Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A blood capillary plexus-derived population of progenitor cells contributes to genesis of the dermal lymphatic vasculature during embryonic development

ABSTRACT Despite the essential role of the lymphatic vasculature in tissue homeostasis and disease, knowledge of the organ-specific origins of lymphatic endothelial progenitor cells remains limited. The assumption that most murine embryonic lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) are venous derived has recently been challenged. Here, we show that the embryonic dermal blood capillary plexus constitutes an additional, local source of LECs that contributes to the formation of the dermal lymphatic vascular network. We describe a novel mechanism whereby rare PROX1-positive endothelial cells exit the capillary plexus in a Ccbe1-dependent manner to establish discrete LEC clusters. As development proceeds, these clusters expand and further contribute to the growing lymphatic system. Lineage tracing and analyses of Gata2-deficient mice confirmed that these clusters are endothelial in origin. Furthermore, ectopic expression of Vegfc in the vasculature increased the number of PROX1-positive progenitors within the capillary bed. Our work reveals a novel source of lymphatic endothelial progenitors employed during construction of the dermal lymphatic vasculature and demonstrates that the blood vasculature is likely to remain an ongoing source of LECs during organogenesis, raising the question of whether a similar mechanism operates during pathological lymphangiogenesis. Highlighted Article: Genetic lineage tracing and targeted gene disruption and gain of function identify a novel source of lymphatic endothelial progenitors that contribute to the formation of lymphatic vasculature in mouse skin.
Access Control Mechanism to Mitigate Cordova Plugin Attacks in Hybrid Applications

Hybrid application frameworks such as Cordova are more and more popular to create platform-independent applications (apps) because they provide special APIs to access device resources in a platform-agonistic way. By using these APIs, hybrid apps can access device resources through JavaScript. In this paper, we present a novel apprepackaging attack that repackages hybrid apps with malicious code; this code can exploit Cordova’s plugin interface to steal and tamper with device resources. We address this attack and cross-site scripting attacks against hybrid apps. Since these attacks need to use plugins to access device resources, we refer to both of these attacks as Cordova plugin attacks. We further demonstrate a defense against Cordova plugin attacks through the use of a novel runtime access control mechanism that restricts access based on the mobile user’s judgement. Our mechanism is easy to introduce to existing Cordova apps, and allows developers to produce apps that are resistant to Cordova plugin attacks. Moreover, we evaluate the effectiveness and performance of our mechanism.
Stable Shapes of Thin Anisotropic Nano‐strips

Abstract The elastic properties of a thin anisotropic nano‐strip are characterized by its intrinsic mean curvature and intrinsic curvature deviator. It is shown that minimization of the elastic energy of the strip including the deviatoric contribution may explain the stability of the observed helical and twisted shapes of inorganic nano‐strips (helix A and B).
The Efficacy of Three Learning Methods Collaborative, Context-Based Learning and Traditional, on Learning, Attitude and Behaviour of Undergraduate Nursing Students: Integrating Theory and Practice.

INTRODUCTION Communication skills training, responsibility, respect, and self-awareness are important indexes of changing learning behaviours in modern approaches. AIM The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of three learning approaches, collaborative, context-based learning (CBL), and traditional, on learning, attitude, and behaviour of undergraduate nursing students. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was a clinical trial with pretest and post-test of control group. The participants were senior nursing students. The samples were randomly assigned to three groups; CBL, collaborative, and traditional. To gather data a standard questionnaire of students' behaviour and attitude was administered prior to and after the intervention. Also, the rate of learning was investigated by a researcher-developed questionnaire prior to and after the intervention in the three groups. RESULTS In CBL and collaborative training groups, the mean score of behaviour and attitude increased after the intervention. But no significant association was obtained between the mean scores of behaviour and attitude prior to and after the intervention in the traditional group. However, the mean learning score increased significantly in the CBL, collaborative, and traditional groups after the study in comparison to before the study. CONCLUSION Both CBL and collaborative approaches were useful in terms of increased respect, self-awareness, self-evaluation, communication skills and responsibility as well as increased motivation and learning score in comparison to traditional method.
Curvature-dependent lateral distribution of raft markers in the human erythrocyte membrane

