julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Ceramide in cystic fibrosis
2013-11-28

Cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common autosomal recessive disorder, at least in western countries, is caused by mutations of CFTR. The disease affects the intestine, the pancreas and the liver, but most important for life quality and expectance of CF patients are alterations in lung functions. The present review describes a novel pathway to explain many aspects of the pathogenesis of CF: ceramide accumulates in bronchial, tracheal and intestinal epithelial cells, and causes pulmonary inflammation, infection susceptibility, peribronchial collagen deposition and cell death, with the consequence of DNA release into the bronchial lumen and concomitant reduction of mucociliary clearance. All of these pathophysiological events are corrected by the normalization of pulmonary ceramide. Phase IIa and IIb clinical studies indicate a beneficial effect of a pharmacological inhibition of acid sphingomyelinase on lung functions in patients with CF.
Severe Chest Pain Caused by Mycoplasma Myocarditis in an Adolescent Patient
2013-11-29

Intermittent chest pain is a common symptom in adolescent patients, which can be attributed to musculoskeletal disorders in the majority of cases. While most patients have a benign course of their pain episodes, the differential diagnosis includes diseases which are associated with serious and even life-threatening complications. Therefore, careful examination and systematic diagnostic evaluation is important. We report on an adolescent, who presented with severe chest pain and distinct electrocardiographic findings caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae myocarditis.
Nonbinding agreements in Europe's trans-boundary river pollution: a first assessment
2013-11-29

Deciding whether commitments should involve binding or nonbinding agreements is a crucial strategic element when it comes to designing effective governance systems. Up to now, legally binding treaties seem to be the preferred approach. More than 1500 bilateral and 1100 multilateral treaties have been signed according to one recent compilation.2 However, at least some have proven to be ineffective, if not counterproductive, for solving the problems they were negotiated for. Therefore, it is not surprising to see states increasingly use a different approach for solving trans-boundary environmental problems: nonbinding agreements. In contrast to signing legally binding treaties, state officials negotiate international norms that are intentionally nonbinding, but still possess legal relevance. This paper provides a first assessment of nonbinding agreements in Europe’s trans-boundary river pollution. In particular, the paper focuses on the goals as well as on the achievements of nonbinding agreements and compare them with binding treaties.
Combined inhibition of Notch and JAK/STAT is superior to monotherapies and impairs pancreatic cancer progression
2013-11-30

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with a high rate of metastasis. Recent studies have indicated that Notch and janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathways are both important for the initiation and progression of PDAC. The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of targeting these two tumor signaling pathways simultaneously both in vitro and in vivo. We assessed the combinational effects of the γ-secretase inhibitor IX (GSI IX) and JAK2 inhibitor (AG-490) on growth and epithelial plasticity of human pancreatic cancer cell lines, and in a genetically engineered mouse model (Pdx1-Cre, LSL-KrasG12D, p53(lox/+)) of PDAC. Dual treatment with GSI IX and AG-490 significantly impaired cell proliferation, migration, invasion, soft agar growth and apoptosis when compared with monotherapies. Most importantly, combinational treatment significantly attenuates tumor progression in vivo and suppresses conversion from acinar-ductal-metaplasia to PDAC. Our results suggest that targeting Notch and JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways simultaneously is superior to single inhibitions, supporting combined treatment by GSI IX and AG-490 as a potential therapeutic approach for PDAC. However, the study design limits the direct transfer into the clinic and the impact of dual treatment in patients with PDAC remains still to be determined.
THE NEW-OLD COSMOLOGY
2013-11-30

The recently discovered physics discipline of cryodynamics, sister discipline to thermodynamics, enables a new picture of the cosmos. A stationary, infinite, eternal, fractal cosmos that can be called the Clifford-Zwicky-Mandelbrot (CZM) cosmos emerges. Many elements of the currently accepted cosmology are put up for replacement in a 12-point list.
Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Correlating Variables Among German Elite Athletes
2013-12-01

