Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcriptional Profiling of Human Brain Endothelial Cells Reveals Key Properties Crucial for Predictive In Vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Models

Brain microvascular endothelial cells (BEC) constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which forms a dynamic interface between the blood and the central nervous system (CNS). This highly specialized interface restricts paracellular diffusion of fluids and solutes including chemicals, toxins and drugs from entering the brain. In this study we compared the transcriptome profiles of the human immortalized brain endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3 and human primary BEC. We identified transcriptional differences in immune response genes which are directly related to the immortalization procedure of the hCMEC/D3 cells. Interestingly, astrocytic co-culturing reduced cell adhesion and migration molecules in both BECs, which possibly could be related to regulation of immune surveillance of the CNS controlled by astrocytic cells within the neurovascular unit. By matching the transcriptome data from these two cell lines with published transcriptional data from freshly isolated mouse BECs, we discovered striking differences that could explain some of the limitations of using cultured BECs to study BBB properties. Key protein classes such as tight junction proteins, transporters and cell surface receptors show differing expression profiles. For example, the claudin-5, occludin and JAM2 expression is dramatically reduced in the two human BEC lines, which likely explains their low transcellular electric resistance and paracellular leakiness. In addition, the human BEC lines express low levels of unique brain endothelial transporters such as Glut1 and Pgp. Cell surface receptors such as LRP1, RAGE and the insulin receptor that are involved in receptor-mediated transport are also expressed at very low levels. Taken together, these data illustrate that BECs lose their unique protein expression pattern outside of their native environment and display a more generic endothelial cell phenotype. A collection of key genes that seems to be highly regulated by the local surroundings of BEC within the neurovascular unit are presented and discussed.
Evaluating the Core and Full Protection Motivation Theory Nomologies for the Voluntary Adoption of Password Manager Applications

: The protection motivation theory (PMT) is widely used in behavioral information security research, with multiple instantiations of the theoretical model applied in the literature. The purpose of this study is to perform a theoretical (conceptual) replication of both the core and full (PMT) nomologies in the context of voluntary password manager application use for individual home end-users. In our study, the full PMT model explained more variance than the core PMT model, but the relationships between multiple behavioral antecedents differed between the core and full PMT models, possibly due to differences in model complexity. Our findings suggest that researchers should justify the version of the PMT that they choose to use based on their research objectives with the understanding that the same variables may be significant in one version of the PMT but not significant in another version of the PMT.
Theoretical Analysis of MC-CDMA Forward Link Performance in the Presence of Pure Impulsive Interference

SUMMARY In this paper, expressions are derived for the bit error rate (BER) of the multicarrier-CDMA (MC-CDMA) downlink in the presence of pure impulsive interference and a frequency-selective fading and the BER performance is numerically evaluated by a Monte-Carlo simulation method. Minimum mean square error combining (MMSEC) and orthogonal restoration combining (ORC) are considered for frequencydomain equalization. The joint weight of antenna diversity reception using maximal ratio combining (MRC) and frequency equalization combining is derived. The MC-CDMA transmission performance in the presence of pure impulsive interference is compared with that of DS-CDMA transmission.
The Use of Bronchial Arteries in the Characterization of Primary Lung Cancer: An MDCT Study

Objective The purpose of this study was to discuss the use of ipsilateral bronchial artery dilatation when a solitary lung mass is detected on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Materials and Methods We retrospectively evaluated 55 patients with solitary lung mass. An MDCT scanner was used for the study. Location and the greatest size of the tumor, and ipsilateral bronchial artery caliper (dilated if >2 mm) were noted for each patient. TNM staging of each patient with primary lung cancer was also recorded. Statistical analyses were applied to both groups using SPSS 17.0. &khgr;2 test was used for the statistical analyses. Results Statistically strong correlation was observed between ipsilateral bronchial artery dilatation and primary lung carcinoma. Among the 11 benign lung masses, only 2 (18%) showed ipsilateral bronchial artery dilatation. But 39 (88.6%) of the 44 primary lung carcinoma patients and 36 (92.3%) of the 39 primary lung carcinoma patients with predominantly extramediastinal (lung) location showed ipsilateral bronchial artery dilatation on MDCT. When only predominantly extramediastinal lesions were taken into account, sensitivity of the study was 92.31%, specificity was 81.82%, positive predictive value was 94.74%, and negative predictive value was 75%. Conclusions Lesion characterization and accuracy was very high when the only criteria of bronchial artery dilatation are taken into account. Sensitivity and negative predictive value were higher in the patients with extramediastinal lesions.
A fast handwritten numeral recognition framework based on peak densities

