Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alternative Roles of STAT3 and MAPK Signaling Pathways in the MMPs Activation and Progression of Lung Injury Induced by Cigarette Smoke Exposure in ACE2 Knockout Mice

Inflammation-mediated abnormalities in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of lung injury. Angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) homologue that displays antagonist effects on ACE/angiotensin II (Ang II) axis, could also play a protective role against lung diseases. However, the relationship between ACE2 and MMPs activation in lung injury is still largely unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether MMPs activity could be affected by ACE2 and which ACE2 derived signaling pathways could be also involved via using a mouse model with lung injury induced by cigarette smoke (CS) exposure for 1 to 3 weeks. Wild-type (WT; C57BL/6) and ACE2 KO mice (ACE2-/-) were utilized to study CS-induced lung injury. Increases in the resting respiratory rate (RRR), pulmonary immunokines, leukocyte infiltration and bronchial hyperplasia were observed in the CS-exposed mice. Compared to WT mice, more serious physiopathological changes were found in ACE2-/- mice in the first week of CS exposure. CS exposure increased pulmonary ACE and ACE2 activities in WT mice, and significantly increased ACE in ACE2-/- mice. Furthermore, the activity of pulmonary MMPs was decreased in CS-exposed WT mice, whereas this activity was increased in ACE2-/- mice. CS exposure increased the pulmonary p-p38, p-JNK and p-ERK1/2 level in all mice. In ACE2-/- mice, a significant increase p-STAT3 signaling was detected; however, no effect was observed on the p-STAT3 level in WT mice. Our results support the hypothesis that ACE2 deficiency influences MMPs activation and STAT3 phosphorylation signaling to promote more pulmonary inflammation in the development of lung injury.
The Role of miRNAs in Downregulation of PTEN for Glioblastoma Multiforme

In this paper we show, in silico, the role of miRNAs in the post-transcriptional regulation of the onco suppressor gene PTEN by means of a (stochastic) competitive model including interactions with miRNAs and other concurrent genes. The model also covers protein formation and the mechanism going from the protein back to the miRNAs. The numerical simulations confirm the biologically observed situation that the increase of miRNAs concentration within the cell results in the lower expression of PTEN, thus suggesting severe implications in brain tumorigenesis.
Laser ablation of surgical margins after excisional partial vulvectomy for VIN: Effect on recurrence.

OBJECTIVE To determine the recurrence rates in patients who underwent different surgical treatments for vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) 2 and 3. STUDY DESIGN Data on every patient who underwent surgical treatment for VIN 2 or 3 between January 1994 and December 2002 by a single gynecologic oncologist were retrospectively reviewed. The recurrence rates for 3 different surgical therapies were analyzed using Fischer's exact test. RESULTS Thirty-three patients, who had a median age of 46 years (range, 31-80), were identified. The preoperative biopsy demonstrated VIN 2 or 3 in 9.1% and 90.9% of the patients, respectively. The following primary surgical procedures were employed: 16 patients (48.4%) underwent excisional partial vulvectomy with CO2 laser ablation of the margins, 10 patients (30.3%) had CO2 laser ablation alone, 6 patients (18.2%) had an excisional partial vulvectomy, and 1 patient (3.0%) was. treated with the ultrasonic surgical aspirator. No patient had invasive disease. Recurrent disease was seen in 7 patients (70.0%) treated by laser alone, 3 patients (50.0%) who had an excisional partial vulvectomy and 1 patient (6.25%) who underwent a combined laser and excisional partial vulvectomy (p = 0.0016). CONCLUSION The results of this small study suggest that laser and excisional partial vulvectomy for the treatment of VIN 2 and 3 may be associated with a lower recurrence rate than either modality alone. A larger study will be needed to confirm these results.
Information space representation in interactive systems: relationship to spatial abilities

Digital libraries, lacking a natural spatial organization, may adopt a variety of mechanisms for visualizing information in two or more dimensions. Understanding the cognitive basis for the use of spatial features in information retrieval, including spatial abilities, is important to the development of interactive information retrieval. This research investigated the interaction of spatial abilities with twodimensional data representations in an experimental interactive system. The results showed that users with lower levels of spatial abilities were assisted in finding and interpreting digital information when spatial representations of information were employed. These results have implications for the design of digital libraries.
Rethinking the role of interpersonal influence processes in alcohol intervention situations

Abstract In a review of the literature on personal intervention practices in adult alcoholism contexts (termed the home treatment method), Thomas and Seibold (1993) identified several points of overlap between this research and traditional interpersonal influence studies. Our aim in this paper is to extend that analysis to studying alcohol intervention processes in the college environment from an interpersonal influence perspective. We attempt this, first, by reviewing literature on the extent of the alcohol use/abuse problem in the college environment. Second, we demonstrate the importance of interpersonal influence processes to the alcohol intervention context and critically review the current state of research dealing with intervention strategies used in the college environment. Finally, following discussion of the conceptual and methodological concerns associated with research in the alcohol intervention area, we offer a reconceptualization of interpersonal influence processes in college students’ alc.
Modeling the Performance and Scalability of a SAP ERP System using an Evolutionary Algorithm

