Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Dynamics of Hate and Violence

This paper provides a simple dynamic model that explores the interdependence and dynamic properties of hate, violence and economic well-being. It shows that a time-dependent economic growth process that affects the evolution of hate can yield a long run steady state, but this steady state will not be free of hate and violence. Moreover, we show that better (long run) economic conditions do not necessarily result in lower equilibrium levels of hate and violence. We show that, under reasonable conditions, cycles of hate and violence cannot occur and consequently, the dynamics of hate and violence in itself cannot give rise to cyclical patterns of (net) economic well-being. While both stable and unstable equilibria are possible, the most likely equilibrium is unstable (a saddle point). Using a linear example, we show that instability becomes more likely with an increases in the: responsiveness to economic condition and violence; willingness to forgive; marginal cost of violence and â€œlengthâ€ of a countryâ€™s m
Effects of hypoxia-reoxygenation on rat blood-brain barrier permeability and tight junctional protein expression.

Cerebral microvessel endothelial cells that form the blood-brain barrier (BBB) have tight junctions (TJs) that are critical for maintaining brain homeostasis. The effects of initial reoxygenation after a hypoxic insult (H/R) on functional and molecular properties of the BBB and TJs remain unclear. In situ brain perfusion and Western blot analyses were performed to assess in vivo BBB integrity on reoxygenation after a hypoxic insult of 6% O2 for 1 h. Model conditions [blood pressure, blood gas chemistries, cerebral blood flow (CBF), and brain ATP concentration] were also assessed to ensure consistent levels and criteria for insult. In situ brain perfusion revealed that initial reoxygenation (10 min) significantly increased the uptake of [14C]sucrose into brain parenchyma. Capillary depletion and CBF analyses indicated the perturbations were due to increased paracellular permeability rather than vascular volume changes. Hypoxia with reoxygenation (10 min) produced an increase in BBB permeability with associated alterations in tight junctional protein expression. These results suggest that H/R leads to reorganization of TJs and increased paracellular diffusion at the BBB, which is not a result of increased CBF, vascular volume change, or endothelial uptake of marker. Additionally, the tight junctional protein occludin had a shift in bands that correlated with functional changes (i.e., increased permeability) without significant change in expression of claudin-3, zonula occludens-1, or actin. H/R-induced changes in the BBB may result in edema and/or associated pathological outcomes.
Roles for ligases in the RNA editing complex of Trypanosoma brucei: band IV is needed for U‐deletion and RNA repair

Trypanosome RNA editing utilizes a seven polypeptide complex that includes two RNA ligases, band IV and band V. We now find that band IV protein contributes to the structural stability of the editing complex, so its lethal genetic knock‐out could reflect structural or catalytic requirements. To assess the catalytic role in editing, we generated cell lines which inducibly replaced band IV protein with an enzymatically inactive but structurally conserved version. This induction halts cell growth, showing that catalytic activity is essential. These induced cells have impaired in vivo editing, specifically of RNAs requiring uridylate (U) deletion; unligated RNAs cleaved at U‐deletion sites accumulated. Additionally, mitochondrial extracts of cells with reduced band IV activity were deficient in catalyzing U‐deletion, specifically at its ligation step, but were not deficient in U‐insertion. Thus band IV ligase is needed to seal RNAs in U‐deletion. U‐insertion does not appear to require band IV, so it might use the other ligase of the editing complex. Furthermore, band IV ligase was also found to serve an RNA repair function, both in vitro and in vivo.
In vitro culturing and characteristics of transit amplifying epithelial cells from human prostate tissue

