Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral Administration of N-Acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline Ameliorates Kidney Disease in Both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetic Mice via a Therapeutic Regimen

Kidney fibrosis is the final common pathway of progressive kidney diseases including diabetic nephropathy. Here, we report that the endogenous antifibrotic peptide N-acetyl-seryl-aspartyl-lysyl-proline (AcSDKP), the substrate of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), is an orally available peptide drug used to cure kidney fibrosis in diabetic mice. We utilized two mouse models of diabetic nephropathy, streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced type 1 diabetic CD-1 mice and type 2 diabetic nephropathy model db/db mice. Intervention with the ACE inhibitor imidapril, oral AcSDKP, or imidapril + oral AcSDKP combination therapy increased urine AcSDKP levels. AcSDKP levels were significantly higher in the combination group compared to those of the other groups. AcSDKP oral administration, either AcSDKP alone or in addition to imidapril, ameliorated glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Plasma cystatin C levels were higher in both models, at euthanasia, and were restored by all the treatment groups. The levels of antifibrotic miRs, such as miR-29 or let-7, were suppressed in the kidneys of both models; all treatments, especially the combination of imidapril + oral AcSDKP, restored the antifibrotic miR levels to a normal value or even higher. AcSDKP may be an oral antifibrotic peptide drug that would be relevant to combating fibroproliferative kidney diseases such as diabetic nephropathy.
A One-Layer Recurrent Neural Network for Pseudoconvex Optimization Subject to Linear Equality Constraints

In this paper, a one-layer recurrent neural network is presented for solving pseudoconvex optimization problems subject to linear equality constraints. The global convergence of the neural network can be guaranteed even though the objective function is pseudoconvex. The finite-time state convergence to the feasible region defined by the equality constraints is also proved. In addition, global exponential convergence is proved when the objective function is strongly pseudoconvex on the feasible region. Simulation results on illustrative examples and application on chemical process data reconciliation are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and characteristics of the neural network.
Secure Distributed Data Anonymization and Integration with m-Privacy

In this paper, we study the collaborative data publishing problem for anonymizing horizontally partitioned data at multiple data providers. We consider a new type of “insider attack” by colluding data providers who may use their own data records (a subset of the overall data) to infer the data records contributed by other data providers. The paper addresses this new threat, and makes several contributions. First, we introduce the notion of m-privacy, which guarantees that the anonymized data satisfies a given privacy constraint against any group of up to m colluding data providers. Second, we present heuristic algorithms exploiting the monotonicity of privacy constraints for efficiently checking m-privacy given a group of records. Third, we present a data provider-aware anonymization algorithm with adaptive m-privacy checking strategies to ensure high utility and m-privacy of anonymized data with efficiency. Finally, we propose secure multi-party computation protocols for collaborative data publishing with m-privacy. All protocols are extensively analyzed, and their security and efficiency are formally proved. Experiments on real-life datasets suggest that our approach achieves better or comparable utility and efficiency than existing and baseline algorithms, while satisfying m-privacy.
Residual amenability and the approximation of L 2 -invariants.

We generalize Luck's Theorem to show that the L^2-Betti numbers of a residually amenable covering space are the limit of the L^2-Betti numbers of a sequence of amenable covering spaces. We show that any residually amenable covering space of a finite simplicial complex is of determinant class, and that the L^2 torsion is a homotopy invariant for such spaces. We give examples of residually amenable groups, including the Baumslag-Solitar groups.
A STUDY ON MILLIMETER-WAVE IMAGING OF CONCEALED OBJECTS: APPLICATION USING BACK- PROJECTION ALGORITHM

Millimeter-wave (MMW) imaging is a powerful tool for the detection of objects concealed under clothing. Several factors including difierent kinds of objects, variety of covering materials and their thickness, accurate imaging of near-fleld scattered data afiect the success of detection. To practice with such considerations, this paper presents the two-dimensional (2D) images of difierent targets hidden under various fabric sheets. The W-band inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) data of various target-covering situations are acquired and imaged by applying both the focusing operator based inversion algorithm and the spherical back-projection algorithm. Results of these algorithms are demonstrated and compared to each other to assess the performance of the MMW imaging in detecting the concealed objects of both metallic and dielectric types.
R&D and Price Elasticity of Demand