Depression among elite athletes is a topic of increasing interest, but empirical data are rare. The present study aimed to provide insight into the prevalence of depressive symptoms among German elite athletes and possible associated factors. In an online survey of 162 athletes, we explored depressive symptoms, chronic stress, coping strategies and stress-recovery states. Results indicated an overall prevalence of 15% for depression among elite athletes ( n = 99), and revealed higher levels of depressive symptoms among the individual athletes than the team athletes. Furthermore, correlation analyses showed a significant connection between high levels of depressive symptoms and high levels of chronic stress, negative coping strategies and negative stress-recovery states. Results indicate that the prevalence for depressive symptoms in elite athletes is comparable to that in the general German population. Moreover, exploratory analyses provide first indications of factors associated with depressive symptoms.
A biomarker based detection and characterization of carcinomas exploiting two fundamental biophysical mechanisms in mammalian cells
2013-12-01

The combined detection of two independent fundamental biophysical processes by the two biomarkers Apo10 and TKTL1 allows a sensitive and specific detection of neoplasia in a noninvasive and cost-effective way. Further prospective trials are warranted to validate this new concept for the diagnosis of neoplasia and tumor recurrence.
Perception of the novel MAMP eMax from differentXanthomonasspecies requires theArabidopsisreceptor-like protein ReMAX and the receptor kinase SOBIR
2013-12-01

As part of their innate immune system plants carry a number of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that can detect a broad range of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). In a recently published article (1) we described a novel, proteinaceous MAMP termed eMax (enigmatic MAMP of Xanthomonas) that derives from Xanthomonas and gets recognized by the receptor-like protein ReMAX (RECEPTOR OF eMax) of Arabidopsis thaliana. ReMAX has no ortholog in Nicotiana benthamiana and this species does not respond to eMax even when transformed with ReMAX. However, interfamily transfer of eMax perception was successful with a chimeric form of ReMAX where the C-terminal part of the protein was replaced by the corresponding part of the tomato RLP EIX2 (ETHYLENE INDUCING XYLANASE2). In this addendum we describe the difficulties with the purification and identification of the MAMP eMax and we present data demonstrating that functionality of ReMAX, much like that of related RLPs, depends on the presence of the receptor kinase SOBIR (SUPPRESSOR OF BIR1-1).
The effect of resveratrol on contractility of non-pregnant rat uterus: the contribution of K(+) channels.
2013-12-01

This study was aimed to evaluate resveratrol (1-100 μM) effect on the spontaneous rhythmic contractions (SRC), oxytocin-induced (0.2 nM, POxC) phasic and tonic (20 nM, TOxC) contractions of isolated rat uterus. The SRC and POxC were more sensitive to resveratrol than TOxC (pD2 values: 4.53 and 4.66 versus 4.06). Different blockers of K(+) channels (glibenclamide, tetraethylamonium, iberiotoxin, 4-aminopyridine) antagonized the response to resveratrol on the SRC and phasic contractions, but did not antagonize the effect of resveratrol on the TOxC. In order to compare the relaxant activities of resveratrol on the TOxC with that of potassium channel openers, a separate experiments with NS 1619, a highly specific big Ca(2+)-sensitive K(+) (BKCa) channels opener and pinacidil, a predominant opener of ATP-sensitive K(+) (KATP) channels were done. NS 1619 (10-100 μM) and pinacidil (10-100 μM) produced more potent inhibition of TOxC than resveratrol (pD2 values were 6.00 and 5.29). Iberiotoxin, a highly selective BKCa channels blocker, antagonized the response to NS 1619 and glibenclamide, a highly selective KATP channels blocker, antagonized the response to pinacidil on the TOxC. To test K(+)- and extracellular Ca(2+)- independent mechanism(s) of resveratrol on TOxC, a K(+)-rich, Ca(2+)-free solution was used. Under this condition, only high concentrations (≥30 μM) of resveratrol inhibited TOxC. Western blots analysis confirmed expression of Kir6.1, Kir6.2, KCa1.1, Kv2.1 and Kv4.2. channel proteins in myometrium. Thus, the effect of resveratrol is dependent on the types of contractions. The inhibitory response of resveratrol on the SRC and phasic contractions involves different myometrial K(+)- channels. When applied in high concentrations, resveratrol has an additional K(+)- channels independent mechanism(s) of action. As the effects of NS 1619, pinacidil and resveratrol on the TOxC are different, we can conclud that resveratrol does not behave as a classical potassium channel opener.
Multi-class fruit classification using RGB-D data for indoor robots
2013-12-01

