Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Positionality, Tension, and Instability in the UN Security Council

reform that, in contrast to a similar debate in the first half of the 1960s, goes far beyond the question of simply increasing the council's nonper manent membership. At stake in the current debate is the question of per manent membership as well as whether, and to whom, it should be ex tended. Although the debate is far from over, an examination of how the UN organization deals with contemporary calls for fundamental reform of the Security Council serves to answer an important question: how well does the Security Council adapt to shifts in the relative power of UN mem bers? In other words, how stable an institution of international governance is the Security Council? The concept of stability used in this analysis may be distinguished from the conventional usage of the concept in the analysis of international relations. Stability is understood not as the preservation of the status quo despite the occurrence of underlying change, but as the incremental and peaceful adaptation to such change. In this sense, the definition of stabil ity used in this analysis is akin to Robert Gilpin's concept of homeostatic equilibrium2? that is, the incremental adjustment of the international sys tem to small changes in the distribution of power among states. It may also be differentiated from this concept, however, insofar as it is based on the following specific assumptions about state behavior. The first assumption concerns states' reactions to the relative growth of their own power. When a state perceives that its power is growing faster than that of other states in the international system, it will attempt to in crease the influence it exerts on the governance of the system. In other words, it will attempt to improve on its position in what I will call the in ternational hierarchy of influence? or, as Gilpin prefers to call it, the in ternational "hierarchy of prestige. "3 This type of behavior will be referred to as upward positionality? that is, the attempt by a state, as a result of the relative growth of its power, to move upward in the hierarchy of influence.
Comparisons of Refractive Errors Between Twins and Singletons in Chinese School-Age Samples

Abstract Studies have reported that refractive errors are associated with premature births. As twins have higher prevalence of prematurity than singletons, it is important to assess similarity of the prevalence of refractive errors in twins and singletons for proper interpretations and generalizations of the findings from twin studies. We compared refractive errors and diopter hours between 561 pairs of twins and 3757 singletons who are representative of school-age children (7–15 years) residing in an urban area of southern China. We found that the means and variances of the continuous measurement of spherical equivalent refractive error and diopter hours were not significantly different between twins and singletons. Although the prevalence of myopia was comparable between twins and singletons, that of hyperopia and astigmatism was slightly but significantly higher in twins than in singletons. These results are inconsistent with those of adult studies that showed no differences in refractive errors between twins and singletons. Given that the sample size of twins is relatively small and that this study is the first to demonstrate minor differences in refractive errors between twins and singletons, future replications are necessary to determine whether the slightly higher prevalence of refractive errors in twins than in singletons found in this study was due to a sampling error or to the developmental delay often observed in twins in childhood.
Redundant representation with complex wavelets: how to achieve sparsity

Overcomplete transforms, like the dual-tree complex wavelet transform, offer more flexible signal representations than critically-sampled transforms, due to their properties of shift invariance and directional selectivity. We show that many transform coefficients can be discarded without much reconstruction quality loss by forcing compensatory changes in the remaining coefficients. We consider the convergence properties of an iterative projection system for achieving the usual coding aims of good sparsity with low reconstruction error. Results show how these measures translate to useful image compression performance.
Differential Involvement of Cell Cycle Reactivation between Striatal and Cortical Neurons in Cell Death Induced by 3-Nitropropionic Acid*

