Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Azumaya-type noncommutative spaces and morphisms therefrom: Polchinski's D-branes in string theory from Grothendieck's viewpoint

We explain how Polchinski's work on D-branes re-read from a noncommutative version of Grothendieck's equivalence of local geometries and function rings gives rise to an intrinsic prototype definition of D-branes (of B-type) as an Azumaya-type noncommutative space. Several originally open-string induced properties of D-branes can be reproduced solely by this intrinsic definition. We study also the moduli space of D0-branes on a commutative target space in this setup. Some of its features resembles gas of D0-branes in Vafa's work.
Volatiles from Leaves and Rhizomes of Fragrant Acorus spp. (Acoraceae)

Three horticultural selections of Acorus gramineus Soland were investigated to determine the chemical composition of their leaves and rhizomes. The variety ‘liquorice’ was found to contain methylchavicol (49%) which accounts for the unusual anisic odor of this variety, while β‐asarone was the main component of A. christophii (43%) and ‘yodo‐no‐yuki’ (20%). The results are compared with calamus oils, and the possible biosynthetic precursors of the main components methylchavicol and β‐asarone are considered.
Green Architectural Tactics for the Cloud

Energy efficiency is a primary concern for the ICT sector. In particular, the widespread adoption of cloud computing technologies has drawn attention to the massive energy consumption of data centers. Although hardware constantly improves with respect to energy efficiency, this should also be a main concern for software. In previous work we analyzed the literature and elicited a set of techniques for addressing energy efficiency in cloud-based software architectures. In this work we codified these techniques in the form of Green Architectural Tactics. These tactics will help architects extend their design reasoning towards energy efficiency and to apply reusable solutions for greener software.
On k-crossings and k-nestings of permutations

We introduce $k$-crossings and $k$-nestings of permutations. We show that the crossing number and the nesting number of permutations have a symmetric joint distribution. As a corollary, the number of $k$-noncrossing permutations is equal to the number of $k$-nonnesting permutations. We also provide some enumerative results for $k$-noncrossing permutations for some values of $k$.
CXCR4 and CXCL12 (SDF-1) in Prostate Cancer

Purpose: Metastasis is a major cause of morbidity in prostate cancer (PCa). Several studies have shown that the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and its ligand, CXCL12 (stromal cell-derived factor-1), regulate tumor cell metastasis to specific organs. Recently, it was demonstrated that CXCL12 enhances PCa cell adhesion, migration, and invasion, implicating CXCR4 in PCa metastasis. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of anti-CXCR4 antibodies on CXCL12-mediated PCa cell activities. Experimental Design: We developed fully human single chain Fv antibodies (scFv), Ab124 and Ab125, against CXCR4 using the yeast two-hybrid system. We performed immunofluorescent staining, flow cytometry, and ELISA-binding assays to measure scFv binding to PCa cells. We also examined the effects of scFv on CXCL12-mediated calcium mobilization, cell migration, and invasion. Results: Our results confirmed that PCa cell lines express cell-surface CXCR4. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and immunohistochemical staining also verified that CXCR4 is expressed in primary cultures of prostate epithelial cells from adenocarcinomas and in human prostate tissues. Ab124 and Ab125 demonstrated specific binding to PCa cell lines by flow cytometry and in binding assays. Preincubation with scFv resulted in significant reduction of CXCL12-induced calcium mobilization in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. Ab124 and Ab125 also inhibited PCa cell migration toward CXCL12, as well as invasion through extracellular matrix gels. Conclusions: Ab124 and Ab125 inhibit CXCL12-mediated cellular activities by binding the receptor CXCR4. Recombinant scFv are an efficient mode of targeting tumor antigens. Considering the high incidence of PCa, the development of fully human scFv may be a useful therapeutic approach in the prevention and treatment of PCa metastasis.
Natriuretic peptides for the detection of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Background and purpose Silent atrial fibrillation (AF) and tachycardia (AT) are considered precursors of ischaemic stroke. Therefore, detection of paroxysmal atrial rhythm disorders is highly relevant, but is clinically challenging. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of natriuretic peptide levels in the detection of paroxysmal AT/AF in a pilot study. Methods Natriuretic peptide levels were analysed in two independent patient cohorts (162 patients with arterial hypertension or other cardiovascular risk factors and 82 patients with retinal vessel disease). N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and BNP were measured before the start of a 7-day Holter monitoring period carefully screened for AT/AF. Results 244 patients were included; 16 had paroxysmal AT/AF. After excluding patients with a history of AT/AF (n=5), 14 patients had newly diagnosed AT/AF (5.8%) NT-proBNP and BNP levels were higher in patients with paroxysmal AT/AF in both cohorts: (1) 154.4 (IQR 41.7; 303.6) versus 52.8 (30.4; 178.0) pg/mL and 70.0 (31.9; 142.4) versus 43.9 (16.3; 95.2) and (2) 216.9 (201.4; 277.1) versus 90.8 (42.3–141.7) and 96.0 (54.7; 108.2) versus 29.1 (12.0; 58.1). For the detection of AT/AF episodes, NT-proBNP and BNP had an area under the curve in receiver operating characteristic analysis of 0.76 (95% CI, 0.64 to 0.88; p=0.002) and 0.75 (0.61 to 0.89; p=0.004), respectively. Conclusions NT-proBNP and BNP levels are elevated in patients with silent AT/AF as compared with sinus rhythm. Thus, screening for undiagnosed paroxysmal AF using natriuretic peptide level initiated Holter monitoring may be a useful strategy in prevention of stroke or systemic embolism.
Clinical Cancer Therapy by NK Cells via Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity

