Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endothelium-derived extracellular vesicles promote splenic monocyte mobilization in myocardial infarction

Transcriptionally activated monocytes are recruited to the heart after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). After AMI in mice and humans, the number of extracellular vesicles (EVs) increased acutely. In humans, EV number correlated closely with the extent of myocardial injury. We hypothesized that EVs mediate splenic monocyte mobilization and program transcription following AMI. Some plasma EVs bear endothelial cell (EC) integrins, and both proinflammatory stimulation of ECs and AMI significantly increased VCAM-1–positive EV release. Injected EC-EVs localized to the spleen and interacted with, and mobilized, splenic monocytes in otherwise naive, healthy animals. Analysis of human plasma EV-associated miRNA showed 12 markedly enriched miRNAs after AMI; functional enrichment analyses identified 1,869 putative mRNA targets, which regulate relevant cellular functions (e.g., proliferation and cell movement). Furthermore, gene ontology termed positive chemotaxis as the most enriched pathway for the miRNA-mRNA targets. Among the identified EV miRNAs, EC-associated miRNA-126-3p and -5p were highly regulated after AMI. miRNA-126-3p and -5p regulate cell adhesion– and chemotaxis-associated genes, including the negative regulator of cell motility, plexin-B2. EC-EV exposure significantly downregulated plexin-B2 mRNA in monocytes and upregulated motility integrin ITGB2. These findings identify EVs as a possible novel signaling pathway by linking ischemic myocardium with monocyte mobilization and transcriptional activation following AMI.
Time-Domain Modeling of Grounding Systems’ Impulse Response Incorporating Nonlinear and Frequency-Dependent Aspects

At lightning discharge, the grounding systems’ transient behavior is influenced by time-dependent nonlinear behavior and frequency-dependent effects. These effects are related to complex phenomena arising from the soil ionization surrounding the conductors at high current and to the fast risetime of the impulse current, respectively. Most of the performed investigations were either focused on soil ionization effects or frequency-dependent effects. This paper proposes a model that incorporates both aspects including the mutual coupling and air–soil interface effects, giving a more realistic representation of the grounding systems behavior. Based on the transmission line approach, the model can compute the grounding systems transient response buried in uniform and nonuniform soil. The model is applied to horizontal, vertical electrodes, and grounding grid subjected to impulse currents of variable magnitudes and shapes. The model results are validated against published measurement results obtained with low-current and high-current impulses. The time-domain transient potential and transient impedances show good agreement with experimental results. Other impulse impedance parameters used for the grounding systems analysis are reproduced quite accurately. As an application, the impulse impedance of a horizontal electrode and a grounding grid buried in two-layer soil is discussed when the upper layer depth and the resistivity of soil layers are varied.
Community Colleges and Contract Training: Content, Origins, and Impact

Over the last three decades, most community colleges have broadened their economic development role to include contracting with employers to train current or prospective employees in job and academic skills. This article describes the main contours of the community college's involvement in contract training, explains how this involvement arose, and analyzes its impact on the community college. This analysis is based both on national data on the general prevalence and form of contract training and on case studies of the forms it takes in twenty community colleges in five states servicing five quite different industries. Contract training is sometimes quite elaborate, as in the case of the entry-level training of skilled workers in auto manufacturing, auto repair, and construction. Here the training often involves multiyear apprenticeships, combining both classroom and on-the-job training, with labor unions exercising a major role. But contract training often is much briefer and dominated by the wishes of companies. The origins of contract training lie in a combination both of business pressure and of initiative by community colleges and government bodies pursuing interests and values of their own. Contract training has broadly affected community colleges in such areas as enrollments, revenues, external relations, governance, internal relations, curriculum and pedagogy, and institutional mission. It has brought more students, revenues, and political clout, but also greater business involvement in community college governance and possibly a major redefinition of institutional mission away from education (especially transfer education) toward training.
Dynamic locomotion with four and six-legged robots

Stable and robust autonomous dynamic locomotion is demonstrated experimentally in a four and a six-legged robot. The Scout II quadruped runs on flat ground in a bounding gait, and was motivated by an effort to understand the minimal mechanical design and control complexity for dynamically stable locomotion. The RHex 0 hexapod runs dynamically in a tripod gait over flat and badly broken terrain. Its design and control was motivated by a collaboration of roboticists, biologists, and mathematicians, in an attempt to capture specific biomechanical locomotion principles. Both robots share some basic features: Compliant legs, each with only one actuated degree of freedom, and reliance on (task space) open loop controllers.
Brief report: marital status and alcohol consumption behaviours

