Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognos: A Pragmatic Annotation Toolkit for the Acquisition of Natural Interaction Knowledge

This paper describes some corpus annotation tools focused in pragmatic knowledge. They are part of the Cognos Toolkit: a set of tools and applications for assisting the analysis, annotation, formalization and management of interactive corpus acquired from human interactions. Annotation takes place on multiple layers, yet the presented here is focused on natural language, communicative acts, segments, intentions, context and tasks developed through the interaction. Cognos Toolkit is platform-independent, database supported, and endowed with an intuitive graphical user interface. It also enables the exportation of pragmatically annotated dialogues to XML files which extends the annotations reusability and sharing
Erythropoietin, but Not Asialoerythropoietin or Carbamyl-Erythropoietin, Attenuates Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats

Erythropoietin (EPO) has long been utilized for the treatment of renal anemia. The erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) is also expressed in the cardiovascular and central nervous systems in addition to an erythroid lineage, to provide an organoprotective role against several types of cellular stress. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a poor prognostic disease caused by primary and secondary pulmonary vascular injury. We observed the effects of EPO derivatives on monocrotaline-induced PH in rats on the supposition that EPO may protect small arteries from injury. Asialoerythropoietin (AEPO) lacks sialic acids in the termini of carbohydrate chains that results in rapid clearance from blood. Carbamyl-erythropoietin (CEPO) interacts with EPOR/βc heterodimers, but not with EPOR homodimers expressed in erythroid cells. Monocrotaline-injected rats were treated with continuous intravenous injection of 2500 ng/kg/day of EPO, AEPO, or CEPO for 21 days, and lung histology, cardiac function, and mRNA expression in the lungs were examined. Wall thickening of small arteries in the lungs and PH were improved by administration of EPO, but not by its non-hematopoietic derivatives, AEPO, or CEPO. Erythropoietin administration increased mRNA expression of the anti-apoptotic molecule, Bcl-xL, and maintained expression of the CD31 antigen. We conclude that lungs may express EPOR homoreceptors, but not heteroreceptors. Adequate serum erythropoietin levels may be essential for pulmonary protective effects.
A new hysteroscopic technique for reversible long-acting reproductive control (ReLARC®) as an alternative to laparoscopic sterilization and Essure®

A new hysteroscopic technique (ReLARC®) for the insertion of long-term contraceptive devices is described. The procedure is conducted under direct visualization; the method is simple, safe and rapid, and is suitable for application in the operating room or the office. The method is a reversible alternative to more complex insertion techniques for hysteroscopic intratubal contraception. It is the first hysteroscopically inserted system suitable for long-term intrauterine contraception. The copperbased contraceptive devices have a duration of action up to 10 years, or longer, and are immediately effective, contrary to existing hysteroscopic methods, and have a track record of high tolerance and acceptability. Some examples are briefly described to illustrate the new method and use of the device. Correspondence to: Dr. Dirk Wildemeersch, F. Rooseveltlaan 44, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; E-mail: dirk@wildemeersch.com
Hypothermic Machine Preservation in Human Liver Transplantation: The First Clinical Series

Hypothermic machine perfusion (HMP) is widely used to preserve kidneys for transplantation with improved results over cold storage (CS). To date, successful transplantation of livers preserved with HMP has been reported only in animal models. In this, the first prospective liver HMP study, 20 adults received HMP‐preserved livers and were compared to a matched group transplanted with CS livers. HMP was performed for 3–7 h using centrifugal perfusion with Vasosol® solution at 4–6°C. There were no cases of primary nonfunction in either group. Early allograft dysfunction rates were 5% in the HMP group versus 25% in controls (p = 0.08). At 12 months, there were two deaths in each group, all unrelated to preservation or graft function. There were no vascular complications in HMP livers. Two biliary complications were observed in HMP livers compared with four in the CS group. Serum injury markers were significantly lower in the HMP group. Mean hospital stay was shorter in the HMP group (10.9 ± 4.7 days vs. 15.3 ± 4.9 days in the CS group, p = 0.006). HMP of donor livers provided safe and reliable preservation in this pilot case‐controlled series. Further multicenter HMP trials are now warranted.
Understanding knowledge management behavior from a social exchange perspective

This study draws on dedication/constraint mechanisms of social exchange theory to understand how knowledge outcomes are formed in relational virtual communities (RVCs). We propose a model to explain how knowledge outcomes are affected by interpersonal relationship development, which is in turn affected by information technology (IT)-supported environments. We conceptualize interpersonal relationship as relationship rewards and guanxi, and IT-supported environments as presence and community involvement. The proposed model was validated through empirical data. Our results support this model. We provide discussion of these results.
Surgical Management of Macular Hole at 2 Years of Follow-Up