This note explores the relationship between the price elasticity of demand and the R&D intensity of the product. We introduce the concept of R&D intensity into a standard Dixit-Stiglitz/Krugman-type setting. R&D activity is treated as a fixed cost of production. Within this framework, sectors with a higher R&D intensity show a lower price elasticity of demand. This proposition is confirmed by an empirical investigation of export demand for manufactured goods from major industrialised countries. Consequently, real exchange rate changes have an impact on the commodity structure of exports.
KRJ-I and BON Cell Lines: Defining an Appropriate Enterochromaffin Cell Neuroendocrine Tumor Model

Background: Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the gastrointestinal (GI) system are increasing in incidence with minimal improvement in prognosis. Although the cell of origin has been identified as the enterochromaffin (EC) cell, its secretory and proliferative regulation has not been defined at a mechanistic level. To date, the BON cell line has been the most widely used in vitro EC cell model despite its pancreatic origin. Using whole-genome mathematical analysis as well as secretory and proliferative studies, we compared the BON cell line to the small intestine (SI) EC cell-derived NET cell line, KRJ-I, to assess individual cell line validity and applicability for the investigation of GI-NET disease. Methods and Results: Principal component analysis and ANOVA of KRJ-I and BON transcriptomes (U133 Plus 2) identified substantially different (<10%) overlap in transcripts with minimal (R2 = 0.24) correlation in gene expression profiles. RT-PCR detected large variability (>12%) in neuroendocrine (NE) marker transcripts in the BON cell line and the absence of Tph-2, DDC, TGFβR2, and M3 transcripts in KRJ-I. The KRJ-I cell line secreted serotonin (5-HT) in response to isoproterenol (EC50 = 100 nM), noradrenaline (EC50 = 1.7 nM), and pituitary adenylate cyclase (PACAP, EC50 = 0.03 nM). Cholecystokinin (IC50 = 430 nM), somatostatin (IC50 = 400 nM), acetylcholine (IC50 = 3.7 nM), and γ-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA, IC50 = 2 nM) all inhibited 5-HT release, while gastrin and bombesin had no effect. 5-HT secretion in the BON cell line was stimulated by isoproterenol (EC50 = 900 nM), noradrenaline (EC50 = 20 nM), cholecystokinin (EC50 = 130 nM), PACAP (EC50 = 0.12 nM), bombesin (EC50 = 15 nM), and acetylcholine (EC50 = 0.2 nM). It was inhibited by somatostatin (IC50 = 300 nM) but not GABAA. KRJ-I responded with proliferation to connective tissue growth factor (CTGF, EC50 = 0.002 ng/ml), transforming growth factor-α (TGFα, EC50 = 0.63 ng/ml) and transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ, EC50 = 0.63 ng/ml). Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and somatostatin had no significant effect. BON cell proliferation was stimulated only by EGF and TGFα (EC50 = 15.8 and 10 ng/ml). TGFβ (IC50 = 0.16 ng/ml), MZ-4-147 (IC50 = 0.5 nM), and BIM23A761 (IC50 = 0.06 nM) all inhibited proliferation. CTGF and somatostatin had no effect. Conclusion: KRJ-I and BON cell lines demonstrate substantial differences in gene level transcripts, inconsistent receptor profile expression, wide variability in NE marker transcript levels, and significantly differential proliferative and secretory responses. Given the EC cell origin of KRJ-I, these results provide evidence that the BON cell line does not represent an EC cell system and is not a valid study model of (carcinoid) EC cell-derived NET.
Chinese Main Verb Identification: From Specification to Realization

