Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spanning Edge Centrality: Large-scale Computation and Applications

The spanning centrality of an edge e in an undirected graph G is the fraction of the spanning trees of G that contain e. Despite its appealing definition and apparent value in certain applications in computational biology, spanning centrality hasn't so far received a wider attention as a measure of edge centrality. We may partially attribute this to the perceived complexity of computing it, which appears to be prohibitive for very large networks. Contrary to this intuition, spanning centrality can in fact be approximated arbitrary well by very efficient near-linear time algorithms due to Spielman and Srivastava, combined with progress in linear system solvers. In this article we bring theory into practice, with careful and optimized implementations that allow the fast computation of spanning centrality in very large graphs with millions of nodes. With this computational tool in our disposition, we demonstrate experimentally that spanning centrality is in fact a useful tool for the analysis of large networks. Specifically, we show that, relative to common centrality measures, spanning centrality is more effective in identifying edges whose removal causes a higher disruption in an information propagation procedure, while being very resilient to noise, in terms of both the edges scores and the resulting edge ranking.
NMR studies of peptide T, an inhibitor of HIV infectivity, in an aqueous environment

The synthetic octapeptide peptide T (ASTTTNYT) has been shown to interfere with binding of the HIV‐1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 to the chemokine receptor R5, thus preventing viral infection. This study investigated the degree of conformational order of two analogs of peptide T, one biologically active (D‐Ala peptide T amide) and one inactive (D‐Ala, D‐Tyr peptide T amide) using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in an aqueous environment, both in solution and in the frozen solid state. Standard solution NMR techniques such as DQFCOSY, HMQC, ROESY and inversion recovery measurements have been utilized to characterize these peptides. Solid state NMR experiments were likewise employed to study the peptides in a frozen glycerol:water mixture. The NMR results indicate that the monomeric form of both peptide T analogs have considerable conformational heterogeneity. Solid state NMR studies indicate aggregation of D‐Ala peptide T, possibly into a β‐sheet structure, at concentrations higher than 10 mM. Copyright © 2004 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Understanding and Summarizing Answers in Community-Based Question Answering Services

Community-based question answering (cQA) services have accumulated millions of questions and their answers over time. In the process of accumulation, cQA services assume that questions always have unique best answers. However, with an in-depth analysis of questions and answers on cQA services, we find that the assumption cannot be true. According to the analysis, at least 78% of the cQA best answers are reusable when similar questions are asked again, but no more than 48% of them are indeed the unique best answers. We conduct the analysis by proposing taxonomies for cQA questions and answers. To better reuse the cQA content, we also propose applying automatic summarization techniques to summarize answers. Our results show that question-type oriented summarization techniques can improve cQA answer quality significantly.
WCET-Based Comparison of an Instruction Scratchpad and a Method Cache

This paper compares two proposed alternatives to conventional instruction caches: a scratchpad memory (SPM) and a method cache. The comparison considers the true worst-case execution time (WCET) and the estimated WCET bound of programs using either an SPM or a method cache, using large numbers of randomly generated programs. For these programs, we find that a method cache is preferable to an SPM if the true WCET is used, because it leads to execution times that are no greater than those for SPM, and are often lower. However, we also find that analytical pessimism is a significant problem for a method cache. If WCET bounds are derived by analysis, the WCET bounds for an instruction SPM are often lower than the bounds for a method cache. This means that an SPM may be preferable in practical systems.
Selective Disruption of Nuclear Import by a Functional Mutant Nuclear Transport Carrier

p10/NTF2 is a nuclear transport carrier that mediates the uptake of cytoplasmic RanGDP into the nucleus. We constructed a point mutant of p10, D23A, that exhibited unexpected behavior both in digitonin-permeabilized and microinjected mammalian cells. D23A p10 was markedly more efficient than wild-type (wt) p10 at supporting Ran import, but simultaneously acted as a dominant-negative inhibitor of classical nuclear localization sequence (cNLS)-mediated nuclear import supported by karyopherins (Kaps) α and β1. Binding studies indicated that these two nuclear transport carriers of different classes, p10 and Kap-β1, compete for identical and/or overlapping binding sites at the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and that D23A p10 has an increased affinity relative to wt p10 and Kap-β1 for these shared binding sites. Because of this increased affinity, D23A p10 is able to import its own cargo (RanGDP) more efficiently than wt p10, but Kap-β1 can no longer compete efficiently for shared NPC docking sites, thus the import of cNLS cargo is inhibited. The competition of different nuclear carriers for shared NPC docking sites observed here predicts a dynamic equilibrium between multiple nuclear transport pathways inside the cell that could be easily shifted by a transient modification of one of the carriers.
FootStriker: A Wearable EMS-based Foot Strike Assistant for Running

Today, ambitious amateur athletes often do not have access to professional coaching but still invest great effort in becoming faster runners. Apart from a pure increase in the quantitative training load, a change of the running technique, e.g. transitioning from heel striking to mid-/forefoot running, can be highly effective and usually prevents knee-related injuries. In this demo, we present a self-contained wearable that detects heel striking while running with a pressure-sensitive insole. Heel striking is corrected in real-time to mid/forefoot running by applying electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) on the calf muscle. We further discuss potential scenarios for EMS-based training in interactive spaces. The device will be worn and demonstrated by the presenter but if possible, the device can also be tested directly by the conference attendees.
No transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) in a long-term pig to rat xenotransplantation model and no infection of immunosuppressed rats.

