Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IgM-induced cell-mediated cytotoxicity with antibody and effector cells of human origin.

In vitro lysis of antibody-sensitized target cells by lymphocytes has been demonstrated in a number of systems (1–6). IgG has been implicated as the major antibody class involved in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC)3 with human effector cells (1) and IgM had not been previously reported to be active with one recent exception (3). In contrast, independent investigations in three antigenic systems have demonstrated murine IgM to be active in ADCC with homologous effector cells (4–6). It should be pointed out that Wåhlin et al. (3) reported IgM- and IgG-induced cytotoxicity by using a sensitive plaque assay with rabbit antibody and human effector cells.4 Most investigations with human effector cells have been with heterologous antibodies for sensitization of the target cells. In order to evaluate the ability of human IgM to induce ADCC in an homologous system, we have used human heterophile antibody, which is entirely IgM (7) to sensitize 51Cr-labeled sheep erythrocytes (SRBC).
Preclinical Activity of Simvastatin Induces Cell Cycle Arrest in G1 via Blockade of Cyclin D-Cdk4 Expression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death. Nonetheless, a decrease in overall incidence and mortality has been observed in the last 30 years due to prevention strategies and improvements in the use of chemotherapeutic agents. In recent studies, Simvastatin (SIM) has demonstrated anti-tumor activity, as well as potent chemopreventive action. As an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA), SIM has been shown to stimulate apoptotic cell death. In this study, an MTT assay revealed the cytotoxic activity of SIM against human large cell lung cancer (Non-small cell lung cancer; NSCLC) cells (NCI-H460); however, induced apoptosis was not observed in NCI-H460 cells. Protein expression levels of cell cycle regulating proteins Cdk4, Cyclin D1, p16 and p27 were markedly altered by SIM. Collectively, our results indicate that SIM inhibits cell proliferation and arrests NCI-H460 cell cycle progression via inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases and cyclins and the enhancement of CDK inhibitors p16 and p27. Our findings suggest that, in addition to the known effects on hypercholesterolemia therapy, SIM may also provide antitumor activity in established NSCLC.
Quantum cryptography: a practical information security perspective

Quantum Key Exchange (QKE, also known as Quantum Key Distribution or QKD) allows communicating parties to securely establish cryptographic keys. It is a well-established fact that all QKE protocols require that the parties have access to an authentic channel. Without this authenticated link, QKE is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. Overlooking this fact results in exaggerated claims and/or false expectations about the potential impact of QKE. In this paper we present a systematic comparison of QKE with traditional key establishment protocols in realistic secure communication systems.
Berry fruits as a source of biologically active compounds: the case of Lonicera caerulea.

BACKGROUND Lonicera caerulea L. (blueberry honeysuckle, Caprifoliaceae) is a traditional crop in northern Russia, China, and Japan. Its fruits are little known as edible berries in North America and Europe. This review deals with the botany and chemical composition of L. caerulea and the biological activity of its main constituents, focusing on the potential health benefits of the berries. METHODS AND RESULTS PubMed, Science Direct and ISI Web of Knowledge databases were used for this paper. Literature sources include the period 1935-2007. L. caerulea berries a are rich source of phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids as well as anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and other flavonoids, which display potential health promoting effects. Chemopreventive, antimicrobial, anti-adherence and antioxidant benefits, among others are described for these compounds. CONCLUSIONS The potential of L. caerulea berries to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and cancer seems to be related above all to their phenolic content.
InP HBT IC Technology for Terahertz Frequencies: Fundamental Oscillators Up to 0.57 THz

