Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EIN3/EIL1 cooperate with PIF1 to prevent photo-oxidation and to promote greening of Arabidopsis seedlings

The ability to switch from skotomorphogenesis to photomorphogenesis is essential for seedling development and plant survival. Recent studies revealed that COP1 and phytochrome-interacting factors (PIFs) are key regulators of this transition by repressing the photomorphogenic responses and/or maintaining the skotomorphogenic state of etiolated seedlings. Here we report that the plant hormone ethylene plays a crucial role in the transition from skotomorphogenesis to photomorphogenesis by facilitating greening of etiolated seedlings upon light irradiation. Activation of EIN3/EIL1 is both necessary and sufficient for ethylene-induced enhancement of seedling greening, as well as repression of the accumulation of protochlorophyllide, a phototoxic intermediate of chlorophyll synthesis. EIN3/EIL1 were found to induce gene expression of two key enzymes in the chlorophyll synthesis pathway, protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase A and B (PORA/B). ChIP and EMSA assays demonstrated that EIN3 directly binds to the specific elements present in the PORA and PORB promoters. Genetic studies revealed that EIN3/EIL1 function in cooperation with PIF1 in preventing photo-oxidative damage and promoting cotyledon greening. Moreover, activation of EIN3 reverses the blockage of greening triggered by cop1 mutation or far-red light irradiation. Consistently, EIN3 acts downstream of COP1 and its protein accumulation is enhanced by COP1 but decreased by light. Taken together, EIN3/EIL1 represent a new class of transcriptional regulators along with PIF1 to optimize de-etiolation of Arabidopsis seedlings. Our study highlights the essential role of ethylene in enhancing seedling development and survival through protecting etiolated seedlings against photo-oxidative damage.
Toxicity and Carcinogenicity Mechanisms of Fibrous Antigorite

We studied the effects of fibrous antigorite on mesothelial MeT-5A and monocyte-macrophage J774 cell lines to further understand cellular mechanisms induced by asbestos fibers leading to lung damage and cancer. Antigorite is a mineral with asbestiform properties, which tends to associate with chrysotile or tremolite, and frequently occurs as the predominant mineral in the veins of several serpentinite rocks found abundantly in the Western Alps. Particles containing antigorite are more abundant in the breathing air of this region than those typically found in urban ambient air. Exposure of MeT-5A and J774 cells to fibrous antigorite at concentrations of 5–100 μg/ml for 72 hr induced dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Antigorite also stimulated the ROS production, induced the generation of nitrite and PGE2. MeT-5A cells were more sensitive to antigorite than J774 cells. The results of this study revealed that the fibrous antigorite stimulates cyclooxygenase and formation of hydroxyl and nitric oxide radicals. These changes represent early cellular responses to antigorite fibers, which lead to a host of pathological and neoplastic conditions because free radicals and PGE2 play important roles as mediators of tumor pathogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms of the cellular responses to antigorite and other asbestos particles should be helpful in designing rational prevention and treatment approaches.
Enhancing Twitter Data Analysis with Simple Semantic Filtering: Example in Tracking Influenza-Like Illnesses

Systems that exploit publicly available user generated content such as Twitter messages have been successful in tracking seasonal influenza. We developed a novel filtering method for Influenza-Like-Ilnesses (ILI)-related messages using 587 million messages from Twitter micro-blogs. We first filtered messages based on syndrome keywords from the BioCaster Ontology, an extant knowledge model of laymen's terms. We then filtered the messages according to semantic features such as negation, hashtags, emoticons, humor and geography. The data covered 36 weeks for the US 2009 influenza season from 30th August 2009 to 8th May 2010. Results showed that our system achieved the highest Pearson correlation coefficient of 98.46% (p-value<;2.2e-16), an improvement of 3.98% over the previous state-of-the-art method. The results indicate that simple NLP-based enhancements to existing approaches to mine Twitter data can increase the value of this inexpensive resource.
UML as a representation for Interaction Design

