Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute stress enhances the expression of neuroprotection- and neurogenesis-associated genes in the hippocampus of a mouse restraint model

Stress arises from an external demand placed on an organism that triggers physiological, cognitive and behavioural responses in order to cope with that request. It is thus an adaptive response useful for the survival of an organism. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize global changes in gene expression in the hippocampus in response to acute stress stimuli, by employing a mouse model of short-term restraint stress. In our experimental design mice were subjected to a one time exposure of restraint stress and the regulation of gene expression in the hippocampus was examined 3, 12 and 24 hours thereafter. Microarray analysis revealed that mice which had undergone acute restraint stress differed from non-stressed controls in global hippocampal transcriptional responses. An up-regulation of transcripts contributing directly or indirectly to neurogenesis and neuronal protection including, Ttr, Rab6, Gh, Prl, Ndufb9 and Ndufa6, was observed. Systems level analyses revealed a significant enrichment for neurogenesis, neuron morphogenesis- and cognitive functions-related biological process terms and pathways. This work further supports the hypothesis that acute stress mediates a positive action on the hippocampus favouring the formation and the preservation of neurons, which will be discussed in the context of current data from the literature.
Occlusion-robust segmentation for multiple objects using a micro air vehicle

This paper presents a novel object extraction method using a micro air vehicle (MAV) for improving the robustness of occlusion. The proposed method is based on saliency of objects for extracting regions of interest (RoIs) using scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) features and segmentation of target objects using GrabCut, which requires advance learning. We obtained original aerial photographic time-series image datasets using a MAV. Results of experiments revealed that object extraction accuracies measured using precision, recall, and F-measure improved according to the MAV movement for images with changing rates of collusion between two objects: a chair and a table. Especially for images of a chair, which is smaller than the table, our method functioned well for the extraction of object regions. For improving extraction accuracy based on the result to extract the table, an advanced mechanism combined with flight patterns is necessary to adjust the suitable distance between the MAV and a target object.
Experimental validation of a Bulk Built-In Current Sensor for detecting laser-induced currents

Bulk Built-In Current Sensors (BBICS) were developed to detect the transient bulk currents induced in the bulk of integrated circuits when hit by ionizing particles or pulsed laser. This paper reports the experimental evaluation of a complete BBICS architecture, designed to simultaneously monitor PMOS and NMOS transistors, under Photoelectric Laser Stimulation (PLS). The obtained results are the first experimental proof of the efficiency of BBICS in laser fault injection detection attempts. Furthermore, this paper highlights the importance of BBICS tapping in a sensitive area (logical gates) for improved laser detection. It studies the performances of this BBICS architecture and suggests modifications for its future implementation.
A Pax3/Dmrt2/Myf5 Regulatory Cascade Functions at the Onset of Myogenesis

All skeletal muscle progenitor cells in the body derive from the dermomyotome, the dorsal epithelial domain of developing somites. These multipotent stem cells express Pax3, and this expression is maintained in the myogenic lineage where Pax3 plays an important role. Identification of Pax3 targets is therefore important for understanding the mechanisms that underlie the onset of myogenesis. In a microarray screen of Pax3-GFP sorted cells, with analysis on Pax3 gain and loss of function genetic backgrounds, we identify Dmrt2, expressed in the dermomyotome, as a Pax3 target. In vitro gel shift analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation with in vivo extracts show that Pax3 binds to a conserved 286 bp sequence, situated at −18 kb from Dmrt2. This sequence directs reporter transgene expression to the somite, and this is severely affected when the Pax3 site is mutated in the context of the locus. In Dmrt2 mutant embryos, somite maturation is perturbed and the skeletal muscle of the myotome is abnormal. We now report that the onset of myogenesis is also affected. This depends on activation, in the epaxial dermomyotome, of the myogenic determination gene, Myf5, through its early epaxial enhancer. This sequence contains sites that bind Dmrt2, which belongs to the DM class of DNA–binding proteins. Mutation of these sites compromises activity of the enhancer in transgenic embryos where the reporter transgene is under the control of the Myf5 epaxial enhancer. Transactivation of this site by Dmrt2 is demonstrated in vitro, and conditional overexpression of Dmrt2 in Pax3 expressing cells in the somite confirms the role of this factor in the activation of Myf5. These results reveal a novel genetic network, comprising a Pax3/Dmrt2/Myf5 regulatory cascade that operates in stem cells of the epaxial dermomyotome to initiate skeletal muscle formation.
The effects of blastocyst morphological score and blastocoele re-expansion speed after warming on pregnancy outcomes

