julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of Suicidal Erythrocyte Death by Volasertib
2017-01-01

Background/Aims: The Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) inhibitor volasertib is used in the treatment of malignancy. Volasertib is partially effective by triggering suicidal death or apoptosis of tumor cells. Similar to apoptosis of nucleated cells, erythrocytes may enter suicidal cell death or eryptosis, which is characterized by cell membrane scrambling with phosphatidylserine translocation to the cell surface and by cell shrinkage. Stimulators of eryptosis include energy depletion, hyperosmotic shock, oxidative stress and excessive increase of cytosolic Ca2+ activity ([Ca2+]i). The present study explored, whether volasertib impacts on eryptosis. Methods: Human erythrocytes have been exposed to energy depletion (glucose withdrawal for 48 hours), hyperosmotic shock (addition of 550 mM sucrose for 6 hours), oxidative stress (addition of 0.3 mM tert-butylhydroperoxide [tBOOH] for 50 min) or Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin (1 μM for 60 min) in absence and presence of volasertib (0.5-1.5 μg/ml) and flow cytometry was employed to quantify phosphatidylserine exposure at the cell surface from annexin-V-binding, cell volume from forward scatter, [Ca2+]i from Fluo3 fluorescence, reactive oxygen species from 2’,7’-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFDA) fluorescence and ceramide abundance utilizing antibodies. For comparison, annexin-V-binding and forward scatter were determined following a 48 hours exposure of human leukemic K562 cells in RPMI-1640 medium to volasertib. Results: Treatment with volasertib alone did not significantly modify annexin-V-binding or forward scatter in mature erythrocytes. Energy depletion, hyperosmotic shock, oxidative stress and ionomycin, all markedly and significantly increased the percentage of annexin-V-binding erythrocytes, and decreased the forward scatter. Volasertib significantly blunted the effect of energy depletion and hyperosmotic shock, but not of oxidative stress and ionomycin on annexin-V-binding. Volasertib did not significantly influence the effect of any maneuver on forward scatter. In K562 cells, volasertib enhanced annexin-V-binding and decreased the forward scatter. Conclusions: Volasertib is a novel inhibitor of erythrocyte cell membrane scrambling following energy depletion and hyperosmotic shock, effects contrasting the stimulation of K562 cell apoptosis.
Regularly decomposable tensors and classical spin states
2017-01-01

A spin-j state can be represented by a symmetric tensor of order N = 2j and dimension 4. Here, j can be a positive integer, which corresponds to a boson; j can also be a positive half-integer, which corresponds to a fermion.In this paper, we introduce regularly decomposable tensors and show that a spin-j state is classical if and only if its representing tensor is a regularly decomposable tensor.In the even-order case, a regularly decomposable tensor is a completely decomposable tensor but not vice versa; a completely decomposable tensors is a sum-of-squares (SOS) tensor but not vice versa; an SOS tensor is a positive semi-definite (PSD) tensor but not vice versa.In the odd-order case, the first row tensor of a regularly decomposable tensor is regularly decomposable and its other row tensors are induced by the regular decomposition of its first row tensor.We also show that complete decomposability and regular decomposability are invariant under orthogonal transformations, and that the completely decomposable tensor cone and the regularly decomposable tensor cone are closed convex cones.Furthermore, in the even-order case, the completely decomposable tensor cone and the PSD tensor cone are dual to each other.The Hadamard product of two completely decomposable tensors is still a completely decomposable tensor.Since one may apply the positive semi-definite programming algorithm to detect whether a symmetric tensor is an SOS tensor or not, this gives a checkable necessary condition for classicality of a spin-j state.Further research issues on regularly decomposable tensors are also raised.
Uniqueness of photon spheres via positive mass rigidity
2017-01-01

