Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Instillation versus Inhalation of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes: Exposure-Related Health Effects, Clearance, and the Role of Particle Characteristics

Inhaled multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) may cause adverse pulmonary responses due to their nanoscale, fibrous morphology and/or biopersistance. This study tested multiple factors (dose, time, physicochemical characteristics, and administration method) shown to affect MWCNT toxicity with the hypothesis that these factors will influence significantly different responses upon MWCNT exposure. The study is unique in that (1) multiple administration methods were tested using particles from the same stock; (2) bulk MWCNT formulations had few differences (metal content, surface area/functionalization); and (3) MWCNT retention was quantified using a specialized approach for measuring unlabeled MWCNTs in rodent lungs. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to original (O), purified (P), and carboxylic acid functionalized (F) MWCNTs via intratracheal instillation and inhalation. Blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and lung tissues were collected at postexposure days 1 and 21 for quantifying biological responses and MWCNTs in lung tissues by programmed thermal analysis. At day 1, MWCNT instillation produced significant BALF neutrophilia and MWCNT-positive macrophages. Instilled O- and P-MWCNTs produced significant inflammation in lung tissues, which resolved by day 21 despite MWCNT retention. MWCNT inhalation produced no BALF neutrophilia and no significant histopathology past day 1. However, on days 1 and 21 postinhalation of nebulized MWCNTs, significantly increased numbers of MWCNT-positive macrophages were observed in BALF. Results suggest (1) MWCNTs produce transient inflammation if any despite persistence in the lungs; (2) instilled O-MWCNTs cause more inflammation than P- or F-MWCNTs; and (3) MWCNT suspension media produce strikingly different effects on physicochemical particle characteristics and pulmonary responses.
A QUINTET OF BLACK HOLE MASS DETERMINATIONS

We report five new measurements of central black hole masses based on Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and on axisymmetric, three-integral, Schwarzschild orbit-library kinematic models. We selected a sample of galaxies within a narrow range in velocity dispersion that cover a range of galaxy parameters (including Hubble type and core/power-law surface density profile) where we expected to be able to resolve the galaxy's sphere of influence based on the predicted value of the black hole mass from the M–σ relation. We find masses for the following galaxies: NGC 3585, MBH = 3.4+1.5−0.6 × 108 M☉; NGC 3607, MBH = 1.2+0.4−0.4 × 108 M☉; NGC 4026, MBH = 2.1+0.7−0.4 × 108 M☉; and NGC 5576, MBH = 1.8+0.3−0.4 × 108 M☉, all significantly excluding MBH = 0. For NGC 3945, MBH = 9+17−21 × 106 M☉, which is significantly below predictions from M–σ and M–L relations and consistent with MBH = 0, though the presence of a double bar in this galaxy may present problems for our axisymmetric code.
MONOGRAPH Career Self-Efficacy: Empirical Status and Future Directions

Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, stemming from a social cognitive model of behavior, has been gaining empirical attention in the career literature. This paper reviewsemergingfindingsapplyingself-efficacytheorytocareer-relevant behaviors; examines a number of conceptual and methodological issues arising from this work; and offers several directions for future research and theory on the career self-efficacy construct. Self-efficacy appears to offer promise in understanding certain career entry behaviors, such as college major choices and academic performance, though there has been little work relating self-efficacy to career development beyond college or exploring causal connections between self-efficacy and career behaviors. An expanded base for research on career self-efficacy is advocated. 0
Inheritance of antibody specificity. III. A new VH gene controls fine specificity of anti-p-azobenzenearsonate coupled to the carbon atom 5 of hydroxyphenylacetic acid in the mouse

