Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of an Actin Cytoskeletal Complex That Includes IQGAP and the Cdc42 GTPase*

The Rho subfamily of low molecular weight GTPases have been implicated in a variety of cellular functions that include reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and stress-induced activation of the c-Jun kinase. The downstream targets that mediate the effects of Cdc42 on the actin cytoskeleton have yet to be fully identified. We have used the transient transfection of COS-7 cells with epitope-tagged Cdc42 to identify candidate signaling partners for this GTPase and identified the IQGAP protein as a major in vivo target for activated Cdc42. Epidermal growth factor stimulation of serum-starved COS-7 cells promoted the formation of a Cdc42-IQGAP complex, indicating that growth factors can increase the pool of activated Cdc42. Activated HA-Cdc42 co-localized with IQGAP or F-actin in vivo, whereas cells transfected with dominant-negative forms of Cdc42 (Cdc42T17N) showed predominantly dispersed distributions for both HA-Cdc42 and endogenous IQGAP. In detergent lysates from COS-7 cells transiently transfected with different forms of Cdc42, or from stably transfected CHO cells, the induction of actin polymerization by phalloidin resulted in the incorporation of both IQGAP and Cdc42 into actin-containing complexes. Taken together, these findings are consistent with a model whereby IQGAP serves as a target for GTP-bound Cdc42 providing a direct link between the activated GTPase and the actin cytoskeleton.
Quantitative phase imaging of red blood cell by diffraction phase microscopy

Diffraction phase microscopy maintains the single shot measurement and low speckle noise associated with white light. A microscope with halogen lamp and a Mach-Zehnder interferometer were combined to obtain images of red blood cell with fringe pattern. From these images, the phase values were retrieved by using continuous wavelet transform (CWT) phase method. In the analysis of CWT, Paul wavelet is chosen as a mother wavelet. Experimental results of the CWT phase method with Paul wavelet are discussed at the end of the study.
ESTIMATION OF THE STEREOSCOPIC THRESHOLD UTILIZING PERCEIVED DEPTH

Abstract Recent reports in the literature indicate that a random‐dot style of stereoscopic test is the most accurate method of assessing stereoscopic threshold [Cooper, J., Feldman, J. and Medlin, D. (1979) J. Am. optom. Ass.50, 821–825]. While this is undoubtedly true for those who can respond to the test, it is less so for very young, infirm or other patients who do not or cannot have the requisite attention span. This experiment finds that the amount of perceived depth seen on a test like the Titmus fly correlates very accurately with the measured stereoscopic threshold and can therefore be used as a measure of the threshold without having to employ the entire testing procedure of the random dot tests. The regression equation derived from the data is presented, as well as a table that allows a practitioner to estimate the stereoscopic threshold from the amount of perceived depth on a common stereo test: the Titmus fly.
Industrial Research Versus Development Investment: The Implications of Financial Constraints

Previous literature provided evidence on financing constraints for investment in research and development (R&D) activities due to capital market imperfections and special features of R&D investments. Moreover, it has been shown that a shift in capital structure towards more debt results in a reduction of R&D investments. This article complements this literature by compartmentalising R&D activities into its components, 'R' and 'D'. In particular, we distinguish research from development as these activities not only differ in their nature but also, to a large extent, take place sequentially. Our results show that 'R' investment is more sensitive to a firms' operating liquidity than 'D' indicating that firms have to rely even more on internal funds for financing their research compared with development activities. Moreover, we find that (basic) research subsidy recipients' investment is less sensitive to internal liquidity. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved. , Oxford University Press.
An Optimal Scheme for Disseminating Information