In this paper we present an effective and robust system to classify fruits under varying pose and lighting conditions tailored for an object recognition system on a mobile platform. Therefore, we present results on the effectiveness of our underlying segmentation method using RGB as well as depth cues for the specific technical setup of our robot. A combination of RGB low-level visual feature descriptors and 3D geometric properties is used to retrieve complementary object information for the classification task. The unified approach is validated using two multi-class RGB-D fruit categorization datasets. Experimental results compare different feature sets and classification methods and highlight the effectiveness of the proposed features using a Random Forest classifier.
Reliable housekeeping gene combination for quantitative PCR of lymph nodes in patients with prostate cancer.
2013-12-01

Gene combination HPRT1 and TPB has the potential to be utilized for normalization in gene profiling assessment of metastatic and non-metastatic pelvic lymph node tissue from patients with prostate cancer.
Role of serotonin in fatty acid-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in mice
2013-12-01

Abstract Background Saturated fatty acids are thought to be of relevance for the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In previous studies we found that food-derived carbohydrates such as fructose alter the intestinal serotonergic system while inducing fatty liver disease in mice. Here, we examined the effect of fatty acid quantity (11% versus 15%) and quality (saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated fatty acids) on hepatic fat accumulation, intestinal barrier and the intestinal serotonergic system. Methods C57BL/6 mice had free access to diets enriched with one of the three fatty acids or standard diet, for 8 weeks. In an additional experiment mice were fed diets enriched with saturated, monounsaturated fatty acids or standard diet supplemented with tryptophan (0.4 g/(kg . d), 8 weeks) or not. Hepatic fat accumulation, small intestinal barrier impairment and components of the serotonergic system were measured with RT-PCR, western blot or immunoassays. For statistical analysis t-test and one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test and Bartlett’s test for equal variances was used. Results Hepatic triglycerides, liver weight and liver to body weight ratio were significantly changed depending on the fat quality but not fat quantity. In contrast, fat quantity but not quality decreased the expression of the tight junction proteins occludin and claudin-1 in the small intestine. These changes seemed to result in enhanced portal vein endotoxin concentrations and fatty liver disease after feeding diet enriched with saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids but not polyunsaturated fatty acids. Neither fatty acid quantity nor quality significantly influenced the intestinal serotonergic system. Similarly, tryptophan supplementation had no impact on small intestinal barrier or fatty liver disease. Conclusion In conclusion, diets rich in saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids promote the development of fatty liver disease in mice, likely by a dysfunction of the small intestinal mucosal barrier.
Testing reliability techniques for SoCs with fault tolerant CGRA by using live FPGA fault injection
2013-12-01

In this work, we intend to demonstrate a number of reliability techniques developed for Coarse Grained Reconfigurable Architectures (CGRA). The techniques to be demonstrated target different portions of a System on Chip (SoC) Design consisting of a general purpose CPU, various accelerators and a CGRA which may be used for application acceleration as well. On the CGRA we will demonstrate a light-weight Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR) technique which mitigates the hardware overhead usually incurred by TMR. In case of a detected CGRA fault, we use Dynamic Remapping of the application to avoid faulty components and thus restore the functionality of the mapped application. On SoC level, we demonstrate Dynamic Functional Verification to sample and thus detect faults in components of the SoC in a time multiplexed manner. The complete system is emulated on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) for which we developed a fast and accurate fault injection method to test the developed techniques in a live and realistic way.
Reflections of German Football Journalists on Their Relationships With Bundesliga Club Public Relations Practitioners
2013-12-01