Mice of 10 inbred strains were immunized with a protein conjugate of a hapten of p-azobenzenearsonate coupled to the carbon atom 5 of hydroxphenylacetic acid (ABA-HOP), and anti-ABA-HOP titers were determined by the haptenated phage inactivation. Mean titers of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were significantly lower than those of A/J and CBA strains. The titers were under a polygenic control and did not correlate with allotypes in backcross mice. Fine specificity of the anti-ABA-HOP was characterized by inhibiting the haptenated phage inactivation reaction with five chemically related compounds including ABA-HOP (Fig. 1). This antibody was genetically more polymorphic than any other antibody studied. Three distinct idiotypes could be demonstrated and the number is probably greater. The idiotypes of the A/J and C57BL/6 were inherited as allotype-linked dominant Mendelian traits, the former in two and the latter in three different backcrosses. Condominance of the two alleles was shown since approximately equal amounts of the two idiotypes were produced by the population of heterozygous mice. There were many individual heterozygotes, however, in which only one parental idiotype could be detected. In other individuals of the same genotype the other parental idiotype was predominant. In many mice a mixture of the two idiotypes was indicated by doubly sigmoid inhibition curves. The causes for the variation in the expression of the two alleles in genotypically identical mice is discussed.
Engrailed homeoprotein recruits the adenosine A1 receptor to potentiate ephrin A5 function in retinal growth cones

Engrailed 1 and engrailed 2 homeoprotein transcription factors (collectively Engrailed) display graded expression in the chick optic tectum where they participate in retino-tectal patterning. In vitro, extracellular Engrailed guides retinal ganglion cell (RGC) axons and synergises with ephrin A5 to provoke the collapse of temporal growth cones. In vivo disruption of endogenous extracellular Engrailed leads to misrouting of RGC axons. Here we characterise the signalling pathway of extracellular Engrailed. Our results show that Engrailed/ephrin A5 synergy in growth cone collapse involves adenosine A1 receptor activation after Engrailed-dependent ATP synthesis, followed by ATP secretion and hydrolysis to adenosine. This is, to our knowledge, the first evidence for a role of the adenosine A1 receptor in axon guidance. Based on these results, together with higher expression of the adenosine A1 receptor in temporal than nasal growth cones, we propose a computational model that illustrates how the interaction between Engrailed, ephrin A5 and adenosine could increase the precision of the retinal projection map.
Detection of DNA–protein crosslinks (DPCs) by novel direct fluorescence labeling methods: distinct stabilities of aldehyde and radiation-induced DPCs

Proteins are covalently trapped on DNA to form DNA–protein crosslinks (DPCs) when cells are exposed to DNA-damaging agents. DPCs interfere with many aspects of DNA transactions. The current DPC detection methods indirectly measure crosslinked proteins (CLPs) through DNA tethered to proteins. However, a major drawback of such methods is the non-linear relationship between the amounts of DNA and CLPs, which makes quantitative data interpretation difficult. Here we developed novel methods of DPC detection based on direct CLP measurement, whereby CLPs in DNA isolated from cells are labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and quantified by fluorometry or western blotting using anti-FITC antibodies. Both formats successfully monitored the induction and elimination of DPCs in cultured cells exposed to aldehydes and mouse tumors exposed to ionizing radiation (carbon-ion beams). The fluorometric and western blotting formats require 30 and 0.3 μg of DNA, respectively. Analyses of the isolated genomic DPCs revealed that both aldehydes and ionizing radiation produce two types of DPC with distinct stabilities. The stable components of aldehyde-induced DPCs have half-lives of up to days. Interestingly, that of radiation-induced DPCs has an infinite half-life, suggesting that the stable DPC component exerts a profound effect on DNA transactions over many cell cycles.
Problem Solving and Planning

Distributed problem solving is the name applied to a subfield of distributed AI in which the emphasis is on getting agents to work together well to solve problems that require collective effort. Due to an inherent distribution of resources such as knowledge, capability, information, and expertise among the agents, an agent in a distributed problem-solving system is unable to accomplish its own tasks alone, or at least can accomplish its tasks better (more quickly, completely, precisely, or certainly) when working with others.
Memantine for axial signs in Parkinson's disease: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study