In this paper, we present a novel framework for handwritten numeral recognition. Considering unconstrained handwritten numerals as numeral feature vectors in the corresponding numeral vector space, we commence by reducing the coordinate dimensionalityof vector space by employing Spectral Regression Discriminant Analysis (SRDA). We then calculate the local density for all numeral classes. For each class, we consider numeral points with local peak densities and large distance from points with higher peak densities as the numeral centers. For the inference tasks, we calculate the average similarity between one testing numeral sample and numeral centers of each digit class. The largest average similarity with numeral centers of one digit class implies that the numeral sample is categorized into this class. In order to validate our framework, experiments with two worldwide standard data sets USPS and MNIST are performed. The experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves high performances in efficiency and robustness for big data analysis.
Using Generalization Patterns for Fingerprinting Sets of Partially Anonymized Microdata in the Course of Disasters

In the event of large natural and artificial disasters, it is of vital importance to provide all sorts of data to the relief organizations (fire department, red cross,.) to enhance their effectivity. Still, some of this data (e.g. regarding personal information on health status) may be considered private. k-anonymity can be utilized to mitigate the risks resulting from disclosure of such data, however, sometimes it is not possible to achieve a suitable size for k in order to completely anonymize the data without interfering with rescue operations. Still, this data will be sensitive after the disaster recovery is finished. Thus we aim at protecting the data by devising an intrinsic fingerprinting-scheme that allows to detect the source of eventually disclosed information afterwards. Our approach uses the properties directly derived from the anonymization process to generate unique fingerprints for every data set.
A Random Walk Approach for Light Scattering in Material

Understanding reflection is one of the key competences in graphic arts industry. A very popular approach was given by Kubelka andMunk [1931] who derived a simple relationship between the scattering and absorption coefficients and the overall reflectance. This paper presents an alternative approach which describes the behavior of light in matter as a special kind of random walk.
Using Emergent Modularity to Develop Control Systems for Mobile Robots

A new way of building control systems, known as behavior-based robotics, has recently been proposed to overcome the difficulties of the traditional artificial intelligence approach to robotics. This new approach is based on the idea of providing the robot with a range of simple behaviors and letting the environment determine which behavior should have control at any given time. We will present a set of experiments in which neural networks with different architectures have been trained to control a mobile robot designed to keep an arena clear by picking up trash objects and releasing them outside the arena. Controller weights are selected using a form of genetic algorithm and do not change during the lifetime (i.e., no learning occurs). We will compare, in simulation and on a real robot, five different network architectures and will show that a network that allows for fine-grained modularity achieves significantly better performance. By comparing the functionality of each network module and its interaction with a description of the simple behavior components, we will show that it is not possible to find simple correlations; rather, module switching and interaction are correlated with low-level sensorimotor mappings. This implies that the engineering-oriented approach to behavior-based robotics might have serious limitations because it is difficult to know in advance the appropriate mappings between behavior components and sensorimotor activity for complex tasks.
Modified hemolytic plaque technique for the detection of bluetongue virus antibody-forming cells