We report on the development of a 0.25-μm InP HBT IC technology for lower end of the THz frequency band (0.3-3 THz). Transistors demonstrate an extrapolated fmax of >;800 GHz while maintaining a common-emitter breakdown voltage (BVCEO) >;4 V. The transistors have been integrated in a full IC process that includes three-levels of interconnects, and backside processing. The technology has been utilized for key circuit building blocks (amplifiers, oscillators, frequency dividers, PLL, etc), all operating at ≥300 GHz. Next, we report a series of fundamental oscillators operating up to 0.57 THz fabricated in a 0.25-μm InP HBT technology. Oscillator designs are based on a differential series-tuned topology followed by a common-base buffer, in a fixed-frequency or varactor-tuned scheme. For ≥400 GHz designs, a subharmonic down-conversion mixer is integrated to facilitate spectrum measurement. At optimum bias, the measured output power was -6.2, -5.6, and -19.2 dBm, for 310.2-, 412.9-, and 573.1-GHz designs, respectively, with PDC ≤ 115 mW. Varactor-tuned designs demonstrated 10.6-12.3 GHz of tuning bandwidth up to 300 GHz.
Regular hospital visits improve the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma after initial diagnosis: A single regional community hospital study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between regular hospital visits and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to suggest methods to avoid poor prognoses in HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS In total, 103 patients with initial HCC were classified into 3 groups based on hospital visits occurring 1 year before diagnosis: group A was patients with regular hepatologist visits (n=41), group B was those with regular visits to other hospital divisions (n=50), and group C was those with no hospital visits (n=12). The relationships between the 3 groups and survival rates, backgrounds, hepatic reserve, and stages of HCC were analyzed. RESULTS Survival rates of groups A, B, and C after diagnosis at 36 months were 77.9%, 66.3%, 31.3%, respectively. These were significantly higher in group A than in B and in group B than in C (p=0.042 and p=0.003, respectively; generalized Wilcoxon test). Child-Pugh classification, Japan integrated staging (JIS) score, and Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) staging were poor in group C compared with group A (p<0.01) and group B (p<0.01 or p<0.05). Males with viral infection (15 of 16 males in group B, p<0.01) and non-virally infected patients (34 patients in group B, p<0.01) had fewer regular hepatologist visits. CONCLUSION Hepatologist visits appeared to improve the prognosis of initial HCC. Males and non-virally infected patients should be screened to avoid delays in diagnosis. Since cases of non-viral HCC are likely to increase in Japan, surveillance methods for all clinicians should be established.
Impact of Round Robin Arbiters on router's performance for NoCs on FPGAs

Routers are the basic building blocks of NoCs and their throughput critically affects the whole network performance. One of the most important building blocks in the router is the arbitration circuit, which controls granting to various requesters when the network is heavily used. In this work we focus on RRAs (Round Robin Arbiters) and their impact on router's performance and area on various FPGAs. We also propose a new arbiter design, Truth-Table arbiter, specifically aimed towards FPGA devices. Our results show that the arbiter circuit influences the router performance in most cases. Moreover, our newly proposed Truth-Table arbiter shows the same performance as the best existing arbiters but with smaller total area overhead and ease of design.
Planning for a Low Carbon Future? Comparing Heat Pumps and Cogeneration as the Energy System Options for a New Residential Area

The purpose of this paper is to compare, from an urban planning perspective, the choice between combined heat and power (CHP) and a ground-source heat pump (HP) as the energy systems of a new residential area in the light of the uncertainty related to the assessments. There has been a strong push globally for CHP due to its climate mitigation potential compared to separate production, and consequently it is often prioritized in planning without questioning. However, the uncertainties in assessing the emissions from CHP and alternative options in a certain planning situation make it very difficult to give robust decision guidelines. In addition, even the order of magnitude of the climate impact of a certain plan is actually difficult to assess robustly. With a case study of the new residential development of Harmalanranta in Tampere, Finland, we show how strongly the uncertainties related to (1) utilizing average or marginal electricity as the reference; (2) assigning emissions intensities for the production; and (3) allocating the emissions from CHP to heat and electricity affect the results and lead to varying decision guidelines. We also depict how a rather rarely utilized method in assigning the emissions from CHP is the most robust for planning support.
Inflammation, Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Disease

Article types include original clinical and basic research articles, case reports, commentaries, meeting reports, methodology, perspectives. Research into inflammation, atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease, including observational studies, clinical trials, epidemiology, and advances in applied (translational) research. The supplement is intended to include overviews of new concepts in pathophysiology, natural history, diagnostic strategies, and treatment approaches.
Demo: Software-Defined Device to Device Communication in Multiple Cells

This work aims to design a novel multi-hop device-to-device (D2D) communication system across multiple cells, by applying the spirit of software-defined networking, where the controllers regulate the data flows between the device-level switches in a centralized way. We utilize a hierarchical control plane, where the global controller handles the cross-cell D2D transmission, and the local controller determines the intra-cell D2D routing and scheduling. Specifically, by collecting the network information periodically, the controllers can generate the topology of D2D network and provide it to the applications. Through the use of USRP hardware, we demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed system.
Le gouvernement d'entreprise dans les sociétés familiales non côtées

L’objectif de cette these est de discerner les originalites des societes familiales non cotees par rapport au gouvernement d’entreprise. On s’interesse aux societes non cotees parce que les preoccupations sur le gouvernement d’entreprise se focalisent plutot sur les grandes entreprises multinationales. Cependant, les societes familiales non cotees, actuellement la forme la plus repandue de l’initiative privee, posent de problemes particuliers de gouvernement d’entreprise, parce que le lien entre famille et entreprise genere de conflits d’interets que la grande societe cotee ne connait pas. Premierement, on expose les raisons pour lesquelles le gouvernement d’entreprise prend une importance plus cruciale dans ces societes. Il s’agit de montrer l’existence d’un particularisme s’agissant de la configuration de propriete, de gestion et de controle, puisque ces societes comportent la particularite de se trouver au croisement de deux systemes ; la famille et l’entreprise (TITRE I). L’entreprise familiale se comporterait differemment vu que la composante familiale predomine et influence le processus de prise de decision et les mecanismes de controle de la direction. LE TITRE II est consacre a la proposition d’ un ensemble de mesures susceptibles, a notre avis, de rendre son efficacite au systeme de gouvernance de la societe familiale non cotee : une modification de la culture qui prevaut au sein des conseils; un renforcement de l’expertise et une amelioration de l’information des administrateurs ; la stricte separation des fonctions de direction et de controle.
Knowledge and skills of professional carers working with older people with depression

