Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CTRP1 Protein Enhances Fatty Acid Oxidation via AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) Activation and Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase (ACC) Inhibition*

Background: CTRP1 is an adiponectin paralog with poorly defined metabolic function. Results: CTRP1 decreases diet-induced weight gain in mice by enhancing fatty acid oxidation and energy expenditure via activation of AMPK signaling. Conclusion: CTRP1 is a novel regulator of lipid metabolism. Significance: CTRP1 links adipose tissue to whole body energy balance. We previously described the adipokine CTRP1, which has up-regulated expression following exposure to the anti-diabetic drug rosiglitazone and increased circulating levels in adiponectin-null mice (Wong, G. W., Krawczyk, S. A., Kitidis-Mitrokostas, C., Revett, T., Gimeno, R., and Lodish, H. F. (2008) Biochem. J. 416, 161–177). Although recombinant CTRP1 lowers blood glucose in mice, its physiological function, mechanisms of action, and roles in metabolic stress remain unknown. Here, we show that circulating levels of CTRP1 are strikingly reduced in diet-induced obese mice. Overexpressing CTRP1 in transgenic mice improved insulin sensitivity and decreased high-fat diet-induced weight gain. Reduced adiposity resulted from enhanced fatty acid oxidation and energy expenditure, effects mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In skeletal muscle of transgenic mice, AMPKα and its downstream target, acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), were hyperphosphorylated, indicative of AMPK activation and ACC inhibition. Inactivation of ACC promotes mitochondrial fat oxidation. Consistent with the direct effect of CTRP1 on AMPK signaling, recombinant CTRP1 administration acutely stimulated muscle AMPKα and ACC phosphorylation in vivo. In isolated soleus muscle, recombinant CTRP1 activated AMPK signaling to increase fatty acid oxidation ex vivo, an effect abrogated by an AMPK inhibitor. These results provide the first in vivo evidence that CTRP1 is a novel regulator of fatty acid metabolism.
Central charges for Kerr and Kerr-AdS black holes in diverse dimensions

In the previous work we give a microscopic explanation of the entropy for the BTZ black hole and four-dimensional Kerr black hole based on the massless scalar field theory on the horizon. An essential input is the central charges of those black holes. In this paper, we calculate the central charges for Kerr black holes and Kerr-AdS black holes in diverse dimensions by rewriting the entropy formula in a suggesting way. Then we also give the statistical explanation for the entropy of those black holes based on the scalar field on the horizon which similar to 4D kerr black hole.
Improving an Ontology Refinement Method with Hyponymy Patterns

We describe here a procedure to combine two different existing techniques for Ontology Enrichment with domain-specific concepts. The resulting algorithm is fully unsupervised, and the level of precision is higher than when they are used separately, so we believe that both algorithms benefit from each other. The experiments have been performed by extending WordNet with concepts extracted from The Lord of the Rings.
Reduction of Signal-Dependent Noise From Hyperspectral Images for Target Detection

Tensor-decomposition-based methods for reducing random noise components in hyperspectral images (HSIs), both dependent and independent from signal, are proposed. In this paper, noise is described by a parametric model that accounts for the dependence of noise variance on the signal. This model is thus suitable for the cases where photon noise is dominant compared with the electronic noise contribution. To denoise HSIs distorted by both signal-dependent (SD) and signal-independent (SI) noise, some hybrid methods, which reduce noise by two steps according to the different statistical properties of those two types of noise, are proposed in this paper. The first one, named as the PARAFACSI- PARAFACSD method, uses a multilinear algebra model, i.e., parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) decomposition, twice to remove SI and SD noise, respectively. The second one is a combination of the well-known multiple-linear-regression-based approach termed as the HYperspectral Noise Estimation (HYNE) method and PARAFAC decomposition, which is named as the HYNE-PARAFAC method. The last one combines the multidimensional Wiener filter (MWF) method and PARAFAC decomposition and is named as the MWF-PARAFAC method. For HSIs distorted by both SD and SI noise, first, most of the SI noise is removed from the original image by PARAFAC decomposition, the HYNE method, or the MWF method based on the statistical property of SI noise; then, the residual SD components can be further reduced by PARAFAC decomposition due to its own statistical property. The performances of the proposed methods are assessed on simulated HSIs. The results on the real-world airborne HSI Hyperspectral Digital Imagery Collection Experiment (HYDICE) are also presented and analyzed. These experiments show that it is worth taking into account noise signal-dependence hypothesis for processing HYDICE data.
What Factors Determine The Success of Clinical Decision Support Systems?