The prostatic epithelium is functionally organized in stem cell units. This unit consists of a slow turn over stem cell within the basal epithelial layer which can replenish itself and provide progeny which differentiate down either a neuroendocrine or exocrine pathway. The maturation along the exocrine pathway initially involves transit amplifying cells within the basal layer proliferating and subsequently the progeny maturing into intermediate cells. These intermediate cells migrate into the luminal layer where they terminally differentiate into non‐proliferative secretory luminal cells which express prostate specific differentiation markers, like PSA. A growing body of experimental evidence has identified the proliferating transit amplifying/intermediate cells as the cells of origin for the common prostatic adenocarcinomas. Using a series of growth characteristics, and mRNA and protein markers, we have validated that primary cultures can be established in serum free defined media from surgically resected human prostates which are composed of essentially pure population of transit amplifying cells. At each serial passage, the subsequent cultures undergo enhanced maturation into intermediate cells and by the 7–10th passage these cells eventually lose their proliferative ability. This study validates that these cells are a useful and relevant system for the determination of molecular events involved in prostatic carcinogenesis. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CD8+ T-Cell Interleukin-7 Receptor Alpha Expression as a Potential Indicator of Disease Status in HIV-Infected Children

Background Initiation and modification of antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children depend on viral load and CD4+ T-cell count. However, these surrogates have limitations, and complementary immunological markers to assess therapeutic response are needed. Our aim was to evaluate CD8+ T-cell expression of CD127 as a marker of disease status in HIV-infected children, based on adult data suggesting its usefulness. We hypothesized that CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells is lower in children with more advanced disease. Methods In a cross-sectional evaluation, we used flow cytometry to measure CD127+ expression on CD8+ T-cells in whole blood from HIV-infected children with varying disease status. This was compared with expression of CD38 on this subset, currently used in clinical practice as a marker of disease status. Results 51 HIV-infected children were enrolled. There was a strong positive correlation between CD127 expression on CD8+ T-cells and CD4+ T-cell count, and height and weight z-scores, and a strong negative correlation between CD127 expression and viral load. In contrast, we found no association between CD38 expression and these disease status markers. Conclusions CD8+ T-cell CD127 expression is significantly higher in children with better HIV disease control, and may have a role as an immunologic indicator of disease status. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the utility of this marker as a potential indicator of HIV disease progression.
A Secure Cyclic Steganographic Technique for Color Images using Randomization

Information Security is a major concern in today's modern era. Almost all the communicating bodies want the security, confidentiality and integrity of their personal data. But this security goal cannot be achieved easily when we are using an open network like Internet. Steganography provides one of the best solutions to this problem. This paper represents a new Cyclic Steganographic T echnique (CST) based on Least Significant Bit (LSB) for true color (RGB) images. The proposed method hides the secret data in the LSBs of cover image pixels in a randomized cyclic manner. The proposed technique is evaluated using both subjective and objective analysis using histograms changeability, Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Mean Square Error (MSE). Experimentally it is found that the proposed method gives promising results in terms of security, imperceptibility and robustness as compared to some existent methods and vindicates this new algorithm.
AG490 prevents cell death after exposure of rat astrocytes to hydrogen peroxide or proinflammatory cytokines: involvement of the Jak2/STAT pathway

Janus kinases/STAT pathway mediates cellular responses to certain oxidative stress stimuli and cytokines. Here we examine the activation of Stat1 and Stat3 in rat astrocyte cultures and its involvement in cell death. H2O2, interferon (INF)‐γ and interleukin (IL)‐6 but not IL‐10 caused cell death. Stat1 was phosphorylated on tyrosine (Tyr)‐701 after exposure to H2O2, INF‐γ or IL‐6 but not IL‐10. Tyr‐705 pStat3 was observed after H2O2, IL‐6 and IL‐10. Also, H2O2 induced serine (Ser)‐727 phosphorylation of Stat1 but not Stat3. The degree of Tyr‐701 pStat1 by the different treatments positively correlated with the corresponding reduction of cell viability. AG490, a Jak2 inhibitor, prevented Tyr‐701 but not Ser‐727, Stat1 phosphorylation. Also, AG490 inhibited Tyr‐705 Stat3 phosphorylation induced by H2O2 and IL‐6 but did not prevent that induced by IL‐10. Furthermore, AG490 conferred strong protection against cell death induced by INF‐γ, IL‐6 and H2O2. These results suggest that Jak2/Stat1 activation mediates cell death induced by proinflammatory cytokines and peroxides. However, we found evidence suggesting that AG490 reduces oxidative stress induced by H2O2, which further shows that H2O2 and/or derived reactive oxygen species directly activate Jak2/Stat1, but masks the actual involvement of this pathway in H2O2‐induced cell death.
Short Paper: Dynamic leakage: A Need for a New Quantitative Information Flow Measure

