Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SEQUENTIAL CHANGES IN T H E RELATIVE AFFINITY OF ANTIBODIES SYNTHESIZED DURING T H E IMMUNE RESPONSE

The antibodies that are isolated from a rabbit's serum after immunization with dinltrophenylated proteins are heterogeneous with respect to their affinity for dinitrophenyl ligands. In addition, the average affinity increases markedly with time after antigen administration (1). Thus, when anti-dinitrophenyl antibodies specifically purified from serum obtained 8 wk after immunization were compared with those from serum obtained 2 wk after immunization, at least a 100-fold increase in average association constant was observed. The increase in affinity was shown to be related to the quantity of antigen administrated: large amounts delayed the change (1). However, serum antibodies of a particular specificity are a mixture of molecules synthesized at different times and subject, perhaps, to varying rates of elimination from the circulation. Moreover, the isolation of antibodies from serum may result in some degree of selection of certain antibody molecules at the expense of others. Thus the purified antibody may contain, preferentially, molecules that are more easily precipitated by antigen or that are eluted more efficiently from precipitates. In order to determine the properties of all the antibody molecules formed at any particular time it seemed desirable, accordingly, to obtain antibodies directly from the antibody-forming cells themselves. Antibody synthesis generally takes place mainly in the lymph nodes draining sites of antigen injection (2-4). Studies were initiated therefore to determine the binding properties of the anti-DNP 1 molecules formed in vitro by suspensions of ceils obtained from the axiilary and popliteal lymph nodes of rabbits
Armed conflict in Colombia: analyzing the economic, social, and institutional causes of violent opposition

Resumen Este articulo presenta una revision bibliografica de las causas del conflicto armado colom-biano. Su objetivo principal es entender por que ha ocurrido una reduccion desigual en los niveles de conflicto violento a traves de las regiones del pais, en el periodo 2003-2010. Ana-liza las causas economicas, institucionales y sociales, asi como los debates teoricos vigentes. Se concluye que es precisamente la multiple causalidad del fenomeno colombiano lo que lo hace tan complejo, razon por la cual los estudios encaminados a analizar la variacion en el conflicto violento deben incorporar todas las variables causales y perpetuadoras del mismo. Palabras Clave : Conflicto armado, Instituciones, Estado colombiano, Recursos saqueables, Desigualdad Abstract This paper offers a review of the literature dealing with the causes of the Colombian armed conflict. Its key objective is to discuss why the reduction of the levels of the conflict-related violence was unequal in various parts of the country between 2003 and 2010. The author addresses economic, institutional, and social causes as well as embraces the ongoing theo-retical debates on the issue. The paper affirms that it is precisely the diversity of the causes that makes the Colombian conflict such a complex one, and that any related study must address
Sex and the Single Gametophyte: Revising the Homosporous Vascular Plant Life Cycle in Light of Contemporary Research

Homosporous vascular plants are typically depicted as extreme inbreeders, with bisexual gametophytes that produce strictly homozygous sporophytes. This view is promulgated in textbook life cycles despite ample evidence that natural populations of most species regularly outcross. We review research on a variety of mechanisms, including genetic load, asynchronous production of eggs and sperm, and pheromonal control of gamete production, that actively promote heterozygosity in ferns and lycophytes. Evolution of the land plants cannot be reconstructed without accurate depictions of the unique life cycle that has helped make ferns the second most diverse lineage of vascular plants on Earth. With revised illustrations and definitions, we provide scientists, educators, and students with a contemporary understanding of fern and lycophyte reproduction, revealing them as evolutionarily dynamic and exploiting a wide range of mating systems.
An Axiomatic Model for Deductive Object-Oriented Databases

Databases with both object-oriented and deductive features (DOOD) seem to be the most promising database technology. There are successful approaches to designing such systems. However, the resulting systems, in our opinion, still lack several important properties of full-featured DOOD’s. Realizing that some practical problems cannot be tackled with the former implementations, we reconsidered the mathematical foundations of the existing models. We propose a new model for DOOD’s that incorporates the whole range of deductive capabilities including constraints. We sketch out a proof that shows our model complies with Object Management Group’s Uniﬁed Modeling Language Speciﬁcation (OMG’s UML)
10-Gbit/s Wireless Link Using InP HEMT MMICs for Generating 120-GHz-Band Millimeter-Wave Signal

We have developed a 120-GHz-band wireless link whose maximum transmission data rate is 11.1 Gbit/s. The wireless link uses millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuits (MMICs) for the generation of a 120-GHz-band millimeter-wave wireless signal. The MMICs were fabricated using 0.1-mum-gate InP-HEMTs and coplanar waveguides. The wireless link can handle four kinds of data rate for OC-192 and 10-Gbit Ethernet standards with and without forward error correction (FEC). We succeeded in the error-free transmission of a 10-Gbit/s signal over a distance of 800 m. The introduction of FEC into the 120-GHz-band wireless link decreased the minimum received power for error-free transmission, and improved the reliability of the link.
Design and development of humanoid robot ZERO

