Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endogenous levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) are altered in experimental diabetes mellitus: A possible role for NGF in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy

Sympathetic and neural‐crest derived sensory neurons consisting of unmyelinated and small myelinated fibers are known to be affected at an early stage in diabetes mellitus (DM). Since these peripheral neurons need nerve growth factor (NGF) for their development and maintenance of function in adulthood, changes in endogenous NGF levels could be of relevance for the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy (DNP). Using an improved two‐site enzyme immunoassay for NGF, we have investigated whether endogenous NGF levels are altered in Sprague‐Dawley rats with DM induced by a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ). STZ‐treated rats are known to develop in many respects equivalents to neuropathic complications observed in human DM. We found in some sympathetically innervated target organs decreased NGF contents by maximally 56%: transiently in the iris 2 weeks and in the ventricle 12‐24 weeks after DM induction and permanently in the submandibular gland already 3 days after DM induction. Several weeks after onset of DM, NGF content was increased by maximally 145‐300% in most peripheral targets investigated, such as in iris, cardiac atrium and ventricle, spleen, prostate gland, and vas deferens. This is suggestive for an impaired NGF removal by NGF‐sensitive neurons in diabetic rats. Moreover, NGF levels were decreased to minimally 42.6 ± 4% of control in the NGF‐transporting sciatic nerve. NGF levels began to decrease not before 3 weeks after DM induction and remained decreased with 54.0 ± 5% of control even after 6 months duration of DM. About the same time (i.e., 2 weeks after induction of DM) NGF levels began to decrease in the superior cervical ganglion (where the sympathetic perikarya are located) to minimally 53.2 ± 4% of control 12 weeks after DM induction. No altered NGF levels were observed during a 3‐month duration of DM in the terminal ileum and sensory trigeminal ganglion. Since NGF exerts its neurotrophic action in the perikarya after its retrograde transport from the NGF‐producing periphery, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that an alteration in NGF levels may play a role in the pathogenesis of DNP as far as sympathetic neurons are concerned. Thus, our results suggest that DM influences the production and/or transport of endogenous NGF and consequently, that a deprivation of this neurotrophic factor may account for some of the functional deficits known to occur in DNP, such as impaired catecholaminergic transmitter synthesis. This hypothesis possibly opens the way for new concepts in the therapy of DNP.
An Evaluation of Local Image Features for Object Class Recognition

The use of local image features (LIF) for object class recognition is becoming increasingly popular. To better understand the suitability and power of existing LIFs for object class recognition, a simple but useful method is proposed in evaluation of such features. We have compared the performance of eight frequently used LIFs by the proposed method on two popular databases. We have used F-measure criterion for this evaluation. It is found that the individual performance of SURF and SIFT features are better than that of the global features on ETH-80 database with considerably lower number of training objects. However, it may not be good enough for more challenging object class recognition problem (e.g. Caltech-101). The evaluation of LIFs suggests the requirement for further investigation of more complementary LIFs.
A high-performance, low-cost PMU prototype for distribution networks based on FPGA

The application of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) to the real-time monitoring, protection and control of Distribution Networks, requires the availability of high accuracy devices that are characterized at the same time by a reasonable cost. This paper presents the design of a low-cost PMU prototype based on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that integrates a recently published synchrophasor estimation technique, called iterative-Interpolated DFT (i-IpDFT). The adopted hardware platform is first introduced, then the major FPGA components are described and integrated in the overall board design. Finally, the performance of the developed prototype is evaluated in terms of the latency of the various PMU components and the scalability of the overall design.
Goals and Requirements for Supporting Controlled Flexibility in Software Processes

Software processes are dynamic entities that are often changed and evolved by software development team members. Consequently, flexibility is one of the most important features within software processes and related tools. However, in the everyday practice, team members do not wish for total flexibility. They prefer to learn about and follow controlled flexibility advice, that is, previously defined information on which, where, how and by whom they can change software process representations to match real-world situations. In this paper, the authors define a set of goals and requirements for a language and supporting software tool to control the flexibility within software processes. They follow a two-step approach, where 1 process engineers use the language constructs and supporting tool to define controlled flexibility-related information within software process models, and 2 software tem members browse and learn from this information, and perform changes accordingly.
Fouille de motifs et CRF pour la reconnaissance de symptômes dans les textes biomédicaux (Pattern mining and CRF for symptoms recognition in biomedical texts)[In French]

Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons à l’extraction d’entités médicales de type symptôme dans les textes biomédicaux. Cette tâche est peu explorée dans la littérature et il n’existe pas à notre connaissance de corpus annoté pour entraîner un modèle d’apprentissage. Nous proposons deux approches faiblement supervisées pour extraire ces entités. Une première est fondée sur la fouille de motifs et introduit une nouvelle contrainte de similarité sémantique. La seconde formule la tache comme une tache d’étiquetage de séquences en utilisant les CRF (champs conditionnels aléatoires). Nous décrivons les expérimentations menées qui montrent que les deux approches sont complémentaires en termes d’évaluation quantitative (rappel et précision). Nous montrons en outre que leur combinaison améliore sensiblement les résultats.
Realismo y antirrealismo en la filosofía de Michael Dummett

Uno de los principales aportes de Michael Dummett a la filosofía contemporánea fue la idea de que ciertas disputas tradicionales de la metafísica podían ser replanteadas a través de una caracterización semántica del realismo y el antirrealismo. Apoyándose en esta caracterización, Dummett propuso una aproximación ascendente a esas disputas. Dicha aproximación buscaba resolver los desacuerdos metafísicos entre realistas y antirrealistas mediante la formulación de teorías semánticas para ciertos conjuntos de enunciados. En este artículo argumentamos que la caracterización de Dummett no captura las disputas metafísicas tradicionales y que, como consecuencia de ello, dicha caracterización no constituye un buen sustento para la aproximación ascendente.
Violência e satisfação com a democracia no Brasil

A democracia e um regime politico que esta relacionado nao apenas ao cumprimento de procedimentos, mas tambem a valores e comportamentos. Uma de suas bases sao redes de confianca interpessoal que fundamentam a cooperacao entre individuos. Dado que o sistema democratico funciona como um mecanismo de resolucao de problemas de acao coletiva, alocando recursos dos cidadaos para prover bens publicos, a satisfacao de alguem com o regime envolve a percepcao sobre as atitudes das outras pessoas, ou seja, se estao cooperando ou nao para a sociedade. Alem disso, a eficiencia institucional tambem tem impacto sobre a opiniao publica: democracias que nao provem bens publicos satisfatoriamente tendem a contar com menor apoio popular. Neste artigo, investigamos os efeitos de variaveis criminologicas sobre a satisfacao com a democracia no Brasil, testando a hipotese quanto a presenca de duplo vetor de efeitos: um direto – reduzindo apoio instrumental ao regime – e outro indireto – reduzindo confianca interpessoal. Para isso, utilizamos dados do Barometro das Americas, de 2014. Testes feitos com modelos de regressao linear, equacoes simultâneas e modelos nao parametricos corroboraram a hipotese. Entretanto, modelos de mediacao causal, uma forma mais rigorosa de testar a hipotese, revelaram nao haver efeitos indiretos significativos.
Toxicocinétique de la chlordécone chez la brebis

Aux Antilles Francaises, les animaux d’elevage sont susceptibles d’etre exposes a la chlordecone (CLD), Polluant Organique Persistant (POP) present dans leur environnement. Afin de securiser les Denrees Alimentaires d’Origine Animale (DAOA) destinees a la consommation humaine, nos travaux ont porte sur l’etude du devenir de la CLD chez la brebis. Les objectifs de ces travaux etaient de comprendre comment s’effectue l’elimination de la molecule depuis l’organisme animal c’est-a-dire de determiner par quelle(s) voie(s), sous quelle(s) forme (s), en combien de temps, en quelle quantite et par quels mecanismes s’elimine la CLD. Pour cette etude, deux volets ont ete consideres : un volet analytique et un volet toxicocinetique. En effet, les methodes de dosage connues des metabolites de la CLD ne permettaient pas d’obtenir la sensibilite et la fiabilite attendues pour nos travaux. Ainsi, un developpement analytique de methodes de dosage de la CLD et de ses metabolites dans les matrices d’interet a ete mene. Ces travaux analytiques se sont appuyes sur une methodologie d’extraction de type Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS), une analyse par chromatographie en phase liquide couplee a la spectrometrie de masse en tandem (LC-MS/MS) et l’utilisation d’etalons internes isotopiques. Ce developpement permet de disposer de methodes de dosage sensibles, rapides et fiables de la CLD et de ses metabolites dans differentes matrices animales. A l’issue de l’etape de developpement analytique, les methodes dans le foie, les feces et les urines ont ete validees a l’aide de profils d’exactitude etablis selon la norme V03-110 et le guide SANTE de reference pour les pesticides. Pour exemple, dans la matrice foie, des limites de quantification de 1,36 µg kg-1 PF et de 2,50 µg kg-1 PF respectivement de chlordecone et de chlordecol (metabolite de la CLD) ont ete retrouvees. Le deuxieme volet de cette these s’est appuye sur deux protocoles toxicocinetiques realises chez la brebis. A l’aide de ces experimentations, il a ete possible de combler une partie des lacunes sur la toxicocinetique de la CLD chez la brebis. Nos travaux ont demontre que la CLD est partiellement metabolisee en chlordecol (CLDOH) par la chlordecone reductase dans le foie des brebis. Par la suite, la CLD et le CLDOH peuvent etre metabolises a l’aide d’UDP-glucuronosyl-transferases et de sulfo-transferases en metabolites conjugues de la CLD et du CLDOH (CLD-C et CLDOH-C). Le CLDOH est un metabolite intermediaire qui n’est quasiment jamais quantifie dans l’organisme animal hormis dans le tissu gras. L’elimination de la CLD se fait majoritairement via les feces : 1/3 de la molecule parent CLD est elimine sous forme de CLD et 1/6 est elimine sous forme de CLDOH. La voie urinaire est une voie mineure d’elimination de la CLD. A l’aide de ces travaux, un modele compartimental a ete propose. Sur la base de ce modele, des travaux de modelisation seront possibles et permettront la proposition et la mise en place de strategies de decontamination des ovins aux Antilles Francaises
Chloroplast Oxa1p Homolog Albino3 Is Required for Post-translational Integration of the Light Harvesting Chlorophyll-binding Protein into Thylakoid Membranes*

