Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Role For Serum Response Factor in Neuronal Survival

Recent studies indicate that neuroprotection afforded by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is mediated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K). However, the mechanisms by which ERK and PI3K exert neuroprotection are not completely understood. Because ERK1/2 and PI3K both stimulate serum response element (SRE)-mediated gene expression, and serum response factor (SRF) is indispensable for SRE-mediated transcription, we investigated whether SRF contributes to ERK1/2 and PI3K neuroprotection. To accomplish this goal, we used an established experimental paradigm in which BDNF protects postnatal cortical neurons against both trophic deprivation and camptothecin-induced DNA damage. BDNF protection against camptothecin is mediated primarily by ERK1/2 activation, whereas its protection against trophic deprivation is mainly through stimulation of the PI3K pathway (Hetman et al., 1999). Here we demonstrate that expression of a wild-type SRF is sufficient to protect postnatal cortical neurons against camptothecin or trophic deprivation. Expression of a dominant-negative SRF partially reversed BDNF neuroprotection against both apoptotic insults. Moreover, the dominant-negative SRF inhibited neuroprotection against trophic withdrawal afforded by expression of a constitutive active PI3K. In addition, protection against camptothecin by expression of constitutive active mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1, an upstream kinase that activates ERK1/2, was also blocked by expression of the dominant-negative SRF. These data suggest that SRF is both necessary and sufficient for BDNF neuroprotection of cortical neurons against trophic deprivation and DNA damage. Our data provide a direct demonstration of a biological function of SRF in neurons and a novel downstream neuroprotective mechanism common to both ERK1/2 and PI3K pathways.
Classification of moving vehicle using multi-frame time domain features

This research work is mainly focused on recognition of different vehicles and its position using acoustic sound source to assist the Differentially Hearing Ability Abled (DHAA). In this paper, a simple protocol has been designed to record the noise emanated by the moving vehicles under different weather conditions and also at different vehicle speed. Two feature extraction methods namely Auto regressive and statistical feature methods are used to extract the features from the recorded acoustic signature. The Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) model was used for classification. The networks effectiveness has been validated through stimulation.
Singularity Analysis of Closed-loop Mechanisms and Parallel Manipulators

Singularity analysis is the study of gain or loss in degrees of freedom of a mechanism at a particular configuration. Singularity analysis is related to the degeneracy of Jacobian matrices relating configuration variables with task space variables. In this paper, we present an improved Jacobian formulation which can be used to identify not only the gain or loss of degrees of freedom, but, in addition, can be used to determine if the gain results in redundant degree of freedom. The approach and its advantages are illustrated with several examples.
Nature of two massive protostellar candidates: IRAS 21307+5049 and IRAS 22172+5549

We present observations of continuum and molecular lines towards the protostar candidates IRAS 21307+5049 and IRAS 22172+5549. Single-dish maps in the 12 CO (2–1), C 18 O (2–1), H 13 CO + (1–0) lines and 850 μ m continuum are compared with interferometric maps in the 12 CO (1–0) line and 3 mm continuum, and with mid- and near-infrared images. Also, single-pointing spectra of the CH 3 C 2 H (6–5), (8–7) and (13–12) lines observed towards IRAS 21307+5049, and H 2 and [FeII] line emission observed towards IRAS 22172+5549, are presented. A plausible interpretation of our data based on the continuum maps and spectral energy distributions is that two components are present: a compact molecular core, responsible for the continuum emission at wavelengths longer than ~$25\;\mu$m, and a cluster of stars located close to the center of the core, but not spatially coincident with it, responsible for the emission at shorter wavelengths. The core is approximately located at the center of the associated molecular outflow, detected for both sources in the 12 CO (1–0) and (2–1) lines. The cores have masses of ~$50\;M_{\odot}$, and luminosities of ~$10^{3}\;L_{\odot}$. The outflows parameters are consistent with those typically found in high-mass young stellar objects. Our results support the hypothesis that in these sources the luminosity is dominated by accretion rather than by nuclear burning. We conclude that the sources embedded inside the cores are likely protostars with mass ~$ 5{-}8\;M_{\odot}$.
Object-based image fusion for minimization of color distortion in high-resolution satellite imagery

Color or spectral distortion is a serious issue in the field of Image Fusion. The problem is more prevalent in high-resolution satellite imagery due to spectral mismatching of panchromatic and MS bands. Current pixel-based techniques are not well-equipped to handle the problem. Moreover, these techniques do not consider the spatial, spectral or radiometric characteristics of various objects in the image and all the pixels are fused with the same criterion. To bring the application closer to the real-world scene, a more realistic, self-adjustable, attribute-based object-oriented paradigm towards fusion has been proposed in the paper. Various objects attributes have been considered at different levels to embed greater spatial details into the low resolution MSS image with minimum spectral distortion. Quantitative assessment indices have also been calculated to prove that our method is superior in terms of minimization of color distortion and maximization of spatial details as compared to other methods.
CFAR detectors employed by radar sensor systems

This paper is devoted to detection performance evaluation of the constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detectors employed by radar sensor systems used to construct the middle range radar (MRR) and short range radar (SRR) based on linear frequency modulation continuous wave (LFMCW) radar sensor system. Several CFAR detectors are compared under the same initial conditions and the evaluation criterion is an ability to detect the target return signals at different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with and without interfering targets. Simulation results are presented.
Clarithromycin targets neutrophilic airway inflammation in refractory asthma.

