Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consequences of Increased CD45RA and RC Isoforms for TCR Signaling and Peripheral T Cell Deficiency Resulting from Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein L-Like Mutation

CD45 is the most abundant protein tyrosine phosphatase in the plasma membrane of T cells and serves a critical role in TCR signaling. Different CD45 isoforms are made by alternative mRNA splicing depending on the stage of T cell development and activation, yet their role remains unclear. Expression of CD45RA and RC isoforms is increased 20- to 200-fold on T cells from thunder mice with a loss-of-function mutation in the RNA-binding protein, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L-like (hnRNPLL), although total CD45 expression is unaltered. In this study, we test the hypothesis that this shift in CD45 isoform expression alters TCR signaling, thymic selection, and accumulation of peripheral T cells. There was no discernable effect of the change in CD45 isoform expression upon Lck phosphorylation or T cell positive and negative selection, whereas these indices were strongly affected by a decrease in the overall amount of CD45 in Ptprc mutant animals. The one exception to this conclusion was in thymocytes from Ptprcloc/loc animals with 4% of normal CD45 protein levels, where Lck505 phosphorylation was increased 25% in Hnrpll mutant cells, suggesting that high m.w. CD45 isoforms had lower Lck505 phosphatase activity in this context. In T cells with no CD45 protein, hnRNPLL mutation still diminished peripheral T cell accumulation, demonstrating that hnRNPLL regulates T cell longevity independently from its effects on CD45 splicing.
Gunshot and Explosion Injuries: Characteristics, Outcomes, and Implications for Care of Terror-Related Injuries in Israel

Context:An increase of terror-related activities may necessitate treatment of mass casualty incidents, requiring a broadening of existing skills and knowledge of various injury mechanisms. Objective:To characterize and compare injuries from gunshot and explosion caused by terrorist acts. Methods:A retrospective cohort study of patients recorded in the Israeli National Trauma Registry (ITR), all due to terror-related injuries, between October 1, 2000, to June 30, 2002. The ITR records all casualty admissions to hospitals, in-hospital deaths, and transfers at 9 of the 23 trauma centers in Israel. All 6 level I trauma centers and 3 of the largest regional trauma centers in the country are included. The registry includes the majority of severe terror-related injuries. Injury diagnoses, severity scores, hospital resource utilization parameters, length of stay (LOS), survival, and disposition. Results:A total of 1155 terror-related injuries: 54% by explosion, 36% gunshot wounds (GSW), and 10% by other means. This paper focused on the 2 larger patient subsets: 1033 patients injured by terror-related explosion or GSW. Seventy-one percent of the patients were male, 84% in the GSW group and 63% in the explosion group. More than half (53%) of the patients were 15 to 29 years old, 59% in the GSW group and 48% in the explosion group. GSW patients suffered higher proportions of open wounds (63% versus 53%) and fractures (42% versus 31%). Multiple body-regions injured in a single patient occurred in 62% of explosion victims versus 47% in GSW patients. GSW patients had double the proportion of moderate injuries than explosion victims. Explosion victims have a larger proportion of minor injuries on one hand and critical to fatal injuries on the other. LOS was longer than 2 weeks for 20% (22% in explosion, 18% in GSW). Fifty-one percent of the patients underwent a surgical procedure, 58% in the GSW group and 46% in explosion group. Inpatient death rate was 6.3% (65 patients), 7.8% in the GSW group compared with 5.3% in the explosion group. A larger proportion of gunshot victims died during the first day (97% versus 58%). Conclusions:GSW and injuries from explosions differ in the body region of injury, distribution of severity, LOS, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and time of inpatient death. These findings have implications for treatment and for preparedness of hospital resources to treat patients after a terrorist attack in any region of the world. Tailored protocol for patient evaluation and initial treatment should differ between GSW and explosion victims. Hospital organization toward treating and admitting these patients should take into account the different arrival and injury patterns.
Determination of Short-Term Power Dispatch Schedule for a Wind Farm Incorporated With Dual-Battery Energy Storage Scheme

A battery energy storage scheme to enable short-term dispatch commitment from a grid-connected wind-turbine generating power station is considered. Among the various types of energy storage medium, technical factors leading to the selection of battery are explained. The scheme utilizes two battery energy storage systems (BESS) in which the generated wind power charges one BESS while concurrently, the second BESS is to discharge power into the grid. The role of the two BESS interchanges when the BESS reaches specified state of charge/discharge. Furthermore, based on forecasted charging wind power and the monitored states of charge of the two BESS, the discharge power level from the generating station is determined and scheduled a few hours ahead. The dispatch scheme maximizes wind energy harnessed, achieved with the minimum number of the BESS switch-overs. The design thus prolongs the service life of the BESS. Numerical examples to demonstrate the performance of the scheme are also included.
A two-stage low complexity face recognition system for face images with alignment errors

