Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Retroposon analysis and recent geological data suggest near-simultaneous divergence of the three superorders of mammals

As a consequence of recent developments in molecular phylogenomics, all extant orders of placental mammals have been grouped into 3 lineages: Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Boreotheria, which originated in Africa, South America, and Laurasia, respectively. Despite this advancement, the order of divergence of these 3 lineages remains unresolved. Here, we performed extensive retroposon analysis with mammalian genomic data. Surprisingly, we identified a similar number of informative retroposon loci that support each of 3 possible phylogenetic hypotheses: the basal position for Afrotheria (22 loci), Xenarthra (25 loci), and Boreotheria (21 loci). This result indicates that the divergence of the placental common ancestor into the 3 lineages occurred nearly simultaneously. Thus, we examined whether these molecular data could be integrated into the geological context by incorporating recent geological data. We obtained firm evidence that complete separation of Gondwana into Africa and South America occurred 120 ± 10 Ma. Accordingly, the previous reported time frame (division of Pangea into Gondwana and Laurasia at 148–138 Ma and division of Gondwana at 105 Ma) cannot be used to validate mammalian divergence order. Instead, we use our retroposon results and the recent geological data to propose that near-simultaneous divisions of continents leading to isolated Africa, South America, and Laurasia caused nearly concomitant divergence of the ancient placental ancestor into 3 lineages, Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Boreotheria, ≈120 Ma.
Dopamine‐induced relaxation of isolated arterial strips

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Implicit segmentation of Kannada characters in offline handwriting recognition using hidden Markov models

We describe a method for classification of handwritten Kannada characters using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). Kannada script is agglutinative, where simple shapes are concatenated horizontally to form a character. This results in a large number of characters making the task of classification difficult. Character segmentation plays a significant role in reducing the number of classes. Explicit segmentation techniques suffer when overlapping shapes are present, which is common in the case of handwritten text. We use HMMs to take advantage of the agglutinative nature of Kannada script, which allows us to perform implicit segmentation of characters along with recognition. All the experiments are performed on the Chars74k dataset that consists of 657 handwritten characters collected across multiple users. Gradient-based features are extracted from individual characters and are used to train character HMMs. The use of implicit segmentation technique at the character level resulted in an improvement of around 10%. This system also outperformed an existing system tested on the same dataset by around 16%. Analysis based on learning curves showed that increasing the training data could result in better accuracy. Accordingly, we collected additional data and obtained an improvement of 4% with 6 additional samples.
Diet‐induced insulin resistance impairs hippocampal synaptic plasticity and cognition in middle‐aged rats

Overall dietary energy intake, particularly the consumption of simple sugars such as fructose, has been increasing steadily in Western societies, but the effects of such diets on the brain are poorly understood. Here, we used functional and structural assays to characterize the effects of excessive caloric intake on the hippocampus, a brain region important for learning and memory. Rats fed with a high‐fat, high‐glucose diet supplemented with high‐fructose corn syrup showed alterations in energy and lipid metabolism similar to clinical diabetes, with elevated fasting glucose and increased cholesterol and triglycerides. Rats maintained on this diet for 8 months exhibited impaired spatial learning ability, reduced hippocampal dendritic spine density, and reduced long‐term potentiation at Schaffer collateral—CA1 synapses. These changes occurred concurrently with reductions in levels of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor in the hippocampus. We conclude that a high‐calorie diet reduces hippocampal synaptic plasticity and impairs cognitive function, possibly through BDNF‐mediated effects on dendritic spines. Published 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
FPGA-Based Acceleration of Fingerprint Minutiae Matching

Fingerprint is the most widely used and studied biometric technique because of its universality, distinctiveness, and decreasing cost of the sensing devices. Among the fingerprint identification techniques, minutiae-based algorithms are the most mature. However, these methods are computationally expensive, particularly for comparison with large databases. This work is devoted to study the performance gains that can be achieved with the use of FPGAs. To this purpose, two minutia-based fingerprint matching algorithms have been selected and implemented in a FPGA in order to compare the requirements and performance of software and hardware implementations. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of implementing fingerprint matching algorithms in current FPGA devices achieving speed-ups of one or two orders of magnitude. Customization of the proposed implementations can lead to several architectures optimized in size, price, speed or accuracy.
What We Really Know About Antecedents of Trust: A Critical Review of the Empirical Information Systems Literature on Trust