In a recent paper the first author established the uniqueness of photon spheres, suitably defined, in static vacuum asymptotically flat spacetimes by adapting Israel's proof of static black hole uniqueness. In this note we establish uniqueness of photon spheres by adapting the argument of Bunting and Masood-ul-Alam, which then allows certain assumptions to be relaxed. In particular, multiple photon spheres are allowed a priori. As a consequence of our result, we can rule out the existence of static configurations involving multiple "very compact" bodies and black holes.
An optically detected magnetic resonance spectrometer with tunable laser excitation and wavelength resolved infrared detection
2017-01-01

We present the development and performance of an optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectrometer. The spectrometer represents advances over similar instruments in three areas: (i) the exciting light is a tunable laser source which covers much of the visible light range, (ii) the optical signal is analyzed with a spectrograph, (iii) the emitted light is detected in the near-infrared domain. The need to perform ODMR experiments on single-walled carbon nanotubes motivated the present development and we demonstrate the utility of the spectrometer on this material. The performance of the spectrometer is critically compared to similar instruments. The present development opens the way to perform ODMR studies on various new materials such as molecules and luminescent quantum dots where the emission is in the near-infrared range and requires a well-defined excitation wavelength and analysis of the scattered light.
Individual Biomarkers Using Molecular Personalized Medicine Approaches
2017-01-01

Molecular personalized medicine tries to generate individual predictive biomarkers to assist doctors in their decision making. These are thought to improve the efficacy and lower the toxicity of a treatment. The molecular basis of the desired high-precision prediction is modern “omex” technologies providing high-throughput bioanalytical methods. These include genomics and epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, microbiomics, imaging, and functional analyses. In most cases, producing big data also requires a complex biomathematical analysis. Using molecular personalized medicine, the conventional physician's check of biomarker results may no longer be sufficient. By contrast, the physician may need to cooperate with the biomathematician to achieve the desired prediction on the basis of the analysis of individual big data typically produced by omex technologies. Identification of individual biomarkers using molecular personalized medicine approaches is thought to allow a decision-making for the precise use of a targeted therapy, selecting the successful therapeutic tool from a panel of preexisting drugs or medical products. This should avoid the treatment of nonresponders and responders that produces intolerable unwanted effects.
Simplifying metaphorical language for young readers: A corpus study on news text
2017-01-01

The paper presents first results of an ongoing project on text simplification focusing on linguistic metaphors. Based on an analysis of a parallel corpus of news text professionally simplified for different grade levels, we identify six types of simplification choices falling into two broad categories: preserving metaphors or dropping them. An annotation study on almost 300 source sentences with metaphors (grade level 12) and their simplified counterparts (grade 4) is conducted. The results show that most metaphors are preserved and when they are dropped, the semantic content tends to be preserved rather than dropped, however, it is reworded without metaphorical language. In general, some of the expected tendencies in complexity reduction, measured with psycholinguistic variables linked to metaphor comprehension, are observed, suggesting good prospect for machine learning-based metaphor simplification.
PP Attachment: Where do We Stand?
2017-01-01

Prepostitional phrase (PP) attachment is a well known challenge to parsing. In this paper, we combine the insights of different works, namely: (1) treating PP attachment as a classification task with an arbitrary number of attachment candidates; (2) using auxiliary distributions to augment the data beyond the hand-annotated training set; (3) using topological fields to get information about the distribution of PP attachment throughout clauses and (4) using state-of-the-art techniques such as word embeddings and neural networks. We show that jointly using these techniques leads to substantial improvements. We also conduct a qualitative analysis to gauge where the ceiling of the task is in a realistic setup.
Inhibitory Effect of Afatinib on Platelet Activation and Apoptosis
2017-01-01