Recent evidence suggests that unscheduled cell cycle activity leads to neuronal cell death. 3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NP) is an irreversible inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase and induces cell death in both striatum and cerebral cortex. Here we analyzed the involvement of aberrant cell cycle progression in 3-NP-induced cell death in these brain regions. 3-NP reduced the level of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 in striatum but not in cerebral cortex. 3-NP also induced phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein, a marker of cell cycle progression at late G1 phase, only in striatum. Pharmacological experiments revealed that cyclin-dependent kinase activity and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor were cooperatively involved in cell death by 3-NP in striatal neurons, whereas only NMDA receptor was involved in 3-NP-induced neurotoxicity in cortical neurons. Death of striatal neurons was preceded by elevation of somatic Ca2+ and activation of calpain, a Ca2+-dependent protease. Both striatal p27 down-regulation and cell death provoked by 3-NP were dependent on calpain activity. Moreover, transfection of p27 small interfering RNA reduced striatal cell viability. In cortical neurons, however, there was no change in somatic Ca2+ and calpain activity by 3-NP, and calpain inhibitors were not protective. These results suggest that 3-NP induces aberrant cell cycle progression and neuronal cell death via p27 down-regulation by calpain in striatum but not in the cerebral cortex. This is the first report for differential involvement of cell cycle reactivation in different brain regions and lightens the mechanism for region-selective vulnerability in human disease, including Huntington disease.
Molecular hydrogen: a preventive and therapeutic medical gas for various diseases

Since the 2007 discovery that molecular hydrogen (H2) has selective antioxidant properties, multiple studies have shown that H2 has beneficial effects in diverse animal models and human disease. This review discusses H2 biological effects and potential mechanisms of action in various diseases, including metabolic syndrome, organ injury, and cancer; describes effective H2 delivery approaches; and summarizes recent progress toward H2 applications in human medicine. We also discuss remaining questions in H2 therapy, and conclude with an appeal for a greater role for H2 in the prevention and treatment of human ailments that are currently major global health burdens. This review makes a case for supporting hydrogen medicine in human disease prevention and therapy.
A Linked Data Approach to Sentiment and Emotion Analysis of Twitter in the Financial Domain

Sentiment analysis has recently gained popularity in the financial domain thanks to its capability to predict the stock market based on the wisdom of the crowds. Nevertheless, current sentiment indicators are still silos that cannot be combined to get better insight about the mood of different communities. In this article we propose a Linked Data approach for modelling sentiment and emotions about financial entities. We aim at integrating sentiment information from different communities or providers, and complements existing initiatives such as FIBO. The ap- proach has been validated in the semantic annotation of tweets of several stocks in the Spanish stock market, including its sentiment information.
Targeted Disruption of Migration Inhibitory Factor Gene Reveals Its Critical Role in Sepsis

To study the biologic role of migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a pleiotropic cytokine, we generated a mouse strain lacking MIF by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Analysis of the role of MIF during sepsis showed that MIF−/− mice were resistant to the lethal effects of high dose bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB) with d-galactosamine and had lower plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) than did wild-type mice, but normal levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10. When stimulated with LPS and interferon γ, macrophages from MIF−/− mice showed diminished production of TNF-α, normal IL-6 and IL-12, and increased production of nitric oxide. MIF−/− animals cleared gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa instilled into the trachea better than did wild-type mice and had diminished neutrophil accumulation in their bronchoalveolar fluid compared to the wild-type mice. Thioglycollate elicited peritoneal exudates in uninfected MIF−/− mice, but showed normal neutrophil accumulation. Finally, the findings of enhanced resistance to P. aeruginosa and resistance to endotoxin-induced lethal shock suggest that the counteraction or neutralization of MIF may serve as an adjunct therapy in sepsis.
Expert Search on Code Repositories

We consider a new expert search task: given a code base, its history, and a block of code as a query, who are experts to consult if we have a question about this block of code? We discuss conditions under which such search would be useful and methodological implications for assessing expertise in this scenario. We then propose several ranking functions and describe a pilot evaluation on an active code repository.
Impact of Probiotics on Colonizing Microbiota of the Gut