Objectives: The current study was designed to evaluate the knowledge, skills and self-efficacy of care providers from the perspective of professionals working in the aged-care industry. Method: Participants were 21 professional carers, 10 General Practitioners and 7 aged-care managers. Focus groups, which involved the completion of a semi-structured interview related to knowledge, recognition, confidence, referral procedures and use of screening tools for the detection of depression, were conducted. Results: The results showed that all groups of respondents recognised significant gap in the knowledge and awareness of depression among professional care staff working with older people in both the community and residential care-settings. Skills in the detection and monitoring of depression and the self-efficacy of these care staff were also seen to be a problem. Discussion: The implications of these findings in terms of training programmes for professional carers working in the aged health care sector are discussed.
Whole Genome Analysis of Leptospira licerasiae Provides Insight into Leptospiral Evolution and Pathogenicity

The whole genome analysis of two strains of the first intermediately pathogenic leptospiral species to be sequenced (Leptospira licerasiae strains VAR010 and MMD0835) provides insight into their pathogenic potential and deepens our understanding of leptospiral evolution. Comparative analysis of eight leptospiral genomes shows the existence of a core leptospiral genome comprising 1547 genes and 452 conserved genes restricted to infectious species (including L. licerasiae) that are likely to be pathogenicity-related. Comparisons of the functional content of the genomes suggests that L. licerasiae retains several proteins related to nitrogen, amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism which might help to explain why these Leptospira grow well in artificial media compared with pathogenic species. L. licerasiae strains VAR010T and MMD0835 possess two prophage elements. While one element is circular and shares homology with LE1 of L. biflexa, the second is cryptic and homologous to a previously identified but unnamed region in L. interrogans serovars Copenhageni and Lai. We also report a unique O-antigen locus in L. licerasiae comprised of a 6-gene cluster that is unexpectedly short compared with L. interrogans in which analogous regions may include >90 such genes. Sequence homology searches suggest that these genes were acquired by lateral gene transfer (LGT). Furthermore, seven putative genomic islands ranging in size from 5 to 36 kb are present also suggestive of antecedent LGT. How Leptospira become naturally competent remains to be determined, but considering the phylogenetic origins of the genes comprising the O-antigen cluster and other putative laterally transferred genes, L. licerasiae must be able to exchange genetic material with non-invasive environmental bacteria. The data presented here demonstrate that L. licerasiae is genetically more closely related to pathogenic than to saprophytic Leptospira and provide insight into the genomic bases for its infectiousness and its unique antigenic characteristics.
EQ (Emotional Intelligence) di Tempat Kerja

IQ hanyalah satu unsur pendukung keberhasilan seseorang. Keberhasilan di tempat kerja tergantung pada kemampuan menggabungkan IQ dengan EQ anda. Di tempat kerja di mana perubahan terjadi begitu cepat dan persaingan semakin meningkat adalah kenyataan yang harus dihadapi, dengan itu sangatlah penting untuk memastikan keberhasilan karier anda dengan memiliki kemampuan mencapai hasil yang telah ditargetkan perusahaan. Ini bisa membuat kita sulit untuk bertahan di perusahaan di mana adanya ketidakpastian, ketegangan, persaingan antar rekan kerja dan masalah manajemen. Bersikap produktif dalam lingkungan kerja masa depan secara efektif menghadapi berbagai macam orang di waktu yang singkat. Ini berarti menguasai kemampuan mengelola EQ sendiri seperti: menghayati mengapa anda berpikir dan merasakan seperti yang dirasakan; memahami cara mengelola emosi dengan tepat; memahami bagaimana emosi dapat berperan dalam membangun citra diri yang positif; dan menguasai motivasi serta disiplin diri.
Analgesia Induced by Dietary Restriction Is Mediated by the κ-Opioid System

Progress in the control and treatment of pain may be facilitated by a better understanding of mechanisms underlying nociceptive processing. Here we show that mice subjected to an intermittent fasting diet (IFD) display markedly reduced responses in models of thermal and visceral pain compared with mice fed ad libitum (AL). Pharmacological analyses suggest that a change in the endogenous κ-opioid system underlies IFD-induced analgesia. The levels of prodynorphin mRNA and κ-opioid receptors in the spinal cord are higher in IFD than in AL mice. Furthermore, in spinal cord nuclear protein extracts, the activity of the transcriptional repressor DREAM (downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator), the main regulator of prodynorphin expression, is lower in IFD than in AL mice. Finally, c-Fos expression in dorsal spinal cord after noxious stimulation is significantly lower in IFD than in AL animals, indicating that dynorphin could block nociceptive information at the spinal cord. These results suggest that dietary restriction together with administration of κ-opioid agonists could be useful as a new therapeutic approach for pain relief.
The Effects of Divorce and Parental Conflict on Children's Adjustment: A Prospective Study.

