Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adenylyl Cyclase-Dependent Inhibition of Myocardial Norepinephrine Release by Presynaptic Adenosine A1-Receptors

Adenosine A1-receptor-mediated inhibition of exocytotic norepinephrine (NE) release from sympathetic nerve endings has been implicated as an endogenous cardioprotective mechanism. So far, the intraneuronal signal transduction underlying the adenosine A1-receptor-elicited inhibition of NE release is not known. In the present study, we determined in isolated Langendorff-perfused rat hearts the role of inhibitory G-proteins and of adenylyl cyclase (AC) on NE release after pharmacologic adenosine A1-receptor activation. NE release was induced by electrical field stimulation and was assessed in the coronary effluent by high-performance liquid chromatography. Adenosine A1-receptor activation with 2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA) decreased NE release by ∼50% in hearts from both untreated and pertussis toxin-pretreated rats. In hearts from untreated rats, suppression of NE release in response to CCPA was completely abolished by the cell-permeable AC inhibitor 9-(tetrahydro-2′-furyl)adenine (SQ 22536). Direct activation of AC with forskolin increased NE release by ∼20%. In the presence of forskolin, stimulation of adenosine A1-receptors with CCPA or inhibition of AC with SQ 22536 decreased NE release to baseline. These findings suggest a Gi-protein-independent but AC-dependent inhibition of NE release following adenosine A1-receptor activation.
Broken Hearted: How To Attack ECG Biometrics

—In this work we present a systematic presentation attack against ECG biometrics. We demonstrate the attack’s effectiveness using the Nymi Band, a wrist band that uses elec- trocardiography (ECG) as a biometric to authenticate the wearer. We instantiate the attack using a hardware-based Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG), an AWG software using a computer sound card, and the playback of ECG signals encoded as . wav ﬁles using an off-the-shelf audio player. In two sets of experiments we collect data from a total of 41 participants using a variety of ECG monitors, including a medical monitor, a smartphone-based mobile monitor and the Nymi Band itself. We use the ﬁrst dataset to understand the statistical differences in biometric features that arise from using different measurement devices and modes. Such differences are addressed through the automated derivation of so-called mapping functions, whose purpose is to transform ECG signals from any device in order to resemble the morphology of the signals recorded with the Nymi Band.Aspart of our second dataset, we enroll users into the Nymi Band and test whether data from any of our sources can be used for a signal injection attack. Using data collected directly on the Nymi Band we achieve a success rate of 81%. When only using data gathered on other devices, this rate decreases to 43% when using raw data, and 62% after applying the mapping function. While we demonstrate the attack on the Nymi Band, we expect other ECG-based authentication systems to most likely suffer from the same, fundamental weaknesses.
Precautionary Saving and Consumption Fluctuations

This paper uses the consumption Euler equation to derive a decomposition of consumption growth into four sources. These four sources are new information, and three sources of predictable consumption growth: intertemporal substitution, changes in the preferences for consumption, and incomplete markets for consumption insurance. Using household-level data, we implement this decomposition for the average growth rate of consumption expenditures on nondurable goods in the United States from 1982 to 1997. The economic importance of precautionary saving rivals that of the real interest rate, but the relative importance of each source of movement in the volatility of consumption is not precisely measured.
DHA Alters Expression of Target Proteins of Cancer Therapy in Chemotherapy Resistant SW620 Colon Cancer Cells