A number of measures for quantifying information leakage of a program have been proposed. Most of these measures evaluate a program as a whole by quantifying how much information can be leaked on average by different program outputs. While these measures perfectly fit for static program analyses, they cannot be used by dynamic analyses since they do not specify what information an attacker learns through observing one concrete program output. In this paper we study the existing definitions of quantitative information flow. Our goal is to find the definition of dynamic leakage -- it should evaluate how much information an attacker learns when she observes one program output. Surprisingly, we find out that none of the existing definitions provide a suitable measure for dynamic leakage. We hence open a new research question in quantitative information flow area: which definition of dynamic leakage is suitable?
Proof-Carrying Code Based Tool for Secure Information Flow of Assembly Programs

Problem statement: How a host (the code consumer) can determine with certainty that a downloaded program received from untrusted source (the code producer) will maintain the confidentiality of the data it manipulates and it is safe to install and execute. Approach: The approach adopted for verifying that a downloaded program will not leak confidential data to unauthorized parties was based on the concept of Proof-Carrying Code (PCC). A mobile program (in its assembly form) was analyzed for information flow security based on the concept of proof-carrying code. The security policy was centered on a type system for analyzing information flows within assembly programs based on the notion of noninterference. Results: A verification tool for verifying assembly programs for information flow security was built. The tool certifies SPARC assembly programs for secure information flow by statically analyzing the program based on the idea of Proof-Carrying Code (PCC). The tool operated directly on the machine-code requiring only the inputs and outputs of the code annotated with security levels. The tool provided a windows user interface enabling the users to control the verification process. The proofs that untrusted program did not leak sensitive information were generated and checked on the host machine and if they are valid, then the untrusted program can be installed and executed safely. Conclusion: By basing proof-carrying code infrastructure on information flow analysis type-system, a sufficient assurance of protecting confidential data manipulated by the mobile program can be obtained. This assurance was come due to the fact that type systems provide a sufficient guarantee of protecting confidentiality.
Spending Time Together—Changes Over Four Decades in Leisure Time Spent with a Spouse

Abstract Using American time diary data from 1965, 1975 and 2003, this study investigates to what extent couples' joint leisure time has changed in the past four decades and to what extent joint leisure time varies between men and women and between single and dual-earner couples. Results show that partners now spend more time together engaged in various leisure activities than they did in the past, not only in percentages but also in absolute number of minutes. The difference between men and women (women reported a lower percentage of joint leisure than men) has grown smaller in the past four decades.
Specific high-affinity receptors for neurotrophin-3 on sympathetic neurons

When used at concentrations allowing interactions only with its high- affinity receptors, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) promotes the survival of sensory neurons isolated from embryonic day 8 (E8) chicks, but not the survival of E11 sympathetic neurons. These sympathetic neurons (which can be rescued by the addition of NGF) display high-affinity receptors for NT-3 (Kd of 1.6 x 10(-11) M) that cannot be distinguished from the high-affinity NT-3 receptors on sensory neurons using equilibrium binding or kinetic criteria. This represents the first example of embryonic neurons that cannot be rescued by the in vitro addition of a neurotrophin in spite of the presence of corresponding neurotrophin high-affinity receptors. At elevated concentrations, beyond the saturation of its high-affinity receptors, NT-3 supports the survival of some E11 sympathetic neurons, an effect that might be mediated by the high-affinity NGF receptor. Using E7 sympathetic neurons, about 40% of the cells initially plated can be rescued in vitro by the addition of low concentrations of NT-3 (but not of NGF) and produce profuse neurites. This indicates that NT-3 may play a role in the early development of some sympathetic neurons.
The use of electromagnetic radiation in the physiotherapy