This paper examines the use of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) as a representation for interaction design. We discuss the trade-offs related to applying UML outside its intended application domain and the suitability of UML components for modeling various aspects of interaction: representing user requirements, early envisionment of interaction, task modeling, navigation and detailed interaction specification. Where appropriate we propose and illustrate the combination of UML with purpose-specific notations.
A Higher-Order Closure Model with an Explicit PBL Top

Abstract In 2001, the authors presented a higher-order mass-flux model called “assumed distributions with higher-order closure” (ADHOC 1), which represents the large eddies of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) in terms of an assumed joint distribution of the vertical velocity and scalars. In a subsequent version (ADHOC 2) the authors incorporated vertical momentum fluxes and second moments involving pressure perturbations into the framework. These versions of ADHOC, as well as all other higher-order closure models, are not suitable for use in large-scale models because of the high vertical and temporal resolution that is required. This high resolution is needed mainly because higher-order closure (HOC) models must resolve discontinuities at the PBL top, which can occur anywhere on a model’s Eulerian vertical grid. This paper reports the development of ADHOC 3, in which the computational cost of the model is reduced by introducing the PBL depth as an explicit prognostic variable. ADHOC 3 uses a stretched .
Volatility in Istanbul Stock Exchange

Since economic agents make the decisions based on the perceived distribution of the random variables in the future, assessment and measurement of the variance has a significant impact on their course of action. Therefore, market participants’ ability to accurately measure and predict the stock market volatility has wide spread implications. This capability has a particular importance in an environment, where the perception of high levels of volatility has the potential to erode the investor confidence and divert the capital inflows from equity markets. This is a particular concern for the emerging equity markets that lack the advanced institutional and informational infrastructures and which are very vulnerable to domestic and foreign capital flows. The purpose of this study is to determine the time-varying characteristics of volatility in an emerging stock market by utilizing rich family of ARCH models. The primary focus of the study is to explore the nature of volatility in the ISE.
Clinical Implications of Detectable Baseline Hepatitis C Virus-Genotype 1 NS3/4A-Protease Variants on the Efficacy of Boceprevir Combined With Peginterferon/Ribavirin

Background We analyzed the impact of pretreatment variants conferring boceprevir-resistance on sustained virologic response (SVR) rates achieved with boceprevir plus peginterferon-α/ribavirin (P/R) for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-genotype-1 infection. Methods NS3-protease-polymorphisms emerging coincident with virologic failure on boceprevir/P/R regimens were identified as resistance-associated variants (RAVs). Baseline samples pooled from 6 phase II or phase III clinical trials were analyzed for RAVs by population sequencing. Interferon (IFN)-responsiveness was predefined as >1 log reduction in HCV-RNA level during the initial 4-week lead-in treatment with P/R before boceprevir was added. The effective boceprevir-concentration inhibiting RAV growth by 50% (EC50) was determined using a replicon assay relative to the wild-type referent. Results Sequencing was performed in 2241 of 2353 patients (95.2%) treated with boceprevir. At baseline, RAVs were detected in 178 patients (7.9%), including 153 of 1498 genotype-1a infections (10.2%) and 25 of 742 genotype-1b infections (3.4%) (relative risk, 3.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], [2.01, 4.58]). For IFN-responders, SVR24 (SVR assessed 24 weeks after discontinuation of all study medications) rates were 78% and 76% with or without RAVs detected at baseline, respectively. For the 510 poor IFN-responders, SVR24 rates were 8 of 36 subjects (22.2% [11.7%, 38.1%]) when baseline RAVs were detected vs 174 of 474 subjects (36.7% [32.5%, 41.1%]) when baseline RAVs were not detected (relative likelihood of SVR24 [95% CI], 0.61 [0.32, 1.05]). Sustained virologic response was achieved in 7 of 8 (87.5%) IFN-nonresponders with baseline variants exhibiting ≤2-fold increased EC50 for boceprevir in a replicon assay, whereas only 1 of 15 (7%) IFN-nonresponders with baseline RAVs associated with ≥3-fold increased EC50 achieved SVR. Conclusions Baseline protease-variants appear to negatively impact SVR rates for boceprevir/P/R regimens only when associated with decreased boceprevir susceptibility in vitro after a poor IFN-response during the lead-in period.
Randomized double-blind factorial trial of three treatments to reduce the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions.