A hemolytic plaque assay was developed for the detection of antibody-forming cells to bluetongue virus (BTV). Sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), onto which BTV had been absorbed, served as the indicator of lysis due to the presence of BTV antibody-forming cells. The ratio of BTV to SRBC was found to be critical for optimum hemolytic plaque formation. For routine use, 50 mul of 12% BTV SRBC, 0.1 ml of a spleen cell suspension, and 0.5 ml of 0.5% agarose in a balanced salt solution were mixed and plated on a microscope slide precoated with 0.1% aqueous agarose. Slides were incubated for 1 h at 37 C in a humidified incubator and subsequently flooded with 0.4 ml of a 1:15 dilution of complement. Incubation was continued for a further 2 h before the hemolytic plaques were scored. It was not possible to establish BTV serotype specificity by this technique.
Changes in Mitochondrial Carriers Exhibit Stress-Specific Signatures in INS-1Eβ-Cells Exposed to Glucose Versus Fatty Acids

Chronic exposure of β-cells to metabolic stresses impairs their function and potentially induces apoptosis. Mitochondria play a central role in coupling glucose metabolism to insulin secretion. However, little is known on mitochondrial responses to specific stresses; i.e. low versus high glucose, saturated versus unsaturated fatty acids, or oxidative stress. INS-1E cells were exposed for 3 days to 5.6 mM glucose, 25 mM glucose, 0.4 mM palmitate, and 0.4 mM oleate. Culture at standard 11.1 mM glucose served as no-stress control and transient oxidative stress (200 µM H2O2 for 10 min at day 0) served as positive stressful condition. Mito-array analyzed transcripts of 60 mitochondrion-associated genes with special focus on members of the Slc25 family. Transcripts of interest were evaluated at the protein level by immunoblotting. Bioinformatics analyzed the expression profiles to delineate comprehensive networks. Chronic exposure to the different metabolic stresses impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion; revealing glucotoxicity and lipo-dysfunction. Both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids increased expression of the carnitine/acylcarnitine carrier CAC, whereas the citrate carrier CIC and energy sensor SIRT1 were specifically upregulated by palmitate and oleate, respectively. High glucose upregulated CIC, the dicarboxylate carrier DIC and glutamate carrier GC1. Conversely, it reduced expression of energy sensors (AMPK, SIRT1, SIRT4), metabolic genes, transcription factor PDX1, and anti-apoptotic Bcl2. This was associated with caspase-3 cleavage and cell death. Expression levels of GC1 and SIRT4 exhibited positive and negative glucose dose-response, respectively. Expression profiles of energy sensors and mitochondrial carriers were selectively modified by the different conditions, exhibiting stress-specific signatures.
Perspectives on public health: health professionals view the functions of local public health departments.

FOR MANY YEARS spokesmen for public health have offered a range of opinions about the mission of public health and the functions of health departments. These statements, although extremely useful, fail to account for the diverse roles that are loosely defined as public health occupations, and they fail to reflect the views of line workers in local health departments. The public health movement therefore remains undefined in important dimensions. Often public health department personnel cannot function as a cohesive unit, because the organization lacks a common and clearly defined mission. The public health movement as a whole would benefit from a sharpened identity in the garnering of public support, in the recruitment of competent people, and in the task of giving direction for public health workers at all levels.
Changes in Physical, Chemical, and Microbiological Properties During the Two-Stage Composting of Green Waste due to the Addition of β-cyclodextrin

Abstract This research determined whether addition of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD; 0, 0.15, or 0.25%) improved the two-stage composting of green waste (GW). The following parameters were measured during composting or in the final product: moisture content; volume; biochemical and chemical oxygen demand; humic substances; C/Nsolid and C/Nsoluble; microbial numbers (culturable bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi); enzyme activities (pectinase and xylanase); microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen; degradation of organic components; contents of phosphorus (available and total), potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium; and toxicity to germinating seeds. The two-stage composting of GW was optimal with the addition of 0.15% β-CD. A mature and stable compost was obtained in only 28 days with the optimized two-stage composting rather than in the 90–270 days typically required for traditional composting.
Induction of Mesothelial HSP-72 upon In vivo Exposure to Peritoneal Dialysis Fluid