RATIONALE Patients with refractory asthma have persistent symptoms despite maximal treatment with inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators. The availability of add-on therapies is limited, and effective add-on therapies that target noneosinophilic airway inflammation are needed. Macrolide antibiotics, such as clarithromycin, have in vitro efficacy against IL-8 and neutrophils, key inflammatory mediators in noneosinophilic asthma. OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy of clarithromycin in patients with severe refractory asthma and specifically in a subgroup of patients with noneosinophilic asthma. METHODS Subjects with severe refractory asthma (n = 45) were randomized to receive clarithromycin (500 mg twice daily) or placebo for 8 weeks. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The primary outcome for this study was sputum IL-8 concentration. Other inflammatory outcomes assessed included sputum neutrophil numbers and concentrations of neutrophil elastase and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9. Clinical outcomes were also assessed, including lung function, airway hyperresponsiveness to hypertonic saline, asthma control, quality of life, and symptoms. Clarithromycin therapy significantly reduced airway concentrations of IL-8 and neutrophil numbers and improved quality-of-life scores compared with placebo. Reductions in neutrophil elastase and MMP-9 concentrations were also observed. These reductions in inflammation were most marked in those with refractory noneosinophilic asthma. CONCLUSIONS Clarithromycin therapy can modulate IL-8 levels and neutrophil accumulation and activation in the airways of patients with refractory asthma. Macrolide therapy may be an important additional therapy that could be used to reduce noneosinophilic airway inflammation, particularly neutrophilic inflammation, in asthma. Clinical trial registered with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry www.actr. org.au (No. 12605000318684).
A Decentralised Task Mapping Approach for Homogeneous Multiprocessor Network-On-Chips

We present a heuristic algorithm for the run-time distribution of task sets in a homogeneous Multiprocessor network-on-chip. The algorithm is itself distributed over the processors and thus can be applied to systems of arbitrary size. Also, tasks added at run-time can be handled without any difficulty, allowing for inline optimisation. Based on local information on processor workload, task size, communication requirements, and link contention, iterative decisions on task migrations to other processors are made. The mapping results for several example task sets are first compared with those of an exact (enumeration) algorithm with global information for a 3×3 processor array. The results show that the mapping quality achieved by our distributed algorithm is within 25% of that of the exact algorithm. For larger array sizes, simulated annealing is used as a reference and the behaviour of our algorithm is investigated. The mapping quality of the algorithm can be shown to be within a reasonable range (below 30% mostly) of the reference. This adaptability and the low computation and communication overhead of the distributed heuristic clearly indicate that decentralised algorithms are a favourable solution for an automatic task distribution.
Human motion tracking on broadcast golf swing video using optical flow and template matching

Nowadays, a lot of attention has been focused on developing human motion analysis system for sport science application. With the advance computational power and speed, computer researchers are now able to develop markerless human motion analysis instead of placing special markers and sensors onto the test subject. Our research focuses on tracking the major body of a professional golfer directly from a sports broadcast video. However aperture problem still arise when the body movement overlap each other by solely rely on human silhouette. In this paper, we present a combination method of optical flow and template matching to track the head, body, arms, legs, and feet of the golfer. This allows each human body parts were able to track overtime in different contour to overcome the aperture problem.
Voltage-Based Control of a Smart Transformer in a Microgrid

For the islanded operation of a microgrid, several control strategies have been developed. For example, voltage-based droop control can be implemented for the active power control of the generators and the control of the active loads. One of the main advantages of a microgrid is that it can be implemented as a controllable entity within the electrical network. This requires the ability of the utility grid to control or influence the power exchange with the microgrid by communicating with only one unit. However, little research has been conducted on controlling the power transfer through the point of common coupling (PCC). This paper addresses this issue by introducing the concept of a smart transformer (ST) at the PCC. This unit controls the active power exchange between a microgrid and the utility grid dependent on the state of both networks and other information communicated to the ST. To control the active power, the ST uses its taps that change the microgrid-side voltage at the PCC. This voltage-based control of the ST is compatible with the voltage-based droop control of the units in the microgrid that is used in this paper. Hence, the microgrid units can automatically respond to changes of ST set points and vice versa. Several simulation cases are included in this paper to demonstrate the feasibility of the ST concept.
Transduction of human embryonic stem cells by ecotropic retroviral vectors

