Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vivo expansion of HLA-B35 alloreactive T cells sharing homologous T cell receptors: evidence for maintenance of an oligoclonally dominated allospecificity by persistent stimulation with an autologous MHC/peptide complex

The nature of alloantigens seen by T lymphocytes, in particular the role of peptides in allorecognition, has been studied intensively whereas knowledge about the in vivo emergence, diversity, and the structural basis of specificity of alloreactive T cells is very limited. Here we describe human T cell clones that recognize HLA-B35 alloantigens in a peptide-dependent manner. TCR sequence analysis revealed that several of these allospecific clones utilize homologous TCR: they all express TCRAV2S3J36C1 and TCRBV4S1J2S7C2 chains with highly related CDR3 sequences. Thus peptide-specific alloreactivity is reflected in homologous CDR3 sequences in a manner similar to that described for T cells that recognize nominal peptide/self-MHC complexes. The in vivo frequency of this TCR specificity was studied in unstimulated PBL of the responding cell donor who was not sensitized against HLA-B35. The vast majority (approximately 75%) of the VA2S3J36 junctional regions obtained from two samples of PBL, isolated at a 9-yr interval, encode CDR3 identical or homologous to those of the functionally characterized HLA-B35 allospecific T cells. These data are most easily explained by a model of alloreactivity in which persistent or recurrent exposure to a foreign peptide/self-MHC complex led to the in vivo expansion and long-term maintenance of specific T cells that show fortuitous crossrecognition of an HLA-B35/peptide complex and dominate the alloresponse against HLA-B35.
Reducing School Bullying: Evidence‐Based Implications for Policy

School bullying is an important social problem with serious short‐term and long‐term implications for physical and mental health. Bullies tend to be aggressive and delinquent, whereas victims tend to be anxious and depressed. School‐based antibullying programs are effective in reducing bullying and being bullied. On average, bullying was reduced by 20–23 percent in experimental schools compared with control schools. The most important program components associated with a decrease in bullying are parent training, improved playground supervision, disciplinary methods, school conferences, videos, information for parents, classroom rules, and classroom management. The most important program elements associated with a decrease in being bullied are videos, disciplinary methods, work with peers, parent training, and cooperative group work. New antibullying programs should be designed, tested, and accredited on the basis of the most effective intervention components.
L'européanisation comme processus de transfert de politique publique

Cette contribution se propose d’analyser l’integration des 10 nouveaux pays membres de l’Union europeenne et, en particulier son impact sur leurs cadres institutionnels et sur le contenu de leurs politiques publiques, et parallelement l’action des acteurs politiques et associatifs concernes. Dans ce but, elle fait appel a deux notions, l’europeanisation et les transferts institutionnels, qui seront traitees de facon conjointe et dans une optique comparative.
Endogenous androgen levels and cardiovascular risk profile in women across the adult life span

Objective:Whether endogenous androgen levels contribute to the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile in women is controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate systematically the relationships between serum levels of endogenous androgens and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and biochemical CVD risk profile, taking other known risk factors into account. Design:This community-based cross-sectional study included 587 non-healthcare-seeking-women, aged 18 to 75 years, who were randomly recruited from the community via the electoral roll from April 2002 to August 2003. Participants were euthyroid; had no usage of exogenous steroids; had no history of tubal ligation, hysterectomy, or bilateral oophorectomy; and did not have hyperprolactinemia or polycystic ovarian syndrome. The relationships between total testosterone, SHBG, free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and androstenedione and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) and lipids were explored using linear regression with natural logarithm (ln) -or square root-transformed data as indicated. Issues of nonlinearity and interaction were addressed by the inclusion of extra regression terms where appropriate. We determined the change in the proportion of variation for each marker of the CVD risk profile explained by the addition of each hormone term to the models, having adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol, and exercise. Results:Menopausal status did not influence the statistical models for high-sensitivity CRP and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but for both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, the proportion of variation explained by the models was substantially less in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women. Almost all of the highly statistically significant findings were related to the addition of the SHBG terms to the models. The changes in r2 values were highly statistically significant for the addition of the SHBG terms to the models for ln CRP and ln high-density lipoprotein for both pre- and postmenopausal women (P ≤ 0.01 and < 0.001, respectively) and for ln triglycerides in postmenopausal (P < 0.001) and premenopausal women (P < 0.01). Conclusions:Endogenous testosterone and the adrenal preandrogens per se are not significant independent determinants of circulating high-sensitivity CRP or lipoprotein lipids. Our analyses provide further support for the independent predictive value of low SHBG levels for CVD risk profile and an independent contribution of the menopausal transition to the determination of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides.
Adaptive code symbol assignment in a rateless coded multichannel cognitive radio network