Background Given that memantine is thought to decrease N-methyl-D-aspartic-acid-related (NMDA) glutamatergic hyperactivity and improve locomotion in rats, we sought to assess the drug's impact on axial symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods We performed a 90-day, randomised, double-blind, study with two parallel arms: 20 mg/day memantine versus placebo (ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT01108029). The main inclusion criterion was the presence of a severe gait disorder and an abnormal, forward-leaning stance. The following parameters were analysed under standardised conditions before and after acute administration of L-dopa: gait (stride length as primary criterion), the United-Parkinson's-Disease-Rating-Scale (UPDRS) motor score and its axial subscore, the hypertonia and strength of the axial extensors and flexors (isokinetic dynamometer), the Dyskinesia Rating Scale score (DRS) and its axial subscore. Results Twenty-five patients were included. The memantine and placebo group did not differ significantly in terms of stride length. However, in the memantine group, we observed significantly better results (vs placebo) for the overall UPDRS score (F(1,21)=4.9; p=0.039(−1)) and its axial subscore (F(1,21)=7.2; p=0.014(−1.1)), axial hypertonia, the axial and overall DRS and axial strength. Conclusions Memantine treatment was associated with lower axial motor symptom and dyskinesia scores but did not improve gait. These benefits must be confirmed in a broader population of patients.
ROBUST ITERATIVE PRUNED-TREE DETECTION AND LDPCC DECODING

A novel sub-optimal low-complexity equalization and turbo-iterative decoding scheme based on running the sum-product algorithm on an aggressively pruned tree is proposed in this paper for use in a multiple transmit and receive antenna (MIMO) system operating over severe frequency-selective fading inter-symbol interference (ISI) channels. The receiver deals with the issue of signal processing complexity which with a full-search equalization grows with power-law, M Nt L , where M is the M-ary channel symbol, and N t is the the number of transmit antennas, and L is the number of delay channel-taps. The sum-product algorithm is applied to the pruned tree which is constructed by two main operations, a sphere list detection and a threshold-based tree search algorithms. At a particular node of the tree, only a number of most probable branches in the tree of hypothetical symbols are expanded and included in the list of candidates; at a particular tree-section, all but some of most probable candidates are pruned. This pruned tree takes the soft input and generates the soft output, and is utilized in the turbo-iterative manner with the decoder of the low-density parity check iii code. We obtained the approximated error probability using the pair-wise error calculation averaged over the fading ensemble, and use it to bound our simulation results. Our current simulation results are obtained for MIMO systems up to four transmit and four receive antennas, using 4-QAM symbols. They indicate the proposed receiver performs extremely well. The proposed transceiver system is ideal for a system of higher spectral efficiency with even larger signal constellations. Adopting Hassbi-Vikalo's framework, we provide a method which enables a quick evaluation of the signal processing complexity required in the proposed algorithm at a given set of system
Whole-Body Balancing Walk Controller for Position Controlled Humanoid Robots

Bipedal humanoid robots are intrinsically unstable against unforeseen perturbations. Conventional zero moment point (ZMP)-based locomotion algorithms can reject perturbations by incorporating sensory feedback, but they are less effective than the dynamic full body behaviors humans exhibit when pushed. Recently, a number of biomechanically motivated push recovery behaviors have been proposed that can handle larger perturbations. However, these methods are based upon simplified and transparent dynamics of the robot, which makes it suboptimal to implement on common humanoid robots with local position-based controllers. To address this issue, we propose a hierarchical control architecture. Three low-level push recovery controllers are implemented for position controlled humanoid robots that replicate human recovery behaviors. These low-level controllers are integrated with a ZMP-based walk controller that is capable of generating reactive step motions. The high-level controller constructs empirical decision boundaries to choose the appropriate behavior based upon trajectory information gathered during experimental trials. Our approach is evaluated in physically realistic simulations and on a commercially available small humanoid robot.
Operational variable job scheduling with eligibility constraints: A randomized constraint‐graph‐based approach

