Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gallic acid protects RINm5F β‐cells from glucolipotoxicity by its antiapoptotic and insulin‐secretagogue actions

Gallic acid is claimed to possess antioxidant, antiinflammatory and cytoprotective effects. Since pancreatic islets from Type 2 diabetic patients have functional defects, it was hypothesized that glucolipotoxicity might induce apoptosis in β‐cells and gallic acid could offer protection. To test this, RINm5F β‐cells were exposed to high glucose (25 μM) or palmitate (500 μM) or a combination of both for 24 h in the presence and absence of gallic acid. Cells subjected to glucolipotoxicity in the absence and presence of gallic acid were assessed for DNA damage by comet assay. Apoptosis was inferred by caspase‐3 protein expression and caspase‐3 activity and changes in Bcl‐2 mRNA. RT‐PCR was used to analyse PDX‐1, insulin and UCP‐2 mRNA expression in RINm5F β‐cells and insulin levels were quantified from the cell culture supernatant. NFκB signal was studied by EMSA, immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis. While RINm5F β‐cells subjected to glucolipotoxicity exhibited increased DNA damage, apoptotic markers and NFκB signals, all these apoptotic perturbations were resisted by gallic acid. Gallic acid dose‐dependently increased insulin secretion in RINm5F β‐cells and upregulated mRNA of PDX‐1 and insulin. It is suggested that the insulin‐secretagogue and transcriptional regulatory action of gallic acid is a newly identified mechanism in our study. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nonlinear statistical retrieval of surface emissivity from IASI data

Emissivity is one of the most important parameters to improve the determination of the troposphere properties (thermodynamic properties, aerosols and trace gases concentration) and it is essential to estimate the radiative budget. With the second generation of infrared sounders, we can estimate emissivity spectra at high spectral resolution, which gives us a global view and long-term monitoring of continental surfaces. Statistically, this is an ill-posed retrieval problem, with as many output variables as inputs. We here propose nonlinear multi-output statistical regression based on kernel methods to estimate spectral emissivity given the radiances. Kernel methods can cope with high-dimensional input-output spaces efficiently. We give empirical evidence of models performance on Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) simulated data. Kernel regression model largely improves previous least squares linear regression model quantitatively, with an average reduction of 25% in mean-square error.
Soziale Bewegungen und kollektive Identität

FORSCHUNGSJOURNAL SOZIALE BEWEGUNGEN 24. Jg. 4 | 2011 Das Konzept der kollektiven Identität hat seit den frühen 1990er Jahren einen festen Platz in der Bewegungsforschung eingenommen. Inzwischen wird kollektive Identität vom Großteil der Bewegungsforscher als konstitutives Element sozialer Bewegungen verstanden.1 Allerdings, so wurde in einem vor 16 Jahren publizierten Themenheft dieses Journals zu sozialen Bewegungen und kollektiver Identität deutlich, steht der häufige Gebrauch des Konzepts in starkem Gegensatz zu seiner unzulänglichen konzeptionellen Klärung (vgl. Bader 1995; Hellmann 1995; Rucht 1995; Schmidtke 1995). Was hat sich seither hinsichtlich der konzeptionellen Ausarbeitung und empirischen Erforschung von Bewegungsidentität getan? Dieser Frage soll im Folgenden nachgegangen werden – sowohl hinsichtlich deutscher als auch internationaler Entwicklungen. In der Bewegungsliteratur gehen so genannte Identitätsansätze aus der Kritik funktionalrationalistischer Theorien hervor. Letztere betonten entgegen der bis in die 1960er Jahre verbreiteten Sicht, soziale Bewegungen seien Ergebnisse irrationaler, sozialpathologischer Massendynamiken, bewusst die Rationalität kollektiver Akteure (z.B. Tilly 1978; Kitschelt 1986; Tarrow 1996). Besonders die Erklärungsmodelle der ‚Resource Mobilisation‘ und ‚Political Opportunity Structures‘ traten hierbei in den Vordergrund. Mit Beginn der 1980er Jahre wurden diese Ansätze jedoch vor dem Hintergrund des ‚cultural turn‘ für ihren rationalistischen Fokus stark kritisiert. Zentraler Kritikpunkt war die unzureichende Erklärung der Entstehung von Kollektiven (vgl. Gamson Soziale Bewegungen und kollektive Identität Forschungsstand und Forschungslücken
Preliminary Effectiveness and Sustainability of Group Aerobic Exercise Program in Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the feasibility and sustained effect of a group aerobic exercise program in patients with schizophrenia. Twenty-four schizophrenic patients participated in a group-based individually tailored 90-minute outdoor cycling session per week for 3 months with intervention to enhance motivation. Physical health was evaluated by anthropometric measures, cardiorespiratory (CR) fitness, and blood tests. Mental health was assessed on self-esteem, interpersonal relationship, quality of life, and global function. Attrition rate for the exercise program was 8.3%. Exercise program significantly increased participant’s self-esteem, positive relationship, global function, and quality of life. CR fitness significantly improved after 3 months. At the 9-month follow-up, 6 months after program completion, only in interpersonal relationship change the improved effects were maintained. These findings support the feasibility of group aerobic exercise program with high level of adherence and its long-term benefits in positive relationship change.
Metabolism and Transactivation Activity of 13,14-Dihydroretinoic Acid*

