Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spermatogonial Stem Cell Markers and Niche in Equids

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are the foundation of spermatogenesis and are located in a highly dynamic microenvironment called “niche” that influences all aspects of stem cell function, including homing, self-renewal and differentiation. Several studies have recently identified specific proteins that regulate the fate of SSCs. These studies also aimed at identifying surface markers that would facilitate the isolation of these cells in different vertebrate species. The present study is the first to investigate SSC physiology and niche in stallions and to offer a comparative evaluation of undifferentiated type A spermatogonia (Aund) markers (GFRA1, PLZF and CSF1R) in three different domestic equid species (stallions, donkeys, and mules). Aund were first characterized according to their morphology and expression of the GFRA1 receptor. Our findings strongly suggest that in stallions these cells were preferentially located in the areas facing the interstitium, particularly those nearby blood vessels. This distribution is similar to what has been observed in other vertebrate species. In addition, all three Aund markers were expressed in the equid species evaluated in this study. These markers have been well characterized in other mammalian species, which suggests that the molecular mechanisms that maintain the niche and Aund/SSCs physiology are conserved among mammals. We hope that our findings will help future studies needing isolation and cryopreservation of equids SSCs. In addition, our data will be very useful for studies that aim at preserving the germplasm of valuable animals, and involve germ cell transplantation or xenografts of equids testis fragments/germ cells suspensions.
Vision Zero. How a Policy Innovation is Dashed by Interest Conflicts, but May Prevail in the End

In October 1997 the Swedish Parliament adopted a new road safety policy – Vision Zero. Vision Zero entails a fundamentally new division of responsibility for traffic safety between road users and the so called system designers such as road administrations, municipalities, and professional transport companies among others. In this study the implementation of a formal responsibility for system designers to prevent serious injuries in road traffic between 1997 and 2009 is evaluated. Two main research questions have guided this study namely: How has the legislative process of formalizing the responsibility of system designers progressed? and What important factors might explain the implementation outcome? The main sources of information for this study were official key documents. Based on a goal attainment model, an important conclusion is that the goal to legally formalize a responsibility has only been minimally realized and therefore this might be an example of a classic implementation failure. In order to explain and discuss this low level of achievement a process evaluation approach has also been used. Built on this process evaluation approach, it can be questioned if this is an example of implementation failure after all.
Concurrent common knowledge: a new definition of agreement for asynchronous systems

In this paper we discuss a new knowledgetheoretic definition of agreement appropriate to asynchronous systems. This definition has two important features; first, it uses causality rather than time in its definition and, second, this form of agreement is attainable. In analogy with common knowledge, it is called concurrent common knowledge. Concurrent common knowledge has several applications and we give analyses of two examples that use it. In general, it seems to be the case that applications that involve all processes reaching agreement about some property of a consistent global state are protocols that use concurrent common knowledge.
Root-Associated Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Shared by Various Boreal Forest Seedlings Naturally Regenerating after a Fire in Interior Alaska and Correlation of Different Fungi with Host Growth Responses

ABSTRACT The role of common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) in postfire boreal forest successional trajectories is unknown. We investigated this issue by sampling a 50-m by 40-m area of naturally regenerating black spruce (Picea mariana), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), and paper birch (Betula papyrifera) seedlings at various distances from alder (Alnus viridis subsp. crispa), a nitrogen-fixing shrub, 5 years after wildfire in an Alaskan interior boreal forest. Shoot biomasses and stem diameters of 4-year-old seedlings were recorded, and the fungal community associated with ectomycorrhizal (ECM) root tips from each seedling was profiled using molecular techniques. We found distinct assemblages of fungi associated with alder compared with those associated with the other tree species, making the formation of CMNs between them unlikely. However, among the spruce, aspen, and birch seedlings, there were many shared fungi (including members of the Pezoloma ericae [Hymenoscyphus ericae] species aggregate, Thelephora terrestris, and Russula spp.), raising the possibility that these regenerating seedlings may form interspecies CMNs. Distance between samples did not influence how similar ECM root tip-associated fungal communities were, and of the fungal groups identified, only one of them was more likely to be shared between seedlings that were closer together, suggesting that the majority of fungi surveyed did not have a clumped distribution across the small scale of this study. The presence of some fungal ribotypes was associated with larger or smaller seedlings, suggesting that these fungi may play a role in the promotion or inhibition of seedling growth. The fungal ribotypes associated with larger seedlings were different between spruce, aspen, and birch, suggesting differential impacts of some host-fungus combinations. One may speculate that wildfire-induced shifts in a given soil fungal community could result in variation in the growth response of different plant species after fire and a shift in regenerating vegetation.
Graded Grammaticality in Prediction Fractal Machines