Natural killer (NK) cells are powerful effector cells that can be directed to eliminate tumor cells through tumor-targeted monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Some tumor-targeted mAbs have been successfully applied in the clinic and are included in the standard of care for certain malignancies. Strategies to augment the antitumor response by NK cells have led to an increased understanding of how to improve their effector responses. Next-generation reagents, such as molecularly modified mAbs and mAb-cytokine fusion proteins (immunocytokines, ICs) designed to augment NK-mediated killing, are showing promise in preclinical and some clinical settings. Continued research into the antitumor effects induced by NK cells and tumor-targeted mAbs suggests that additional intrinsic and extrinsic factors may influence the antitumor response. Therefore more research is needed that focuses on evaluating which NK cell and tumor criteria are best predictive of a clinical response and which combination immunotherapy regimens to pursue for distinct clinical settings.
Distributed solution of optimal hybrid control problems on networks of workstations

The design of an optimal control strategy for a hybrid system is a matter of growing interest in computational engineering. The solution of optimization problems in most engineering disciplines often requires efficient parallel optimization algorithms to solve these kinds of problems in reasonable time. Instead of introducing parallelism to selected components of an existing sequential algorithm, the algorithm proposed in this paper is aimed at utilizing the available computational resources efficiently throughout the course of the optimization. To assure a certain level of efficiency the algorithm can be adapted to the available resources and the dimension of the problem to be solved. The features of this inherently parallel algorithm are described, and the parallel performance is analyzed by means of a scalability analysis. To demonstrate the use of the algorithm for the solution of optimization problems in computational engineering, two problems from groundwater engineering are solved.
Statistical Extraction and Comparison of Pivot Words for Bilingual Lexicon Extension