Main verb identification is the task of automatically identifying the predicate-verb in a sentence. It is useful for many applications in Chinese Natural Language Processing. Although most studies have focused on the model used to identify the main verb, the definition of the main verb should not be overlooked. In our specification design, we have found many complicated issues that still need to be resolved since they haven't been well discussed in previous works. Thus, the first novel aspect of our work is that we carefully design a specification for annotating the main verb and investigate various complicated cases. We hope this discussion will help to uncover the difficulties involved in this problem. Secondly, we present an approach to realizing main verb identification based on the use of chunk information, which leads to better results than the approach based on part-of-speech. Finally, based on careful observation of the studied corpus, we propose new local and contextual features for main verb identification. According to our specification, we annotate a corpus and then use a Support Vector Machine (SVM) to integrate all the features we propose. Our model, which was trained on our annotated corpus, achieved a promising F score of 92.8%. Furthermore, we show that main verb identification can improve the performance of the Chinese Sentence Breaker, one of the applications of main verb identification, by 2.4%.
Semi-Automatic Segmentation of Fibrous Liver Tissue

This article presents a semi-automatic segmentation of the fibrous liver tissue in the in-vivo liver biopsy color images. The segmentation is performed using a tree-based classifier, with decision rules as tree leaves and binary operators (AND, OR) as tree nodes. Several image's local characteristics have been exploited, based on the image points' intensity levels, as well as taken from the texture analysis domain (fractal dimension, FFT, Gabor filters). Their effectiveness concerning quality of extraction has been compared using real clinical images with a manual delimitation given by physicians, as a reference. A user friendly application has been developed which enables the operator to interactively create and store the classifiers. It also offers to a physician a predefined set of the best found classifiers, to allow him an effective work in his every-day practice. The method is semi-automatic - it still leaves to the operator, beside the classifier choice, a possibility to manually (with the mouse) adjust the main parameter (s) which visually, on the fly, grows/shrinks the extracted fibrous region.
PaRE: A System for Personalized Route Guidance

The turn-by-turn directions provided in existing navigation applications are exclusively derived from underlying road network topology information, i.e., the connectivity of edges to each other. Therefore, the turn-by-turn directions are simplified as metric translation of physical world (e.g. distance/time to turn) to spoken language. Such translation - that ignores human cognition of the geographic space - is often verbose and redundant for the drivers who have knowledge about the geographical areas. In this paper, we study a Personalized RoutE Guidance System dubbed PaRE - with which the goal is to generate more customized and intuitive directions based on user generated content. PaRE utilizes a wealth of user generated historical trajectory data to extract namely "landmarks" (e.g., point of interests or intersections) and frequently visited routes between them from the road network. The extracted information is used to obtain cognitive customized directions for each user. We formalize this task as a problem of finding the optimal partition for a given route that maximizes the familiarity while minimizing the number of segments in the partition, and propose two efficient algorithms to solve it. For empirical study, we apply our solution to both real and synthetic trajectory datasets to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of PaRE.
Performance Comparison of Facial Feature Extraction Techniques In Designing Human Emotion Recognition System Using Optimal PCA Neural Network

This research aims at developing “Humanoid Robots” that can carry out intellectual conversation with human beings. The first step in this direction is to recognize human emotions by a computer using neural network. In this paper all six universally recognized basic emotions namely angry, disgust, fear, happy, sad and surprise along with neutral one are recognized. Various feature extraction techniques such as Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) are used to extract the useful features for emotion recognition from facial expressions. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) is used for emotion recognition using the extracted facial features and the performance of various feature extraction technique is compared. Authors achieved 100% recognition accuracy on training and test dataset.
Planning Massive Interconnects in 3-D Chips