Purpose: To determine prognostic factors, anatomic success rate and safety of sutureless pars plana vitrectomy and vitreous base removal associated to internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling, C3F8 injection and 1-day facedown postoperative positioning to manage idiopathic macular holes (MHs) at 2 years follow-up.Methods: Forty-six eyes with an idiopathic MH underwent pars plana vitrectomy, ILM peeling after Brilliant Blue 0.05 mg/ml staining, and gas tamponade. Patients remained facedown for 1 day postoperatively. Follow-up included measurement of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) at 1 and 7 days and 1, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively. If the MHs were not anatomically closed by 1 month, another procedure was performed.Results: Primary and final anatomical closure rate were 91.3% and 97.8%, respectively. Mean BCVA improvement (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution, LogMAR) was 0.34. No late MH reopening occurred, no surgery-related or ocular dye-related complications developed. The BCVA was less likely to improve in MHs with longer symptomatic periods or larger internal diameters.Conclusion: Pars plana vitrectomy combined with vitreous base removal and ILM peeling using Brilliant Blue 0.05% associated to C3F8 injection and 1-day facedown postoperative positioning for idiopathic MHs is a safe surgical approach, achieving a MH closure rate of 91.3% after one procedure and 97.8% after a second one. Long symptoms duration and larger inner MH diameter are associated with poor BCVA.
Quaternary re-arrangement analysed by spectral enhancement: the interaction of a sporulation repressor with its antagonist.

The protein/protein interaction between SinI and SinR has been studied by analytical ultracentrifugation and gel electrophoresis in an attempt to understand how these proteins contribute to developmental control of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. SinR was found to be tetrameric, while SinI was found to exist as monomers and dimers in a rapidly reversible equilibrium. Labelling of SinR by incorporating the tryptophan analogue 7-azatryptophan (7AW) into the protein in place of tryptophan shifts the UV absorbance spectrum, thus allowing selective monitoring of 7AWSinR at 315 nm using the UV absorption optics of the analytical ultracentrifuge. Selective monitoring of SinR in mixtures of SinR and SinI enables the binding and stoichiometry of the interaction to be investigated quantitatively and unambiguously. We demonstrate that the oligomeric forms of SinR and SinI re-arrange to form a tight 1:1 SinR:SinI complex, with no stable intermediate species. A fragment of SinR, SinR(1-69), which contains only the DNA-binding domain, was found to be monomeric, showing that the protein appears not to oligomerise in a similar manner to the Cro repressor, a protein with which it shares a marked structural similarity.
Silicon Photonics: A Review

Previously, researchers were trying to replace the copper wires with the optical technology. They used photons instead of electrons to carry out the data within machines. The future of IC industry depends upon the speed and bandwidth requirements, but in metallic interconnections we have constraints on speed as well as bandwidth. With the advancement in computer technology we are now more dependent upon ultra fast data transfer rate between and within chips. Now, we can achieve high speeds with the use of optics, and if we integrate the optical components on a single silicon chip then it would allow the data to flow at a higher speed. This paper reviews the growth of silicon photonics compared to last few years and a promising future of photonics. Intel Corporation first announced its major breakthrough in 2004 based on silicon photonics (Moore's law). They developed a modulator based on silicon that operates at 50GHz. It was 50 times faster than the previous invention. In 2008 Intel declared that the data transfer rate can be increased further up to 1Tbps (bits per second). compatibility of silicon photonics with CMOS fabrication offers great advantages, such as low cost, high volume integration. Keywords - Silicon, Modulators, Mach-Zehnder, SiGe, Detectors, Lasers, Avalanche Photodetector
Comparative Genomics of Listeria Species

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen with a high mortality rate that has also emerged as a paradigm for intracellular parasitism. We present and compare the genome sequences of L. monocytogenes (2,944,528 base pairs) and a nonpathogenic species, L. innocua (3,011,209 base pairs). We found a large number of predicted genes encoding surface and secreted proteins, transporters, and transcriptional regulators, consistent with the ability of both species to adapt to diverse environments. The presence of 270 L. monocytogenes and 149 L. innocua strain-specific genes (clustered in 100 and 63 islets, respectively) suggests that virulence in Listeria results from multiple gene acquisition and deletion events.
Distinguish Two Hands Moving Measured by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is used to measure the concentration change of oxygenated hemoglobin (ΔHbO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (ΔHHb) on two sides of primary motor cortex in the human brain by stimulating two hand of participant moving up and down in succession. In this research, we demonstrate the ability analyze signal of human brain activity using a 20-chanels continuous wave optical NIRS system over the primary motor cortex of 3 healthy males. We propose a method analysis based on the theory of angular coefficient in the line and calculating the mean to distinguish the data offline of left and right hand moving with an average accuracy 86.77% for all volunteers. The result indicates potential application of this method in processing signal from NIRS. We also discuss here the ability of application of our method can be used for the development of brain-computer interface (BCI) in the future.
Prognostic value of p 53 expression in childhood nephroblastoma : a meta-analysis