Bilingual dictionaries can be automatically extended by new translations using comparable corpora. The general idea is based on the assumption that similar words have similar contexts across languages. However, previous studies have mainly focused on Indo-European languages, or use only a bag-of-words model to describe the context. Furthermore, we argue that it is helpful to extract only the statistically significant context, instead of using all context. The present approach addresses these issues in the following manner. First, based on the context of a word with an unknown translation (query word), we extract salient pivot words. Pivot words are words for which a translation is already available in a bilingual dictionary. For the extraction of salient pivot words, we use a Bayesian estimation of the point-wise mutual information to measure statistical significance. In the second step, we match these pivot words across languages to identify translation candidates for the query word. We therefore calculate a similarity score between the query word and a translation candidate using the probability that the same pivots will be extracted for both the query word and the translation candidate. The proposed method uses several context positions, namely, a bag-of-words of one sentence, and the successors, predecessors, and siblings with respect to the dependency parse tree of the sentence. In order to make these context positions comparable across Japanese and English, which are unrelated languages, we use several heuristics to adjust the dependency trees appropriately. We demonstrate that the proposed method significantly increases the accuracy of word translations, as compared to previous methods.
Satellite cell proliferation in low frequency-stimulated fast muscle of hypothyroid rat.

Satellite cell proliferation was assessed in low-frequency-stimulated hypothyroid rat fast-twitch muscle by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling and subsequent staining of labeled muscle nuclei, and by staining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). BrdU labeling and PCNA staining were highly correlated and increased approximately fourfold at 5 days of stimulation, decayed thereafter, but remained elevated over control in 10- and 20-day stimulated muscles. Myogenin mRNA was approximately 4-fold elevated at 5 days and 1.5-fold at 10 days. Staining for myogenin protein yielded results similar to that for PCNA and BrdU. Furthermore, a detailed examination of the pattern of myogenin staining revealed that the number of myogenin-positive nuclei was elevated in the fast pure IIB fiber population at 5 and 10 days of chronic low-frequency stimulation. By 20 days, myogenin staining was observed in transforming fast fibers that coexpressed embryonic and adult myosin heavy chain isoforms. In the slower fiber populations (i.e., IIA and I), myogenin-positive transforming fibers that coexpressed embryonic myosin heavy chain, appeared already at 5 days. Thus the satellite cell progeny on slower fibers seemed to proliferate less and to fuse earlier to their associated fibers than the satellite cell progeny on fast fibers. We suggest that the increase in muscle nuclei of the fast fibers might be a prerequisite for fast-to-slow fiber type transitions.
The Role of Monkey Prefrontal Cortex in Encoding Multiple Items in Working Memory

As we interact with our environment we are confronted with a constant barrage of sensory information that has to be stored and manipulated, often within a very short period of time. Working memory is the mechanism that supports the active maintenance and manipulation of information. The ability to hold and use information in memory is fundamental for cognition. Many complex behaviors require that we store several pieces of information in working memory. The requirement to remember several things at once is ubiquitous to most of our day to day interactions, yet very little is known about its neural basis. To explore the neural mechanisms underlying multi-item working memory we recorded activity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of two monkeys while they performed a Sternberg working memory task. On each trial, three samples were presented in succession, each followed by a delay. The monkeys were required to hold these three samples in memory and recall one of them at the end of the trial. The monkeys’ performance decreased when working memory load was high. The monkeys’ also exhibited a recency effect where performance was better when the item to be recalled was the most recent. PFC neurons were selective for the identity of the sample during the delay and selectivity tended to be the same regardless of the ordinal position of the sample. However, the strongest determinant of activity during each delay-period was the identity of the immediately preceding sample. The degradation of information about earlier samples stood in striking contrast to the monkeys’ intact ability to perform the task. We found that the mean population firing rate and power in the gamma frequency band of the LFP increased as samples were presented successively. However, these effects were not related solely to memory load, because a similar pattern was present under the control condition in which the same sample was presented three times. From the results of these experiments we conclude that although monkeys were capable of performing a task requiring the memory for multiple items, delay-period activity in prefrontal neurons cannot easily explain the monkey’s working memory performance.
An analysis of excitatory junctional potentials recorded from arterioles.

