Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complex II Defect via Down-regulation of Iron-Sulfur Subunit Induces Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Cell Cycle Delay in Iron Chelation-induced Senescence-associated Growth Arrest*

Mitochondria play a pivotal role as an ATP generator in aerobically growing cells, and their defects have long been implicated in the cellular aging process, although its detailed underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Recently, we found that, in the cellular senescent process of Chang cells induced by desferroxamine mesylate, an iron chelator, a significant decrease of intracellular ATP level was accompanied by decline in complex II activity, which preceded acquisition of the senescent phenotype. In the present study, we investigated the mechanism of how the mitochondrial ATP productivity was damaged by iron chelation and how complex II defect was involved in the senescent arrest. The ATP loss was irreversible and accompanied by sustained collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), but the ATP loss itself did not seem to be essential in progression to the senescent arrest. The Δψm disruption was due to decreased mitochondrial respiration, which was primarily associated with the defective complex II activity. Furthermore, we found that the declined activity of complex II was mainly due to down-regulation of protein expression of the iron-sulfur subunit, which was associated with the irreversibility of the arrest. Finally, we demonstrated that specific inhibition of complex II with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone induced overall delay of the cell cycle, suggesting that the delayed arrest by desferroxamine mesylate might be in part due to inhibition of complex II activity. Taken together, our results suggest that complex II might be considered as one of the primary factors to regulate mitochondrial respiratory function by responding to the cellular iron level, thereby influencing cellular growth.
Parallel Mining for Frequent Fragments on a Shared-Memory Multiprocessor - Results and Java-Obstacles

Although in the last years about a dozen sophisticated algorithms for mining frequent subgraphs have been proposed, it still takes too long to search big databases with 100,000 graphs and more. Even the currently fastest algorithms like gSpan, FFSM, Gaston, or MoFa need hours to complete their tasks. This paper presents a thread-based parallel version of MoFa, [5] that achieves a speedup of about 7 on a shared-memory SMP system equipped with 12 processors. We discuss the design space of the parallelization, the results, the obstacles, that are caused by the irregular search space and by the current state of Java technology, and reason about ways to achieve even better speedups in future.
Safe at home? Factors influencing the safety strategies used by people with intellectual disability

Little is known about how people with intellectual disability understand personal safety, or what strategies they call upon when they do not feel safe in their homes. In this participatory research, 20 people with intellectual disability talked about the ways they keep themselves safe in the places where they live, and what helps them or makes it hard for them to stay safe. Interviews with nine disability policy-makers were also conducted to include a systemic perspective about how personal safety is addressed by funded disability support services. A series of factors either support people or make it difficult for them to put their strategies into action, influencing the degree to which they were able to draw upon their own strategies to protect themselves from potential harm.
A New Approach to Achieving High-Performance Power Amplifier Linearization

Digital baseband predistortion (DBP) is not particularly well suited to linearizing wideband power amplifiers (PAs); this is due to the exorbitant price paid in computational complexity. One of the underlying reasons for the computational complexity of DBP is the inherent inefficiency of using a sufficiently deep memory and a high enough polynomial order to span the multidimensional signal space needed to mitigate PA-induced nonlinear distortion. Therefore we have developed a new mathematical method to efficiently search for and localize those regions in the multidimensional signal space that enable us to invert PA nonlinearities with a significant reduction in computational complexity. Using a wideband code division multiple access (CDMA) signal we demonstrate and compare the PA linearization performance and computational complexity of our algorithm to that of conventional DBP techniques using measured results.
Prevalence and risk factors of cholelithiasis in Amol city, northern Iran: a population based study.

BACKGROUND Cholelithiasis is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders requiring hospitalization. While different factors influence gallstone formation in patients, these factors are not the same in different societies or in different geographical locations. AIM To evaluate the epidemiology and risk factors associated with gallstone formation in a large population group, the present survey was conducted in northern Iran. METHODS In 6143 asymptomatic subjects, the incidence of gallstone formation as well as risk factors were evaluated through a structured questionnaire, physical examination and ultrasonography study. Sample selection was based on stratified cluster systemic randomization. RESULTS Of these enrolled subjects 3507 (57.1%) were male and 2636 (42.9%) were female with a mean age of 42.71 ± 17.1 years. The prevalence of gallstones was 0.80%. On multivariate analysis, the risk of gallstone disease is correlated to rural locale, diastolic hypertension, age, and TG levels. However, systolic hypertension, glucose serum levels and obesity were also significantly associated with the presence of gallstones. CONCLUSION The present study proposes that the rate of gallstone disease in northern Iran is lower than previous studies have reported, and that most of the risk factors can be prevented by changes in lifestyle and diet.
Gender, ethnicity, and school principalship in Israel: comparing two organizational cultures

