Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Pathogenic Role of Persistent Milk Signaling in mTORC1- and Milk-MicroRNA-Driven Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Milk, the secretory product of the lactation genome, promotes growth of the newborn mammal. Milk delivers insulinotropic amino acids, thus maintains a molecular crosstalk with the pancreatic β-cell of the milk recipient. Homeostasis of β-cells and insulin production depend on the appropriate magnitude of mTORC1 signaling. mTORC1 is activated by branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), glutamine, and palmitic acid, abundant nutrient signals of cow´s milk. Furthermore, milk delivers bioactive exosomal microRNAs. After milk consumption, bovine microRNA-29b, a member of the diabetogenic microRNA-29-family, reaches the systemic circulation and the cells of the milk consumer. MicroRNA-29b downregulates branched-chain α-ketoacid dehydrogenase, a potential explanation for increased BCAA serum levels, the metabolic signature of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In non-obese diabetic mice, microRNA-29b downregulates the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1, which leads to early β-cell death. In all mammals except Neolithic humans, milk-driven mTORC1 signaling is physiologically restricted to the postnatal period. In contrast, chronic hyperactivated mTORC1 sig-naling has been associated with the development of age-related diseases of civilization including T2DM. Notably, chronic hyperactivation of mTORC1 enhances endoplasmic reticulum stress that promotes apoptosis. In fact, hyperactivated β-cell mTORC1 signaling induced early β-cell apoptosis in a mouse model. The EPIC-InterAct Study demonstrated an association between milk consumption and T2DM in France, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden. In contrast, fermented milk products and cheese exhibit an inverse correlation. Since the early 1950´s, refrigeration technology allowed widespread consumption of fresh pasteurized milk, which facilitates daily intake of bioactive bovine microRNAs. Persistent uptake of cow´s milk-derived microRNAs apparently transfers an overlooked epigenetic diabetogenic program that should not reach the human food chain.
Comparison of stationary ZAN 600 toportable Cosmed K4b2 metabolic cart in experienced game sport athletes

Background: In sport games, different stationary and portable respiratory gas exchange measurement (RGEM) analysis systems are often used in parallel for accuracy and comparison purposes. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the agreement and consistency of the portable Cosmed K4b2 and stationary ZAN 600RGEM systems in an incremental treadmill running test. Study Design and Setting: Eleven sport students with a strong background in different sport games performed two incremental treadmill running tests within one week. Materials and Methods: Oxygen uptake (VO2) was determined by using the portable Cosmed K4b2 in breath-by-breath mode and compared to data of a stationary ZAN 600 RGEM system. Statistics: Agreement and consistency between the two systems were calculated using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the difference in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) via paired sample t-tests. Results: The results revealed a strong agreement at the submaximal and maximal running speed (ICC=0.90-0.95) and the VO2max (ICC=0.97); however, there were also significant differences between the measuring systems during certain treadmill speeds. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the Cosmed K4b2 and the ZAN 600 are valid and reliable RGEM systems to determine VO2 uptake in specific field and in general laboratory tests within the same testing group.
Influences between Software Architecture and its Environment in Industrial Systems – a Case Study

Software Architecture has received much attention in Software Engineering Research Community in the last decade. In this report, we have collected data from a number of real systems, which are successful and complex industrial systems. We tried to identify factors that have significant influence on their Software System Architecture lifecycle. The main goal of the investigation is to identify some key common factors that make architectures of these systems, successful or fail. The investigation was performed through a series of interviews with a number of key persons of research and development groups of successful international companies located in Sweden. The interviews were conducted in the late fall of 2003. This document contains the description of the case study setup and the material collected during interviews, without any analysis being done yet.
Quality indicators for the assessment and management of pain in the emergency department: A systematic review

Appropriate and timely treatment of pain are very important, particularly in the emergency department, where pain continues to be undertreated. One of the ways in which the undertreatment of pain can be mitigated is the use of defined quality benchmarks. This systematic review of the literature was performed to identify such quality indicators. The resulting 20 quality indicators may be used to improve pain assessment and management protocols in the emergency department setting.
De la théorie à la pratique de la séquence Éviter-Réduire-Compenser (ERC) : éviter ou légitimer la perte de biodiversité ?