We describe an information disseminating scheme on a processor network in a general form. An automorphism with respect to the information disseminating process on the network is introduced. Conditions for the existence of such an automorphism and the effect of the start round to the fault tolerance of the scheme are studied. あらまし プロセッサネットワーク上の情報散布方式を–般的に記述する。 ネットワーク上の情報散布過程 に対応した自己同型写豫を紹介する。 自己同型写像が存在する条件とスキームの耐故障性へのス タートラウンドの影響について議論する。
Dicyclohexyl{3-hydroxy-N′-[1-(2-oxidophenyl-κO)ethylidene]-2-naphthohydrazidato-κ2 N′,O}tin(IV)

In the title compound, [Sn(C6H11)2(C19H14N2O3)], the SnIV atom is O,N,O′ chelated by the deprotonated Schiff base ligand and exists in a cis-trigonal-bipyramidal environment, completed by the two cyclohexyl ligands.
Ability of Bacillus subtilis protoplasts to repair irradiated bacteriophage deoxyribonucleic acid via acquired and natural enzymatic systems

A novel form of "enzyme therapy" was achieved by utilizing protoplasts of Bacillus subtilis. Photoreactivating enzyme of Escherichia coli was successfully inserted into the protoplasts of B. subtilis treated with polyethylene glycol. This enzyme was used to photoreactivate ultraviolet-damaged bacteriophage deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Furthermore, in polyethylene glycol-treated protoplasts, ultraviolet-irradiated transfecting bacteriophage DNA was shown to be a functional substrate for the host DNA excision repair system. Previous results (R. E. Yasbin, J. D. Fernwalt, and P. I. Fields, J. Bacteriol. 137:391-396, 1979) showed that ultraviolet-irradiated bacteriophage DNA could not be repaired via the excision repair system of competent cells. Therefore, the processing of bacteriophage DNA by protoplasts and by competent cells must be different. This sensitive protoplast assay can be used to identify and to isolate various types of DNA repair enzymes.
PET Demonstrator for a Human Brain Scanner Based on Monolithic Detector Blocks

We have implemented and evaluated a positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrator using two monolithic detector blocks operating in coincidence with dedicated application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) readout. Each detector is composed of a monolithic lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO) scintillator coupled to a pair of Hamamatsu S8550-02 APD arrays. The front-end electronics of this demonstrator is based on the VATA240 ASIC readout, which sums the charge provided by each row and column of the APD array. The ASIC has been characterized obtaining a noise per row or column less than 2000 electrons rms with the APD at its inputs and a good linear response in the range from 5 fC to 30 fC. We have acquired energy spectra of 22Na and 137Cs radioactive sources, achieving energy resolutions between 13.2% and 14.1% full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 511 keV. We have estimated the interaction position over the surface of the monolithic blocks using Neural Networks (NN) position determining algorithms, obtaining spatial resolutions at the detector level down to 2.1 mm FWHM. By using this detector technology and electronics we have achieved images of point sources with spatial resolutions as good as 2.1 mm FWHM for filtered back projection (FBP) reconstructions methods with single slice rebinning (SSRB). Based on the results obtained with this demonstrator, we are developing a PET insert for existing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment, to be installed in a collaborating hospital and used for clinical PET-MRI of the human brain.
Design of probe-fed circularly-polarized rectangular-patch thick microstrip antenna revisited

Circularly polarized (CP) microstrip antennas are largely employed in GPS receivers. Consequently, the international antenna community has devoted much effort to the theoretical and experimental research on this kind of radiator [1], overcoming many of its inherent limitations [2]. However, in spite of these efforts, the technique used to compensate for the probe inductance, when a coaxial probe is used to feed an electrically thick (a known practical way to increase bandwidth [1]-[3]) microstrip antenna, still relies on the expertise of the designer [4]-[5]. To overcome this limitation, an efficient technique for designing probe-fed CP rectangular-patch electrically thick microstrip antenna without any external network is proposed.
Efficient generation of functional hepatocyte‐like cells from human fetal hepatic progenitor cells in vitro

