Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation of hydrogen peroxide production by brain mitochondria by calcium and Bax

Abnormal accumulation of Ca2+ and exposure to pro‐apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, is believed to stimulate mitochondrial generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and contribute to neural cell death during acute ischemic and traumatic brain injury, and in neurodegenerative diseases, e.g. Parkinson's disease. However, the mechanism by which Ca2+ or apoptotic proteins stimulate mitochondrial ROS production is unclear. We used a sensitive fluorescent probe to compare the effects of Ca2+ on H2O2 emission by isolated rat brain mitochondria in the presence of physiological concentrations of ATP and Mg2+ and different respiratory substrates. In the absence of respiratory chain inhibitors, Ca2+ suppressed H2O2 generation and reduced the membrane potential of mitochondria oxidizing succinate, or glutamate plus malate. In the presence of the respiratory chain Complex I inhibitor rotenone, accumulation of Ca2+ stimulated H2O2 production by mitochondria oxidizing succinate, and this stimulation was associated with release of mitochondrial cytochrome c. In the presence of glutamate plus malate, or succinate, cytochrome c release and H2O2 formation were stimulated by human recombinant full‐length Bax in the presence of a BH3 cell death domain peptide. These results indicate that in the presence of ATP and Mg2+, Ca2+ accumulation either inhibits or stimulates mitochondrial H2O2 production, depending on the respiratory substrate and the effect of Ca2+ on the mitochondrial membrane potential. Bax plus a BH3 domain peptide stimulate H2O2 production by brain mitochondria due to release of cytochrome c and this stimulation is insensitive to changes in membrane potential.
Extracellular matrix components and regulators in the airway smooth muscle in asthma

There is an intimate relationship between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and smooth muscle cells within the airways. Few studies have comprehensively assessed the composition of different ECM components and its regulators within the airway smooth muscle (ASM) in asthma. With the aid of image analysis, the fractional areas of total collagen and elastic fibres were quantified within the ASM of 35 subjects with fatal asthma (FA) and compared with 10 nonfatal asthma (NFA) patients and 22 nonasthmatic control cases. Expression of collagen I and III, fibronectin, versican, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, -2, -9 and -12 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and -2 was quantified within the ASM in 22 FA and 10 control cases. In the large airways of FA cases, the fractional area of elastic fibres within the ASM was increased compared with NFA and controls. Similarly, fibronectin, MMP-9 and MMP-12 were increased within the ASM in large airways of FA cases compared with controls. Elastic fibres were increased in small airways in FA only in comparison with NFA cases. There is altered extracellular matrix composition and a degradative environment within the airway smooth muscle in fatal asthma patients, which may have important consequences for the mechanical and synthetic functions of airway smooth muscle.
Size{depth Trade{oos for Threshold Circuits { Extended Abstract

The following size{depth trade{oo for threshold circuits is obtained: any threshold circuit of depth d that computes the parity function on n variables must have at least n 1+cc ? d edges, where constants c > 0 and 3 are constants independent of n and d. Previously known constructions show that up to the choice of c and this bound is best possible. In particular, the lower bound implies an aarmative answer to the conjecture of Paturi and Saks that a bounded depth threshold circuit that computes parity requires a super{linear number of edges. This is the rst super{ linear lower bound for an explicit function that holds for any xed depth, and the rst that applies to threshold circuits with unrestricted weights. The trade-oo is obtained as a consequence of a general restriction theorem for threshold circuits with a small number of edges: For any threshold circuit with n inputs, depth d and at most kn edges, there exists a partial assignment to the inputs that xes the output of the circuit to a constant, while leaving bn=(c 1 k) c2 d c variables unnxed, where c 1 ; c 2 > 0 and 3 are constants independent of n,k, and d. A trade-oo between the number of gates and depth is also proved: any threshold circuit of depth d that computes the parity of n variables has at least (n=2) 1=2(d? 1) gates. This trade-oo, which is essentially the best possible, was proved previously (with a better constant) for the case of threshold circuits with polynomially bounded weights in 23]; the result in the present paper holds for unrestricted weights.
A Web Ontology for Copyright Contracts Management

