Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Jujube promotes learning and memory in a rat model by increasing estrogen levels in the blood and nitric oxide and acetylcholine levels in the brain

The aim of this study was to observe the effects of jujube on learning and memory in ovariectomized rats. The effects of jujube on learning and memory in ovariectomized rats were observed using the Morris water maze method. The serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estrogen and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, and the brain nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) levels of the rats were determined. The results indicated that jujube reduced the latency period and increased the number of crossings made by the ovariectomized rats in the Morris water maze test. Jujube also increased the serum estrogen level, reduced the serum FSH and corpus luteum LH levels, increased brain NOS activity and reduced AChE activity. The results indicate that jujube promoted the learning and memory of the ovariectomized rats. This effect may be correlated with the increase in the estrogen level in the blood, and the changes in the nitric oxide and acetylcholine levels in the brain.
MicroRNA-148b enhances proliferation and apoptosis in human renal cancer cells via directly targeting MAP3K9

Increasing evidence revealed that miRNAs, the vital regulators of gene expression, are involved in various cellular processes, including cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis and progression. In addition, miRNAs act as oncogenes and/or tumor suppressors. The present study aimed to verify the potential roles of miR148b in human renal cancer cells. miR-148b was found to be downregulated in human renal cancel tissues and human renal cancer cell lines. Functional studies demonstrated that plasmid-mediated overexpression of miR-148b promoted cell proliferation, increased the S-phase population of the cell cycle and enhanced apoptosis in the 786-O and OS-RC-2 renal cancer cell lines, while it did not appear to affect the total number of viable cells according to a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Subsequently, a luciferase reporter assay verified that miR148b directly targeted mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase kinase 9 (MAP3K9), an upstream activator of MAPK kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, suppressing the protein but not the mRNA levels. Furthermore, western blot analysis indicated that overexpression of miR148b in renal cancer cells inhibited MAPK/JNK signaling by decreasing the expression of phosphorylated (p)JNK. In addition, over-expression of MAP3K9 and pJNK was detected in clinical renal cell carcinoma specimens compared with that in their normal adjacent tissues. The present study therefore suggested that miR-148b exerts an oncogenic function by enhancing the proliferation and apoptosis of renal cancer cells by inhibiting the MAPK/JNK pathway.
Cmsc 858k — Advanced Topics in Cryptography 2 Hybrid Encryption

The focus of this lecture is efficient public-key encryption. In the previous lecture, we discussed a public-key encryption scheme for 1-bit messages. However, to encrypt an `-bit message, we can simply encrypt ` one-bit messages and send these (and we proved last time that this remains secure in the case of public-key encryption). Here, we first describe (briefly) how to combine public and private key encryption to obtain a public-key encryption scheme with the efficiency of a private-key scheme (for long messages). Next, we describe an efficient public key encryption scheme called El Gamal encryption [2] which is based on a particular number-theoretic assumption rather than the general assumption of trapdoor permutations. In the course of introducing this scheme, we discuss how it relies on the Discrete Logarithm Problem and the Decisional Diffie-Hellman Assumption.
An Improved Full-Bridge Dual-Output DC–DC Converter Based on the Extended Complementary Pulsewidth Modulation Concept

This paper extends the original complementary pulsewidth modulation concept and proposes an improved dual-output dc-dc converter, in which one output branch gets the pulsewidths and is regulated by the duty cycle, while the other output branch gets the complementary pulsewidths and is regulated by the pulse-frequency modulation. The improved converter preserves all the advantages of its original version: both outputs can be fully regulated without additional switches, and all the primary-side switches can achieve the full-range zero-voltage switching. Besides, the improved converter overcomes the disadvantages of the original one: the resonant tank is moved to the primary side; the leakage and magnetizing inductances of the transformers are utilized as parts of the circuit parameters; the bulky output inductor and dissipative snubber are eliminated; both rectifiers can be clamped at the low output voltage; and they can work in the full-range zero-current switching. With these improvements, the cost and size of the proposed converter are significantly reduced, and the overall efficiency is increased. The derivation, operational principle, and circuit analysis of the proposed converter are presented in this paper, and they are verified by a prototype with 300-330 V input, and 24-V/10-A and 48-V/5-A outputs.
Effect of tubocurarine on action potentials in normal and denervated skeletal muscle