Differentiation of human hepatic progenitor cells to functional hepatocytes holds great potential to develop new therapeutic strategies for liver disease and to provide a platform for drug toxicity screens and identification of novel pharmaceuticals. We report here that human fetal hepatic progenitor cells (hFHPCs) efficiently differentiate to hepatocyte‐like cells by continuous exposure to a combination of soluble factors for 7 days in vitro. We compared the effect of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), oncostatin M (OSM), dexamethasone (DEX), or a combination on the expression of a liver‐specific marker, albumin (ALB). Real‐time RT‐PCR analysis showed that, upon exposure to a combination of OSM, DEX, and HGF, the expression of ALB gradually increased in a time‐dependent manner. In contrast, the level of the hepatic progenitor cell marker alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) decreased as differentiation progressed. Moreover, cells exposed to the combination of OSM, DEX, and HGF gradually featured highly differentiated hepatic functions, including ALB secretion, glycogen storage, urea production, and cytochrome P450 (CYP) activity. The effect of these factors on the differentiation of hFHPCs may be blocked by U0126, an inhibitor of the ERK1/2 signaling pathway. In conclusion, we demonstrate that a combination of soluble factors facilitates the efficient generation of highly differentiated hepatocyte‐like cells from hFHPCs and ERK1/2 signaling pathway involved in this process. Results suggest that this system will be useful for generating functional hepatocytes and, hence, may serve as a cell source suitable for preclinical pharmacological research and testing. J. Cell. Physiol. 227: 2051–2058, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Representing American Southern prosody in the media: Prosodic style-shifting in two Southern television characters

A case study of two fictional characters in two television series investigates American Southern prosody and introduces prosodic analysis into studies of language and media. Using media to investigate prosody is new to both the fields of prosody and media studies. Media representations are built off of assumed shared knowledge between the producer and the viewer (Bubel & Spitz 2006). Thus, the question becomes what linguistic features are indexical enough to be used to that end. Are prosodic features used by individuals to mark regional identity? If they do use prosody to index region, what features are used? To investigate these questions, this study examines style-shifting in pitch accent and boundary tone type and frequency as well as pitch accent and boundary tone per word measures. The characters both show evidence of prosodic style-shifting, indicating that prosody is playing into their characterizations rather than remaining static throughout the performance. The characters vary their prosody in different ways, one with an emphasis on pitch accents and the other on boundary tones, indicating speaker specific prosodic strategies. Results indicate that Southern prosodic features may be utilized in media representations of dialect.
Fetal fibronectin and microorganisms in vaginal fluid of women with complicated pregnancies

Objectives. To determine vaginal fetal fibronectin in women with pregnancies complicated by preterm labor (PTL), preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM) or bleeding; to investigate possible relationships to the vaginal microflora; and to assess the ability to predict preterm delivery from these measures.
The absorption spectroscopy of the lowest pseudorotational states of tetrahydrofuran

The rotational structure of the pseudorotational (PR) band n=0→n=2 has been observed in jet-cooled tetrahydrofuran in the 170–360 GHz frequency range. The observed transitions were analyzed together with the previously obtained microwave data of Meyer and co-workers [R. Meyer, J. C. Lopes, J. L. Alonso, S. Melandri, P. G. Favero, and W. Caminati, J. Chem. Phys. 111, 7871 (1999)]. The experimentally observed transitions provide direct spectroscopic evidence of the symmetry ordering of the lowest four observed PR states. Based on the symmetry properties of the pseudorotational states involved in this study, an analytical model of the potential energy surface (PES) along the pseudorotational path has been proposed that provides a consistent explanation of all the observed transition frequencies, including those from the early IR work. In addition, an analysis of the variation of the rotational constants of the molecule in different PR states has been performed using the proposed model. This analytical PES an.
DNA fingerprinting of bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) using (GT)n microsatellites and its potential for assessment of mating success

