Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contact-induced apical asymmetry drives the thigmotropic responses of Candida albicans hyphae

Filamentous hyphae of the human pathogen, Candida albicans, invade mucosal layers and medical silicones. In vitro, hyphal tips reorient thigmotropically on contact with small obstacles. It is not known how surface topography is sensed but hyphae lacking the cortical marker, Rsr1/Bud1, are unresponsive. We show that, on surfaces, the morphology of hyphal tips and the position of internal polarity protein complexes are asymmetrically skewed towards the substratum and biased towards the softer of two surfaces. In nano‐fabricated chambers, the Spitzenkörper (Spk) responded to touch by translocating across the apex towards the point of contact, where its stable maintenance correlated with contour‐following growth. In the rsr1Δ mutant, the position of the Spk meandered and these responses were attenuated. Perpendicular collision caused lateral Spk oscillation within the tip until after establishment of a new growth axis, suggesting Spk position does not predict the direction of growth in C. albicans. Acute tip reorientation occurred only in cells where forward growth was countered by hyphal friction sufficient to generate a tip force of ∼ 8.7 μN (1.2 MPa), more than that required to penetrate host cell membranes. These findings suggest mechanisms through which the organization of hyphal tip growth in C. albicans facilitates the probing, penetration and invasion of host tissue.
Human NKT Cells Mediate Antitumor Cytotoxicity Directly by Recognizing Target Cell CD1d with Bound Ligand or Indirectly by Producing IL-2 to Activate NK Cells1

α-Galactosylceramide (αGalCer) stimulates NKT cells and has antitumor activity in mice. Murine NKT cells may directly kill tumor cells and induce NK cell cytotoxicity, but the mechanisms are not well defined. Newly developed human CD1d/αGalCer tetrameric complexes were used to obtain highly purified human αGalCer-reactive NKT cell lines (>99%), and the mechanisms of NKT cell cytotoxicity and activation of NK cells were investigated. Human NKT cells were cytotoxic against CD1d− neuroblastoma cells only when they were rendered CD1d+ by transfection and pulsed with αGalCer. Four other CD1d− tumor cell lines of diverse origin were resistant to NKT cells, whereas Jurkat and U937 leukemia cell lines, which are constitutively CD1d+, were killed. Killing of the latter was greatly augmented in the presence of αGalCer. Upon human CD1d/αGalCer recognition, NKT cells induced potent cytotoxicity of NK cells against CD1d− neuroblastoma cell lines that were not killed directly by NKT cells. NK cell activation depended upon NKT cell production of IL-2, and was enhanced by secretion of IFN-γ. These data demonstrate that cytotoxicity of human NKT cells can be CD1d and ligand dependent, and that TCR-stimulated NKT cells produce IL-2 that is required to induce NK cell cytotoxicity. Thus, NKT cells can mediate potent antitumor activity both directly by targeting CD1d and indirectly by activating NK cells.
Delay-period Activity in the Prefrontal Cortex: One Function Is Sensory Gating

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) contributes to working memory functions via executive control processes that do not entail the storage, per se, of mnemonic representations. One of these control processes may be a sensory gating mechanism that facilitates retention of representations in working memory by down-regulating the gain of the sensory processing of intervening irrelevant stimuli. This idea was tested by scanning healthy young adults with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed a delayed face-recognition task. The 2 2 factorial design varied the factors of Memory (present, absent) and Distraction (present, absent). During memory-present trials, target and probe stimuli were individual gray-scale male faces. Memory-absent trials were identical, except that they employed the same recurring female faces (denoting a no memory trial). Distraction-present trials featured rapid serial visual presentation of bespectacled male faces during the two middle seconds of the delay. The first step of the analyses identified dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) and inferior occipitotemporal cortex (IOTC) voxels exhibiting delay-period activity in memory-present/distraction-absent trials, that is, the unfilled delay. Within these voxels, distraction-evoked activity in the dlPFC was markedly higher during trials that required the concurrent short-term retention of information than on those that did not, whereas the opposite effect was seen in the IOTC. These results are consistent with the view that processes related to sensory gating account for a portion of the delay-period activity that is routinely observed in the dlPFC.
A Structure-Based Approach for Mapping Adverse Drug Reactions to the Perturbation of Underlying Biological Pathways