Background/Aims: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor afatinib is used for the treatment of several malignancies. Afatinib is at least partially effective by triggering apoptosis of tumor cells. Platelets may similarly undergo apoptosis, which is characterized by caspase 3 activation, cell shrinkage and phosphatidylserine translocation. However, an effect of afatinib on platelets has never been reported. The present study explored whether treatment of platelets with afatinib modifies platelet activation and apoptosis in the absence and presence of platelet activators thrombin or collagen related peptide (CRP). Methods: Platelets isolated from wild-type mice were exposed for 30 minutes to afatinib (18 μg/ml) without or with subsequent treatment with thrombin (0.005 U/ml or 0.01 U/ml) or CRP (2 μg/ml or 5 μg/ml). Flow cytometry was employed to estimate Orai1 abundance at the platelet surface with specific antibodies, cytosolic Ca2+-activity ([Ca2+]i) from Fluo-3 fluorescence, platelet degranulation from P-selectin abundance, integrin activation from αIIbβ3 integrin abundance, caspase activity utilizing an Active Caspase-3 Staining kit, phosphatidylserine abundance from annexin-V-binding, platelet volume from forward scatter and aggregation utilizing staining with CD9-APC and CD9-PE. Results: In the absence of thrombin and CRP, the administration of afatinib (18 μg/ml) slightly, but significantly, increased [Ca2+]i and annexin-V-binding, but did not significantly modify Orai1 abundance, P-selectin abundance, activated αIIbβ3 integrin, cell volume, caspase activity and aggregation. Exposure of platelets to 0.005 U/ml or 0.01 U/ml thrombin or 2 μg/ml or 5 μg/ ml CRP was followed by a significant increase of Orai1 abundance, increase of [Ca2+]i, P-selectin abundance, αIIbβ3 integrin activity, annexin-V-binding, caspase activity, and aggregation, as well as a significant decrease of forward scatter, all effects significantly blunted (thrombin) or virtually abolished (CRP) by afatinib. Conclusions: Afatinib is a powerful inhibitor of platelet activation, platelet apoptosis and platelet aggregation.
Triggering of Suicidal Erythrocyte Death by Gefitinib
2017-01-01

Background/Aims: The epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib is effective against several malignancies and is mainly utilized in the treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor mutation positive non-small cell lung cancer. The anti-cancer effect of the drug involves stimulation of apoptosis. Side effects of gefitinib include anemia. At least in theory, the development of anemia during gefitinib treatment could result from triggering of eryptosis, the suicidal erythrocyte death characterized by cell shrinkage and by cell membrane scrambling with phosphatidylserine translocation to the erythrocyte surface. Signaling potentially stimulating eryptosis include increase of cytosolic Ca2+ activity ([Ca2+]i) and generation of oxidative stress. The present study explored, whether gefitinib stimulates eryptosis and, if so, whether its effect involves Ca2+ entry and/or oxidative stress. Methods: Flow cytometry was employed to quantify cell volume from forward scatter, phosphatidylserine exposure at the cell surface from annexin-V-binding, [Ca2+]i from Fluo3-fluorescence, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) abundance from 2’,7’-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFDA) dependent fluorescence. Results: A 48 hours exposure of human erythrocytes to gefitinib (≥ 2 μg/ml) significantly decreased forward scatter and significantly increased the percentage of annexin-V-binding cells. Gefitinib did not significantly increase Fluo3-fluorescence but the effect of gefitinib on annexin-V-binding was significantly blunted by removal of extracellular Ca2+. Gefitinib further significantly increased DCFDA fluorescence. Conclusions: Gefitinib triggers erythrocyte shrinkage and phospholipid scrambling of the erythrocyte cell membrane, an effect at least in part dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and paralleled by oxidative stress.
A note on algebraic rank, matroids, and metrized complexes
2017-01-01

We show that the algebraic rank of divisors on certain graphs is related to\\nthe realizability problem of matroids. As a consequence, we produce a series of\\nexamples in which the algebraic rank depends on the ground field. We use the\\ntheory of metrized complexes to show that equality between the algebraic and\\ncombinatorial rank is not a sufficient condition for smoothability of divisors,\\nthus giving a negative answer to a question posed by Caporaso, Melo, and the\\nauthor.\\n
Telephone Support in an Internet-Based Treatment for Sleep Problems in Early Childhood
2017-01-01