One of the changes known to occur in striated muscle fibres following denervation is a great increase in membrane area showing sensitivity to acetylcholine (ACh) (Ginetzinsky & Shamarina, 1942; Axelsson & Thesleff, 1959; Miledi, 1960a). In some cases, after several weeks' denervation, the whole surface may be nearly as sensitive as the subsynaptic membrane of intact fibres. Several lines of evidence suggest that the properties of the receptor sites responsible for ACh sensitivity are very similar if not identical to those found at the end-plate of intact muscle (Axelsson & Thesleff, 1959; Klaus, Kuschinsky, Lullman & Muscholl, 1959; Miledi, 1960b; Jenkinson, 1960; Bhoola & Schachter, 1961). These sites may develop only after denervation, or they may be present throughout the membrane of normal muscle and be 'unmasked' following denervation. The latter alternative is preferred by those who suggest that ACh receptors play an important role in impulse conduction (Rothenberg, Sprinson & Nachmansohn, 1948; Hinterbuchner & Nachmansohn, 1960). If in fact these receptor sites are simply made accessible to drugs following denervation and if they are involved in the electrical activity of the muscle membrane, then one might expect that curarization of the denervated muscle would noticeably affect characteristics of the fibre membrane, at least during activity. This paper describes the results of experiments designed to look for such effects.
WiFi Fingerprint Localization in Open Space

In recent years, WiFi fingerprint-based localization has received much attention due to its deployment practicability. In this work, we investigate the impact of different indoor environmental factors on the performance of WiFi-fingerprinting. We find that, WiFi-fingerprinting highly depends on the deployed indoor environment. In an open space, it is quite challenging to find spatially varying but temporally stable signatures for adjacent reference locations. To address this issue, we propose a heatmap-based WiFi fingerprinting method (called HMF) by utilizing a period of history location estimations as an additional input to improve WiFi fingerprint localization in open space environment. Our experimental results show, HMF can improve existing WiFi fingerprinting schemes like Radar and Horus by 28% and 80% in moderately open space like wide corridor.
A Symbiotic Solution for Facilitating Faculty Transitions in Engineering Academia

Two challenges to the logical shift in the nation’s engineering faculty demographics may actually become merged as a symbiotic pair of solutions. Underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM recently accounted for 6.3% of engineering faculty (National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, 2014), despite approaching nearly a third of the nation’s population (2010 Census). A central reason for the disproportionate representation is the continued need for effective mentorship and advocacy for these historically marginalized groups into and through the professoriate. Another sensitivity in the requisite shift in engineering faculty composition pertains to the effective transition of senior faculty who are of retirement age yet have the skillsets and desire to continue to be “active”. These two perceived “bottlenecks” in the engineering professoriate are simultaneously addressed by strategically matching retired (with emphasis upon “emeriti”) faculty as advocates-mentors for appropriately matched URM faculty. Synergistically, a transformative outcome could be more engineering faculty positions opening to an increasingly diversified pool of talent, wherein a generation of retired/retiring faculty advocate for their empowered successors. A pilot program, Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training (IMPACT), was accordingly implemented wherein seven emeriti faculty from a large engineering college were matched with ten URM engineering faculty and one URM post-doctoral associate (i.e., some emeriti faculty had multiple one-on-one assignments). The younger faculty stakeholders were from different engineering colleges, and each had near-term aspirations regarding their progression through academia. Protocols used for recruiting-matching and proactive intervention were key implementation measures. Both sets of participants have generally had positive outcomes from, and sentiments toward, this initiative; yet there have been some “lessons learned” (e.g., establishing a minimal frequency of contact between emeriti and engineering faculty to which both are more rigorously held accountable).
Qualitative and Quantitative Characterization of Liquids from TDR Measurements

Time-domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a wel l-establ ished technique for the development of microwave sensors devoted to the die lectr ic character izat ion of mater ials . This renders TDR an appeal ing method for a var iety of monitor ing appl icat ions. Ti l l now, TDR has been successful ly appl ied to solve hydrological or soi l prospect ing problems, though i ts adopt ion in many other cases is worth an invest igat ion. In th is paper , i t is demonstrated that TDR is a v iable approach for quant i ta t ive and qual i ta ive realt ime character izat ion of l iquids ins ide tanks. In fact , in one shot the sui table handl ing of t ime-domain ref lectometry data al lows the determinat ion of the l iquid level , as wel l as the evaluat ion of die lectr ic propert ies , such as d ielectr ic permit t iv i ty and electr ical conduct iv i ty. Some appl icat ions to real cases are proposed, referred to petrol-chemical mixtures or water-based l iquids, thus val idat ing the approach on a wide range of mater ials .
Reviewing 3 G “ Optimism ” : Services , Segments and Stages of Reality Braunstein

This paper starts by presenting a framework to compare approaches used to forecast the demand for third-generation (3G or UMTS) mobile telecommunications. This analysis envisions the models as forming a spectrum according to how finely they divide the potential market. The division may be in terms of particular services offered, devices used, and/or demographics. The spectrum ranges from the polar extremes of a single, undifferentiated market to models with ten or more services. Given the tradeoffs between massive data needs, model complexity, and the difficulties in aggregating demands across services and segments, it appears that there is an advantage to having a model with a limited number of services along with an explicit approach to the aggregation problem. We then discuss how to incorporate mobile network coverage decisions and demographic changes into a diffusion model. In the final sections we present a first look at how successful one set of 3G demand projections has been and concluding remarks.
A simple implementation of grammar libraries