La sequence Eviter-Reduire-Compenser (ERC) est devenue un instrument reglementaire important visant a concilier amenagement et preservation de l’environnement. Le succes de son application depend notamment de l’interpretation des textes normatifs nationaux par les acteurs du territoire. Dans cet article, nous nous interessons a l’interpretation des definitions des etapes ERC inscrites dans la doctrine nationale. L’analyse de 42 etudes d’impact permet de montrer qu’il existe une forte heterogeneite d’interpretation : 60 % des mesures proposees ne correspondent pas aux definitions normatives. Ces confusions pouvant reduire l’efficacite ecologique de la sequence, nous suggerons des voies d’amelioration en faveur d’une plus grande cohesion entre les definitions et les mesures proposees.
Robust Bayesian estimation of the hemodynamic response function in event‐related BOLD fMRI using basic physiological information

In BOLD fMRI data analysis, robust and accurate estimation of the Hemodynamic Response Function (HRF) is still under investigation. Parametric methods assume the shape of the HRF to be known and constant throughout the brain, whereas non‐parametric methods mostly rely on artificially increasing the signal‐to‐noise ratio. We extend and develop a previously proposed method that makes use of basic yet relevant temporal information about the underlying physiological process of the brain BOLD response in order to infer the HRF in a Bayesian framework. A general hypothesis test is also proposed, allowing to take advantage of the knowledge gained regarding the HRF to perform activation detection. The performances of the method are then evaluated by simulation. Great improvement is shown compared to the Maximum‐Likelihood estimate in terms of estimation error, variance, and bias. Robustness of the estimators with regard to the actual noise structure or level, as well as the stimulus sequence, is also proven. Lastly, fMRI data with an event‐related paradigm are analyzed. As suspected, the regions selected from highly discriminating activation maps resulting from the method exhibit a certain inter‐regional homogeneity in term of HRF shape, as well as noticeable inter‐regional differences. Hum. Brain Mapping 19:1–17, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ANALYZING THE INTERLANGUAGE OF ASL NATIVES

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks go to Jacy, my inspiration, partner, and guide for the duration of this work; to my parents, for simply assuming that I could (and would) do anything I wanted to; to Kathy, for steering me through this process and my college career; and to Lisa, for providing consistent and persistent collaboration. ABSTRACT Deaf students learning English face a unique and daunting array of challenges because of the vast distance between signed ASL and written English. The ICICLE system would provide an automated tutor to address and remedy some of these difficulties. Central to the ICICLE system is the proposed user modeling component, which would parse input and provide tutorial feedback using (a) knowledge of the universal patterns of language acquisition, and (b) records of the individual user's past behavior. In order to develop a model of the syntax of Deaf students learning written English, we undertook this study. Using writing samples gathered from Deaf students that had been scored according to the Test of Written English, we tabulated individual syntactic errors on the sentence level and conducted MANOVA tests and factor analysis. We found differences in the occurrence of errors across proficiency levels based on the MANOVA test. From the factor analysis, we found classes of errors that were most characteristic of the proficiency levels, and which could be used to build a concrete model of the typical user's syntax. Along with others on the ICICLE team, I have conducted the following research into the acquisition process of Deaf students learning written English. This research was motivated by the needs of the ICICLE tool, an automated writing tutor designed to assist Deaf students learning English. In order for the system to represent a particular user and the path of his learning process, we need to know what specific stages the typical user passes through. This research took two forms: we looked first at existing literature on Deaf students learning English to see if previous researchers had found patterns of acquisition. Then, having discovered that we still needed more information, we also undertook to find out for ourselves what those problems might be. In this research, we examined the errors that appear in the writing of a sampling of Deaf students at various stages of acqusition in order to characterize the intermediate syntax that they used. Deaf learners of written English do not have exposure to the language …
Matrix Invariants of Spectral Categories

In this paper, we further the study of spectral categories initiated in [31]. Our main contribution is the construction of the Universal matrix invariant of spectral categories, that is, a functor with values in an additive category, which inverts the Morita equivalences, satisfies matrix invariance, and is universal with respect to these two properties. For example, algebraic K-theory and topological Hochschild and cyclic homologies are matrix invariants and so they factor (uniquely) through . As an application, we obtain a bijective correspondence between the elements of the stable groups of spheres and the trace maps from the Grothendieck group to the topological Hochschild homology groups.
Influence of Clinical Factors and Magnification Correction on Normal Thickness Profiles of Macular Retinal Layers Using Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose To identify the factors which significantly contribute to the thickness variabilities in macular retinal layers measured by optical coherence tomography with or without magnification correction of analytical areas in normal subjects. Methods The thickness of retinal layers {retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer plus inner plexiform layer (GCLIPL), RNFL plus GCLIPL (ganglion cell complex, GCC), total retina, total retina minus GCC (outer retina)} were measured by macular scans (RS-3000, NIDEK) in 202 eyes of 202 normal Asian subjects aged 20 to 60 years. The analytical areas were defined by three concentric circles (1-, 3- and 6-mm nominal diameters) with or without magnification correction. For each layer thickness, a semipartial correlation (sr) was calculated for explanatory variables including age, gender, axial length, corneal curvature, and signal strength index. Results Outer retinal thickness was significantly thinner in females than in males (sr2, 0.07 to 0.13) regardless of analytical areas or magnification correction. Without magnification correction, axial length had a significant positive sr with RNFL (sr2, 0.12 to 0.33) and a negative sr with GCLIPL (sr2, 0.22 to 0.31), GCC (sr2, 0.03 to 0.17), total retina (sr2, 0.07 to 0.17) and outer retina (sr2, 0.16 to 0.29) in multiple analytical areas. The significant sr in RNFL, GCLIPL and GCC became mostly insignificant following magnification correction. Conclusions The strong correlation between the thickness of inner retinal layers and axial length appeared to result from magnification effects. Outer retinal thickness may differ by gender and axial length independently of magnification correction.
Heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) is a novel substrate for protein kinase D1 (PKD1)

