Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased expression of ER stress- and hypoxia-associated molecules in grey matter lesions in multiple sclerosis

Background: The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway may play a role in the pathogenesis multiple sclerosis (MS), and while ER stress-associated molecules have been demonstrated in white matter (WM) lesions, these have not been analysed in grey matter (GM) demyelination. Objective: The objective was to characterise the type and frequency of GM lesions and establish expression profiles of ER stress- and hypoxia-associated markers. Methods: Sections from 16 MS cases and 12 non-MS controls were stained for ER stress molecules (BiP and CHOP) and hypoxia-associated D110 antigen. Results: Of the GM lesions analysed, 24% were type 1 (continuous between GM and WM), 22% were type 2 (entirely within GM) and the majority (54%) were type 3 (extending from pia mater). Comparison of GM lesions, MS normal-appearing grey matter (NAGM) and non-MS control tissue showed that NAGM, type 1 and type 3 lesions all had significantly increased levels of CHOP compared to controls. According to morphological and dual-labelling criteria, the majority of CHOP-positive cells were microglia. Approximately 50% of GM lesions contained D110-positive cells. Conclusion: These data suggest that ER stress plays an important role in GM lesion development and may be critical in activation of microglia in pre-lesional NAGM. The high number of lesions containing D110-positive cells suggests a role for hypoxic-like insult in GM lesion development.
Increased CYP2J3 Expression Reduces Insulin Resistance in Fructose-Treated Rats and db/db Mice

OBJECTIVE Accumulating evidence suggests that cytochrome P450 (CYP) epoxygenases metabolize arachidonic acid into epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which play crucial and diverse roles in cardiovascular homeostasis. The anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, and pro-proliferative effects of EETs suggest a possible beneficial role for EETs on insulin resistance and diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This study investigated the effects of CYP2J3 epoxygenase gene therapy on insulin resistance and blood pressure in diabetic db/db mice and in a model of fructose-induced hypertension and insulin resistance in rats. RESULTS CYP2J3 gene delivery in vivo increased EET generation, reduced blood pressure, and reversed insulin resistance as determined by plasma glucose levels, homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index, and glucose tolerance test. Furthermore, CYP2J3 treatment prevented fructose-induced decreases in insulin receptor signaling and phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinases (AMPKs) in liver, muscle, heart, kidney, and aorta. Thus, overexpression of CYP2J3 protected against diabetes and insulin resistance in peripheral tissues through activation of insulin receptor and AMPK pathways. CONCLUSIONS These results highlight the beneficial roles of the CYP epoxygenase-EET system in diabetes and insulin resistance.
Associations Between Personality and Physical Aggression in Chinese and U.S. Adolescents

Youth aggression is a serious global issue, but research identifying personality traits associated with aggression has focused on adults. Little is known about whether similar associations exist during adolescence; even less is known about these associations across cultures. This study examined links between personality and physical aggression in U.S. and Chinese adolescents, and tested whether temper mediates these associations. U.S. (N = 250) and Chinese (N = 199) young adolescents ( X ¯ age = 13.43 years) completed self-reports describing personality, temper, and aggression. Path analyses demonstrated that temper significantly mediated associations from agreeableness and neuroticism to aggression in both samples. The mediating effect of temper was marginally stronger in the Chinese sample than in the U.S. sample, suggesting temper plays a more important role in youth aggression in China than in the United States. Findings highlight the universal role of affect in aggression and demonstrate the importance of cultural context in understanding links between personality and youth aggression.
Removal of dust artifacts in focal stack image sequences

We propose a technique for removing the appearance of sensor dust in a focal stack image sequence captured with multiple focus settings. Our method is based on the key observation that sensor dust artifacts shift in image position with respect to focus setting, which allows scene information occluded by dust in one image to be inferred from other images in the focal stack. To deal with complications arising from differences in local defocus blur among the images, we analyze the relative blur among corresponding image regions in detecting and removing dust artifacts. Our results show improvements over the state-of-art technique for automatic removal of sensor dust.
Asymmetric dependence modeling and implications for international diversification and risk management