Based on the social closure perspective, this study examines the intersection of women and minorities in school leadership positions and argues that organizational culture is related to the exclusion of women and minorities from high‐rank positions. This argument is tested by an estimation of the likelihood of minority women, minority men, non‐minority women and non‐minority men holding school principal positions in two different educational systems in Israel: the Jewish state secular and state religious schools. These two systems have distinct forms of organizational culture. The research data are based on a survey of teaching staff conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2000 (n = 25 769). Several multinomial analyses were conducted in each educational sector. Different patterns of gender/ethnic stratification were found in each educational sector. Gender proved to exert a stronger effect than ethnicity. However, ethnicity differences were greater among women than among men. These patterns were more prominent in state religious education than in state secular education. The findings support the claim that organizational culture serves as a mechanism that mediates ascriptive inequality and shapes the patterns of stratification by gender and ethnic differences.
Accurate and Fast Estimation of Junction Band-to-Band Leakage in Nanometer-Scale MOSFET

The estimation and optimization of leakage power become more and more important with technology scalling. Besides subthreshold and gate leakage, the band-to-band (BTBT) junction leakage plays a significant role in total leakage and thus accurate estimation is one of the most important missions in circuit simulation. Today, the current leakage estimating models are still not accurate enough or slow. Shiue et al. (2001) had developed some methods based on extremely empirical models, but these models can not estimate the effect of process variations. On the other side, Kurimoto et al. (1989) had constructed lots of device models to estimate BTBT current, but due to the performance problems, these models could not be applied for circuit simulation directly. In this paper, we propose an accurate and fast model for estimating BTBT leakage, and this model could obtain a result consistent with the simulation result of MEDICI, while the speed of our model is 300X faster. Moreover, this model is physical-based. Hence it is suitable for leakage analysis for large-scale circuits and the effect of process variations can be estimated
Department of Economics Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime

We would like to thank Cynthia Bansak and Lorien Rice for several helpful suggestions. We thank Lawrence Katz, Mark Hooker, Carlisle Moody, and Christopher Ruhm for providing us with state level data. Abstract Previous estimates of the effect of unemployment on crime commonly omit determinants of criminal behavior that vary with the business cycle, creating correlation between unemployment rates and the residuals in aggregate crime regressions. In this paper, we employ several strategies that attempt to minimize or break this correlation and eliminate the accompanying omitted variables bias to estimates of the effect of unemployment on crime. Using a state-level panel for the period from 1970 to 1993, we explore the sensitivity of crime-unemployment elasticity estimates to explicit controls for per-capita alcohol consumption, a factor that has been shown in the past to be pro-cyclical and a partial determinant of criminal behavior. In addition, we use prime defense contracts per-capita at the state level as an instrument for state unemployment rates. Both controlling for alcohol consumption and using instrumental variables to correct for omitted variables bias yields large effects of unemployment on the seven felony offenses recorded by the Department of Justice. Moreover, in contrast to previous research, we find significant and sizable positive effects of unemployment on the rates of specific violent, as well as property crimes. 1 The existence of a positive significant unemployment effect varies considerably by offense, ranging from 12 and 16 percent of the studies summarized for assault and murder to 47 and 52 percent for larceny and burglary. Entorf and Spengler (1998) using a state panel for Germany also find ambiguous unemployment effects. Studies using microdata, however, generally find a high association between joblessness and criminal activity (Freeman, 1996). Moreover, the demographic composition of convicted offenders consists disproportionally of persons who would command low legitimate wages: for example, the young and relatively less educated (Grogger, 1997).
Protein expression in salivary glands of rats with streptozotocin diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a widespread disease with high morbidity and health care costs. An experimental animal model was employed, using morphological and biochemical methods, to investigate the effects of DM on the expression and compartmentation of salivary gland proteins. The distribution of proline‐rich proteins (PRP), submandibular mucin (Muc10) and the regulatory (RI and RII) subunits of cyclic AMP‐dependent protein kinase type I and type II was determined in the parotid and submandibular (SMG) glands of rats treated with streptozotocin. Quantitative immunocytochemistry of secretory granules in diabetic glands revealed decreases of 30% for PRP in both the parotid and SMG, and a 40% decrease in Muc10 in the SMG. Immunogold labelling showed that RII decreased in nuclei and the cytoplasm in diabetic acinar cells while labelling of secretory granules was similar in control and diabetic parotid. Electrophoresis and Western blotting of tissue extracts of two secretory proteins showed that the response to DM and insulin treatment was gland specific: PRP showed little change in the SMG, but decreased in the parotid in DM and was partially restored after insulin treatment. Photoaffinity labelling showed only RI present in the SMG and mainly RII in the parotid. The results of this and previous studies demonstrating highly specific changes in salivary protein expression indicate that the oral environment is significantly altered by DM, and that oral tissues and their function can be compromised. These findings may provide a basis for future studies to develop tests using saliva for diabetic status or progression in humans.
High incidence of recurrence and hematologic events following liver transplantation for Budd–Chiari syndrome