Diets rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been associated with a reduced risk of several types of cancer. Recent reports have suggested that these PUFAs enhance the cytotoxic effect of cancer chemoradiotherapy. The effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on key cell cycle regulators and target proteins of cancer therapy was investigated in the human malign colon cancer cell line SW620. Cell cycle check point proteins such as p21 and stratifin (14-3-3 sigma) increased at mRNA and protein level, whereas cell cycle progression proteins such as cell division cycle 25 homolog and cyclin-dependent kinase 1 decreased after DHA treatment. Protein levels of inhibitors of apoptosis family members associated with chemotherapy resistance and cancer malignancy, survivin and livin, decreased after the same treatment: likewise the expression of NF-κB. Levels of the proapoptotic proteins phosphorylated p38 MAPK and growth arrest-inducible and DNA damage-inducible gene 153/C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP) increased. The results indicate that DHA treatment causes simultaneous cell cycle arrest in both the G1 and G2 phase. In conclusion, DHA affects several target proteins of chemotherapy in a favorable way. This may explain the observed enhanced chemosensitivity in cancer cells supplemented with n-3 PUFAs and encourage further studies investigating the role of n-3 PUFAs as adjuvant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy in vivo.
Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea and Pseudomembranous Colitis: Are They Less Common with Poorly Absorbed Antimicrobials?

Diarrhea is a well-known complication of antibiotic therapy. Rates of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) vary from 5 to 25%. Some antibiotics are more likely to cause diarrhea than others, specifically, those that are broad spectrum and those that target anaerobic flora. This paper reviews the effects of antibiotics on the fecal flora as well as host factors which contribute to AAD. Clinical features and treatment of AAD are also described. Prevention of AAD rests on wise antibiotic policies, the use of probiotics and prevention of acquisition in the hospital setting. Data from clinical trials suggest that poorly absorbed antimicrobials might have a decreased risk of causing AAD and Clostridium difficile-associated disease, as concluded from studies of antibiotics used for preoperative bowel decontamination and poorly absorbed antibiotics used for traveler’s diarrhea. Controlled trials would prove this but are not yet available. Probiotics may be a good adjunct to poorly absorbed antibiotics to minimize the risk of diarrhea associated with antibiotics.
Inhibitory Effects of Scheffl era leucantha Extract on Production of Allergic Mediators by Langerhans Cells and Mast Cells

Background: Scheffl era leucantha Viguier is used as a traditional medicine in Thailand and China to relieve chronic cough and asthma. However, little is known about its anti-allergic effects. Objective: This study was designed to investigate the effects of S leucantha ethanol extract (SLEE) on chemokine production by epidermal Langerhans cells (LCs) stimulated with peptidoglycan (PEG) from Staphylococcus aureus and histamine release from mast cells. Methods: LCs were purifi ed from murine epidermal cells using the panning method with anti-IAd monoclonal antibody. Chemokine production by LCs was investigated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Mast cells for histamine release assay were induced by long-term culture of mouse spleen cells. Histamine release from these mast cells was measured by a competitive ELISA. Results: Production of the eosinophil chemoattractant CCL5 and the type 2 T helper (TH2)–associated chemokine CCL17 from PEGstimulated LCs was signifi cantly inhibited by SLEE. Furthermore, SLEE signifi cantly decreased the release of histamine from mast cells by IgE-mediated degranulation. Conclusion: These results suggest that S leucantha may offer a new therapeutic approach for the control of atopic dermatitis associated with S aureus colonization through inhibition of the production of allergic mediators.
Run-Based Algorithms for Binary Image Analysis and Processing

In this paper we suggest a variant of a binary image representation based on run length encoding. This variant allows one to build a "graph representation" for a number of computing tasks like component labeling, computations of Euler number, diameter and convex hull, and the detection of local extrema and multiple points. Finally, a running application in the raster-to-vector conversion of digital maps is provide.
Glutamate‐mediated overexpression of CD38 in astrocytes cultured with neurones

Recently, a new system of astrocyte–neurone glutamatergic signalling has been identified. It is started in astrocytes by ectocellular, CD38‐catalysed conversion of NAD+ to the calcium mobilizer cyclic ADP‐ribose (cADPR). This is then pumped by CD38 itself into the cytosol where the resulting free intracellular Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i transients elicit an increased release of glutamate, which can induce an enhanced Ca2+ response in neighbouring neurones. Here, we demonstrate that co‐culture of either cortical or hippocampal astrocytes with neurones results in a significant overexpression of astrocyte CD38 both on the plasma membrane and intracellularly. The causal role of neurone‐released glutamate in inducing overexpression of astrocyte CD38 is demonstrated by two observations: first, in the absence of neurones, induction of CD38 in pure astrocyte cultures can be obtained with glutamate and second, it can be prevented in co‐cultures by glutamate receptor antagonists. The neuronal glutamate‐mediated effect of neurones on astrocyte CD38 expression is paralleled by increased intracellular cADPR and [Ca2+]i levels, both findings indicating functionality of overexpressed CD38. These results reveal a new neurone‐to‐astrocyte glutamatergic signalling based on the CD38/cADPR system, which affects the [Ca2+]i in both cell types, adding further complexity to the bi‐directional patterns of communication between astrocytes and neurones.
A Maximum Power Point Tracker Control of a Photovoltaic System

