Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lysosomal storage and impaired autophagy lead to inflammasome activation in Gaucher macrophages

Gaucher disease, the inherited deficiency of lysosomal glucocerebrosidase, is characterized by the presence of glucosylcer‐amide macrophages, the accumulation of glucosylceramide in lysosomes and the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. However, the connection between this lysosomal storage and inflammation is not clear. Studying macrophages derived from peripheral monocytes from patients with type 1 Gaucher disease with genotype N370S/N370S, we confirmed an increased secretion of interleukins IL‐1β and IL‐6. In addition, we found that activation of the inflammasome, a multiprotein complex that activates caspase‐1, led to the maturation of IL‐1β in Gaucher macrophages. We show that inflammasome activation in these cells is the result of impaired autophagy. Treatment with the small‐molecule glucocerebrosidase chaperone NCGC758 reversed these defects, inducing autophagy and reducing IL‐1β secretion, confirming the role of the deficiency of lysosomal glucocerebrosidase in these processes. We found that in Gaucher macrophages elevated levels of the autophagic adaptor p62 prevented the delivery of inflammasomes to autophagosomes. This increase in p62 led to activation of p65‐NF‐kB in the nucleus, promoting the expression of inflammatory cytokines and the secretion of IL‐1β. This newly elucidated mechanism ties lysosomal dysfunction to inflammasome activation, and may contribute to the massive organomegaly, bone involvement and increased susceptibility to certain malignancies seen in Gaucher disease. Moreover, this link between lysosomal storage, impaired autophagy, and inflammation may have implications relevant to both Parkinson disease and the aging process. Defects in these basic cellular processes may also provide new therapeutic targets.
Relationships among walking speed, selected clinical symptoms, and exercise self-efficacy in individuals with knee osteoarthritis

Purpose. Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterised by a combination of joint symptoms and signs stemming from defects in the articular cartilage and adjacent tissues, such as bone, synovial joint capsule, muscles, and ligaments. Knee OA is among the most common causes of pain and disability in middle-aged and older people. this study investigated the relation ships among selected clinical symptoms (pain, stiffness, physical function), walking speed, and exercise self-efficacy in individuals with knee OA in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods. the study involved 100 individuals diagnosed with knee OA. Exercise self-efficacy was assessed with the exercise self-efficacy scale. Pain, stiffness, and physical function were evaluated with the Western Ontario and McMaster (WOMAC) Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire. Walking speed was determined during the 20-meter walk test. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation test, with significance level set at 0.05. Results. significant correlations were observed between pain intensity and walking speed ( = –0.38), stiffness and walking speed ( = –0.19), physical function and walking speed ( = –0.40), pain intensity and exercise self-efficacy ( = –0.43), stiffness and exercise self-efficacy ( = –0.46), physical function and exercise self-efficacy ( = –0.41). More than 50% of the participants with knee OA had low exercise self-efficacy and moderate walking speed. Individuals with higher levels of pain, stiffness, and functional limitations showed lower levels of exercise self-efficacy and lower walking speed. Conclusions. Individuals with knee OA presented low exercise self-efficacy, low walking speed, and reduced physical function, probably because of the debilitating effects of the condition.
Towards OpenMP for Java

This paper describes JOMP, a definition and implementation of a set of directives and library methods for shared memory parallel programming in Java. A specification of the OpenMP-like directives and methods is proposed. A prototype implementation, consisting of a compiler and a runtime library (both written entirely in Java) is presented, which implements almost all of the proposed specification. Some preliminary performance results are also presented.
12R-lipoxygenase deficiency disrupts epidermal barrier function