Abstract In this study, we consider the problem of Operational Variable Job Scheduling, also referred to as parallel machine scheduling with time windows. The problem is a more general version of the Fixed Job Scheduling problem, involving a time window for each job larger than its processing time. The objective is to find the optimal subset of the jobs that can be processed. An interesting application area lies in Optimal Berth Allocation, which involves the assignment of vessels arriving at the port to appropriate berths within their time windows, while maximizing the total profit from the served vessels. Eligibility constraints are also taken into consideration. We develop an integer programming model for the problem. We show that the problem is NP‐hard, and develop a constraint‐graph‐based construction algorithm for generating near‐optimal solutions. We use genetic algorithm and other improvement algorithms to enhance the solution. Computational experimentation reveals that our algorithm generates ver.
Pedagogical Beliefs of Teachers in Tanzania: Experience of Pre-service and In-service Teachers of University Students

This study investigated the pedagogical beliefs of pre-service and in-service teachers working toward a degree in education at a university in Tanzania. A total of 702 pre-service and in-service teachers from year one and three participated in the study. The Teaching and Learning Conception Questionnaire [1]; [2] was used to measure student-teachers’ pedagogical beliefs. Factor analysis of data from the Teaching and Learning Conception Questionnaire resulted in a two-factor solution very similar to that found by other researchers [1]; [3], with the factors representing a traditional conception and a constructivist conception. Student-teachers had a mean of 4.24 on the constructive conception whereas a mean of 3.20 on traditional conception, on a five-point scale where 1 = ‘strongly disagree’ and 5 = ‘strongly agree. ’ MANOVA found significant main effects of year of study, F(1, 606) = 22.11, p = . 001, ƞ2= . 04, and Teacher type, F(1, 606) = 8.67, p = . 001, ƞ 2 = . 01, for the traditional conception. Third year students were closer to neutral in their beliefs about the traditional conception than first year students, and in-service teachers closer to neutral than pre-service teachers. For the constructivist conception, there was a significant interaction of teacher type and year of study for constructivist conception, F (1, 606) = 10.68, p = . 001, ƞ 2 = . 02. In year one, in-service teachers held more strongly to the constructivist conception than pre-service teachers, but in year three, there was no difference between these groups.
Long-term RXTE monitoring of the anomalous X-ray pulsar 1E 1048.15937

We report on long-term monitoring of the anomalous X-ray pulsar IE 1048.1-5937 using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer. This pulsar's timing behavior is different from that of other AXPs. In particular, the pulsar shows significant deviations from simple spin-down such that phase-coherent timing has not been possible over time spans longer than a few months. We show that in spite of the rotational irregularities, the pulsar exhibits neither pulse profile changes nor large pulsed flux variations. We discuss the implications of our results for AXP models. We suggest that IE 1048.1-5937 may be a transition object between the soft gamma-ray repeater and AXP populations, and the AXP most likely to one day undergo an outburst.
The Ascending Auction Paradox

We examine uniform-price, multiple-unit auctions that are dynamic rather than sealedbid, auctions where the price ascends, giving bidders the chance to observe and respond to the bidding. In this dynamic setting, subgame perfection can be exploited to refine the set of equilibria. Restricting attention to ascending auctions where two bidders with complete and perfect information alternate placing bids until the market clears, we show that in the unique equilibrium each bidder reduces her quantity to the market-clearing level at her first opportunity, when the price has not yet risen. For much the same reason that Rubinstein bargainers choose to trade immediately even though they could alternate making offers indefinitely, a bidder in an ascending auction calculates where the auction would go, and then uses backward induction to find an offer that is acceptable to her rival at the start of the auction.
Lightpath Scheduling and Routing for Traffic Adaptation in WDM Networks