This paper overviews the mechanics of humanoid robot ZERO. ZERO is a bipedal walking platform with 21 degrees of freedom (DOF) powered by servomotors that perform reliable torque and precise motion. Made entirely from aluminum, it is lightweight (5.5 kg) and compact (height: 60 cm, width: 33 cm) while strong and robust. ZERO is capable of moving forward, backward, sideway, it can turn in any direction, lie down, and get up. In addition, ZERO performs object tracking and recognition using an on-board video camera. The primary motivation behind this project is to create our own platform for research into bipedal walking and control. In this paper, the design, implementation, and mechanical analysis of this prototype are presented and discussed.
Development of core outcome sets in hidradenitis suppurativa: systematic review of outcome measure instruments to inform the process

The recent hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) Cochrane review identified outcome measure heterogeneity as an important issue to address when designing future HS trials. Our objective was to follow the Harmonising Outcome Measures for Eczema (HOME) roadmap, by performing a systematic review of HS outcome measure instruments to inform the development of an HS core outcome set. We performed a systematic review to identify validation evidence for outcome measure instruments used in HS randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and assessed the methodological quality of all HS outcome measure validity studies using the COnsensus‐based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist. The 12 RCTs included in the Cochrane review utilized 30 outcome measure instruments, including 16 physician‐reported instruments, 11 patient‐reported instruments and three composite measures containing elements of both. Twenty‐seven (90%) of the instruments lacked any validation data. Two further instruments have been developed and partially validated. Of the seven studies meeting our inclusion criteria, six were of ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ methodological quality, in part because most of the studies were not primarily designed for instrument validation. The HiSCR instrument is supported by good‐quality validation data, but there are gaps, including assessment of internal consistency, inter‐rater reliability and minimal clinically important difference, and convergent validity fell below the acceptable range for some comparisons. Multiple, usually unvalidated, outcome measure instruments have been used in HS RCTs. Where validation evidence is available there are issues of low methodological quality or incomplete validity assessment and so, currently, no instruments can be fully recommended.
Autonomous Stimulation of Cancer Cell Plasticity by the Human NKG2D Lymphocyte Receptor Coexpressed with Its Ligands on Cancer Cells

The stimulatory NKG2D receptor on lymphocytes promotes tumor immune surveillance by targeting ligands selectively induced on cancer cells. Progressing tumors counteract by employing tactics to disable lymphocyte NKG2D. This negative dynamic is escalated as some human cancer cells co-opt expression of NKG2D, thereby complementing the presence of its ligands for autonomous stimulation of oncogenic signaling. Clinical association data imply relationships between cancer cell NKG2D and metastatic disease. Here we show that NKG2D promotes cancer cell plasticity by induction of phenotypic, molecular, and functional signatures diagnostic of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and of stem-like traits via induction of Sox9, a key transcriptional regulator of breast stem cell maintenance. These findings obtained with model breast tumor lines and xenotransplants were recapitulated by ex vivo cancer cells from primary invasive breast carcinomas. Thus, NKG2D may have the capacity to drive high malignancy traits underlying metastatic disease.
TweetRipple: Understanding Your Twitter Audience and the Impact of Your Tweets

Social media platforms have become a main stream communication medium, and many organisations, including government agencies, now routinely employ both Twitter and Facebook to disseminate information and engage with their customer base. A few questions then arise, e.g., what is the effectiveness of one's engagement on social media? Who is being reached? Is it the intended audience? What is the impact? Or, as some ask, what is the Return on Investment (ROI)? In our work, we are attempting to answer these questions. We suggest that the ROI is multifaceted, and present a framework (CAMIO) to study it. We also describe a system, called TweetRipple, built on CAMIO to support for people to start answering these questions.
Sensing of Bacterial Type IV Secretion via the Unfolded Protein Response