The distribution of raft markers in curved membrane exvaginations and invaginations, induced in human erythrocytes by amphiphile-treatment or increased cytosolic calcium level, was studied by fluorescence microscopy. Cholera toxin subunit B and antibodies were used to detect raft components. Ganglioside GM1 was enriched in membrane exvaginations (spiculae) induced by cytosolic calcium and amphiphiles. Stomatin and the cytosolic proteins synexin and sorcin were enriched in spiculae when induced by cytosolic calcium, but not in spiculae induced by amphiphiles. No enrichment of flotillin-1 was detected in spiculae. Analyses of the relative protein content of released exovesicles were in line with the microscopic observations. In invaginations induced by amphiphiles, the enrichment of ganglioside GM1, but not of the integral membrane proteins flotillin-1 and stomatin, was observed. Based on the experimental results and theoretical considerations we suggest that membrane skeleton-detached, laterally mobile rafts may sort into curved or flat membrane regions dependent on their intrinsic molecular shape and/or direct interactions between the raft elements.
Macroeconomic Implications of Oil Price Hike

One of the significant developments affecting the global economy in the current scenario is the phenomenal increase in the crude oil prices. Crude oil is an import raw material for manufactured goods, thus an unprecedented increase in the price of oil is bound to threaten the economy with inflationary tendencies. It is left to the policy makers to design suitable policy prescriptions so that the oil price hike does not hamper the economic growth performance of the nation. This paper delves into the possible conflicts which policy makers experience while framing policies for curbing the adverse impact of oil price hike.
A high–order perturbation of surfaces (HOPS) approach to Fokas integral equations: Three–dimensional layered–media scattering

In this paper we discuss a novel High–Order Perturbation of Surfaces (HOPS) method for the simulation of linear acoustic waves in a three–dimensional layered, periodic structure. The model we consider is that of linear time–harmonic wave propagation which generates three–dimensional, quasiperiodic, outgoing solutions of Helmholtz equations, coupled across irregular layer interfaces. We significantly enhance and stabilize the approach of the author and D. Ambrose, which is a formulation of the problem utilizing the integral equation formalism of Fokas and collaborators. The method is phrased in terms of interfacial variables resulting in a method which has an order of magnitude fewer unknowns than a volumetric approach to this problem. In contrast to classical integral equation formulations, the current contribution does not require specialized quadratures or periodized fundamental solutions. Additionally, as a result of the HOPS philosophy, our new approach is not only faster and better conditioned than the algorithm of the author and Ambrose, it also delivers the scattering returns of an entire family of solutions with a single simulation rather than requiring a new approximation for each profile of interest. Detailed numerical simulations are presented which demonstrate the efficiency, fidelity, and spectral accuracy which can be realized with this new methodology.
Computer Use, Job Tasks and the Part‐Time Pay Penalty

Using data from the UK Skills Surveys 1997–2012, we show that the part-time pay penalty (PTPP) for women within low- and medium-skilled occupations has decreased significantly. The convergence in computer use and non-routine job tasks between part-time and full-time workers explains a large share of the decrease in the PTPP. This convergence took place mainly within occupations, and was not driven by changes in occupational segregation between the two groups of workers. The lower PTPP is also related to changes in the returns to job tasks. Relative changes in the importance of and returns to computer use and job tasks together explain more than 50 per cent of the decrease in the PTPP.
Free-Base Nicotine Determination in Electronic Cigarette Liquids by 1H NMR Spectroscopy

E-liquids usually contain significant nicotine, which will exist primarily in two forms, monoprotonated and free-base, the proportions of which are alterable through the effective pH of the medium. The fraction of nicotine in the free-base form is αfb, with 0 ≤ αfb ≤ 1. When dosed via aerosol, the two nicotine forms have different mechanisms and kinetics of delivery, as well as differing implications for harshness of the inhaled aerosol, so αfb is relevant regarding abuse liability. Previous attempts to determine αfb in electronic cigarette liquids and vapor have been flawed. We employed the exchange-averaged 1H NMR chemical shifts of nicotine to determine αfb in samples of e-liquids. This method is rapid and direct and can also be used with collected aerosol material. The e-liquids tested were found to have 0.03 ≤ αfb ≤ 0.84. The αfb values in collected aerosol liquid samples were highly correlated with those for the parent e-liquids. E-liquids designed to combine high total nicotine level (addictive delivery) with low αfb (for ease of inhalation) are likely to be particularly problematic for public health.
A Tale of Two Theories: Using an Engineered Strain of E. coli to Bridge the Gap Between Quorum Sensing and Diffusion Sensing

