Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Toll-Like Receptor 4 in Endotoxin-Induced Acute Renal Failure 1

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is present on monocytes and other cell types, and mediates inflammatory events such as the release of TNF after exposure to LPS. C3H/HeJ mice are resistant to LPS-induced mortality, due to a naturally occurring mutation in TLR4. We therefore hypothesized that LPS-induced acute renal failure (ARF) requires systemic TNF release triggered by LPS acting on extrarenal TLR4. We injected C3H/HeJ mice and C3H/HeOuJ controls with 0.25 mg of LPS, and sacrificed them 6 h later for analysis of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and kidney tissue (n = 8 per group). In contrast to C3H/HeOuJ controls, C3H/HeJ mice were completely resistant to LPS-induced ARF (6-h BUN of 32.3 ± 1.1 vs 61.7 ± 5.6 mg/dl). C3H/HeJ mice released no TNF into the circulation at 2 h (0.00 vs 1.24 ± 0.16 ng/ml), had less renal neutrophil infiltration (6.4 ± 1.0 vs 11.4 ± 1.3 neutrophils per high power field), and less renal apoptosis, as assessed by DNA laddering. Transplant studies showed that C3H/HeJ recipients of wild-type kidneys (n = 9) were protected from LPS-induced ARF, while wild-type recipients of C3H/HeJ kidneys (n = 11) developed severe LPS-induced ARF (24-h BUN 44.0 ± 4.1 vs 112.1 ± 20.0 mg/dl). These experiments support our hypothesis that LPS acts on extrarenal TLR4, thereby leading to systemic TNF release and subsequent ARF. Renal neutrophil infiltration and renal cell apoptosis are potential mechanisms by which endotoxemia leads to functional ARF.
Thermal Modeling of a Multilayered Film via Taylor Series Expansion- and Least Squares-Based-Lattice Boltzmann Method

An enhanced lattice Boltzmann scheme, Taylor series expansion- and least squares-based-lattice Boltzmann method (TLLBM), is adopted to simulate transient thermal behavior in a thin multilayer. The meshless formulation of TLLBM not only handles the changes in material properties from one layer to another, but also facilitates the general geometry handling capabilities. The energy carrier interaction at the interface is governed via diffusive mismatch model (DMM). We simulated transient thermal behavior of a hot-spot in the dual-layer by incorporating a heat source in one of the layers. The sub-continuum effect of anisotropic thermal transport is presented where the heat preferentially flows laterally in the layer with higher conductivity as its thickness is reduced. The insight into the nanoscale thermal behavior acquired via a relatively simple model will be critical for the design and operation of complex data storage and electronic systems, where thermal transport plays an active and critical role
Neanderthal contraction and modern human colonization of Europe

A complex statistical analysis of 14C dates from European Neanderthal and Early Modern humans has enabled important new understanding of how and when this major population change took place. This data allows the debate on the end of the Neanderthals to continue on much firmer ground. The large dataset may be found at http://intarch.ac. uk/antiquity/additional/bocqtable1.html.
Inflammatory markers and the risk of hip fracture: The women's health initiative

Cytokines play a major role in bone remodeling in vitro and in animal models, with evidence supporting the involvement of inflammatory markers in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. However, less is known about the longitudinal association of inflammatory markers with hip fracture. We tested whether high receptor levels of proinflammatory cytokines are associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in older women. We used a nested case‐control study design from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI‐OS) and selected 400 cases with physician‐adjudicated incident hip fractures and 400 controls matched on age, race, and date of blood draw. Participants were chosen from 39,795 postmenopausal women without previous hip fractures, not using estrogens or other bone‐active therapies. Incident hip fractures (median follow‐up 7.1 years) were verified by review of radiographs and confirmed by blinded central adjudicators. Hip fractures with a pathological cause were excluded. In multivariable models, the risk of hip fracture for subjects with the highest levels of inflammatory markers (quartile 4) compared with those with lower levels (quartiles 1, 2, and 3) was 1.43 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98–2.07) for interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) soluble receptor (SR), 1.40 (95% CI, 0.97–2.03) for tumor necrosis factor (TNF) SR1, and 1.56 (95% CI, 1.09–2.22) for TNF SR2. In subjects with all three markers in the highest quartile, the risk ratio of fracture was 2.76 (95% CI, 1.22–6.25) in comparison with subjects with 0 or 1 elevated marker(s) (p trend = 0.018). Elevated levels of inflammatory markers for all three cytokine‐soluble receptors were associated with an increased risk of hip fractures in older women. Future clinical trials should test whether interventions to decrease inflammatory marker levels reduces hip fractures. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
E-reputation monitoring on Twitter with active learning automatic annotation