Summary We address in this dissertation the issue of asymmetric and nonlinear dependence modelingwith its implications for international portfolio choice and risk management. We speak of asymmet-ric dependence when downside market returns are more dependent than upside market returns, awell established stylized fact. In the ﬁrst chapter, we propose a new multivariate model to capturethis fact and establish the link between this asymmetric dependence and coskewness to demonstratehow it can explain the lack of international diversiﬁcation, while chapter 2 shows that by ignor-ing this asymmetry, one underestimates the risk measured with Value at Risk (VaR) or ExpectedShortfall (ES). Chapter 3 restores the credibility of VaR as a coherent risk measure in a practicalcontext.In the ﬁrst chapter, we examine the problems associated with modeling the stylized fact thatasset returns are more dependent in bear markets than in bull markets, called asymmetric depen-dence. First, we analytically show that a multivariate GARCH or regime switching model withGaussian innovations cannot reproduce extreme dependence. We propose an alternative modelwhich allows tail dependence for lower returns and keeps tail independence for upper returns.This model is applied to international equity and bond markets to investigate their dependencestructure. It includes one normal regime in which dependence is symmetric and a second regimecharacterized by asymmetric dependence. Empirical results suggest that the dependence betweeninternational markets in the same class of assets is large in both regimes, while equity and bondmarkets exhibit little dependence, even in the same country. Exchange rate volatility appears tobe related to asymmetric extreme dependence. We also use this model to analyze the lack of in-ternational portfolio diversiﬁcation known as the home bias puzzle. The previous explanations forthis phenomenon are relied on the ﬁrst two moments: transaction costs aﬀect the expected return,whileexchangerateriskandcorrelation between international assets aﬀect the volatility. Ang andBekaert (2002) with a regime changing correlation investigate the eﬀect of asymmetric correlationon international diversiﬁcation and conclude that the costs of ignoring regimes are small. We pro-pose an explanation based on the third moment and using a stochastic dominance argument, weprove its link with dependence asymmetry. Using the same framework, we show that asymmetric
Diagnosis of Interturn Faults in PMSMs Operating Under Nonstationary Conditions by Applying Order Tracking Filtering

Interturn faults in permanent magnet synchronous machines may have very harmful effects if not early identified. This study deals with the detection of such faults when the machine operates under varying speed conditions. The performance of two methods is analyzed and compared, i.e., the analysis of the third harmonic of the stator currents and the first one of the zero-sequence voltage components. The Vold-Kalman filtering order tracking algorithm is introduced and applied to track the harmonics of interest when the machine operates under a wide speed range and different load levels. This study also presents two reliable fault indicators especially focused to detect stator winding interturn faults under nonstationary speed conditions. Experimental results endorse the methodology proposed, showing its potential to carry out a reliable fault diagnosis scheme.
Transforming linear algebra libraries: From abstraction to parallelism

We have built a body of evidence which shows that, given a mathematical specification of a dense linear algebra operation to be implemented, it is possible to mechanically derive families of algorithms and subsequently to mechanically translate these algorithms into high-performing code. In this paper, we add to this evidence by showing that the algorithms can be statically analyzed and translated into directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) of coarse-grained operations that are to be performed. DAGs naturally express parallelism, which we illustrate by representing the DAGs with the G graphical programming language used by LabVIEW. The LabVIEW compiler and runtime execution system then exploit parallelism from the resulting code. Respectable speedup on a sixteen core architecture is reported.
Current Status of the Epidemiology of Brain Infarction Associated with Occlusive Arterial Disease

Although large gaps in our knowledge concerning the epidemiology of cerebrovascular disease are apparent, careful inspection of all existing data now makes it possible to see certain patterns emerging which suggest certain risk factors for stroke. While the problem of differential diagnosis of the various categories of cerebrovascular disease presents a major obstacle to obtaining an undistorted picture of the epidemiological features of stroke from death certificate mortality data, the addition of evidence from prospective studies, including those in Framingham, Massachusetts, reveals that various types of arterial occlusion with cerebral infarction are by far the most prevalent type of stroke. Any specific origin of atherosclerosis remains obscure, as possible etiological candidates including dietary alterations in salt, fat and refined carbohydrate, sedentary living, excessive calories promoting obesity, the cigarette habit and even the mineral content of water in addition to marital status have all been incriminated. However uncertain the final answer is, certain precursors for atherosclerosis, such as hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia, are important. Of these, hypertension is clearly the most important contributor to stroke incidence. Certain combinations of items carry more risk than do the same items singly. For example, the risk of a brain infarction in diabetics with hypertension is probably about six times that of normal subjects. In persons under 50 at the time of measurement risk of cerebral infarction is possibly ten times higher in those with hypertension and elevated lipids than in those without either elevated. This compounding of risk has pathogenetic, preventive and public health implications. For purposes of stroke screening alone the most efficient and practical method would be to determine casual blood pressure, although it must be stated that as yet there is uncertainty concerning the change in the risk if such blood pressure is treated.
Podcasting: An Internet-Based Social Technology for Blended Learning

Podcasting has the potential to enhance learning by giving students mobile access to course materials anytime, anywhere. In particular, integrating podcasting, electronic learning (e-learning), and traditional face-to-face teaching into a blended learning (b-learning) environment can help create a push-pull educational exchange that increases student learning satisfaction. The authors' empirical study reveals that students generally feel a higher level of social presence and achieve better academic results if they're involved in the development of course podcasts. This research opens the door to the application of emerging Internet technologies to improve student learning.
Querying structured Web resources

