Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Upregulation of Transforming Growth Factor-/ ? after Panretinal Photocoagulation

METHODS. PRP was performed on Brown Norway rats,by using an argon-green laser. Sensory retina, aqueous and vitreous humors were collected from the rats on days 1, 3, and 7 after PRP, and semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses were carried out. TGF-j32 in the aqueous and vitreous humors was quantitated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Localization of TGF-|32-LI was demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, and that of TGF-j32 mRNA by in situ reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Enchanting reality: a vision of big experiences on small platforms

Games for mobile platforms (phones and PDA) tend to be simple remakes or clones of gaming hits like Snake and Defender or in the case of high end-devices, Starcraft and Myst. Only a very small number of games use the unique properties of mobile computing. These location-based or mixed reality games represent a game form in its infancy, struggling to find functional gameplay models. Is it possible to create powerful immersive game experiences using the mobile platforms unique properties? How can technical limitations like limited display size, resolution and sound quality be made to work with the game instead of against it? What challenges face designers of games played on handheld devices in a real physical setting? Using the functional Visby Under prototype as a starting point this paper presents a novel approach to location-based mobile games. The mobile gamers presence in physical space, his ability to move though and interact with it, is seen as the central quality of the game-form. Using experiences from live-action-roleplaying design the paper explores the possibilities of using the real world as the primary user interface for deep mobile games. The device is used as the engine for story-progression and gameplay without breaking the illusion of the fiction, transforming everyday reality into an engaging multi-play-
Space charge limited discharge from microscopic electrical defects in xerographic photoreceptors

Microscopic electrical defects in the photoreceptor termed charge deficient spots (CDS) can give rise to objectionable print defects in xerographic systems such as laser printers. Experimental measurements of the current voltage characteristics of individual defects exhibit a space charge limited behavior (current proportional to the square of the voltage) consistent with the defects representing injection spots (emitters) from the ground plane of the photoreceptor. Previous theoretical and numerical studies have explored the relationship between the emitter size and the current in various geometries, where the emitter is on the ground electrode while the other electrode is biased at a constant potential. In this paper, the authors explore the problem of practical interest in xerography, i.e. how a photoreceptor is discharged by these microscopic defects. A photoreceptor with uniform surface charge is discharged by space charge limited injection from a finite sized defect at the ground plane. The authors explore the surface charge distribution as function of time.
Regulation of Trypanosoma cruzi infections in vitro and in vivo by transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)

The effects of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) on interferon gamma-mediated killing of the intracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and on the course of T. cruzi infection in mice were investigated. Spleen cells from mice with acute T. cruzi infections were found to produce elevated levels of biologically active TGF-beta in vitro, and the possibility that TGF-beta may mediate certain aspects of T. cruzi infection was then addressed. When mouse peritoneal macrophages were treated with TGF-beta in vitro, the ability of IFN- gamma to activate intracellular inhibition of the parasite was blocked. This occurred whether cells were treated with TGF-beta either before or after IFN-gamma treatment. TGF-beta treatment also blocked the T. cruzi- inhibiting effects of IGN-gamma on human macrophages. Additionally, treatment of human macrophages with TGF-beta alone led to increased parasite replication in these cells. The effects of TGF-beta on T. cruzi infection in vivo were then investigated. Susceptible C57BL/6 mice developed higher parasitemias and died earlier when treated with TGF-beta during the course of infection. Resistant C57BL/6 x DBA/2 F1 mice treated with TGF-beta also had increased parasitemias, and 50% mortality, compared with no mortality in infected, saline-treated controls. A single dose of TGF-beta, given at the time of infection, was sufficient to significantly decrease resistance to infection in F1 mice and to exacerbate infection in susceptible C57BL/6 mice. Furthermore, a single injection of TGF-beta was sufficient to counter the in vivo protective effects of IFN-gamma. We conclude that TGF-beta, produced during acute T. cruzi infection in mice, is a potent inhibitor of the effects of macrophage activating cytokines in vivo and in vitro and may play a role in regulating infection.
Methamphetamine and HIV Infection, Role in Neurocognitive Dysfunction