The electromagnetic field is a physical field produced by electrically charged objects. Types of radiations in the electromagnetic spectrum include: radio waves, microwave, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays. Understanding the mechanisms of cellular responses to particular types of electromagnetic radiation has enabled the development of the variety of methods of physiotherapy suitable for different types of diseases. The main ones are: electrotherapy, magnetic therapy and phototherapy. Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy like direct current, impulse currents of low frequency and alternating current of medium frequency and high frequency. Magnetotherapy uses a pulsing magnetic field to induce intracellular movement of ions due to the electromagnetic field, resulting in hyperpolarization of the cell membrane, and thereby the increment of the European Journal of Medical Technologies 2016; 2(11): 53-58 Copyright © 2016 by ISASDMT All rights reserved www. medical-technologies.eu Published online 19.07. 2016
Efficient processing of complex similarity queries in RDBMS through query rewriting

Multimedia and complex data are usually queried by similarity predicates. Whereas there are many works dealing with algorithms to answer basic similarity predicates, there are not generic algorithms able to efficiently handle similarity complex queries combining several basic similarity predicates. In this work we propose a simple and effective set of algorithms that can be combined to answer complex similarity queries, and a set of algebraic rules useful to rewrite similarity query expressions into an adequate format for those algorithms. Those rules and algorithms allow relational database management systems to turn complex queries into efficient query execution plans. We present experiments that highlight interesting scenarios. They show that the proposed algorithms are orders of magnitude faster than the traditional similarity algorithms. Moreover, they are linearly scalable considering the database size.
Multivariate analysis of health data : General issues Introduction

The most basic description of health sector inequality is given by the bivariate relationship between a health variable and some measure of socio-economic status (SES) (Technical Notes 6 & 7). For a finer description, one might want to standardize for demographic factors, such as age and gender (Notes 3 & 13). Or, one might want to explain the inequality through decomposition into its constituent parts (Notes 14 & 15). More ambitiously, one might want to test for the existence of a causal relationship between a health variable and SES, and to examine the nature of such causality. All of these tasks require moving from bivariate to multivariate analysis. In this Note, we consider some general issues that arise in multivariate analyses of health and health care data. First, we clarify the general statistical approaches relevant to different questions concerning health sector inequality. Second, since health data invariably derive from complex sample surveys, we consider the consequences of sample design for estimation and inference. In Note 12 we examine the most commonly used estimators for analysis of health data.
One-year Prognosis and the Role of Brain Natriuretic Peptide Levels in Patients with Chronic Cor Pulmonale

Data on the clinical outcomes and role of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in patients with chronic cor pulmonale are limited. A total of 69 patients with chronic cor pulmonale, admitted for dyspnea (January 2007 to September 2011) to three university hospitals, were retrospectively reviewed. All of the patients had right ventricular (RV) dysfunction on echocardiography. The median age was 70.0 yr, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (40.6%) and tuberculosis-destroyed lung (TDL, 27.5%) were the leading causes of chronic cor pulmonale. At the 1-yr follow-up, the mortality rate was 15.9%, and the readmission rate was 53.7%; patients with TDL had higher mortality (31.6% vs. 10.0%; P=0.059) and readmission rates (78.9% vs. 43.8%; P=0.009) than those with non-TDL diseases. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for admission BNP levels to predict readmission was 0.788 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.673-0.904), and the sensitivity and specificity of the cut-off value were 80.6% and 77.4%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, high admission BNP levels were a significant risk factor for subsequent readmission (hazard ratio, 1.049; 95% CI, 1.005-1.094). Additionally, admission BNP levels were well correlated with cardiac troponin I (r=0.558), and delta BNP also correlated with delta RV systolic pressure (n=25; r=0.562). In conclusion, among hospitalized patients with chronic cor pulmonale, admission high BNP levels are a significant risk factor for subsequent readmission. Therefore, more intensive monitoring and treatment are needed in patients with higher BNP levels. Graphical Abstract
Unenhanced MR portography with a half-Fourier fast spin-echo sequence and time-space labeling inversion pulses: preliminary results.

