Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mast cells mediate the severity of experimental cystitis in mice.

PURPOSE We hypothesized that experimental cystitis induced by substance P (SP) or E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) would be less severe in mice rendered mast cell deficient by genetic manipulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two strains of mast-cell deficient mice (WBB6F1- kitW/kitW-v or kitW/kitW-v and WCB6F1-Sl/Sld or Sl/Sld) and their congenic, normal (+/+) counterparts were used. Cystitis was induced in female mice by intravenous injection of SP (0.1 ml.; 10(-6) M) or E. coli LPS (0.1 ml.; 2 mg./ml.), and inflammation was assessed by Evans blue dye extravasation. In a separate group of kitW/kitW-v and congenic normal mice, cystitis was induced by intravesical infusion of SP (0.05 ml.; 10(-5) M) or E. coli LPS (0.05 ml.; 100 microg./ml.) and compared with intravesical pyrogen-free saline (0.05 ml.; 0.9%). Severity of cystitis was determined by histological evaluation of the bladder wall 24 hours after intravesical infusions. RESULTS Intravenous SP or LPS stimulated increased plasma extravasation in congenic normal mice but not in mast cell-deficient mice. Intravesical SP or LPS resulted in increased edema, leukocytic infiltration, and hemorrhage within the bladder wall in congenic normal mice, but the only histological evidence of inflammation in the bladders of kitW/kitW-v mice was increased hemorrhage in response to LPS. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that mast cells modulate the inflammatory response of the bladder to SP and LPS in mice. Although clinical trials of the use of antihistamines to treat or prevent cystitis have not been successful, these results suggest that therapies directed toward preventing mast cell activation may yet prove effective in treating cystitis.
A new, high‐resolution surface mass balance map of Antarctica (1979–2010) based on regional atmospheric climate modeling

A new, high resolution (27 km) surface mass balance (SMB) map of the Antarctic ice sheet is presented, based on output of a regional atmospheric climate model that includes snowdrift physics and is forced by the most recent reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), ERA‐Interim (1979–2010). The SMB map confirms high accumulation zones in the western Antarctic Peninsula (>1500 mm y−1) and coastal West Antarctica (>1000 mm y−1), and shows low SMB values in large parts of the interior ice sheet (<25 mm y−1). The location and extent of ablation areas are modeled realistically. The modeled SMB is in good agreement with ±750 in‐situ SMB measurements (R = 0.88), without a need for post‐calibration. The average ice sheet‐integrated SMB (including ice shelves) is estimated at 2418 ± 181 Gt y−1. Snowfall shows modest interannual variability (σ = 114 Gt y−1), but a pronounced seasonal cycle (σ = 30 Gt mo−1), with a winter maximum. The main ablation process is drifting snow sublimation, which also peaks in winter but with little interannual variability (σ = 9 Gt y−1).
The Impact of Affective Reactions on Attitudes toward the Advertisement and the Brand: A Step toward Ecological Validity

The author investigates the impact of affective reactions elicited by television advertisements on two variables of major interest in advertising: attitude toward the advertisement (Aad) and postexposure brand attitude (Abp). Previous research has suffered from using non-natural settings, verbal measures of affect, and unknown brands. The author's study avoids forced exposure, uses a real program in which real commercials for unknown and known brands were embedded, and interviews subjects after they have viewed all the commercials. Thus, it offers a more natural setting in which to examine whether previously established relations between affective reactions and Aad and attitude toward the brand (Ab) still hold. The author measures affective reactions through facial expressions, as well as classical verbal measures, and finds that the contribution of affective responses to Aad and Abp is evident for verbal, but not facial, measures of affect. The impact of affective responses varies in a theoretically predictable way across familiar and unfamiliar brands, with the latter being more influenced by verbal affective reactions generated by the advertisement. The author presents several explanations for the results and offers issues for further research.
7 Molecular and Electrical Abnormalities in the Mouse Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating, fast progressing and fatal disease for which there is little treatment. It is marked by loss of spinal and cortical motoneuron function. Many parameters are altered in the time leading up to this loss, including electrical properties, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, glial functioning, glutamate signaling, protein degradation, mitochondrial functioning, axonal transport, and immune response. This chapter concentrates on the interplay between altered electrophysiological properties and molecular events. Emphasis is placed on the changes that precede overt symptom onset and results are mainly drawn from studies using the rodent models of ALS.
Virtual probe: A statistically optimal framework for minimum-cost silicon characterization of nanoscale integrated circuits