Opinion and trend mining on micro blogs like twitter recently attracted research interest in several ﬁelds including Information Retrieval and Machine Learning. This paper is intended to develop a so-called active learning for automatically annotating French language tweets that deal with the image (i.e., representation, web reputation) of entities : such as politicians, celebrities, companies or brands. Our main contribution is the methodology followed to build and provide an original annotated French data-set expressing opinion on two French politicians over time. Since the performance of natural language processing tasks are limited by the amount and quality of data available to them, one promising alternative for some tasks is the propagation of pseudo-expert annotations. The paper is focused on key issues about active learning while building a large annotated data set, from noise introduced by humans annotators, abundance of data and the label distribution across data and entities.
Recommendations of the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society Committee on Device Failures and Complications

Recommendations of the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society Committee on Device Failures and Complications MASSIMO SANTINI,* JOHANNES BRACHMANN,† RICCARDO CAPPATO,‡ WYN DAVIES,§ JERONIMO FARRE,‖ SAMUEL LEVY,¶ AURELIO QUESADA,# RENATO P. RICCI,** EDWARD ROWLAND,†† NEIL SULKE‡‡ From *San Filipo Neri Hospital, Rome, Italy, †Klinikum Coburg, Germany, ‡Policlinico S. Donato, Milan, Italy, §St. Mary Hospital, London, UK, ‖Fundacion Jimenez Diaz, Madrid, Spain, ¶Hopital Nord des Bourrellys, Marseille, France, #Hospital General University of Valencia, Spain, **San Filippo Neri Hospital, ††St. George Medical School, London, UK, ‡‡Eastbourne General Hospital, Sussex, UK
Identification of fetal hemoglobin-inducing agents using the human leukemia KU812 cell line

Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) ameliorates the clinical severity of sickle cell disease; therefore continued research to identify efficacious HbF-inducing agents is desirable. In this study, we investigated KU812 leukemia cells that express the fetal γ-globin and adult β-globin genes, as a system for screening and discovery of novel HbF inducers. KU812 cells were analyzed in the presence or absence of fetal bovine serum and then expression levels of the globin genes, cell surface markers and transcription factors were quantified by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). For comparison, primary erythroid cells were grown in a two-phase liquid culture system. After drug inductions for 48–72 h, globin mRNA and HbF levels were quantified by RT-qPCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Erythroid markers and transcription factors expression levels in KU812 cells were comparable to days 7–14 erythroid cells. We also tested several drugs including butyrate, trichostatin A, scriptaid, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid and hydroxyurea, which induced γ-globin in KU812 cells; however, some agents also induced β-globin. A novel agent STI-571 was studied in the system, which non-selectively induced the globin genes. Additional studies showed comparable globin gene response patterns in KU812 and primary erythroid cells after treatments with the various drug inducers. Mechanisms of drug-mediated γ-globin induction in KU812 cells require signaling through the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway similar to that previously demonstrated in primary erythroid cells. These data suggest that KU812 cells serve as a good screening system to identify potential HbF inducers for the treatment of β-hemoglobinopathies.
Effect of 2‐(4‐Phenylpiperidino)cyclohexanol (AH 5183) on the Veratridine‐Induced Increase in Acetylcholine Synthesis by Rat Hippocampal Tissue

Abstract: The intent of this study was to determine whether the drug 2‐(4‐phenylpiperidino)cyclohexanol (AH 5183 or vesamicol) might inhibit the veratridine‐induced increase in acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis by reducing the veratridine‐induced activation of a detergent‐soluble choline‐O‐acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.6; ChAT) fraction associated with a vesicle‐bound store of ACh. When minces of rat hippocampal tissue were loaded with [14C]choline and subsequently depolarized with veratridine, an increase in the synthesis of [14C]ACh occurred that could be abolished by l‐AH 5183 (75 nM). When minces were depolarized with veratridine in the presence of l‐AH 5183 (75 nM), the depolarization‐induced activation of a detergent‐soluble ChAT fraction associated with a vesicle‐bound store of ACh was blocked. Conversely, the veratridine‐induced activation of a water‐soluble ChAT fraction believed to be cytosolic was not. AH 5183 also blocked the repletion of the vesicle‐bound store with newly synthesized ACh following veratridine‐induced depletion of ACh, a result that appeared to be mediated by an effect on the synthesis of ACh at the vesicular surface. These results suggest that veratridine depolarization of rat hippocampal nerve terminals stimulates the synthesis of ACh by activating a detergentsoluble fraction of ChAT closely associated with synaptic vesicle release sites. ACh synthesis and transport at the vesicular surface may be influenced by a common AH 5183‐sensitive regulatory protein.
NEIGHBORHOOD SEMANTICS FOR INTENTIONAL OPERATORS

