Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NKG2D-Dependent Antitumor Effects of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy against Glioblastoma

Purpose: NKG2D is a potent activating immune cell receptor, and glioma cells express the cognate ligands (NKG2DL). These ligands are inducible by cellular stress and temozolomide (TMZ) or irradiation (IR), the standard treatment of glioblastoma, could affect their expression. However, a role of NKG2DL for the efficacy of TMZ and IR has never been addressed. Experimental Design: We assessed the effect of TMZ and IR on NKG2DL in vitro and in vivo in a variety of murine and human glioblastoma models, including glioma-initiating cells, and a cohort of paired glioblastoma samples from patients before and after therapy. Functional effects were studied with immune cell assays. The relevance of the NKG2D system for the efficacy of TMZ and IR was assessed in vivo in syngeneic orthotopic glioblastoma models with blocking antibodies and NKG2D knockout mice. Results: TMZ or IR induced NKG2DL in vitro and in vivo in all glioblastoma models, and glioblastoma patient samples had increased levels of NKG2DL after therapy with TMZ and IR. This enhanced the immunogenicity of glioma cells in a NGK2D-dependent manner, was independent from cytotoxic or growth inhibitory effects, attenuated by O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT), and required the DNA damage response. The survival benefit afforded by TMZ or IR relied on an intact NKG2D system and was decreased upon inhibition of the NKG2D pathway. Conclusions: The immune system may influence the activity of convential cancer treatments with particular importance of the NKG2D pathway in glioblastoma. Our data provide a rationale to combine NKG2D-based immunotherapies with TMZ and IR. Clin Cancer Res; 24(4); 882–95. ©2017 AACR.
Effect of aqueous root extract of Aristolochia indica (Linn) on diabetes induced rats

Aristolochia indica (Linn) commonly called Iswarmul is a rare endangered medicinal plant of India. It is reported to be stimulant, used for diarrhea and intermittent fever this plant is a remedy for, drops, loss of appetite and good for snake bite. The purpose of the present research was to evaluate the anti hyperglycemic effect of A.indica on blood glucose and also to evaluate its toxicity on liver function, kidney function, and diabetic related hormones like insulin and testosterone levels in allaxon induced male rats. From our findings it is confirmed that allaxon has a fair chance of leading to liver damage and the root extract of A.indica may have the protective action against liver damage. However kidney function seems to be normal, may be because of short time exposure to diabetes. The root extract was found to be hypoglycemic and anti diabetic in function. By this study we can conclusively state that A.indica may act as antidiabetic herbal drug. But more careful investigations are needed.
THE LASSO UNDER POISSON-LIKE HETEROSCEDASTICITY

The performance of the Lasso is well understood under the assumptions of the standard sparse linear model with homoscedastic noise. However, in several ap- plications, the standard model does not describe the important features of the data. This paper examines how the Lasso performs on a non-standard model that is mo- tivated by medical imaging applications. In these applications, the variance of the noise scales linearly with the expectation of the observation. Like all heteroscedas- tic models, the noise terms in this Poisson-like model are not independent of the design matrix. Under a sparse Poisson-like model for the high-dimension regime that allows the number of predictors (p) ≫ sample size (n), we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the sign consistency of the Lasso estimate. Simulations re- veal that the Lasso performs equally well in terms of model selection performance on both Poisson-like data and homoscedastic data (with properly scaled noise vari- ance), across a range of parameterizations.
Geometric algorithms for algebraic curves and surfaces

This work presents novel geometric algorithms dealing with algebraic curves and surfaces of arbitrary degree. These algorithms are exact and complete – they return the mathematically true result for all input instances. Efficiency is achieved by cutting back expensive symbolic computation and favoring combinatorial and adaptive numerical methods instead, without spoiling exactness in the overall result. We present an algorithm for computing planar arrangements induced by real algebraic curves. We show its efficiency both in theory by a complexity analysis, as well as in practice by experimental comparison with related methods. For the latter, our solution has been implemented in the context of the Cgal library. The results show that it constitutes the best current exact implementation available for arrangements as well as for the related problem of computing the topology of one algebraic curve. The algorithm is also applied to related problems, such as arrangements of rotated curves, and arrangments embedded on a parameterized surface. In R3, we propose a new method to compute an isotopic triangulation of an algebraic surface. This triangulation is based on a stratification of the surface, which reveals topological and geometric information. Our implementation is the first for this problem that makes consequent use of numerical methods, and still yields the exact topology of the surface. The thesis is written in English.
Two Anti-radial Spoke Monoclonal Antibodies Inhibit Chlamydomonas Axonemal Motility by Different Mechanisms*