In this paper, we propose a new technique, referred to as virtual probe (VP), to efficiently measure, characterize and monitor both inter-die and spatially-correlated intra-die variations in nanoscale manufacturing process. VP exploits recent breakthroughs in compressed sensing [15]-[17] to accurately predict spatial variations from an exceptionally small set of measurement data, thereby reducing the cost of silicon characterization. By exploring the underlying sparse structure in (spatial) frequency domain, VP achieves substantially lower sampling frequency than the well-known (spatial) Nyquist rate. In addition, VP is formulated as a linear programming problem and, therefore, can be solved both robustly and efficiently. Our industrial measurement data demonstrate that by testing the delay of just 50 chips on a wafer, VP accurately predicts the delay of the other 219 chips on the same wafer. In this example, VP reduces the estimation error by up to 10× compared to other traditional methods. Categories and Subject Descriptors B.7. 2 [Integrated Circuits]: Design Aids — Verification General Terms Algorithms
Television viewing time independently predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: the EPIC Norfolk study.

BACKGROUND Television viewing (TV), a highly prevalent behaviour, is associated with higher cardiovascular risk independently of physical activity. The relationship with mortality, however, is relatively unknown. METHODS We examined the prospective relationship between TV time and all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality in a population-based cohort [The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), Norfolk] of 13 197 men and women {age [SD (standard deviation)]: 61.5 ± 9.0 years}. Participants were free from stroke, myocardial infarction and cancer at baseline in 1998-2000 and were followed up for death ascertainment until 2009 (9.5 ± 1.6 years). TV time, total physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE), education level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, anti-hypertensive and lipid-lowering medication use, participant and family history of disease and total energy intake were self-reported; height and weight were measured by standardized procedures. Hazard ratios (HRs) [95% confidence interval (CI)] for mortality were estimated per 1-h/day increase in TV. RESULTS Each 1-h/day increase in TV time was associated with increased hazard of all-cause (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.09; 1270 deaths) and cardiovascular (HR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01-1.15; 373 deaths), but not cancer mortality (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.98-1.10; 570 deaths). This was independent of gender, age, education, smoking, alcohol, medication, diabetes history, family history of cardiovascular disease and cancer, body mass index (BMI) and PAEE. They were similar when stratified by gender, age, education, BMI and PAEE. The population-attributable fraction for all-cause mortality comparing the highest TV tertile (>3.6 h/day) with the lowest (<2.5 h/day) was 5.4%. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that public health recommendations should consider advising a reduction in TV time, a predominant leisure activity in modern society, in addition to advocating physical activity.
Control of fuel cell breathing

In this article we analyzed and designed air flow controllers that protect the fuel cell (FC) stack from oxygen starvation during step changes of current demand. The steady-state regulation of the oxygen excess ratio in the FCS cathode achieved by assigning an integrator to the compressor flow. Linear observability techniques were employed to demonstrate improvements in transient oxygen regulation when the FCS voltage is included as a measurement for the feedback controller. The FCS voltage signal contains high frequency information about the FC oxygen utilization, and thus, is a natural and valuable output for feedback. We used linear optimal control design to identify the frequencies at which there is a severe tradeoff between the transient system net power performance and the stack starvation control. The limitation arises when the FCS system architecture dictates that all auxiliary equipment is powered directly from the FC with no secondary power sources. This plant configuration is preferred due to its simplicity, compactness, and low cost. The FCS impedance given the closed-loop air flow and perfect humidification and temperature regulation captures the FC current-voltage dynamic relationship. It is expected that the closed-loop FCS impedance will provide the basis for the systematic design of FC stack electronic components.
A Safe and Practical Decoupling of Aspects with Join Point Interfaces

In current aspect-oriented systems, aspects usually carry, through their pointcuts, explicit references to the base code. Those references are fragile and give up important software engineering properties such as modular reasoning and independent evolution of aspects and base code. In this work, we introduce a novel abstraction called Join Point Interfaces, which, by design, supports modular reasoning and independent evolution by decoupling aspects from base code and by providing a modular type-checking algorithm. Join point interfaces can be used both with implicit announcement through pointcuts, and with explicit announcement , using closure join points. Join point interfaces further offer polymorphic dispatch on join points, with an advice-dispatch semantics akin to multi-methods. In this work, we show how our proposal solves a large number of problems observed in previous related approaches. We have implemented join point interfaces as an open-source extension to AspectJ. A first study on existing aspect-oriented programs supports our initial design in general, but also highlights some limitations, which we then address by introducing parametric polymorphism and a more permissive quantification mechanism. As a result, join point interfaces are a safe and practical way of decoupling aspects. 1. INTRODUCTION " Modular reasoning means being able to make decisions about a module while looking only at its implementation, its interface and the interfaces of modules referenced in its implementation or interface. For example, the type-correctness of a method can be judged by looking at its implementation, its signature (i.e. interface), and the types (i.e. interfaces) of any other code called by the method. " [Kiczales and Mezini 2005]
An Evaluation of Loneliness