Background: Nephroblastoma is a heterogeneous disease and the most common neoplasm of the kidney in children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of tumor suppressor p53 expression in childhood nephroblastoma. Methods: Relevant studies published between January 2000 and 2015 were searched and retrieved using Medline, Web of science, PubMed and CNKI. The odds ratio (OR) and risk ratio (RR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) were employed to calculate the strength of value. Results: Total 12 articles were finally screened out, including 415 children with nephroblastoma. Overall, our result detected that the frequency of p53 expression was much higher in advance stage (III+IV+V) than that in early stage (I-II) (53.9% versus 13.1%), and indicated that p53 expression was associated with tumor stages (OR=5.90, 95% CI=3.54-9.85, P<0.00001). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity showed that p53 expression increased the tumor risk in both Asian and non-Asian populations (P<0.00001). P53 expression was positively correlated with unfavorable histological type (OR=31.87, 95% CI=10.14-100.14, P<0.00001) as well. Furthermore, p53 expression increased the metastasis of nephroblastoma (OR=5.59, 95% CI=2.43-12.86, P<0.00001), and decreased the overall survival (RR=4.87, 95% CI=2.18-10.88, P=0.0001). No significant association was found between p53 expression and gender, recurrence and histological components of patients with nephroblastoma. Conclusions: Our results indicated that p53 expression could be used as an indicator to predict the poor prognosis and a reference index to determine the clinical stages and histological types of the tumor.
SDF‐1/CXCL12 induces directional cell migration and spontaneous metastasis via a CXCR4/Gαi/mTORC1 axis

Multiple human malignancies rely on C‐X‐C motif chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and its ligand, SDF‐1/CXCL12 (stroma cell‐derived factor 1/C‐X‐C motif chemokine 12), to metastasize. CXCR4 inhibitors promote the mobilization of bone marrow stem cells, limiting their clinical application for metastasis prevention. We investigated the CXCR4‐initiated signaling circuitry to identify new potential therapeutic targets. We used HeLa human cancer cells expressing high levels of CXCR4 endogenously. We found that CXCL12 promotes their migration in Boyden chamber assays and single cell tracking. CXCL12 activated mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) potently in a pertussis‐sensitive fashion. Inhibition of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) by rapamycin [drug concentration causing 50% inhibition (lC50) = 5 nM] and mTORC1/mTORC2 by Torin2 (IC50 = 6 nM), or by knocking down key mTORC1/2 components, Raptor and Rictor, respectively, decreased directional cell migration toward CXCL12. We developed a CXCR4‐mediated spontaneous metastasis model by implanting HeLa cells in the tongue of SCIDNOD mice, in which 80% of the animals develop lymph node metastasis. It is surprising that mTORC1 disruption by Raptor knockdown was sufficient to reduce tumor growth by 60% and spontaneous metastasis by 72%, which were nearly abolished by rapamycin. In contrast, disrupting mTORC2 had no effect in tumor growth or metastasis compared with control short hairpin RNAs. These data suggest that mTORC 1 may represent a suitable therapeutic target in human malignancies using CXCR4 for their meta‐static spread. —Dillenburg‐Pilla, P., Patel, V. , Mikelis, C. M. , Zárate‐Bladés, C. R. , Doçi, C. L. , Amornphimoltham, P., Wang, Z. , Martin, D. , Leelahavanichkul, K. , Dorsam, R. T. , Masedunskas, A. , Weigert, R. , Molinolo, A. A. , Gutkind, J. S. , SDF‐1/CXCL12 induces directional cell migration and spontaneous metastasis via a CXCR4/Gαi/mTORC1 axis. FASEB J. 29, 1056–1068 (2015). www.fasebj. org
Self-marketing and the visual artist

This paper presents the findings of a research study, the overall objective of which was to empirically investigate the applicability and usefulness of the concept of self-marketing for the individual visual artist, and explores the links between marketing models with a customer driven focus prevalent in the general marketing literature and one which is product driven, perhaps more suited to the arts. Taking a qualitative approach, the study itself used in-depth interviews with 14 prominent visual artists from the state of Tasmania, Australia as the data source. The study sought to gain insight into the role marketing plays in an artist's practice, the extent to which artists utilise self-marketing, and to identify the factors that influence the extent to which individual artists utilise self-marketing, if at all.
Automatic Genre Classification Using Fractional Fourier Transform Based Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient and Timbral Features