Digitisation and the Internet carry new opportunities and threats to content markets, but traditional Digital Rights Management does not suffice to face them. The main problems are the lack of interoperability, the ignorance of user rights and implementation costs. Our proposal is to take copyright into account as a way to establish a common interoperability ground and means to incorporate user rights. It is based on a Semantic Web ontology that conceptualises the copyright domain. The ontology provides the building blocks for flexible machine-understandable copyright contracts and facilitates their implementation because existing Semantic Web tools can be easily reused.
Evaluation of Hepatic Tumors Using Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion-Weighted MRI

Background This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the D value, D* value, and f magnitude for identifying benign and malignant hepatic tumors using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Material/Methods Data of 89 cases (123 lesions) with hepatic tumor confirmed by surgical pathology and postoperative follow-up were retrospectively collected. Among these cases, 40 cases were benign hepatic tumors (57 lesions) and 49 cases were malignant hepatic tumors (66 lesions). All subjects underwent conventional MRI with T1WI, T2WI, multi-b-value DWI, and dynamic enhanced LAVA scan. Diffusion-weighted images with 11 b values (0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1000 s/mm2) were obtained to calculate true molecular diffusion (D), perfusion-related diffusion coefficient (D*), and perfusion fraction (f). The diagnostic performance in differentiating between malignant and benign hepatic lesions was analyzed. Results Malignant lesions had a significantly lower D value ([1.04±0.34]×10−3 mm2/s) and D* value ([16.5±7.7]×10−3 mm2/s) compared to benign lesions (D value: [1.70±0.55]×10−3 mm2/s, P<0.01; D* value: [21.7±9.9]×10−3 mm2/s, P<0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in f values between malignant (23.3±9.5) and benign lesions (33.5±14.9, P=0.13). In addition, D exhibited a better diagnostic performance than D* in terms of the area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity when identifying malignancies from benign lesions. Conclusions D and D* are significant parameters for diagnosing hepatic tumors. Moreover, the D value is a more reliable parameter in distinguishing benign and malignant hepatic tumors.
Behavioral features of CHARGE syndrome (Hall–Hittner syndrome) comparison with Down syndrome, Prader–Willi syndrome, and Williams syndrome

CHARGE syndrome, or Hall–Hitner syndrome (HHS), has been delineated as a common syndrome that includes coloboma, choanal atresia, cranial nerve dysfunction (particularly asymmetric facial palsy and neurogenic swallowing problems), characteristic ear abnormalities, deafness with hypoplasia of the cochlea and semicircular canals, genital hypoplasia, and variable heart defects, orofacial clefting, tracheo‐esophageal fistula, renal anomalies, thymic/parathyroid hypoplasia, spine anomalies, short broad neck with sloping shoulders, and characteristic facial features. We conducted behavioral and personality assessments in 14 boys with HHS syndrome aged 6–21 years, and compared their characteristics with similar data from 20 age‐matched boys with Down syndrome (DS), 17 boys with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), and 16 boys with Williams syndrome (WS). We used the Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals and Motivation Sensitivities, the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC). All 14 boys with HHS were legally deaf, and 10 of the 14 were also legally blind. In comparison these other syndromes, boys with HHS had behavior that resembled autistic spectrum disorder. They were socially withdrawn, lacked interest in social contact, and manifested reduced seeking of attention from others, with hyperactivity and a need to maintain order. Though the boys with HHS showed decreased social interaction, they were not as socially impaired as in classic autism. Their language was delayed due to dual sensory impairment, cranial nerve deficits, and chronic medical problems, but their language style was not abnormal (no echolalia or jargon, no scripted phrases, and no pronoun reversal). Boys with HSS appeared frustrated, but they were not aggressive, or at risk for delinquency, manifesting few stereotypic behaviors or unusual preoccupations. They did not have a restricted repertoire of activities and interests. Their behavioral features appeared to be due to dual sensory impairment affecting hearing and vision, rather than to primary autistic spectrum disorder, but successful remediation requires similar educational interventions, which are discussed herein. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ATLAS: Adaptive Topology- and Load-Aware Scheduling

