Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
p38 MAP kinase plays a functional role in UVB‐Induced mouse skin carcinogenesis

UVB irradiation of epidermal keratinocytes results in the activation of the p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and subsequently activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) transcription factor activation and cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) expression. AP‐1 and COX‐2 have been shown to play functional roles in UVB‐induced mouse skin carcinogenesis. In this study, the experimental approach was to express a dominant negative p38α MAPK (p38DN) in the epidermis of SKH‐1 hairless mice and assess UVB‐induced AP‐1 activation, COX‐2 expression, and the skin carcinogenesis response in these mice compared to wild‐type littermates. We observed a significant inhibition of UVB‐induced AP‐1 activation and COX‐2 expression in p38DN transgenic mice, leading to a significant reduction of UVB‐induced tumor number and growth compared to wild‐type littermates in a chronic UVB skin carcinogenesis model. A potential mechanism for this reduction in tumor number and growth rate is an inhibition of chronic epidermal proliferation, observed as reduced Ki‐67 staining in p38DN mice compared to wild‐type. Although we detected no difference in chronic apoptotic rates between transgenic and nontransgenic mice, analysis of acutely irradiated mice demonstrated that expression of the p38DN transgene significantly inhibited UVB‐induced apoptosis of keratinocytes. These results counter the concerns that inhibition of p38 MAPK in a chronic situation could compromise the ability of the skin to eliminate potentially tumorigenic cells. Our data indicate that p38 MAPK is a good target for pharmacological intervention for UV‐induced skin cancer in patients with sun damaged skin, and suggest that inhibition of p38 signaling reduces skin carcinogenesis by inhibiting COX‐2 expression and proliferation of UVB‐irradiated cells. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Improving the Efficiency of Multipath Transport Protocols

Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto. fi Author Ming Li Name of the doctoral dissertation Improving the Efficiency of Multipath Transport Protocols Publisher School of Science Unit Department of Computer Science and Engineering Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 168/2014 Field of research Networking Manuscript submitted 8 August 2014 Date of the defence 21 November 2014 Permission to publish granted (date) 24 October 2014 Language English Monograph Article dissertation (summary + original articles)
Application and development of high-density functional near infrared spectroscopy for traumatic brain injury

Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-ionising, non-invasive, portable and relatively inexpensive method of measuring cerebral oxygen saturation. One potential application of fNIRS is as a monitoring modality for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in order to guide therapy in both the emergency and clinical settings. However, despite its potential, uncertainty in signal origins (superficial contamination) has meant that current literature describes fNIRS as a 'work in progress' and as not currently suitable as a standalone technique to replace x-ray computerised tomography or invasive intracranial pressure monitors for TBI care. In order to address such limitations, the work within this thesis examined the viability of existing fNIRS devices, explored the utility of atlas-based reconstruction algorithms, and a prototype, high-density near infrared spectroscopy probe to improve the quantitative assessment of cerebral haemodynamics (including oxygen saturation) for use in TBI care. The presented data demonstrates that a high-density probe and Atlas-based reconstruction method is capable of more accurately mapping cerebral oxygen saturation than conventional fNIRS.
Effects of Concerns About Pathogens on Conservatism and Anti-Fat Prejudice: Are They Mediated by Moral Intuitions?

ABSTRACT Threat perceptions are associated with politically conservative attitudes. Research has also found that specific forms of threat perception (e.g., concerns about pathogens) are associated with functional reactions (e.g., anti-fat prejudice). Recently, moral intuitions have been implicated in explaining political orientation: Liberals tend to place greater weight on “individualizing foundations” (justice and care concerns) in particular, whereas conservatives tend to place high weight on “binding foundations” (loyalty, respect, and purity concerns) as well. A recent study attempted to integrate the above strands of research by showing that the effect of threat perceptions on conservatism is mediated by a tendency to place relatively greater weight on the binding foundations. The present study was intended to replicate and extend past research by testing (a) whether concerns about pathogens predict conservatism and anti-fat prejudice and (b) whether those effects are mediated by a tendency to place relatively greater weight on the binding foundations.
Supplementary Material for Multilevel Clustering via Wasserstein Means