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate associations between the morphology score of blastocysts and blastocoele re-expansion speed after warming with clinical outcomes, which could assist in making correct and cost-effective decisions regarding the appropriate time to vitrify blastocysts and to transfer vitrified-warmed blastocysts. Methods A total of 327 vitrified-warmed two-blastocyst transfer cycles in women 38 years old and younger were included in this retrospective study. Results The clinical pregnancy rate (CPR) and implantation rate (IR) of transfers of two good-morphology grade 4 blastocysts vitrified on day 5 (64.1% and 46.8%, respectively) were significantly higher than the CPR and IR associated with the transfers of two good-morphology grade 3 blastocysts vitrified on day 5 (46.7% and 32.2%, respectively). No significant differences were found in the CPR and IR among the transfers of two good-morphology grade 4 blastocysts regardless of the day of cryopreservation. Logistic regression analysis showed that blastocoele re-expansion speed after warming was associated with the CPR. Conclusion The selection of a good-morphology grade 4 blastocyst to be vitrified could be superior to the choice of a grade 3 blastocyst. Extending the culture of grade 3 blastocysts and freezing grade 4 or higher blastocysts on day 6 could lead to a greater likelihood of pregnancy. Since re-expansion was shown to be a morphological marker of superior blastocyst viability, blastocysts that quickly re-expand after warming should be prioritized for transfer.
Residues and tame symbols in toric geometry

We introduce a new approach to study of systems of algebraic equations in (C*)^n whose Newton polytopes have sufficiently general relative locations. Recently A. Khovanskii found an explicit formula for the product of the roots of such a system. Also an explicit formula for the sum of the Grothendieck residues over the roots of such a system was found by O. Gelfond and A. Khovanskii. Our approach gives a uniform explanation of both these results in terms of Parshin's residues and tame symbols on toroidal varieties, and extends these results to the case of an algebraically closed field of arbitrary characteristic.
Benefits of IT in supply chain management – an explorative study of progressive Finnish Companies

It is commonly acknowledged that information technology (IT) is and increasingly will be an essential element of managing logistics operations in networks. However, there is less empirical evidence describing of the actual benefits of IT in supply chain management (SCM). This study, by means of a small survey and case-interviews, examines within selected progressive companies what are the benefits, types of use, and trend in the use of information technology in industrial supply chains. Five propositions on the use and benefits of IT are presented. First, successful companies have developed focused e-business solutions for improving customer service elements that are most important in their business. Second, efficiency has improved which allows company personnel to focus more on business critical activities. Third, the use of e-business solutions improves information quality. Fourth, e-business solutions that are based on planning collaboration improve agility of the supply network. Finally, for receiving strategic benefits, the use of IT has to be coupled with process re-design. In addition, as an empirical observation, companies have progressed in the use of e-business technologies in transaction execution under the last five years. The key enabling factors have been the proliferation of Internet technology and emergence of 3 party service providers in information transmission. In practise the benefits from the use of IT in supply chain relations are mostly related to operational efficiency: to single supply chain processes, such as order information exchange. However, based on the study results, some companies have been able to implement larger scale ebusiness solutions using technology diversely in network level. A key in benefiting from IT strategically is to re-design business processes.
ON HARMONIC SPINORS

We study the question to what extend classical Hodge–deRham theoryfor harmonic diﬀerential forms carries over to harmonic spinors. Despitesome special phenomena in very low dimensions and despite the Atiyah–Singer index theorem which provides a link between harmonic spinors andthe topology of the underlying manifold it turns out that in many dimen-sions harmonic spinors are not topologically obstructed. In this respectharmonic spinors behave very diﬀerently from harmonic diﬀerential forms.We also discuss parallel spinors and Killing spinors.PACS numbers: 02.40. Ma, 02.40. Vh
Omnidirectional circularly polarized antennas – a small antenna perspective

1 Abstract—The paper discusses recent developments and challenges in the design of small omnidirectional circularly-polarized (CP) antennas. Although omnidirectional CP coverage is easily achievable using antenna arrays, it is just recently that small and low-cost antennas delivered this functionality. The paper addresses practical design problems for these antennas, not reported in previous publications. This includes selection of the omnidirectional plane relative to the ground plane and measurement challenges. Future perspectives on how these antennas can provide electronically steerable beams are investigated using simulated results.
Sampling High-Dimensional Gaussian Distributions for General Linear Inverse Problems