Cooperation is a trait that is found at all levels of biological organization. Interestingly, cooperation appears to occur in bacteria that produce small, easily diffusible molecules called autoinducers. To understand why bacteria produce these autoinducers, the scientific community has focused on one predominant theory called quorum sensing. Under this theory, bacteria produce autoinducers so they can sense the density of the population. Once a sufficiently high population density is reached, autoinducers initiate the production of a costly gene product that serves to benefit the population. In contrast, a competing theory called diffusion sensing suggests that autoinducers are used by the individual cells and are not used for cooperation. Here, the production of the autoinducer serves as a mechanism to sense environmental conditions. If the environmental conditions are favorable, a costly gene product is produced. To what extent, and under what conditions, are each of these opposing theories valid remains to be identified. In this thesis, an engineered strain of Escherichia coli was used to identify the conditions under which quorum sensing and diffusing sensing can be observed. It was discovered that, depending upon the frequency at which the spatial distribution of the autoinducer and bacteria was disrupted, the population of engineered bacteria displayed hallmarks of either quorum sensing or diffusion sensing. Specifically, when the spatial distribution was disturbed at high or low frequency, quorum sensing was observed. However, when spatial distribution was disturbed at an intermediate frequency, diffusion sensing was observed. Understanding how these disturbances affect survival in bacteria may result in novel treatments for bacterial infections. In more general applications, it may be exploited in the development of alternative mechanisms for controlling invasive species or aid in species reintroduction.
Developing Informal Financing Option for Rural SMEs Growth : a Case of Selected Local Government Areas of Kwara State , Nigeria Author Details :

Based on statistical evidences in the last couple of years, Nigeria’s economy is one of the rapidly growing in the world and the fastest growing in Africa. However, in real terms, its people are the most impoverished with high poverty concentration in the rural areas. This study investigates Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and how the informal financing option could boost their performance in the rural areas. A sample of 185 SMEs was selected in a crosssectional survey research design across two (2) Local Government Areas of Kwara State who are typically rural areas. The returned questionnaires of 125 i.e. (78.1%) were according analyzed using regression and t-test analyses. The findings show that 91.2% of the sample relied only on informal sources of finance for their businesses while 4.0% and 4.8% have accessed the formal and government funding respectively. The study concludes that informal financing option is germane to improving rural SMEs as this will create business expansion, provide more jobs and ultimately reduce high rate of poverty in the rural communities. The paper recommends that government should through Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOA) etc. provide special intervention fund for informal financing channels. Furthermore, international NGOs such as FATE, MTN, Bill and Merlyn Foundations, and other international financial institutions such as African Development Bank (AfDB) International Finance Corporation (IFC) should develop a partnership programme with informal finance providers in Nigeria.
HIV‐1 alters neural and glial progenitor cell dynamics in the central nervous system: Coordinated response to opiates during maturation

HIV‐associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs) are common sequelae of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, even when viral titers are well controlled by antiretroviral therapy. Evidence in patients and animal models suggests that neurologic deficits are increased during chronic opiate exposure. We have hypothesized that central nervous system (CNS) progenitor cells in both adult and developing CNS are affected by HIV infection and that opiates exacerbate these effects. To examine this question, neural progenitors were exposed to HIV‐1 Tat1–86 in the developing brain of inducible transgenic mice and in vitro. We examined whether Tat affected the proliferation or balance of progenitor populations expressing nestin, Sox2, and Olig2. Disease relevance was further tested by exposing human‐derived progenitors to supernatant from HIV‐1 infected monocytes. Studies concentrated on striatum, a region preferentially targeted by HIV and opiates. Results were similar among experimental paradigms. Tat or HIV exposure reduced the proliferation of undifferentiated (Sox2+) progenitors and oligodendroglial (Olig2+) progenitors. Coexposure to morphine exacerbated the effects of Tat or HIV‐1SF162 supernatant, but partially reversed HIV‐1IIIB supernatant effects. Populations of Sox2+ and Olig2+ cells were also reduced by Tat exposure, although progenitor survival was unaffected. In rare instances, p24 immunolabeling was detected in viable human progenitors by confocal imaging. The vulnerability of progenitors is likely to distort the dynamic balance among neuron/glial populations as the brain matures, perhaps contributing to reports that neurologic disease is especially prevalent in pediatric HIV patients. Pediatric disease is atypical in developed regions but remains a serious concern in resource‐limited areas where infection occurs commonly at birth and through breast feeding. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Modulation of Polyelectrolyte Adsorption on Nanoparticles and Nanochannels by Surface Curvature