Heat shock protein 20 (HSP20) has cardioprotective qualities, which are triggered by PKA phosphorylation. PKD1 is also a binding partner for HSP20, and this prompted us to investigate whether the chaperone was a substrate for PKD1. We delineate the PKD1 binding sites on HSP20 and show for the first time HSP20 is a substrate for PKD1. Phosphorylation of HSP20 by PKD1 is diminished by pharmacological or siRNA reduction of PKD1 activity and is enhanced following PKD1 activation. Our results suggest that both PKA and PKD1 can both phosphorylate HSP20 on serine 16 but that PKA is the most dominant. © 2016 The Authors. Cell Biochemistry and Function published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Signaling Promotes Radial Glial Identity and Interacts with Notch1 Signaling in Telencephalic Progenitors

The Notch and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) pathways both regulate cell fate specification during mammalian neural development. We have shown previously that Notch1 activation in the murine forebrain promotes radial glial identity. This result, together with recent evidence that radial glia can be progenitors, suggested that Notch1 signaling might promote progenitor and radial glial character simultaneously. Consistent with this idea, we found that in addition to promoting radial glial character in vivo, activated Notch1 (ActN1) increased the frequency of embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5) ganglionic eminence (GE) progenitors that grew into neurospheres in FGF2. Constitutive activation of C-promoter binding factor (CBF1), a Notch pathway effector, also increased neurosphere frequency in FGF2, suggesting that the effect of Notch1 on FGF responsiveness is mediated by CBF1. The observation that ActN1 promoted FGF responsiveness in telencephalic progenitors prompted us to examine the effect of FGF pathway activation in vivo. We focused on FGFR2 because it is expressed in radial glia in the GEs where ActN1 increases FGF2 neurosphere frequency, but not in the septum where it does not. Like ActN1, activated FGFR2 (ActFGFR2) promoted radial glial character in vivo. However, unlike ActN1, ActFGFR2 did not enhance neurosphere frequency at E14.5. Additional analysis demonstrated that, unexpectedly, neither ActFGFR2 nor ActFGFR1 could replace the need for ligand in promoting neurosphere proliferation. This study suggests that telencephalic progenitors with radial glial morphology are maintained by interactions between the Notch and FGF pathways, and that the mechanisms by which FGF signaling promotes radial glial character in vivo and progenitor proliferation in vitro can be uncoupled.
Serum IL-10, MMP-7, MMP-9 Levels in Helicobacter pylori Infection and Correlation with Degree of Gastritis

AIM: Helicobacter pylori causes gastric mucosal inflammation and immune reaction. However, the increase of IL-10, MMP-7, and MMP-7 levels in the serum is still controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the serum levels of IL-10, MMP-7 & MMP-9 in gastritis patients with H. pylori infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done on seventy gastritis patients that consecutive admitted to endoscopy units. The diagnosis of gastritis was made based on histopathology and diagnosis of H. pylori infection was based on rapid urease test. Serum samples were obtained to determine to circulate IL-10, MMP-7, and MMP-9 level. Univariate and bivariate analysis were done by SPSS version 22. RESULTS: Forthy percentages of the patients were infected with H. pylori. The IL-10 level was significantly higher in H. pylori-infected patients compared to non-infected patients. However, there were no differences between serum levels of MMP-7 and MMP-9 in infected and non-infected H. pylori patients. CONCLUSIONS: The immune response to H. pylori promotes systemic inflammation, which was reflected by the increased levels of serum IL-10. However, there were no significant differences in MMP-7 and MMP-9 serum levels between positive and negative infected H. pylori patients.
Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition by Sequences of Elementary Actions