We introduce a novel method of constructing language models, which avoids some of the problems associated with recurrent neural networks. The method of creating a Prediction Fractal Machine (PFM) [1] is briefly described and some experiments are presented which demonstrate the suitability of PFMs for language modeling. PFMs distinguish reliably between minimal pairs, and their behavior is consistent with the hypothesis [4] that wellformedness is 'graded' not absolute. A discussion of their potential to offer fresh insights into language acquisition and processing follows.
On supporting efficient updates of regular expression indexes in RDF databases

The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is widely used for sharing biomedical resources, such as the online protein database UniProt or gene database GeneOntology. SPARQL is the native query language for RDF databases and it features regular expressions in queries for which the exact values are either irrelevant or unknown. A recent paper by Lee et al. presented an efficient indexing support for such queries adopting multigram indexes for regular expressions. In this paper we contribute to their work by addressing index updates. As a result, we identify a major performance problem of straightforward implementations and design a new algorithm that utilizes unique properties of multigram indexes. Our contributions can be summarized as follows: 1) we propose an efficient update algorithm for regular expression indexes in RDF databases; 2) we build a prototype system for the proposed framework in C++; 3) we conduct extensive experiments to demonstrate the properties of our algorithm. The experiments show that our algorithm outperforms the straightforward implementations by an order of magnitude.
A Switched-Capacitor Inverter Using Series / Parallel Conversion with Inductive Load

56 Abstract A novel switched-capacitor inverter is prop osed. The proposed inverter outputs larger voltage than the i nput voltage by switching the capacitors in series and in parallel. The maximum output voltage is determined by the number of the c apacitors. The proposed inverter, which does not need any inductors , can be smaller than a conventional two-stage unit which cons ist of a boost converter and an inverter bridge. Its output harmonics are reduced compared to a conventional voltage source s ingle phase full bridge inverter. In this paper, the circuit co nfiguration, the theoretical operation, the simulation results with M ATLAB/ SIMULINK, and the experimental results are shown. The experimental results accorded with the theoretical c culation and the simulation results.
The state of public management

Public management stands at the intersection of theory and practice. It seeks to help scholars frame questions that will improve their understanding of how policy ideas become transformed into practice and to help government managers see past the narrow issues on their desks to the broader implications of their work. In this work, the authors bring together contributors who focus on the interdisciplinary nature of public management. Scholars from the social sciences - economics, political science, sociology and psychology - examine what traditional disciplines bring to the debate. Other analysts build on this foundation to probe the theoretical bases of, and practical solutions for public management.
Blissful Ignorance: Knowing Just Enough to Coordinate Well

To coordinate, intelligent agents might need to know something about each other, and about themselves, and about how others view themselves, and how they view others, and how they think others view others, and so on. Taken to an extreme, the amount of knowledge an agent might possess to help make sense of an interaction might outstrip the agent’s limited reasoning capacity (its available time, memory, etc.). Much of the work in studying and building multiagent systems has thus been devoted to developing practical techniques for achieving coordination, typically by limiting the knowledge available to or necessary for agents---that is, by keeping agents selectively ignorant. In this paper, I try to put various such efforts in perspective, characterizing different ways in which agents can beneficially be kept ignorant of some knowledge. *
Gender Difference in Writing Self-Efficacy and Performance In Writing: The Case of Adama University Entering Students

The Primary purpose of this study was to find out if there were gender differences in writing self -efficacy and performance in writingamong adama university entering students. The largest population was 2004/2005 entries of the University. A sample of 204 students was selectedby applying' systematic random sampling technique. Out of this, 190 students were considered. Writing self- efficacy scale was employed basedon Bandura's (2001)" Guideline for Constructing Self-efficacy Scale". This scale was used as in Pajares and Johnson (1996). Consistent withprocedures used by self-efficacy researchers, a teacher made composition test was administered right after the students rated the scale. Thecomposition was rated and scored by two experts using Holistic ESL Composition Profile. The criteria for scoring were the same as those onwhich students were asked to assess their writing self- efficacy. Strong positive correlation was found between writing self-efficacy and performancein writing. The mean scores revealed that boys were favored for both of the variables.
ASIP-based Design and Implementation of RSA for Embedded Systems