Due the low utilization factor of photovoltaic arrays it is essential to extract the power through a converter that maximizes the operating point which varies with temperature and irradiance. In this paper we analyze the performance of the most recent Maximum Power Point Tracking algorithms. A new algorithm is proposed as the Adaptive Hill Climbing method. This new method is evaluated in controlled conditions in the laboratory. An outdoor experiment is also presented, showing the considerable improvement in performance over all the other methods.
Réseaux de neurones récurrents pour le traitement automatique de la parole. (Speech processing using recurrent neural networks)

Le domaine du traitement automatique de la parole regroupe un tres grand nombre de tâches parmi lesquelles on trouve la reconnaissance de la parole, l'identification de la langue ou l'identification du locuteur. Ce domaine de recherche fait l'objet d'etudes depuis le milieu du vingtieme siecle mais la derniere rupture technologique marquante est relativement recente et date du debut des annees 2010. C'est en effet a ce moment qu'apparaissent des systemes hybrides utilisant des reseaux de neurones profonds (DNN) qui ameliorent tres notablement l'etat de l'art. Inspires par le gain de performance apporte par les DNN et par les travaux d'Alex Graves sur les reseaux de neurones recurrents (RNN), nous souhaitions explorer les capacites de ces derniers. En effet, les RNN nous semblaient plus adaptes que les DNN pour traiter au mieux les sequences temporelles du signal de parole. Dans cette these, nous nous interessons tout particulierement aux RNN a memoire court-terme persistante (Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) qui permettent de s'affranchir d'un certain nombre de difficultes rencontrees avec des RNN standards. Nous augmentons ce modele et nous proposons des processus d'optimisation permettant d'ameliorer les performances obtenues en segmentation parole/non-parole et en identification de la langue. En particulier, nous introduisons des fonctions de cout dediees a chacune des deux tâches: un simili-WER pour la segmentation parole/non-parole dans le but de diminuer le taux d'erreur d'un systeme de reconnaissance de la parole et une fonction de cout dite de proximite angulaire pour les problemes de classification multi-classes tels que l'identification de la langue parlee.
Biocompatibility of Fe3O4 nanoparticles evaluated by in vitro cytotoxicity assays using normal, glia and breast cancer cells

In order to reveal the biocompatibility of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and bipolar surfactant tetramethylammonium 11-aminoundecanoate cytotoxicity tests were performed as a function of concentration from low (0.1 µg ml−1) to higher concentration (100 µg ml−1) using various human glia, human breast cancer and normal cell lines. Cytotoxicity tests for human glia (D54MG, G9T, SF126, U87, U251, U373), human breast cancer (MB157, SKBR3, T47D) and normal (H184B5F5/M10, WI-38, SVGp12) cell lines exhibited almost nontoxicity and reveal biocompatibility of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the concentration range of 0.1–10 µg ml−1, while accountable cytotoxicity can be seen at 100 µg ml−1. The results of our studies suggest that Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with bipolar surfactant tetramethylammonium 11-aminoundecanoate are biocompatible and promising for bio-applications such as drug delivery, magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic hyperthermia.
CaNAT1, a Heterologous Dominant Selectable Marker for Transformation of Candida albicans and Other Pathogenic Candida Species