12R-lipoxygenase (12R-LOX) and the epidermal LOX-3 (eLOX-3) constitute a novel LOX pathway involved in terminal differentiation in skin. This view is supported by recent studies showing that inactivating mutations in 12R-LOX and eLOX-3 are linked to the development of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis. We show that 12R-LOX deficiency in mice results in a severe impairment of skin barrier function. Loss of barrier function occurs without alterations in proliferation and stratified organization of the keratinocytes, but is associated with ultrastructural anomalies in the upper granular layer, suggesting perturbance of the assembly/extrusion of lamellar bodies. Cornified envelopes from skin of 12R-LOX–deficient mice show increased fragility. Lipid analysis demonstrates a disordered composition of ceramides, in particular a decrease of ester-bound ceramide species. Moreover, processing of profilaggrin to monomeric filaggrin is impaired. This study indicates that the 12R-LOX–eLOX-3 pathway plays a key role in the process of epidermal barrier acquisition by affecting lipid metabolism, as well as protein processing.
Distance learning for teaching in physical education

Aims: The objective of this article is to show, by analyzing the curricula of the professional formation in Physical Education, that it is possible the formation of teachers in Distance Learning Physical Education courses since the act of reflecting before, during and after the pedagogical practice characterizes the quality of contemporary educational development. A qualitative research; the present study consists of an analysis of curricula and Professional Training of Distance Learning in Physical Education, subsidized in bibliographic research. As the traditional teaching model prioritizes the selection of the most skilled in the search for the hero athlete, the pedagogical proposal based on reflection is more interesting since not all students will be or wish to be athletes. In this way, distance learning for teaching in physical education seems to be an excellent educational strategy for our postmodern society.
Food Chain: Edible Producer with One Grazer

In this appendix, we provide analytical results to support the description of the food web model (eqq. [1]) presented in the text. This model considers interactions between edible and inedible producers (A E and A I , respectively) and two grazers (G 1 and G 2). Simultaneously, it tracks the nutrient : carbon ratio of the edible producer (Q), nutrient sequestered in edible producers (i.e., the product of Q and A E , denoted as QA E), and available nutrient resources (R) over gradients of nutrient (S) and light (L) supply. For compactness, we write the Monod function for light as and for edible and inedible producers, B p L/(b ϩ L) B p L/(b ϩ L) E E I I respectively. These functions B E and B I increase with light supply, from 0 to an asymptote of 1. They can be thought of as the degree to which producers are limited by light (Hall 2004). Some of these results, particularly those concerning the food chain and grazer coexistence, have been presented in detail elsewhere for a similar model (Hall 2004). Thus, they are presented summarily here. Two tables accompany this appendix. Table A1 summarizes the variables, parameters, and synthetic quantities, while table A2 describes qualitative response of the food web components to increases in nutrient and light supply in the original model (eqq. [1]). A food chain consisting of the edible producer and a single grazer can arise if there is sufficient nutrient sequestered in edible producers to support the grazer. The edible producer (A E) alone can invade and persist in a system when nutrient (S) and light (L) supply both exceed the A E 's minimal resource requirements (denoted ,
Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments from the Yanghe River, China

The magnitude and ecological relevance of metal pollution from the upstream of water sources after emergency pollution events was investigated by applying a set of complementary sediment quality assessment methods: (1) geochemical assessment based on background value (the geoaccumulation index); (2) comparisons with sediment quality guidelines (SQGs); (3) an evaluation of the combined pollution according to the risk index (RI); and (4) investigation of the chemical patterns of target heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cr, Pb, Ni). The geoaccumulation indices (Igeo) suggested that the magnitude of heavy metal pollution of the sediment of Yanghe River decreased in the order of Cd > Zn > Pb > Cr > Ni. Risk analysis also suggested that Cd and Zn concentrations were sufficiently elevated as to cause adverse biological effects in this study area. According to the RI values, 27% of total sampling sites showed considerable ecological risk for the water body, and 53% of total sampling sites showed very high ecological risk for the waterbody. Sediment-bound Cd was found to be predominantly associated with the exchangeable phase of the sediment (25%–68%), while Cr, Ni, Zn and Pb showed the strongest association with the residual fractions (60%–92%, 53%–67%, 24%–85% and 35%–67%, respectively).
Commentary on "Alternative Strategies for Aggregating Prices in the Consumer Price Index"