Computerized decision support systems (CDSS) which improve the quality of patient care are strong and necessary incentives for clinicians to use electronic medical records. We have noted previously that the logical path of CDSS design, which would be to determine the factors that predict success before the system is designed, appears rarely to have been followed. In this overview update of the literature on predictors of successful CDSS, we conclude that the predictors have not been adequately identified and the success of CDSS may improve when they are.
Scaling Up All Pairs Similarity Search

Given a large collection of sparse vector data in a high dimensional space, we investigate the problem of finding all pairs of vectors whose similarity score (as determined by a function such as cosine distance) is above a given threshold. We propose a simple algorithm based on novel indexing and optimization strategies that solves this problem without relying on approximation methods or extensive parameter tuning. We show the approach efficiently handles a variety of datasets across a wide setting of similarity thresholds, with large speedups over previous state-of-the-art approaches.
k-Balanced sorting and skew join in MPI and MapReduce

We consider algorithms for sorting and skew equi-join operations for computer clusters. The proposed algorithms achieve the best known theoretical workload balancing guarantee, and exhibit close to optimal balancing in our experiments. Our empirical studies also show that the proposed sorting algorithm is up to 30% faster than the state-of-the-art algorithm.
Patients with ankylosing spondylitis have increased sick leave—a registry-based case–control study over 7 yrs

Objectives. Using prospectively collected registry data to investigate sick leave (sickness benefit and sickness compensation) over a 7-yr period in patients with AS in comparison with population-based controls matched for age, sex and residential area. Methods. We investigated 122 (21 women and 101 men) outpatients with AS in South Sweden, born 1942 or later, from rheumatology specialist care for their sick leave during a 7-yr period. Mean (s.d.) age was 43 (11) yrs and mean (s.d.) disease duration was 20 (11) yrs. Two controls per case, matched for age, sex and residential area were selected from the Swedish National Population Register. Data concerning sick leave for cases and controls, based on the subjects’ unique 10-digit personal identification number, were retrieved from the national register of the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. Results. More AS patients than controls were registered for sickness benefit (52 vs 36%, P < 0.01) and sickness compensation (42 vs 11%, P < 0.001). Cases had an increased risk for sick leave compared with controls with a relative risk of 1.8; 95% CI 1.5, 2.1; and cases had more days with sick leave than controls (median number of more days per year 30; 95% CI 2, 72). Conclusions. Using the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's registers for sick leave, we found that patients with AS in rheumatology specialist care in South Sweden have an increased level of sick leave compared with controls. These population-based registers have a great potential for studies of the effects of different interventions on sick leave.
Quiescent stem cells in intestinal homeostasis and cancer

