; the Survey of Household Income and Wealth is made available by the Bank of Italy; the Family Expenditure Survey (FES) is made available by the UK O¢ ce for National Statistics (ONS) through the Data Archive. Material from the FES is Crown Copyright and is used by permission. Neither the ONS nor the Data Archive bear any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation of the data reported here. An equivalent disclaimer applies for all other data sources and their respective providers cited in this acknowledgement. Correspondence to: Olivier Bargain, UCD, Newman Building, Dublin 4, Ireland. Phone: +35317168357. Email: olivier.bargain@ucd.ie
Breaking the silence : restorative justice and child sexual abuse : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

This research investigated the relationship between justice and child sexual abuse from the perspective of adult survivors. Utilising participant observation, unstructured interviews and focus groups within a feminist framework, 2 1 adult surviv�rs of child sexual abuse ( 1 8 women and 3 men) were consulted to identify issues that were problematic for them. In addition, 2 jurors, 1 judge and 2 counsellors were interviewed. The findings indicated that child sexual abuse has been shrouded by a conspiracy of silence, caused partly by deeply entrenched structures within society. These forces combined with the complexity of recovery, including the possible impacts of Stockholm Syndrome, and the perceived inability of the criminal justice system to meet their needs, have appeared to silence many survivors of child sexual abuse. A review of the economic consequences and an analysis of the subsequent costs of child sexual abuse have indicated the need to implement programmes that would lessen the burden for victims, offenders, their families and the broader society. Survivors cautiously suggested that restorative justice might be sufficiently flexible to encourage victims of child sexual abuse to criminally report, thereby breaking the silence. A cost benefit analysis of a restorative justice programme indicated that significant savings could be made and highlighted that the prevention of child sexual abuse should be a priority. The findings of this research would have implications for policy makers and all those who provide services to victims and offenders of child sexual abuse. Stockholm Syndrome has highlighted the complexity of the recovery process for victims of child sexual abuse. This syndrome combined with the concerns of adult survivors of child sexual abuse would have implications for practitioners within the traditional criminal justice system and the restorative justice movement. Finally, the costs of child sexual abuse in New Zealand would have implications for justice agencies, health agencies, social welfare organisations and the Accident Compensation Corporation of New Zealand.
Blocking IL-15 Prevents the Induction of Allergen-Specific T Cells and Allergic Inflammation In Vivo

IL-15 has been shown to accelerate and boost allergic sensitization in mice. Using a murine model of allergic sensitization to OVA, we present evidence that blocking endogenous IL-15 during the sensitization phase using a soluble IL-15Rα (sIL-15Rα) suppresses the induction of Ag-specific, Th2-differentiated T cells. This significantly reduces the production of OVA-specific IgE and IgG and prevents the induction of a pulmonary inflammation. Release of proinflammatory TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-12 as well as that of Th2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 into the bronchi are significantly reduced, resulting in suppressed recruitment of eosinophils and lymphocytes after allergen challenge. It is of clinical relevance that the airway hyper-responsiveness, a major symptom of human asthma bronchiale, is significantly reduced by sIL-15Rα treatment. Ex vivo analysis of the draining lymph nodes revealed reduced numbers of CD8, but not CD4, memory cells and the inability of T cells of sIL-15Rα-treated mice to proliferate and to produce Th2 cytokines after in vitro OVA restimulation. This phenomenon is not mediated by enhanced numbers of CD4+/CD25+ T cells. These results show that IL-15 is important for the induction of allergen-specific, Th2-differentiated T cells and induction of allergic inflammation in vivo.
Molecular identification and capsular typing of Pasteurella multocida isolates from sheep pneumonia in Iran

Pasteurella multocida is known as one of the main organisms causing pneumonia in sheep. As immunity in pasteurellosis is serogroup specific, identification of prevalent capsular group among endemic areas is essential. The aim of this study was to molecular identification and determine of the capsular type of the P. multocida strains isolated from sheep pneumonia in Iran. Bacteriological and biochemical characterization was confirmed by species specific PM-PCR. Genomic DNA was extracted by boiling method. Capsular typing was conducted by using type specific primers via Cap-PCR method. The PCR product was sequenced and analysed by BLAST software. The biochemical identification was confirmed by a species-specific PCR assay (PM-PCR). According to Cap-PCR results, all of the 52 P.multocida isolates belonged to the capsular type A. The PCR amplified a fragment of 1044 bp from all of tested isolates. The sequence alignment of the CAP-PCR product showed a high similarity (>98%) with the published sequences of P.multocida hya gene in the Gene Bank. It was found that capsular type A is dominant among P. multocida isolates from sheep pasteurellosis in endemic areas of Iran. Investigation on preparation and evaluation of an effective sheep pasteurellosis vaccine by using ovine isolates of P.multocida capsular type A is recommended.
Klimawandel des Umweltbewusstseins? Eine Analyse des ISSP 2000

In dem Beitrag werden verschiedene Hypothesen zur Erklarung der Unterschiede und der Entwicklung des Umweltbewusstseins im internationalen Vergleich diskutiert und einem empirischen Test unterzogen. Wir diskutieren die Wohlstandshypothese, die These vom postmaterialistischen Wertewandel, die Globalisierungsthese und die Annahmen zum so genannten "Issue-Attention Cycle". Diese Hypothesen werden mit Hilfe einer Mehrebenenanalyse an den Daten des International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2000 uberpruft. Die Ergebnisse stutzen vor allem die Wohlstandshypothese. Es zeigt sich, dass das Umweltbewusstsein sowohl vom individuellen Einkommen als auch vom nationalen Wohlstandsniveau abhangt. Zusatzlich weisen auch postmaterialistische Werthaltungen der Befragten neben weiteren soziodemographischen Merkmalen einen engen Zusammenhang zum Umweltbewusstsein auf. Insgesamt ist das Umweltbewusstsein in den meisten Teilnehmerlandern des ISSP 2000 im Vergleich zu 1993 leicht gesunken. Staaten, in denen die Bevolkerung uber ein hohes Niveau an Umweltbewusstsein verfugt, weisen daruber hinaus eine hohere Okoeffizienz hinsichtlich ihrer CO2-Emissionen auf als solche mit niedrigem Umweltbewusstsein.
Cohabitation versus Marriage

Abstract This study was aimed at investigating if the precursors of relationship dissolution vary according to union type (marriage or cohabitation). More specifically, this study examined the role of an important social psychological variable, dyadic adjustment, on relationship dissolution of cohabiting versus marital unions. A total of 117 married couples and 109 cohabiting couples completed a measure of dyadic adjustment, along with a demographic questionnaire. Two years later, the couples were asked to provide information on couple status (i.e., stable, separated, or divorced). As predicted, results of standard logistic regressions, controlled for relevant demographic variables, confirmed that cohabiting couples were more likely to end their relationship, even if it was still relatively satisfying, which was not the case for their married counterparts.
Distributed Algorithm for Solving Convex Inequalities

In this note, a distributed subgradient-based algorithm is proposed for continuous-time multi-agent systems to search a feasible solution to convex inequalities. The algorithm involves each agent achieving a state constrained by its own inequalities while exchanging local information with other agents under a time-varying directed communication graph. With the validity of a mild connectivity condition associated with the communication graph, it is shown that all agents will reach agreement asymptotically and the consensus state is in the solution set of the inequalities. Furthermore, the method is also extended to solving the distributed optimization problem of minimizing the sum of local objective functions subject to convex inequalities. Simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.