The article by Shapiro and Wilcox is a good example of how data limitations can be overcome by hard work and ingenuity. Consumer expenditure data are not available soon enough to construct a real-time price index that compensates correctly for the (acrossstrata) substitution bias. The authors have shown how these untimely data can be used nevertheless to accomplish two important goals: The first is to estimate the extent of the substitution bias in the official consumer price index (CPI), which they put at 0.3 percentage points per year. The second is to construct a chained price index implementable in real time by using the most recently available expenditure data each year. That would eliminate 80 to 90 percent of the estimated bias. The article presents these results with admirable brevity and clarity; I found little to quibble with. I would just like to put the subject into a broader perspective. Since I am primarily a macroeconomist, and since this conference is being hosted by a central bank, my comments will raise questions as to the macroeconomic significance of the results and their relevance for monetary policy.
On the sensitivity of coastal quasigeostrophic edge wave interaction to bottom boundary characteristics: possible implications for eddy parameterizations

The Eady problem of baroclinic instability as applicable to quasigeostrophic oceanic flows with zero internal PV gradients is revisited by introducing a mild slope and Ekman pumping on the lower boundary. The solution behaviour is determined by the isopycnal slope relative to either the bottom slope or the ratio of Ekman depth to horizontal wavenumber. Attention is paid to the physical interpretation of the growing, decaying and stable disturbances, with emphasis on the intimate connection between the quasigeostrophic edge waves and Eady waves, and the role of the isopycnal slope for the stability properties as opposed to the bottom density gradient. The disturbance structure is found to be strongly influenced by the boundary conditions.
KERNEL DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS FOR SPEECH RECOGNITION

Kernel Discriminant Analysis (KDA) has been successfully applied to many pattern recognition problems. KDA transforms the original problem into a space of dimension N whereN is the number of training vectors. For speech recognition,N is usually prohibitively high increasing computational requirements beyond current computational capabilities. In this paper, we provide a formulation of a subspace version of KDA that enables its application to speech recognition, thus conveniently enabling nonlinear feature space transformations that result in discriminatory lower dimensional features.
Improved Threshold Selection by Using Calibrated Probabilities for Random Forest Classifiers

Random Forest is a well-known ensemble learning method that achieves high recognition accuracies while preserving a fast training procedure. To construct a Random Forest classifier, several decision trees are arranged in a forest while a majority voting leads to the final decision. In order to split each node of a decision tree into two children, several possible variables are randomly selected while a splitting criterion is computed for each of them. Using this pool of possible splits, the Random Forest algorithm selects the best variable according to the splitting criterion. Often, this splitting is not reliable leading to a reduced recognition accuracy. In this paper, we propose to introduce an additional condition for selecting the best variable leading to an improvement of the recognition accuracy, especially for a smaller number of trees. We enhance the standard threshold selection by a quality estimation that is computed using a calibration method. The proposed method is evaluated on datasets for machine learning as well as object recognition.
Event Mining in Virtual Markets Market Research , Knowledge Engineering , Information Agents , and Social Role Structures

We present a generic framework for event mining in e-business. The framework supports customer profiling, the measurement of market dynamics, the evaluation of Web-Sites, the composition of market knowledge, the design of software-agents based on the context/subtext paradigm in the performing arts, and the deduction of social role structures for information societies. And it generalises to a wide range of further application scenarios. The framework is based on the deduction of correlations between a priori observables and a posteriori observables of events and it is intended for the identification of statistical patterns in the event streams of virtual markets. Technically, it can be implemented with tracing facilities for request events in distributed computing environments. We first present the framework and formal representation and modelling techniques. Then we discuss applications. And finally we discuss the possible role of the framework as a boundary object for interdisciplinary research
Hyperkähler Structures and Group Actions