Face recognition for images acquired from uncontrollable environment and target positions is a challenging task. These input images are first pre-processed and initially aligned by the face detection algorithm. However, there are still some residual geometric errors after the initial alignment by the face detection algorithm. If we don't take these errors into account, the recognition performance should be unacceptable. Although some iterative optimization algorithms can be used to fine-tune alignment during recognition, it increases computation load significantly. A two-stage face recognition system is proposed which comprises a block-based recognition algorithm to provide sufficient tolerance for geometric errors and then followed by a pixel-based recognition algorithm which only needs to evaluate a candidate subset from the previous stage. From simulation results, we find that this proposed system can reduce the average computation complexity about 69% and achieve promising performance.
Urban Form and Energy Demand

The implications of urban form on energy have long been present in international debate, whether considering travel patterns or thermal comfort in buildings. The urban environment is a result of a set of intertwined attributes, the understanding of which is often unclear. The energy trade-offs between urban form attributes haven’t received proper attention. Research remains sectorial, considering buildings and transport in isolation. In order to allow for a comprehensive analysis of this relationship, this article reviews urban attributes with energy relevance. A collection of attributes and metrics is gathered from the literature for incorporating urban form in urban energy analysis.
Airway Responsiveness to Indirect Challenges in COPD

ABSTRACT Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) demonstrate airway hyperresponsiveness to a number of indirect stimuli. Hyperresponsiveness to cold air hyperventilation, exercise, and drugs like propranalol and methoxamine seem to be able to distinguish patients with COPD from those with asthma, whereas hyperresponsiveness to stimuli like adenosine 5-monophosphate (AMP) and hypertonic saline seem unable to do so. The relationship of airway responsiveness to indirect stimuli and airway inflammation has received little study. The clinical relevance of hyperresponsiveness to an indirect challenge, including the impact on the natural history, relation to types of bronchitis, baseline airway calibre, and response to treatment need to be studied.
Effect of Progesterone on Bovine Sperm Capacitation and Acrosome Reaction1

Abstract Progesterone (P) appears to stimulate sperm capacitation and/or induce the acrosome reaction (AR) in some species. In bovine, it is now well established that the BSP-A1/-A2 proteins (the major proteins of bovine seminal plasma) promote sperm capacitation. In this study, we investigated the effect of P on bovine sperm cholesterol efflux, capacitation, and the AR. Labeled bovine epididymal sperm were incubated (0–6 h) with different concentrations of P (0.01–10 μg/ml) in the presence or absence of BSP-A1/-A2 proteins (capacitating conditions). At different time intervals, aliquots of sperm were taken to determine the sperm cholesterol efflux, sperm capacitation (AR induced by lysophosphatidylcholine, lyso-PC), and sperm AR. The results show that the presence of P in the media did not affect the membrane cholesterol efflux potential of the BSP-A1/-A2 proteins. P alone did not stimulate the AR with or without lyso-PC unless the epididymal sperm were incubated in capacitating conditions (in the presence of BSP-A1/-A2). When washed ejaculated sperm were continuously incubated with P, the P did not stimulate AR. However, when ejaculated sperm were preincubated (6 h) with heparin (capacitation medium) and then incubated 15 min with P (2 μg/ml), the percentage of AR obtained was similar to that obtained with lyso-PC. The effect of P on sperm AR was concentration dependent with a maximum 2.2-fold increase at 2 μg/ml of P. These results demonstrate a potential role of P in bovine sperm AR but not in capacitation.
Contemporary Islamic economic studies on Maqasid Shari’ah: a systematic literature review

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to come-up with a systematic exertion on Maqasid Shari’ah in Islamic economics, banking and finance, with a clear focus on forming an appropriate and novel framework that identifies the effort of contemporary scholars and detects the existing gap that might possibly champion new research commitments. Design/methodology/approach A systematic approach to literature review was steered through the means propagated by the Centre for Reviews and Disseminations (DSR), but modified to the precise requirements of this review. Google Scholar was searched throughout the passage. The search criteria are confined to English documents that are within the period of 2006-2016. Articles that did not score or did not convince that the subject of Maqasid Shari’ah has been applied in Islamic economy, Islamic banking, Islamic finance, Islamic financing products and economic development are excluded. Appropriate search keys are used to gather better results. Findings The findings inform that contemporary scholars show a robust commitment to the themes of the result during the stated period. The outcome reveals that contemporary scholars designate more interest and attention on Islamic banking and expose their potential specialty in the expanse than other themes. The study further highlighted the gap of some significant areas that are either outside the coverage of the reviewed documents or require more attention from contemporary scholars, for instance, wealth formation and management, wealth consumption, socioeconomic security, risk management, corporate governance, management policy, human resource development, prohibition of Riba, profit and loss sharing (PLS), etc. Research limitations/implications The paper is limited to contemporary aspects of Islamic economics, banking, finance and economic development that have a link with the subject of Maqasid Shari’ah. Practical implications A review of these scholarly reported documents has the potential to draw attention toward filling the existing gap that will likely result in salvation of current issues on the subject of Maqasid Shari’ah that has a direct association with Islamic economy, banking and finance. Originality/value The paper is original in its nature considering the fact that it is assumed as the maiden attempt of its kind in the field. It is a treasure to all those who may cherish and find it relevant in their progressive and rounded convention or application on the matter.
Matrix metalloproteinase-9-1562C>T polymorphism may increase the risk of lymphatic metastasis of colorectal cancer.