Adverse drug reactions (ADR), also known as side-effects, are complex undesired physiologic phenomena observed secondary to the administration of pharmaceuticals. Several phenomena underlie the emergence of each ADR; however, a dominant factor is the drug's ability to modulate one or more biological pathways. Understanding the biological processes behind the occurrence of ADRs would lead to the development of safer and more effective drugs. At present, no method exists to discover these ADR-pathway associations. In this paper we introduce a computational framework for identifying a subset of these associations based on the assumption that drugs capable of modulating the same pathway may induce similar ADRs. Our model exploits multiple information resources. First, we utilize a publicly available dataset pairing drugs with their observed ADRs. Second, we identify putative protein targets for each drug using the protein structure database and in-silico virtual docking. Third, we label each protein target with its known involvement in one or more biological pathways. Finally, the relationships among these information sources are mined using multiple stages of logistic-regression while controlling for over-fitting and multiple-hypothesis testing. As proof-of-concept, we examined a dataset of 506 ADRs, 730 drugs, and 830 human protein targets. Our method yielded 185 ADR-pathway associations of which 45 were selected to undergo a manual literature review. We found 32 associations to be supported by the scientific literature.
Implementation of 3D FFTs Across Multiple GPUs in Shared Memory Environments

In this paper, a novel implementation of the distributed 3D Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) on a multi-GPU platform using CUDA is presented. The 3D FFT is the core of many simulation methods, thus its fast calculation is critical. The main bottleneck of the distributed 3D FFT is the global data exchange which must be performed. The latest version of CUDA introduces direct GPU-to-GPU transfers using a Unified Virtual Address space (UVA) that provides new possibilities for optimising the communication part of the FFT. Here, we propose different implementations of the distributed 3D FFT, investigate their behaviour, and compare their performance with the single GPU CUFFT and CPU-based FFTW libraries. In particular, we demonstrate the advantage of direct GPU-to-GPU transfers over data exchanges via host main memory. Our preliminary results show that running the distributed 3D FFT with four GPUs can bring a 12% speedup over the single node (CUFFT) while also enabling the calculation of 3D FFTs of larger datasets. Replacing the global data exchange via shared memory with direct GPU-to-GPU transfers reduces the execution time by up to 49%. This clearly shows that direct GPU-to-GPU transfers are the key factor in obtaining good performance on multi-GPU systems.
Saturated Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: Interpretations Not as Simple as They Once Were

ABSTRACT Historically, the so-called “lipid hypothesis” has focused on the detrimental role of saturated fats per se in enhancing the risks of cardiovascular disease. Recently, a body of new information and systematic analyses of available data have questioned simple interpretation of the relationship of dietary saturated fats and of individual saturated fatty acids to CVD risk. Thus, current assessments of risks due to dietary fat consumption that emphasize the confounding nature of the dietary macronutrients substituted for dietary saturated fats and give broader recognition to the effect of patterns of food intake as a whole are the most productive approach to an overall healthy diet.
Factors on the Intention to Purchase Charged Items in Mobile Social Network Game

Recently, the social network game (SNG) industry is expanding at a fast pace by the increase in the charged item sales. The objective of the present study is to explore factors influencing user intention to purchase charged items. Based on the literature review, flow has been introduced as an influential factor of the intention to purchase and individual influence, social relationship, and social influence as factors of flow. Enjoyment and self-competence are assumed to be measurement constructs for individual influence, social interaction and self-presentation for social relationship, social norm and perceived critical mass for social influence. Empirical analysis show that enjoyment and self-presentation has significant influence on users` flow while self-competence and social interaction has not. Also social norms and perceived critical mass directly influence intention to purchase items. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed by this results.
Exploring the Antecedents and Consequences of Míng Pái Kòng (Brand-Name Fanaticism) Among China's Generation Y

ABSTRACT The authors examine antecedents and consequences of míng pái kòng (MPK)–brand-name fanaticism, obsessive fandom, and purchases of global name brands―among a large number of Gen-Yers in China. This phenomenon is scrutinized because Confucian virtues discourage self-expressive, materialistic flaunting behaviors. A survey of 510 respondents finds that consumers’ need for uniqueness and peer influence affect brand consciousness, MPK, and willingness to pay a price premium for name-brand merchandise. Results indicate that relationships between brand consciousness and MPK are more evident in males and suggest that MPK may be marked by incongruity between projections of status and self. Managerial implications are discussed.
Functional significance of endothelin B receptors in mediating sinusoidal and extrasinusoidal effects of endothelins in the intact rat liver