OBJECTIVE For this study, we aimed to selectively visualize the intrahepatic portal veins using 3D half-Fourier fast spin-echo (FSE) MR angiography (MRA) with a time-space labeling inversion pulse (T-SLIP) and to optimize the acquisition protocol. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Respiratory-triggered 3D half-Fourier FSE scans were obtained in 25 healthy adult subjects combined with two different T-SLIPs: one placed on the liver and the thorax to suppress signals of the liver parenchyma, hepatic veins, and abdominal arteries and the other on the lower abdomen to suppress the ascending signal of the inferior vena cava. One of the most important factors was the inversion time (TI) of the inversion pulse for the liver and thorax. Image quality was evaluated in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio, and mean visualization scores at four different TIs: 800, 1,200, 1,600, and 2,000 milliseconds. RESULTS Selective visualization of the portal vein was successfully achieved in all volunteers, and anatomic variations were also seen in three subjects. A TI of 1,200 milliseconds was optimal in our protocol because it was sufficient for peripheral portal vein visualization and was most suitable for signal suppression of the hepatic veins and liver parenchyma. CONCLUSION Half-Fourier FSE scanning with T-SLIPs enabled selective visualization of the portal vein without an exogenous contrast agent.
Vocal tract inversion by cepstral analysis-by-synthesis using chain matrices

Acoustic-to-articulatory inversion for vowels is performed by cepstral analysis-by-synthesis, using chain-matrix calculation of vocal tract (VT) acoustics and the Maeda articulatory model. The derivative of the VT chain matrix with respect to the area function was calculated in a novel efficient manner, and used in the BFGS quasi-Newton method for optimizing a distance measure between input and synthesized cepstral features over the entire articulatory trajectory. The optimization is initialized by a fast search of an articulatory codebook with a bin structure in formant space and the cost function also includes regularization and continuity terms to obtain realistic inverted VT shapes and smooth articulatory trajectories. Inversion is evaluated on the three diphthongs /ai/, /oi/ and /au/ of two speakers, one male and one female, from the University of Wisconsin X-ray microbeam (XRMB) database, and good agreement was achieved between inverted midsagittal vocal tract outlines and measured XRMB tongue and lip pellet positions, with an average relative error of less than 3% in the first three formants.
Ratio of fat to energy intake independently associated with the duration of diabetes and total cholesterol levels in type 2 diabetes

The importance of dietary intake in the treatment of type 2 diabetes was emphasized. This study was performed to investigate the dietary intakes of Korean type 2 diabetes patients according to the treatment and duration of diabetes and to examine the relationships between their diet and serum lipid profiles. The subjects were 111 type 2 diabetic patients who were treated by medical nutrition therapy only, oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA), or insulin with medical nutrition therapy. Dietary intake was assessed by a registered dietitian using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires. Comparisons according to treatment type were made using covariance analyses. General linear models identified the independent effects of the different treatments after covarying for age, duration of diabetes, and 2-way interactions. There were no significant differences in age and BMI but was in duration of diabetes according to treatment type in these subjects. Carbohydrate to energy ratio was higher in the OHA group (P < 0.05), whereas the fat to energy ratio was higher in the insulin group for males (P < 0.05). Carbohydrate (R2 = 0.24, P = 0.005) and fat (R2 = 0.26, P = 0.02) to energy ratios were independently associated with the duration of diabetes after covarying for age, sex, treatment, and 2-way interactions. The levels of triglyceride (TG; R2 = 0.32, P = 0.02) and total cholesterol (TC) were associated independently with energy intake and the carbohydrate (R2 = 0.15, P = 0.02) and fat (R2 = 0.15, P = 0.01) to energy ratios, respectively. The concern that the independent association of dietary intake with either duration of diabetes or dietary factors affects blood lipid levels could suggest that specific dietary recommendations may work better for identifiable groups of diabetes patients.