This article examines German print sport journalists’ perceptions, experiences, and relationships with Bundesliga clubs’ public relations (PR) staffers and each club’s designated press spokesperson, as well the impact of a competitive, multitier 21st-century media environment on their jobs. All Bundesliga clubs are now disseminating more multimedia content on their own through official Web sites and social media such as Twitter and Facebook. Meanwhile, the German newspaper industry is in a state of transformation and decreased prominence among mediums in German sport journalism. A survey of print journalists who cover Bundesliga clubs showed that these changes have affected the historic symbiotic relationship between the sporting press and Bundesliga clubs. Power and media autonomy have increased for Bundesliga clubs and their designated press spokespersons, while print reporters are more dependent on the clubs’ PR staffers to provide access. The surveyed journalists recognize the increasing power of television in German sport journalism, but nearly half do not consider this as negative for their jobs. These print sport journalists are called on to find new ways and types of media content to begin restoring the needed balance in a symbiotic relationship between independent press and PR, while also distinguishing their work from televised media content.
Field comparison of selected methods for vertical soil water content profiling
2013-12-01

Summary High-resolution information about vertical variations in soil water content is important for applications ranging from agricultural water management to flow and transport modeling. Commonly applied tools for the investigation of vertical soil water content distribution in hydrogeological field investigations are: gravimetric laboratory analyses of soil samples, logging a cased borehole using a tool with a radioactive source (neutron probe), or yet less well established, direct push-based moisture sensor probes. Due to differences in their underlying measurement principles as well as different operation modes, each of the aforementioned methods is associated with certain advantages and limitations. A common field evaluation of these methods has not been performed until now – raising the question of how well these individual methods perform when applied under different depositional and hydrogeological conditions. For field evaluation direct push-profiling was performed at three different test sites under different hydrogeological settings and varying degree of sediment heterogeneity and compared with results obtained from gravimetric analysis of soil cores and neutron probe measurements. In direct comparison the applied direct push-based Water Content Profiler proved to be a suitable alternative to neutron probe technology for measuring the vertical water content distribution. Moreover, the Water Content Profiler proved to be advantageous over gravimetric analysis in terms vertical resolution and time efficiency. Results of this study identify application-specific limitations of the methods and thereby highlight the need for careful data evaluation, even though some of the methods described in this paper are well established.
StML: Bridging the gap between FPGA design and HDL circuit description
2013-12-01

FPGA circuit implementation is a unidirectional and time-consuming process. Existing approaches like the incremental synthesis try to shorten it, but still need to execute the whole flow for a changed circuit partition. Other approaches circumvent process stages by providing bidirectional mappings between their results. In this paper we propose an approach to provide a bidirectional link between an FPGA design and its HDL code. This link enables the circumvention of the most time-consuming stages (synthesis, mapping, placing, routing) of the FPGA circuit implementation. We implemented our approach in a Java-based EDA tool library, called Static Mapping Library (StML). We demonstrate its applicability by means of hardware debugging and an RTL-based injection of permanent faults, built on top of the StML. Experimental results illustrate that a mapping coverage between 98.5%-100.0% can be obtained, which substantiates the feasibility of this approach. Further experiments illustrate a controllable tradeoff between area overhead, circuit granularity and mapping granularity. With the finest mapping granularity, the area overhead has been between 1.8% and 60.2% for RTL-based circuits. The speedup of the proposed fault injection method has been estimated to be up to 6x for the tested circuits.
Mubarak’S Garden. Land Improvement on a Dry Tropical Island in the Arabian Sea
2013-12-01

