Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characteristics of the adhesive determinants of Lactobacillus fermentum 104

The adhesion of Lactobacillus fermentum 104-R and the variant strain 104-S to porcine gastric squamous epithelium was investigated. An epithelium-specific adhesion was detected for strain 104-S; however, strain 104-R expressed enhanced adhesion capacity to the control surfaces of polystyrene and bovine serum albumin. To characterize the adhesive determinants, the bacterial cells were exposed to various treatments. The adhesion pattern of bacterial cells in buffers of pH values ranging from 2 to 7 was determined. The adhesion of strain 104-S to epithelium was greater in a buffer with a higher pH value. On the other hand, adhesion of strain 104-R to the epithelium was rather unaffected by a change in pH. To the control surfaces of polystyrene or bovine serum albumin, the adhesion of both strains was greatest at pH 2 to 4. Treatment of strain 104-S with metaperiodate did not affect the adhesion to epithelium or polystyrene; however, protease treatment dramatically decreased the adhesion of both strains, thus suggesting that the determinants responsible for the adhesion were proteinaceous. Carbohydrates may be partially involved in the adhesion of 104-R because metaperiodate-treated cells adhered more poorly than control, iodate-treated cells. The adhesion-promoting components are most probably tightly bound to the cell wall, because washing with low-pH buffer (pH 1.2) or sodium dodecyl sulfate had no major effect on the adhesion.
Victimization of Women: A Theoretical Perspective on Dowry Deaths in India

Deaths of young brides through suicide or homicide following disputes over the dowry (gifts given by the bride’s family to that of the groom during and after the marriage) are increasingly a feature of Indian society. Explanations of this social problem have been too heavily concentrated on the socio-cultural and psychological factors implicated and need to be supplemented by victimological and criminological concepts, drawn especially from routine activity and rational choice perspectives. A model incorporating these concepts within a traditional socio-cultural and psychological framework is presented. This more complete model of the phenomenon needs to be empirically verified, but in time may assist in developing a wider range of preventive strategies.
Compressed Sensing : Basic results and self contained proofs

Compressed sensing is a linear dimensionality reduction technique which utilizes a prior assumption that the original vector is (approximately) sparse in some basis. In this note we summarize some of the known results and provide self contained, easy to follow, proofs. 1 Motivation Consider a vector x ∈ R that has at most s non-zero elements. That is, ‖x‖0 def = |{i : xi 6= 0}| ≤ s . Clearly, we can compress x by representing it using s (index,value) pairs. Furthermore, this compression is lossless – we can reconstruct x exactly from the s (index,value) pairs. Now, lets take one step forward and assume that x = Uα, where α is a sparse vector, ‖α‖0 ≤ s, and U is a fixed orthonormal matrix. That is, x has a sparse representation in another basis. It turns out that many natural vectors are (at least approximately) sparse in some representation. In fact, this assumption underlies many modern compression schemes. For example, the JPEG-2000 format for image compression relies on the fact that natural images are approximately sparse in a wavelet basis. Can we still compress x into roughly s numbers? Well, one simple way to do this is to multiply x by U , which yields the sparse vector α, and then represent α by its s (index,value) pairs. However, this requires to first ’sense’ x, to store it, and then to multiply it by U . This raises a very natural question: Why go to so much effort to acquire all the data when most of what we get will be thrown away? Can’t we just directly measure the part that won’t end up being thrown away? Compressed sensing is a technique that simultaneously acquire and compress the data. The key result is that a random linear transformation can compress x without loosing information. The number of measurements needed is order of s log(d). That is, we roughly acquire only the important information about the signal. As we will see later, the price we pay is a slower reconstruction phase. In some situations, it makes sense to save time in compression even at the price of a slower reconstruction. For example, a security camera should sense and compress a large amount of images while most of the time we do not need to decode the compressed data at all. Furthermore, in many practical applications, compression by a linear transformation is advantageous because it can be performed efficiently in hardware. For example, a team led by Baraniuk and Kelly have proposed a camera architecture that employs a digital micromirror array to perform optical calculations of a linear transformation of an image. In this case, obtaining each compressed measurement is as easy as obtaining a single raw measurement. Another important application of compressed sensing is medical imaging, in which requiring less measurements translates to less radiation for the patient.
The Emerging Roles of Gamma–Delta T Cells in Tissue Inflammation in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