The steadily increasing availability of human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines has created strong interest in applying available tools for gene transfer in murine cells to human systems. Here we present a method for the transduction of hES cells with ecotropic retroviral vectors. hES cells were transiently transfected with a construct carrying the murine retrovirus receptor mCAT1. Subsequently, the cells were exposed to replication-deficient Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) derivatives or pseudotyped lentiviral vectors. With oncoretroviral vectors, this procedure yields overall transduction efficiencies of up to 20% and permits selection of permanently transduced clones with high frequency. Selected clones maintained expression of pluripotency-associated markers and exhibited multi-germ layer differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. HES cell-derived somatic cells including neural progeny maintained high levels of transgene expression. Lentiviral vectors pseudotyped with the MoMuLV envelope could be introduced in the same manner with efficiencies of up to 33%. Transgene expression of lentivirally transduced hES cells remained permanent after differentiation even without selection pressure. Bypassing the regulatory issues associated with the use of amphotropic retroviral systems and exploiting the large pool of existing murine vectors, this method provides a safe and versatile tool for gene transfer and lineage analysis in hES cells and their progeny.
Defibrillation thresholds: A generalised polynomial chaos study

This study aims to understand the effect of variations in cardiac conductivity values on defibrillation thresholds in a simple heart-in-a-bath model. A generalised polynomial chaos approach is used to generate 41 sets of four cardiac conductivity values based on the three commonly used data sets. Simulations, using the bidomain equations, are performed on an isolated heart placed in a bath with a pair of defibrillation paddles, of varying potential differences, at the sides of the bath. The polynomial chaos approach allows the calculation of mean and variance of extracellular potential and potential gradient fields within the heart. The results show that conductivity values have a significant effect on the thresholds required to defibrillate the heart.
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT : ECONOMIC VALUATION AND PARTICIPATORY MULTI-CRITERIA OPTIMIZATION

OPTIMA (http://www.ess.co.at/OPTIMA) is a EU funded international RTD project on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) on the river basin scale, based on the concepts of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). The project integrates a set of simulation models with data bases, GIS, and optimisation and DSS tools. The fully web-based management information system is being applied to several river basins ranging from 240 to 18,000 km2 in size around the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean. All these river systems are characterised by varying levels of water scarcity, allocation conflicts, and pollution problems. The system integrates a cascade of models, embedded in a framework for participatory multi-objective, multi-criteria optimization. Models include a dynamic water resources (network) model with a daily time step, coupled to one or more aquifers. The model performs economic evaluation of allocation scenarios including environmental water allocation and the reliability of supply/demand; a dynamic rainfall-runoff model with built-in automatic calibration that provides simulated flow from engaged sub catchments; an irrigation water demand model; a basin wide water quality model with economic evaluation including environmental and recreational benefits; and tools for multi-criteria techno-economic optimisation combining satisficing and reference point methods. Direct stakeholder involvement is supported with on-line questionnaires of issues and perceptions, interactive optimisation tools, but also more traditional workshops.
Enhancement of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3-mediated antitumor activity with dexamethasone.

BACKGROUND The active metabolite of vitamin D, i.e., 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-D3), inhibits the growth of murine SCCVII/SF squamous cell carcinoma cells, both in vitro and in vivo. However, in vivo use of 1,25-D3 is hampered as a result of hypercalcemia (i.e., elevated levels of calcium in the blood). Glucocorticoids, such as dexamethasone, affect calcium absorption and modulate vitamin D receptor binding and have been used to treat hypercalcemia. In this study, we examined the effect of dexamethasone on tumor growth inhibition by 1,25-D3. METHODS The effects of 1,25-D3 and dexamethasone, alone and in combination, on the growth of SCCVII/SF cells in in vitro culture or in vivo in female C3H/HeJ mice were determined by clonogenic tumor cell assay and/or by actual changes in tumor volume. Vitamin D receptor-ligand-binding activities in whole-cell extracts from cells (in culture), tumors, and normal tissues were assayed by single-point saturation analysis and equilibrium binding. RESULTS Treatment of cultured SCCVII/SF cells with 500 nM dexamethasone for 24 hours before addition of 1,25-D3 reduced their survival. The growth of SCCVII/SF tumors was inhibited in mice treated simultaneously with dexamethasone and 1,25-D3 (as compared with no treatment or single-agent treatment); hypercalcemia was also reduced. Total vitamin D receptor content in SCCVII/SF cells was increased after treatment with dexamethasone. Treatment of tumor-bearing animals with dexamethasone (9 microg/day) for 7 days led to increased vitamin D receptor-ligand-binding activities in whole-cell extracts from tumor or kidneys and decreased activity in intestinal mucosa. CONCLUSIONS Dexamethasone may enhance the antitumor effect of 1,25-D3 by increasing vitamin D receptor-ligand-binding activity.
Real Options under Ambiguity