BACKGROUND Randomized trials have yielded mixed results on the effects of treatment for Helicobacter pylori and little information on the effects of vitamins or garlic supplements on precancerous gastric lesions. We conducted a randomized trial to test the effects of one-time H. pylori treatment and long-term vitamin or garlic supplements in reducing the prevalence of advanced precancerous gastric lesions. METHODS Most of the adults aged 35-64 years in 13 randomly selected villages in Linqu County, Shandong Province, China, were identified and given baseline endoscopies in 1994. In 1995, 3365 eligible subjects were randomly assigned in a factorial design to three interventions or placebos: amoxicillin and omeprazole for 2 weeks in 1995 (H. pylori treatment); vitamin C, vitamin E, and selenium for 7.3 years (vitamin supplement); and aged garlic extract and steam-distilled garlic oil for 7.3 years (garlic supplement). Subjects underwent endoscopies with biopsies in 1999 and 2003, and the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions was determined by histopathologic examination of seven standard biopsy sites. The 3365 eligible randomized subjects represented 93.5% of those with baseline endoscopy and included all baseline histologic categories except gastric cancer. Only 0.18% had normal gastric mucosa. Logistic regression was used to estimate the intervention effects on the odds of advanced precancerous gastric lesions, and t-tests were used to assess effects on histologic severity. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS H. pylori treatment resulted in statistically significant decreases in the combined prevalence of severe chronic atrophic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, or gastric cancer in 1999 (odds ratio [OR] = 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62 to 0.95) and in 2003 (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.75), and had favorable effects on the average histopathologic severity and on progression and regression of precancerous gastric lesions in 2003. H. pylori treatment did not reduce the combined prevalence of dysplasia or gastric cancer. However, fewer subjects receiving H. pylori treatment (19/1130; 1.7%) than receiving placebo (27/1128; 2.4%) developed gastric cancer (adjusted P = .14). No statistically significant favorable effects were seen for garlic or vitamin supplements. CONCLUSION H. pylori treatment reduces the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions and may reduce gastric cancer incidence, but further data are needed to prove the latter point. Long-term vitamin or garlic supplementation had no beneficial effects on the prevalence of precancerous gastric lesions or on gastric cancer incidence.
Modeling of IGBTs with focus on voltage dependency of terminal capacitances

This paper presents a modeling of IGBTs with a focus on voltage dependency of capacitances between terminals of the IGBT. The proposed model is based on a physics-based IGBT model for circuit simulators to get accurate switching waveforms by taking account of the variable capacitances depending on the voltage between the terminals of the IGBT model. The basic feature is that the simulation accuracy of switching waveforms can be improved by applying the measured capacitances to the capacitors between the terminals. The simulated results by using the proposed IGBT model are in good agreement with experimental results.
TEM Sample Preparation and FIB-Induced Damage

One of the most important applications of a focused ion beam (FIB) workstation is preparing samples for transmission electron microscope (TEM) investigation. Samples must be uniformly thin to enable the analyzing beam of electrons to penetrate. The FIB enables not only the preparation of large, uniformly thick, sitespecific samples, but also the fabrication of lamellae used for TEM samples from composite samples consisting of inorganic and organic materials with very different properties. This article gives an overview of the variety of techniques that have been developed to prepare the final TEM specimen. The strengths of these methods as well as the problems, such as FIB-induced damage and Ga contamination, are illustrated with examples. Most recently, FIB-thinned lamellae were used to improve the spatial resolution of electron backscatter diffraction and energy-dispersive x-ray mapping. Examples are presented to illustrate the capabilities, difficulties, and future potential of FIB.
Building our youth for the future