3-D chips rely on massive interconnect structures, i.e., large groups of through-silicon vias coalesced with large multibit buses. We observe that wirelength optimization, a classical technique for floorplanning, is not effective while planning massive interconnects. This is due to the interconnects' strong impact on multiple design criteria like wirelength, routability, and temperature. To facilitate early design progress of massively-interconnected 3-D chips, we propose a novel 3-D-floorplanning methodology which accounts for different types of interconnects in a unified manner. One key idea is to align cores/blocks simultaneously within and across dies, thus increasing the likelihood of successfully implementing complex and massive interconnects. While planning such interconnects, we also target fast, yet accurate, thermal management, routability, and fixed-outline floorplanning. Experimental results on Gigascale Systems Research Center and IBM-HB+ circuits demonstrate our tool's capabilities for both planning massive 3-D interconnects and for multiobjective 3-D floorplanning in general.
Data abstraction, views and updates in RIGEL

Language constructs to support the development of data base applications provided in the programming language rigel are described. First, the language type system includes relations, views, and tuples as built-in types. Tuple-values are introduced to provide more flexibility in writing procedures that update relations and views.Second, an expression that produces sequences of values, called a generator, is defined which integrates relational query expressions with other iteration constructs found in general-purpose programming languages. As a result, relational expressions can be used in new contexts (e.g., as parameters to procedures) to provide new capabilities (e.g., programmer-defined aggregate functions). Lastly, a data abstraction facility, unlike those proposed for other data base programming languages, is described. It provides a better notation to specify the interface between a program and a data base and to support the disciplined use of views.All of these constructs are integrated into a sophisticated programming environment to enhance the development of well-structured programs.
Pharmacology Meets Vesicular Trafficking at a Central Nervous System Synapse: Pregabalin Effects on Synaptic Vesicle Cycling in Hippocampal Neurons

The contribution by Micheva et al. (p. 467) in this issue of Molecular Pharmacology adds to our understanding of the action of pregabalin, a drug used for treatment of partial seizures and neuropathic pain. The authors examine the effects of pregabalin on presynaptic function of cultured hippocampal neurons using a powerful technique to follow the trafficking of synaptic vesicles in individual boutons. The study revealed that pregabalin reduces the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles in an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-dependent manner.
Direct Evidence for Pitavastatin Induced Chromatin Structure Change in the KLF4 Gene in Endothelial Cells

Statins exert atheroprotective effects through the induction of specific transcriptional factors in multiple organs. In endothelial cells, statin-dependent atheroprotective gene up-regulation is mediated by Kruppel-like factor (KLF) family transcription factors. To dissect the mechanism of gene regulation, we sought to determine molecular targets by performing microarray analyses of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with pitavastatin, and KLF4 was determined to be the most highly induced gene. In addition, it was revealed that the atheroprotective genes induced with pitavastatin, such as nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) and thrombomodulin (THBD), were suppressed by KLF4 knockdown. Myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2) family activation is reported to be involved in pitavastatin-dependent KLF4 induction. We focused on MEF2C among the MEF2 family members and identified a novel functional MEF2C binding site 148 kb upstream of the KLF4 gene by chromatin immunoprecipitation along with deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) followed by luciferase assay. By applying whole genome and quantitative chromatin conformation analysis {chromatin interaction analysis with paired end tag sequencing (ChIA-PET), and real time chromosome conformation capture (3C) assay}, we observed that the MEF2C-bound enhancer and transcription start site (TSS) of KLF4 came into closer spatial proximity by pitavastatin treatment. 3D-Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) imaging supported the conformational change in individual cells. Taken together, dynamic chromatin conformation change was shown to mediate pitavastatin-responsive gene induction in endothelial cells.
Correlation between Sperm Parameters and Protein Expression of Antioxidative Defense Enzymes in Seminal Plasma: A Pilot Study