1. Arterioles were impaled with two independent micro‐electrodes, one to pass current and the other to record membrane potential. 2. When current was injected into one branch of an arteriole, a membrane potential change could be detected either in the same branch or in an adjoining branch indicating that the arteriolar smooth muscle cells were electrically connected. 3. Fine dissection of the arteriolar tree gave short segments of arteriole which appeared to behave electrically as short cables with sealed ends. 4. Analysis of the electrotonic potentials recorded from isolated segments of arterioles allowed a determination of the arteriole cable properties. 5. Using the data from the cable analyses it was concluded that the junctional current underlying an excitatory junction potential has a duration that is brief when compared with that of the potential.
'Your mum and dad can't teach you!': Constraints on agency among rural learners of English in Indonesia

Learning outcomes are always the product of the interaction between individual learner agency and social structures. Recently concern has been expressed about unequal access to English, recognised as an important resource for social advancement, for rural populations in developing countries. This paper explores this issue by focusing on one element of learner agency (motivation) in a small group of young adolescent learners in rural Indonesia, who were sampled from a previous quantitative study. Through interviews with the learners and their parents, the study strives to understand the nature of their agency and the way it is shaped by contextual constraints and affordances. Results suggest that the learners do develop Ideal L2 selves though these tend towards fantasy, that they do exert effort to learn English, but this is not systematic or well-resourced, and that their parents are very aware of the limited support they can offer their children. While these constraints may help explain the rural learners' slow progress in English, the paper argues that spreading mobile technologies offer hope for improved outcomes in the future.
Efficient theme and non-trivial repeating pattern discovering in music databases

Proposes an approach for the fast discovery of all non-trivial repeating patterns in music objects. A repeating pattern is a sequence of notes which appears more than once in a music object. The longest repeating patterns in music objects are typically their themes. The themes and other non-trivial repeating patterns are important musical features which can be used both for content-based retrieval of music data and for music data analysis. We present a data structure called an RP-tree (repeating pattern tree) and its associated algorithms for the fast extraction of all non-trivial repeating patterns in a music object. Experiments are performed to compare this method with related approaches. The results are further analysed to show the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach.
HMGB‐1 induces IL‐6 production in human synovial fibroblasts through c‐Src, Akt and NF‐κB pathways

High mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB‐1) is a widely studied, ubiquitous nuclear protein that is present in eukaryotic cells, and plays a crucial role in inflammatory response. However, the effects of HMGB‐1 on human synovial fibroblasts are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the intracellular signaling pathway involved in HMGB‐1‐induced IL‐6 production in human synovial fibroblast cells. HMGB‐1 caused concentration‐ and time‐dependent increases in IL‐6 production. HMGB‐1‐mediated IL‐6 production was attenuated by receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) monoclonal antibody (Ab) or siRNA. Pretreatment with c‐Src inhibitor (PP2), Akt inhibitor and NF‐κB inhibitor (pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate and L‐1‐tosylamido‐2‐phenylenylethyl chloromethyl ketone) also inhibited the potentiating action of HMGB‐1. Stimulation of cells with HMGB‐1 increased the c‐Src and Akt phosphorylation. HMGB‐1 increased the accumulation of p‐p65 in the nucleus, as well as NF‐κB luciferase activity. HMGB‐1‐mediated increase of NF‐κB luciferase activity was inhibited by RAGE Ab, PP2 and Akt inhibitor or RAGE siRNA, or c‐Src and Akt mutant. Our results suggest that HMGB‐1‐increased IL‐6 production in human synovial fibroblasts via the RAGE receptor, c‐Src, Akt, p65, and NF‐κB signaling pathways. J. Cell. Physiol. 226: 2006–2015, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Efficient missing tag detection in RFID systems

RFID tags have many important applications in automated warehouse management. One example is to monitor a set of tags and detect whether some tags are missing — the objects to which the missing tags are attached are likely to be missing, too, due to theft or administrative error. Prior research on this problem has primarily focused on efficient protocols that reduce the execution time in order to avoid disruption of normal inventory operations. This paper makes several new advances. First, we observe that the existing protocol is far from being optimal in terms of execution time. We are able to cut the execution time to a fraction of what is currently needed. Second, we study the missing-tag detection problem from a new energy perspective, which is very important when battery-powered active tags are used. The new insight provides flexibility for the practitioners to meet their energy and time requirements.
Modeling the biological response of normal human cells, including repair processes, to fractionated carbon beam irradiation