The use of methamphetamine is steadily increasing worldwide. Its use is associated with high-risk sexual behavior and subsequent infection with HIV. Methamphetamine has profound effects on the brain both as an acute intoxicant and following chronic exposure. The combined effects of HIV and methamphetamine appear to result in widespread neuronal and white matter injury. These changes are most prominent in the basal ganglia and frontal lobe, and are not restricted to dopaminergic neurons. Additionally, methamphetamine and HIV proteins disrupt the blood brain barrier, cause glial cell activation and impair the function of neural progenitor cells. Methamphetamine also results in increased HIV replication via activation of chemokine receptors involved in HIV entry. Common pathways in several of these effects seem to involve induction of oxidative stress. Characterization of these subcellular pathways and identification of common targets is essential for development of therapeutic strategies for HIV-infected methamphetamine abusers.
Reproductive isolation caused by visual predation on migrants between divergent environments

In theory, natural selection can drive adaptation within species while simultaneously promoting the formation of new species by causing the evolution of reproductive isolation. Cryptic coloration is widespread in nature and is generally considered to be a clear visual example of adaptation. I provide evidence that population divergence in cryptic coloration can also cause reproductive isolation. First, a manipulative field experiment using walking–stick insects demonstrates that the relative survival of different colour–pattern morphs depends on the host–plant species on which they are resting, but only in the presence of avian predation. Second, natural populations adapted to different host plants have diverged in colour–pattern–morph frequencies such that between–host migrants are more likely to be the locally less–cryptic morph than are residents. Collectively, these data indicate that high rates of visual predation on less–cryptic migrants are likely to reduce encounters, and thus interbreeding, between host–associated populations. Comparison with previous estimates of sexual isolation reveals that the contribution of selection against between–host migrants to total premating isolation is as strong as, or stronger than, that of sexual isolation. These findings highlight the potential role of natural selection against migrants between divergent environments in the formation of new species.
The Relationship between Sportsbook Volume, Forecast Accuracy, and Market Efficiency: The NFL and NCAA Football

Using betting market volume data for the NFL and NCAA Football, we examine the role of betting volume as it relates to bettor biases, forecast accuracy, and volume-based betting market strategies. We find that betting volume has a statistically significant effect on the percentage bet on the favorite, but its impact is different between the two levels of football. Increased betting volume was shown to not have an impact on forecast accuracy in the sports. Simple betting simulations revealed that underdogs win more than implied by efficiency in low-volume NFL games, but other strategies did not reject market efficiency.
On Scaling of Fuzzy FCA to Pattern Structures

FCA is a mathematical formalism having many applications in data mining and knowledge discovery. Originally it deals with binary data tables. However, there is a number of extensions that enrich standard FCA. In this paper we consider two important extensions: fuzzy FCA and pattern structures, and discuss the relation between them. In particular we introduce a scaling procedure that enables representing a fuzzy context as a pattern structure. Studying the relation between different extensions of FCA is of high importance, since it allows migrating methods from one extension to another. Moreover, it allows for more simple implementation of different extensions within a software.
DRAFT 19 / 12 / 07 On Solvable Boson Models

The problem of equilibrium states and/or ground states of exactly solvable homogeneous boson models is stated and explicitly proved as a special case of the general variational problem of statistical mechanics in terms of quasi-free states. We apply the result to a model of superradiant Bose-Einstein condensation and to the Pairing Boson Model.
An Improved Method Used in Indoor Location Based on Signal Similarity Analysis and Adaptive Algorithms Selection

This paper presents and realizes several ways to analyze the wireless signal based on signal strength in indoor location systems.First of all, this paper analyzes the wireless signal area features and fingerprint map features of WLAN, and proposes the methods to improve the identification of fingerprint map and its suitability. Then it proposes self-adaptive mean filtering and self-adaptive algorithms choice as well as AP choice, which based on the research and analysis to the statistical property of wireless signal. From simulation results, these methods can improve the positioning accuracy about 28%.
Neutrino emission, Equation of State and the role of strong gravity