Multiple sorting pathways operate in chloroplasts to localize proteins to the thylakoid membrane. The signal recognition particle (SRP) pathway in chloroplasts employs the function of a signal recognition particle (cpSRP) to target light harvesting chlorophyll-binding protein (LHCP) to the thylakoid membrane. In assays that reconstitute stroma-dependent LHCP integrationin vitro, the stroma is replaceable by the addition of GTP, cpSRP, and an SRP receptor homolog, cpFtsY. Still lacking is an understanding of events that take place at the thylakoid membrane including the identification of membrane proteins that may function at the level of cpFtsY binding or LHCP integration. The identification of Oxa1p in mitochondria, an inner membrane translocase component homologous to predicted proteins in bacteria and to the albino3 (ALB3) protein in thylakoids, led us to investigate the potential role of ALB3 in LHCP integration. Antibody raised against a 50-amino acid region of ALB3 (ALB3-50aa) identified a single 45-kDa thylakoid protein. Treatment of thylakoids with antibody to ALB3-50aa inhibited LHCP integration, whereas the same antibody treatment performed in the presence of antigen reversed the inhibition. In contrast, transport by the thylakoid Sec or Delta pH pathways was unaffected. These data support a model whereby a distinct translocase containing ALB3 is used to integrate LHCP into thylakoid membranes.
Concepts of Disease: Logical Features and Social Implications

It is a truism that conceptualizations about disease have important social implications. Medicine, an institution of society, is defined in terms of its concern with disease. The very definition of disease, as we shall see, is a product of historically determined social happenings. Medical activities, thus, are rooted in socially structured categories. In addition, since definitions of disease seem to entail the phenomena of human suffering, consequences of medical activities bear directly or indirectly on the lives of members of society. So central and basic is a concern with disease in the minds of persons tied to medicine that, quite often, the meanings and logical properties of the term "disease" are taken for granted or left unexamined. Developments in contemporary society have brought into focus the organization and delivery of health services and challenged traditional medical orientations and goals. Problems involving the distribution and quality of medical care have been emphasized. Many of the issues that have been raised can be seen as reflections and even outcomes of the mean-
ISLAM DAN BUDAYA LOKAL (STUDI ATAS TRADISI KEISLAMAN MASYARAKAT JAWA)

Abstract This paper tries to portray Islam in Java and matters which is relating to the entry process of the Islamic culture into Javanese culture, the relationship between Islam and Javanese culture can be regarded as two sides of a coin that is not integral, which together determine the value of the currency. On the one hand, Islam comes and develops in Java influenced by tradition or Javanese culture. While on the other side, the Javanese culture increasingly enriched by Islamic repertoire. The relation between Islam and Javanese culture can be expressed in various aspects, including the interrelation and acculturation, in which both of them are the transformation of Islam into Javanese culture that has been adopted by the Java community before the advent of Islam. Interrelation and Islamic acculturation can take place easily in Java due to the open culture of Java to the presence of other cultures so that Islamic culture can go hand in hand with the culture that has been embraced by the population before the arrival of Islam in Java. The linkage between the traditions and Javanese culture is strongly associated with the teachings of Islam, especially in the fields of aqidah and syariah or Islamic law. Keywords: Interrelation, acculturation, transformation.
The Effect of Fire on Spatial Separation Between Wolves and Caribou