Variable microsatellite DNA markers are powerful tools to study parentage and gene flow in fish populations. In this work, we cloned and characterized 60 (GT) repeat microsatellite sequences from the bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) genome. We report the frequency distribution, the lengths, and the proportions of the repeat classes for comparison with microsatellites isolated from other teleost, mammal, and invertebrate genomes. Bluegill microsatellites are similar to those of other fish, strengthening previous reports of significant differences in the organization of microsatellites between teleosts and mammals. Primers for polymerase chain reaction amplification were designed for 17 bluegill microsatellite loci. The allele frequencies, the degree of polymorphism, and heterozygosities were estimated using bluegill from Lake Opinicon, Ontario. Seven loci are potentially highly informative for fingerprinting studies of parentage. A preliminary paternity analysis using two of these loci on brood from a natural nest revealed their potential utility at estimating relative success of the two reproductive life histories, parental and cuckolder, characteristic of male bluegill. Cross-amplification using these microsatellite markers on related fish species showed some degree of locus conservation among taxa, potentially allowing DNA fingerprinting of a variety of centrarchids.
Plasma Modeling With Mixed Wave and Diffusion Field Behavior

Fluid dynamic plasma modeling has recently been extended to include the effects of weak coupling, where electromagnetic fields possess a wavelike nature, and charge separation effects, where quasi-neutrality may be violated. In this paper, we present a particular investigation of the MHD rotor problem to illustrate the successful capturing of both weakly coupled and strongly coupled (MHD) limits using the same numerical scheme.
Handbook of Consumer Behavior

Exploring the field of consumer behaviour research, this book provides a current account of known trends and points the way to future research. Focusing on theoretical approaches underlying consumer behaviour, the editors include the application of behavioural concepts to the study of consumer information processing, decision making, attitude change, affect, and the effects of mass communications upon consumers. Over 30 well-known experts to the field contribute their latest psychological and sociological research findings.
Improved Reliability Analysis Tool (ReAl) for lifetime analysis of CMOS circuits

The reliability issues like Negative Bias Temperature Instability and Hot Carrier Injection are major concerns in nanoscale design of MOSFET applications. This necessitates that model with higher accuracy for prediction of these degradations and to calculate the lifetime of the CMOS application circuits. Earlier models available in literature are reported to be accurate but the huge time is consumed in evaluating these effects. Hence, we were motivated to propose extended & new models, which evaluate much faster than the available models. We propose a methodology, which uses these models and simulates the circuit degradation due to the effect of NBTI and HCI in CMOS circuit design, and subsequently predicts the lifetime of the circuit. This tool, which we call as Reliability Analysis Tool (ReAl) uses computational support of MATLAB, whereas utilizing accuracy of SPICE simulation for model building, and integrates both in order to provide the lifetime of the CMOS circuit under consideration.
Compressed sensing-based smoke simulation

As we known, high-dimension smoke simulation is time consuming because of large amount of data sampling and computing. We present a method that introduces compressed sensing to smoke simulation. This method could significantly reduce the sampling data and the simulation time, while giving a convincing effect. We use the wavelet basis as compressing basis, and OMP as the reconstruction method, and reconstruct high-dimension smoke from low-dimension data frame by frame. Our method is fast and easy to implement, and the data sampling could not obey the Nyquist sampling theorem which could reduce the amount of data.
Computer Generated Hologram CGH

This document is an introduction to the design and fabrication of computer generated hologram (CGH) as I understood them back in 1997. At that time, I was visiting Professor Toyohiko Yatagai 1 in Japan. I also included in this document a short description of the application ‘DoCGH’ that I wrote to generate simple hologram. This work was supported by a grant of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). This document is available on line ‘as is’. No responsibilities can be taken. The reader must assume the entire risk, if any, of using the information provided.
The Cultural Revolution in the Countryside: Scope, Timing and Human Impact