In the 9 + 2 axoneme, radial spokes are structural components attached to the A-tubules of the nine outer doublet microtubules. They protrude toward the central pair microtubule complex with which they have transient but regular interactions for the normal flagellar motility to occur. Flagella of Chlamydomonas mutants deficient in entire radial spokes or spoke heads are paralyzed. In this study the importance of two radial spoke proteins in the flagellar movement is exemplified by the potent inhibitory action of two monoclonal antibodies on the axonemal motility of demembranated-reactivated Chlamydomonas models. We show that one of these proteins is localized on the stalk of the radial spokes, whereas the other is a component of the head of the same structure and most likely correspond to radial spoke protein 2 and 1, respectively. Fine motility analysis by videomicrography further indicates that these two anti-radial spoke protein antibodies at low concentration affect motility of demembranated-reactivated Chlamydomonas by changing the flagellar waveform without modifying axonemal beat frequency. They also modify wave amplitude differently during motility inhibition. This brings more direct evidence for the involvement of both radial spoke stalk and head in the fine tuning of the waveform during flagellar motility.
Partitioning of India‐Eurasia convergence in the Pamir‐Hindu Kush from GPS measurements

Convergence of 29 ± 1 mm/yr between the NW corner of the Indian plate and Asia is accommodated by a combination of thrust and strike‐slip faulting on prominent faults and apparent distributed deformation within the Hindu Kush, Pamir, South Tien Shan and Kohistan Ranges. An upper bound to the slip rate of known faults is obtained by ignoring distributed strain and rotation: convergence occurs on thrust faults north of the Peshawar Basin (13 ± 1 mm/yr) and in the Alai‐South Tien Shan (12 ± 2 mm/yr), and shear on the northeast‐trending northern Chaman‐Gardiz‐Konar system (18 ± 1mm/yr) and the Darvaz‐Karakul fault zone (11 ± 2 mm/yr). Slip rates on the Herat and Talas‐Ferghana faults are small (<2 mm/yr). Shortening not attributable to known active faults occurs within the Hindu Kush and central Pamir (16 ± 2 mm/yr) with concomitant east‐west extension in the latter of 9 ± 2 mm/yr. This diversity of strain styles confirms the importance of mechanical heterogeneity to continental tectonics and shows that the Pamir, although less than half the size, behaves more like Tibet than like a linear belt of localized deformation.
A Manual Categorization of Android App Development Issues Using Stack Overflow Posts

The discussion of issues related to the development of mobile applications (apps) has gained more and more popularity on Q&A-platforms such as Stack Overflow.1 Barua et al. [1] stated that Android is among the topics with the largest increase in the number of posts on Stack Overflow. The success of a mobile application depends on the quality of the application. Lineares-Vasquez et al. [2] found that there is a dependency between the quality of an API and the success of the mobile app that uses this API. The APIs used by successful apps use less fault-prone APIs than those used by unsuccessful apps. Although there are many tutorials, a lot of documentation and several examples on how to develop mobile applications, developers often have problems and questions concerning their implementation. The goal of this research is to give recommendations to developers to improve the quality of mobile applications and to minimize the amount of problems during development. As a first step in this research, we need to find out what the main problems and topics of Android app developers are. We make the following contributions:
Mesenchymal stem cell exosomes: a two-edged sword in cancer therapy

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells present in various adult tissues. Several studies suggest that MSCs secrete exosomes that perform as mediators in the tumor niche and play several roles in tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and metastasis. In contrast, there are other studies supporting the tumor-suppressing effects of MSC-derived exosomes. Therefore, the exact association of MSC exosomes and tumor cells remains open to debate. This review aimed to demonstrate the present knowledge of MSC-derived exosomes in cancer research and to illustrate current approaches to make use of modified exosomes as a platform in therapeutic strategies in cancer.
A qualitative analysis of catastrophic performances and the associated thoughts, feelings, and emotions

Structured in-depth interviews explored the catastrophic experiences of eight elite performers. Participants responded to questions concerning an event in which they felt they had experienced an uncharacteristic but very noticeable drop in their performance, a “performance catastrophe. ” Inductive and deductive analyses were employed to provide a clear representation of the data. This paper reports on how the dimensions emerging from the hierarchical content analysis changed from prior to the catastrophic drop in performance, during the drop, and after the drop (in terms of any recovery). Two emerging higher order dimensions, “sudden, substantial drop in performance” and “performance continued to deteriorate” provide support for one of the fundamental underpinnings of the catastrophe model (Hardy, 1990, 1996a, 1996b); that is, performance decrements do not follow a smooth and continuous path. The paper examines the implications of the findings with respect to applied practice and future research.
Effect of Cervus and Cucumis Peptides on Osteoblast Activity and Fracture Healing in Osteoporotic Bone