ABSTRACT Host cytokine responses to Brucella abortus infection are elicited predominantly by the deployment of a type IV secretion system (T4SS). However, the mechanism by which the T4SS elicits inflammation remains unknown. Here we show that translocation of the T4SS substrate VceC into host cells induces proinflammatory responses. Ectopically expressed VceC interacted with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone BiP/Grp78 and localized to the ER of HeLa cells. ER localization of VceC required a transmembrane domain in its N terminus. Notably, the expression of VceC resulted in reorganization of ER structures. In macrophages, VceC was required for B. abortus-induced inflammation by induction of the unfolded protein response by a process requiring inositol-requiring transmembrane kinase/endonuclease 1. Altogether, these findings suggest that translocation of the T4SS effector VceC induces ER stress, which results in the induction of proinflammatory host cell responses during B. abortus infection. IMPORTANCE Brucella species are pathogens that require a type IV secretion system (T4SS) to survive in host cells and to maintain chronic infection. By as-yet-unknown pathways, the T4SS also elicits inflammatory responses in infected cells. Here we show that inflammation caused by the T4SS results in part from the sensing of a T4SS substrate, VceC, that localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an intracellular site of Brucella replication. Possibly via binding of the ER chaperone BiP, VceC causes ER stress with concomitant expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, induction of the unfolded protein response may represent a novel pathway by which host cells can detect pathogens deploying a T4SS. Brucella species are pathogens that require a type IV secretion system (T4SS) to survive in host cells and to maintain chronic infection. By as-yet-unknown pathways, the T4SS also elicits inflammatory responses in infected cells. Here we show that inflammation caused by the T4SS results in part from the sensing of a T4SS substrate, VceC, that localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an intracellular site of Brucella replication. Possibly via binding of the ER chaperone BiP, VceC causes ER stress with concomitant expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Thus, induction of the unfolded protein response may represent a novel pathway by which host cells can detect pathogens deploying a T4SS.
- 1-Reducing income volatility through better resource-sharing policies : The case of the investment banking industry

This paper is based on the hypothesis that income volatility is influenced by endogenous resource sharing policies. The effect of competition for internal resources on income volatility is examined using the example of the investment banking industry. After analyzing income volatilities of different industries, specific characteristics of investment banks are illustrated, using the service production theory as a frame of reference. After this, the income volatility of two product groups of investment banks is analyzed on an industry-wide level. To gain deeper insight into the competition for a shared resource, the two-shower model of Morecroft et al. is analyzed. By discussing the adaptations of an application of this model in an investment banking context, a stylized causal loop diagram is derived. In this last step, a product group is identified, and the real internal production data, which is broken down into primary and secondary business units, is analyzed. The results show first indications of competition from primary and secondary units for shared sales teams.
Lattice quantization noise revisited

Dithered quantization is widely used in signal processing and coding due to its many desirable properties in theory and in practice. In this paper, we show that dither is unnecessary for Gaussian sources when the flatness factor of the quantization lattice is small. This means that the quantization noise behaves much like that in dithered quantization. In particular, it tends to be uniformly distributed over any fundamental region of the lattice and be uncorrelated with the signal; further, for optimum lattice quantizers, it approaches the rate-distortion bound of Gaussian sources with minimum mean-square error (MMSE) estimation.
Maternal absence and stability of individual differences in CSF 5-HIAA concentrations in rhesus monkey infants.

OBJECTIVE Early life events often lead to deficits in CNS serotonin function, which underlie a number of reoccurring psychopathological disorders. Studies using rhesus macaques have demonstrated that early maternal deprivation reduces CNS serotonin turnover, as measured by cisternal CSF 5-HIAA concentrations. In addition, individual differences in CSF 5-HIAA remain stable from the first year of life through adulthood. The purpose of this study was to assess 1) the impact of rearing environment on the early development (<6 months of age) of the serotonin system, and 2) at what stage of early development individual differences in CSF 5-HIAA concentrations stabilize. METHOD The subjects were 256 infant rhesus macaques reared in three different conditions (mother-reared, peer-reared, and surrogate/peer-reared). Cisternal CSF was obtained at 14, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days of age. RESULTS No differences in CSF 5-HIAA concentrations were observed between peer only- and surrogate/peer-reared infants, and these groups combined exhibited lower 5-HIAA concentrations than mother-reared infants throughout early development. CSF 5-HIAA concentrations declined with increasing age regardless of rearing condition. Within each rearing condition, individual differences in CSF 5-HIAA concentrations remained stable from 14 to 150 days of age. CONCLUSIONS Early maternal deprivation reduces CNS serotonin turnover, and individual differences in CSF 5-HIAA concentrations are trait-like and appear to stabilize in infancy.
Adaptivity and Computation-Statistics Tradeoffs for Kernel and Distance based High Dimensional Two Sample Testing