i,j ∈ Rk×k ′ + is the cost matrix, i.e. matrix of pairwise distances of elements betweenG andG′, and 〈A,B〉 = tr(AB) is the Frobenius dot-product of matrices. The optimal T ∈ Π(G,G′) in optimization problem (1) is called the optimal coupling ofG andG′, representing the optimal transport between these two measures. When k = k′, the complexity of best algorithms for finding the optimal transport is O(k log k). Currently, (Cuturi, 2013) proposed a regularized version of (1) based on Sinkhorn distance where the complexity of finding an approximation of the optimal transport is O(k). Due to its favorably fast
Adolescent behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement in school: relationship to dropout.

BACKGROUND High school dropout represents an important public health issue. This study assessed the 3 distinct dimensions of student engagement in high school and examined the relationships between the nature and course of such experiences and later dropout. METHODS We administered questionnaires to 13,330 students (44.7% boys) from 69 high schools in the province of Quebec (Canada). During 3 consecutive high school years, students reported their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement to school. Information on later dropout status was obtained through official records. RESULTS Although many adolescents remained highly engaged in high school, one third reported changes, especially decreases in rule compliance, interest in school, and willingness to learn. Students reporting low engagement or important decrements in behavioral investment from the beginning of high school presented higher risks of later dropout. CONCLUSION School-based interventions should address the multiple facets of high school experiences to help adolescents successfully complete their basic schooling. Creating a positive social-emotional learning environment promises better adolescent achievement and, in turn, will contribute to a healthier lifestyle.
The value of information in stochastic control and finance

We present an optimal portfolio problem with logarithmic utility in the following three cases: (i) The classical case, with complete information from the market available to the agent at all times. Mathematically this means that the portfolio process is adapted to the filtration of the underlying Brownian motion (or, more generally, the underlying Levy process). (ii) The partial observation case, in which the trader has to base her portfolio choices on less information than . Mathematically this means that the portfolio process must be adapted to a filtration for all t. For example, this is the case if the trader can only observe the asset prices and not the underlying Levy process. (iii) The insider case, in which the trader has some inside information about the future of the market. This information could for example be the price of one of the assets at some future time. Mathematically this means that the portfolio process is allowed to be adapted to a filtration for all t. In this case the associated stochastic integrals become anticipating, and it is necessary to explain what mathematical model it is appropriate to use and to clarify the corresponding anticipating stochastic calculus. We solve the problem in all these three cases and we compute the corresponding maximal expected logarithmic utility of the terminal wealth. Let us call these quantities , respectively. Then represents the loss of value due the loss of information in (ii), and is the value gained due to the inside information in (iii).
Efficient Data Relaying Mechanism for Overlay Multicast Streaming Services

Overlay multicast delivery mechanism is a new approach in which multicast functionality is implemented over the application layer. However, existing overlay multicast protocols are not standardized and many restrictions occur when delivering high quality contents. In this paper, we propose efficient data relaying mechanism to support overlay multicast streaming services. The proposed algorithm utilizes windows sockets applications with nonblocking mode. In order to evaluate the performance, we send the multimedia streaming as changing data rate over the test bed.
Widening residual skipped network for semantic segmentation

Over the past two years deep convolutional neural networks have pushed the performance of computer vision systems to soaring heights on semantic segmentation. In this study, the authors present a novel semantic segmentation method of using a deep fully convolutional neural network to achieve image segmentation results with more precise boundary localisation. The above segmentation engine is trainable, and consists of an encoder network with widening residual skipped connections and a decoder network with a pixel-wise classification layer. Here the encoder network with widening residual skipped connections allows the combination of shallow layer features and deep layer semantic features, and the decoder network with classification layer maps the low-resolution encoder features to full resolution image with pixel-wise classification. The experimental results on PASCAL VOC 2012 semantic segmentation dataset and Cityscapes dataset show that the proposed method is effective and competitive.
MINIMAX ESTIMATION OF A FUNCTIONAL ON A STRUCTURED