AIM To explore the role of the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) polymorphism in colorectal cancer (CRC) in a northeast Chinese population. METHODS Genotyping of MMP-9-1562C>T and 279R>Q polymorphisms was carried out on blood samples from 137 colorectal cancer patients and 199 controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS The distribution of MMP-9 -1562C>T and 279 R>Q genotype was not significantly associated with the risk of CRC. However, the risk of llymph node metastasis of CRC was increased in patients with the -1562T allele (OR = 2.601; 95% CI = 1.160-5.835; P = 0.022). The frequency of MMP-9 279RR + RQ genotype was higher than the QQ genotype among CRC patients younger than sixty years old (OR = 0.102; 95% CI = 0.013-0.812; P = 0.012). CONCLUSION Our results indicated that the MMP-9-1562C>T polymorphism affects lymph node metastasis of CRC. In addition, the MMP-9 279R allele may lead to a younger age of onset of colorectal cancer.
Information Disclosure to Biometric E-gates: The Roles of Perceived Security, Benefits, and Emotions

Biometric authentication systems, such as electronic (e-)gates are increasingly important in air travel because of the growing traveler flows and security challenges. Such systems allow for accurate authentication and the improvement of the air travel experience, while enhancing the security of the overall travel system. To authenticate, the travelers are required to disclose biometric information. Grounded in equity and emotion theories and using data from 511 US air travelers, this study examined several antecedents of biometric information disclosure to e-gates. It was found that security perceptions and benefits of disclosure had strong impacts on disclosure, while positive and negative emotions influenced travelers’ perceptions of security.
Derivatives Regulation: Efficiency versus Public Choice Perspectives

There are typically two directions taken with respect to the economics of the regulation of derivatives. The first involves a discussion of the efficiency of the derivatives markets, and possible regulatory solutions to inefficiencies. The second involves the public choice view of regulation as the result of forces not necessarily concerned with the overall efficiency of the market. This paper aims at providing a comprehensive methodology for the examination of the regulation of derivatives, looking at the efficiency of the current and possible or even feasible regulatory schemes, while using public choice rationale for examining potential regulatory outcomes. We examine several cases of past and current regulatory conflict, and discuss the outcomes in terms of both efficiency and the regulatory realities. I. Introduction Derivatives are a form of contracting which allow individuals and firms to alter their exposure to price risk or some other risk without transferring ownership of a good or asset. Due to a typical high degree of leverage associated with derivative contracts and their recent profusion, there have been significant losses to firms trading over-the-counter derivatives, and firms subject to losses arising from rogue traders in several varieties of derivatives. Regulation of derivatives in the United States to date has been patchwork, and typically reactionary, rather than based on political economy. Indeed, derivative regulation can be said to have whipsawed over the last 10 years. In late 2000, with the Futures Trading Practices Act Congress enacted what had been the existing regulatory framework for many derivative transactions, such as credit default swaps. Prior to that time, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had carved out a safe harbor for many over- the-counter derivatives which otherwise would have been in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act. The Act provides that all contracts for future delivery (futures, swaps) shall trade on exchanges, unless they are forward contracts, which in simple terms more or less require actual delivery. Due to this broad definition, the Commission specified that certain derivatives, such as credit default swaps and some currency derivatives were an exception to the requirement and did not require exchange trading and the associated regulatory oversight. In 2010, after tremendous financial losses related to credit default swaps, Congress reversed itself and instructed the Commission to revisit the issue. Regulations based on that change in law are in the works. We examine the history of derivative regulation, and it’s political versus efficiency-oriented sources, as well as offering a methodology for the evaluation of current efficiencies or inefficiencies generated by or lessened by such regulation. A. The setting
Static output feedback for aeroengine control system

This paper considers the static output feedback control synthesis problem of aeroengine system. By introducing a slack variable for separating system matrix and Lyapunov matrix, more relaxed sufficient conditions for designing static output feedback controller are given in terms of solutions to a set of linear matrix inequalities. Simulation illustrates that the proposed methods for aeroengine systems can achieve good performance.
SDN based next generation Mobile Network with Service Slicing and trials