Because of its robustness to packet loss and adaptivity to channel conditions, rateless codes have been used in cognitive radio networks to improve the secondary system performance. In this paper, we investigate an adaptive code symbol assignment scheme for the secondary user (SU) in a multichannel cognitive radio network based on rateless coding. In particular, the SU transmitter first encodes its information data through rateless coding and then assigns the unceasingly generated code symbols adaptively to each available channel obtained by spectrum sensing. Thanks to the forward incremental redundancy provided by rateless codes, it is unnecessary for the SU receiver to request the retransmission of lost symbols and the code symbols collected from any channel at any time contribute to the final data recovery. With an alternating channel occupancy model of the primary user (PU), we conduct a weight enumerator analysis to derive the optimal number of code symbols to be assigned to each available channel, thus to maximize the system throughput while protecting PU from interference. Both theoretical analysis and numerical results demonstrate the good performance of our proposed scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lecture Vdeo Indexing Using Boosted Margin Maximizing Neural Networks

This paper presents a novel approach for lecture video indexing using a boosted deep convolutional neural network system. The indexing is performed by matching high quality slide images, for which text is either known or extracted, to lower resolution video frames with possible noise, perspective distortion, and occlusions. We propose a deep neural network integrated with a boosting framework composed of two sub-networks targeting feature extraction and similarity determination to perform the matching. The trained network is given as input a pair of slide image and a candidate video frame image and produces the similarity between them. A boosting framework is integrated into our proposed network during the training process. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is much more capable of handling occlusion, spatial transformations, and other types of noises when compared with known approaches.
Additive Conditional Disclosure of Secrets And Applications

During a conditional disclosure of secrets (CDS) protocol, Alice obtains a secret, held by Bob, if and only if her inputs to the protocol were “valid”. As an output m asking technique, CDS protocol can be used as a subroutine in other protocols to guarantee either Bob-pri vacy or correctness against a malicious Alice. Using a simple seeded randomness extractor, we extend the Aiello-I shai Reingold CDS protocol to work over additively homomorphic public-key cryptosystems. Based on this, we co nstruct several new two-message protocols like an oblivious transfer protocol with log-squared communicati on and a millionaire’s protocol with logarithmic communication. Additionally, we show how to implement private , universally verifiable and robust multi-candidate electronic voting so that all voters only transmit an encryp tion of their vote. Importantly, the only cryptographic hardness assumption in these protocols is that the underlyi ng public-key cryptosystem is IND-CPA secure.
The incidence of adverse events in Swedish hospitals: a retrospective medical record review study

Objectives To estimate the incidence, nature and consequences of adverse events and preventable adverse events in Swedish hospitals. Design A three-stage structured retrospective medical record review based on the use of 18 screening criteria. Setting Twenty-eight Swedish hospitals. Population A representative sample (n = 1967) of the 1.2 million Swedish hospital admissions between October 2003 and September 2004. Main Outcome Measures Proportion of admissions with adverse events, the proportion of preventable adverse events and the types and consequences of adverse events. Results In total, 12.3% (n = 241) of the 1967 admissions had adverse events (95% CI, 10.8–13.7), of which 70% (n = 169) were preventable. Fifty-five percent of the preventable events led to impairment or disability, which was resolved during the admission or within 1 month from discharge, another 33% were resolved within 1 year, 9% of the preventable events led to permanent disability and 3% of the adverse events contributed to patient death. Preventable adverse events led to a mean increased length of stay of 6 days. Ten of the 18 screening criteria were sufficient to detect 90% of the preventable adverse events. When extrapolated to the 1.2 million annual admissions, the results correspond to 105 000 preventable adverse events (95% CI, 90 000–120 000) and 630 000 days of hospitalization (95% CI, 430 000–830 000). Conclusions This study confirms that preventable adverse events were common, and that they caused extensive human suffering and consumed a significant amount of the available hospital resources.
Central Auditory Processing of Temporal and Spectral-Variance Cues in Cochlear Implant Listeners

Cochlear implant (CI) listeners have difficulty understanding speech in complex listening environments. This deficit is thought to be largely due to peripheral encoding problems arising from current spread, which results in wide peripheral filters. In normal hearing (NH) listeners, central processing contributes to segregation of speech from competing sounds. We tested the hypothesis that basic central processing abilities are retained in post-lingually deaf CI listeners, but processing is hampered by degraded input from the periphery. In eight CI listeners, we measured auditory nerve compound action potentials to characterize peripheral filters. Then, we measured psychophysical detection thresholds in the presence of multi-electrode maskers placed either inside (peripheral masking) or outside (central masking) the peripheral filter. This was intended to distinguish peripheral from central contributions to signal detection. Introduction of temporal asynchrony between the signal and masker improved signal detection in both peripheral and central masking conditions for all CI listeners. Randomly varying components of the masker created spectral-variance cues, which seemed to benefit only two out of eight CI listeners. Contrastingly, the spectral-variance cues improved signal detection in all five NH listeners who listened to our CI simulation. Together these results indicate that widened peripheral filters significantly hamper central processing of spectral-variance cues but not of temporal cues in post-lingually deaf CI listeners. As indicated by two CI listeners in our study, however, post-lingually deaf CI listeners may retain some central processing abilities similar to NH listeners.
Cooperation Support in the SPADE Environment: a Case Study

