Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Secretogranin III as a disease-associated ligand for antiangiogenic therapy of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of vision loss with retinal vascular leakage and/or neovascularization. Current antiangiogenic therapy against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has limited efficacy. In this study, we applied a new technology of comparative ligandomics to diabetic and control mice for the differential mapping of disease-related endothelial ligands. Secretogranin III (Scg3) was discovered as a novel disease-associated ligand with selective binding and angiogenic activity in diabetic but not healthy vessels. In contrast, VEGF bound to and induced angiogenesis in both diabetic and normal vasculature. Scg3 and VEGF signal through distinct receptor pathways. Importantly, Scg3-neutralizing antibodies alleviated retinal vascular leakage in diabetic mice with high efficacy. Furthermore, anti-Scg3 prevented retinal neovascularization in oxygen-induced retinopathy mice, a surrogate model for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). ROP is the most common cause of vision impairment in children, with no approved drug therapy. These results suggest that Scg3 is a promising target for novel antiangiogenic therapy of DR and ROP.
Towards an event-driven workplace for knowledge integration

A contemporary office or knowledge worker has to deal with an ever increasing number of information channels and associated flows of events (i.e., software applications using varying terminologies and access procedures). The events from different sources in varying terminology need suitable interpretation in the local context for (a) determining basic relevance, (b) understanding context-specific semantics, and (c) making and maintaining semantic connections between information demands from different sources. Without (tool) support the office-worker has to use her brain for this overhead activity instead of focusing on the actual work. This work introduces concepts on how to standardize "business events" to allow unified treatment of information flow regardless of the specific information channel they come from. These concepts of unified meta-data extraction, meta-data annotation, and unified user-to-storage interface (i.e., a nonintrusive personal assistant) relieve the user from unnecessary interpretation work load. Further they allow tool support to build up new knowledge based on aggregated information from "relevant semantic connections" between information units coming from any channels.
The Role of War-Zone Trauma and PTSD in the Etiology of Antisocial Behavior

Historically, successful reintegration of war veterans into civilized society has been an enduring concern of nations. Data from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study were used to develop and evaluate an etiological model of postwar antisocial behavior. Two initial models specified causal paths among five sets of variables, ordered according to their historical occurrence: (a) premilitary risk factors, (b) military traumas and disciplinary actions, (c) the homecoming reception, (d) postmilitary PTSD and substance abuse, and (e) postmilitary antisocial behavior. PTSD and substance abuse were omitted in one model and included in the other. The initial models were refined and then cross-validated, leading to the specification of replicated models with highly satisfactory fit and parsimony. Comparison of the two models suggested that (1) premilitary experiences and behavior exert the largest effects on postmilitary antisocial behavior, and that (2) PTSD plays a necessary mediational role for the effects of war-zone traumatic exposure on postmilitary antisocial behavior.
18F-FNDP for PET Imaging of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a bifunctional enzyme located within cytosol and peroxisomes that converts epoxides to the corresponding diols and hydrolyzes phosphate monoesters. It serves to inactivate epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which are generated in the brain to couple neuronal activity and cerebral blood flow in normal and pathologic states. Altered regulation of sEH was observed previously in various neuropathologic disorders including vascular dementia and stroke. Inhibitors of sEH are pursued as agents to mitigate neuronal damage after stroke. We developed N-(3,3-diphenylpropyl)-6-18F-fluoronicotinamide (18F-FNDP), which proved highly specific for imaging of sEH in the mouse and nonhuman primate brain with PET. Methods: 18F-FNDP was synthesized from the corresponding bromo precursor. sEH inhibitory activity of 18F-FNDP was measured using an sEH inhibitor screening assay kit. Biodistribution was undertaken in CD-1 mice. Binding specificity was assayed in CD-1 and sEH knock-out mice and Papio anubis (baboon) through pretreatment with an sEH inhibitor to block sEH binding. Dynamic PET imaging with arterial blood sampling was performed in 3 baboons, with regional tracer binding quantified using distribution volume. The metabolism of 18F-FNDP in baboons was assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: 18F-FNDP (inhibition binding affinity constant, 1.73 nM) was prepared in 1 step in a radiochemical yield of 14% ± 7%, specific radioactivity in the range of 888–3,774 GBq/μmol, and a radiochemical purity greater than 99% using an automatic radiosynthesis module. The time of preparation was about 75 min. In CD-1 mice, regional uptake followed the pattern of striatum > cortex > hippocampus > cerebellum, consistent with the known brain distribution of sEH, with 5.2% injected dose per gram of tissue at peak uptake. Blockade of 80%–90% was demonstrated in all brain regions. Minimal radiotracer uptake was present in sEH knock-out mice. PET baboon brain distribution paralleled that seen in mouse, with a marked blockade (95%) noted in all regions indicating sEH-mediated uptake of 18F-FNDP. Two hydrophilic metabolites were identified, with 20% parent compound present at 90 min after injection in baboon plasma. Conclusion: 18F-FNDP can be synthesized in suitable radiochemical yield and high specific radioactivity and purity. In vivo imaging experiments demonstrated that 18F-FNDP targeted sEH in murine and nonhuman primate brain specifically. 18F-FNDP is a promising PET radiotracer likely to be useful for understanding the role of sEH in a variety of conditions affecting the central nervous system.
Planification pour la gestion autonomique de l'élasticité d'applications dans le cloud. (Planification for autonomic management of elasticity for applications in the cloud)