Although precise mechanisms responsible for all demonstrations of probiotic health benefits are not known, many lines of evidence suggest that probiotics function through direct or indirect impact on colonizing microbiota of the gut. Probiotics can directly influence colonizing microbes through multiple mechanisms, including the production of inhibitory compounds (bacteriocins, short chain fatty acids, and others), by producing substrates that might promote the growth of colonizing microbes (secreted exopolysaccharides, vitamins, fatty acids, sugars from undigested carbohydrates and others), and by promoting immune responses against specific microbes. Indirectly, probiotics can influence colonizing microbes by inhibiting attachment through stimulated mucin production, reinforcing gut barrier effects, and downregulation of gut inflammation, thereby promoting microbes that are associated with a healthier gut physiology. Although the value of targeted changes in populations of gut bacteria is a matter of debate, increased levels of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the gut correlate with numerous health endpoints. Microbiota changes due to probiotic intake include increased numbers of related phylotypes, decreasing pathogens and their toxins, altering bacterial community structure to enhance evenness, stabilizing bacterial communities when perturbed (eg, with antibiotics), or promoting a more rapid recovery from a perturbation. Further research will provide insight into the degree of permanence of probiotic-induced changes, although research to date suggests that continued probiotic consumption is needed for sustained impact.
Metronomic chemotherapy beyond misconceptions

We read with interest the paper recently published in Haematologica “Metronomic therapy is an effective salvage treatment for heavily pre-treated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma” by Papanikolaou at al.[1][1] This paper reports the results of a retrospective analysis of 186 heavily pre-
A Mach-Zehnder modulator model for the design of optical-fiber analog transmitters

A measurement-based model of Mach-Zehnder electrooptic modulators is proposed that allows the design of a transmitter for optical analog links. The model, extracted for a modulator fabricated at Avanex laboratories, has been used to design a circuit in monolithic CMOS technology that provides broad-band improvement of spurious-free dynamic range.
Diffusion-kurtosis imaging predicts early radiotherapy response in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

In this prospective study, we analyzed diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) parameters to predict the early response to radiotherapy in 23 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. All patients underwent conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DKI before and after radiotherapy. The patients were divided into response (RG; no residual tumors; 16/23 patients) and no-response (NRG; residual tumors; 7/23 patients) groups, based on MRI and biopsy results 3 months after radiotherapy. The maximum diameter of tumors in RG and NRG patients were similar prior to radiotherapy (p=0.103). The pretreatment diffusion coefficient (D) parameters (Daxis, Dmean and Drad) were higher in RG than NRG patients (p=0.022, p=0.027 and p=0.027). Conversely, the pre-treatment fractional anisotropy (FA) and kurtosis coefficient (K) parameters (Kaxis, Kfa, Kmean, Krad and Mkt) were lower in RG than NRG patients (p=0.015, p=0.022, p=0.008, p=0.004, p=0.001, p=0.002). The Krad coefficient (0.76) was the best parameter to predict the radiotherapy response. Based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis Krad showed 71.4% sensitivity and 93.7% specificity (AUC: 0.897, 95% CI, 0.756-1). Multivariate analysis indicated DKI parameters were independent prognostic factors for the short-term effect in NPC. Thus, DKI predicts the early response to radiotherapy in NPC patients.
Uncalibrated synthetic aperture for defocus control

Exaggerated defocus can not be created with an ordinary compact digital camera because of its tiny sensor size, so it is hard to take pictures that attract a viewer to the main subject. On the other hand, there are many methods for controlling focus and defocus of previously taken pictures. However, most of these methods require purpose-built equipment such as a camera array to take pictures. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method to create images focused at any depth with arbitrarily blurred background from the set of images taken by a handheld compact digital camera moved randomly. Using our method, it is possible to produce various aesthetic blurs by changing the size, shape or density of the blur kernel. In addition, we confirm the potential of our method through a subjective evaluation of blurred images created by our system.
Betrachtungen zur theoretischen und empirischen Fruchtbarkeit des Konzeptes "Sozialkapital"