This paper is devoted to the problem of sampling Gaussian distributions in high dimension. Solutions exist for two specific structures of inverse covariance: sparse and circulant. The proposed algorithm is valid in a more general case especially as it emerges in linear inverse problems as well as in some hierarchical or latent Gaussian models. It relies on a perturbation-optimization principle: adequate stochastic perturbation of a criterion and optimization of the perturbed criterion. It is proved that the criterion optimizer is a sample of the target distribution. The main motivation is in inverse problems related to general (nonconvolutive) linear observation models and their solution in a Bayesian framework implemented through sampling algorithms when existing samplers are infeasible. It finds a direct application in myopic/unsupervised inversion methods as well as in some non-Gaussian inversion methods. An illustration focused on hyperparameter estimation for super-resolution method shows the interest and the feasibility of the proposed algorithm.
FACTORS AFFECTING KNOWLEDGE SHARINF BEHAVIOR : A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL FINDINGS

In the knowledge-based era, knowledge is the foundation of a firm’s competitive edge. In practice, knowledge sharing is the core and the most difficult activity of knowledge management. Through a review of literatures on knowledge sharing, ten factors affecting knowledge sharing behaviors were identified based on the study of Kankanhalli et al. (2005). Content analysis was then applied to 16 journal articles that examined the behaviors of knowledge contribution. Correspondingly, this study aimed to combine various results to find out critical factors affecting knowledge sharing. The paper concludes that trust, pro-sharing norms, identification, and reciprocity are primary factors in a majority of articles.
MHC:Peptide Ligands Superantigen Shows a Similar Affinity to TCR with MHC Class II and Bacterial Cutting Edge: Trimolecular Interaction of

2 Bacterial superantigens such as Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A (SEA) are very potent stimulators of T cells. They bind to the V b region of the TCR and to MHC class II, stimulating T cells at nanomolar concentrations. Using surface plasmon resonance measurements, we ﬁnd that binding between the in-dividual components of the complex (TCR-class II, TCR-SEA, SEA-class II) is very weak, but that the stability of the trimolecular complex is considerably enhanced, reaching an afﬁnity similar to that found for TCR interactions with MHC:peptide ligand. Thus, the potency of SEA in stimulation of T cells is not due to particularly strong afﬁnities between the proteins, but to a cooperative effect of interactions in the TCR-SEA-MHC class II trimolecular complex that brings the kinetics into a similar range to binding of conventional Ags. This range may be the optimum for T cell activation. The Journal of Immunology, 1999, 163: 6–10. he ab TCR initiates activation of T cells by recognition of peptide fragments of Ag bound in the groove of MHC molecules. Bacterial superantigens (b-SAgs), 3 as exem-pliﬁed by the Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins, such as SEA and SEB, are powerful T cell mitogens produced by certain bac-teria that activate T cells by binding to the V b region of the TCR (1, 2). SAgs do not require Ag processing, but efﬁcient presenta-tion requires binding of the SAg to an MHC class II molecule at the surface of an Ag presenting cell (3–5). b-SAgs bind to class II at sites distinct from the conventional peptide binding groove on the MHC class II protein. The precise
Distribution of local density of states in disordered metallic samples: Logarithmically normal asymptotics.

Asymptotical behavior of the distribution function of local density of states (LDOS) in disordered metallic samples is studied with making use of the supersymmetric �–model approach, in combination with the saddle–point method. The LDOS distribution is found to have the logarithmically normal asymptotics for quasi–1D and 2D sample geometry. In the case of a quasi–1D sample, the result is confirmed by the exact solution. In 2D case a perfect agreement with an earlier renormalization group calculation is found. In 3D the found asymptotics is of somewhat different type: P(�) ∼ exp(−const |ln 3 �|).
Trade Blocs: Economics and Politics: Acknowledgments

Preferential trade blocs are in vogue. Despite the successes achieved in liberalizing trade by multilateral trade negotiations sponsored by the World Trade Organization (WTO), numerous countries have separately negotiated preferential trade treaties with one another. Representing a significant departure from the WTO’s central principle of nondiscrimination among member countries, preferential trade blocs are now the subject of an intense academic and policy debate. The first section of this book presents a rudimentary and intuitive introduction to the economics of preferential trade agreements. The following chapters present the author’s theoretical and empirical research on a number of questions surrounding the issue of preferential trade agreements, including the design of necessarily welfareimproving trade blocs, the quantitative (econometric) evaluation of the economic (welfare) impact of preferential trade liberalization, and the impact of preferential trade agreements and the multilateral trade system.
A neural network algorithm for propositional horn satis abilityand query answeringAntje