Abstract Adult stem cell niches are characterized by a dichotomy of cycling and quiescent stem cells: while the former are responsible for tissue turnover, their quiescent counterparts are thought to become active upon tissue injury thus underlying the regenerative response. Moreover, quiescence prevents adult stem cells from accumulating mutations thus ensuring a reservoir of unaltered stem cells. In the intestine, while cycling stem cells were shown to give rise to the main differentiated lineages, the identity of their quiescent equivalents remains to date elusive. This is of relevance for conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis where quiescent stem cells may underlie metaplasia and the increased cancer risk associated with chronic inflammation. Tumours are thought to share a comparable hierarchical structure of adult tissues with pluripotent and self-renewing cancer stem cells (CSCs) giving rise to more differentiated cellular types. As such, neoplastic lesions may encompass both cycling and quiescent CSCs. Because of their infrequent cycling, quiescent CSCs are refractory to chemo- and radiotherapy and are likely to play a role in tumour dissemination, dormancy and recurrence.
Inflammation and angiogenesis in osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE To quantify the relationship between inflammation and angiogenesis in synovial tissue from patients with osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS Hematoxylin and eosin staining and histologic grading for inflammation were performed for 104 patients who met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for OA and had undergone total joint replacement or arthroscopy. A purposive sample of synovial specimens obtained from 70 patients was used for further analysis. Vascular endothelium, endothelial cell (EC) proliferating nuclei, macrophages, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were detected by immunohistochemical analysis. Angiogenesis (EC proliferation, EC fractional area), macrophage fractional area, and VEGF immunoreactivity were measured using computer-assisted image analysis. Double immunofluorescence histochemical analysis was used to determine the cellular localization of VEGF. Radiographic scores for joint space narrowing and osteophyte formation in the knee were also assessed. RESULTS Synovial tissue samples from 32 (31%) of 104 patients with OA showed severe inflammation; thickened intimal lining and associated lymphoid aggregates were often observed. The EC fractional area, EC proliferation, and VEGF immunoreactivity all increased with increasing histologic inflammation grade and increasing macrophage fractional area. In the synovial intimal lining, VEGF immunoreactivity was localized to macrophages and increased with increasing EC fractional area and angiogenesis. No inflammation or angiogenic indices were significantly correlated with radiographic scores. CONCLUSION Inflammation and angiogenesis in the synovium are associated with OA. The angiogenic growth factor VEGF generated by the inflamed synovium may promote angiogenesis, thereby contributing to inflammation in OA.
Residual platelet reactivity is an independent predictor of myocardial injury in acute myocardial infarction patients on antiaggregant therapy

Summary In this study we sought to evaluate if platelet function measured after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) affects the severity of myocardial infarction (MI), measured by markers of cardiac necrosis. We measured platelet function by both a point-of-care assay (PFA-100) and platelet-rich plasma aggregation by two agonists (arachidonic acid –AA- and 2 and 10 μM ADP) in 367 patients with MI after PCI (200 patients on dual antiplatelet agents – group A- and 167 on dual antiplatelet agents plus GpIIb/ IIIa inhibitors – group B). One hundred twenty-one (32.9%) patients were found to have a residual platelet reactivity (RPR) by PFA (CT/EPI <203 sec): 74/200 (37%) in group A and 47/167 (28.1%) in group B (p=0.07). In 129 (35.1%) patients we found a RPR by AA-PA: 80/200 (40%) in group A and 49/167 (29.3%) in group B (p<0.05). Seventeen out of 367 (4.6%) were found to have a RPR by ADP2-PA [15/200 (7.5%) in group A and 2/167 (1.2%) in group B; p<0.005] and 88/367 (23.9%) by ADP10-PA [64/200 (32%) in group A and 24/167 (14.4%) in group B, p<0.0001]. CK-MB and cTnI mean peak values were significantly higher in the first tertile of CT/ADP and CT/EPI distribution with respect to the other tertiles and they were significantly higher in patients with RPR by CT/EPI in both groupA and group B patients. CK-MB and cTnI peak values were significantly higher in the third tertile of AA-PA,ADP 2 μM-PA and ADP 10 μM-PA distribution with respect to the other tertiles and were significantly higher in patients with RPR by AA-PA and by ADP 10-PA in both group A and group B patients. Multivariate analysis revealed platelet function as an independent predictor of CK-MB and cTnI peak values in both groups of patients independently of clinical, laboratory ad procedural parameters. In conclusion, we found that the severity of MI in patients with MI undergoing primary PCI is influenced by a persistent platelet activation on multiple antiplatelet therapy.
Inception-v3-Based Recommender System for Crops