The importance of trust for information systems research has been shown in different domains such as e-commerce, virtual communities, and generally in the adoption of new technologies. Due to its importance, a plethora of studies has identified numerous antecedents helping to build trust. However, a recent study pointed out that measurement model mis-specification questions the reliability of empirical results published in the information systems field. Since trust is supposed to be increasingly in demand due to the increasing complexity technological progress will cause, it is important to investigate the current body of knowledge on trust regarding its reliability to guide future research. To achieve this goal, this chapter is guided by two research questions: a) What different antecedents of trust have been identified in the information systems literature? and b) how reliable are the reported results in terms of measurement model specification? To answer the two research questions, we conducted a literature review among the eight journals of the AIS senior scholars‘ basket of journals, and reviewed all trust-related articles published between 1995 and 2012. To assessing the reliability of the reported results, we rely on the insights on measurement model specification. Regarding research question 1, we identified a plethora of different antecedents that have been identified for different trust relationships in different contexts in the literature. Regarding research question 2, we found that measurement model mis-specification issues might be a serious issue in information systems trust research. The most common issue we identified is the use of formative indicators in reflective measurement models. As a result, the identified structural relationships between trust and its antecedents in these studies might actaally be insignificant, due to Type I errors. Nevertheless, we identified some recent articles that addressed this problem and used correctly specified measurement models. However, other recent articles still suffer from measurement model mis-specification, and we thus what to highlight again the importance of specifying correct measurement models to increase the reliability of the information systems knowledge base on trust. To the best of our knowledge this chapter is the first literature review on information systems trust research especially focusing on the reliability of the published results in terms of methodological rigor.
Small Dedifferentiated Cardiomyocytes Bordering on Microdomains of Fibrosis: Evidence for Reverse Remodeling With Assisted Recovery

Abstract: With the perspective of functional myocardial regeneration, we investigated small cardiomyocytes bordering on microdomains of fibrosis, where they are dedifferentiated re-expressing fetal genes, and determined: (1) whether they are atrophied segments of the myofiber syncytium, (2) their redox state, (3) their anatomic relationship to activated myofibroblasts (myoFb), given their putative regulatory role in myocyte dedifferentiation and redifferentiation, (4) the relevance of proteolytic ligases of the ubiquitin–proteasome system as a mechanistic link to their size, and (5) whether they could be rescued from their dedifferentiated phenotype. Chronic aldosterone/salt treatment (ALDOST) was invoked, where hypertensive heart disease with attendant myocardial fibrosis creates the fibrillar collagen substrate for myocyte sequestration, with propensity for disuse atrophy, activated myoFb, and oxidative stress. To address phenotype rescue, 4 weeks of ALDOST was terminated followed by 4 weeks of neurohormonal withdrawal combined with a regimen of exogenous antioxidants, ZnSO4, and nebivolol (assisted recovery). Compared with controls, at 4 weeks of ALDOST, we found small myocytes to be: (1) sequestered by collagen fibrils emanating from microdomains of fibrosis and representing atrophic segments of the myofiber syncytia, (2) dedifferentiated re-expressing fetal genes (&bgr;-myosin heavy chain and atrial natriuretic peptide), (3) proximal to activated myoFb expressing &agr;-smooth muscle actin microfilaments and angiotensin-converting enzyme, (4) expressing reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide with increased tissue 8-isoprostane, coupled to ventricular diastolic and systolic dysfunction, and (5) associated with upregulated redox-sensitive proteolytic ligases MuRF1 and atrogin-1. In a separate study, we did not find evidence of myocyte replication (BrdU labeling) or expression of stem cell antigen (c-Kit) at weeks 1–4 ALDOST. Assisted recovery caused complete disappearance of myoFb from sites of fibrosis with redifferentiation of these myocytes, loss of oxidative stress, and ubiquitin–proteasome system activation, with restoration of nitric oxide and improved ventricular function. Thus, small dedifferentiated myocytes bordering on microdomains of fibrosis can re-differentiate and represent a potential source of autologous cells for functional myocardial regeneration.
Listening to music decreases need for sedative medication during colonoscopy: a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Music played during endoscopic procedures may alleviate anxiety and improve patient acceptance of the procedure. A prospective randomized, controlled trial was undertaken to determine whether music decreases the requirement for midazolam during colonoscopy and makes the procedure more comfortable and acceptable. METHODS Patients undergoing elective colonoscopy between October 2003 and February 2004 were randomized to either not listen to music (Group 1; n=40) or listen to music of their choice (Group 2; n=38) during the procedure. All patients received intravenous midazolam on demand in aliquots of 2 mg each. The dose of midazolam, duration of procedure, recovery time, pain and discomfort scores and willingness to undergo a repeat procedure using the same sedation protocol were compared. RESULTS Patients in Group 2 received significantly less midazolam than those in Group 1 (p=0.007). The pain score was similar in the two groups, whereas discomfort score was lower in Group 2 (p=0.001). Patients in the two groups were equally likely to be willing for a repeat procedure. CONCLUSION Listening to music during colonoscopy helps reduce the dose of sedative medications and decreases discomfort experienced during the procedure.
Differential Expression of Adenosine Receptors in Human Endothelial Cells: Role of A2B Receptors in Angiogenic Factor Regulation