γδ (gamma–delta) T cells, a small population of unconventional T cells, have been found in central nervous system lesions of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, but their function in disease activity is not clearly understood. Previous studies in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) were inconsistent in identifying their specific roles in suppressing or promoting disease pathogenesis. Emerging advancements in the biology of γδ T cells especially in the context of their being the major initial producers of IL-17, suggested their crucial role in pathogenesis of EAE. In addition, γδ T cells express high levels of IL-23R and IL-1R, which further enhance their effector functions in the pathogenesis of EAE. Nonetheless, activated heterogeneous γδ T cells display functional dichotomy, which is crucial in determining the outcomes of tissue inflammation in EAE. In this review, we discussed recent advances in understanding the biology of γδ T cells in tissue inflammation as well as their roles in suppressing or promoting the development of EAE.
Suicide and Asperger's syndrome.

Asperger’s syndrome was described in 1944 by Hans Asperger. Wing (1981) and Gillberg (1991) described it as a disorder on the autistic spectrum (Pervasive Developmental Disorders; DSM-IV, 1994) that is characterized by the following: 1. Severe impairments in reciprocal social interaction. 2. All-absorbing, narrow interests. 3. Imposition of routines on self and others. 4. Speech and language problems, such as formal, pedantic language and odd prosody, and peculiar voice characteristics (this criterion is absent from Asperger’s disorder in DSM-IV, 1994). 5. Nonverbal communication problems. 6. Motor clumsiness (this criterion is absent from Asperger’s disorder, DSM-IV, 1994).
Implantable device for intravenous drug delivery in the rat

The experimental design of studies using small laboratory animals may require repeated venous access for the application of drugs or diagnostics. An appropriate device should provide quick intravenous access without causing severe handling stress to the animals or the necessity of anaesthesia. In addition, the system should be suitable for repeated injections over several weeks. A silicone catheter is connected to an intravenous indwelling cannula with fixation wings. A closure stopper with injection port completes this system. The device is fixed subcutaneously on the back of the animal and the catheter is inserted into the jugular vein. The device is easily and quickly assembled and is more economic than commercial systems. It is easily implanted and allows repeated intravenous injections for several weeks without anaesthesia or restraint of the animals. The method allows repeated intravenous drug delivery over a couple of weeks in small animals.
Older adults' use of information and communications technology in everyday life

Social commentators in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are beginning to recognise that encouraging older adults' use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is essential for the creation of bona fide information societies. To date, however, few studies have examined in detail older adults' access to and use of ICTs. This important aspect of the interaction between population ageing and societal change is more complex than the published literature's portrayal of a dichotomy between ‘successful users’ and ‘unsuccessful non-users’. The paper examines the extent and nature of ICT access and use by older adults in their everyday lives. Information was collected from a sub-sample of 352 adults aged 60 or more years taken from a large household survey of ICT use in England and Wales among 1,001 people. The findings suggest that using a computer is not only a minority activity amongst older adults but also highly stratified by gender, age, marital status and educational background. Conversely, non-use of computers can be attributed to their low relevance and ‘relative advantage’ to older people. The paper concludes by considering how political and academic assumptions about older people and ICTs might be refocused, away from trying to ‘change’ older adults, and towards involving them in changing ICT.
Response Styles in Rating Scales

In cross-cultural studies with social variables such as values or attitudes, it is often assumed that differences in scores can be compared at face value. However, response styles like acquiescence and extreme response style may affect answers, particularly on rating scales. In three sets of data from marketing studies, each with representative samples fromat least threeoutofsix countries(Greece,Italy, Spain,France,Germany, andthe United Kingdom), these two response styles were found to be more present in the Mediterranean than in Northwestern Europe. Evidence for response style effects was not only found in response distributions on rating scales, but also in discrepancies of these distributions with national consumer statistics and self-reported actual behavior.
Out-of-home Child Care Research: A Cultural Perspective