Information extracted from 1,520 county annals published after 1987 is used to estimate the timing and impact of the Cultural Revolution in rural China. Outside observers initially concluded that the movement had little impact on remote rural regions, while early post-Mao revelations suggested that the opposite was the case. Adjusting for the tendency of shorter accounts to report fewer casualties, and with additional assumptions about under-reporting in the longer and more detailed accounts, the authors derive an estimated death toll of between 750,000 and 1.5 million, a similar number of people permanently injured, and 36 million who suffered some form of political persecution. The vast majority of these casualties occurred from 1968 to 1971, after the end of the period of popular rebellion and factional conflict and the establishment of provisional organs of local state power.
The Stigma of Obesity

Obesity is widely recognized as a health risk, but it also represents a disadvantaged social position. Viewing body weight within the framework of stigma and its effects on life chances, we examine how perceived weight-based discrimination influences identity and physical health. Using national survey data with a 10-year longitudinal follow-up, we consider whether perceptions of weight discrimination shape weight perceptions, whether perceived weight discrimination exacerbates the health risks of obesity, and whether weight perceptions are the mechanism explaining why perceived weight discrimination is damaging to health. Perceived weight discrimination is found to be harmful, increasing the health risks of obesity associated with functional disability and, to a lesser degree, self-rated health. Findings also reveal that weight-based stigma shapes weight perceptions, which mediate the relationship between perceived discrimination and health.
Two-dimensional intraventricular flow pattern visualization using the image-based computational fluid dynamics

Abstract The image-based computational fluid dynamics (IB-CFD) technique, as the combination of medical images and the CFD method, is utilized in this research to analyze the left ventricle (LV) hemodynamics. The research primarily aims to propose a semi-automated technique utilizing some freely available and commercial software packages in order to simulate the LV hemodynamics using the IB-CFD technique. In this research, moreover, two different physiological time-resolved 2D models of a patient-specific LV with two different types of aortic and mitral valves, including the orifice-type valves and integrated with rigid leaflets, are adopted to visualize the process of developing intraventricular vortex formation and propagation. The blood flow pattern over the whole cardiac cycle of two models is also compared to investigate the effect of utilizing different valve types in the process of the intraventricular vortex formation. Numerical findings indicate that the model with integrated valves can predict more complex intraventricular flow that can match better the physiological flow pattern in comparison to the orifice-type model.
Trends in indices of daily precipitation extremes in Catalonia (NE Spain), 1951-2003

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to quantitatively characterize the climatology of daily precipitation indices in Catalonia (northeastern Iberian Peninsula) from 1951 to 2003. This work has been performed analyzing a subset of the ETCCDI (Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices) precipitation indices calculated from a new interpolated dataset of daily precipitation, namely SPAIN02, regular at 0.2° horizontal resolution (around 20 km) and from two high-quality stations: the Ebro and Fabra observatories. Using a jack-knife technique, we have found that the sampling error of the SPAIN02 regional averaged is relatively low. The trend analysis has been implemented using a Circular Block Bootstrap procedure applicable to non-normal distributions and autocorrelated series. A running trend analysis has been applied to analyze the trend persistence. No general trends at a regional scale are observed, considering the annual or the seasonal regional averaged series of all the indices for all the time windows considered. Only the consecutive dry days index (CDD) at annual scale shows a locally coherent spatial trend pattern; around 30% of the Catalonia area has experienced an increase of around 2–3 days decade−1. The Ebro and Fabra observatories show a similar CDD trend, mainly due to the summer contribution. Besides this, a significant decrease in total precipitation (around −10 mm decade−1) and in the index "highest precipitation amount in five-day period" (RX5DAY, around −5 mm decade−1), have been found in summer for the Ebro observatory.
Trust metrics, models and protocols for electronic commerce transactions

The paper introduces the notion of quantifiable trust for electronic commerce. It describes metrics and models for the measurement of trust variables and fuzzy verification of transactions. Trust metrics help preserve system availability by determining risk on transactions. Furthermore, when several entities are involved in electronic transactions, previously know techniques are applied for trust propagation. Malicious transacting entities may try to illegitimately gain access to private trust information. Suitable protocols are developed to minimize breach of privacy and incorporate a non repudiable context using cryptographic techniques.