Osteoporosis is associated with delayed and/or reduced fracture healing. As cervus and cucumis are the traditional Chinese treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, we investigated the effect of supplementation of these peptides (CCP) on bone fracture healing in ovariectomized (OVX) osteoporotic rats in vitro and in vivo. CCP enhanced osteoblast proliferation and increased alkaline phosphatase activity, matrix mineralization, and expression of runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), and osteopontin. In vivo, female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent ovariectomy and the right femora were fractured and fixed by intramedullary nailing 3 months later. Rats received intraperitoneal injections of either CCP (1.67 mg/kg) or physiological saline every day for 30 days. Fracture healing and callus formation were evaluated by radiography, micro-CT, biomechanical testing, and histology. At 12 weeks after fracture, calluses in CCP-treated bones showed significantly higher torsional strength and greater stiffness than control-treated bones. Bones in CCP-treated rats reunified and were thoroughly remodeled, while two saline-treated rats showed no bone union and incomplete remodeling. Taken together, these results indicate that use of CCP after fracture in osteoporotic rats accelerates mineralization and osteogenesis and improves fracture healing.
Evergreen Software Preservation: The Anti-Ageing Model

Ageing is an unpreventable manifestation in all living creators on earth. In human being, the process of delaying the ageing progression is known as an anti-ageing process. We try to study the similar approach and phenomenon of ageing and anti-ageing in software environment and behaviour. The symptom of degradation in term of quality is observed as the indicator of ageing phenomenon in software system. Like human ageing, software ageing can be delayed by identifying factors that stimulus the ageing process. Ageing in software specifically for application software occurs when the software is degraded in term of its quality, user's satisfaction and dynamic. Previous studies indicated that software ageing factors possibly could be classified into some categorization such as functional, human, product and environment. With these factors, an anti-ageing model is developed which may help in preventing software from aged prematurely. This paper presents the empirical study conducted in Malaysia involving software practitioners on issues in software ageing and related. Furthermore, we propose a software anti-ageing model and a guideline on the ageing prevention. The proposed model is applied and validated through a case study.
Efficient modulation and coding scheme based on low-density parity-check codes

A repetition coding can provide coding and diversity gains, however, the transmission rate is severely decreased. Therefore, the repetition diversity scheme has been recognized as an inefficient coding technique. In the paper, we present some performance results of LDPC codes with a repetition coding over AWGN and Rayleigh channels for given transmission rates. Simulation results show that the repetition scheme with QPSK modulation always provides a good coding gain over a Rayleigh fading channel due to diversity effect, as compared with the case of BPSK modulation without repetition. Furthermore, we observe the performance of LDPC coded modulation with non-uniform constellation over AWGN and Rayleigh channels. Finally, we present that the best modulation and coding strategy for given channel condition can be determined by adjusting code-rate, modulation and repetition schemes.
Invited Keynote: What are Subjectivity, Sentiment, and Affect?

Pragmatics —the aspects of text that signal interpersonal and situational information, complementing semantics— has been almost totally ignored in Natural Language Processing. But in the past five to eight years there has been a surge of research on the general topic of ‘opinion’, also called ‘sentiment’. Generally, research focuses on the determining the author’s opinion/sentiment about some topic within a given fragment of text. Since opinions may differ, it is granted that the author’s opinion is ‘subjective’, and the effectiveness of an opiniondetermination system is measured by comparing against a gold-standard set of human annotations. But what does ‘subjectivity’ actually mean? What are ‘opinion’ and ‘sentiment’? Lately, researchers are also starting to talk about ‘affect’, and even ‘emotion’. What are these notions, and how do they differ from one another? Unfortunately, a survey of the research done to date shows a disturbing lack of clarity on these questions. Very few papers bother to define their terms, but simply take a set of valences such as Good–Neutral–Bad to be sufficient. More recent work acknowledges the need to specify what the opinion actually applies to, and attempts also to determine the theme. Lately, several identify the holder of the opinion. Some even try to estimate the strength of the expressed opinion. The trouble is, the same aspect of the same object can be considered Good by one person and Bad by another, and we can often understand both their points of view. There is much more to opinion/sentiment than simply matching words and phrases that attach to the theme, and computing a polarity score. People give reasons why they like or dislike something, and these reasons pertain to their goals and plans in the case of opinions) or their deeper emotional states (in the case of affect). In this talk I outline a model of sentiment/opinion and of affect, and show that they appear in text in a fairly structured way, with various components. I show how proper understanding requires the reader to build some kind of person profile of the author, and claim that for systems to do adequate understanding of sentiments, opinions, and affects, they will need to do so as well. This is not a trivial challenge, and it opens the door to a whole new line of research with many fascinating and practical aspects.
Transfer learning for cross-game prediction of player experience