The RSA public-key cryptosystem is widely used to provide security protocols and services in the network communication. However, design and implementation of the RSA cryptosystem to meet the real-time requirements of embedded applications are challenging issues, due to the computation intensive characteristics of the RSA arithmetic operations and the limited resources in the embedded systems. Various implementation and optimization methods have been proposed for RSA algorithm. However, software execution of RSA on general-purpose processors usually suffers from slow execution speed; while application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) based approaches are lack of flexibility. In this work, we present a systematic design approach of application-specific instruction-set processor(ASIP) for the RSA cryptographic algorithm. We identify and optimize the custom instructions in the RSA algorithm, and extend the instruction set architecture (ISA) of a standard 32-bit RISC processor to accommodate them. We employ the Electronic System Level (ESL) methodology in the development of the proposed ASIP in the Xilinx Virtex5 LX110T FPGA platform. Compared to the original RISC ISA, our extended ASIP achieves approximate 2.69 times performance improvement with only 25.6% more resource required.
A brief review on the evolution of GPCR: conservation and diversification

G-protein couple receptors (GPCR) possess diversified functions and they comprise a large protein superfamily in cellular signaling. Numerous identification methods for GPCR have been employed and versatile GPCR types are discussed. Although they share conserved transmembrane structural topology, alignment results of all GPCR show no significant sequence similarities. Each GPCR type distributes diversely in different evolutionary hierarchies of eukaryotes, but it has a distinctive boundary in the era of metazoan. The common ancestor of GPCR metabotropic glutamate receptor includes 7-transmembrane structure and venus flytrap module, which is probably evolved from a compound of bacteriorhodopsin and periplasmic binding protein. Many investigations focus on fine structure shaping and GPCR classification. Here, we briefly discuss evolutionary dynamic mechanism of GPCR from the perspective of classification, diversification and conservation.
Bombyx mori P-element Somatic Inhibitor (BmPSI) Is a Key Auxiliary Factor for Silkworm Male Sex Determination

Manipulation of sex determination pathways in insects provides the basis for a wide spectrum of strategies to benefit agriculture and public health. Furthermore, insects display a remarkable diversity in the genetic pathways that lead to sex differentiation. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, has been cultivated by humans as a beneficial insect for over two millennia, and more recently as a model system for studying lepidopteran genetics and development. Previous studies have identified the B. mori Fem piRNA as the primary female determining factor and BmMasc as its downstream target, while the genetic scenario for male sex determination was still unclear. In the current study, we exploite the transgenic CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate a comprehensive set of knockout mutations in genes BmSxl, Bmtra2, BmImp, BmImpM, BmPSI and BmMasc, to investigate their roles in silkworm sex determination. Absence of Bmtra2 results in the complete depletion of Bmdsx transcripts, which is the conserved downstream factor in the sex determination pathway, and induces embryonic lethality. Loss of BmImp or BmImpM function does not affect the sexual differentiation. Mutations in BmPSI and BmMasc genes affect the splicing of Bmdsx and the female reproductive apparatus appeared in the male external genital. Intriguingly, we identify that BmPSI regulates expression of BmMasc, BmImpM and Bmdsx, supporting the conclusion that it acts as a key auxiliary factor in silkworm male sex determination.
Sailing the corpus sea: Visual exploration of news stories

Rich information spaces like blogs or news are full of “stories”: sets of statements that evolve over time, made in fast-growing streams of documents. Even if one reads a specific source every day and/or subscribes to a selection of feeds, one may easily lose track; in addition, it is difficult to reconstruct a story already in the past. In this paper, we present the STORIES methods and tool for (a) learning an abstracted story representation from a collection of time-indexed documents; (b) visualizing it in a way that encourages users to interact and explore in order to discover temporal “story stages” depending on their interests; (c) supporting the search for documents and facts that pertain to the user-constructed story stages; (d) discovering the most important facts in the corpora; and (e) navigating in document space along multiple meaningful dimensions of document similarity and relatedness. This combination provides users with more control, progressing from “surfing” the Web to “sailing” selected corpora of it, semantically in story space as well as between the underlying documents. An evaluation demonstrates that machine learning and interaction lead to representations that serve to retrieve coherent and relevant document subsets and that help users learn facts about the story.
CD4+CD25hiCD127low Regulatory T Cells Are Increased in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients

Regulatory T cells (Tregs), a subset of CD4+ T cells plays a pivotal role in regulating the immune system. An increase in Treg numbers enables cancer progression by dampening the immune system and allowing tumor cells to evade immune detection and destruction. An increase in Treg numbers and expression of inhibitory cytokines including TGF-β and IL-10 are mechanisms by which Tregs exert their immune suppressive function. However, the presence of Tregs and inhibitory cytokines in oral cancer patients is still unclear. In this study, the presence of circulating Tregs in 39 oral cancer patients and 24 healthy donors was examined by studying the presence of the CD4+CD25hiCD127low cell population in their peripheral blood mononuclear cells using flow cytometry. Serum levels of TGF-β and IL-10 were measured by ELISA. T cell subsets of OSCC patients were found to differ significantly from healthy donors where a decrease in CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and an increase in Tregs (CD4+CD25hiCD127low) were observed. Further, the ratio of CD8+ T cells/Tregs was also decreased in patients compared to healthy donors. The presence of Tregs was accompanied by a decrease in IL-10 but not TGF-β secretion in OSCC patients when compared to donors; in addition, the analysis also revealed that an increased presence of Tregs was accompanied by better patient survival. Amongst OSCC patients, smokers had significantly higher levels of TGF-β. It is apparent that the immune system is compromised in OSCC patients and the characterization of the Treg subpopulation could form a basis for improving our understanding of the perturbations in the immune system that occur during OSCC tumorigenesis.
Gabriel García Moreno and Conservative State Formation in the Andes