Simulating the performance behavior of complex software systems, like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, is a hard task due to the high number of system components when using a white box simulation approach. This paper utilizes a black box approach for establishing a simulation model for SAP ERP systems on the basis of real world performance data, which is gathered by using a synthetic benchmark. In this paper we introduce the benchmark, called Zachmanntest, and demonstrate that by using an evolutionary algorithm basing on the results of the Zachmanntest, the exact performance behavior of the ERP system can be modeled. Our work provides insights on how the algorithm is parameterized e.g. for the mutation and crossover probability, to receive optimal results. Furthermore we show that the evolutionary algorithm models the performance and scalability of an ERP system with an error less than 3.2 system with much less effort than required when using a white box simulation approach.
ISAB: Integrated Indoor Navigation System for the Blind

Generally, indoor navigation is considered as a challenging task, especially when people navigate through an unfamiliar place (e.g. a university or a mall). It is even a more challenging endeavor for the visually impaired and blind community. This paper presents an innovative approach to the precise indoor navigation challenge for the blind individuals using a multi-tier solution with the help of an intuitive smartphone interface. We utilize a set of different communication technologies (WiFi, Bluetooth and radio-frequency identification) to help users reach an object with high accuracy. As a proof of concept, we deploy a fully functional testbed and we evaluate our entire solution inside our university library by helping blind users find a specific book. Our results demonstrate the high accuracy of the proposed system to reach an object with accuracy up to 10 cm. The intuitive smartphone interface provides step-by-step navigation voice instructions of the least hazardous path for the blind users while minimizing the cognitive load on their short-term memory. In addition, we show that our iterative improvements on our smartphone’s interface has improved the system’s efficiency and its accuracy in reaching specific objects successfully.
The effects of a changing institutional environment on academic research practices: three cases from agricultural science

This paper investigates the varying effects of a changing institutional environment on academic research practices in three fields of Dutch animal science. Our analysis shows that the shifts in funding have stimulated interactions with societal stakeholders in fields where this has helped to sustain a basic research agenda. In other fields researchers experience a tension between satisfying the needs of application-oriented funding sources and reaching high scores on evaluations dominated by bibliometric indicators. The paper concludes with the identification of three field characteristics that seem to moderate the effects of institutional changes on academic research practices. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.
A COMPARISON OF SUBJECTIVE QUALITY-OF-LIFE INDICATORS ACROSS DOMAINS OF JEWISH SENIORS LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY

This paper sets out to describe the comparisons of subjective quality-of-life indicators across domains that enable Jewish older persons – and, in particular, those who are members of Cape Jewish Seniors Association, Milnerton1 – to remain living in their communities. From the outset, and for the purpose of this paper, two concepts need clarification. Firstly, the term “Jewish” pertains to any one who professes to be Jewish either through birthright or religious conversion, and who consider themselves Jewish, irrespective of their frequency of attendance at a place of worship. It also pertains to any person of Hebrew descent (Barnhart & Barnhart, 1987:1132; Lamm in Donin, 1991:8). Secondly, the terms “seniors”, “aged” and “older person” are used interchangeably and will be used to denote people aged 60 and over. The Older Persons Bill, South Africa, defines older persons as women and men aged 60 and 65 respectively ( Ministry for Welfare & Population Development, 2003:3). 2
Geometric interplay between function subspaces and their rings of differential operators

We study, in the setting of algebraic varieties, finite-dimensional spaces of functions $V$ that are invariant under a ring $\Dc^V$ of differential operators, and give conditions under which $\Dc^V$ acts irreducibly. We show how this problem, originally formulated in physics \cite{kamran-Milson-Olver:invariant,turbiner:bochner}, is related to the study of principal parts bundles and Weierstrass points \cite{EGA4,laksov-thorup}, including a detailed study of Taylor expansions. Under some conditions it is possible to obtain $V$ and $\Dc^V$ as global sections of a line bundle and its ring of differential operators. We show that several of the published examples of $\Dc^V$ are of this type, and that there are many more - in particular, arising from toric varieties.
The provision of sophisticated critical care beyond the hospital: Lessons from physiology and military experiences that apply to civil disaster medical response