Background. Semen analysis is the cornerstone in the evaluation of male (in)fertility. However, there are men with normal semen tests but with impaired fertilizing ability, as well as fertile men with poor sperm characteristics. Thus, there is rising interest to find novel parameters that will help to predict and define the functional capacity of spermatozoa. Methods. We examined whether there is a correlation between semen parameters (count, progressive motility, and morphology) and protein expression/activity of antioxidative defense enzymes in seminal plasma from 10 normospermic subjects. Results. Sperm progressive motility was in positive correlation with seminal plasma protein expression of both superoxide dismutase (SOD) isoforms (MnSOD and CuZnSOD) and catalase. Also, positive correlation was observed between sperm count and MnSOD protein expression, as well as between sperm morphology and protein expression of catalase in seminal plasma. In contrast, protein expression of glutathione peroxidase was not in correlation with any sperm parameter, while its activity negatively correlated with sperm morphology and motility. Conclusions. These data suggest that evaluation of protein expression of antioxidative defense enzymes in seminal plasma might be of importance in the evaluation of male fertility status and that could be used as an additional biomarker along with classic semen analysis in assessment of semen quality.
Hypomanic episodes after receiving ziprasidone: an unintended "on-off-on" course of treatment.

Case report. Mr. A, a 40-year-old man, has suffered from bipolar schizoaffective disorder (ICD-10) since he was 18 years old. After 2 years of relative stability, he discontinued treatment with valproate and olanzapine in May 2002, against the advice of his psychiatrist, because he complained of sexual dysfunction. Shortly afterward, he developed a schizodepressive episode (ICD-10 F25.1) with mood-incongruent psychotic symptoms and a severe melancholic syndrome. After 2 months of hospital treatment, acute symptomatology had largely remitted. With combination treatment consisting of venlafaxine (150 mg/day), quetiapine (300 mg/day), and valproate (1200 mg/day), he was discharged to day-clinic treatment. When Mr. A asked for a change of medication to help with erectile dysfunction, it was decided to treat him with ziprasidone instead of quetiapine, but all other medication was continued. His ziprasidone dose was increased to 100 mg/day, while quetiapine treatment was tapered off. Eight days after ziprasidone was started, he developed a hypomanic syndrome with a decreased need for sleep (3 hours per night), talkativeness, recklessness, high self-esteem, and racing thoughts. These symptoms worsened, and on day 10, ziprasidone was discontinued and quetiapine was restarted. The hypomanic syndrome remitted within 24 hours. As the sexual dysfunction persisted and continued to be a major problem for Mr. A, he asked to be given ziprasidone again after 6 weeks because he hoped for fewer sexual side effects with ziprasidone. Ziprasidone (120 mg/day) was given for a second time, valproate and venlafaxine were continued, and quetiapine was slowly tapered off. After 8 days on ziprasidone, another hypomanic episode developed; this time, the patient’s mood appeared to be dysphoric rather than euphoric. After 12 days, ziprasidone was discontinued for a second time and amisulpride was initiated. Again, the hypomanic syndrome remitted within 24 hours.
FEMALE RESISTANCE TO MALE HARM EVOLVES IN RESPONSE TO MANIPULATION OF SEXUAL CONFLICT

Abstract The interests of males and females over reproduction rarely coincide and conflicts between the sexes over mate choice, mating frequency, reproductive investment, and parental care are common in many taxa. In Drosophila melanogaster, the optimum mating frequency is higher for males than it is for females. Furthermore, females that mate at high frequencies suffer significant mating costs due to the actions of male seminal fluid proteins. Sexual conflict is predicted to lead to sexually antagonistic coevolution, in which selection for adaptations that benefit males but harm females is balanced by counterselection in females to minimize the extent of male-induced harm. We tested the prediction that elevated sexual conflict should select for increased female resistance to male-induced harm and vice versa. We manipulated the intensity of sexual conflict by experimentally altering adult sex ratio. We created replicated lines of D. melanogaster in which the adult sex ratio was male biased (high conflict lines), equal (intermediate conflict lines), or female biased (low conflict lines). As predicted, females from high sexual conflict lines lived significantly longer in the presence of males than did females from low conflict lines. Our conclusion that the evolutionary response in females was to the level of male-induced harm is supported by the finding that there were no female longevity differences in the absence of males. Differences between males in female harming ability were not detected. This suggests that the response in females was to differences between selection treatments in mating frequency, and not to differences in male harmfulness.