This paper presents the Automatic Genre Classification of Indian Tamil Music and Western Music using Timbral and Fractional Fourier Transform (FrFT) based Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) features. The classifier model for the proposed system has been built using K-NN (K-Nearest Neighbours) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). In this work, the performance of various features extracted from music excerpts has been analysed, to identify the appropriate feature descriptors for the two major genres of Indian Tamil music, namely Classical music (Carnatic based devotional hymn compositions) & Folk music and for western genres of Rock and Classical music from the GTZAN dataset. The results for Tamil music have shown that the feature combination of Spectral Roll off, Spectral Flux, Spectral Skewness and Spectral Kurtosis, combined with Fractional MFCC features, outperforms all other feature combinations, to yield a higher classification accuracy of 96.05%, as compared to the accuracy of 84.21% with conventional MFCC. It has also been observed that the FrFT based MFCC effieciently classifies the two western genres of Rock and Classical music from the GTZAN dataset with a higher classification accuracy of 96.25% as compared to the classification accuracy of 80% with MFCC.
A low-noise local bitline technique for dual-Vt register files

A low-noise local bitline technique is presented for dual-Vt register files. The proposed read port topology produces an equal magnitude of local bitline (LBL) leakage currents during standby and read `0¿ modes of operation. This feature allows a standard keeper to operate more effectively at reduced supply voltages due to suppressed LBL noise and permits robust memory operation down to data retention voltage (DRV). The LBL noise at DRV is reduced to 34.7% of the permitted noise level. Furthermore, LBL leakage currents are suppressed by 39.4% and 93.5% in standby and read `0¿ modes of operation with the proposed technique as compared to the conventional LBL technique under an equal LBL delay and robustness constraint. These benefits are achieved at the expense of 35.3% increase in bitcell area, 5.3% increase in energy consumption in a read operation and 14.5% degradation in the overall read delay.
Standardized Method for In Vitro Antifungal Susceptibility Testing of Candida albicansBiofilms

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is implicated in many biomaterial-related infections. Typically, these infections are associated with biofilm formation. Cells in biofilms display phenotypic traits that are dramatically different from those of their free-floating planktonic counterparts and are notoriously resistant to antimicrobial agents. Consequently, biofilm-related infections are inherently difficult to treat and to fully eradicate with normal treatment regimens. Here, we report a rapid and highly reproducible microtiter-based colorimetric assay for the susceptibility testing of fungal biofilms, based on the measurement of metabolic activities of the sessile cells by using a formazan salt reduction assay. The assay was used for in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing of severalC. albicans strains grown as biofilms against amphotericin B and fluconazole and the increased resistance of C. albicans biofilms against these antifungal agents was demonstrated. Because of its simplicity, compatibility with a widely available 96-well microplate platform, high throughput, and automation potential, we believe this assay represents a promising tool for the standardization of in vitro antifungal susceptibility testing of fungal biofilms.
Song Selectivity in the Song System and in the Auditory Forebrain

Abstract: The sensorimotor neurons found in the song‐system nuclei are responsive to the sounds of the bird's own song. This selectivity emerges during vocal learning and appears to follow the development of the bird's song vocalization in two ways: at each stage, the neurons are most selective for the bird's current vocalizations and this selectivity increases as the bird learns to produce a stable adult song. Also, because of their location in the sensori‐vocal pathway and because their physiological properties are correlated with the motor program, it is postulated that these neurons play a crucial role in interpreting the auditory feedback during song to preserve a desirable vocal output. The neurons found in presynaptic auditory areas lack this selectivity for the bird's own song. Auditory neurons in the secondary auditory areas caudal nidopallium and caudal mesopallium show specific responses to familiar songs or behaviorally relevant songs. These auditory areas might therefore be involved in perceptual tasks. Neurons in the primary forebrain auditory area are selective for the spectrotemporal modulations that are common in song, yielding an efficient neural representation of those sounds. Neurons that are particularly selective for the tutor song at the end of the sensory period have not yet been described in any areas. Although these three levels of selectivity found in the primary auditory forebrain areas, the secondary auditory forebrain areas, and the song system suggest a form of hierarchical sensory processing, the functional connectivity between these areas and the mechanisms generating the specific selectivity for songs that are behaviorally relevant or crucial in song learning and production have yet to be revealed.
Do Deviant Peer Associations Mediate the Contributions of Self-Esteem to Problem Behavior During Early Adolescence? A 2-Year Longitudinal Study

We investigated deviant peer associations as a mediator of the influences of general and peer-oriented self-esteem on problem behavior using data from a 2-year longitudinal study of 350 young adolescents. Measures of problem behavior included substance use (alcohol use, smoking) and antisocial behavior (fighting, stealing). Using latent growth curve modeling and covariance structure analysis, an extension of a model proposed by DuBois et al. (2002) was evaluated for each type of problem behavior. Findings revealed that lower general self-esteem and greater peer orientation in self-esteem each predicted deviant associations with peers and that deviant peer associations, in turn, were associated with higher levels and rates of change in problem behavior. Deviant peer associations mediated the associations of general and peer-oriented self-esteem with levels and rates of change in problem behavior such that direct paths from self-esteem to problem behavior generally were nonsignificant.