Software-Defined Network (SDN) empowers the evolution of Internet with the OpenFlow, Network Virtualization and Service Slicing strategies. With the fast increasing requirements of Mobile Internet services, the Internet and Mobile Networks go to the convergence. Mobile Networks can also get benefits from the SDN evolution to fulfill the 5th Generation (5G) capacity booming. The article implements SDN into Frameless Network Architecture (FNA) for 5G Mobile Network evolution with proposed Mobile-oriented OpenFlow Protocol (MOFP). The Control Plane/User Plane (CP/UP) separation and adaptation strategy is proposed to support the User-Centric scenario in FNA. The traditional Base Station is separated with Central Processing Entity (CPE) and Antenna Element (AE) to perform the OpenFlow and Network Virtualization. The AEs are released as new resources for serving users. The mobile-oriented Service Slicing with different Quality of Service (QoS) classification is proposed and Resource Pooling based Virtualized Radio Resource Management (VRRM) is optimized for the Service Slicing strategy with resource-limited feature in Mobile Networks. The capacity gains are provided to show the merits of SDN based FNA. And the MiniNet based Trial Network with Service Slicing is implemented with experimental results.
Gene Expression and Metabolism in Tomato Fruit Surface Tissues 1 [ C ] [ W ]

Department of Plant Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel (S.M.-O., T.M., I.R., L.F., O.L., M.Y., I.V., A. Adato, A. Aharoni); Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel (T.M.); and Departments of Botany (Z.W., R.J.) and Chemistry (R.J.), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
Detecting soil parameters from a small tracked vehicle

Tracked robots have been studied for years, to high-level applications, such as autonomous navigation in areas of difficult access and maneuvering strategies that allow better performance compared to other types of vehicles. The full operation of a robotic system depends on ensuring the functioning of all its parts, which can be divided hierarchically or functionality. There is a consensus that the kinematic model can be simplified for most analyzes. Likewise, the dynamic model is greatly simplified because of its complexity and uncertainty, but not allowing use of models that approximate the actual behavior. The dynamic approach proposed in this work includes a lateral drag force, causing the tracks moves in curvilinear, considering their non-linearity and strong coupling between the tracks. The traction performed by the vehicle is from electric DC motors. Also it is presented the implementation of a procedure for detecting parameters of the interaction between the tracks and the soil, by estimating the coefficients of kinetic and dynamic friction, from the measurement of current supplied to the engines while performing a maneuver.
Inactivation of poliovirus and other enteroviruses by solutions of sodium fluoride at low pH

Solutions of sodium fluoride at pH 3 to 4 inactivated enteroviruses, whereas other sodium salts had little or no effect on virus infectivity. Solutions of potassium fluoride also inactivated viruses under similar conditions. Light, temperature, and the presence of organic compounds such as detergents and fecal matter did not affect inactivation of virus by 0.4 M solutions of sodium fluoride at pH 3. to 4. Decreasing the sodium fluoride concentration below 0.04 M or raising the pH above 4 reduced the viricidal properties of the solutions. Virus adsorbed to membrane filters and sludge flocs could not be recovered after treatment of solids-associated virus with solutions of sodium fluoride.
Leukocyte adhesion, edema, and development of postischemic capillary no-reflow.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the formation of edema that occurs secondary to the neutrophil-dependent increase in microvascular permeability contributes to the genesis of no-reflow in postischemic skeletal muscle. To address this issue, four experimental approaches were used. In the first group, capillary perfusion was assessed in nonischemic canine gracilis muscles in which interstitial fluid volume was increased to a level similar to that in postischemic muscle. In the second and third groups, edema formation was prevented in postischemic skeletal muscles by administration of phalloidin or a hypertonic hyperosmotic saline-dextran solution (HSD; 7.5% saline-6% Dextran 70), and the extent of capillary no-reflow was assessed. In the final group of experiments, a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that binds to the common beta-subunit of the leukocyte integrin CD11/CD18 (MAb IB4) was administered after the development of postischemic edema, and capillary perfusion was determined. Formation of edema in nonischemic preparations and ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) were associated with marked reduction in the number of patent capillaries per fiber (1.2 +/- 0.1 and 0.4 +/- 0.1, respectively) compared with nonedematous nonischemic controls (2.5 +/- 0.3). Treatment with phalloidin or HSD prevented edema formation and attenuated the reduction in the number of patent capillaries per fiber (1.62 +/- 0.2 and 1.71 +/- 0.2, respectively) induced by I-R, whereas administration of MAb IB4 after the formation of edema in reperfused muscles failed to limit capillary no-reflow (0.5 +/- 0.1 patent capillaries/fiber). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)