The present sturdy involved a prospective longitudinal ei o-nination of relations between divorce and children's adjustment, replicating the methodology utilized by Block, Block, & Gjerde (1986). Using data from the New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) originally collected by Thomas, Chess, and Birch (1963, 1968, 1977, 1983, 1984), personalities of children were assessed at home and when age appropriate, in school from infancy to young adulthood. Many of the expected results based on prior research were not found. Regarding the prospective analyses, girls, rather than boys, ohowed more problematic behavior prior to the parental separation. The effects of time also were not in accord with prior findings, as children's adjustment generally was not a function of the time since the parental separation. With the exception of parental conflict, few childcare practices were consistent predictors of children's long-term adjustment. Finally, the interaction between temperament and parental conflict wz. -, not strong in predicting children's sho-tand long-term adjustment. Results highlight the predictive utility of parental conflict, suggest discrepancies with prior research, and demonstrate the value of the secondary analysis technique.
Ensemble Learned Vaccination Uptake Prediction using Web Search Queries

We present a method that uses ensemble learning to combine clinical and web-mined time-series data in order to predict future vaccination uptake. The clinical data is official vaccination registries, and the web data is query frequencies collected from Google Trends. Experiments with official vaccine records show that our method predicts vaccination uptake effectively (4.7 Root Mean Squared Error). Whereas performance is best when combining clinical and web data, using solely web data yields comparative performance. To our knowledge, this is the first study to predict vaccination uptake using web data (with and without clinical data).
Pores in the epidermis: aquaporins and tight junctions

Water homeostasis of the epidermis is important for the appearance and physical properties of the skin, as well as for water balance in the body. It depends on several factors, e.g. barrier quality, uptake of water into the epidermis, concentration of water‐retaining humectants, and external humidity. Aquaporins (AQPs) are pores in the plasmamembranes of cells. Monomeric AQPs form barrel‐like structures that are primarily water selective, some AQPs also transport glycerol and possibly other small solutes. In the epidermis, AQP3 is the predominant AQP. It is localized mainly in basal but also in suprabasal layers of the epidermis and is permeable for water as well as for glycerol, a humectant. Mice deficient in AQP3 exhibit reduced stratum corneum (SC) hydration and impaired SC barrier recovery after SC removal. In skin diseases associated with elevated transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and reduced SC hydration, altered expression of AQP3 was shown.
Depfix, a Tool for Automatic Rule-based Post-editing of SMT

We present Depfix, an open-source system for automatic post-editing of phrase-based machine translation outputs. Depfix employs a range of natural language processing tools to obtain analyses of the input sentences, and uses a set of rules to correct common or serious errors in machine translation outputs. Depfix is currently implemented only for English-to-Czech translation direction, but extending it to other languages is planned.
Ectopic Expression of E2F1 Stimulates β-Cell Proliferation and Function

OBJECTIVE Generating functional β-cells by inducing their proliferation may provide new perspectives for cell therapy in diabetes. Transcription factor E2F1 controls G1- to S-phase transition during the cycling of many cell types and is required for pancreatic β-cell growth and function. However, the consequences of overexpression of E2F1 in β-cells are unknown. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The effects of E2F1 overexpression on β-cell proliferation and function were analyzed in isolated rat β-cells and in transgenic mice. RESULTS Adenovirus AdE2F1-mediated overexpression of E2F1 increased the proliferation of isolated primary rat β-cells 20-fold but also enhanced β-cell death. Coinfection with adenovirus AdAkt expressing a constitutively active form of Akt (protein kinase B) suppressed β-cell death to control levels. At 48 h after infection, the total β-cell number and insulin content were, respectively, 46 and 79% higher in AdE2F1+AdAkt-infected cultures compared with untreated. Conditional overexpression of E2F1 in mice resulted in a twofold increase of β-cell proliferation and a 70% increase of pancreatic insulin content, but did not increase β-cell mass. Glucose-challenged insulin release was increased, and the mice showed protection against toxin-induced diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Overexpression of E2F1, either in vitro or in vivo, can stimulate β-cell proliferation activity. In vivo E2F1 expression significantly increases the insulin content and function of adult β-cells, making it a strategic target for therapeutic manipulation of β-cell function.