Neutron-star mergers are interesting for several reasons: they are proposed as the progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts, they have been speculated to be a site for the synthesis of heavy elements, and they emit gravitational waves possibly detectable at terrestrial facilities. The understanding of the merger process, from the pre-merger stage to the final compact object-accreting system involves detailed knowledge of numerical relativity and nuclear physics. In particular, key ingredients for the evolution of the merger are neutrino physics and the matter equation of state. We present some aspects of neutrino emission from binary neutron star mergers showing the impact that the equation of state has on neutrinos and discuss some spectral quantities relevant to their detection such as energies and luminosities far from the source.
The future of UK internal audit education

Internal audit education is now concentrated in just a few tuition providers within the UK, a decrease from the 1980s. Generally it is not represented at all in its own right within higher education, and may just receive a passing reference as contrasted with external auditing. Hence it is scarcely perceptible and submerged. Even where it is rarely present it seems to have become “secularised”, its influence waning under the banner of “general management”. The professional body, the Institute of Internal Auditors – UK and Ireland, is too busy selling its highly profitable distance learning course to concern itself with disseminating the internal audit message to higher education, or attempt to gain its rightful footing within the curriculum. The limited literature is analysed and critiqued, the current state of play stated, and directions for the future indicated. Internal audit is in danger of becoming the best untold story.
Diversity of SCCmec Elements in Methicillin-Resistant Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Clinical Isolates

Background Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS) are opportunistic pathogens and serve as a large reservoir of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). Characterization of SCCmec in MR-CoNS can generate useful information on the mobilization and evolution of this element. Methodology/Principal Findings Non-repetitive MR-CoNS clinical isolates (n = 84; 39 S. epidermidis, 19 S. haemolyticus, 9 S. hominis, 6 S. capitis, 4 S. warneri, 2 S. cohnii, 2 S. saprophyticus, 1 S. kloosii, 1 S. simulans and 1 S. massiliensis) were collected. All isolates could grow on plates with 4 mg/L cefoxitin and all had mecA as detected by PCR. Strain typing using RAPD and ERIC-PCR revealed that almost all isolates were of different strains. SCCmec typing was performed using multiplex PCR published previously. For isolates in which SCCmec could not be typed, the mec complex classes were determined by additional PCR and the ccr genes were amplified with published or newly-designed primers and then sequenced. SCCmec types were assigned for 63 isolates by multiplex PCR and were assigned for 14 other isolates by PCR targeting mec and ccr. Among 77 isolates with determined SCCmec types, 54 had a single type, including type III (n = 19), IV (n = 14), V (n = 10), II (n = 2), I (n = 1), VIII (n = 1) and five unnamed types (n = 7), while 23 isolates had two types, III+V (n = 12), II+V (n = 8), II+IV (n = 2) or IV+V (n = 1). The five unnamed types were assigned UT1 (class A mec, ccrA1/ccrB4), UT2 (class C1 mec, ccrA4/ccrB4), UT3 (class A mec, ccrA5/ccrB3), UT4 (class C2 mec, ccrA2/ccrB2 plus ccrC1) and UT5 (class A mec, ccrA1/ccrB1 plus ccrC1). Conclusions/Significance SCCmec types III, IV and V were prevalent in MR-CoNS and many isolates could harbor more than one type. Several new types of SCCmec were identified, highlighting the great genetic diversity and the need of developing classification schemes for SCCmec in MR-CoNS.
Research on Lean Production Based on Organizational Change Model

The effective implementation of lean production requires adaptive organizational change [1]. The paper reviews different conceptual definitions and measurement instruments of lean production, extends Leavitt’s organizational change model, and compares mass production and lean production in five aspects, including organizational structure, task, people, technology, relationship between organizations. Finally the paper presents a more holistic definition and practice components of lean production based on the extended Leavitt’s organizational change model.
An Energy-Efficient Strategy for Accurate Distance Estimation in Wireless Sensor Networks