The metabolism of vitamin A is a highly regulated process that generates essential mediators involved in the development, cellular differentiation, immunity, and vision of vertebrates. Retinol saturase converts all-trans-retinol to all-trans-13,14-dihydroretinol (Moise, A. R., Kuksa, V., Imanishi, Y., and Palczewski, K. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 50230–50242). Here we demonstrate that the enzymes involved in oxidation of retinol to retinoic acid and then to oxidized retinoic acid metabolites are also involved in the synthesis and oxidation of all-trans-13,14-dihydroretinoic acid. All-trans-13,14-dihydroretinoic acid can activate retinoic acid receptor/retinoid X receptor heterodimers but not retinoid X receptor homodimers in reporter cell assays. All-trans-13,14-dihydroretinoic acid was detected in vivo in Lrat-/- mice supplemented with retinyl palmitate. Thus, all-trans-13,14-dihydroretinoic acid is a naturally occurring retinoid and a potential ligand for nuclear receptors. This new metabolite can also be an intermediate in a retinol degradation pathway or it can serve as a precursor for the synthesis of bioactive 13,14-dihydroretinoid metabolites.
Baroreflex sensitivity and electrophysiological correlates in patients after acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Several studies have identified transient disturbances of autonomic function during the acute and recovery phases of myocardial infarction, and it has recently been suggested that survivors of acute myocardial infarction with depressed vagal tone may be at increased risk of sudden or arrhythmic death. METHODS AND RESULTS To investigate this hypothesis, parasympathetic function was assessed by arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) testing (using the phenylephrine method) and by heart rate variability (HRV) analysis from 24-hour Holter recording in 68 patients at day 7-10 after infarction. The relation between autonomic tone and markers of arrhythmic propensity, including programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS) and late potentials in addition to other clinical variables, was examined. BRS for the whole group was 7.0 +/- 4.7 msec/mm Hg and was inversely correlated with age (r = 0.53, p less than 0.001) but not with left ventricular ejection fraction (r = 0.035, p = NS). In those patients in whom sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (SMVT) was induced, BRS was significantly reduced (p = 0.001) as was HRV (p = 0.007) and left ventricular ejection fraction (p = 0.022). The strongest association between any variable (including HRV, BRS, late potentials, left ventricular ejection fraction, exercise testing, Q waves, and infarct site) and the induction of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia was depressed BRS with a relative risk of 36.28 (95% confidence interval, 5-266). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that depressed BRS identifies a subgroup at high risk for arrhythmic events after myocardial infarction and that programmed ventricular stimulation may be safely limited to this group without any loss of predictive accuracy.
An online tracking-control strategy compositing disturbance-observer for hypersonic vehicles