Der Begriff des „Sozialkapitals“ wird seit einigen Jahren verstarkt sowohl in der organisationsund managementtheoretischen Literatur als auch in der Praktikerliteratur verwandt. So finden sich z.B. Beitrage zur Erklarung von Karriereerfolg (Burt 1992, 1997; Podolny/Baron 1997), von Firmenauflosungen (Pennings/Lee/van Witteloostuijn 1998), der Generierung von (Ahuja 2000) und dem Ausmas an Innovationen in Organisationen (Tsai/Ghoshal 1998), der Leistung von Teams (Ancona/Caldwell 1992a, 1992b), des Niveaus von Vorstandsgehaltern (Belliveau/O Reilly/Wade 1996) und dem Einkommen von Managern (Boxman/De Graaf/Flap 1991; Meyerson 1994), von Konflikten zwischen Arbeitsgruppen (Nelson 1998), der Restrukturierung von Unternehmen (Schulman/Anderson 1999), von unethischem Verhalten in Organisationen (Brass/Butterfield/Skaggs 1998), der Beschaftigungspraktiken in einem Call-Center (Fernandez/Castilla/Moore 2000), der Arbeitsplatzmobilitat von Angestellten (Friedman/Krackhardt 1997) und von FE Kogut 2000), der Netzwerkbildung von “Start-up”-Unternehmen (Walker/Kogut/Shan 1997), der Generierung von intellektuellem Kapital in Unternehmen (Nahapiet/Ghoshal 1998), der generellen okonomischen Leistungsfahigkeit von Firmen (Baker 1990) und der Bedeutung von Sozialstrukturen und deren Zusammenhange mit der Personalpraxis fur den Unternehmenserfolg (Leanna/Van Buren 1999). Auch in der Praktikerliteratur findet das Sozialkapitalkonzept Niederschlag: So finden sich z.B. Ratschlage, wie man mit Sozialkapital den personlichen (Berufs-)Erfolg steigern kann (Baker 2000) oder wie Unternehmen ihre Leistungsfahigkeit durch Sozialkapital befordern konnen (Cohen/Prusak 2001; Lesser 2000a; Prusak/Cohen 2001). Die Verbreitung des Sozialkapitalgedankens lasst sich auch mit der Erscheinung von Ubersichtsbeitragen (Adler/Kwon 2000; Foley/Edwards 1999; Lin 1999; Nahapiet/Ghoshal 1998, Portes 1998; Sandefur/ Laumann 1998; Woolcock 1998) und Sammelbanden (Leenders/Gabbay 1999; Lesser 2000b; Lin/Cook/Burt 2001) dokumentieren.
Olfoto: designing a smell-based interaction

We present a study into the use of smell for searching digi-tal photo collections. Many people now have large photo libraries on their computers and effective search tools are needed. Smell has a strong link to memory and emotion so may be a good way to cue recall when searching. Our study compared text and smell based tagging. For the first stage we generated a set of smell and tag names from user de-scriptions of photos, participants then used these to tag pho-tos, returning two weeks later to answer questions on their photos. Results showed that participants could tag effec-tively with text labels, as this is a common and familiar task. Performance with smells was lower but participants performed significantly above chance, with some partici-pants using smells well. This suggests that smell has poten-tial. Results also showed that some smells were consistently identified and useful, but some were not and highlighted issues with smell delivery devices. We also discuss some practical issues of using smell for interaction.
Phase III trial of fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide compared with fludarabine for patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia: US Intergroup Trial E2997.

PURPOSE The combination of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide is an effective regimen for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, it may be accompanied by increased toxicity compared with fludarabine alone. E2997 is a phase III randomized Intergroup trial comparing fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC arm) versus fludarabine (F arm) alone in patients receiving their first chemotherapy regimen for CLL. PATIENTS AND METHODS Symptomatic, previously untreated patients with CLL were randomly assigned to receive either fludarabine 25 mg/m2 intravenously (IV) days 1 through 5 or cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 IV day 1 and fludarabine 20 mg/m2 IV days 1 through 5. These cycles were repeated every 28 days for a maximum of six cycles. RESULTS A total of 278 patients were randomly assigned in this Intergroup study. Treatment with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide was associated with a significantly higher complete response (CR) rate (23.4% v 4.6%; P < .001) and a higher overall response (OR) rate (74.3% v 59.5%, P = .013) than treatment with fludarabine as a single agent. Progression-free survival (PFS) was also superior in patients treated with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide than those treated with fludarabine (31.6 v 19.2 months, P < .0001). Fludarabine and cyclophosphamide caused additional hematologic toxicity, including more severe thrombocytopenia (P = .046), but it did not increase the number of severe infections (P = .812). CONCLUSION Fludarabine and cyclophosphamide produced an increase in OR and CR, and it improved PFS in patients with previously untreated CLL compared with fludarabine alone and was not associated with an increase in infectious toxicity.
Integrated Coordinated Optimization Control of Automatic Generation Control and Automatic Voltage Control in Regional Power Grids