Inception-v3 model is an image classifier that is commonly used in predictive modelling using an image as an input. Specifically, it achieved the following objectives a) Identify the major crops grown in the Philippines; b) Identify the soil requirements of crops; c) Classify Soil Texture images using Inception-v3; and d) Develop precision crop framing procedure based on Inception-v3. A threshold was set to 60%. The label having highest score that passes the preset threshold was used as a basis in the recommender system. The Inception-v3 model recognizes very well the images are that are clear and recognizable. Inception-v3 is an excellent tool in developing an image-based recommender system. However, the big challenge for authors who are also planning to do similar system lies on how to train the inception-v3 moel without over or under fitting. What can be done to solve thi issue is to play or manipulate the learning rate and the number of epochs. These are said to be the deterministic parameters to fine tune the model.
Dynamics of scalar fields in an expanding/contracting cosmos at finite temperature

This study extends the investigation of quantum dissipative effects of a cosmological scalar field by taking into account cosmic expansion and contraction. Cheung, Drewes, Kang, and Kim calculated the effective action and quantum dissipative effects of a cosmological scalar field in a recent work, where analytical expressions for the effective potential and damping coefficient were presented using a simple scalar model with quartic interactions, and the work was conducted using Minkowski-space propagators in loop diagrams. In this work, we incorporate the Hubble expansion and contraction of the cosmic background and focus on the thermal dynamics of a scalar field in a regime where the effective potential changes slowly. Given that the Hubble parameter, H, attains a small but non-zero value, we carry out calculations to the first order in H. If we set H = 0, all results match those in flat spacetime. Interestingly, we must integrate over the resonances, which in turn leads to an amplification of the effects of a non-zero H. This is an intriguing phenomenon, which cannot be uncovered in flat spacetime. The implications on particle creations in the early universe will be studied in a forthcoming study.
Magic Loops in Simple Temporal Networks with Uncertainty - Exploiting Structure to Speed Up Dynamic Controllability Checking

A Simple Temporal Network with Uncertainty (STNU) is a structure for representing and reasoning about temporal constraints and uncontrollable-but-bounded temporal intervals called contingent links. An STNU is dynamically controllable (DC) if there exists a strategy for executing its time-points that guarantees that all of the constraints will be satisfied no matter how the durations of the contingent links turn out. The fastest algorithm for checking the dynamic controllability of arbitrary STNUs is based on an analysis of the graphical structure of STNUs. This paper (1) presents a new method for analyzing the graphical structure of STNUs, (2) determines an upper bound on the complexity of certain structures—the indivisible semi-reducible negative loops; (3) presents an algorithm for generating loops—the magic loops—whose complexity attains this upper bound; and (4) shows how the upper bound can be exploited to speed up the process of DC-checking for certain networks. Theoretically, the paper deepens our understanding of the structure of STNU graphs. Practically, it demonstrates new ways of exploiting graphical structure to speed up DC checking.
Inhibitory control of correlated intrinsic variability in cortical networks

Cortical networks exhibit intrinsic dynamics that drive coordinated, large-scale fluctuations across neuronal populations and create noise correlations that impact sensory coding. To investigate the network-level mechanisms that underlie these dynamics, we developed novel computational techniques to fit a deterministic spiking network model directly to multi-neuron recordings from different species, sensory modalities, and behavioral states. The model generated correlated variability without external noise and accurately reproduced the wide variety of activity patterns in our recordings. Analysis of the model parameters suggested that differences in noise correlations across recordings were due primarily to differences in the strength of feedback inhibition. Further analysis of our recordings confirmed that putative inhibitory neurons were indeed more active during desynchronized cortical states with weak noise correlations. Our results demonstrate that network models with intrinsically-generated variability can accurately reproduce the activity patterns observed in multi-neuron recordings and suggest that inhibition modulates the interactions between intrinsic dynamics and sensory inputs to control the strength of noise correlations.
On test generation with a limited number of tests

This paper considers a new test generation scheme in which a limitation of the number of tests exists. Since, in this scheme, correct fault coverage cannot be calculated by the representative faults, we present a method for calculating the correct fault coverage by using the weighted fault list. And then we propose a selection-based test generation method which derives a limited number of tests with higher fault coverage. The experimental results for IDDQ testing shows that our test generation method can generate tests with fault coverage close to the maximum fault coverage.
Shape Sensitive Geometric Monitoring