A novel type of control scheme compositing an online tracking method and disturbance-observer is proposed for a hypersonic cruise vehicle with kinds of disturbances including flexible states, aerodynamic uncertainties, unmodeled dynamics and external disturbance. The online control method is provided on the basis of using aeropropulsive as well as elevator-to-lift couplings to design the controller without strategically neglecting or reducing the nonminimum-phase characteristic. Through an ingenious transformation, the control commands and reference trajectories are obtained simultaneously. The flexible dynamics on the pitch-rate tunnel is estimated by a state observer. A nonlinear disturbance observer is designed to estimate the disturbance and enhance the robustness of the composite scheme, then all kinds of disturbances are compensated or rejected effectively.
Creating a Foundation for the Causal Relationship Between Libraries and Learning: A Proposed Application of Nursing and Public Health Research Methods

Thomas Cook, a renowned causal research expert and professor of sociology, psychology, education, and social policy at Northwestern University (USA), called for school library researchers to parallel causality determination efforts in health-related fields. In this paper, we respond to Dr. Cook’s challenge with a proposed research design centered on Mixed Research Synthesis (MRS) as part of process validated by the U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation’s Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development. MRS studies, often used in nursing and public health research to develop causal theories, enable researchers to develop evidence summaries; identify and adjudicate rival and companion theories, and determine the active ingredients and weak links in the implementation chain of interventions, programs, and policies. MRS is the essential first step in a possible ongoing multi-phased research agenda designed to progress from theory building to theory testing to causal determination. In addition to building on and extending school librarianship’s heritage in replicated correlational research and strong affective value, the researchers’ proposed MRS implementation will test the usefulness of a technique that has never been used in school settings and will provide a useful entry point for researchers concerned with other types of libraries.
Supporting Material : The spatial-temporal characteristics of type I collagen-based extracellular matrix

S1: MC packing algorithm Polymorph's Monte Carlo packing algorithm follows a simulated annealing procedure intended to search for the lowest minima of the energy function E of molecular crystals. The simulated annealing method works around minima value of E by treating the search for the global minimum of E as a thermodynamic problem. At some non-zero temperature, T, the crystal changes its structure randomly, and its energy fluctuates accordingly. To prevent the simulation from becoming trapped in a local minimum, cooling begins at a relatively high temperature; every crystal structure (within the constraints of the space group and asymmetric unit contents) can then theoretically be reached, and ergodicity therefore ensured [1]. The simulation consists of two phases, heating and cooling. First, each trial crystal is heated. During heating, one starts from a set minimum temperature (300 K in our case). Each new trial temperature Tnew is obtained using Eq. 1, where Told is the temperature used in a previous step and Th is a heating factor (1 in our case). Heating continues until either a pre-set maximum temperature is reached (3×105 K in our case) or a specified number of consecutive trial moves have been accepted.
An unusual case of abdominal wall bleeding after renal allograft biopsy

We report an unusual case of a enlarging anterior abdominal wall hematoma after percutaneous biopsy of a renal allograft. Angiography-directed embolization of the vessels filling the pseudoaneurysm was done and followed up with surgical exploration of the hematoma. In order to avoid this complication, Color Doppler evaluation of the overlying abdominal wall is suggested to look for significant vessels before the biopsy procedure.
Isolation and Characterization of New Metschnikowia pulcherrima Strains as Producers of the Antimicrobial Pigment Pulcherrimin