Study background: Mild to severe sleep problems are reported in 3% to 56% of young children.Behaviourbased treatments are highly effective in improving children ́s sleep.The purpose of this work was to examine the efficacy of an Internet-based intervention for young children ́s sleep disturbances (Mini-KiSS Online) and to assess the effect of telephone support for parents.Methods: Two intervention conditions (written information with or without additional weekly telephone support) were compared to a waiting-list control condition.N=199 parents with their children (aged 6-63 months) were randomly assigned to one of the study conditions.The treatment consisted of six written information modules based on a cognitive-behavioural approach.One of the treatment groups had additional weekly telephone support.Data of sleep diary, parental behaviour, CBCL 1.5-5 (pre, post, 3-month follow-up) and treatment evaluation were collected.Results: Acceptance of Mini-KiSS Online was high.Children in both treatment conditions showed significant increase in sleep efficacy and reductions in sleep onset latency, duration of night waking, or subjective global ratings while there was no or less change in the control condition.Parents of both treatment conditions reduced their parental presence and physical contact to the child.A benefit of personal assistance was found for treatment evaluation and dropout rates. Conclusion:Mini-KiSS Online is an effective and highly accepted internet-based intervention to reduce sleep problems in young children.Personal telephone assistance counted for higher satisfaction and lower dropouts but not for further improvement of the sleep behaviour of the child.
Temsirolimus Sensitive Stimulation of Platelet Activity, Apoptosis and Aggregation by Collagen Related Peptide
2017-01-01

Background/Aims: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor temsirolimus stimulates apoptosis of tumor cells and is thus therapeutically used for the treatment of diverse malignancies. On the other hand, temsirolimus has been shown to protect against apoptosis of hippocampal neurons. Similar to nucleated cells, blood platelets may enter suicidal death characterized by cell shrinkage and cell membrane scrambling. Platelet apoptosis is frequently preceded by Ca2+ entry, degranulation, integrin activation and stimulation of caspases. Those events could be triggered by collagen related peptide (CRP). The present study explored whether treatment of platelets with temsirolimus modifies platelet activation, caspase activity, platelet shrinkage, and phosphatidylserine abundance. Methods: Platelets isolated from wild-type mice were exposed for 30 minutes to temsirolimus (40 μg/ml) without or with additional CRP (2 μg/ ml or 5 μg/ml) treatment. Flow cytometry was employed to estimate cytosolic Ca2+-activity ([Ca2+]i) from Fluo-3 fuorescence, platelet degranulation from P-selectin abundance, integrin activation from αIIbβ3 integrin abundance, caspase activity utilizing an Active Caspase-3 Staining kit, phosphatidylserine abundance from annexin-V-binding and relative platelet volume from forward scatter. Results: In the absence of CRP, the administration of temsirolimus (40 μg/ml) significantly decreased [Ca2+]i, but did not significantly modify P-selectin abundance, activated αIIbβ3 integrin, annexin-V-binding, cell volume, caspase activity and aggregation. Exposure of platelets to CRP was followed by significant increase of [Ca2+]i, P-selectin abundance, αIIbβ3 integrin activity, annexin-V-binding, ROS, caspase activity and aggregation, effects significantly blunted in the presence of temsirolimus. CRP further decreased forward scatter, an effect again significantly blunted by temsirolimus. Conclusions: Temsirolimus is a powerful inhibitor of platelet activation and suicidal platelet death.
The parse is darc and full of errors: Universal dependency parsing with transition-based and graph-based algorithms
2017-01-01

We developed two simple systems for dependency parsing: darc, a transition-based parser, and mstnn, a graph-based parser. We tested our systems in the CoNLL 2017 UD Shared Task, with darc being the official system. Darc ranked 12th among 33 systems, just above the baseline. Mstnn had no official ranking, but its main score was above the 27th. In this paper, we describe our two systems, examine their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss the lessons we learned.
Potential and Limitations of Radar Remote Sensing for Humanitarian Operations
2017-01-01