INTRODUCTION To provide query facilities over Web resources, several web search engines such as Yahoo, Altavista, Infoseek, etc. have been developed. Most prominently, web search engines have been used to index all web pages on the Internet. The queries supported by these search engines are mainly designed to reveal web pages that meet the search criteria specified by the users. In this way, the search engines have been used as some kind of discovery tools. The queries supported are known as discovery queries. On the other hand, a web search engine can also be used to index and support queries over a specific web collection on the Internet or Intranet. Such a web collection is usually well known to the users who query it, and is properly maintained by some organization or individual(s). Queries on such kind of web collections are known as retrieval queries.
Designing ubiquitous computing to enhance children's learning in museums

Abstract In recent years, novel paradigms of computing have emerged, which enable computational power to be embedded in artefacts and in environments in novel ways. These developments may create new possibilities for using computing to enhance learning. This paper presents the results of a design process that set out to explore interactive techniques, which utilized ubiquitous computer technology, to stimulate active participation, involvement and learning by children visiting a museum. Key stakeholders, such as museum curators and docents, were involved throughout the process of creating the exhibition, Re-Tracing the Past, in the Hunt Museum, Limerick, Ireland. The paper describes aspects of the evaluation of the exhibition, which involved 326 schoolchildren (ages 9–12-year-old), and which exemplifies important features of the design and use of the novel technology in the museum. The paper concludes by articulating a series of design guidelines for developing ubiquitous computing to enhance children's learning in museums. These guidelines relate 12 experiential criteria to five supporting design informants and resources. The guidelines encompass important dimensions of children's educational experience in museums, including collaboration, engagement, active interpretation, and materiality. While developed in a museum context, these guidelines could be applied to the development of novel computing to enhance children's learning in other educational environments, both formal and informal.
Comparison of Functional Size Based Estimation and Story Points, Based on Effort Estimation Effectiveness in SCRUM Projects

In this study, we compared the effectiveness of two approaches to effort estimation for organizations utilizing SCRUM. We compared SCRUM's native effort estimation method Story Points and poker planning, with effort estimation models based on COSMIC Function Points (CFP) for a selection of projects. We utilized different regression models and ANN methodology to develop estimation model from the backlog stories. Results indicated that, estimation model built with COSMIC measurement results prove to be a better method for effort estimation than SCRUM's story points.
On Using Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation for Learning to Rank, and the Empirical Optimality of LambdaRank

One shortfall of existing machine learning (ML) methods when applied to information retrieval (IR) is the inability to directly optimize for typical IR performance measures. This is in part due to the discrete nature, and thus non-differentiability, of these measures. When cast as an optimization problem, many methods require computing the gradient. In this paper, we explore conditions where the gradient might be numerically estimated. We use Simultaneous Perturbation Stochastic Approximation as our gradient approximation method. We also examine the empirical optimality of LambdaRank, which has performed very well in practice.
Outpatient holmium laser treatment for recurrent low-grade superficial bladder cancer under local anesthesia.

BACKGROUND The aim of this paper is to analyze the results of a prospective study conducted on a cohort of patients undergoing outpatient holmium laser fulguration. The "gold standard" treatment of superficial bladder cancer is transurethral resection, although in recent years improvements in laser technology and endoscopy equipment have allowed further therapeutic alternatives. METHODS This is a descriptive study of a cohort of 37 patients with low-risk recurrent superficial bladder cancer undergoing holmium laser fulguration after bladder instillation of local anesthesia. The study included patients with a history of low-risk primary superficial bladder cancer with papillary tumor recurrence, tumor size ≤10 mm, fewer than 5 tumors, absence of carcinoma in situ, negative cytology, no coagulation disorders and no local anesthesia allergies. Demographic variables, previous history of transurethral resection, safety and oncological results after fulguration were analyzed using the SPSS software. Statistical analyses include calculating mean and frequency, and Kaplan-Meier curve for recurrence. RESULTS Mean age of the patients was 69.2 years with 86.5% being male. The number of tumors was 1.5±0.8 and the overall average size of 5.5±2.7 mm. The mean duration of the endoscopic procedure was 12±4.3 minutes. Hundred percent of patients had scores on the Visual Analogue Scale ≤3. There was only one case of hematuria, who required hospitalization. After a median follow-up period of 13 months, there was a 35.1% recurrence rate with one case of tumor progression. CONCLUSIONS Holmium laser treatment of recurrent low-risk superficial bladder tumor is a safe and effective alternative, but long-term clinical trials are necessary to increase the current scientific evidence base.
Direct Power Control of a Dual Converter Operating as a Synchronous Rectifier