ABSTRACT A dominant selectable marker for Candida albicans and other Candida species, which confers resistance to nourseothricin, was characterized. In a heterologous promoter system and a recyclable cassette, the marker efficiently permitted deletion and complementation of C. albicans genes. Neither growth nor filamentous development was affected in strains expressing this marker.
Fast Nonnegative Least Squares Through Flexible Krylov Subspaces

Constrained least squares problems arise in a variety of applications, and many iterative methods are already available to compute their solutions. This paper proposes a new efficient approach to solve nonnegative linear least squares problems. The associated KKT conditions are leveraged to form an adaptively preconditioned linear system, which is then solved by a flexible Krylov subspace method. The new method can be easily applied to image reconstruction problems affected by both Gaussian and Poisson noise, where the components of the solution represent nonnegative intensities. {Theoretical insight is given, and} numerical experiments and comparisons are displayed in order to validate the new method, which delivers results of equal or better quality than many state-of-the-art methods for nonnegative least squares solvers, with a significant speedup.
Distributed and Parallel Big Textual Data Parsing for Social Sensor Network

Recently, due to the popularization of the smartphone and social network service (SNS), many SNS users write their opinions for social events. According to these social phenomena, social sensor network which analyzes social events by utilizing those users' text data is proposed. Parsing is essential module to analyze user's text contents because it gives the understanding of semantics by extracting the words and their classes from texts. However, parsing requires much time because it needs to analyze all context information from the users' text. In addition, as users' text data are generated and transferred in streaming, the required parsing time increases too. This situation occurs that it is hard to parse the text on the single machine. Therefore, to drastically enhance the parsing speed, we propose distributed and parallel parsing system on the MapReduce. It applies the legacy parser to the MapReduce through loose coupling. Also, to reduce communication overheads, the statistical model used by the parser is resided on local cache in each mapper. The experimental result shows that the speed of proposed system is 2–19 times better than that of the legacy parser. As a result, we prove that the proposed system is useful for parsing text data in social sensor network.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa roots varies with precipitation and season in the Mojave Desert.

The percentage of fine roots colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi varied with season and with species in the co-dominant shrubs Lurreu tridentutu and Ambrosia dumosu at a site adjacent to the Nevada Desert FACE (Free-Air CO{sub 2} Enrichment) Facility (NDFF) in the Mojave Desert. We excavated downward and outward from the shrub bases in both species to collect and examine fine roots (< 1.0 mm diameter) at monthly intervals throughout 2001 and from October 2002 to September 2003. Fungal structures became visible in cleared roots stained with trypan blue. We quantified the percent colonization of roots by AM fungi via the line intercept method. In both years and for both species, colonization was highest in fall, relatively low in spring when root growth began, increased in late spring, and decreased during summer drought periods. Increases in colonization during summer and fall reflect corresponding increases in precipitation. Spring mycorrhizal colonization is low despite peaks in soil water availability and precipitation, indicating that precipitation is not the only factor influencing mycorrhizal colonization. Because the spring decrease in mycorrhizal colonization occurs when these shrubs initiate a major flush of fine root growth, other phenological events such as competing demands for carbon by fine root initiation, early season shoot growth, and flowering may reduce carbon availability to the fungus, and hence decrease colonization. Another possibility is that root growth exceeds the rate of mycorrhizal colonization.
Upper and Lower Bounds for the Minimum Sum Coloring Problem ✩

In this paper we study upper and lower bounds of the Minimum Sum Coloring Problem (MSCP) from a uniform point of view. MSCP is a graph coloring problem whose goal is to minimize the sum of colors, where colors are represented by natural numbers. We propose calculating upper and lower bounds for MSCP using a single coloring algorithm: a Memetic Algorithm (MA-MSCP) hybridizing a simple genetic algorithm with local search. Our lower bound is based on partitioning the original graph into cliques. In this context we define a new problem for obtaining this kind of general lower bound, namely Partition into Cliques for MSCP (PCMSCP), and prove its NP-completeness. We test our algorithm and compare it with other algorithms in the literature, and we also present the new results for some commonly used benchmark instances in order to provide a basis for future work. Experimental results show that our approach strictly improves or attains the lower bounds in the literature, and for the upper bounds the result of our algorithm is comparable. This work allows to show 27 instances optimally solved for MSCP and 36 instances for PCMSCP among 81 tested.
An Uncontrolled Study of Cognitive Therapy for Morbid Jealousy