** First Version: September 2008. We would like to thank Lenos Trigeorgis, Kuno Huisman, Paul Irvine, Arthur Snow, Nabil Kahale, Christian Gollier, Pierre Bateau and Patrick Rousseau for their comments and suggestions, as well as conference participants during the 25 th European Economic Association Annual Congress (EEA), 14 th International Conference on Foundations and Applications of Utility, Risk and Decision Theory (FUR), 14 th Annual International Conference on Real Options (ROG), 2010 World Risk and Insurance Economics Congress (WRIEC), 6 th Portuguese Finance Network Conference (PFN), 1 st
Heme Oxygenase Isoforms Differ in Their Subcellular Trafficking during Hypoxia and Are Differentially Modulated by Cytochrome P450 Reductase

Heme oxygenase (HO) degrades heme in concert with NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) which donates electrons to the reaction. Earlier studies reveal the importance of the hydrophobic carboxy-terminus of HO-1 for anchorage to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) which facilitates the interaction with CPR. In addition, HO-1 has been shown to undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis of the carboxy-terminus during hypoxia and subsequent translocation to the nucleus. Translocated nuclear HO-1 was demonstrated to alter binding of transcription factors and to alter gene expression. Little is known about the homologous membrane anchor of the HO-2 isoform. The current work is the first systematic analysis in a eukaryotic system that demonstrates the crucial role of the membrane anchor of HO-2 for localization at the endoplasmic reticulum, oligomerization and interaction with CPR. We show that although the carboxy-terminal deletion mutant of HO-2 is found in the nucleus, translocation of HO-2 to the nucleus does not occur under conditions of hypoxia. Thus, we demonstrate that proteolytic regulation and nuclear translocation under hypoxic conditions is specific for HO-1. In addition we show for the first time that CPR prevents this translocation and promotes oligomerization of HO-1. Based on these findings, CPR may modulate gene expression via the amount of nuclear HO-1. This is of particular relevance as CPR is a highly polymorphic gene and deficiency syndromes of CPR have been described in humans.
Using Multimodal Learning Analytics to Study Learning Mechanisms

In this paper, we propose multimodal learning analytics as a new approach for studying the intricacies of different learning mechanisms. More specifically, we conduct two analyses of a hands-on, engineering design study (N=20) in which students received different treatments. In the first analysis, we used machine learning to analyze hand-labeled video data. The findings of this analysis suggest that one of the treatments resulted in students initially engaging in more planning, while the other resulted in students initially engaging in more building. In accordance with prior literature, beginning with dedicated planning tends to be associated with improved success and improved learning. In the second analysis we introduce a completely automated multimodal analysis of speech, actions and stress. This automated analysis uses multimodal states to show that students in the two conditions engaged in different amounts of speech and building during the second half of the activity. These findings mirror prior work on teamwork, expertise and engineering education. They also represent two novel approaches for studying complex, non-computer mediated learning environments and provide new ways to understand learning.
Enhancing the risk management process of critical site facilities through Sensor Information Systems

Sensor Information Systems are widely used in data centers for a variety of reasons. There is, however, limited literature on the role of Sensor Information Systems to support the management practice of organizations. The main objective of this paper is to provide insights into the role of sensor technology in general, as well as into the Sensor Information Systems in particular, within the context of the data centers risk management practice. The paper explores the current practices of sensor applications and Sensor Information Systems in the context of data centers and identifies the gaps between the ideal and optimal utilization of sensors for managing the risk within the data centre environment. This leads to the introduction of the Data Center Sensor Information Systems (DCSIS). Using content analysis of data gathered from five case studies, the study evaluates the practical role of DCSIS in data centers risk management practice. The paper concludes by showing how DCSIS can enhance the processes of risk assessment including Risk Identification, Risk Analysis, Risk Evaluation, Risk Treatment, Monitoring and Review and Communication and consultation.
{15 () Emergence and Categorization of Coordinated Visual Behavior through Embodied Interaction Luc Berthouze and Yasuo Kuniyoshi

This paper discusses the emergence of sensorimotor coordination for ESCHeR, a 4DOF redundant foveated robot-head, by interaction with its environment. A feedback-error-learning(FEL)-based distributed control provides the system with explorative abilities with re-exes constraining the learning space. A Kohonen network, trained at run-time, categorizes the sensorimotor patterns obtained over ESCHeR's interaction with its environment, enables the reinforcement of frequently executed actions, thus stabilizing the learning activity over time. We explain how the development of ESCHeR's visual abilities (namely gaze xation and saccadic motion), from a context-free reeex-based control process to a context-dependent, pattern-based sensorimotor coordination can be related to the Piagetian 'stage theory'.