Objective To determine the feasibility of reinstitution of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in patients with malignant hepatic tumors after partial hepatectomy. Design Retrospective analysis of 2 CAPD patients. Setting Dialysis unit of a university teaching hospital. Patients Two CAPD patients with malignant hepatic tumors who had undergone partial hepatectomy. Main Outcome Measures Serum biochemistry, Kt/V, peritoneal equilibration test (PET) results before and after hepatectomy. Results One patient was able to resume CAPD 4 weeks after partial hepatectomy. The other patient was successfully resumed on CAPD after resting the peritoneum for 3 months following partial hepatectomy. The serum biochemistry, Kt/V, and PET results of the 2 patients did not change significantly before and after partial hepatectomy. Conclusions Reinstitution of CAPD after partial hepatectomy in patients with malignant hepatic tumors is feasible.
New computational studies to support cyclin-dependent kinase 9 inhibitor screening and design

Aims: Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) plays a major role in the regulation of transcription. Its overexpression -which occurs in several types of cancer- increases the levels of certain antiapoptotic proteins that can lead to tumorigenesis, therefore the identification of new, more potent and more selective inhibitors is essential. Methods: In this study we present a computational approach, which can facilitate lead selection and optimization. Results: First, a pharmacophore hypothesis based on the active compounds has been developed to identify the key features for the ligand-target interaction. This was followed by the docking of the compounds into the active site of CDK9, the poses and interactions with the amino acids were compared with those of the co-crystallized ligand. The mode of their binding further explained the characteristics of these inhibitors while the docking scores can be a factor in the selection of active compounds in the future. Finally, a field-based QSAR model was also created, to predict the activity of inhibitor candidates. Conclusion: With our current work we deepened our knowledge about the interactions between CDK9 and its inhibitors, which can contribute to the discovery of novel CDK9 inhibitors.
A Novel Endoglycoceramidase Hydrolyzes Oligogalactosylceramides to Produce Galactooligosaccharides and Ceramides*

Enzymes capable of hydrolyzing the β-glycosidic linkage between oligosaccharides and ceramides in various glycosphingolipids has been found in microorganisms and invertebrates and designated endoglycoceramidase (EC 3.2.1.123) or ceramide glycanase. Here we report the molecular cloning, characterization, and homology modeling of a novel endoglycoceramidase that hydrolyzes oligogalactosylceramides to produce galactooligosaccharides and ceramides. The novel enzyme was purified from a culture supernatant of Rhodococcus equi, and the gene encoding 488 deduced amino acids was cloned using peptide sequences of the purified enzyme. Eight residues essential for the catalytic reaction in microbial and animal endoglycoceramidases were all conserved in the deduced amino acid sequence of the novel enzyme. Homology modeling of the enzyme using endocellulase E1 as a template revealed that the enzyme displays a (β/α)8 barrel structure in which Glu234 at the end of β-strand 4 and Glu341 at the end of β-strand 7 could function as an acid/base catalyst and a nucleophile, respectively. Site-directed mutagenesis of these glutamates resulted in a complete loss of the activity without a change in their CD spectra. The recombinant enzyme hydrolyzed the β-galactosidic linkage between oligosaccharides and ceramides of 6-gala series glycosphingolipids that were completely resistant to hydrolysis by the enzymes reported so far. In contrast, the novel enzyme did not hydrolyze ganglio-, globo-, or lactoseries glycosphingolipids. The enzyme is therefore systematically named “oligogalactosyl-N-acylsphingosine 1,1′-β-galactohydrolase” or tentatively designated “endogalactosylceramidase. ”
3D Face Modeling based on 3D Dense Morphable Face Shape Model