Thirteen patients presenting with morbid jealousy were treated using a cognitive approach adapted from Beck's cognitive therapy for depression. Cognitions in morbid jealousy showed the characteristics of automatic thoughts as described by Beck, and were based on faulty assumptions derived from interpretations of past experiences. The cognitive treatment directed mainly at the faulty assumptions resulted in improvements in ten patients and no change in one; two patients dropped out of treatment. The results are considered encouraging.
Replicated data in a distributed environment

Replication Server, a forthcoming product that dynamically maintains subsets of data in a distributed environment, providing several transaction models to maintain loose consistency, is contrasted with existing products which provide location-transparent reads and high-consistency coordinated commits. Replication Server makes it possible to build systems that are much more robust in the face of system component failures. By moving transactions rather than data, and by locating data at the point of processing, it maximizes the use of network bandwidth, enabling the deployment of robust, high-performance applications at a lower cost than with traditional approaches. <<ETX>>
SEASONAL POPULATION DYNAMICS OF WIREWORMS (COLEOPTERA: ELATERIDAE) IN FLORIDA SUGARCANE FIELDS

Abstract Wireworms are important insect pests of Florida sugarcane. The objective of this study was to determine the seasonal population dynamics of wireworms in Florida sugarcane. In a preliminary test, significantly more total numbers of wireworms were found under sugarcane stools than between stools in a row or between rows. Hence, the sugarcane stool was used as the sampling site for wireworms in the population dynamics study. A sugarcane field was sampled for wireworms monthly from Jun 2004 to Jun 2006. The total number of wireworms was significantly less in the summer than other seasons and these wireworms were also significantly smaller at this time. Data in this study should be useful to southern Florida growers in understanding expected wireworm damage in different seasons.
Capacitor voltage control for MPPT range expansion and efficiency improvement of grid-connected Quasi Z-Source Inverter

In a grid-connected PV system using a QZSI(Quasi Z-Source Inverter), the capacitor voltage of an impedance network is controlled to be constant to track the MPP(Maximum Power Point) of a PV array and generate the reference output current. For higher efficiency of the system, if possible, the reference voltage of the capacitor should be set at a lower value. On the other hand, the reference voltage of capacitor has to be set at a higher value to have margin for a shoot-through reference and to inject a current into the grid. Although the capacitor voltage of an impedance network is controlled to be constant, the output voltage of an impedance network varies according to the shoot-through time ratio. This may result in an unstable operation. To overcome these matters, in this paper, a method to keep the output voltage of an impedance network constant is proposed. This results in an expansion of MPPT range and a higher efficiency of QZSI
Virtual reality-new methods for improving and accelerating the development process in vehicle styling and design

The article describes the use of virtual reality techniques during the car development process at Volkswagen. A brief definition of virtual reality is given and it is pointed out that virtual reality has to be understood as a method and not only as a tool. There is a short introduction of the research topics that are investigated by the VR-Lab. Some of them are presented in more detail. It is shown which steps have to be taken to get a virtual reality design review model. The problems are pointed out and possible solutions are described. An interface to the 3D human model, RAMSIS, has been implemented. RAMSIS is the result of a joint venture of German car companies and two seat manufacturers. The goal of implementing RAMSIS was to generate a realistic simulation of human beings in car interiors and work places. The integration of the CAD geometry kernel, ACIS, enhances the analytical possibilities of the virtual reality system by adding the same parametric surfaces used by the original CAD system and providing a wide variety of CAD functionality (e.g. cutting planes, distance measuring, Boolean operations). A 3D interaction model for modifying colors and surface structures of car interiors provides an easy and intuitive access to the geometric models concerned. Arbitrary components can be selected freely within the virtual environment and they can be manipulated "by a wave" of the hand.