Adenosine has been reported to stimulate or inhibit the release of angiogenic factors depending on the cell type examined. To test the hypothesis that differential expression of adenosine receptor subtypes contributes to endothelial cell heterogeneity, we studied microvascular (HMEC-1) and umbilical vein (HUVEC) human endothelial cells. Based on mRNA level and stimulation of adenylate cyclase, we found that HUVECs preferentially express A2A adenosine receptors and HMEC-1 preferentially express A2B receptors. Neither cells expressed A1 or A3 receptors. The nonselective adenosine agonist 5′-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine (NECA) increased expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in HMEC-1, but had no effect in HUVECs. In contrast, the selective A2A agonist 2-p-(2-carboxyethyl)phenylethylamino-NECA (CGS 21680) had no effect on expression of these angiogenic factors. Cotransfection of each type of adenosine receptors with a luciferase reporter in HMEC-1 showed that A2B receptors, but not A1, A2A, or A3, activated IL-8 and VEGF promoters. These effects were mimicked by constitutively active &agr;Gq, &agr;G12, and &agr;G13, but not &agr;Gs or &agr;Gi1-3. Furthermore, stimulation of phospholipase C indicated coupling of A2B receptors to Gq proteins in HMEC-1. Thus, differential expression of adenosine receptor subtypes contributes to functional heterogeneity of human endothelial cells. A2B receptors, predominantly expressed in human microvascular cells, modulate expression of angiogenic factors via coupling to Gq, and possibly via G12/13.
Decentralized boolean network tomography based on network partitioning

Network tomography is a promising technique to achieve fault management in networks where the existing IP-based troubleshooting mechanism cannot be used. Aiming to apply Boolean network tomography to fault management, various heuristic methods for configuring monitoring trails have been proposed to localize link failures in all-optical mesh networks. However, these existing heuristic methods must be executed in a centralized server that administers the entire managed network, and present scalability problems when they are applied to large-scale managed networks. Thus, this paper proposes a novel scheme for achieving lightweight Boolean network tomography in a decentralized manner. The proposed scheme partitions the managed network into multiple management areas and localizes link failures independently within each area. This paper also proposes a heuristic network partition method with the aim of implementing the proposed scheme efficiently. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is verified using a typical fault management scenario, where all the single-link failures are localized by the monitoring paths the routes of which are predetermined. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can greatly reduce the computational load on the fault management server when Boolean network tomography is deployed in large-scale managed networks.
An Administrative Decision-Making Support System Based on Multi-Agent Technology

The administrative decision-making is very important for the government. However, the decision-making procedure of the government was low-efficiency in the past. Based on the multi-agent technology, an administrative decision-making support system is proposed in this study, which improves the decision-making effectiveness and efficiency through the distributed collaboration of different decision-making agents. With the rapid development of E-government, this decision-making support system may act as a new paradigm for administrative decision-making.
Key elements for interprofessional education. Part 1: The learner, the educator and the learning context

This paper is the first of two that highlights key elements needed for consideration in the planning and implementation of interprofessional educational (IPE) interventions at both the pre and post-licensure qualification education levels. There is still much to be learned about the pedagogical constructs related to IPE. Part 1 of this series discusses the learning context for IPE and considers questions related to the “who, what, where, when and how” related to IPE. Through a systematic literature review that was conducted for Health Canada in its move to advance Interprofessional Education for Patient Centred Practice (IECPCP), this paper provides background information that can be helpful for those involved in an interprofessional initiative. A historical review of IPE sets the international context for this area and reflects the work that has been done and is currently being initiated and implemented to advance IPE for health professional students. Much can be learned from the literature related to the pedagogical approaches that have been tried and the issues that need to be addressed related to the learner, the educator and the learning context which this paper examines.
A fused method for news recommendation

In news recommendation system, the content-based method face the lack of diversity that recommended results will only contain the news similar with user's former read. The hybrid method face cold-start problem that the candidate news must wait enough click to recommend. We propose a fused method which is capable of handling the diversity problem of content-based and cold-start problem of hybrid approach. We use content-based method to extract user's existed interest firstly. Find out similar user set and predict target user's potential interest by collaborative filtering secondly. Fuse existed interest and potential interest to obtain the final user profile the third. Generate the recommended results after comparison the similarity of candidate news and final user profile lastly. This approach results in an offline news set and compared Diversity and F-score with other recommendation method. It decreases the lack of diversity compare with content-based approach and avoids the cold-start problem compare with hybrid method.
“Development of the Proteasome Inhibitor Velcade™ (Bortezomib)” by Julian Adams, Ph.D., and Michael Kauffman, M.D., Ph.D