* List of Illustrations * Acknowledgments * Introduction * One. Preparing for National Leadership, 1821-1859 * Two. Regionalism and Civil War, 1859-1860 * Three. A Presidency Constrained I: Federalism and Domestic Policy, 1861-1865 * Four. A Presidency Constrained II: Foreign Entanglements, 1861-1865 * Five. Becoming the Indispensable Man, 1865-1869 * Six. Forging the National Soul: The Coming of the Catholic Nation * Seven. Caring for Earthly Needs: The Program for Economic Development * Eight. Death and the Hereafter * Conclusion * Notes * Bibliography * Index
Smart manipulator actuated by Ultra-Sonic Motors for lunar exploration

A new lunar exploration mission including a lander and rovers is under studying in Japan. The main mission for lunar robotics exploration is to demonstrate the technologies for lunar or planetary surface exploration. They will cover pin-point landing technology, reliable landing scheme with obstacle avoidance, landing mechanism on rough terrain, exploration rover and tele-science technology. Lunar geologic survey will be also performed to investigate the underground materials. The working group has been conducting the feasibility study of advanced technologies for lunar robotics exploration. In the rover mission, a robotic manipulator plays an important role as scientific observation tools for geological exploration. This paper proposes a light-weight manipulator with low-power consumption function. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed design, a manipulator was developed. This paper describes a proposed smart manipulator system. This paper also presents the environment test results on Ultra-Sonic Motor. The performance of the developed smart manipulator is discussed.
PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY : SUBSTANCE USE Prepared by the Australian Psychological Society ’ s Working Group on Substance Use

The use of psychoactive substances, in the form of alcohol and other drugs (AOD), is a common human behaviour. The vast majority of adults include some form of substance use in their lifestyle. There is, however, tremendous variation in the amount and type of substances that different individuals and groups consume at different times. Harmful substance use can have a major negative impact on the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities, and is a growing concern in Australia and internationally. There is considerable controversy regarding appropriate responses to harmful substance use at all levels: individual, family, community, national and international. As a profession and science, psychology has much to offer in terms of theory, research and practice in the AOD field. Psychological training provides many skills that provide valuable contributions to the AOD field in terms of prevention and treatment interventions, education, research and policy, and psychologists need to be encouraged to apply their knowledge in this area. Despite the obvious biological action of psychoactive substances, current evidence indicates that standard behavioural principles and processes still apply to AOD problems. Substance use occurs within a social, cultural and psychological context, and harmful substance use frequently occurs within a broader cluster of psychological problems. The interventions most strongly supported by outcome research recognise this complexity and are fundamentally psycho-social in nature; research further suggests that even where pharmacological interventions are recommended, such as the use of substitution therapies, the efficacy of these interventions is enhanced by the use of concurrent psycho-social interventions. Many psychologists practice and research directly in the AOD field, while for others, substance use issues are highly relevant to their practice or research. In the APS (2002) discussion paper, Psychology and Substance Use: Potential Contributions and Professional Training Needs, all psychologists were recommended to have adequate knowledge and skills in this area, because of the widespread, normative nature of substance use, its substantial impact on human behaviour and wellbeing, and its prevalence in clinical settings. This paper aims to briefly outline current knowledge regarding substance use from a psychological perspective. It is hoped that this will highlight the contributions of psychology to the AOD field, and encourage further application of psychological science in research, practice and comment in the field of AOD issues. Please note that the AOD field is extremely dynamic in terms of research activity and the development of prevention and treatment programs and practice. This …
Multiple SVM-RFE for multi-class gene selection on DNA Microarray data

This paper presents a new multi-class gene selection and classification method based on multiple support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE). For a multi-class DNA microarray problem, we solve it as multiple binary classification problems. First, the one-versus-all method is used to decompose the multi-class task into multiple binary problems. Second, an SVM-RFE is adopted to select genes for each binary problem. Then, an SVM classifier is used to train the selected gene data for a binary problem. Finally, we combine the outputs of multiple SVM classifiers. Experimental results on three DNA Microarray datasets show that the proposed method achieves higher classification accuracy.