Endothelins (ET) are important regulators of the hepatic microcirculation that act through different receptor subtypes. We investigated functional significance of ETB receptors in mediating microhemodynamic effects of ETs in normal and endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS])‐primed rat liver. LPS priming (Escherichia coli O26:B6; 1 mg · kg−1) selectively increased ETB mRNA and led to a shift in available receptors to the ETB subtype. IRL 1620 (an ETB agonist) increased portal pressure in a dose‐dependent manner, and the increase in ETB expression was associated with prolonged portal pressor response in isolated livers. However, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release was attenuated and sinusoidal blood flow was better maintained upon ETB stimulation in vivo. In isolated livers, portal constriction as well as release of LDH, were substantially increased in the presence of Nω‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). In vivo microscopic assessment of sinusoidal perfusion during ETB stimulation revealed a disruption of the flow pattern including frequent reversal of the flow direction without significant sinusoid constriction. Sinusoidal flow decreased even further after discontinuation of IRL 1620. Both effects were mediated at extrasinusoidal sites that probably included postsinusoidal sites. However, after pretreatment with L‐NAME, IRL 1620 evoked a significant sinusoidal constriction that colocalized with the body of the stellate cell. We propose that ETB1 ‐induced NOS activity attenuates ETB2 (and presumably ETA )‐mediated portal pressor response and stellate cell constriction. Transcriptional activation of the ETB gene may have a permissive effect on liver blood flow and protect against hepatocellular damage under pathophysiological conditions associated with endotoxemia.
Modular Verification of OO Programs with Interfaces ∗ ( Technical Report )

Interface type in OO languages supports polymorphism, abstraction and information hiding by separating interfaces from their implementations, and thus enhances modularity of programs. However, they cause also challenges to the formal verification. Here we present a study on interface types, and develop a specification and verification theory based on our former VeriJ framework. We suppose multi-specifications for classes inherited from interfaces and the superclass, and keep the verification modular without re-touching the verified codes. The concepts developed in VeriJ, namely the abstract specification and specification predicate, play still important roles in this extension, and thus are proved widely useful and very natural in the formal proofs of OO programs.
Bayesian Wavelet Shrinkage of the Haar-Fisz Transformed Wavelet Periodogram

It is increasingly being realised that many real world time series are not stationary and exhibit evolving second-order autocovariance or spectral structure. This article introduces a Bayesian approach for modelling the evolving wavelet spectrum of a locally stationary wavelet time series. Our new method works by combining the advantages of a Haar-Fisz transformed spectrum with a simple, but powerful, Bayesian wavelet shrinkage method. Our new method produces excellent and stable spectral estimates and this is demonstrated via simulated data and on differenced infant electrocardiogram data. A major additional benefit of the Bayesian paradigm is that we obtain rigorous and useful credible intervals of the evolving spectral structure. We show how the Bayesian credible intervals provide extra insight into the infant electrocardiogram data.
Shaping the Multilingual Learning Environment: The Case of Multilingual Education Pilot Project in Georgia

Shaping the Multilingual Learning Environment: The Case of Multilingual Education Pilot Project in Georgia The multicultural and multilingual nature of the environment creates a necessity to deal with the diversity and social integration, thus making minority education one of the leading themes almost in any education reform today. Georgia, like many other former Soviet republics, experiences the need for multicultural policies. To test the multilingual education model as a tool to respond to urgent needs of the Georgian society in the spheres of education and societal cohesion, an internationally designed and funded Multilingual Education Pilot Project was implemented during the school years 2006 - 2008 in 12 schools in Georgia. During the Pilot Project, 12 research methods and instruments have been devised and implemented. Conclusions from the data analysis have been drawn, and recommendations for a broader implementation of multilingual education in Georgia have been provided. The overall impact of the Project was evaluated as highly satisfactory. The article aims to reflect on project experience, track observable changes in the educational environment, and analyze the pedagogical factors involved in successful implementation of multilingual education and sustainability of the innovations.
Accountability, organisational learning and risks to patient safety in England: Conflict or compromise?

This article examines the current risk regulation regime, within the English National Health Service (NHS), by investigating the two, sometimes conflicting, approaches to risk embodied within the field of policies towards patient safety. The first approach focuses on promoting accountability and is built on legal principles surrounding negligence and competence. The second approach focuses on promoting learning from previous mistakes and near-misses, and is built on the development of a ‘safety culture’. Previous work has drawn attention to problems associated with risk-based regulation when faced with the dual imperatives of accountability and organisational learning. The article develops this by considering whether the NHS patient safety regime demonstrates the coexistence of two different risk regulation regimes, or merely one regime with contradictory elements. It uses the heuristic device of ‘institutional logics’ to examine the coexistence of and interrelationship between ‘organisational learning’ and ‘accountability’ logics driving risk regulation in health care.
Critical Success Factors for Leading Hotel Brands in Asia: A Case Study of Banyan Tree