To understand the biological response of normal cells to fractionated carbon beam irradiation, the effects of potentially lethal damage repair (PLDR) and sublethal damage repair (SLDR) were both taken into account in a linear-quadratic (LQ) model. The model was verified by the results of a fractionated cell survival experiment with normal human fibroblast cells. Cells were irradiated with 200-kV X-rays and monoenergetic carbon ion beams (290 MeV/u) at two irradiation depths, corresponding to linear energy transfers (LETs) of approximately 13 keV/μm and 75 keV/μm, respectively, at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. When we only took into account the repair factor of PLDR, γ, which was derived from the delayed assay, the cell survival response to fractionated carbon ion irradiation was not fully explained in some cases. When both the effects of SLDR and PLDR were taken into account in the LQ model, the cell survival response was well reproduced. The model analysis suggested that PLDR occurs in any type of radiation. The γ factors ranged from 0.36–0.93. In addition, SLD was perfectly repaired during the fraction interval for the lower LET irradiations but remained at about 30% for the high-LET irradiation.
Exploiting Isogeny Cordillera Structure to Obtain Cryptographically Good Elliptic Curves

The security of most elliptic curve cryptosystems is based on the intractability of the Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem (ECDLP). Such a problem turns out to be computationally unfeasible when elliptic curves are suitably chosen. This paper provides an algorithm to obtain cryptographically good elliptic curves from a given one. The core of such a procedure lies on the usage of successive chains of isogenies, visiting different volcanoes of isogenies which are located in different e-cordilleras.
The Unbearable Likeness of Being Digital: The Persistence of Nonverbal Social Norms in Online Virtual Environments

Every day, millions of users interact in real-time via avatars in online environments, such as massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These online environments could potentially be unique research platforms for the social sciences and clinical therapy, but it is crucial to first establish that social behavior and norms in virtual environments are comparable to those in the physical world. In an observational study of Second Life, a virtual community, we collected data from avatars in order to explore whether social norms of gender, interpersonal distance (IPD), and eye gaze transfer into virtual environments even though the modality of movement is entirely different (i.e., via keyboard and mouse as opposed to eyes and legs). Our results showed that established findings of IPD and eye gaze transfer into virtual environments: (1) male-male dyads have larger IPDs than female-female dyads, (2) male-male dyads maintain less eye contact than female-female dyads, and (3) decreases in IPD are compensated with gaze avoidance as predicted by the Equilibrium Theory. We discuss implications for users of online games as well as for social scientists who seek to conduct research in virtual environments.
Omentin-1 attenuates arterial calcification and bone loss in osteoprotegerin-deficient mice by inhibition of RANKL expression.

AIMS Omentin-1 (also known as intelectin-1) is a recently identified visceral adipose tissue-derived cytokine that is inversely related to obesity. Our previous study showed that omentin-1 inhibits osteoblastic differentiation of calcifying vascular smooth muscle cells (CVSMCs) in vitro. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of omentin-1 on arterial calcification and bone metabolism in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS In vitro, omentin-1 stimulated production of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and inhibited production of receptor activator for nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) in both CVSMCs and osteoblasts. In vivo, adenovirus-mediated over-expression of omentin-1 attenuated arterial calcification and bone loss in OPG(-/-) mice. All these in vitro and in vivo actions were abrogated by blockade of the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway. Furthermore, omentin-1 reduced serum levels of RANKL, tartarate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b and osteocalcin, all of which are increased dramatically in OPG(-/-) mice. CONCLUSION These data suggest that omentin-1 ameliorates arterial calcification and bone loss in vivo through the regulation of the RANK signalling pathway.