Introduction and aims: Divorced people have been found to be more likely to consume alcohol at higher levels than those who are married, with the association varying somewhat by country. However, the effect that remaining unmarried has on alcohol consumption is less clear. This study investigated the association between marital status and alcohol consumption among young and middle-aged Australian adults. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, the association between marital status and alcohol consumption behaviour was assessed using data from the Australian 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey. Results: Young and middle-aged people who were never married, divorced or separated were more likely to consume alcohol at levels associated with increased risk for both long-term and short-term harm when compared to married people. Discussion: It may be possible that mental health status is one of the factors mediating the association between marital status and alcohol consumption. Conclusions: Being never married, divorced or separated was a strong indicator of hazardous alcohol consumption behaviours. The marital status of young and middle-aged people might serve as a useful screening tool for health professionals wishing to identify patients at elevated risk of alcohol-related problems.
Evaluating an electronic plagiarism detection service

Plagiarism by students is seen as an increasing problem. The fear is that students will use the internet to obtain analysis, interpretation or even complete assignments and then submit these as their own work. Electronic plagiarism detection services may help to prevent such unfair practice but, in doing so, they create a new problem: certifying the absence of plagiarism. This article reports the results of an evaluation of one such service within an interdisciplinary school of social sciences. The article describes how the system works and the experiences of staff and students in using the service, together with an evaluation of the data generated. The key findings are that the service did identify examples of poor scholarship and unfair practice that had been missed under the usual marking system but that rigorously checking every script for plagiarism was impractical. Trust and student honesty thus remain central to a successful academic system.
Parasitics Realization in State-Space Average-Value Modeling of PWM DC–DC Converters Using an Equal Area Method

Average-value modeling of pulsewidth-modulation dc-dc converters is often based on the assumption of piecewise-linear waveforms of the circuit variables, whereas considering parasitics introduces waveform nonlinearity and complicates the model derivation. This paper presents a new approach that considers averaging with nonlinear waveforms using the equivalent area method, and proposes a state-space averaged model that is fairly accurate and seamlessly functional in both continuous and discontinuous conduction modes. The resulting average-value model is applicable for large-signal transient studies as well as for linearization and subsequent small-signal analysis. The proposed model is validated with a hardware prototype and a detailed simulation, and is shown to be an improvement over previously established models in the time and frequency domains.
Mutual Inactivation of Notch Receptors and Ligands Facilitates Developmental Patterning

Developmental patterning requires juxtacrine signaling in order to tightly coordinate the fates of neighboring cells. Recent work has shown that Notch and Delta, the canonical metazoan juxtacrine signaling receptor and ligand, mutually inactivate each other in the same cell. This cis-interaction generates mutually exclusive sending and receiving states in individual cells. It generally remains unclear, however, how this mutual inactivation and the resulting switching behavior can impact developmental patterning circuits. Here we address this question using mathematical modeling in the context of two canonical pattern formation processes: boundary formation and lateral inhibition. For boundary formation, in a model motivated by Drosophila wing vein patterning, we find that mutual inactivation allows sharp boundary formation across a broader range of parameters than models lacking mutual inactivation. This model with mutual inactivation also exhibits robustness to correlated gene expression perturbations. For lateral inhibition, we find that mutual inactivation speeds up patterning dynamics, relieves the need for cooperative regulatory interactions, and expands the range of parameter values that permit pattern formation, compared to canonical models. Furthermore, mutual inactivation enables a simple lateral inhibition circuit architecture which requires only a single downstream regulatory step. Both model systems show how mutual inactivation can facilitate robust fine-grained patterning processes that would be difficult to implement without it, by encoding a difference-promoting feedback within the signaling system itself. Together, these results provide a framework for analysis of more complex Notch-dependent developmental systems.
X-Inactivation and histone H4 acetylation in embryonic stem cells.

In female mammalian cells, dosage compensation for X-linked genes is achieved by the transcriptional silencing, early in development, of many genes on just one of the two X chromosomes. Several properties distinguish the inactive X (Xi) from its active counterpart (Xa). These include expression of Xist, a gene located in the X-inactivation center (Xic), late replication, differential methylation of selected CpG islands and underacetylation of histone H4. The relationship between these properties and transcriptional silencing remains unclear. Female mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells have two active X chromosomes, one of which is inactivated as cells differentiate in culture. We describe here the use of these cells in studying the sequence of events leading to X-inactivation. By immunofluorescent labeling of metaphase chromosome spreads from ES cells with antibodies to acetylated H4, we show that an underacetylated X chromosome appears only after 4 days of differentiation, and only in female cells. The frequency of cells with an underacetylated X reaches a maximum by Day 6. In undifferentiated cells, H4 in centric heterochromatin is acetylated to the same extent as that in euchromatin but has become relatively underacetylated, as in adult cells, by Day 4 of differentiation (i.e. , when deacetylation of Xi is first seen). The overall deacetylation of Xi follows Xist expression and the first appearance of a single, late-replicating X, both of which occur on Day 2. It also follows the silencing of X-linked genes. Levels of mRNA from four such genes, Hprt, G6pd, Rps4, and Pgk-1, had all fallen by approximately 50% (relative to the autosomal gene Aprt) by Days 2-4. The results show that properties that characterize Xi are put in place in a set order over several days. H4 deacetylation occupies a defined place within this sequence, suggesting that it is an intrinsic part of the X-inactivation process. The stage at which a completely deacetylated Xi is first seen suggests that deacetylation may be necessary for the maintenance of silencing but is not required for its initiation. Nor is it required for, or an immediate consequence of, late replication. However, we note that selective deacetylation of H4 on specific genes would not be detected by the microscopical approach we have used and that such selective deacetylation may still be part of the silencing process.
Duration of Obesity Increases the Incidence of NIDDM