Towards NonBeing (Priest, 2005) gives a noneist account of the semantics of intentional operators and predicates. The semantics for intentional operators are modelled on those for the □ in normal modal logics. In this paper an alternative semantics, modelled on neighborhood semantics for □, is given and assessed.
Evaluation of the Biolog Substrate Utilization System To Identify and Assess Metabolic Variation among Strains of Xanthomonas campestris pv. Citri

Metabolic fingerprints of 148 strains of Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri originating from 24 countries and associated with various forms of citrus bacterial canker disease (CBCD) were obtained by using the Biolog substrate utilization system. Metabolic profiles were used to attempt strain identification. Only 6.8% of the studied strains were correctly identified when the commercial Microlog 2N data base was used alone. When the data base was supplemented with data from 54 strains of X. campestris pv. citri (40 CBCD-A strains, 8 CBCD-B strains, and 6 CBCD-C strains) and data from 43 strains of X. campestris associated with citrus bacterial spot disease, the percentage of correct identifications was 70%. Thus, it is recommended that users supplement the commercial data base with additional data prior to using the program for identification purposes. The utilization of Tween 40 in conjunction with other tests can help to differentiate strains associated with CBCD and citrus bacterial spot disease. These results confirmed the separation of X. campestris pv. citri into different subgroups (strains associated with Asiatic citrus canker [CBCD-A], cancrosis B [CBCD-B], and Mexican lime canker [CBCD-C]). The utilization of l-fucose, d-galactose, and alaninamide can be used as markers to differentiate strains associated with these groups. A single strain associated with bacteriosis of Mexican lime in Mexico (CBCD-D) was closely similar to CBCD-B strains.
Application of Whole-Genome Sequencing for Bacterial Strain Typing in Molecular Epidemiology

ABSTRACT Nosocomial infections pose a significant threat to patient health; however, the gold standard laboratory method for determining bacterial relatedness (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE]) remains essentially unchanged 20 years after its introduction. Here, we explored bacterial whole-genome sequencing (WGS) as an alternative approach for molecular strain typing. We compared WGS to PFGE for investigating presumptive outbreaks involving three important pathogens: vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (n = 19), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 17), and Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 15). WGS was highly reproducible (average ≤ 0.39 differences between technical replicates), which enabled a functional, quantitative definition for determining clonality. Strain relatedness data determined by PFGE and WGS roughly correlated, but the resolution of WGS was superior (P = 5.6 × 10−8 to 0.016). Several discordant results were noted between the methods. A total of 28.9% of isolates which were indistinguishable by PFGE were nonclonal by WGS. For A. baumannii, a species known to undergo rapid horizontal gene transfer, 16.2% of isolate pairs considered nonidentical by PFGE were clonal by WGS. Sequencing whole bacterial genomes with single-nucleotide resolution demonstrates that PFGE is prone to false-positive and false-negative results and suggests the need for a new gold standard approach for molecular epidemiological strain typing.
Complementarity and institutional change in capitalist systems

Abstract The concept of institutional complementarity – that the co-existence of two or more institutions enhances the functioning of each – is frequently used to explain why institutions are resistant to change and why introducing new institutions into a system often fails to achieve the intended objective. This paper utilizes examples from comparative political economy to delineate the concept and address the issue of how to measure the strength of complementarities. It then assesses the utility of the concept for explaining institutional change, concluding that assessing the causal effect of complementarities on change is difficult and ambiguous. A better understanding requires embedding complementarities within a more general theory of institutional change which takes a broader view of the ways in which institutions interconnect and change.
Evolution of competitive ability in Drosophila by density-dependent natural selection

The theory of density-dependent natural selection predicts that populations kept at extreme densities should evolve different competitive abilities for limited resources. These predictions have been tested with laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Six independent populations were maintained in two environments, called r and K, for 128 generations. In the r environment, population sizes were small and resources for larvae and adults were abundant. In contrast the populations in the K environment were large and crowded, and resources, such as food and space, were in short supply. The relative competitive ability for food has been estimated for each population. Populations from the K environment consume food at a rate that is 58% greater than the average rate for the r population. The differentiation of competitive abilities in these populations is due to natural selection and is consistent with predictions from the theory of evolutionary ecology.
Inverse dynamics control with acceleration optimization on a force-controlled bipedal robot

This paper presents an acceleration-based inverse dynamics method to control the floating base of a force-controlled bipedal robot. The desired accelerations of the floating base are derived by PD control in operational space and then used to calculate the accelerations of the joints. Given kinematic constraints to the feet, a relationship between the accelerations of the floating base and the desired external forces needed for those accelerations is obtained. The desired external forces are constrained by ZMP, friction and unilateral vertical forces, which introduces corresponding constraints on the accelerations. If the desired accelerations do not satisfy the constraints, quadratic programming is applied to determine optimal accelerations, which will satisfy the constraints. These optimal accelerations are used instead of the desired ones when calculating inverse dynamics. Our controller guarantees the desired external forces satisfy their constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is demonstrated by tracking desired trajectories and recovering from disturbances on a force-controlled bipedal robot in simulation.
RoboMaidHome: A Sensor Network-based Smart Home Environment for Service Robots