Abstract: Background: Most cases of Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) in Western countries are related to underlying hematologic diseases with inherent thrombogenic propensity. We evaluated the long‐term outcome, risks for recurrent disease, and other hematologic complications following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for BCS.
The indenoisoquinoline noncamptothecin topoisomerase I inhibitors: update and perspectives

Because camptothecins are effective against previously resistant tumors and are the only class of topoisomerase I (Top1) inhibitors approved for cancer treatment, we developed the indenoisoquinolines. Like camptothecins, the indenoisoquinolines selectively trap Top1-DNA cleavage complexes and have been cocrystallized with the Top1-DNA cleavage complexes. Indenoisoquinolines show antitumor activity in animal models. They have several advantages over the camptothecins: (a) They are synthetic and chemically stable. (b) The Top1 cleavage sites trapped by the indenoisoquinolines have different genomic locations, implying differential targeting of cancer cell genomes. (c) The Top1 cleavage complexes trapped by indenoisoquinolines are more stable, indicative of prolonged drug action. (d) They are seldom or not used as substrates for the multidrug resistance efflux pumps (ABCG2 and MDR-1). Among the >400 indenoisoquinolines synthesized and evaluated, three have been retained as leads for clinical development by the National Cancer Institute: NSC 706744, NSC 725776 (Indimitecan), and NSC 724998 (Indotecan). The trapping of Top1 cleavage complexes by indenoisoquinolines in cells results in the rapid and sustained phosphorylation of histone H2AX (γ-H2AX). We discuss the use of γ-H2AX as a pharmacodynamic biomarker for the clinical development of the indenoisoquinolines. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(5):1008–14]
Neighborhood Rank Order Coding for Robust Texture Analysis and Feature Extraction

Research into the visual cortex and general neural information processing has led to various attempts to integrate pulse computation schemes in image analysis systems. Of interest is especially the robustness of representing an analogue signal in the phase or duration of a pulsed, quasi-digital signal, as well as the possibility of direct digital interaction, i.e. computation, among these signals. Such a computation can also achieve information compaction for subsequent processing stages. By using a pulse order encoding scheme motivated by dendritic pulse interaction, we will show that a powerful low-level feature and texture extraction operator, called pulsed local orientation coding (PLOC), can be implemented. Feature extraction results are being presented, and a possible VLSI implementation is detailed.
Locomotion in Burrowing and Vagrant Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae)

Locomotion in the vagrant wolf spider Trochosa ruricola is compared to that in the burrow dwelling wolf spider Lycosa tarentula (Araneae: Lycosidae). L. tarentula takes relatively shorter steps than T. ruricola . At high speeds T. ruricola approximates an alternating tetrapod gait but this does not occur in L. tarentula . Phase lag differs between species and varies marginally with speed except for ipsilateral phase lags in L. tarentula which are erratic if they include leg 1. In both species the protraction/retraction ratio is directly related to both running speed and stepping frequency, but the relationship is more marked in L. tarentula . The protraction/retraction ratio is more variable in leg 1 and varies between legs along the body but by a greater amount in L. tarentula . In these spiders, in contrast to the situation in many insects, both the duration of protraction and retraction show marked inverse relationships to stepping frequency. The power stroke (retraction) occupies a variable proportion of the stepping cycle, which is not the case in other spiders, and this proportion is lower than for other spiders. It is suggested that the first pair of legs is used more for sensory than for locomotory purpose and that this is more marked in the burrow dwelling species, L. tarentula .
Fire histories from pine-dominant forest in the Madrean Archipelago

The pine-dominated woodlands and forests of the Sky Islands typically sustained surface burns about once per decade until the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries, when livestock grazing and organized fire suppression effectively ended this centuries-long pattern. Fire scar chronologies from 31 sites in 10 mountain ranges illustrate this history. By combining elevational transects of fire scar chronologies in three of the mountain ranges it is possible to visualize the temporal changes in widespread fire occurrence. Combining all 31 chronologies for the region, it is evident that there was a high degree of synchrony in fire occurrence that must have been related to broad-scale climate variations. Comparisons of synchronous fire years with a regional tree-ring reconstruction of precipitation confirm the importance of wet/dry seasonal and interannual climate patterns in promoting widspread burning.
Genetic and Phenetic Approaches to Anopheles Systematics