Le Cloud Computing permet une optimisation des couts de deploiement et de maintenance des applications. Grâce au cloud, celles-ci peuvent etre deployees et reconfigurees en l'espace de quelques minutes. La necessite pour une application d'etre en permanence a la juste taille afin que celle-ci maintienne continuellement une qualite de service suffisante sans pour autant utiliser trop de ressources, requiert de mettre en place l'elasticite des applications dans le cloud. Cependant, l'etat de l'art montre que les solutions actuelles de gestion de l'elasticite sont restreintes a des applications multi-tiers tout en limitant fortement les scenarios possibles. Le cloud est effectivement un paradigme jeune et les differents acteurs du marche ont rapidement cherche a offrir l'elasticite. Si cette elasticite presente l'avantage indeniable d'apporter une mise place rapide et simple de l'elasticite, celle-ci n'obeit pas aux besoins de nombreux utilisateurs.Afin de repousser les limites actuelles de l'elasticite, les travaux presentes dans ce manuscrit proposent un outil de specification de l'elasticite nomme Vulcan. A la fois simple et complet, Vulcan montre qu'il n'existe pas de correlation entre la completude de la solution et la complexite de son utilisation. Base sur une approche autonomique, Vulcan apporte les contributions suivantes : -un modele d'applications elastiques : celui-ci permet de decrire selon un mode dit "par intention", la facon dont l'application doit evoluer au cours des reconfigurations induites par l'elasticite. Le formalisme de ce modele est a la base de la simplicite recherchee quant a l'utilisation de la solution. -un algorithme de planification : cet algorithme permet la resolution des differents parametres lors de l'elasticite tout en offrant une comprehension simple a l'utilisateur de Vulcan. -un prototype qui met en oeuvre l'ensemble des concepts mis en avant dans ce document.Reposant sur des principes a la fois novateurs mais egalement issus de solutions eprouvees, des experimentations ont demontre tant les capacites d'integration de Vulcan vis-a-vis de l'existant, que la viabilite des concepts proposes ou le potentiel de l'approche. Il en ressort une solution generique, sans restriction quant aux applications gerees et qui repousse les limites actuelles en matiere d'elasticite.
Notch1 modulates mesenchymal stem cells mediated regulatory T‐cell induction

Notch1 signaling is involved in regulatory T (Treg)‐cell differentiation. We previously demonstrated that, when cocultured with CD3+ cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induced a T‐cell population with a regulatory phenotype. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying MSC induction of human Treg cells. We show that the Notch1 pathway is activated in CD4+ T cells cocultured with MSCs. Inhibition of Notch1 signaling through GSI‐I or the Notch1 neutralizing antibody reduced expression of HES1 (the Notch1 downstream target) and the percentage of MSC‐induced CD4+CD25highFOXP3+ cells in vitro. Moreover, we demonstrate that FOXP3 is a downstream target of Notch signaling in human cells. No crosstalk between Notch1 and TGF‐β signaling pathways was observed in our experimental system. Together, these findings indicate that activation of the Notch1 pathway is a novel mechanism in the human Treg‐cell induction mediated by MSCs.
The p-Centre machine for regression analysis

Support vector machines (SVMs) have become one of the most powerful methods in machine learning for solving classification and regression problems. Finding the SVM solution can be regarded as estimating the centre of the largest hypersphere that can be inscribed in the set of consistent hypotheses called the version space. However, this solution can be inaccurate if the version space is asymmetric or elongated. Several approaches have been proposed to utilize other possible centres of the version space that can improve the generalization performance. Morreti in 2003 proposed an algorithm for finding the centre of a general polytope, the so called p-Centre, using weighted projections. By applying this method, Brückner in 2001 introduced a formulation for solving binary classification problems based on an approximation of the p-Centre of the version space, the so called p-Centre machine. In this paper, we extend the work by Brückner and propose a kernel-based algorithm for regression analysis using the p-Centre method. The concept of the p-Centre of a polytope and version space is also explained. Furthermore, the applications of the proposed method are presented. The preliminary results indicate that the p-Centre-based kernel machine for regression has promising performance compared with the SVM for regression.
RESEARCH ANALYSIS ON MOOC COURSE DROPOUT AND RETENTION RATES