In line with recent research efforts made to conceive energy saving protocols and algorithms and power sensitive network architectures, in this paper we propose a transmission strategy to minimize the energy consumption in a sensor network when using a localization technique based on the measurement of the strength (RSS) or the time of arrival (TOA) of the received signal. In particular, we find the transmission power and the packet transmission rate that jointly minimize the total consumed energy, while ensuring at the same time a desired accuracy in the RSS or TOA measurements. We also propose some corrections to these theoretical results to take into account the effects of shadowing and packet loss in the propagation channel. The proposed strategy is shown to be effective in realistic scenarios providing energy savings with respect to other transmission strategies, and also guaranteeing a given accuracy in the distance estimations, which will serve to guarantee a desired accuracy in the localization result.
A Mechanism for the Temporal Potentiation of Genipin to the Cytotoxicity of Cisplatin in Colon Cancer Cells

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the potentiation effect of Genipin to Cisplatin induced cell senescence in HCT-116 colon cancer cells in vitro. METHODS: Cell viability was estimated by Propidium iodide and Hoechst 3342, reactive oxygen species (ROS) with DHE, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) with JC-1 MMP assay Kit and electron current production with microbial fuel cells (MFC). RESULTS: Genipin inhibited the UCP2 mediated anti-oxidative proton leak significantly promoted the Cisplatin induced ROS and subsequent cell death, which was similar to that of UCP2-siRNA. Cells treated with Cisplatin alone or combined with Genipin, ROS negatively, while MMP positively correlated with cell viability. Cisplatin induced ROS was significantly decreased by detouring electrons to MFC, or increased by Genipin combined treatment. Compensatory effects of UCP2 up-regulation with time against Genipin treatment were suggested. Shorter the Genipin treatment before Cisplatin better promoted the Cisplatin induced ROS and subsequent cell death. CONCLUSION: The interaction of leaked electron with Cisplatin was important during ROS generation. Inhibition of UCP2-mediated proton leak with Genipin potentiated the cytotoxicity of Cisplatin. Owing to the compensatory effects against Genipin, shorter Genipin treatment before Cisplatin was recommended in order to achieve better potentiation effect.
Joint and Independent Effects of Alcohol Drinking and Tobacco Smoking on Oral Cancer: A Large Case-Control Study

Alcohol drinking and tobacco smoking are assumed to have significant independent and joint effects on oral cancer (OC) development. This assumption is based on consistent reports from observational studies, which, however, overestimated the independent effects of smoking and drinking, because they did not account for the interaction effect in multivariable analyses. This case-control study sought to investigate the independent and the joint effects of smoking and drinking on OC in a homogeneous sample of adults. Case patients (N = 1,144) were affected by invasive oral/oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma confirmed histologically, diagnosed between 1998 and 2008 in four hospitals of São Paulo (Brazil). Control patients (N = 1,661) were not affected by drinking-, smoking-associated diseases, cancers, upper aero-digestive tract diseases. Cumulative tobacco and alcohol consumptions were assessed anamnestically. Patients were categorized into never/ever users and never/level-1/level-2 users, according to the median consumption level in controls. The effects of smoking and drinking on OC adjusted for age, gender, schooling level were assessed using logistic regression analysis; Model-1 did not account for the smoking-drinking interaction; Model-2 accounted for this interaction and included the resultant interaction terms. The models were compared using the likelihood ratio test. According to Model-1, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for smoking, drinking, smoking-drinking were 3.50 (95% confidence interval –95CI, 2.76–4.44), 3.60 (95CI, 2.86–4.53), 12.60 (95CI, 7.89–20.13), respectively. According to Model-2 these figures were 1.41 (95CI, 1.02–1.96), 0.78 (95CI, 0.48–1.27), 8.16 (95CI, 2.09–31.78). Analogous results were obtained using three levels of exposure to smoking and drinking. Model-2 showed statistically significant better goodness-of-fit statistics than Model-1. Drinking was not independently associated with OC, while the independent effect of smoking was lower than expected, suggesting that observational studies should be revised adequately accounting for the smoking-drinking interaction. OC control policies should focus on addictive behaviours rather than on single lifestyle risk factors.
TOPICAL REVIEW: Nanostructured silicon for studying fundamental aspects of nanomechanics