Drs. Adams and Kauffman have provided a detailed history of the development of the novel cancer therapeutic agent Velcade (bortezomib). This is a thorough discussion of the preclinical studies examining mechanism(s) of action, the animal studies documenting efficacy, and finally the results from the early phase I and II human clinical studies. Unlike other antineoplastic agents in the development pipeline, the mechanism of action of bortezomib is only indirectly coupled to its molecular target. While bortezomib directly inhibits the 26S proteasome, the molecular and cellular effects are far-reaching due to the requisite nature of cellular homeostasis on protein turnover by the proteasome. Therefore, bortezomib indirectly targets mediators of cell cycle progression, regulators of apoptosis, and a variety of transcription factors. Several of these targets, such as p21, p27, and the transcription factor NF-kB, have been demonstrated to be altered in transformed cells and mediate significant effects inherent in the malignant phenotype. Furthermore, the gene targets of NF-kB mediated transcriptional activation include many involved in cell survival, angiogenesis, and invasion. Bortezomib is, therefore, unique among the novel cancer therapeutics in its ability to inhibit a specific cellular target but produce wide-ranging effects on diverse molecular and cellular processes. While some early data from the phase I and II trials have generated enthusiasm for this agent in the treatment of various cancers, an encouraging aspect of bortezomib is the diverse diseases in which it may have a therapeutic potential. Bortezomib has demonstrated significant in vitro and in vivo effects in both hematologic and solid-organ malignancies. Furthermore, inhibition of the proteasome may be effective for treatment of nonneoplastic diseases such as reperfusion injury following ischemic events (stroke or myocardial infarction) or autoimmune inflammatory conditions. The breadth of diseases has yet to be fully elucidated, though the key observation that proteasome inhibition has little effect on normal ‘‘unstressed/unstimulated’’ cells adds to its potential utility in a wide range of pathophysiologic processes. What is not presented in this manuscript is how the development of bortezomib has progressed through the joint cooperation of the biotechnology industry, academic researchers and clinicians, and the federal government. This triumvirate has become the paradigm
The Omnipotence of Voices

We offer provisional support for a new cognitive approach to understanding and treating drug-resistant auditory hallucinations in people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Study 1 emphasises the relevance of the cognitive model by detailing the behavioural, cognitive and affective responses to persistent voices in 26 patients, demonstrating that highly disparate relationships with voices - fear, reassurance, engagement and resistance - reflect vital differences in beliefs about the voices. All patients viewed their voices as omnipotent and omniscient. However, beliefs about the voice's identity and meaning led to voices being construed as either ‘benevolent’ or ‘malevolent’. Patients provided cogent reasons (evidence) for these beliefs which were not always linked to voice content; indeed in 31 % of cases beliefs were incongruous with content, as would be anticipated by a cognitive model. Without fail, voices believed to be malevolent provoked fear and were resisted and those perceived as benevolent were courted. However, in the case of imperative voices, the primary influence on whether commands were obeyed was the severity of the command. Study 2 illustrates how these core beliefs about voices may become a new target for treatment. We describe the application of an adapted version of cognitive therapy (CT) to the treatment of four patients' drug-resistant voices. Where patients were on medication, this was held constant while beliefs about the voices' omnipotence, identity, and purpose were systematically disputed and tested. Large and stable reductions in conviction in these beliefs were reported, and these were associated with reduced distress, increased adaptive behaviour, and, unexpectedly, a fall in voice activity. These changes were corroborated by the responsible psychiatrists. Collectively, the cases attest to the promise of CT as a treatment for auditory hallucinations.
Real-Time Prognosis of Crack Growth Evolution Using Sequential Monte Carlo Methods and Statistical Model Parameters

A probabilistic method to monitor and predict fatigue crack propagation is presented in this work. The technique makes use of sequential Monte Carlo sampling combined with the probability density functions of the model parameters. The technique leads to an adaptive dynamic state-space model for crack evolution able to identify the most probable parameters, enhancing the estimation of the residual life of the system. The lifetime predictor presented here could be implemented in advanced maintenance strategies for critical structures employed in civil, industrial, and aerospace fields. The algorithm is first applied to a simulated crack growth, and then to some experimental crack propagations from laboratory tests on helicopter panels. The applicability within on-line continuous monitoring systems is discussed at the end of the paper.