The effect of duration of obesity on incidence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) was determined among Pima Indians. Duration of obesity was defined as the time since body mass index (BMI) was first known to be at least 30 kg/m2. Among 1057 participants eligible for study, there were 224 incident cases of NIDDM in 5975 person-yr of follow-up. The association of duration of obesity with incidence of diabetes adjusted for age, sex, and current BMI was highly significant (P < 0.0001). This adjusted incidence of diabetes in cases/1000 person-yr of obesity was 24.8 for people with less < 5 yr of obesity, 35.2 for people with 5–10 yr of obesity, and 59.8 for people with at least 10 yr of obesity. There was no apparent excess risk of diabetes for people who had a BMI of at least 30 kg/m2 and then lost weight. They had a slightly nonsignificantly higher rate than people who had not attained a BMI of at least 30 kg/m2 and a lower rate than people whose BMI remained 30–35 kg/m2. The relationship of duration of obesity with serum insulin concentrations among nondiabetic people was determined controlling for sex and age, BMI, and plasma glucose concentrations at the time of a glucose tolerance test. Duration of obesity was inversely associated with fasting serum insulin concentration through most of the range of fasting plasma glucose concentrations (P < 0.001) and tended to be inversely associated with 2-h postload serum insulin concentration through the entire range of postload plasma glucose concentrations (P = 0.058).
Statistical performance analysis with dynamic workload using S-NET

Volkmar Wieser, Philip K. F. Holzenspies, Michael Rosbory, and Raimund Kirner, 'Statistical performance analysis with dynamic workload using S-NET'. Paper presented at the Workshop on Feedback-Directed Compiler Optimization for Multi-Core Architectures. Paris, France 23-25 January 2012
IL-6 is an independent predictive factor of drug survival after dose escalation of infliximab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Objective: We aimed to investigate factors predictive of increased serum infliximab (IFX) concentration with improvement of disease activity, as well as better 1-year continuation rate after dose escalation, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who showed inadequate response to 3 mg/kg IFX. Methods: Among 42 patients allotted to receive 3 mg/kg IFX, 13 patients showed adequate response (DAS28 < 3.2) and 29 patients required dose escalation to 4.5 or 6 mg/kg after inadequate response (DAS28 ≥ 3.2) to 3 mg/kg IFX. DAS28, mHAQ, serum level of CRP, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17, anti-infliximab antibody (AIA) titers and IFX concentration before and on average 2.7 months after dose escalation were examined to explore the baseline factors predictive of a clinically beneficial increase of serum IFX concentration and drug survival. Results: One year after IFX dose escalation, 25 patients completed the study protocol, and 16 patients (64%) continued to show a good response for one year, while 9 patients (36%) required switching of biologics because of inadequate response. Multivariate analyses revealed that a serum IL-6 level of less than 4.0 pg/mL at baseline was the only factor predictive of a clinically beneficial increase of serum IFX concentration in patients who required dose escalation. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that 5.16 pg/mL of IL-6 was the cut-off value with sensitivity 0.833 and specificity of 0.769 (95%CI for AUC: 0.712–1.006). In patients with IL-6 levels of less than 5.16 pg/mL at baseline, the serum IFX concentration significantly increased after dose escalation with adequate response. The 1-year drug survival rates of patients with IL-6 levels less than 5.16 pg/mL and in those with levels greater than or equal to 5.16 pg/mL at baseline were 83.3% and 30.8%, respectively (log-rank test, p = .011). Conclusions: The results of our study indicated that a baseline serum level of IL-6 below 5.16 pg/mL might be a predictive factor for a clinically beneficial increase of serum IFX concentration with improvement of disease activity and better 1-year continuation rate after IFX dose escalation.
Pricing Bermudan and American Options Using the FFT Method