This paper presents theoretical results on the adsorption of polyelectrolyte chains on surfaces with opposite charge and nanoscale curvature. The theory predicts that increasing the surface curvature can either increase or decrease the amount of adsorbed polyelectrolyte, depending on the type of curvature (convex or concave) and whether the polyelectrolyte undercompensates or overcompensates the initial charge of the substrate. For small bulk salt concentration (10–4 M), increasing the curvature of the surface displaces the adsorption equilibrium of the polyelectrolyte in order to decrease the absolute value of the effective charge density for concave surfaces (nanochannels) or to increase it for convex surfaces (nanoparticles). This behavior is traced back to the dependence of the total free energy as a function of the curvature of the surface. For intermediate salt concentrations (0.01–0.1 M), the magnitude of the effect is larger than that for low salt concentrations, although the general picture becom.
Inferring Inequality with Home Production

We revisit the causes, welfare consequences, and policy implications of the dispersion in households' labor market outcomes using a model with uninsurable risk, incomplete asset markets, and home production. Allowing households to be heterogeneous in both their disutility of home work and their home production efficiency, we find that home production amplifies welfare‐based differences, meaning that inequality in standards of living is larger than we thought. We infer significant home production efficiency differences across households because hours working at home do not covary with consumption and wages in the cross section of households. Heterogeneity in home production efficiency is essential for inequality, as home production would not amplify inequality if differences at home only reflected heterogeneity in disutility of work.
Species turnover drives β-diversity patterns across multiple spatial scales of plant-galling interactions in mountaintop grasslands

This study describes differences in species richness and composition of the assemblages of galling insects and their host plants at different spatial scales. Sampling was conducted along altitudinal gradients composed of campos rupestres and campos de altitude of two mountain complexes in southeastern Brazil: Espinhaço Range and Mantiqueira Range. The following hypotheses were tested: i) local and regional richness of host plants and galling insects are positively correlated; ii) beta diversity is the most important component of regional diversity of host plants and galling insects; and iii) Turnover is the main mechanism driving beta diversity of both host plants and galling insects. Local richness of galling insects and host plants increased with increasing regional richness of species, suggesting a pattern of unsaturated communities. The additive partition of regional richness (γ) into local and beta components shows that local richnesses (α) of species of galling insects and host plants are low relative to regional richness; the beta (β) component incorporates most of the regional richness. The multi-scale analysis of additive partitioning showed similar patterns for galling insects and host plants with the local component (α) incorporated a small part of regional richness. Beta diversity of galling insects and host plants were mainly the result of turnover, with little contribution from nesting. Although the species composition of galling insects and host plant species varied among sample sites, mountains and even mountain ranges, local richness remained relatively low. In this way, the addition of local habitats with different landscapes substantially affects regional richness. Each mountain contributes fundamentally to the composition of regional diversity of galling insects and host plants, and so the design of future conservation strategies should incorporate multiple scales.
Delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol potentiates fear memory salience through functional modulation of mesolimbic dopaminergic activity states

Chronic or acute exposure to delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, has been associated with numerous neuropsychiatric side‐effects, including dysregulation of emotional processing and associative memory formation. Clinical and preclinical evidence suggests that the effects of THC are due to the ability to modulate mesolimbic dopamine (DA) activity states in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which THC modulates mesolimbic DA function and emotional processing are not well understood. Using an olfactory associative fear memory procedure combined with in vivo neuronal electrophysiology, we examined the effects of direct THC microinfusions targeting the shell region of the NAc (NASh) and examined how THC may modulate the processing of fear‐related emotional memory and concomitant activity states of the mesolimbic DA system. We report that intra‐NASh THC dose‐dependently potentiates the emotional salience of normally subthreshold fear conditioning cues. These effects were dependent upon intra‐VTA transmission through GABAergic receptor mechanisms and intra‐NASh DAergic transmission. Furthermore, doses of intra‐NASh THC that potentiated fear memory salience were found to modulate intra‐VTA neuronal network activity by increasing the spontaneous firing and bursting frequency of DAergic neurones whilst decreasing the activity levels of a subpopulation of putative GABAergic VTA neurones. These findings demonstrate that THC can act directly in the NASh to modulate mesolimbic activity states and induce disturbances in emotional salience and memory formation through modulation of VTA DAergic transmission.
Survey on Social Media Content and Analyzing Student ’ s Learning Experiences

Micro blogging is a popular technology in social networking applications that lets users publishes online short text messages in real time via web, SMS, etc. Social media is used for social interaction among people in which they share or exchange information, ideas and everyday encounters in an informal and casual manner in virtual communities. The rapid growth in popularity of social media has permitted large number of users to exchange their ideas, create and share content, give and receive recommendations. However analyzing such large amount of social media is an open challenging problem. In this study the use of social media content for detecting various events, analyzing student behavior about learning and the performance of a student in an education, detecting the popularity of Twitter message etc. is discussed.