Objective:The provision of sophisticated medical care in an austere environment is challenging. During and after a mass casualty event, it is likely that critical care services will be needed beyond an intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The objective of this article is to explore existing ICU care systems such as military aeromedical transport that may be applicable to disaster medicine and to providing critical care outside of an ICU setting. Results:The U.S. Air Force Critical Care Aeromedical Transport (CCAT) Teams were developed in 1994 in response to an unmet military need for long-range air transport of critically ill and injured patients. This system has transported several thousand ICU patients and is an applicable model for the future development of extrahospital critical care capabilities needed during a disaster. We also discuss civilian aeromedical critical care systems, the types of medical devices used, and their applicability to disaster medical response. Conclusion:The U.S. Air Force CCAT Team program, as well as many civilian critical care air ambulance services, provides a workable starting point for the development of disaster medical critical care response capabilities for disaster medical systems.
Generalized Linear Mixing Model Accounting for Endmember Variability

Endmember variability is an important factor for accurately unveiling vital information relating the pure materials and their distribution in hyperspectral images. Recently, the extended linear mixing model (ELMM) has been proposed as a modification of the linear mixing model (LMM) to consider endmember variability effects resulting mainly from illumination changes. In this paper, we further generalize the ELMM leading to a new model (GLMM) to account for more complex spectral distortions where different wavelength intervals can be affected unevenly. We also extend the existing methodology to jointly estimate the variability and the abundances for the GLMM. Simulations with real and synthetic data show that the unmixing process can benefit from the extra flexibility introduced by the GLMM.
Effects of self‐enhancement on agreement on personality profiles

Effects of self‐enhancement and socially desirable responding (SDR) on rater agreement for personality profiles were studied in 304 students. Dyads of participants described themselves and their peer on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO‐PI‐R) that measures 30 facets of personality. In addition, participants filled in six scales measuring self‐enhancement or SDR. Data analyses focussed on moderator and suppressor effects of SDR on the similarity between self‐reported and other reported NEO‐PI‐R profiles. Three kinds of profile agreement were distinguished: (a) normative agreement; (b) distinctive agreement and (c) profile normativeness, that is, how strongly a self‐reported personality profile resembled the average profile of all participants. There were no moderator or suppressor effects on distinctive agreement, but SDR predicted profile normativeness quite strongly. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Pinching 2D object with arbitrary shape by two robot fingers under rolling constraints

Modeling of pinching an object with arbitrary shape by a pair of robot fingers with hemispherical ends in a horizontal plane is proposed in a mathematical and computational manner. Since the curvature of an object contour with an arbitrary curve is variable according to the change of the contact point between the object surface and the rigid finger tip, the arclength paremeter “s” explicitly appears in the overall fingers-object dynamics. It is shown that the overall fingers-object system should be accompanied with the first-order differential equation of the parameter “s” that includes the curvatures of both the object contour and finger-tip curve. A control input, which is of the same category as the control input called “blind grasping” appeared in our former papers, is utilized for the realization of stable grasp. The control input does neither need to use the kinematic information of the object nor use any external sensing. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out in order to confirm the effectiveness of our proposed model and control input.
On the Maximum Length of Hu man

In this paper the maximum length of binary Huuman codes is investigated dependent on the two lowest probabilities of encoded symbols. Furthermore, the structure of full binary trees with a given number of leaves, a limited depth, and maximum external path length is examined to get an improved upper bound on the external path length of Huuman trees.
A REVIEW OF POSITIVE AND BIPOLAR LIGHTNING DISCHARGES

Abstract Characteristics of lightning discharges that transport either positive charge or both positive and negative charges to the ground are reviewed. These are termed positive and bipolar lightning discharges, respectively. Different types of positive and bipolar lightning are discussed. Although positive lightning discharges account for 10% or less of global cloud-to-ground lightning activity, there are five situations that appear to be conducive to the more frequent occurrence of positive lightning. These situations include 1) the dissipating stage of an individual thunderstorm, 2) winter thunderstorms, 3) trailing stratiform regions of mesoscale convective systems, 4) some severe storms, and 5) thunderclouds formed over forest fires or contaminated by smoke. The highest directly measured lightning currents (near 300 kA) and the largest charge transfers (hundreds of coulombs or more) are thought to be associated with positive lightning. Two types of impulsive positive current waveforms have been obse.
Manipulation of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18 production by Yersinia pestis effectors YopJ and YopM and redundant impact on virulence.