This research’s objective was to identify the terminal efficiency of the Massive Online Open Course “Educational Innovation with Open Resources” offered by a Mexican private university. A quantitative methodology was used, combining descriptive statistics and probabilistic models to analyze the levels of retention, completion, and desertion, as well as the characteristics of the students who completed the course. The results show a 14% of student retention and an 11.7% of student completion, relative to the total number of participants, who had some common characteristics: having a graduate (master or doctorate), being experienced in online education, committed to the course and self-taught. The participants who abandoned the course expressed the following reasons: problems with the course’s structure, limitations in the use of information and communication technologies or limited English proficiency, family reasons or low time disposition. It is recommended to take actions that will increase the knowledge in order to explain the MOOCs’ desertion rates and to strengthen their structures to improve the retention and completion rates.
Tissue-Specific Progenitor and Stem Cells Concise Review : Paracrine Functions of Vascular Niche Cells in Regulating Hematopoietic Stem Cell Fate

The functions of endothelial cells (ECs) in regulating oxygen delivery, nutrient exchange, coagulation, and transit of inflammatory cells throughout thebodyarewell–established. ECshavealsobeen shown to regulate themaintenance and regeneration of organ-specific stem cells in mammals. In the hematopoietic system, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are dependent on signals from the bone marrow (BM) vascular niche for their maintenance and regeneration after myelosuppressive injury. Recent studies have demonstrated the essential functions of BM ECs and perivascular stromal cells in regulating these processes. In the present study, we summarize the current understanding of the role of BM ECs and perivascular cells in regulating HSCmaintenance and regeneration and highlight the contribution of newly discovered EC-derived paracrine factors that regulate HSC fate. STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2016;5:1–8
A Nonlinear Control Strategy for Boom Cranes in Radial Direction

To increase the effectiveness of the cargo transshipment process is one of the most important objectives for the automation of cranes. Therefore new control strategies are applied. This paper presents a nonlinear controller in order to solve the trajectory tracking and disturbance rejection problem for a boom crane. A model of the crane dynamics in radial direction is derived considering the dominant nonlinearities such as the actuator kinematics. Further on, the coupling of a slewing and luffing motion is taken into account. This coupling is caused by the centrifugal acceleration of the load in radial direction during a slewing motion. Based on the nonlinear model a linearizing and disturbance decoupling control law is derived and discussed. Measurement results from the boom crane validate the good performance of the nonlinear controller.
A Domain-Specific Validation of the Core Self-Evaluations Scale

Core self-evaluations have been recently proposed as indicating positive self-concept and as being predictive of various forms of subjective well-being. In an effort to further validate the Core Self-Evaluations Scale (CSES), structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed in three independent samples of university students to examine the extent to which scores on the Core Self-Evaluations Scale predicted two measures of university satisfaction. Good fit was found for models that also controlled for status in college, student major, class satisfaction, life satisfaction, college grade point average, and overall grade fairness. Statistically significant relationships corrected for attenuation by SEM between scores on the Core Self-Evaluations Scale and university satisfaction range from . 24 to . 37.
Rape Culture and Its Effects : Evidence from U . S . Newspapers , 2000-2013

We offer the first quantitative analysis of the presence, magnitude and effects of “rape culture” in the United States. Observers have long worried that biased news coverage of rape which blames victims, empathizes with perpetrators, implies consent, and questions victims' credibility may deter victims from coming forward, and ultimately increase the incidence of rape. We present a theory of how rape culture might shape the preferences and choices of perpetrators, victims and law enforcement, and test this theory with data on news stories about rape published in U.S. newspapers between 2000 and 2013. We find that rape culture in the media predicts both the frequency of rape and its pursuit through the local criminal justice system. In jurisdictions where rape culture was more prevalent, there were more documented rape cases, but authorities were less vigilant in pursuing them.
Creation of a corpus for evidence based medicine summarisation.