An important problem in distributed, dynamic databases is to continuously monitor the value of a function defined on the nodes, and check that it satisfies some threshold constraint. We introduce a monitoring method, based on a geometric interpretation of the problem, which enables to define local constraints at the nodes. It is guaranteed that as long as none of these constraints is violated, the value of the function did not cross the threshold. We generalize previous work on geometric monitoring, and solve two problems which seriously hampered its performance: as opposed to the constraints used so far, which depend only on the current values of the local data, here we incorporate their temporal behavior. Also, the new constraints are tailored to the geometric properties of the specific monitored function. In addition, we extend the concept of safe zones for the monitoring problem, and show that previous work on geometric monitoring is a special case of the proposed extension. Experimental results on real data reveal that the new approach reduces communication by up to three orders of magnitude in comparison to existing approaches, and considerably narrows the gap between achievable results and a newly defined lower bound on communication complexity.
Substrate-Dependent Inhibition of Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide 1B1: Comparative Analysis with Prototypical Probe Substrates Estradiol-17β-Glucuronide, Estrone-3-Sulfate, and Sulfobromophthalein

Organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 plays an important role in the hepatic uptake of many drugs, and the evaluation of OATP1B1-mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) is emphasized in the latest DDI (draft) guidance documents from U.S. and E.U. regulatory agencies. It has been suggested that some OATP1B1 inhibitors show a discrepancy in their inhibitory potential, depending on the substrates used in the cell-based assay. In this study, inhibitory effects of 14 compounds on the OATP1B1-mediated uptake of the prototypical substrates [3H]estradiol-17β-glucuronide (E2G), [3H]estrone-3-sulfate (E1S), and [3H]sulfobromophthalein (BSP) were studied in OATP1B1-transfected cells. Inhibitory potencies of tested compounds varied depending on the substrates. Ritonavir, gemfibrozil, and erythromycin caused remarkable substrate-dependent inhibition with up to 117-, 14-, and 13-fold difference in their IC50 values, respectively. Also, the clinically relevant OATP inhibitors rifampin and cyclosporin A exhibited up to 12- and 6-fold variation in their IC50 values, respectively. Regardless of the inhibitors tested, the most potent OATP1B1 inhibition was observed when [3H]E2G was used as a substrate. Mutual inhibition studies of OATP1B1 indicated that E2G and E1S competitively inhibited each other, whereas BSP noncompetitively inhibited E2G uptake. In addition, BSP inhibited E1S in a competitive manner, but E1S caused an atypical kinetics on BSP uptake. This study showed substrate-dependent inhibition of OATP1B1 and demonstrated that E2G was the most sensitive in vitro OATP1B1 probe substrate among three substrates tested. This will give us an insight into the assessment of clinically relevant OATP1B1-mediated DDI in vitro with minimum potential of false-negative prediction.
Self-checking code-disjoint carry-select adder with low area overhead by use of add1-circuits

In this paper, a new code-disjoint totally self-checking carry-select adder, with low area overhead, is proposed which is based on the simplified design of carry-select adders by use of add1-circuits as proposed in (T. Y. Chang et al., IEE Elec. Lett., vol.34, no.22, p.2101-2103, 1998) and (Y. Kim et al., ISCAS, p.218-221, 2001). The area overhead for the proposed adder is only 40% of a traditional carry-select adder without error detection.
AN ENHANCED ACCESS CONTROL MODEL FOR GIS DATABASE SECURITY

The development of geography-based services and systems has created the demands in which access control is the primary concern for geospatial data security. Although there are a variety of models to manage geospatial data access, no model can provide the mechanism to satisfy with access control requirements fully. The objective of this paper is to discuss typical access control models, strengths and weaknesses of each model and propose an enhanced access control model for GIS databases to make sure that all concerned security requirements are satisfied. The GeoXACML framework, which is highly scalable and can help in declaring and enforcing various types of rules, is extended to accommodate the data driven and context driven access control. This is the crucial contribution of our research compared to the existing approaches and models. On the other hand, temporal constraints are an important factor that will provide the granularity in security; and hence, it will be taken into account together with the two above kinds of restrictions to support spatiotemporal data access control in Geographic Information Systems.