Loneliness is not a simple mood, it is complicated and has several layers. An evaluation of loneliness aims to show the complexity of loneliness mood, indicate its layers and investigate loneliness by evaluating different approaches, authors and studies. It aims to review literature in order to understand and evaluate of different layers of loneliness such as types, reasons and outcomes of loneliness, the perception of lonely people, and coping mechanisms. It is important to understand its different layers in order to effectively help someone coping with it as it decreases the satisfaction of life and increases risky behaviour. © 2014 The Authors. Published by Cognitive – crcs under responsibility of the Author(s). * Deniz Cosan. Tel. : +90-532-172-76-07 . E-mail address: info@denizcosan.com http://dx.doi. org/10.15405/epsbs.2014. 05.13 The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences eISSN: 2357-1330 eISSN: 2357-1330 103-110 104 European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences
Phosphoinositide Turnover and Pollen Tube Growth

A novel reproductive feature of the seed plants that enabled them to colonize drier regions of the terrestrial environment was the pollen tube, a structure that serves to deliver sperm to the egg and central cell of the megagametophyte. Pollen, however, is not deposited directly on the megagametophyte—that would be too easy. Each pollen grain must prove its mettle to the female, first by landing successfully on the stigmatic surface, then by germinating, and finally by elongating across the entire length of the long style. Three of the more interesting physiological questions surrounding this process include: how do pollen tubes achieve their phenomenal rates of growth, how do pollen tubes sense the location of the megagametophyte, and how do self-incompatibility reactions effectively remove some of the pollen grains from the race to the egg? This week’s The Hot and the Classic summarizes 11 of the more highly cited pollen tube papers of the 1990s that bear upon these questions.
The Fundamental Question in Action Theory

In this paper, I focus attention on what I take to be the fundamental question in action theory. Before I can raise this question in an intelligible way, however, some background must be provided. In the first and second sections of the paper, I distinguish several generic theories of human action. One generic theory, which I label 'The Causal Theory,' has received most of the attention of recent authors. In the context of this theory, I then raise the fundamental question. I argue that no one to date has adequately answered this question-indeed, it has rarely been explicitly recognized. I examine several answers to the question in the fourth and fifth sections; and although I do not definitively resolve it, I suggest a research program in the final section that should result in an adequate answer.
Distributed Maximum Lifetime Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Regularization

The maximum lifetime routing problem in wireless sensor networks has received increasing attention in recent years. One way is to formulate it as a linear programming problem by maximizing the time at which the first node runs out of energy subject to the flow conservation constraints. The solutions in this problem correspond to the rates allocated to each link. In this paper, we first show that, under certain conditions, the solutions of this problem are not unique for some network topologies. Given the feasible solutions set, one can further define a secondary optimization problem by minimizing the end-to-end packet transfer delay or power consumption. Rather than solving two sequential optimization problems, in this paper, we propose the use of a regularization method which can jointly maximize the network lifetime and minimize another objective (e.g., packet delay). We describe the fully distributed implementation and provide performance comparisons with other algorithms.
Frühintervention, Beratung und Behandlung bei Cannabisstörungen

Zusammenfassung In den vergangenen 15 Jahren wurden in Deutschland mehrere cannabisspezifische Interventionsprogramme entwickelt, evaluiert und in die Praxis implementiert. Infolgedessen konnten Cannabisklienten deutlich besser erreicht und behandelt werden als noch in den 80er oder 90er Jahren. Cannabisklienten sind eine sehr heterogene Gruppe, die differenzierte und hinsichtlich der Betreuungs- bzw. Kontaktintensität unterschiedlich abgestufte Beratungs- und Behandlungskonzepte erfordern. Ob eine Etablierung von Interventionsprogrammen in den Strukturen der Suchtprävention und Suchthilfe gelingt, ist von verschiedenen Faktoren abhängig. Insbesondere die therapeutische Arbeit mit Jugendlichen und mit Cannabisabhängigen mit komorbiden Störungen stellt eine Herausforderung für die Weiterentwicklung des Hilfesystems dar.
Reversing the Standard Neural Signature of the Word–Nonword Distinction