A 4n‐dimensional Riemannian manifold (M, g) is hyperkähler if it possesses three anti‐commuting complex structures I, J, K such that the metric g is Kähler with respect to each of them. The reduced holonomy group of such a manifold is necessarily a subgroup of Sp(n) so the Ricci tensor of g vanishes and (M, g) can be regarded as a positive definite solution to Einstein's equations in vacuum.
Image Filtering with a Fourth Order Geometry-Driven Flow

We present a image filtering algorithm via a new fourth order geometry-driven flow. In geometry framework for image processing, a gray image is regarded as a surface in R. Spirited by this idea, we try to construct a new energy functional based on the second fundamental form of a surface. With this motivation, a new fourth order geometry-driven flow for image filtering is obtained. The new model can adjust diffusion speed according to local structure of the image. Numerical experiment results on real image data are given to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
Adenine Nucleotides Undergo Rapid, Quantitative Conversion to Adenosine in the Extracellular Space in Rat Hippocampus

There are multiple mechanisms by which adenine nucleotides can be released into the extracellular space in brain. Adenine nucleotides are converted extracellularly to adenosine, which then acts on adenosine receptors to elicit physiological responses, but the rate at which this conversion takes place is unknown. In the present experiments, adenine nucleotides were applied to individual hippocampal neurons, and the subsequent activation of a postsynaptic K+conductance by adenosine A1 receptors was used to determine the rate of adenosine formation. None of the adenine nucleotides tested (cAMP, AMP, ADP, and ATP) activated A1 receptors directly at the concentrations tested (≤200 μm). AMP, ADP, and ATP were all rapidly converted to adenosine, with aT1/2 for ATP conversion to adenosine of ∼200 msec, and the last step in this pathway (transformation of AMP to adenosine by 5′-nucleotidase) seems to be the rate-limiting step. As we have reported previously, cAMP is converted to adenosine as well, but on a much slower time scale than any of the other nucleotides tested. These experiments demonstrate that fast, localized release of AMP, ADP, or ATP can result in a transient activation of adenosine receptors but that this is unlikely to occur with cAMP. The existence of a highly active ecto-nucleotidase pathway in brain provides a mechanism for the rapid generation of adenosine after the release of adenine nucleotides into the extracellular space.
ON-LINE ADAPTIVE FUZZY DIAGNOSIS SYSTEM : FUSION

This paper gives a description of an adaptive on-line diagnosis system for the detection of slow varying changes in dynamical systems using a fuzzy pattern recognition approach. This contribution is an extention of a previous paper (Boudaoud et al. 1996), we have included in the diagnosis and supervision scheme a fusion module to combine the decisions of the diierent sources i.e. classes.
Gap junction blockage promotes cadmium-induced apoptosis in BRL 3A derived from Buffalo rat liver cells

Gap junctions mediate direct communication between cells; however, toxicological cascade triggered by nonessential metals can abrogate cellular signaling mediated by gap junctions. Although cadmium (Cd) is known to induce apoptosis in organs and tissues, the mechanisms that underlie gap junction activity in Cd-induced apoptosis in BRL 3A rat liver cells has yet to be established. In this study, we showed that Cd treatment decreased the cell index (a measure of cellular electrical impedance) in BRL 3A cells. Mechanistically, we found that Cd exposure decreased expression of connexin 43 (Cx43), increased expression of p-Cx43 and elevated intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, corresponding to a decrease in gap junctional intercellular communication. Gap junction blockage pretreatment with 18β-glycyrrhizic acid (GA) promoted Cd-induced apoptosis, involving changes in expression of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3 and the mitochondrial transmembrane electrical potential (Δψm). Additionally, GA was found to enhance ERK and p38 activation during Cd-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, but had no significant effect on JNK activation. Our results indicated the apoptosis-related proteins and the ERK and p38 signaling pathways may participate in gap junction blockage promoting Cd-induced apoptosis in BRL 3A cells.
James Buchanan and Contractarian Anarchy