During the whole period, from literature review, numerical implementation, to remedy seeking for discovered problems, and final thesis writing, the work was under supervision of Dr.Ir. Kees Oosterlee. Without his great help, the thesis work could never have been finished successfully. The work is performed in a cooperation with Ir. Drs. Roger Lord from Rabobank. The starting point of the methods involved in this thesis is based on his research. The idea of replacing FFT by FRFT is also proposed by him. Besides, I've benefited a lot from his comments to my work and from discussions and brain-storming together with him and Dr.Ir. Kees Oosterlee. Mr. Frank Bervoets helped a lot in the aspect of high efficiency Matlab programming. Besides, discussions on parameter choosing and other problems in implementation with him gave me a better understanding of the methods and their behaviors. Without the full support and help of prof. Ulrich Ruede, it was not possible for me to focus on this thesis work in the Netherlands. My husband is the one who's always standing by my side, with encouragement and support. i Preface The aim of this thesis work is to develop a fast and accurate solution method for (multi)asset Bermudan and American option pricing problems by means of Fourier transforms. The outline of this thesis is as follows: In Chap. 1 basic definitions and terminology of financial derivatives, especially of options , are given, as well as the notation used in later chapters. In Chap. 2 some fundamental mathematical models and theorems in the field of computational finance are introduced, such as the models for asset prices and option prices, the famous Black-Scholes partial differential equation(PDE), and the Risk-neutral valuation theory. In Chap. 3 literature on the recently developed " Transform methods " , which employs the fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithms in option pricing problems, is reviewed. First, basic Transform methods are presented and their merits are examined and compared. Then, a highly efficient method, the Lord method, is described and chosen as the basic method for this thesis work. Based on the Lord method, we propose to use the fractional Fourier transform (FRFT) algorithm instead of FFT for a better accuracy. The FRFT algorithm is derived and explained. In Chap. 4 implementation details of the Lord method and the Lord-FRFT method are presented. Besides, the Richardson extrapolation is introduced, and is proposed to be included as …
Over-acceleration of corrosion mechanisms during reliability testing: A method to relate biased HAST tests and application conditions for Cu wire products

Cu bond wires in microelectronics have great potential but also provides several challenges. The acceleration factors or failure mechanisms in reliability tests are somewhat different with respect to gold wire bonding which, using unchanged but not validated test conditions and duration requirements, may lead to non-justified failures. With copper wire technology, the intermetallic compounds (IMC's) that form between the bond ball and the bond pad change in composition and corrosion behavior when compared to the gold wirebonding IMC's. When exposed to high temperatures, high moisture levels and high bias, these three different stress factors can add up to very high acceleration factors. When a product or material system fails in this test the question arises what the acceleration factor actually is and how this test compares to application conditions where temperatures may also rise significantly while high humidity levels may still be present and bias is applied. This could the operational startup phase after a long time of being in off or standby stage. The product will suddenly heat up due to the internal heat generation but moisture might still be present in the package. Combined with a high bias voltage this could lead to conditions as seen in the HAST test. To make a comparison between application and test, data was collected on the moisture properties of several molding compounds as a function of temperature. This data was then used in combination with thermal transient simulations of a product in application to compare actual moisture levels under use conditions to moisture levels in test. The simulation shows that the HAST test condition never occurs in the actual application and that the test condition is unrealistically accelerating due to the very high moisture loading. Less extreme conditions will be proposed and discussed. Finally some actual corrosion data will be shown that proof the validity of the simulation results.
Final Report to NSF of the Standards for Facial Animation Workshop

Report to the National Science Foundation based on the Standards for Facial Animation Workshop, November 11-12, 1993, sponsored by NSF’s Division of Information, Robotics, and Intelligent Systems, and the Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. Comments University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research in Cognitive Science Technical Report No. IRCS-94-21. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/ircs_reports/167
The link between allergic rhinitis and asthma: the united airways disease

Rhinitis and asthma are often associated and the two disorders interact at various levels. Rhinitis typically precedes the development of asthma and can contribute to unsatisfactory asthma control. The presence and type of asthma is influenced by sensitization, and the duration and severity of allergic rhinitis. Nasal symptoms, airflow and markers of inflammation directly correlate with lower airway involvement. Local tissue factors, such as microbial stimuli and systemic inflammatory mechanisms, play a role in the clinical expression of the allergic airway syndrome. There is increasing evidence that suggests a major involvement of airway epithelial cells in the pathogenesis of both asthma and allergic rhinitis. Even in patients with rhinitis who do not have asthma, subclinical changes in the lower airways and inflammatory mediators can be detected. The pathogenic role of paranasal sinus infections in respiratory allergy has been better elucidated but there remains a need for further research. Treatment of established rhinitis may affect asthma control and could have some impact on airway obstruction, but a direct effect of rhinitis therapy on lower airway inflammation remains to be clearly established.