Metschnikowia pulcherrima is a highly effective biocontrol yeast due to its pigment pulcherrimin that accumulates in the cells and in the growth medium. Three different strains of M. pulcherrima were isolated from local grapes. The yeast isolates were characterized on the basis of their biochemical, physiological and ITS1-5.8 s rDNA-ITS2 region. Based on the obtained results, the M. pulcherrima isolates were identifi ed as new strains of M. pulcherrima. Strong antagonistic activities of the M. pulcherrima strains on the human pathogens Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, and Trichosporon mucoides were determined. In addition, antagonistic effects of these M. pulcherrima strains were also tested against Aspergillus fl avus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Trichoderma spp. , Paecilomyces spp. , and Bipolaris spp. and it was shown that the three different strains of M. pulcherrima also have an antagonistic effect on the growth of these fungal species at different extents. This study showed that all three strains of M. pulcherrima produce the same amount of the pigment pulcherrimin, but their antimicrobial activities on different microorganisms show important variations
Unleashing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Europe: People, Places and Policies

This report sets out the elements for the design of a streamlined and future-proof policy on innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe. It is the result of a collective effort led by CEPS, which formed a Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the EU, composed of authoritative scholars, industry experts, entrepreneurs, practitioners and representatives of EU and international institutions. The result of these deliberations is a set of policy recommendations aimed at improving the overall environment and approach for entrepreneurship and innovation in Europe and a new paradigmatic understanding of the role that innovation and entrepreneurship can and should play within the overall context of EU policy. These recommendations are based on a new, multi-dimensional approach to both innovation and entrepreneurship as social phenomena and to the policies that are meant to promote them.
The Pancreatitis Outcome Prediction (POP) Score: A new prognostic index for patients with severe acute pancreatitis*

Objective:Severe acute pancreatitis, defined as pancreatitis with distant organ dysfunction, is a condition carrying a high mortality and morbidity. Current outcome prediction scores are based on small populations, usually from single specialist centers. Some scores cannot be applied until several days into hospital admission. We thus sought to develop a new and more sensitive outcome prediction score—the Pancreatitis Outcome Prediction (POP) Score—for these high-risk patients. Design:Retrospective cohort study of a large multicenter intensive care database. Setting:One hundred fifty-nine U.K. intensive care units. Patients:Participants were 2,462 patients admitted to intensive care units with severe acute pancreatitis. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Demographic, physiologic, and biochemical data collected within the first 24 hrs of intensive care unit admission were used to develop a risk prediction score using logistic regression. The six variables with the strongest relationship to hospital outcome—arterial pH, age, serum urea, mean arterial pressure, Pao2/Fio2 ratio, and total serum calcium (in order of decreasing impact)—produced a model with a prognostic discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.838) superior to other models. These six factors were used to develop an objectively weighted multivariate prognostic score ranging from 0 to 40 points. Conclusions:Prognostic stratification of patients with severe acute pancreatitis requiring intensive care offers a useful audit tool to gauge unit performance and improve delineation of subsets for prospective trials. Prospective validation of this new outcome prediction score is required, preferably in different countries. The validity of the POP Score for either hospital or intensive care admission could also be tested and assessed for superiority over existing scores.
Foreign direct investment’s role in strengthening metro manufacturing: A case study of the U.S. state of Georgia

ABSTRACT Though concern has arisen in recent years over manufacturing job losses in major U.S. metropolitan areas, this study demonstrates that foreign manufacturing firms still tend to locate in such areas. Using longitudinal data from the National Establishment Time-Series data set for the state of Georgia, we examine intrastate spatial patterns of manufacturing foreign direct investment (FDI) employment and associated underlying location factors. We find a strong spatial concentration of manufacturing FDI employment in metropolitan areas over time, particularly in the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA), the largest metropolitan area in the state. The results of the panel regression analysis suggest that existing agglomerations of innovative firms and institutions, a pool of highly educated workers, highly developed transportation networks, and critical links to domestic and international markets in metropolitan areas are key attraction factors for manufacturing FDI.
Oscillation suppression for traffic class dependent routing in ISL network