The work presents a computational model for motor learning and memory. The basic approach of the model is to treat complex activities as sequences of elementary actions. The model implements two major functions. First, the combination of elementary actions into sequences to produce desired complex activities, which is achieved by a search procedure involving multiscale task analysis and stochastic descent processing. Second, the utilization of past motor experience by effective memorization and retrieval, and generalizing sequences. New tasks are accomplished by combining past sequences intended for similar tasks. The generalization is based upon the clustering property of motor experience data. Specifically, the clustering property results in concentrating the data points within compact regions, allowing fast and accurate generalization of the elementary actions and consequently, enabling a robust performance of familiar tasks. A motor memory architecture is proposed that uses the clusters as the basic memory units. The computational work is accompanied by a set of psychophysical studies aimed at examining the possible use of a cluster representation by the human motor system. The experiment examines the entire motor learning process, starting from untrained movements up to the formation of highly skilled actions.
Concurrent link capacity of MIMO ad-hoc networks with QoS constraint

MIMO based MANET has received a great deal of attention in the past decade, resulting in a number of MAC layer protocols that aim to utilize the inherent capabilities afforded by multi-antenna enabled nodes. Many of these MAC protocols look to improve on the total number of concurrent links within the network. In this paper, we present a theoretical approach for identifying the maximum number of concurrent links (MNCL) in a MIMO enabled MANET, subject to the constraint that all links provide a minimum QoS measured in terms of signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR). We assume that each receiver uses an MMSE based detector which provides a balance between completely nulling of neighboring interference and hardware complexity. As a byproduct of the MNCL, the solution will provide the optimum power allocation for the nodes as well as the optimum concurrent link allocation. The proposed approach is readily applicable to MIMO systems using Receive Diversity, Transmit Beamforming, and Space Time Block Coding (STBC). The results show that the MNCL can be improved significantly by exploiting multi-user diversity and increasing the number of receiver antennas. But the improvement from allowing higher transmit power is not significant. The derived MNCL capacity can be used to highlight theoretical insights for practical designs.
Subtopic Based Topic Evolution Analysis

Traditional topic tracking approaches can obtain the relevant stories. However, the relationship between stories occurred during the topic developing process can not be exhibited clearly. By analyzing the evolution of the topic, the concept subtopic is put forward and the focus of topic evolution analysis is subtopic instead. Four levels topic model is constructed. The subtopic detection algorithm, time slices partition algorithm and topic evolution analysis algorithm are designed. These algorithms make use of the temporal characteristic of topic, partition the news stories into time slices and compute the similarity of these units. As a result, the relationships between the various subtopics in the process of the topic evolution are achieved. Experiments show our algorithms are effective.
Longitudinal MR Imaging of Dementia ( Nine-month Report )

This report concerns the application of medical image analysis techniques to serially acquired MRI scans, with the aims of identifying patterns of longitudinal change in the brains of dementia patients, and of distinguishing differences in these patterns between groups (such as patients and controls, or different dementias). A basic review of the clinical application is provided, broad analysis strategies are briefly summarised, and aspects of MR image acquisition are discussed. Further reviews are given for image registration and segmentation (as applied in the neuroimaging field), and of the statistical methods appropriate for longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of imaging data. Early results are presented from initial work using non-rigid registration, tissue segmentation and multivariate statistical methods to analyse a data set with two time-points and two groups. Some limitations of the work are discussed, and plans for future work are outlined.
Role of activity in human dynamics

The human society is a very complex system; still, there are several non-trivial, general features. One type of them is the presence of power-law–distributed quantities in temporal statistics. In this letter, we focus on the origin of power laws in rating of movies. We present a systematic empirical exploration of the time between two consecutive ratings of movies (the interevent time). At an aggregate level, we find a monotonous relation between the activity of individuals and the power law exponent of the interevent time distribution. At an individual level, we observe a heavy-tailed distribution for each user, as well as a negative correlation between the activity and the width of the distribution. We support these findings by a similar data set from mobile phone text-message communication. Our results demonstrate a significant role of the activity of individuals on the society-level patterns of human behavior. We believe this is a common character in the interest-driven human dynamics, corresponding to (but different from) the universality classes of task-driven dynamics.
Modelling and forecasting stock returns: exploiting the futures market, regime shifts and international spillovers

This paper proposes a vector equilibrium correction model of stock returns that exploits the information in the futures market, while allowing for both regime-switching behaviour and international spillovers across stock market indices. Using data for three major stock market indices since 1989, we find that: (i) in sample, our model outperforms several alternative models on the basis of standard statistical criteria; (ii) in out-of-sample forecasting, our model does not produce significant gains in terms of point forecasts relative to more parsimonious alternative specifications, but it does so both in terms of market timing ability and in density forecasting performance. The economic value of the density forecasts is illustrated with an application to a simple risk management exercise. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.