We introduce a new method of estimation of parameters in semiparametric and nonparametric models. The method employs U -statistics that are based on higher-order influence functions of the parameter of interest, which extend ordinary linear influence functions, and represent higher derivatives of this parameter. For parameters for which the representation cannot be perfect the method often leads to a bias-variance trade-off, and results in estimators that converge at a slower than √ n-rate. In a number of examples, the resulting rate can be shown to be optimal. We are particularly interested in estimating parameters in models with a nuisance parameter of high dimension or low regularity, where the parameter of interest cannot be estimated at √ n-rate, but we also consider efficient √ n-estimation using novel nonlinear estimators. The general approach is applied in detail to the example of estimating a mean response when the response is not always observed.
Computer users verification using the perceptron algorithm

The perceptron algorithm was used to verify the identity of computer users. By performing the real-time measurement of the time durations between the keystrokes entered in the user's password, data was collected over a period of eight weeks from 10 valid users and 14 invalid users. The password used was the user's name. Decision functions were derived using part of the data (training data) to compute the weight vectors. The decision functions were then applied to the remaining data (testing data) to verify the users. An error of 9% in rejecting valid users, and an error of 8% in accepting invalid users were achieved. >
A Bacterial System to Assay the Effect of CpG Methylation on Repeat Stability

The genetic stability of tandemly repeated DNAs is affected by repeat sequence, tract length, tract purity, and replication direction. Alterations in DNA methylation status are thought to influence many processes of mutagenesis. By use of bacterial and primate cell systems, we have determined the effect of CpG methylation on the genetic stability of cloned di-, tri-, pentaand minisatellite repeated DNA sequences. Depending on the repeat sequence, methylation can significantly enhance or reduce its genetic stability. This effect was evident when repeat tracts were replicated from either direction. Unexpectedly, methylation of adjacent sequences altered the stability of contiguous repeat sequences void of methylatable sites. Of the seven repeat sequences investigated, methylation stabilized five, destabilized one, and had no effect on another. Thus, although methylation generally stabilized repeat tracts, its influence depended on the sequence of the repeat. The current results lend support to the notion that the biological consequences of CpG methylation may be affected through local alterations of DNA structure as well as through direct protein–DNA interactions. In vivo CpG methylation in bacteria may have technical applications for the isolation and stable propagation of DNA sequences that have been recalcitrant to isolation and/or analyses because of their extreme instability.
Terretonin M: A new meroterpenoid from the thermophilic Aspergillus terreus TM8 and revision of the absolute configuration of penisimplicins

Abstract Terretonin M (1), a new highly oxygenated tetracyclic meroterpenoid, was isolated from the thermophilic fungus Aspergillus terreus TM8 together with 10 known metabolites: terrelumamide A, asterrelenin, 7-prenyl-indolyl-3-carbaldehyde, (3β,5α,6β)-3,5,6-trihydroxy-ergosta-7,22-diene, sitostenone, linoleic acid, ergosterol, uracil, p-hydroxy-benzoic acid, and indole-3-carboxylic acid. The chemical structure of the new compound was elucidated by extensive 1D, 2D NMR, and ESI HR mass measurements, and by comparison with literature data. The absolute configuration of 1 was resolved by analysis of its NOESY spectrum and comparison of its experimental ECD spectrum with DFT calculations. In parallel to this work, revision of the absolute configuration of penisimplicins 3a and 3b is proposed on the basis of their ECD and ORD data. The isolation and taxonomic characterisation of A. terreus TM8 is reported, and the antimicrobial activity of the crude extract and the isolated compounds was studied as well.
Development of Text to Speech System for Yoruba Language