BACKGROUND Automated text summarisers that find the best clinical evidence reported in collections of medical literature are of potential benefit for the practice of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM). Research and development of text summarisers for EBM, however, is impeded by the lack of corpora to train and test such systems. AIMS To produce a corpus for research in EBM summarisation. METHOD We sourced the "Clinical Inquiries" section of the Journal of Family Practice (JFP) and obtained a sizeable sample of questions and evidence based summaries. We further processed the summaries by combining automated techniques, human annotations, and crowdsourcing techniques to identify the PubMed IDs of the references. RESULTS The corpus has 456 questions, 1,396 answer components, 3,036 answer justifications, and 2,908 references. CONCLUSION The corpus is now available for the research community at http://sourceforge.net/projects/ebmsumcorpus.
A Framework-Based Approach to Identifying and Organizing the Complexity Factors of Human-System Interaction

As the nature of human interaction with modernized socio-technical systems is increasingly cognitive and complex, many studies have been devoted to examine a range of complexity factors influencing human cognitive performance. However, there is a lack of theoretical basis of discerning and categorizing those factors. It is thus inevitable to establish a conceptual framework that can be used to identify and organize the complexity factors in an analytical way. In this paper, we regard the world of complexity factors as an abstract system and propose a new framework consisting of five views, each of which is concerned with certain aspects of the abstract system. To develop the framework more systematically, we conducted a comprehensive literature review and applied a system thinking approach to deriving a set of requirements to be satisfied by the framework. Of those five views, we particularly emphasize the roles of knowledge view. Thus a complexity factor model based on the knowledge view is also proposed. We describe two possible uses of the framework and the complexity factor model, which are the analytical identification of the complexity factors and the systematic assessment of the complexity factors identified by earlier studies.
Organics from inorganics: using experimental archaeology as a research tool for studying perishable material culture

Abstract The value and diversity of experimental archaeology as a research tool are explored with reference to organic material culture, also termed ‘perishables’. Ethnographic and contemporary data clearly show that the majority of all material culture is composed of materials which do not survive well in temperate conditions. Perishable material culture is therefore the ‘missing majority’ of archaeological material culture. Yet no society isolates materials: material culture exists holistically. Thus the more prevalent archaeological finds of inorganic materials provide opportunities for considering issues of organic material culture. Experimental archaeology has proved a rich and diverse tool to explore a variety of different approaches to this research theme. The focus here is the plant-based craft spheres. An overview of four different research strands is presented: plant chaînes opératoires; stone-tool wear traces from processing plants for crafts; ceramic impressions of cordage, basketry and textiles; and the practical and conceptual study of skeuomorphs. Several of these approaches use reference collections provided by experiments, i.e. lithic wear traces which show the exploitation of organic materials for craft purposes, ceramic impressions analysis where items of perishable material culture have made impressions on the surface either during the production process or deliberately as part of the decoration process. Experimenting with perishable materials shows the constraints and variations possible in the chaînes opératoires and taskscapes while elucidating the physical properties of the finished products. Though ethnographic data provide many useful insights and often integrate well with the experiments, it is experimental archaeology which proves itself the most adaptable actualistic study to investigate the archaeological record. Finally, though experimental archaeology can be employed in a controlled scientific manner, it is also a tool for exploring concepts and playing with ideas. The latter is an under-rated aspect of experimental archaeology and its potential is exemplified by the skeuomorph experiments. The examples drawn from the ‘organics from inorganics’ research theme demonstrate the range and value of experimental archaeology as a methodological tool.
Photoperiod Affects Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase and Aggressive Behaviour in Male Siberian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)

Many nontropical animals display physiological and behavioural changes in response to seasonal environmental cues including photoperiod (day length). Male Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) housed in short photoperiod undergo testicular regression accompanied by reduced circulating testosterone and decreased reproductive behaviour. By contrast to the majority of small mammals studied, aggressive behaviour is elevated in short‐day Siberian hamsters when blood testosterone concentrations are not detectable. Because gonadal steroid hormones influence neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and this enzyme has been implicated in aggressive behaviour, we hypothesized that nNOS expression would be decreased in short‐day male Siberian hamsters and negatively correlated with the display of territorial aggression. Adult male Siberian hamsters were individually housed in either long (LD 16 : 8 h) or short (LD 8 : 16 h) photoperiods for 10 weeks. Hamsters were assigned to one of two categories by assessing testicular volume and plasma testosterone values: (i) photoperiodic responsive (i.e. regressed testes and low testosterone concentrations) or (ii) photoperiodic nonresponsive (i.e. testes size and circulating testosterone concentrations equivalent to hamsters maintained in long days). At week 10, aggression was assessed using a resident–intruder test. Latency to initial attack, frequency of attacks and duration of total attacks were recorded during a 10‐min aggression trial. Brains were collected immediately after behavioural testing and stained for nNOS expression using immunohistochemistry. All short day‐housed hamsters were significantly more aggressive than long‐day animals, regardless of gonadal size or testosterone concentrations. Short‐day animals, both reproductively responsive and nonresponsive morphs, also had significantly less nNOS‐immunoreactive cells in the anterior and basolateral amygdaloid areas and paraventricular nuclei compared to long‐day hamsters. Together, these results suggest that seasonal aggression in male Siberian hamsters is regulated by photoperiod, through mechanisms that are likely independent from gonadal steroid hormones.