This paper traces the normative side of James Buchanan’s individualist-subjectivist-contractarian position. The literature on anarchy and radical self-governance treats Buchanan’s position, and social contract theory more generally, as a rival rather than allied branch of analysis. However, I argue that Buchanan’s normative position, if taken to its logical conclusion, yields conclusions commensurate with anarchy. Buchanan’s theory of individual sovereignty suggests that political action is justified only to the extent that it adheres to a social contract that meets the requirements of conceptual unanimity. It also suggests individuals have the right to secede from communities they feel no longer adhere to the social contract. These beliefs form the foundation of a social contract theory deserving the label "anarchic. "
Sulfate-nitrate-ammonium aerosols over China: response to 2000–2015 emission changes of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and ammonia

Abstract. We use a chemical transport model to examine the change of sulfate-nitrate-ammonium (SNA) aerosols over China due to anthropogenic emission changes of their precursors (SO2, NOx and NH3) from 2000 to 2015. From 2000 to 2006, annual mean SNA concentrations increased by about 60% over China as a result of the 60% and 80% increases in SO2 and NOx emissions. During this period, sulfate is the dominant component of SNA over South China (SC) and Sichuan Basin (SCB), while nitrate and sulfate contribute equally over North China (NC). Based on emission reduction targets in the 12th (2011–2015) Five-Year Plan (FYP), China's total SO2 and NOx emissions are projected to change by −16% and +16% from 2006 to 2015, respectively. The amount of NH3 emissions in 2015 is uncertain, given the lack of sufficient information on the past and present levels of NH3 emissions in China. With no change in NH3 emissions, SNA mass concentrations in 2015 will decrease over SCB and SC compared to their 2006 levels, but increase over NC where the magnitude of nitrate increase exceeds that of sulfate reduction. This suggests that the SO2 emission reduction target set by the 12th FYP, although effective in reducing SNA over SC and SCB, will not be successful over NC, for which NOx emission control needs to be strengthened. If NH3 emissions are allowed to keep their recent growth rate and increase by +16% from 2006 to 2015, the benefit of SO2 reduction will be completely offset over all of China due to the significant increase of nitrate, demonstrating the critical role of NH3 in regulating nitrate. The effective strategy to control SNA and hence PM2.5 pollution over China should thus be based on improving understanding of current NH3 emissions and putting more emphasis on controlling NH3 emissions in the future.
Cajal, Retzius, and Cajal–Retzius cells

The marginal zone (MZ) of the prenatal cerebral cortex plays a crucial role in cellular migration and laminar patterning in the developing neocortex and its equivalent in the adult brain – layer I, participates in cortical circuitry integration within the adult neocortex. The MZ/layer I, which has also been called the plexiform layer and cell-poor zone of Meynert, among others, is home to several cell populations including glia, neurons, and Cajal–Retzius (CR) cells. Cajal once said that the MZ is one of the oldest formations in the phylogenetic series, and that the characteristics of layer I in human are similar in all vertebrates except fish (Ramon y Cajal, 1899). Despite the presence of CR cells in the MZ/layer I of all developing and adult vertebrate brains, and more than one hundred years of research, the phenotype and function of layer I cells have still not been clearly defined. Recent technological advances have yielded significant progress in functional and developmental studies, but much remains to be understood about neurons in MZ/layer I. Since the time of Retzius and Cajal, and continuing with modern era research from the likes of Marín-Padilla, the study of CR cells has been based on their morphological characteristics in Golgi staining. However, since Cajal’s initial description, the term “CR cell” has been applied differently and now is often used to indicate reelin (Reln)-positive cells in MZ/layer I. Here we review the history of work by Cajal, Retzius, and others pertaining to CR cells. We will establish a link between original descriptions of CR cell morphology by Cajal, Retzius, and others, and current understandings of the cell populations that reside in MZ/layer I based on the use of cellular markers. We propose to use the term “CR cell” for the class of neurons that express Reln in the MZ/layer I in both prenatal, developing and adult cerebral cortex.