An oil pump has a split frame with the pump mechanism situated in a chamber in one of the frames or between the split frames. An inlet conduit extends from an inlet port to the low pressure side of the pump and an outlet conduit extends from the high pressure side of the pump to an outlet port. An excess pressure relief path is provided to permit fluid flow from the outlet conduit to the inlet conduit when the outlet conduit pressure exceeds the inlet conduit pressure by a predetermined difference. This is accomplished by providing a bypass channel formed in one frame and fluidly intersecting the outlet conduit, and a valve cavity formed in the other frame and fluidly intersecting the bypass channel and the inlet conduit. Valve means are situated in the valve cavity for isolating the bypass channel from the inlet conduit during normal pressure differences between the inlet and outlet conduits. Upon the occurrence of excess pressure in the outlet conduit, the valve opens to permit fluid flow from the outlet conduit to the inlet conduit.
Changes in Serum Free Amino Acids and Muscle Fatigue Experienced during a Half-Ironman Triathlon

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between changes in serum free amino acids, muscle fatigue and exercise-induced muscle damage during a half-ironman triathlon. Twenty-six experienced triathletes (age = 37.0 ± 6.8 yr; experience = 7.4 ± 3.0 yr) competed in a real half-ironman triathlon in which sector times and total race time were measured by means of chip timing. Before and after the race, a countermovement jump and a maximal isometric force test were performed, and blood samples were withdrawn to measure serum free amino acids concentrations, and serum creatine kinase levels as a blood marker of muscle damage. Total race time was 320 ± 37 min and jump height (-16.3 ± 15.2%, P < 0.001) and isometric force (-14.9 ± 9.8%; P = 0.007) were significantly reduced after the race in all participants. After the race, the serum concentration of creatine kinase increased by 368 ± 187% (P < 0.001). In contrast, the serum concentrations of essential (-27.1 ± 13.0%; P < 0.001) and non-essential amino acids (-24.4 ± 13.1%; P < 0.001) were significantly reduced after the race. The tryptophan/BCAA ratio increased by 42.7 ± 12.7% after the race. Pre-to-post changes in serum free amino acids did not correlate with muscle performance variables or post-race creatine kinase concentration. In summary, during a half-ironman triathlon, serum amino acids concentrations were reduced by > 20%. However, neither the changes in serum free amino acids nor the tryptophan/BCAA ratio were related muscle fatigue or muscle damage during the race.
Using Mutual Information and Answer Set Programming to refine PWM based transcription regulation network

Transcriptional regulatory network models can be reconstructed ab initio from DNA sequence data by locating the binding sites, defined by position specific score matrices, and identifying transcription factors by homology with known ones in other organisms. In general the resulting network contains spurious elements, because the pattern matching methods for binding site location have low specificity, while homology to known transcription factors does not always identify correctly new ones. In the case of A. ferrooxidans, one of the bacterias involved in industrial bioleaching processes, the sequence based network reconstruction results in 66 transcription factors and 182 binding site motifs represented in 27 435 sites. In this work we use differential expression experimental data, in the form of Mutual Information, as logical constraints to be satisfied by any valid regulatory network subgraph. These rules are expressed as an Answer Set Program, a logical programming paradigm, and used to determine the minimal sets of motif and transcription factors which constitute a genetic regulatory network compatible with the experimental evidence. The resulting network comprises 27 transcription factors and 14 motifs in 2428 instances, satisfying all constraints.