This paper presents an extension of the Tatoo compiler compiler that supports separate compilation and dynamic linking of formal grammars. It allows the developer to define reusable libraries of grammars such as those of arithmetic expressions or of classical control operators. The aim of this feature is to simplify the development of domain specific languages especially for non specialists in grammar writing.
Diversities in presentations of extrapulmonary tuberculosis

The incidence of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) has been increasing worldwide over the last few years. Tuberculous lymphadenitis is the most common form of the disease and is reported to occur in 25–60% of all EPTB cases. It is commonly seen in the cervical lymph nodes, but may also be in the larynx, pharynx, parotid and rarely, in the sinuses and petrous bone. The posterior triangle, supraclavicular and jugular nodes are most frequently affected. They are usually unilateral, although diffuse adenopathy may occur. TB involving cervical lymph nodes represents 50% of extrapulmonary TB. A series of six cases of tuberculous lymphadenitis with varying clinical features is documented here to alert one of its prevalence in developing countries.
Long-Term Survival in a Large Cohort of Patients with Venous Thrombosis: Incidence and Predictors

Linda Flinterman and colleagues report on the long-term mortality rate for individuals who have experienced a first venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. They describe an ongoing elevated risk of death for individuals who had experienced a venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism as compared to controls, for up to eight years after the event.
Virtual Infrastructure Management in Private and Hybrid Clouds

One of the many definitions of "cloud" is that of an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) system, in which IT infrastructure is deployed in a provider's data center as virtual machines. With IaaS clouds' growing popularity, tools and technologies are emerging that can transform an organization's existing infrastructure into a private or hybrid cloud. OpenNebula is an open source, virtual infrastructure manager that deploys virtualized services on both a local pool of resources and external IaaS clouds. Haizea, a resource lease manager, can act as a scheduling back end for OpenNebula, providing features not found in other cloud software or virtualization-based data center management software.
UbiTouch: ubiquitous smartphone touchpads using built-in proximity and ambient light sensors

Smart devices are increasingly shrinking in size, which results in new challenges for user-mobile interaction through minuscule touchscreens. Existing works to explore alternative interaction technologies mainly rely on external devices which degrade portability. In this paper, we propose UbiTouch, a novel system that extends smartphones with virtual touchpads on desktops using built-in smartphone sensors. It senses a user's finger movement with a proximity and ambient light sensor whose raw sensory data from underlying hardware are strongly dependent on the finger's locations. UbiTouch maps the raw data into the finger's positions by utilizing Curvilinear Component Analysis and improve tracking accuracy via a particle filter. We have evaluate our system in three scenarios with different lighting conditions by five users. The results show that UbiTouch achieves centimetre-level localization accuracy and poses no significant impact on the battery life. We envisage that UbiTouch could support applications such as text-writing and drawing.
Canadian cancer nurses' views on recruitment and retention.

AIM The purpose of this study was to explore oncology nurses' perceptions about recruitment and retention. BACKGROUND Competition among healthcare organizations to recruit and retain qualified nurses is a real-life challenge. Focusing attention on human resource planning in oncology is highlighted by both the worsening nursing shortage and cancer incidence. METHODS A participatory action research approach was used and 12 focus groups with 91 cancer nurses were conducted across Canada to collect data about strategies that could improve recruitment and retention. RESULTS Four themes emerged reflecting oncology nurses' beliefs and values about organizational practices that attract and retain nurses and they are as follows: (1) recognizing oncology as a specialty, (2) tacit knowledge no longer enough, (3) gratification as a retaining factor, and (4) relationship dependent on environment. CONCLUSIONS Participants highlighted leadership, recognition and professional and continuing education opportunities as critical to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Recruitment and retention were viewed as a continuum where organizational investment begins with a well-developed orientation and ongoing mentorship to ensure knowledge development. The challenge for nurse leaders is to use the evidence generated from this study and previous studies to develop professional practice environments that facilitate the cultural changes needed to build and sustain a quality nursing workforce.
Effects of confluent monolayers of density-inhibited and -transformed cells on the growth of superinoculated cells.