The Anopheles genus is probably one of the best studied genera among insects of medical importance. Of more than 500 species currently listed in the world about sixty species are vectors of malaria agents and about thirty species are responsible for most of the transmission [1-3]. The important epidemiological role of anopheline species has motivated many studies of taxonomy and systematics with traditional tools. With the advent of molecular tools, the development of informatics databases and new mathematical concepts on shape, characteriz‐ ing insects has become more and more accurate. Molecular tools based on the nucleotide polymorphism of DNA have allowed the identification of cryptic diversity, confirming and refining previous findings suggesting the existence of many species groups or complexes of sibling species. The development of international genetic sequence database collabora‐ tionshttp://www.insdc. org, http://www.barcodinglife. com/ allowed the use of reference sequences for species identification. Although not well developed, the same need for infor‐ matic databases arose for traditional taxonomy.
Authorship Identification Using Correlations of Frequent Features Notebook for PAN at CLEF 2013

In this work, we explore how well can we perform the PAN‘13 authorship identification task by using correlation of frequent significant features found in documents written by a known author. We extract features from the context of four types of words: first words of sentences or lines, nouns, verbs, punctuation. We compute the Matthews Correlation Coefficient for all pairs of extracted features and by using principal component analysis, transform them into a form suitable for using simple Euclidian distance as a metric. By hypothesizing that the distances of different documents written by a same author belong to same distribution, we can provide educated guesses for the authorship identification. Our system achieves F1-score of 66.7% for English, 56.7% for Greek and 80% for Spanish texts with an overall F1-score of 67.1% on the PAN‘13 dataset.
Equity Analysts Affiliated with Corporate Lenders

Equity analysts affiliated with corporate lenders publish superior research on borrowers, consistent with private information sharing within financial institutions. Relative to other analysts, lender-affiliated analysts improve the accuracy of their earnings forecasts after a lending relationship is established, and they are more likely to amend their research on borrowers ahead of revelation of adverse credit-related information. Borrowers are also more likely to choose banks whose affiliated analysts maintain more favorable recommendations on their stock. Additional analyses suggest that these favorable recommendations can be partially explained by strategic bias induced by lender-affiliated analysts. Lending-related informational advantages persist beyond Regulation FD and the Global Settlement, but strategic use of bias ends with the Global Settlement. Stock market reactions to research modifications suggest investors appreciate the "specialness" of lender-affiliated analysts.
Prediction of Humans' Activity for Learning the Behaviors of Electrical Appliances in an Intelligent Ambient Environment

In this paper we propose a mechanism of prediction of domestic human activity in a smart home context. We use those predictions to adapt the behavior of home appliances whose impact on the environment is delayed (for example the heating). The behaviors of appliances are built by a reinforcement learning mechanism. We compare the behavior built by the learning approach with both a merely reactive behavior and a state-remanent behavior.
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Analysis of the 16S rRNA Gene V1 Region To Monitor Dynamic Changes in the Bacterial Population during Fermentation of Italian Sausages

ABSTRACT In this study, a PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) protocol was used to monitor the dynamic changes in the microbial population during ripening of natural fermented sausages. The method was first optimized by using control strains from international collections, and a natural sausage fermentation was studied by PCR-DGGE and traditional methods. Total microbial DNA and RNA were extracted directly from the sausages and subjected to PCR and reverse transcription-PCR, and the amplicons obtained were analyzed by DGGE. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were present together with other organisms, mainly members of the family Micrococcaceae and meat contaminants, such as Brochothrix thermosphacta andEnterococcus sp. , during the first 3 days of fermentation. After 3 days, LAB represented the main population, which was responsible for the acidification and proteolysis that determined the characteristic organoleptic profile of the Friuli Venezia Giulia fermented sausages. The PCR-DGGE protocol for studying sausage fermentation proved to be a good tool for monitoring the process in real time, and it makes technological adjustments possible when they are required.
Quality of life in substance abuse and dependency

Substance abuse and substance dependency are diagnosed not only through the extent a drug is used but the effects--emotional, medical, social and behavioural--the drug has on the (ab)user. These effects incorporate many of the domains that may be systematically examined through using quality of life (QOL) measures. The assessment of QOL may therefore be used both as an evaluation and a diagnostic tool. A comprehensive literature review was completed to examine: (1) what QOL research has been conducted and in what context, (2) how different constructs of QOL are used, and (3) what patterns of results in QOL ratings are evident across different substance abusing or dependent populations. The data relates to individuals who misuse alcohol or drugs, the dual diagnosis population of substance abusing individuals with comorbid psychiatric disorders, and 'hidden populations' such as individuals who abuse legal drugs. Comparisons are made complex by the use of two different constructs, the generic construct QOL which examines satisfaction with life, and the more specialized construct of health-related QOL (HRQOL). Results suggest the potential diagnostic importance of QOL, and the need for detailed analysis of patterns of QOL scores in clinical subpopulations and the wider substance using population. Concluding comments address the paucity of existing studies, and the need for regular incorporation of the measure within substance abuse and dependency research and practice.