Nonparametric two sample testing is a decision theoretic problem that involves identifying differences between two random variables without making parametric assumptions about their underlying distributions. We refer to the most common settings as mean difference alternatives (MDA), for testing differences only in first moments, and general difference alternatives (GDA), which is about testing for any difference in distributions. A large number of test statistics have been proposed for both these settings. This paper connects three classes of statistics - high dimensional variants of Hotelling's t-test, statistics based on Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Spaces, and energy statistics based on pairwise distances. We ask the question: how much statistical power do popular kernel and distance based tests for GDA have when the unknown distributions differ in their means, compared to specialized tests for MDA? We formally characterize the power of popular tests for GDA like the Maximum Mean Discrepancy with the Gaussian kernel (gMMD) and bandwidth-dependent variants of the Energy Distance with the Euclidean norm (eED) in the high-dimensional MDA regime. Some practically important properties include (a) eED and gMMD have asymptotically equal power; furthermore they enjoy a free lunch because, while they are additionally consistent for GDA, they also have the same power as specialized high-dimensional t-test variants for MDA. All these tests are asymptotically optimal (including matching constants) under MDA for spherical covariances, according to simple lower bounds, (b) The power of gMMD is independent of the kernel bandwidth, as long as it is larger than the choice made by the median heuristic, (c) There is a clear and smooth computation-statistics tradeoff for linear-time, subquadratic-time and quadratic-time versions of these tests, with more computation resulting in higher power.
Parallel Compression Checkpointing for Socket-Level Heterogeneous Systems

Check pointing is an effective fault tolerant technique to improve the reliability of large scale parallel computing systems. However, check pointing causes a large number of computation nodes to store a huge amount of data into file system simultaneously. It does not only require a huge storage space to store system state, but also brings a tremendous pressure on the communication network and I/O subsystem because a massive demand of accesses are concentrated in a short period of time. Data compression can reduce the size of checkpoint data to be saved in the file system and to go through the communication network. However, compression induces a huge time overhead especially in large scale parallel systems, which is the main technical barrier of its practical usability. In this paper, we propose a parallel compression check pointing technique to reduce the time overhead in socket-level heterogeneous architectures. It integrates a number of parallel processing techniques, including transmitting checkpoint data between CPU, GPU and file system in double buffered pipelines, aggregating file write operations, SIMD parallel compression algorithm running on GPU, etc. The paper also reports an implementation of the technique on the Tianhe-1 supercomputer system and the evaluation experiments with the system. The experiment data show that the technique is efficient and practically usable.
Analysis of default data using hidden Markov models

The occurrence of defaults within a bond portfolio is modelled as a simple hidden Markov process. The hidden variable represents the risk state, which is assumed to be common to all bonds within one particular sector and region. After describing the model and recalling the basic properties of hidden Markov chains, we show how to apply the model to a simulated sequence of default events. Then, we consider a real scenario, with default events taken from a large database provided by Standard & Poor's. We are able to obtain estimates for the model parameters and also to reconstruct the most likely sequence of the risk state. Finally, we address the issue of global versus industry-specific risk factors. By extending our model to include independent hidden risk sequences, we can disentangle the risk associated with the business cycle from that specific to the individual sector.
Balancing Requirements For Customer Value Of Mobile Services

Designing business models for mobile services is a complex undertaking because it requires multiple actors to balance different design requirements. A business model can be seen as a blueprint of four interrelated components or domains: service, technology, organization and finance domain. Little attention has been paid to how these different domains are related to each other. This knowledge is needed to enhance our understanding of what constitutes a viable business model. In this paper the connections between two of these domains, namely service and technology domain, are explored by analysing critical design issues in business models for mobile services, i.e. targeting, creating value, branding and customer retention in the service domain, and security, quality of service, management of service profiles, system integration and accessibility in the technology domain. A causal framework is developed, which link these critical design issues to expected customer value and business model viability.
Determining optimum load impedance for a noisy active 2-port network.

The role of the impedance load when dealing with noisy two port networks is investigated. Its value acts directly on input and output return losses (IRL and ORL) that can be simultaneously achieved once input load has been fixed to an arbitrary value. A novel design chart, obtained after examining constant mismatch circles, is introduced, where optimum trade-off between IRL and ORL is promptly identified. The role of degenerative source feedback is highlighted to improve IRL/ORL trade-off.
Measles infection of human mononuclear cells. I. Acute infection of peripheral blood lymphocytes and monocytes

A study of the susceptibility of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to measles virus infection and replication is reported. Resting lymphocytes obtained from adults showed very low levels of infection and virus replication while lymphocytes activated by plant mitogens or allogenic lymphocytes supported mononuclear cells obtained from the umbilical cord of healthy neonates were more susceptible to measles virus infection than those of adults; however, activated cord lymphocytes supported viral replication in the range observed with adult activated lymphocytes. Monocytes obtained from adults were relatively resistant to measles virus infection and replication while neonatal cord blood monocytes supported viral replication to the degree observed with activated lymphocytes. It is hypothesized that infection of acitivated lymphocytes may explain the depression of cell-mediated immunity seen during acute measles virus infection. The significance of the finding that neonatal monocytes are more susceptible to viral infection and replication than adult monocytes is discussed.