This paper presents a dual converter employed as a rectifier with power factor regulation and bidirectional power flow. The active and reactive powers flowing into the converter is controlled using an optimized direct-power-control algorithm. The multilevel structure of the converter is exploited to control the voltage level in each subconverter by selecting the modulation method from one commonly found in the literature, with the option of clamping one of the subconverters. These modulation methods are used to control the power taken by each subconverter, providing limited dc-link voltage regulation. The system is first simulated in SIMULINK, and the results are experimentally validated using a digital-signal-processor-based test rig.
Application of new alteration attack on biometric authentication systems

Biometrics-based authentication systems are presented as an alternative solution to the traditional authentication techniques, these systems have more security advantages compared to a password as biometric data cannot be forgotten or wasted. However, the protection of biometric systems against different types of attacks is not yet guaranteed. While many studies are proposed in order to increase the security of biometric systems, several attacks are developed in order to exploit the weaknesses of these systems. In this paper, we present a new alteration attack on biometric authentication systems. We suppose that the impostor has altered image of the real user and he presents it as request in order to gain unlawful access to the system. Altered image can be recuperated from a fingerprint trace in case of fingerprint based systems or user photograph for attacking face based authentication systems. Next, we study the impact of alteration level on the matching score for fingerprint and face based biometric systems. Our analysis shows that both systems are vulnerable to the proposed attack and the alteration level has serious impact on the security of biometric systems. The impostor can have a matching score greater than 90% for the tested fingerprint based biometric system and 190/194 associations are matched for the tested face based biometric authentication system.
Characteristics of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2 associated 67-kDa polypeptide.

A eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF-2) associated 67-kDa polypeptide (p67) protects the eIF-2 alpha-subunit from eIF-2 kinase(s) catalyzed phosphorylation, and this promotes protein synthesis in the presence of active eIF-2 kinase(s), [Datta, B. , et al. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 3324-3328]. This report presents the results of studies related to characteristics of p67 action and the mechanism of p67:eIF-2 interaction: (1) p67 antibodies inhibited protein synthesis in hemin-supplemented rabbit reticulocyte lysates, and such inhibition was reversed by preincubation of the antibodies, specifically with p67. (2) p67 inhibited HRI- and dsI-catalyzed phosphorylations of the eIF-2 alpha-subunit and histones, but it did not inhibit casein kinase catalyzed phosphorylation of the eIF-2 beta-subunit. (3) p67 bound specifically to the eIF-2 gamma-subunit. p67 co-immunoprecipitated with the eIF-2 subunits when a p67/eIF-2 mixture was treated with p67 or eIF-2 subunit antibodies and protein A agarose. However, when eIF-2 was preincubated specifically with the eIF-2 gamma-subunit antibodies, subsequent co-immunoprecipitation of p67 with the eIF-2 subunits was completely inhibited. Similarly, preincubation of p67 and p67 antibodies prevented subsequent p67 binding to eIF-2. Preincubation of eIF-2, with either eIF-2 alpha- or beta-subunit antibodies, had no effect on p67 co-immunoprecipitation with the eIF-2 subunits. (4) p67:eIF-2 interaction is necessary for p67 activity to protect the eIF-2 alpha-subunit from eIF-2 kinase(s) catalyzed phosphorylation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Plead or Pitch ? Predicting the Performance of Kickstarter Projects

In this CS229 project, using 26K project proposals from crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, we evaluate the performance of different models (logistic regression, SVMs among others) on predicting whether a project will meet its funding goal or not, with a particular focus on features derived from the language used in project pitches. We then contrast the performance of our best model when using data from the projects’ launch day against the last day of the funding period.
Genetics of congenital hypothyroidism

Congenital hypothyroidism is the most common neonatal metabolic disorder and results in severe neurodevelopmental impairment and infertility if untreated. Congenital hypothyroidism is usually sporadic but up to 2% of thyroid dysgenesis is familial, and congenital hypothyroidism caused by organification defects is often recessively inherited. The candidate genes associated with this genetically heterogeneous disorder form two main groups: those causing thyroid gland dysgenesis and those causing dyshormonogenesis. Genes associated with thyroid gland dysgenesis include the TSH receptor in non-syndromic congenital hypothyroidism, and Gsα and the thyroid transcription factors (TTF-1, TTF-2, and Pax-8), associated with different complex syndromes that include congenital hypothyroidism. Among those causing dyshormonogenesis, the thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin genes were initially described, and more recently PDS (Pendred syndrome), NIS (sodium iodide symporter), and THOX2 (thyroid oxidase 2) gene defects. There is also early evidence for a third group of congenital hypothyroid conditions associated with iodothyronine transporter defects associated with severe neurological sequelae. This review focuses on the genetic aspects of primary congenital hypothyroidism.