Adolescents and young adults are at increased risk for HIV due to the many developmental, psychological, social, and structural transitions that converge in this period of the lifespan. In addition, adolescent deaths resulting from HIV continue to rise despite declines in other age groups. There are also young key populations (YKPs) that bear disproportionate burdens of HIV and are the most vulnerable, including young men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender youth, young people who inject drugs, and adolescent and young adult sex workers. As a society, we must do more to stop new HIV infections and untimely HIV‐related deaths through both primary and secondary prevention and better management approaches. Using an interwoven prevention and treatment cascade approach, the starting point for all interventions must be HIV counselling and testing. Subsequent interventions for both HIV‐negative and HIV‐positive youth must be “adolescent‐centred,” occur within the socio‐ecological context of young people and take advantage of the innovations and technologies that youth have easily incorporated into their daily lives. In order to achieve the global goals of zero infections, zero discrimination and zero deaths, a sustained focus on HIV research, policy and advocacy for YKPs must occur.
Current signature analysis method for in situ characterization of a wind enegy conversion system

Generally manufacturer provides the transfer function of the wind energy conversion system. This paper aims to present a sensorless method to estimate the wind speed and determine the power coefficient of the wind energy conversion system. The method is based only on measurements of the current and voltage at the output of the permanent magnet synchronous generator. A spectrum analysis using the Fast Fourier Transform is used to estimate the angular speed. A power balance is used to estimate the mechanical power sensed by the turbine's blade.
Growth abnormalities in Hfr derivatives of Escherichia coli strain C.

Surmmary From Escherichia coli strain c, made F+ by infection with the sex factor F normally carried by E. coli strain K-12, several Hfr (‘high frequency of recombination’) strains were derived. Among these, four were found which exhibited a defective growth pattern on minimal media at 37°. Reversion to the F+ state was accompanied by re-establishment of normal growth habit. In the case best studied (strain c-132) the Hfr bacteria form colonies smaller than normal, acquire a rough surface upon prolonged incubation, and are unable to grow at 42°. Growth is normal at room temperature and on rich media; it can be improved by the addition of methionine to minimal media. The rate of reversion from the Hfr to the F+ state (i.e. from defective to normal growth) is of the order of 1/20,000 per generation. Defective growth is not due to a genetic peculiarity of the F factor, nor is it dependent on the map location of the ‘origin’ or leading end of the particular Hfr strain, or on its direction of chromosome transfer; possibly it results from the manner in which the F factor is integrated at any given chromosomal site.
Do Deficits Crowd Out Private Borrowing? Evidence From Flow Of Funds Accounts

Heim (2010) found a strong negative relationship between deficits and private consumer and investment spending, controlling for other key variables. The study did not directly test the mechanism by which deficits were related to consumer and investment spending, only the result. Crowd out theory hypothesizes the mechanism is consumer and investment credit shortages induced by borrowing -financed government deficits. This paper examines that mechanism directly, testing to see if private borrowing is related to deficits. It uses Federal Reserve Flow of Funds accounts data on borrowing. The paper finds a strong negative relationship between deficits and private borrowing, with deficits reducing private borrowing dollar for dollar. The borrowing estimates are very similar to the Heim (2010) estimates of deficit effects on consumer and investment spending, suggesting crowd out effects work through the borrowing channel and fully offset the stimulus effects of deficits. Flow of Funds data on savings and investment, for accounting reasons, confirm the econometric findings of full crowd out, provided savings remain constant.
Encrypted integer division and secure comparison