Several studies on cross-domain users' behaviour revealed generic personality trails and behavioural patterns. This paper, proposes quantitative approaches to use the knowledge of player behaviour in one game to seed the process of building player experience models in another. We investigate two settings: in the supervised feature mapping method, we use labeled datasets about players' behaviour in two games. The goal is to establish a mapping between the features so that the models build on one dataset could be used on the other by simple feature replacement. For the unsupervised transfer learning scenario, our goal is to find a shared space of correlated features based on unlabelled data. The features in the shared space are then used to construct models for one game that directly work on the transferred features of the other game. We implemented and analysed the two approaches and we show that transferring the knowledge of player experience between domains is indeed possible and ultimately useful when studying players' behaviour and when designing user studies.
The Boston Marathon versus the World Marathon Majors

The Boston Marathon course is deemed ineligible for world record status due to its unidirectional nature and excessive negative elevation change, yet performance times across the World Marathon Majors (WMM) races have not been compared. Purpose To compare finish times across WMM races for Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York Marathons. Methods Race times of the top 10 male and 10 female finishers were analyzed from 2005 to 2014 using the high-performance mixed linear model procedure in the Statistical Analysis System. Venue-to-venue comparisons, as well as comparisons between Boston and other WMM races, with and without factors of temperature, humidity and altitude change were examined. Results Performance from 2005 to 2014 in the WMM races was found to improve at a rate of ~1% each 7 years. Despite its higher variability, comparison between Boston’s estimated mean finishing time and all other venues revealed moderate positive differences, indicating the Boston event to be typically slower than other venues. Conclusions Across the 10-year study period, performance times improved ~1% each 7 years for both genders for the WMM, with the Boston Marathon being slower on average than other WMM venues. Weather rather than course metrics appeared to impact performance times most.
High Thermal Conductivity of Copper Matrix Composite Coatings with Highly-Aligned Graphite Nanoplatelets

Nanocomposite coatings with highly-aligned graphite nanoplatelets in a copper matrix were successfully fabricated by electrodeposition. For the first time, the disposition and thermal conductivity of the nanofiller has been evaluated. The degree of alignment and inclination of the filling materials has been quantitatively evaluated by polarized micro-Raman spectroscopy. The room temperature values of the thermal conductivity were extracted for the graphite nanoplatelets by the dependence of the Raman G-peak frequency on the laser power excitation. Temperature dependency of the G-peak shift has been also measured. Most remarkable is the global thermal conductivity of 640 ± 20 W·m−1·K−1 (+57% of copper) obtained for the composite coating by the flash method. Our experimental results are accounted for by an effective medium approximation (EMA) model that considers the influence of filler geometry, orientation, and thermal conductivity inside a copper matrix.
Anger Management Effects on Middle School Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Anger Log Use, Aggressive and Prosocial Behavior

ABSTRACT This study examined the impact of a classroom-based, 10-week, cognitive-behavioral, anger management program plus booster sessions on middle school students with emotional disorders attending a therapeutic day school. Forty-five students were in the study; 20 received the program. The program group completed significantly more anger logs compared to the nonprogram group in both program and follow-up periods. Program students were observed to exhibit significantly more prosocial behaviors toward their teachers and showed a trend toward exhibiting fewer negative behaviors toward peers than nonprogram students at the end of the program. Program students also showed a trend toward fewer aggressive incidents than their nonprogram peers during follow-up. Findings may suggest mechanisms of change in anger management.
Proteomic comparison of four Eimeria tenella life‐cycle stages: Unsporulated oocyst, sporulated oocyst, sporozoite and second‐generation merozoite

We report the proteomes of four life‐cycle stages of the Apicomplexan parasite Eimeria tenella. A total of 1868 proteins were identified, with 630, 699, 845 and 1532 found in early oocysts (unsporulated), late oocysts (sporulated), sporozoites and second‐generation merozoites, respectively. A multidimensional protein identification technology shotgun approach identified 812 sporozoites, 1528 merozoites and all of the oocyst proteins, whereas 2‐D gel proteomics identified 230 sporozoites and 98 merozoite proteins. Comparing the invasive stages, we find moving junction components RON2 in both, whereas AMA‐1 and RON4 are found only in merozoites and AMA‐2 and RON5 are only found in sporozoites, suggesting stage‐specific moving junction proteins. During early oocyst to sporozoite development, refractile body and most “glideosome” proteins are found throughout, whereas microneme and most rhoptry proteins are only found after sporulation. Quantitative analysis indicates glycolysis and gluconeogenesis are the most abundant metabolic groups detected in all stages. The mannitol cycle “off shoot” of glycolysis was not detected in merozoites but was well represented in the other stages. However, in merozoites we find more protein associated with oxidative phosphorylation, suggesting a metabolic shift mobilising greater energy production. We find a greater abundance of protein linked to transcription, protein synthesis and cell cycle in merozoites than in sporozoites, which may be residual protein from the preceding massive replication during schizogony.