We present a neural network algorithm which brings together results about the parallel complexity of certain fragments of propositional logic and the advantages of massively parallel computations performed by neural networks. We construct a neural network which is able to decide satisifability of a propositional horn formula or answer queries to it in linear time. If the formula consists only of clauses with at most two literals it takes only constant time. Furthermore we point out how this system could be extended to represent terms and consequently cover a fragment of predicate logic.
How the brain might work: statistics flowing in redundant population codes

It is widely believed that the brain performs approximate probabilistic inference to estimate causal variables in the world from ambiguous sensory data. To understand these computations, we need to analyze how information is represented and transformed by the actions of nonlinear recurrent neural networks. We propose that these probabilistic computations function by a message-passing algorithm operating at the level of redundant neural populations. To explain this framework, we review its underlying concepts, including graphical models, sufficient statistics, and message-passing, and then describe how these concepts could be implemented by recurrently connected probabilistic population codes. The relevant information flow in these networks will be most interpretable at the population level, particularly for redundant neural codes. We therefore outline a general approach to identify the essential features of a neural message-passing algorithm. Finally, we argue that to reveal the most important aspects of these neural computations, we must study large-scale activity patterns during moderately complex, naturalistic behaviors.
Pathogenicity of a Microsporidium Isolate from the Diamondback Moth against Noctuid Moths:Characterization and Implications for Microbiological Pest Management

Background Due to problems with chemical control, there is increasing interest in the use of microsporidia for control of lepidopteran pests. However, there have been few studies to evaluate the susceptibility of exotic species to microsporidia from indigenous Lepidoptera. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated some biological characteristics of the microsporidian parasite isolated from wild Plutella xylostella (PX) and evaluated its pathogenicity on the laboratory responses of sympatric invasive and resident noctuid moths. There were significant differences in spore size and morphology between PX and Spodoptera litura (SL) isolates. Spores of PX isolate were ovocylindrical, while those of SL were oval. PX spores were 1.05 times longer than those of SL, which in turn were 1.49 times wider than those of the PX. The timing of infection peaks was much shorter in SL and resulted in earlier larval death. There were no noticeable differences in amplicon size (two DNA fragments were each about 1200 base pairs in length). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene sequences of the two isolates shared a clade with Nosema/Vairimorpha sequences. The absence of octospores in infected spodopteran tissues suggested that PX and SL spores are closely related to Nosema plutellae and N. bombycis, respectively. Both SL and S. exigua (SE) exhibited susceptibility to the PX isolate infection, but showed different infection patterns. Tissular infection was more diverse in the former and resulted in much greater spore production and larval mortality. Microsporidium-infected larvae pupated among both infected and control larvae, but adult emergence occurred only in the second group. Conclusion/Significance The PX isolate infection prevented completion of development of most leafworm and beet armyworm larvae. The ability of the microsporidian isolate to severely infect and kill larvae of both native and introduced spodopterans makes it a valuable candidate for biocontrol against lepidopteran pests.
Evaluating similarity measures for software decompositions

One of the central questions that a similarity measure for software decompositions has to address is whether to consider discrepancies in terms of the nodes of a particular decomposition, or assess similarity based on differences in clustering the edges of the system's dependency graph. We argue that considering nodes or edges in isolation is too one-sided. We outline shortcomings of previous approaches, and introduce the first dissimilarity measure that takes both nodes and edges into account. We also present experiments on real and synthetic data sets that illustrate the differences between various measures.
At 6–9 months, human infants know the meanings of many common nouns

It is widely accepted that infants begin learning their native language not by learning words, but by discovering features of the speech signal: consonants, vowels, and combinations of these sounds. Learning to understand words, as opposed to just perceiving their sounds, is said to come later, between 9 and 15 mo of age, when infants develop a capacity for interpreting others’ goals and intentions. Here, we demonstrate that this consensus about the developmental sequence of human language learning is flawed: in fact, infants already know the meanings of several common words from the age of 6 mo onward. We presented 6- to 9-mo-old infants with sets of pictures to view while their parent named a picture in each set. Over this entire age range, infants directed their gaze to the named pictures, indicating their understanding of spoken words. Because the words were not trained in the laboratory, the results show that even young infants learn ordinary words through daily experience with language. This surprising accomplishment indicates that, contrary to prevailing beliefs, either infants can already grasp the referential intentions of adults at 6 mo or infants can learn words before this ability emerges. The precocious discovery of word meanings suggests a perspective in which learning vocabulary and learning the sound structure of spoken language go hand in hand as language acquisition begins.