This paper analyses the cultural context of inquiry and research into the effects of out-of-home child care on children’s development. In particular, it attempts to show how the study of such child care has been shaped by a Western world view in which white, middle class values and social ideology are particularly salient. The effects of this cultural context can be seen in the basic assumptions of studies on out-of-home child care, in the questions these studies pose for investigation, and in the motivation of the investigators engaged in this line of research. These in turn determine the research designs, the units of analysis for the examination of children’s functioning and of the child care environment, the operational definitions of variables, and the statistical procedures employed in many of these studies. The analysis begins by examining cultural variations in societal attitudes to out-of-home child care as a function of cultural context and basic assumptions concerning childhood, development, and the role ascribed to the family and the community at large in children’s development. The paper then proceeds to examine the relationship between cultural context and its valued developmental goals and the developmental outcomes studied in child care research. The relationships between goals set for child care, cultural beliefs concerning child-rearing practices, the definition of “quality of care” and the study of the relationship of home and child care, in child care research, are also examined. It then explores the major research questions and methodology concerning the effect of child care on development in the Anglo-American child care research tradition. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for culturally sensitive routes to studying child care.
Crossing the diffusion chasm: from invention to penetration of a telehealth innovation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to help explain the paradox between the high potential of telehealth innovations and their slow diffusion by investigating the challenges involved in a successful case.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a longitudinal study of a telestroke program from 2003‐2007 seen from the point‐of‐view of the inventors. The program was initially used by a network of hospitals; it faced several challenges when the inventors sought to diffuse it to a broader marketplace; but, the inventors eventually succeeded to create a viable technology and business model.Findings – The authors offer a process model of this telehealth innovation consisting of four phases: invention, pilot test, commercialization, and penetration – with each phase demarcated by specific actors and activities. In addition, a chasm between the pilot test within a network of hospitals and the subsequent commercialization of a product aimed for the market is identified. Finally, the authors reveal ho.
Practice Prize Paper - Marketing-Mix Recommendations to Manage Value Growth at P&G Asia-Pacific

Procter & Gamble P&G Asia-Pacific is interested in managing value growth. Only after fully understanding the true effects of the marketing-mix variables can P&G managers make strategic decisions answering questions such as the following: 1 Are the P&G brands in the detergent market inelastic or elastic with respect to price? How has the price elasticity changed over time? Can P&G increase the price of its brands to gain value growth? 2 What are the price, distribution, and sizing combinations needed to achieve the desirable value growth? 3 How can P&G gain market share from its competitors without cannibalizing its own brands? P&G Asia-Pacific approached us to develop a value growth framework to answer these questions. To generate the answers for the above questions, we develop a three-step weighted random coefficient estimator that captures the heterogeneity across cross sections different stock-keeping units and states and the endogeneity of distribution. Based on the parameter estimates, we provide strategic recommendations to P&G for a field test to validate our suggestions. We developed a simulator for P&G managers so that they can generate appropriate marketing-mix strategies for achieving the desired value growth. As a result, P&G gained over $39 million in value growth over a one-year period by implementing the recommendations from our modeling approach.
Markets, Profits, Capital, Leverage and Return

The theory of two price markets of Cherny and Madan (2010) yields closed forms for bid and ask prices. Defining profits as the difference between the mid quote and the risk neutral expectation and capital as difference between the ask and the bid price one obtains precise expressions for these entities and thereby also returns. New expressions are developed for the bid and ask prices in terms of the sensitivity of the inverse distribution function to the quantile level. The latter turns out to be a measure of risk exposure at the quantile level. The theory is illustrated on unhedged exposures in the Black Merton Scholes model, followed by variance swaps and call options for variance gamma underliers. It is argued that markets should economize capital and furthermore the maximization of expected utility may involve an uneconomic use of capital. We further observe that stock positions should be revised downwards from zero delta in left skewed markets in response to the target gamma when minimizing capital committments.
Off-Grid DOA Estimation Based on Analysis of the Convexity of Maximum Likelihood Function

Spatial compressive sensing (SCS) has recently been applied to direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation owing to advantages over conventional ones. However the performance of compressive sensing (CS)-based estimation methods decreases when true DOAs are not exactly on the discretized sampling grid. We solve the off-grid DOA estimation problem using the deterministic maximum likelihood (DML) estimation method. In this work, we analyze the convexity of the DML function in the vicinity of the global solution. Especially under the condition of large array, we search for an approximately convex range around the ture DOAs to guarantee the DML function convex. Based on the convexity of the DML function, we propose a computationally efficient algorithm framework for off-grid DOA estimation. Numerical experiments show that the rough convex range accords well with the exact convex range of the DML function with large array and demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed methods in terms of accuracy, robustness and speed.
A texture based multispectral images indexing