The effect of confluent monolayers of density-inhibited (A31-714, 10T½, and Hepano) and transformed (SEA-7, HSV-2-5, and HT2B-1) cells on the proliferation of superinoculated cells was examined. Most monolayers were lethally irradiated. The growth of density-inhibited cells was inhibited when they were inoculated on a monolayer of homologous cells. In contrast the growth pattern of transformed cells on a homologous cell sheet was not different from that on an empty plate. The growth capacity of density-inhibited cells on a monolayer of heterologous density-inhibited cells was as follows: ( a ) the growth of A31-714 cells was inhibited by neither 10T½ nor Hepano cells; ( b ) 10T½ cells proliferated well on Hepano cells but not on A31-714 cells; ( c ) the growth of Hepano cells was inhibited by both A31-714 and 10T½ cells; ( d ) densityinhibited cells were able to proliferate on top of homologous cells once the basal cell layer was fixed with either glutaraldehyde or osmic acid; ( e ) the effect of a monolayer of two types of transformed cells on superinoculated density-inhibited cells was also tested. HSV-2-5 cells restricted the growth of density-inhibited cells, but SEA-7 cells did not. These growth-regulatory effects do not seem to be mediated by soluble substances released into the culture medium by cells.
The measurement of the volume of stereotaxtic MRI hippocampal formation applying the Region growth algorithm based on seeds

The paper mainly probes into the accuracy of applying the Region growth algorithm to MRI images segmentation. Firstly the researchers scan the adult volunteers to get stereotaxtic MRI images, then discern and segment them in two separate ways: Region growth algorithm and manual segmentation, and compare the differences in results. The outcome shows no obvious difference exists, so the Region growth algorithm can be used into the segmentation of some complex formations such as hippocampus.
Method for Synthesis and Control of Biofuel Supply Chains Integrated with the Relevant Systems for Utilization of Production-Generated Waste By-products

In the last decade has seen a reduction in the quantities of fossil raw materials for the production of conventional fuels, which in turn is accompanied by deepening environmental problems. There is a tendency to increase production of biofuels and increasing quantities of waste produced. They are classified as productive (technological) and operational (for utilization of biofuels and their values). This research work focuses on creating tools for supply chains (SC), describing the optimal management of production and operational waste. Developed are tools that includes a mathematical model and its optimization for production and use of biofuels on the following criteria: production technology, spatial distribution logistics and production units and environmental pollution with waste fuel gases containing mostly of CO 2 . Building SC also aims to provide the necessary quantities of fuels for heating and transport systems as well as their optimization environmentally friendly aspect.
Numerical study of blood flow in an anatomically realistic aorto‐iliac bifurcation generated from MRI data

Magnetic resonance imaging and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been used in combination to simulate flow patterns at the human aorto‐iliac bifurcation. Vascular anatomy was reconstructed from stacked two‐dimensional (2D) time‐of‐flight images, and revealed asymmetric, nonplanar geometry with curvature in the abdominal aorta and right iliac artery. The left iliac artery was straight and exhibited a smaller take off angle than the right iliac artery. The anatomical reconstruction was used to generate a computational mesh and obtain CFD predictions of flow and wall shear stress (WSS) within the region of interest. The dynamic boundary conditions necessary were specified by 2D cine phase contrast measurements of velocity profiles in each component vessel. Predicted flow patterns were in good quantitative agreement with experiment and demonstrated major differences in WSS distributions between the iliac arteries. This noninvasive approach has considerable potential to evaluate local geometries and WSS as risk factors for arterial disease in individual subjects. Magn Reson Med 43:565–576, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pointer analysis and its applications for Java programs

This thesis investigates the design and the correctness of a pointer analysis for the Java programming language. Although the analysis is based on a previous analysis, we made several important modifications that make it distinct from the original one. The major part of this thesis is dedicated to the correctness proof for the analysis. The analysis is a flow-sensitive, compositional, inter-procedural pointer analysis. It is based on the abstraction of points-to graphs, which characterize how local variables and fields in objects point to other objects. Each points-to graph also contains escape information that identifies the objects allocated in the analyzed part of the program that can be accessed by other parts. The analysis computes a single, parameterized points-to graph for the exit point of each method, and instantiates the graph for each call site that might invoke that method. The analysis uses placeholders to abstract over the calling context. We present three applications of the analysis: stack allocation, allocation in the thread-local heap, and synchronization removal. The analysis is able to detect that some objects are not used outside the method or the thread that allocates them. A compiler that uses the analysis can generate code that allocates these objects on the stack, respectively in a heap that is local to the allocating thread. These optimizations have the potential of reducing the garbage collection overhead. The compiler can also generate code that reduces, or even eliminates the cost of the synchronization operations executed on the objects that do not escape the thread that allocates them. In a modern language like Java, code safety is very important. The main advantage of our analysis is that is comes with a correctness proof. The proof handles all the relevant features of the analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first correctness proof for a flow-sensitive, compositional, inter-procedural pointer analysis. Thesis Supervisor: Martin C. Rinard Title: Associate Professor To all those people who showed me that human analysis is much more complicated, and rewarding! , than pointer analysis