This paper describes the cooperation support facilities of SPADE, a process-centered development environment, i.e., an environment where software production activities are guided by the process speci cation. In SPADE, such speci cations are written in SLANG, a process modeling language based on high-level Petri nets. SLANG process descriptions can be executed by means of an interpreter that is interfaced with an integrated tool environment | namely DEC FUSE. The paper illustrates the features of SLANG that can be used in supporting coordination and communication by means of an example. Via Emanueli 15, 20126 Milano, Italy. Tel. +39-2-66100083, Fax. +39-2-66100448 e-mail: bandinelli@mailer.cefriel. it, lavazza@mailer.cefriel. it P.za XX Settembre 1, 21100 Varese, Italy. Tel. +39-332-298448 e-mail: braga@pavone.enet. dec.com Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20124 Milano, Italy. Tel. +39-2-23993523, Fax. +39-223993587 e-mail: fuggetta@ipmel2.elet. polimi.it Proceedings of Workshop on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Petri Nets and Related Formalisms, Chicago (USA), June 1993. Also as Cefriel technical report RT93028.
The Research of Optimizing Page Ranking Based on User's Feature

In order to get a better user experience, to create user features based on user behavior, optimize and improve feature selection process, so as to achieve a selection process with the combination of user preferences, the search results will be better reflect the user's preferences. This paper proposes an algorithm of establish the feature of the document and the user feature at the same time, these features will be add into the sorting process, as to achieve better user experience.
Psychological influences in e‐mail fraud

Purpose – Internet fraud is an epidemic that costs US$7.1 billion as of 2007. The advent of the internet and proliferation of its use makes it an attractive medium for communicating the fraud, particularly through the use of e‐mail. This paper aims to explain how victims of online fraud can be influenced by judgmental heuristics and cognition when they make nonnormative or sub‐optimal decisions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper will analyse the content of 14 recent fraud e‐mails to explain how victims of online fraud can be influenced from a psychological perspective, using theories of bounded rationality, judgmental heuristics and cognition.Findings – The paper suggests that e‐mail fraudsters, whether intentionally or not, employ specific methods that correspond closely to how the human mind works within a context of bounded rationality. These methods have a propensity to exploit psychological blind spots in victims caused by selective perception and post‐decisional dissonance, as well as sub‐optim.
RANTES and fibroblast growth factor 2 in jawbone cavitations: triggers for systemic disease?

Background Jawbone cavitations (JC) are hollow dead spaces in jawbones with dying or dead bone marrow. These areas are defined as fatty degenerative osteonecrosis of the jawbone or neuralgia-inducing cavitational osteonecrosis and may produce facial pain. These afflictions have been linked to the immune system and chronic illnesses. Surgical debridement of JC is reported to lead to an improvement in immunological complaints, such as rheumatic, allergic, and other inflammatory diseases (ID). Little is known about the underlying cause/effect relationship. Objectives JC bone samples were analyzed to assess the expression and quantification of immune modulators that can play a role in the pathogenesis of IDs. The study supports a potential mechanism where JC is a mediating link in IDs. Materials and methods Samples of fatty softened bone taken from JCs were extracted from 31 patients. The specimens were analyzed by bead-based multiplex technology and tested for seven immune messengers. Results Regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed, and secreted (RANTES) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 were found at high levels in the JCs tested. Other cytokines could not be detected at excessive levels. Discussion The study confirms that JC is able to produce inflammatory messengers, primarily RANTES, and, secondarily, FGF-2. Both are implicated in many serious illnesses. The excessive levels of RANTES/FGF-2 in JC patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and breast cancer are compared to levels published in medical journals. Levels detected in JCs are higher than in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis patients and four-fold higher than in breast cancer tissue. Conclusion This study suggests that JC might serve as a fundamental cause of IDs, through RANTES/FGF-2 production. Thus, JC and implicated immune messengers represent an integrative aspect of IDs and serve as a possible cause. Removing JCs may be a key to reversing IDs. There is a need to raise awareness about JC throughout medicine and dentistry.
Clinical utilisation of a rapid low-pass whole genome sequencing technique for the diagnosis of aneuploidy in human embryos prior to implantation