Abstract Inhabited dry tropical regions are principally seen as vulnerable areas, especially if people have limited access to suitable land, fresh water and crop seeds. From the traditional, but also from the scientific point of view in some cases, it might be considered to be exceptional, indeed pointless, for people to try to improve land in such an arid environment. But for people living directly on a hypersaline coastline, experiments in crop cultivation are necessary to produce additional fruits and vegetables, using either traditional or adapted techniques of land cultivation. Soil investigations in a kitchen-garden situated on the northern coast of Soqotra Island, Yemen, show that one year of cultivation increased Corg contents from 0 up to 0.7%, and Pav contents from 100 mg kg-1 up to 230 mg kg-1 in the garden beds. A general decrease in slightly soluble salts - explained by irrigation with fresh water - is already obvious after only one year: decreasing from 6.7% slightly soluble salt in marine sand, to 0.3% slightly soluble salt in cultivated beds. A vertical increase of clay content in sediments and soils, and also an inland increase of clay content, was observed. It is hoped that this example will encourage future research on kitchen-gardens, since they have a beneficial effect on society as well as having positive environmental consequences, as seen in the present case of land improvement on Soqotra Island in the Arabian Sea
A graph-based approach for implicit discourse relations
2013-12-01

Recognizing and classifying implicit discourse relations is a challenging task since hardly any strong indicators exist, and a variety of weak indicators has to be harnessed to yield evidence for a particular discourse relation or another. Most current approaches rely on a combination of shallow, surface-based features and rather specialized hand-crafted features, with a considerable gap in between which is partly due to the sheer complexity of combining evidence from different levels of linguistic description. As a way to avoid both the shallowness of word-based representations and the lack of coverage of specialized linguistic features, we use a graph-based representation of discourse segments, which allows for a more abstract (and hence generalizable) notion of syntactic (and partially of semantic) structure, we propose an approach to use a graph-structured representation of discourse units in order to improve the classification of implicit discourse relations. We validate this approach using implicit discourse relation data from the TüBa-D/Z treebank, providing an extended discussion and error analysis that looks at the impact of the graph-based representation on the different kinds of discourse relations. The empirical evaluation shows that our graph-based approach not only provides a suitable representation for the linguistic factors that are needed in disambiguating discourse relations, but also improves results over a strong state-of-the-art baseline by more accurately identifying Temporal, Comparison and (for the German data) Reporting discourse relations. 1.
Indirect NFC-login
2013-12-01

Smartcard based authentication on web services stays a niche application because of the lack of smartcard readers on the vast majority of internet devices. In this paper we discuss a method that uses an NFC-enabled Smartphone in order to login via NFC-enabled smartcard on basically any internet device. We explain the details of this method and analyze its security, deployability, and usability aspects.
Timing error handling on CGRAs
2013-12-01

Error-detection sequential (EDS) circuits are used to detect timing errors in electronic systems. This paper presents an EDS circuit that avoids the generation of false error signals on a coarse grained reconfigurable architecture (CGRA). In a first step we analyzed the timing error handling mechanism of EDS circuits and formulated - based on that analysis - the conditions that must be satisfied for EDS circuits to accomplish the avoidance of false error signals. In a second step we constructed an EDS circuit by means of these theoretical results and integrated this EDS circuit in a CGRA. Finally, we tested the CGRA by SPICE simulations. These simulations confirm that our EDS circuit implementation avoids false error signal generation on a CGRA.
Settlement's Dynamics in Western Sicily between VIII E IV Sec. B.C. A Geographic Information System to Research
2013-12-01

Terms and technologies that would be not comprehensible to the archaeologists of the past are now widely spreading inside landscape archaeology fields, beginning from those sites where the enormous proportion of picked data and the continuous overlap of the layers makes difficult to understand what happened. In this context, the use of the GIS (Geographical Information System) has known a remarkable success, according to the increasing necessity to archive, elaborate and analyze the great quantity of archaeological data coming from surveys, as in the case of Iato and Belìce river valleys (Sicily).