This study examines the critical success factors for Banyan Tree hotels which is a brand of Asian origin. Strategic choices, quality product, human resource management and Asianess are identified as four critical factors from three data sources-site visits, websites analysis and in-depth interviews. The implications are also provided for the success development of Banyan Tree hotels as well as Asian hospitality industry.
Using Perlin Noise to Generate Emotional Expressions in a Robot

The development of social robots that convey emotion with their bodies—instead of or in conjunction with their faces— is an increasingly active research topic in the field of humanrobot interaction (HRI). Rather than focusing either on postural or on dynamics aspects of bodily expression in isolation, we present a model and an empirical study where we combine both elements and produce expressive behaviors by adding dynamic elements (in the form of Perlin noise) to a subset of static postures prototypical of basic emotions, with the aim of creating expressions easily understandable by children and at the same time lively and flexible enough to be believable and engaging. Results show that the noise increases the recognition rate of the emotions portrayed by the robot.
Efficiency and Complexity in Grammars : Three General Principles 1

An interesting general correlation appears to be emerging between variation data in performance, in languages that dispose of several structures of a given type, and the fixed conventions of grammars, in languages with fewer structures of the same type. The performance data come from corpus frequencies and processing experiments, the grammatical data from our expanding samples of languages and from the growing number of languages that have now been subjected to in-depth analysis. The Keenan-Comrie Accessibility Hierarchy was an early example of such a correlation, whereby an implicational hierarchy in cross-linguistic relativization possibilities (SU>DO> IO/OBL>GEN) was argued to correlate with ease of relativization and with relativization preferences in a language (English) with many relativizable positions (Keenan and Comrie 1977, Keenan 1975, Keenan and Hawkins 1987). The preferred word orders in languages with choices have also been argued to be those that are productively grammaticalized in languages with fixed orders, and in almost exact proportion to their degree of preference, in Hawkins (1994, 1998a, 2001). The goal of this paper is to define a hypothesis concerning the relationship between performance and grammars, and to propose three general prin-
Globality and community in culture and development

Abstract Communities in the 1990s are facing unprecedented challenges resulting from the scale, speed and depth of economic, political and social change. These are particularly evident in post‐Cold War Europe. The ability of communities or regions to respond to these challenges is also increasingly contingent on culture. The commercialization of culture is also continuing to evolve as one possible response to economic circumstances. As a result, both economic and cultural policy makers are facing new and difficult challenges. In particular, there is a growing need to fuse these two arenas of decision‐making and guidance. This paper looks at some of the principal themes which need to be addressed: the cultural attitudes of the agents of economic development at both the individual and community levels; the internationalization of culture and development; and culture as an economic generator. It reviews some of the trends and issues, and places in context the findings of the case studies presented in this vo.
Computing exact one-sided confidence limits for treatment effect in clinical trials

ABSTRACT One standard summary of a clinical trial is a confidence limit for the effect of the treatment. Unfortunately, standard approximate limits may have poor frequentist properties, even for quite large sample sizes. It has been known since Buehler (1957) that an imperfect confidence limit can be adjusted to have exact coverage. These “tight” limits are the gold standard frequentist confidence limit. Computing tight limits requires exact calculation of certain tail probabilities and optimisation of potentially erratic functions of the nuisance parameter. Naive implementation is both computationally unreliable and highly burdensome, and perhaps explains why they are not in common use. For clinical trials however, where the data and parameter have dimension two, the difficulties can be fully surmounted. This paper brings together several results in the area and applies them to simple two dimensional problems. It is shown how to reduce the computational burden by an order of magnitude. Difficulties with the optimisation reliability are mitigated by applying two different computational strategies, which tend to break down under different conditions, and taking the less stringent of the two computed limits. This paper specifically develops limits for the relative risk in a clinical trial, but it should be clear to the reader that the method extends to arbitrary measures of treatment effect without essential modification.
The Common School: Neglected Content in the High School Social Studies Classroom?.

tion among the reforms of the antebellum era, despite its role in creating an institution central to the experience of the students in our public schools. Neglected is the opportunity to explore the origins of public education, the accompanying debate, and its relationship to the forces and ideologies that energized the antebellum reform movement, one of the most powerful and complex in American history, but one that is also treated sparsely in the classroom. Neglected as well is the opportunity to evaluate the validity of historical arguments for common schools at a time when public education is again the subject of intense national debate. With this article, I wish to encourage [social studies] teachers and curriculum coordinators to consider the com-
An implementation of CORBA's LifeCycle service

CORBA enables objects to interact in a transparent manner according to location and heterogeneity. However, this kind of platforms lack mobility functions. That is why the author proposes a solution based on a generic implementation of CORBA's LifeCycle service. The mechanism relies on intermediary objects that are used to encapsulate mobility management.