The largest strength of contention-based MAC protocols is simultaneously the largest weakness of their scheduled counterparts: the ability to adapt to changes in network conditions. For scheduling to be competitive in mobile wireless networks, continuous adaptation must be addressed. We propose ATLAS, an Adaptive Topology- and Load-Aware Scheduling protocol to address this problem. In ATLAS, each node employs a random schedule achieving its persistence, the fraction of time a node is permitted to transmit, that is computed in a topology and load dependent manner. A distributed auction (REACT) piggybacks offers and claims onto existing network traffic to compute a lexicographic max-min channel allocation. A node's persistence p is related to its allocation. Its schedule achieving p is updated where and when needed, without waiting for a frame boundary. We study how ATLAS adapts to controlled changes in topology and load. Our results show that ATLAS adapts to most network changes in less than 0.1s, with about 20 percent relative error, scaling with network size. We further study ATLAS in more dynamic networks showing that it keeps up with changes in topology and load sufficient for TCP to sustain multi-hop flows, a struggle in IEEE 802.11 networks. The stable performance of ATLAS supports the design of higher-layer services that inform, and are informed by, the underlying communication network.
A Single Texture Object 3-D Depth Recovery

In this paper, we propose a method that combines the monocular vision with the binocular vision to process a single texture image that the feature points difficult to extract and restore the depth information of the inclined plane objects. Through integration of the two approaches, we combine the advantages of monocular vision in terms of the recovery of the basic structure of objects in the image with the advantages of binocular vision in terms of the accurate depth estimation after correctly determining the corresponding feature points, obtain high precision and accuracy depth estimates. Experiments show that application of this integration can obtain high-accuracy depth map. Moreover, a high quality 3-D reconstruction is also obtained from the accuracy depth map.
Formative Evaluation of a Family Cooperation Board Game

OF THESIS FORMATIVE EVALUATION OF A FAMILY COOPERATION BOARD GAME A lack of credible evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of play therapy and the use of therapeutic board game in play therapy exists (Phillips, 2010; Matorin, 1996). Parent involvement is a key variable in the effectiveness of play therapy (Kottman, Stother, and Deniger, 2001). Formative research was used in this study to evaluate of The Super Family Board GameTM (SFBG) in order to develop an effective therapeutic board game aimed at enhancing family cooperation and cohesion. As the first formative evaluation of a therapeutic board game, this study provides future research implications for developing and testing therapeutic board games.
Impact of Short-Range and Long-Range Dependence on Variable Bit Rate Video Tra c Performance

Traditionally, Markovian models have been used to statistically represent variable bit rate (VBR) video traac. These models exhibit short-range dependence (SRD). However, recent measurements show that VBR video traac possesses self-similar characteristics, meaning that long-range dependence (LRD) in the traac stream lasts much longer than traditional models can capture. This paper investigates the relative performance impacts of SRD and LRD in VBR video traac, by conducting a simulation study using four sets of VBR video data: (1) a real video trace, with both SRD and LRD, (2) a synthetic video trace with only LRD, (3) a synthetic video trace with only SRD, and (4) a synthetic video trace without SRD and LRD. The performance study suggests that video traac models must capture both SRD and LRD.
FORMAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SYNTAX OF THE LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE

Artificial intelligence is a type of the software, capable of performing the mental work of a man. Machine translation belongs to the very same sphere. The first stage of the machine translation is the grammatical analysis of a sentence. The article presents the methods of how the syntactic analysis of a Lithuanian sentence should be performed by a computer. In the course of the analysis, very specific features of the Lithuanian language, namely, its great inflexion and the free word order in a sentence, should be taken into account. For the purpose of alleviating the tasks of the programming, the syntactic rules of the Lithuanian language are written in the BNF (Backus-Naur Form), following the formal rules of the context-free grammar (if we bear in mind the rules of N. Chomsky formal grammar classification).
Crohn's Disease-Associated Adherent-Invasive Escherichia coli Adhesion Is Enhanced by Exposure to the Ubiquitous Dietary Polysaccharide Maltodextrin