Automatic Generation Control (AGC) and Automatic Voltage Control (AVC) are key approaches to frequency and voltage regulation in power systems. However, based on the assumption of decoupling of active and reactive power control, the existing AGC and AVC systems work independently without any coordination. In this paper, a concept and method of hybrid control is introduced to set up an Integrated Coordinated Optimization Control (ICOC) system for AGC and AVC. Concerning the diversity of control devices and the characteristics of discrete control interaction with a continuously operating power system, the ICOC system is designed in a hierarchical structure and driven by security, quality and economic events, consequently reducing optimization complexity and realizing multi-target quasi-optimization. In addition, an innovative model of Loss Minimization Control (LMC) taking into consideration active and reactive power regulation is proposed to achieve a substantial reduction in network losses and a cross iterative method for AGC and AVC instructions is also presented to decrease negative interference between control systems. The ICOC system has already been put into practice in some provincial regional power grids in China. Open-looping operation tests have proved the validity of the presented control strategies.
Fast Multiresolution Extraction of Multiple Transparent Isosurfaces

In this paper, we present a multiresolution algorithm which is capable to render multiple transparent isosurfaces under real–time constraints. To this end, the underlying 3D data set is covered with a hierarchical tetrahedral grid. The multiresolution extraction algorithm is then based on an adaptive traversal of the tetrahedral grid with the help of error indicators. The display of transparent isosurfaces using alpha blending requires a back–to–front rendering of the isosurface triangles. This is achieved by a hierarchical sorting procedure of the tetrahedra and the hierarchical computation of data gradients. We will also comment on the automated selection of suitable isovalues for visualization applications.
Combinatorial Control of Exon Recognition*

Pre-mRNA splicing is a fundamental process required for the expression of most metazoan genes. It is carried out by the spliceosome, which catalyzes the removal of noncoding intronic sequences to assemble exons into mature mRNAs prior to export and translation. Given the complexity of higher eukaryotic genes and the relatively low level of splice site conservation, the precision of the splicing machinery in recognizing and pairing splice sites is impressive. Introns ranging in size from <100 up to 100,000 bases are removed efficiently. At the same time, a large number of alternative splicing events are observed between different cell types, during development, or during other biological processes. This extensive alternative splicing implies a significant flexibility of the spliceosome to identify and process exons within a given pre-mRNA. To reach this flexibility, splice site selection in higher eukaryotes has evolved to depend on multiple parameters such as splice site strength, the presence or absence of splicing regulators, RNA secondary structures, the exon/intron architecture, and the process of pre-mRNA synthesis itself. The relative contributions of each of these parameters control how efficiently splice sites are recognized and flanking introns are removed.
HIV prevention among black Africans in England: a complex challenge

This paper is about the HIV epidemic in the context of black Africans in England. It gives an overview of the current epidemiological status, HIV support and prevention needs and recommendations for policy and practice. It focuses on black African communities because they are disproportionately affected by HIV compared to other minority ethnic groups. Although black Africans make up only about 1 per cent of the UK population, they account for almost half of all new HIV diagnoses in the UK (Morris, 2008; HPA, 2009a). Apart from high HIV prevalence, their potential to benefit from available treatment and care is limited by many factors, such as late diagnosis, stigma and discrimination, unemployment, poor living conditions and uncertain immigration status for some (Ibrahim et al., 2008). Throughout this paper, the term ‘black African’ is used to refer to people who identify themselves as black African, whether they are nationals of African countries, migrants from Africa or just African descendants.