Adaptive per-hop routing in the intersatellite link (ISL) network of a packet-switched, nongeostationary satellite system is addressed. In particular, a traffic class dependent (TCD) routing is proposed with different optimization criteria for different traffic classes. Furthermore, for delay sensitive traffic, performance is enhanced by an exponential smoothing link-cost function, which reduces traffic load oscillations in the network. The performance of the proposed procedures is evaluated in two different traffic scenarios using an appropriate simulation model
Relationships Among Prices of Rubber in ASEAN : Bayesian Structural VAR Model

International rubber markets are seen to be volatile due to the highcompetitiveness between major rubber export markets. This paper analyses thecausal impact price transmission among ASEAN over the period of 2008 to 2015. The Bayesian structural VAR model is conducted to analyse relationship amongrubber export price for top four rubber producing in ASEAN. We considered thevarying sets of hyper-parameters to obtain the best fit model. The results revealthat Indonesia and Thailand have more efficiency when it comes to adjustment oftheir rubber prices than Malaysia and Vietnam.
Francisella tularensis LVS Surface and Membrane Proteins as Targets of Effective Post-Exposure Immunization for Tularemia

Francisella tularensis causes disease (tularemia) in a large number of mammals, including man. We previously demonstrated enhanced efficacy of conventional antibiotic therapy for tularemia by postexposure passive transfer of immune sera developed against a F. tularensis LVS membrane protein fraction (MPF). However, the protein composition of this immunogenic fraction was not defined. Proteomic approaches were applied to define the protein composition and identify the immunogens of MPF. MPF consisted of at least 299 proteins and 2-D Western blot analyses using sera from MPF-immunized and F. tularensis LVS-vaccinated mice coupled to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry identified 24 immunoreactive protein spots containing 45 proteins. A reverse vaccinology approach that applied labeling of F. tularensis LVS surface proteins and bioinformatics was used to reduce the complexity of potential target immunogens. Bioinformatics analyses of the immunoreactive proteins reduced the number of immunogen targets to 32. Direct surface labeling of F. tularensis LVS resulted in the identification of 31 surface proteins. However, only 13 of these were reactive with MPF and/or F. tularensis LVS immune sera. Collectively, this use of orthogonal proteomic approaches reduced the complexity of potential immunogens in MPF by 96% and allowed for prioritization of target immunogens for antibody-based immunotherapies against tularemia.
Information and Intertemporal Choices in Multi-Agent Decision Problems

Psychological evidences of impulsivity and false consensus effect lead results far from rationality. It is shown that impulsivitymodifies the discount function of each individual, and false consensus effect increases the degree of consensus in a multi-agent decision problem. Analyzing them together we note that in strategic interactions these two human factors involve choices which change equilibriums expected by rational individuals.
From clock-driven to data-driven models

Clock/time-driven models are powerful abstractions of real-time systems, as e.g., provided by the synchronous models of computation which lend themselves well for simulation and verification. At every clock cycle, new inputs are read, computations are performed in zero-time, and results are immediately/synchronously communicated between components. However, such zero-time idealizations are not realistic since computation and communication finally takes time in implementations. For implementations, data-driven execution models have the advantage to impose no timing constraints other than arrival of input data, and thus, these models are perfectly suited for distributed or other kinds of asynchronous implementations. For this reason, modern model-based design flows consider the desynchronization of synchronous models for system synthesis which is possible for the subclass of endochronous systems only. While definitions of endochrony were considered for years, it is shown in this paper how to efficiently verify endochrony by SAT solving. Our procedure consists of two steps: In the first step, we introduce buffers to the interface of a clock-driven component, so that its inputs can arrive at different points of time. After this step, clocks of signals are viewed as `instructions' telling the component which input values have to be consumed for the current reaction.We call such components clock-scheduled. In the second step, we remove the clocks from the interface of the clock-scheduled components, so that the component may now become nondeterministic. We prove in this paper that a synchronous component is endochronous, if and only if the clock signals can be safely removed in this step without destroying determinism. Based on this result, we present a decision procedure based on symbolic system representations to check whether components are endochronous. Preliminary experimental results show the effectiveness of our method.