Crohn's disease (CD) is associated with intestinal dysbiosis evidenced by an altered microbiome forming thick biofilms on the epithelium. Additionally, adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC) strains are frequently isolated from ileal lesions of CD patients indicating a potential role for these strains in disease pathogenesis. The composition and characteristics of the host microbiome are influenced by environmental factors, particularly diet. Polysaccharides added to food as emulsifiers, stabilizers or bulking agents have been linked to bacteria-associated intestinal disorders. The escalating consumption of polysaccharides in Western diets parallels an increased incidence of CD during the latter 20th century. In this study, the effect of a polysaccharide panel on adhesiveness of the CD-associated AIEC strain LF82 was analyzed to determine if these food additives promote disease-associated bacterial phenotypes. Maltodextrin (MDX), a polysaccharide derived from starch hydrolysis, markedly enhanced LF82 specific biofilm formation. Biofilm formation of multiple other E. coli strains was also promoted by MDX. MDX-induced E. coli biofilm formation was independent of polysaccharide chain length indicating a requirement for MDX metabolism. MDX exposure induced type I pili expression, which was required for MDX-enhanced biofilm formation. MDX also increased bacterial adhesion to human intestinal epithelial cell monolayers in a mechanism dependent on type 1 pili and independent of the cellular receptor CEACAM6, suggesting a novel mechanism of epithelial cell adhesion. Analysis of mucosa-associated bacteria from individuals with and without CD showed increased prevalence of malX, a gene essential for MDX metabolism, uniquely in the ileum of CD patients. These findings demonstrate that the ubiquitous dietary component MDX enhances E. coli adhesion and suggests a mechanism by which Western diets rich in specific polysaccharides may promote dysbiosis of gut microbes and contribute to disease susceptibility.
Les trois obligations de Mauss aujourd'hui : donner, recevoir et rendre chez les Enga

Meme s'il consacre la majeure partie de l'« Essai sur le don » a l'obligation de rendre, Mauss y indique tres nettement que celle-ci n'est pas plus importante que celles de donner et de recevoir, avec lesquelles elle forme les « trois themes du meme complexus ». Depuis Mauss, toutefois, les descriptions et les analyses des systemes d'echanges ceremoniels ne traitent en general de maniere detaillee que de l'obligation de rendre. On tente ici de mettre en evidence trois formes particulieres d'interdependance des trois obligations, caracteristiques du « tee » des Tombema Enga et des echanges « twem » des Mendi (hautes terres de Nouvelle-Guinee).
Multiple Disadvantages of Mayan Females: The Effects of Gender, Ethnicity, Poverty, and Residence on Education in Guatemala

Although access to primary education in Guatemala has increased in recent years particularly in rural areas levels of educational attainment and literacy remain among the lowest in Latin America. Problems include late entry grade repetition and early dropout. Inequalities in school access and grade attainment linked to ethnicity gender poverty and residence remain. Age trends show that Mayan females are the least likely to ever enroll and if they do enroll to start school the latest and drop out earliest. Mayan females are not a homogeneous group however. Summary statistics indicate that the one-fourth of Mayan girls who are non-poor have primary school entry rates school entry age and grade-for-age levels equal to those of Ladina females and conditional upon primary school completion have secondary school enrollment levels about 80 percent of those of Ladina females. The one-quarter of Mayan girls who are extremely poor on the other hand have the worst educational outcomes of all. Multivariate results indicate that being Mayan and female is a barrier to enrollment particularly among those who are poor. Enrollment rates drop sharply at age 12 and the dropout curve is steepest for Mayan females. While age 12 would be a time of transition from primary to secondary school for children who entered school on time and made regular progress most nonenrolled children aged 12 and older especially those who are Mayan have very low grade attainment and few have completed primary school. The main constraint to Mayan educational achievement therefore appears to be primary school completion. Among nonenrolled young people aged 13-24 household duties and lack of money were the constraints most frequently mentioned by females. Early marriage did not appear to directly affect female enrollment but related qualitative findings indicate that Mayan parents expectations of daughters future roles may reduce parental incentives to invest in education beyond the age of puberty. For adolescent males regardless of ethnicity market work was by far the most frequently cited cause for nonenrollment followed by lack of money. Lack of physical access to school was not a frequently cited constraint for children in any age group. In addition to poverty-reduction programs mechanisms to encourage poor families to start their childrens schooling at age 7 may lead to fewer competing interests with regard to time allocation as children approach puberty and are compelled to assume adult work roles. (authors)
O desempenho de websites organizacionais: uma proposta de modelo avaliador