Fire management is an important conservation tool in Canada's national parks. Fires can benefit some species, while others may be negatively impacted. We used GPS and VHF collar data for 47 wolves from 12 separate packs and 153 caribou from 5 separate herds, and resource selection analysis to model the effects of fire on these species' habitat and potential interactions. Resource selection modeling showed that wolves select for burned areas and areas close to burns, presumably due to the presence of primary prey (i.e., elk and moose), while caribou avoid burns. Fire reduced the amount of high quality caribou habitat (a direct effect), but also increased the probability of wolf-caribou overlap (an indirect effect). We delineated a spatial index of caribou "safe zones" (areas of low overlap with wolves), and found a positive relationship between the proportion of a herd's home range represented by "safe zone" in winter and population size (P = 0.10, n=4). While currently-planned prescribed fires in Banff and Jasper reduced the amount of quality caribou habitat by up to 4%, they reduced the area of "safe zones" by up to 7%, varying by herd, location, and season. We suggest that conservation managers should account for the indirect, predator-mediated impacts of fire on caribou in addition to direct effects of habitat loss.
Temperature Dependence of Substrate and Drain–Currents in Bulk FinFETs

The temperature (T) dependence of I<sub>SUB</sub> and I<sub>D</sub> in bulk FinFETs was investigated for the first time. Both n- and p-channel devices with thin fin body width showed the abnormal increase of I<sub>SUB</sub> at high T, which can be explained by stress-induced bandgap narrowing, I<sub>SUB</sub> and I<sub>D</sub> were investigated as parameters of T and fin body width (W<sub>fin</sub>). It was shown that thinner W<sub>fin</sub> gets higher stress. With increasing T, the I<sub>D</sub> of n-channel bulk FinFET with thinner W <sub>fin</sub> is increased since electron mobility is increased by tensile stress. The threshold voltage decrease becomes significant with decreasing W<sub>fin</sub> by the bandgap narrowing, which contributes to the I<sub>D</sub> increase. The I<sub>SUB</sub>/I<sub>D</sub> of n-channel bulk FinFET was studied by changing W<sub>fin</sub> and 1/ V <sub>DS</sub> as a parameter of T
Identification and molecular analysis of a locus that regulates extracellular toxin production in Clostridium perfringens

The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium perfringens mediates clostridial myonecrosis, or gas gangrene, by producing a number of extracellular toxins and enzymes. Transposon mutagenesis with Tn916 was used to isolate a pleiotropic mutant of C. perfringens that produced reduced levels of phospholipase C, protease and sialidase, and did not produce any detectable perfringolysin O activity. Southern hybridization revealed that a single copy of Tn916 had inserted into a 2.7 kb Hindlll fragment in the C. perfringens chromosome. A 4.3 kb Pstl fragment, which spanned the Tn916 insertion site, was cloned from the wild‐type strain. When subcloned into a shuttle vector and introduced into C. perfringens this fragment was able to complement the Tn916‐derived mutation. Transformation of the mutant with plasmids containing the 2.7 kb Hindlll fragment, or the 4.3 kb Pstl fragment resulted in toxin and enzyme levels greater than or equal to those of the wild‐type strain. The Pstl fragment was sequenced and found to potentially encode seven open reading frames, two of which appeared to be arranged in an operon and shared sequence similarity with members of two‐component signal transduction systems. The putative virR gene encoded a protein with a deduced molecular weight of 30140, and with sequence similarity to activators in the response regulator family of proteins. The next gene, virS, into which Tn916 had inserted, was predicted to encode a membrane‐spanning protein with a deduced molecular weight of 51 274. The putative VirS protein had sequence similarity to sensor proteins and also contained a histidine residue highly conserved in the histidine protein kinase family of sensor proteins. Virulence studies carried out using a mouse model implicated the virS gene in the pathogenesis of histotoxic C. perfringens infections. It was concluded that a two‐component sensor regulator system that activated the expression of a number of extracellular toxins and enzymes involved In virulence had been cloned and sequenced. A model that described the regulation of extracellular toxin production in C. perfringens was constructed.
Limits to Institutional Isomorphism

Neo-institutional approaches to the study of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) suggest that as more NGOs cooperate with the state, they become isomorphic in their structures and processes. Such cooperation is expected to threaten inventiveness of the NGO sector, including its spontaneity, variety, and unpredictability. This article analyzes the internal institutional processes of three leading housing NGOs as they each implemented cooperative strategies with the state in Mumbai, India. It finds that, contrary to customary apprehensions, NGOs use different tactics in response to the same public policy environment. The article argues that pervasive isomorphism is constrained by path dependency and variability in resource environments.
The Economics of Pending Patents

We provide a treatment of a number of questions pertaining to pending patents – a subject that has so-far mainly been discussed en-passant in the existing literature. We present the underlying institutional and legal framework that governs pending patents and some basic facts related to them. Then, we focus on the strategic considerations of firms in the earliest stage of the patenting process and the interplay with the patent office. This is followed by considering the perspective of the patent and trademark offices (PTOs), in particular, acknowledging the limited resources that are available to PTOs. Finally, we investigate the potential abuse of pending patents and the role of reputation of patenting firms.