Text-to-speech (TTS) applications have been applied to different languages in diverse areas of human endeavour all over the world, but for Yoruba language which is being spoken by over 30 million people out of 150 million Nigerian populace and in other countries like Benin, Togo, United Kingdom and part of South American, much has not been achieved therefore, there is need to develop TTS system for Yoruba language. This paper gives an account of Yoruba TTS system development using concatenation method. The paper describes the design, evaluation and the analysis of the result shows that 70% Respondents accepted its usability. Keywords: TTS, evaluation, concatenation, usability and design.
Robust Power-Aware Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks with Special Concern about Localization Error

The power-aware geographic routing algorithms provide energy-efficient and scalable solutions for wireless sensor networks. However, to the knowledge of the authors, no previous work has analyzed the impacts of localization errors on energy consumption in the power-aware routing, and no solution for this problem has been brought forward. In this paper, the error distribution of the widely used MLE localization system is first analyzed. Then based on the knowledge of the error distribution, a robust routing algorithm is provided to mitigate the effects of the localization errors on the energy consumption. It is shown in the simulation results that our algorithm can reduce the extra energy consumption caused by the localization errors and improve the successful delivery rate
[Effects of analgesic-antipyretics on the spinal reflex potentials in cats: an analysis of the excitatory action of aminopyrine].

The effects of some analgesic-antipyretics on the spinal reflex potentials were studied in spinal cats. Aminopyrine at 25-100 mg/kg, i.v. produced a marked increase in mono- and poly-synaptic reflex potentials (MSR and PSR), and a decrease in dorsal root reflex potentials (DRR) in a dose-dependent manner. The amplitude of DRR decreased by aminopyrine was reversed by diazepam at 0.2 mg/kg, i.v. ; however, the increased amplitudes of MSR and PSR were not affected by diazepam. Pretreatment of semicarbazide at 200 mg/kg, i.v. did not influence the increasing effect of aminopyrine on MSR and PSR. DL-5-Hydroxytryptophan produced facilitation of the MSR and PSR. In DL-5-hydroxytryptophan-treated cats, the amplitude of MSR was further increased by aminopyrine. Methysergide at 1 mg/kg, i.v. antagonized this increasing effect of aminopyrine on MSR and PSR. These observations suggest that the excitatory action of aminopyrine may be partly related to 5-hydroxytryptamine and not connected to the GABAergic mechanism. Other pyrazolone derivatives were also studied. Isopropylantipyrine at 50 mg/kg, i.v. produced increases in MSR and PSR. Intravenous sulpyrine at 500 mg/kg, antipyrine at 50 mg/kg or 4-aminoantipyrine at 50 mg/kg did not affect the reflex potentials. The non-pyrazolones, acetaminophen and indomethacin, did not increase the MSR and PSR. These results suggest that the N-dimethyl or isopropyl residue at the 4 position of the pyrazolone structure plays an important role in the excitatory action of analgesic-antipyretics in cat spinal cord.
Evaluation der deutschsprachigen Version des Bindungsfragebogens „Experiences in Close Relationships – Revised” (ECR-RD)

The "Experiences in Close Relationships--Revised" (ECR-R) is a well developed instrument for assessing attachment in adults, which is used in different research areas around the world. In this paper the German version (ECR-RD) was evaluated in a large non-clinical (N = 1006) and a clinical sample (N = 225). Overall, the good psychometrical properties were confirmed (Cronbach's alpha = 0,91/0,92), we also found evidence for construct validity. There was a substantial difference between the two samples in the ECR-RD as well as a specific impact of comorbid personality disorders. The ECR-RD can be seen as a reliable, internationally comparable instrument for assessing romantic attachment representations that can be used in clinical samples.
Temperature compensated LiTaO/sub 3//sapphire saw substrate for high power applications