The Internet and the World Wide Web have transformed the way organizations communicate and conduct transactions by enabling to overcome temporal and geographical barriers. Consequently, organizations feel the need to have a presence in this space being the Websites the vehicle of choice. However, defining the characteristics that a Website must have is far from being a trivial task. In particular, managers need a tool to evaluate Websites so that they can make decisions to improve their effectiveness. This paper proposes an evaluation model of organizational Websites based on an analysis of the literature. The model is structured in two areas (content and design), each area is composed of several dimensions and each dimension includes several items of analysis. A future * Mestre em Gestão pelo Centro Regional das Beiras, Universidade Católica Portuguesa. † Professor auxiliar do Centro Regional das Beiras, Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Luísa Alexandra Lopes e Nuno Filipe Melão 58 objective of this investigation is to test this model in a sample of Portuguese small and medium enterprises.
Basic mechanisms of development of airway structural changes in asthma

Airway remodelling is a complex process that involves all of the component tissues of the airway from the epithelium to the adventitia. Each of the changes has the potential to alter airway physiology so as to promote airway narrowing, hyperresponsiveness and inflammation. Structural changes, such as epithelial metaplasia, airway fibrosis and airway smooth muscle hyperplasia, have been successfully modelled in animals. These models are being extensively characterised and are providing valuable insights into mechanisms that are likely to be quite relevant to human asthma. Remodelling is induced by factors synthesised and secreted both by inflammatory cells and by structural cells, the latter frequently under the influence of the former. While information concerning the genesis of inflammation is abundant, the precise factors responsible for cellular hyperplasia, hypertrophy and altered matrix deposition are far from resolved. Elucidation of these factors will no doubt lead to novel therapies designed to prevent or reverse these changes.
The Influence of Ethnicity in the Relationship between Sedentary Screen Time and Left Ventricular Mass: Insights from the MAG-SALVAGES

Background: The influence of race/ethnicity on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass has been recently suggested, but remains a subject of debate, and has never been explored in Africa. Purpose: To determine whether there is a racial/ethnic influence on the relationship between sedentary screen time and left ventricular mass in MAGhreb and Sub Saharan Africa Left-Ventricul ArGEometry Study (MAG-SALVAGES) participants. Methods: 100 blacks sub-Saharan African and 187 white Maghreb aged 18 - 55 years underwent an interview on their behavioral measures, physical activity and eating habits. Their left ventricular mass has also been measured by a resting transthoracic echography according to the American Society of Echography. Generalized linear models evaluated a test-for-trend across higher levels of sedentary screen time in progressive models with left ventricular measurements as dependent variables. The study population was stratified into quartiles of sedentary screen time (separately for whites and blacks) and examined the joint association of sedentary screen time and LVM within quartiles of physical activity. Results: Among White Maghreb, higher screen time was associated with smaller left ventricular mass (P < 0.001). This association persisted when adjusting for age, gender, heart rate, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure QRS duration, TAPS and PAPS. Whereas, in blacks sub-Saharan African, the left ventricular mass was not associated with sedentary screen time. Conclusions: Sedentary screen time is associated with smaller left ventricular mass in White Maghreb, not in black sub-Saharan African. The lack of association in blacks supports a potential qualitative difference in the cardiovascular consequences of sedentary screen based behavior.