Content-based retrieval based on texture descriptors is very useful in the case of remote sensing databases. In this paper, an attention was devoted to the case of partial request. First, texture-based features are extracted with Gabor filter. A fusion scheme of textures features allowed taking into account the texture contribution of each band in the case of multispectral images. The obtained texture features are then used to segment images database in Regions Of Interest (ROI). Finally, the features of the texture regions are used as indexes for image database retrieval.
Using exposomics to assess cumulative risks and promote health

Under the exposome paradigm all nongenetic factors contributing to disease are considered to be ‘environmental’ including chemicals, drugs, infectious agents, and psychosocial stress. We can consider these collectively as environmental stressors. Exposomics is the comprehensive analysis of exposure to all environmental stressors and should yield a more thorough understanding of chronic disease development. We can operationalize exposomics by studying all the small molecules in the body and their influence on biological pathways that lead to impaired health. Here, we describe methods by which this may be achieved and discuss the application of exposomics to cumulative risk assessment in vulnerable populations. Since the goal of cumulative risk assessment is to analyze, characterize, and quantify the combined risks to health from exposures to multiple agents or stressors, it seems that exposomics is perfectly poised to advance this important area of environmental health science. We should therefore support development of tools for exposomic analysis and begin to engage impacted communities in participatory exposome research. A first step may be to apply exposomics to vulnerable populations already studied by more conventional cumulative risk approaches. We further propose that recent migrants, low socioeconomic groups with high environmental chemical exposures, and pregnant women should be high priority populations for study by exposomics. Moreover, exposomics allows us to study interactions between chronic stress and environmental chemicals that disrupt stress response pathways (i.e., ‘stressogens’). Exploring the impact of early life exposures and maternal stress may be an interesting and accessible topic for investigation by exposomics using biobanked samples. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 56:715–723, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Adenovirus E4orf4 Protein Induces G2/M Arrest and Cell Death by Blocking Protein Phosphatase 2A Activity Regulated by the B55 Subunit

ABSTRACT Human adenovirus E4orf4 protein is toxic in human tumor cells. Its interaction with the Bα subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is critical for cell killing; however, the effect of E4orf4 binding is not known. Bα is one of several mammalian B-type regulatory subunits that form PP2A holoenzymes with A and C subunits. Here we show that E4orf4 protein interacts uniquely with B55 family subunits and that cell killing increases with the level of E4orf4 expression. Evidence suggesting that Bα-specific PP2A activity, measured in vitro against phosphoprotein substrates, is reduced by E4orf4 binding was obtained, and two potential B55-specific PP2A substrates, 4E-BP1 and p70S6K, were seen to be hypophosphorylated in vivo following expression of E4orf4. Furthermore, treatment of cells with low levels of the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid or coexpression of the PP2A inhibitor I1PP2A enhanced E4orf4-induced cell killing and G2/M arrest significantly. These results suggested that E4orf4 toxicity results from the inhibition of B55-specific PP2A holoenzymes, an idea that was strengthened by an observed growth arrest resulting from treatment of H1299 cells with Bα-specific RNA interference. We believe that E4orf4 induces growth arrest resulting in cell death by reducing the global level of B55-specific PP2A activity, thus preventing the dephosphorylation of B55-specific PP2A substrates, including those involved in cell cycle progression.
A View of the Future: The Effect of Policy on Prison Population Growth

The prison population in Illinois is projected to increase from over 28,000 to nearly 45,400 by the year 2000. It will cost $1.2 billion for construction just to maintain prison crowding at 68% double and multicelling. This article examines the factors driving this growth, provides a projection of the future prison population levels, and simulates a variety of policy options that could lower the projections. This approach illustrates the usefulness of simulation models in showing decision makers the futures they may create.
Chapter 2 Perceptual grouping in Gabor lattices : Proximity and alignment 2

We propose the Gabor lattice as a new stimulus designed to deal with multiple organizations in perceptual grouping, allowing comparison between psychophysical data and neural findings and a systematic investigation of grouping based on several low-level characteristics and their interactions. A Gabor lattice is a geometric lattice with Gabor patches, evoking a multistable global orientation percept. Visual grouping in Gabor lattices with elements aligned in a global orientation was compared to grouping of nonaligned patches and of Gaussian blobs. The effect sizes of proximity and alignment were estimated in logistic regression analyses. The results confirmed the importance of proximity and local element alignment as factors in dynamic grouping. We also found a small but consistent enhancement of grouping along the global vector orthogonal to the local patch orientations. The relevance of these stimuli and the associated experimental paradigm is further motivated.