A new temperature-compensated SAW substrate for high power applications was developed based on bonded LiTaO3/sapphire. Because of its small thermal expansion coefficient, large Young's modulus, and large electric resistivity, sapphire is an ideal material for a support substrate. In addition, the large thermal conductivity of sapphire brings efficient heat dissipation. Surface activated bonding was used and optimized to strongly bond LiTaO3 and sapphire without any damage or bow. Keywords-SAW; LiTaO3; sapphire; temperature compensation; surface activated bonding; heat dissipation; US-PCS;
Synthesis and Characterization of Polypyrrole (PPy) Thin Films

Polypyrrole (PPy) was synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization technique using monomer pyrrole and ammo-nium persulphate as an oxidant in a ratio of 1:1. Thin films of polypyrrole were prepared by dissolving polypyrrole in mcresol and cast using spin coating technique on glass substrates. Thin films of polypyrrole were characterized by X ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), UV visible spectroscopy and electrical resistivity by four probe method. The XRD spectra showed that the polypyrrole is amorphous in nature. SEM studies revealed a uniform granular structure of PPy. The FTIR spectra shows that the presence of all characteristics absorption peaks of polypyrrole that is, 890 cm? 1 (=C–H out-of-plane vibration), 1040 cm? 1 (=C–H in-plane vibration), 1170 cm? 1 (N–C stretch bending) and 1410 cm? 1 (pyrrole ring vibration). UV visible study shows PPy films exhibit absorption peak at 446 nm (2.77 eV). Room temperature electrical resistivity of PPy is in the critical regime of the metal –to –insulator (M-I) transition.
Protecting the Kidneys of Patients With Diabetes

Diabetes is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease; however, there is evidence that diabetes-related renal disease can be prevented with interventions currently available. The purposes of this article are to describe current screening and intervention guidelines for renal complications in patients with diabetes and to provide clinical nurse specialists with tools to facilitate the education and expert guidance needed by patients with diabetes to preserve their kidney function. This article includes (1) a review of the pathology of diabetic nephropathy, (2) a summary of screening guidelines, (3) current treatment recommendations to prevent or delay nephropathy, and (3) nursing strategies and tools framed within the education, expert coaching, and guidance roles of the clinical nurse specialist practice model.
3D Mesh Coarsening via Uniform Clustering

—In this paper, we present a fast and efﬁcient mesh coarsening algorithm for 3D triangular meshes. Theis approach can be applied to very complex 3D meshes of arbitrary topology and with millions of vertices. The algorithm is based on the clustering of the input mesh elements, which divides the faces of an input mesh into a given number of clusters for clustering purpose by approximating the Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation of the input mesh. Once a clustering is achieved, it provides us an efﬁcient way to construct uniform tessellations, and therefore leads to good coarsening of polygonal meshes. With proliferation of 3D scanners, this coarsening algorithm is particularly useful for reverse engineering applications of 3D models, which in many cases are dense, non-uniform, irregular and arbitrary topology. Examples demonstrating effectiveness of the new algorithm are also included in the paper.
A Survey on Green Computing Based on Cloud Environment

Cloud computing and virtualization have become research hotspots in recent years. Since information communication technology is widely used in real life, data centers have rapidly been developed and the number of data centers has increased a lot. However, the existing data centers have too much power consumption. The energy and resources utilization are much lower. Against this backdrop, green computing is proposed. This paper briefly introduces some technologies based on computer system and cloud computing aimed at energy efficiency without compromising the performance objectives. Finally, the future research trends are analyzed.
The agrifood cooperative netchain. A theoretical framework to study its configuration

Abstract This paper proposes a research framework of the design and configuration of agrifood chains where the focal firm is a second-tier cooperative (group of affiliated cooperatives) in order to assess the alignment of (relational) governance structures and coordination mechanisms in these chains with supply chain management (SCM) principles. The theoretical framework draws on the Relational View of inter-organizational competitive advantage and the Theory of Networks given that inter-cooperative vertical relationships are embedded in horizontal ties between firms (first-tier cooperatives) of social rather economic nature. The conceptual framework developed herein will help theory building in SCM, but most importantly, it will advance current knowledge on the scope of SCM in the agrifood cooperative sector.