Background The majority of human embryos created using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) techniques are aneuploid. Comprehensive chromosome screening methods, applicable to single cells biopsied from preimplantation embryos, allow reliable identification and transfer of euploid embryos. Recently, randomised trials using such methods have indicated that aneuploidy screening improves IVF success rates. However, the high cost of testing has restricted the availability of this potentially beneficial strategy. This study aimed to harness next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, with the intention of lowering the costs of preimplantation aneuploidy screening. Methods Embryo biopsy, whole genome amplification and semiconductor sequencing. Results A rapid (<15 h) NGS protocol was developed, with consumable cost only two-thirds that of the most widely used method for embryo aneuploidy detection. Validation involved blinded analysis of 54 cells from cell lines or biopsies from human embryos. Sensitivity and specificity were 100%. The method was applied clinically, assisting in the selection of euploid embryos in two IVF cycles, producing healthy children in both cases. The NGS approach was also able to reveal specified mutations in the nuclear or mitochondrial genomes in parallel with chromosome assessment. Interestingly, elevated mitochondrial DNA content was associated with aneuploidy (p<0.05), a finding suggestive of a link between mitochondria and chromosomal malsegregation. Conclusions This study demonstrates that NGS provides highly accurate, low-cost diagnosis of aneuploidy in cells from human preimplantation embryos and is rapid enough to allow testing without embryo cryopreservation. The method described also has the potential to shed light on other aspects of embryo genetics of relevance to health and viability.
How Do Individual Personality Traits (D) Influence Perceived Satisfaction with Service for College Students (C) in a Casual Restaurant Setting (I)?: The CID Framework

Empirical research in hospitality marketing must be carefully conducted and calibrated so as to ensure reproducibility of results when the same set of experiments are repeated at a later point in time. Even when careful controls are put in place, the effects being demonstrated in psychological and pharmaceutical research have been known to diminish considerably over multiple replications, a phenomenon known as the decline effect. In order to improve the specification of parameters in hospitality marketing research, we propose a framework called CID, which essentially states that a study can be anchored in the context of a specific customer segment (C), industry vertical (I), and determinants of consumer behavior (D) in the context being studied. To illustrate the CID concept, our study addresses the influence of college students' (C) personality traits (D) on their perception of satisfaction, as well as their evaluation of various relational benefits offered in casual dining restaurants (I). A quantitative survey was conducted to measure college students' personality traits and level of satisfaction with restaurants and structural equation modeling was used to validate hypotheses relating various personality traits to satisfaction. The results indicate that two kinds of relational benefits, confidence in the abilities of the service provider and social benefits offered during the service experience, enhance customer satisfaction for college students, but surprisingly, special treatment benefits extended during service could negatively impact satisfaction.
The dimensions of topiccomment

A method for selecting objects displayed on a screen of a pen-based computer system characterized by the steps of: (a) determining that a selection gesture has been made on the screen of the pen-based computer by a stylus; (b) detecting a path made by the stylus across at least a portion of an object depicted on the screen; (c) displaying a line image on the screen along the path; (d) determining a selection of at least a portion of the object as indicated by the path; and (e) displaying selection indicia on the screen representing the selection. The step of displaying the selection indicia can occur concurrently with or after the complete path is made by the stylus on the object. Preferably, the line image is removed after the step of displaying the selection indicia.
No . 120 Support Vector Channel Selection in BCI

Designing a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system one can choose from a variety of features that may be useful for classifying brain activity during a mental task. For the special case of classifying EEG signals we propose the usage of the state of the art feature selection algorithms Recursive Feature Elimination [1] and Zero-Norm Optimization [2] which are based on the training of Support Vector Machines (SVM) [3]. These algorithms can provide more accurate solutions than standard filter methods for feature selection [4]. We adapt the methods for the purpose of selecting EEG channels. For a motor imagery paradigm we show that the number of used channels can be reduced significantly without increasing the classification error. The resulting best channels agree well with the expected underlying cortical activity patterns during the mental tasks. Furthermore we show how time dependent task specific information can be visualized.
HOW ELEPHANTS LEARN NEW TRICKS: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAPABILITY SOURCING IN THE EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY.

The orienting model emphasizes two factors that influence firms' choices of internal and external sources of capabilities. First, firms with relevant capabilities, defined as capability closeness and strength, will tend to source internally, while firms that lack relevant capabilities will source externally. Second, an increasing degree of market failure will lead to the choice of increasingly complex external sourcing modes, beginning with market exchange and continuing through alliances and acquisitions. Our initial orienting model developed arguments that did have strong intuitive and theoretical appeal; yet, to the best of our knowledge, we were not aware of empirical studies that examined these arguments across our modes of sourcing.