The distinction between letter strings that form words and those that look and sound plausible but are not meaningful is a basic one. Decades of functional neuroimaging experiments have used this distinction to isolate the neural basis of lexical (word level) semantics, associated with areas such as the middle temporal, angular, and posterior cingulate gyri that overlap the default mode network. In two fMRI experiments, a different set of findings emerged when word stimuli were used that were less familiar (measured by word frequency) than those typically used. Instead of activating default mode network areas often associated with semantic processing, words activated task-positive areas such as the inferior pFC and SMA, along with multifunctional ventral occipitotemporal cortices related to reading, whereas nonwords activated default mode areas previously associated with semantics. Effective connectivity analyses of fMRI data on less familiar words showed activation driven by task-positive and multifunctional reading-related areas, whereas highly familiar words showed bottom–up activation flow from occipitotemporal cortex. These findings suggest that functional neuroimaging correlates of semantic processing are less stable than previously assumed, with factors such as word frequency influencing the balance between task-positive, reading-related, and default mode networks. More generally, this suggests that results of contrasts typically interpreted in terms of semantic content may be more influenced by factors related to task difficulty than is widely appreciated.
On unary nodes in tries

The difference between ordinary tries and Patricia tries lies in the fact that all unary nodes are removed in the latter. Their average number is thus easily determined from earlier results on the size of tries/Patricia tries. In a well-known contention resolution algorithm, whose probabilistic model is essentially equivalent to tries, unary nodes correspond to repetitions, i.e., steps in the algorithm that do not resolve anything at all. In this paper, we take an individual's view on such repetitions: we consider the distribution of the number of repetitions a certain contender encounters in the course of the algorithm―-which is equivalent to the number of unary nodes on the path from the root to a random string in a trie. We encounter an example of a sequence of distributions that does not actually converge to a limit distribution, but rather oscillates around a (discrete) limit distribution.
A decoding algorithm for word lattice translation in speech translation

We propose a novel statistical machine translation decoding algorithm for speech translation to improve speech translation quality. The algorithm can translate the speech recognition word lattice, where more hypotheses are utilized to bypass the misrecognized single-best hypotheses. We also show that a speech recognition conﬁdence measure, implemented by posterior probability, is effective to improve speech translation. The proposed techniques were tested in a Japanese-to-English speech translation task. The experimental results demonstrate the improved speech translation performance by the proposed techniques.
Constrained Recovery of DeformableModels from Range Data

We present a technique that uses aspects to constrain the tting of de-formable models to range data. Unlike previous work in deformable model recovery from range data, the technique does not depend on accurate initial position and orientation of the model. Furthermore, occlusion is handled at segmentation time and does not complicate the tting process, as only 3-D points known to belong to a part participate in the tting of a model to the part. We present the approach in detail and apply it to the recovery of objects from range data.
Cell Signaling in Space and Time: Where Proteins Come Together and When They’re Apart

Signal transduction can be defined as the coordinated relay of messages derived from extracellular cues to intracellular effectors. More simply put, information received on the cell surface is processed across the plasma membrane and transmitted to intracellular targets. This requires that the activators, effectors, enzymes, and substrates that respond to cellular signals come together when they need to.
COSVAM: a technique for assessing software variability in software product families

Evolution of variability is a key factor in the successful exploitation of commonalities in software product families. Assessment of variability can be used to determine how the variability provided by a product family should evolve. We present COSVAM (COVAMOF software variability assessment method), a variability assessment technique that specifically addresses evolution of variability. We exemplify our approach with the Dacolian case study.
CB2: A child robot with biomimetic body for cognitive developmental robotics

This paper presents a new research platform, CB2, a child robot with biomimetic body for cognitive developmental robotics developed by the Socially-Synergistic Intelligence (Hereafter, Socio-SI) group of JST ERATO Asada Project. The Socio-SI group has focused on the design principles of communicative and intelligent machines and human social development through building a humanoid robot that has physical and perceptual structures close to us, that enables safe and close interactions with humans. For this purpose, CB2 was designed, especially in order to establish and maintain a long-term social interaction between human and robot. The most significant features of CB2 are a whole-body soft skin (silicon surface with many tactile sensors underneath) and flexible joints (51 pneumatic actuators). The fundamental capabilities and the preliminary experiments are shown, and the future work is discussed.
A self-adaptive classification for the dissociating privacy agent

This paper describes an extension of the Dissociating Privacy Agent (DisPA), which is a Privacy Enhancement Technology (PET) for web search. It is implemented as an add-on for Firefox that acts like a proxy between the user and the search engine. A fundamental part of DisPA is the classification of queries into a set of categories. Particularly, the taxonomy of the Open Directory Project (ODP) is used for this purpose. In this paper we briefly recall the internal operations of the agent, discuss the drawbacks of the current model and propose an improvement to overcome them.