Innate immunity plays a central role in resolving infections by pathogens. Host survival during plague, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis, is favored by a robust early innate immune response initiated by IL-1β and IL-18. These cytokines are produced by a two-step mechanism involving NF-κB-mediated pro-cytokine production and inflammasome-driven maturation into bioactive inflammatory mediators. Because of the anti-microbial effects induced by IL-1β/IL-18, it may be desirable for pathogens to manipulate their production. Y. pestis type III secretion system effectors YopJ and YopM can interfere with different parts of this process. Both effectors have been reported to influence inflammasome caspase-1 activity; YopJ promotes caspase-8-dependent cell death and caspase-1 cleavage, whereas YopM inhibits caspase-1 activity via an incompletely understood mechanism. However, neither effector appears essential for full virulence in vivo Here we report that the sum of influences by YopJ and YopM on IL-1β/IL-18 release is suppressive. In the absence of YopM, YopJ minimally affects caspase-1 cleavage but suppresses IL-1β, IL-18, and other cytokines and chemokines. Importantly, we find that Y. pestis containing combined deletions of YopJ and YopM induces elevated levels of IL-1β/IL-18 in vitro and in vivo and is significantly attenuated in a mouse model of bubonic plague. The reduced virulence of the YopJ-YopM mutant is dependent on the presence of IL-1β, IL-18, and caspase-1. Thus, we conclude that Y. pestis YopJ and YopM can both exert a tight control of host IL-1β/IL-18 production to benefit the bacteria, resulting in a redundant impact on virulence.
Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL), Pro-Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 (pro-MMP-9) and Their Complex Pro-MMP-9/NGAL in Leukaemias

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) have gained attention as cancer biomarkers. The inactive zymogen form of MMP-9 (pro-MMP-9) also exists as a disulphide-linked heterodimer bound to NGAL in humans. Leukaemias represent a heterogeneous group of neoplasms, which vary in their clinical behavior and pathophysiology. In this review, we summarize the current literature on the expression profiles of pro-MMP-9 and NGAL as prognostic factors in leukaemias. We also report the expression of the pro-MMP-9/NGAL complex in these diseases. We discuss the roles of (pro)-MMP-9 (active and latent forms) and NGAL in tumour development, and evaluate the mechanisms by which pro-MMP-9/NGAL may influence the actions of (pro)-MMP-9 and NGAL in cancer. Emerging knowledge about the coexpression and the biology of (pro)-MMP-9, NGAL and their complex in cancer including leukaemia may improve treatment outcomes.
Identifying and describing feelings and psychological flexibility predict mental health in men with HIV.

BACKGROUND Difficulty identifying and describing feelings (DIDF) and psychological flexibility (PF) predict poor emotional adjustment. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between DIDF and PF and whether DIDF and low PF would put men undergoing cancer screening at risk for poor adjustment. DESIGN Longitudinal self-report survey. METHODS Two hundred and one HIV-infected men who have sex with men participated in anal cancer screening at two time points over 14 weeks. Psychological flexibility was assessed by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II and DIDF by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. We also measured depression, anxiety, stress (DASS) and health-related quality of life (QOL; SF-12). RESULTS Both DIDF and PF were reliable predictors of mental health. When levels of baseline mental health were controlled, greater DIDF predicted increases in Time 2 depression, anxiety and stress and decreases in mental and physical QOL. The link between PF and mental health was entirely mediated by DIDF. CONCLUSIONS Being chronically low in PF could lead to greater DIDF and thereby worse mental health. Having more PF promotes the ability to identify and differentiate the nuances of pleasant and unpleasant emotions, which enhances an individual's mental health. Intentionally enhancing men's ability to identify and describe feelings or PF may assist them to better manage a range of difficult life experiences such as health screenings and other potentially threatening information.
Mycoflora of Ostrich (Struthio camelus) gastrointestinal tract as a human hazard

Ostriches are susceptible to bacterial, fungal and parasitic diseases. One of the most commonstrategies to reduce microbial contamination in animal production systems is to identify microbesources. In this regard, a first critical component for comprehensive farm-to-fork strategies to reducethe burden of foodborne illness is the identification of the pathogenic fungi in foodstuffs with animalsources, and the reduction of human pathogen contamination in food production. This study wascarried out to identify to mycoflora in the ostriches' (Struthio camelus) gastrointestinal tract (GIT),in the northwest of Iran. The samples were taken from different parts of the gut tract, including crop,gizzard, intestine and caecum of 50 ostriches. Atotal of 396 fungal colonies were obtained from GIT.These isolates belonged to 17 genera, and Candida (18.7 %), Aspergillus (16.7 %), Monascus (10.6%), Trichosporon (6.6 %) and Fusarium (6 %) were predominant isolates. Among the Candidaisolates, C. tropicalis was the most predominant isolates following by C. albicans, C. glabrata andC. krusei. Aspergillus spp. and Monascus ruber were predominant isolates among the mould fungi.
Embedded Microcontroller Memories: Application Memory Usage

SRAM and flash are the basis of embedded memory subsystems used in microcontroller applications. Factors such as the application, connectivity, human interfaces, power, safety, and security drive a complex mix of SRAM and flash memory requirements in a microcontroller. This paper explores some of the aspects of the applications which drive how much embedded SRAM and flash memory are required as well as how these memories are embedded in a microcontroller.