—Realistic 3D face model is more precise in representing pose, illumination, and expression of face than 2D face model so that it can be utilized usefully in various applications such as face recognition, games, avatars, animations, and etc. In this paper, we propose a 3D face modeling method based on 3D dense morphable shape model. The proposed 3D modeling method first constructs a 3D dense morphable shape model from 3D face scan data obtained using a 3D scanner. Next, the proposed method extracts and matches facial landmarks from 2D image sequence containing a face to be modeled, and then reconstructs 3D vertices coordinates of the landmarks using a factorization-based SfM technique. Then, the proposed method obtains a 3D dense shape model of the face to be modeled by fitting the constructed 3D dense morphable shape model into the reconstructed 3D vertices. Also, the proposed method makes a cylindrical texture map using 2D face image sequence. Finally, the proposed method generates a 3D face model by rendering the 3D dense face shape model using the cylindrical texture map. Through building processes of 3D face model by the proposed method, it is shown that the proposed method is relatively easy, fast and precise.
Recent advances in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children and adolescents: an expert panel discussion

Purpose of review Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common form of childhood leukemia, representing 75% to 80% of cases of acute leukemia among children. Dramatic improvements in the cure rates and survival outcomes for children with ALL have been seen over the past several decades; currently the 5-year survival rate for childhood ALL is more than 80%. These improvements have come about because of advances in the understanding of the molecular genetics and pathogenesis of the disease, incorporation of risk-adapted therapy, and the advent of new targeted agents. Recent findings Scientific advances have provided new insights into leukemogenesis, drug resistance, and host pharmacogenomics, identified novel subtypes of leukemia, and suggested potential targets for therapy. At the same time novel monoclonal antibodies, small molecule inhibitors, chemotherapeutics, and cell-based treatment strategies have been developed and investigated. Summary In this article, experts will discuss some of the current challenges and future directions in the treatment of pediatric ALL. The authors will offer expert guidance to practicing oncologists on how to best incorporate newer treatment approaches into the care of children and adolescents with ALL. The most important ongoing clinical trials in the area will also be reviewed.
Using wikipedia and supersense tagging for semi-automatic complex taxonomy construction

In this paper we propose an unsupervised approach for acquiring domain related conceptual hierarchies from open-domain text. Super Sense Tagging (SST) is used to extract up-level terms and Wikipedia categories and WordNet are employed to construct the rest of taxonomic hierarchy. The result is a complete top-bottom taxonomy for every formal context. We describe both the method we implemented and some encoruaging initial experimental results.
Multicast performance bounds exploiting cooperative Physical Layer Network Coding

In this paper we exploit the characteristics of Physical layer Network Coding (PNC) in multicast short range networks. We present a scalable scenario of partially overlapping short range networks, where collisions are resolved through indirect inter-group cooperation based on the features of PNC. Our scenario consists of a central network, which is our network of interest, and several surrounding networks. Exploring the worst case scenario of the proposed scheme, we aim to unveil the lower achievable bounds of throughput and energy efficiency and the higher bounds of delay for the network of interest. We evaluate our proposed scheme and prove that even in its lower performance it outperforms the conventional cooperative approach in terms of throughput, delay and energy efficiency.
Chinese Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Sexual Relationships and Premarital Sex

This study was designed to explore Taiwanese school students’ attitudes toward sexual relationships and premarital sex. This was an exploratory descriptive, qualitative study. Focus groups (N = 8) were conducted with 47 adolescents from three high schools in Taiwan. Transcripts were transcribed and thematically analyzed using Atlas V 5.0. Adolescent attitudes toward sexual relationships and premarital sexual behavior comprise the following three dimensions: (1) external incentives, (2) the developmental process, and (3) internal control. External incentives include the normalization of sexual behavior between peers, the desire to feel included in a group, parental influence, and media influence. The developmental process includes imagining the sexual experience and onset of sexual activity. Internal control includes the fear of pregnancy, the fear of parental rejection, and the fear of being judged. These findings can provide a reference for designing future sex education curricula and counseling programs for adolescents.