Over the past few years, many research groups have attempted to build smart environments. Recently, several groups have been actively conducting research into the construction of smart home environment for service robots to be used as assistants. A home service robot must have are localization, navigation, object recognition, and object handling functionalities. These operations are usually performed by a service robot by itself and the robot can perform the given tasks in a limited environment. In addition, they have shown only limited capabilities in a natural environment. We initiated a smart home environment project, RoboMaidHome, for light-weight service robots to provide reliable services by interacting with the environment through wireless sensor networks. This environment consists of the following three main components: (i) smart objects and smart appliances with sensor network functionality; (ii) a home server that connects smart devices as well as maintains information for reliable services; and (iii) service robots that perform tasks in collaboration with the environment. In this paper, we explain the basic concepts and the architecture of our project and address some key issues related to the project. Finally, we discuss the future directions of our project.
Parallelization of Information Set Monte Carlo Tree Search

Process parallelization is more important than ever, as most modern hardware contains multiple processors and advanced multi-threading capability. This paper presents an analysis of the parallel behaviour of Information Set Monte Carlo Tree Search and the Upper Confidence Bounds for Trees (UCT) variant of MCTS, and certain parallelization techniques (specifically Tree Parallelization) have different effects upon ISM-CTS and Plain UCT. The paper presents a study of the relative effectiveness of different types of parallelization, including Root, Tree, Tree with Virtual Loss, and Leaf.
Mortality related to cold weather in elderly people in southeast England, 1979-94

During the two decades up to 1977 the decreasing excess mortality in winter in England was due largely to the decline in winter epidemics of influenza.1 2 We describe subsequent reductions in excess winter mortality. We analysed the number of deaths of men and women aged 65-74 years in greater London, Hertfordshire, Essex, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Bedfordshire. This age group was old enough to have substantial mortality, but with less multiple disease than people aged over 74 years, and the use of a restricted age group avoided the need for questionable adjustments for changing age structure. We used the codes of ICD-9 (international classification of diseases, ninth edition) for mortality from ischaemic heart disease (410.0-414.9), cerebrovascular disease (430.0-438.9), respiratory …
B-Cells Are Required for the Initiation of Insulitis and Sialitis in Nonobese Diabetic Mice

Nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice spontaneously develop an acute onset of hyperglycemia reminiscent of human type I diabetes. The disease is the end result of a mononuclear cell infiltration of pancreatic islets (insulitis), culminating in the selective destruction of islet β-Cells by autoreactive T-cells. NOD mice also exhibit defects in B-cell tolerance as manifested by the presence of autoantibodies against islet cell autoantigens. Based on the potential ability of B-cells to act as antigen presenting cells, we hypothesized that autoreactive B-cells of NOD mice may be necessary for the activation of islet reactive CD4+ T-cells. In the present study, we utilized an anti–μ antibody to induce in vivo depletion of B-cells and found that B-cell depletion completely abrogates the development of insulitis and sialitis in NOD mice. In contrast, control IgG-treated NOD mice developed insulitis and sialitis by 5 weeks of age. Additionally, the discontinuation of anti–μ chain antibody treatment led to the full restoration of the B-cellpool and the reappearance of insulitis and sialitis. Thus, we conclude that B-cells are a requisite cell population for the genesis of the inflammatory lesions of the islets of Langerhans. This finding suggests that autoreactive B-cells may act as the antigen presenting cells necessary for the initial activation of β-cell-reactive CD4+ T-cells implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes.
A method for structural testing of Ada concurrent programs using the Event Interactions Graph

Software testing generally proceeds as follows: generating test-cases, selecting test-data, executing a test target program, inspecting execution result and evaluating whether testing has already been sufficient or not yet. As for methods for structural testing of programs, the way using a coverage, where the coverage means what extent given testing criteria are satisfied, is noted. At the evaluating step, whether or not we finish the testing is determined in view of the coverage. This paper proposes a method for structural testing of concurrent programs written in Ada programming language, especially, test-case generation and execution of the programs. The Event InterActions Graph (EIAG) is used as a model for concurrent programs. The EIAG consists of Event Graphs and Interactions. An Event Graph is a control flow graph of a program unit in a concurrent program. The Interactions represent interactions between the program units. Program units are such as procedures, functions and task-types. After generating test-cases on the EIAG, a method for selecting test-data is described and measures to cope with infeasible test-cases with which are generated in this step is clarified. And a forced execution of a test target concurrent program in order to solve the nondeterministic execution is investigated. The nondeterministic execution is characteristic of concurrent programs.