Methods of earth observation deliver quick and reliable information covering large areas, which can be used for the management of natural disasters and humanitarian crises. However, optical sensors reach their limits in areas affected by cloud cover or atmospheric haze, while radar satellites are predominantly unaffected by atmospheric conditions. This paper discusses the application of radar imagery for the assistance of humanitarian operations. The opening section describes the need for complementary information gained from radar data as well as the challenges which arise when working with imaging systems. Subsequently, examples for the use of various sensors are given based on our own findings, and a literature review for various application domains. These include the monitoring of natural resources, the distribution of human settlements or dwellings, and the retrieval of hydrologic parameters. Against this background, limitations and how they were handled in selected studies are discussed. A summary reflects the findings in the light of new developments and discusses challenges for the future.
Unsupervised Text Segmentation Based on Native Language Characteristics
2017-01-01

Most work on segmenting text does so on the basis of topic changes, but it can be of interest to segment by other, stylistically expressed characteristics such as change of authorship or native language. We propose a Bayesian unsupervised text segmentation approach to the latter. While baseline models achieve essentially random segmentation on our task, indicating its difficulty, a Bayesian model that incorporates appropriately compact language models and alternating asymmetric priors can achieve scores on the standard metrics around halfway to perfect segmentation.
HMGB1 Expression Level in Circulating Platelets is not Significantly Associated with Outcomes in Symptomatic Coronary Artery Disease
2017-01-01

Background/Aims: Platelets express high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule (DAMP) that triggers thrombosis and inflammation when present in extracellular space. The role of platelet-derived HMGB1 in coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unexplored. Methods: In a cohort study, we measured the expression of HMGB1 on the surface of circulating platelets in 183 patients with symptomatic CAD (stable CAD: n=80, acute coronary syndrome, ACS: n=103) at the time of percutaneous coronary intervention. All patients were tracked for course of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), all-cause death (ACD), and myocardial infarction (MI) for 360 days after study inclusion. Results: Platelet HMGB1 expression did not significantly differ between stable CAD, unstable CAD, non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Moreover, platelet HMGB1 did not significantly correlate with LVEF, neither at baseline nor at 6 months follow-up of the MI subgroup, and did not exert any significant effect on outcome (composite of ACD and/or MI as well as single events ACD and MI). Cumulative event-free survival of patients was not significantly different between HMGB1 levels above the median and HMGB1 levels below or equal to the median. Conclusion: These findings suggest that HMGB1 expressed on the surface of circulating platelets in patients with symptomatic CAD may not serve as a prognostic biomarker for this disease state.
Good Feasibility of the New German Blood Donor Questionnaire
2017-01-01

&lt;b&gt;Background: &lt;/b&gt;We assessed the effect of the uniform donor questionnaire (UDQ) on deferral rates in first-time and repeat donors. We focused on the introduced question about unprotected sexual contact with a new partner. Another goal was a stratified comparison of the deferral rates of the donor questionnaire (DQ) and UDQ. &lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt; Data on donors and deferrals using the DQ and UDQ were collected at four blood establishments. The comparison included a 2-year period by questionnaire version. For the comparison of the questionnaires, an adjusted multinomial logistic regression was performed. &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; The analysis included 260,848 donations. First-time (FTD) and repeat donations (RD) showed higher deferral rates with the UDQ (FTD +5.4%, RD +1.4%). Deferral due to a new partner was 3.0% in first-time and 0.4% in repeat donors. The majority of these occurred in the youngest age groups. The most frequent deferral criterion was ‘disease' (5.1%). &lt;b&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/b&gt; The regression revealed stronger predictors for deferral than the questionnaire version. Especially younger age carried a higher and independent risk for deferral. The additional deferrals of mainly young first-time donors due to a new sexual partner may identify those donors with potential heterosexual risk behavior who would otherwise not be identified.