We study the benefits and trade-offs of using scheduled lightpaths for traffic adaptation. We propose a network planning model that allows lightpaths to slide within their desired timing windows with no penalty on the optimization objective and to slide beyond their desired timing windows with a decreasing tolerance level. Our model quantitatively measures the timing satisfactions or violations. We apply the Lagrangian relaxation and subgradient methods to the formulated optimization problem, with which great computational efficiency is demonstrated when compared with other existing algorithms. Our simulation results show how timing flexibility improves network resource utilization and reduces rejections.
ICL00 at SemEval-2016 Task 3: Translation-Based Method for CQA System

We participate in the English subtask B and C at SemEval-2016 Task 3 “Community Question Answering”. This paper is concerned with the description of our participating system. We propose a ranking model that combines a translation model with the cosine similarity-based method. Compared to the traditional bag of words method, the proposed model is more effective because the relationships between words can be explicitly modeled through wordto-word translation probabilities. Experiments conducted on the official test data demonstrate that our proposed ranking method obtains promising results.
The effect of properties of sediment type on the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and radiance

Abstract A laboratory experiment was designed to determine the spectral characteristics of different types of sediment suspended in water in the visible and near infrared wavelengths (0.45–0.9 μm) using a four-channel radiometer. Field collected sediments were resuspended in water to produce different concentration levels for the measurement of radiance. Spectral measurements of turbid water showed a distinctive difference in the behaviour of radiance with change in the inorganic suspended sediment concentration and type. It was noted that the correlation between the suspended sediment concentration and the radiance varied with the mineral composition of the sediment. The clay minerals of low specific gravity had larger values of radiance than those from high specific gravity nonclay minerals. Based on the results obtained, it appears that an algorithm to estimate suspended sediment concentration can be developed from radiance.
Concentrated Poverty vs. Concentrated Affluence: Effects on Neighborhood Social Environments and Children’s Outcomes

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Alkhurma Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Virus: Proposed Guidelines for Detection, Prevention, and Control in Saudi Arabia

Alkhurma viral hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) is a tick-borne flavivirus described in Saudi Arabia and recently implicated in outbreaks of febrile illness associated with hemorrhagic and neurological manifestations. To facilitate an evidence-based approach to the public health challenges posed by this emerging pathogen, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) convened a technical consultation of experts in the field of arboviral diseases on January 31, 2010, in Riyadh. The ensuing recommendations provide guidelines that should advance the clinical recognition, management, and prevention of AHFV infection. Areas requiring further research are also identified.
Perineuronal Oligodendrocytes Protect against Neuronal Apoptosis through the Production of Lipocalin-Type Prostaglandin D Synthase in a Genetic Demyelinating Model

The genetic demyelinating mouse “twitcher” is a model of the human globoid cell leukodystrophy, caused by galactosylceramidase (GALC) deficiency. Demyelination in the twitcher brain is secondary to apoptotic death of oligodendrocytes (OLs). Lipocalin-type prostaglandin (PG) D synthase (L-PGDS), a protein expressed in mature OLs, was progressively upregulated in twitcher OLs; whereas expression of OL-associated proteins such as carbonic anhydrase II, myelin basic protein, and myelin-associated glycoprotein was downregulated during demyelination in twitcher brains. The upregulation of L-PGDS was more remarkable in perineuronal OLs than in interfascicular OLs. A larger number of L-PGDS-positive OLs was found in selected fiber tracts of twitcher brains where fewer apoptotic cells were detected. The distribution of L-PGDS-positive OLs was inversely related to the severity of demyelination, as assessed by accumulation of scavenger macrophages. Mice doubly deficient for L-PGDS and GALC disclosed a large number of apoptotic neurons, which were never seen in twitcher brains, in addition to an increased number of apoptotic OLs. A linear positive correlation was observed between the population of L-PGDS-positive OLs in the twitcher brain and the ratio of apoptotic nuclei in the double mutant versus those in the twitcher, suggesting a dose-dependent effect of L-PGDS against apoptosis. These lines of evidence suggest that L-PGDS is an anti-apoptotic molecule protecting neurons and OLs from apoptosis in the twitcher mouse. This is a novel example of OL–neuronal interaction.