When processing data in the encrypted domain, homomorphic encryption can be used to enable linear operations on encrypted data. Integer division of encrypted data however requires an additional protocol between the client and the server and will be relatively expensive. We present new solutions for dividing encrypted data in the semi-honest model using homomorphic encryption and additive blinding, having low computational and communication complexity. In most of our protocols we assume the divisor is publicly known. The division result is not only computed exactly, but may also be approximated leading to further improved performance. The idea of approximating the result of an integer division is extended to similar results for secure comparison, secure minimum, and secure maximum in the client-server model, yielding new efficient protocols with demonstrated application in biometrics. The exact minimum protocol is shown to outperform existing approaches.
Role of compliance on the locomotion of a reconfigurable modular snake robot

This paper presents the results of a study on the effect of in-series compliance on the locomotion of a simulated 8-DoF Lola-OP™ Modular Snake Robot with added compliant elements. We explore whether there is an optimal stiffness for gait, terrain type, or several gaits and several terrains (i.e. a good “general-purpose” stiffness). Compliance was simulated using ball joints with eight different levels of stiffness. Two snake locomotion gaits (rolling and sidewinding) were tested over flat ground and three different types of rough terrains. We performed grid search and Particle Swarm Optimization to identify the locomotion parameters leading to fast locomotion and analyzed the best candidates in terms of locomotion speed and energy efficiency (cost of transport). Contrary to our expectations, we did not observe a clear trend that would favor the use of compliant elements over rigid structures. For sidewinding, compliant and stiff elements lead to comparable performances. For rolling gait, the general rule seems to be “the stiffer, the better”.
An Analysis of the Exvessel Demand for Pacific Halibut

Throughout its history the North Pacific halibut fishery has experienced dramatic changes in season length—most recently a greater than tenfold decrease during the last fifteen years. This analysis estimates the effect on exvessel halibut demand of season length by incorporating it with other more traditional explanatory variables such as landings, cold storage holdings, and prices of substitutes in a price dependent demand analysis. Exvessel demand is found to be price elastic; thus management programs that increase catch will also increase gross fishing revenues. Cold storage holdings have an inverse relationship to exvessel price. Since the level of cold storage holdings decreases as the fishing season approaches, the date of the first opening will affect the exvessel price. Finally the length of the halibut season does have a positive relationship with exvessel price; management strategies, such as limited entry, that increase season length will increase exvessel demand.
Blood pressure and cerebrospinal fluid pressure studies during lumbar air encephalography.

SUMMARY Blood pressure and cerebrospinal fluid pressure changes were studied during lumbar air encephalography under general anaesthesia. Two anaesthetic techniques were used. In one group spontaneous respiration with nitrous oxide, oxygen and halothane was used and in the other controlled ventilation with nitrous oxide and oxygen was maintained. Larger falls in blood pressure, on sitting up, were seen in the spontaneous respiration group and cerebrospinal fluid pressures were also higher in these patients but never rose to dangerous levels. It is concluded that a technique of controlled ventilation with nitrous oxide and oxygen is preferable during lumbar air encephalography
Single Channel Active Noise Control Based on S-Genetic Algorithm

In active noise control, the Filtered-x LMS algorithm has been widely used,but it is inefficient to the nonlinear noise control; then the Filtered-s LMS algorithm using the FLANN structure to solve the nonlinear problem, but these two algorithms need identification of secondary path and may converge to local minima; this paper using FLANN structure and genetic algorithm (S-GA) ,which don’t need identification of secondary path and avoids local minima, Computer simulation show that S-GA is able to find satisfactory solutions even in the presence of nonlinearities in the secondary path
Watermarking via optimization algorithms for quantizing ran- domized statistics of image regions

We introduce a novel approach for blind signal watermarking and apply it to images. We derive randomized robust semi-global features in a suitable transform domain (wavelets in case of images) and quantize them in order to embed the watermark. Quantization is carried out by adding an embedding sequence to the host; this sequence is computed by solving an optimization problem whose parameters are known to the information hider, but unknown to the attacker. We experimentally identify some conditions (our randomizations are aimed at achieving them) satisfied by our parameters, which formally and experimentally imply robustness of our algorithm against malicious optimal estimation attacks. We also tested its robustness against many generic (i.e. non-malicious benchmark attacks ) attacks.