BACKGROUND Xenotransplantation from pig to humans may be associated with the risk of transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) that are present in the genome of all pigs and that infect human cells in vitro. However, it remains unclear whether PERVs infect transplant recipients in vivo and, if so, whether they are pathogenic. It is therefore essential to perform in vivo infection studies in animal models. MATERIAL/METHODS To study PERV transmission in rats, rat primary cells and cell lines were treated in vitro with virus from different sources. Based on the assumption that susceptible cell lineages not yet tested in vitro could be present in the animal, PERV was inoculated into naïve and immunosuppressed animals. To investigate PERV transmission in a long-term exposure experiment, sera from animals grafted with pig Langerhans islet cells were tested in a Western blot assay for antibodies against PERVs. The animals were treated with streptozotocin to induce diabetes and microencapsulated and non-microencapsulated pig islet cells were applied without immunosuppression. RESULTS No productive infection of a few selected rat primary cells or cell lines was observed in vitro. PERV-specific antibodies were found in none of the animals and no integration of PERV into rat cells of different organs was observed, indicating that infection had not occurred. CONCLUSIONS This report demonstrates a lack of infection of rats in vivo even during immunosuppression or long-term exposure (up to 460 days) to a functioning xenotransplant. This report also shows that rats possibly due to a low receptor concentration on their cells are not a suitable animal model to study PERV transmission in vivo.
Efficacy of Attribution Retraining on Mental Health of Epileptic Children

Background: Epilepsy affects children’s quality of life and leads to social and mental problems. Promoting the mental health of children, especially epileptic ones, and preventing problems affecting them constitute major concerns for every country. Mental health promotion requires intervention programs. Objectives: We sought to assess the efficacy of attribution retraining on the mental health of epileptic children. Patients and Methods: The present study is a semi-experimental investigation with a pretest and posttest design and includes a control group. Thirty children, comprising 17 boys and 13 girls, were selected randomly from the Iranian epilepsy association in Tehran and assigned to experimental and control groups. They answered to the general health questionnaire (Goldberg and Hiller, 1979). The experimental group participated in 11 training sessions (twice a week; 45 minutes for each session) and received attribution retraining. The data were analyzed using the multiple analysis of covariance. Results: The findings showed that the experimental group, in comparison with the control group, experienced a reduction in physical symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression and an increase in mental health significantly (P < 0.01) after the training sessions. There were no significant differences, however, between the two groups at 6 weeks’ follow-up. Conclusions: Attribution retraining improved mental health in the epileptic children in our study. It, therefore, seems to be an appropriate intervention for promoting the mental health of children.
E2F2 and CREB cooperatively regulate transcriptional activity of cell cycle genes

E2F2 is essential for the maintenance of T lymphocyte quiescence. To identify the full set of E2F2 target genes, and to gain further understanding of the role of E2F2 in transcriptional regulation, we have performed ChIP-chip analyses across the genome of lymph node–derived T lymphocytes. Here we show that during quiescence, E2F2 binds the promoters of a large number of genes involved in DNA metabolism and cell cycle regulation, concomitant with their transcriptional silencing. A comparison of ChIP-chip data with expression profiling data on resting E2f2−/− T lymphocytes identified a subset of 51 E2F2-specific target genes, most of which are upregulated on E2F2 loss. Luciferase reporter assays showed a retinoblastoma-independent role for E2F2 in the negative regulation of these target genes. Importantly, we show that the DNA binding activity of the transcription factor CREB contributes to E2F2-mediated repression of Mcm5 and Chk1 promoters. siRNA-mediated CREB knockdown, expression of a dominant negative KCREB mutant or disruption of CREB binding by mutating a CRE motif on Mcm5 promoter, relieved E2F2-mediated transcriptional repression. Taken together, our data uncover a new regulatory mechanism for E2F-mediated transcriptional control, whereby E2F2 and CREB cooperate in the transcriptional repression of a subset of E2F2 target genes.
Cobalamin and Folate Status in 6 to 35 Months Old Children Presenting with Acute Diarrhea in Bhaktapur, Nepal

Background Cobalamin and folate are essential micronutrients and are important in DNA and RNA synthesis, cell proliferation, growth, hematopoiesis, and cognitive function. However, data on cobalamin and folate status are lacking particularly from young children residing in low and middle income countries. Objective To measure cobalamin and folate status and identifies their predictors among 6 to 35 months old children presenting with acute diarrhea. Design This was a cross-sectional study in 823 children presenting with acute diarrhea. We measured plasma cobalamin, folate, methylmalonic acid and total homocysteine who sought treatment for acute diarrhea between June 1998 and August 2000. Results The mean (SD) plasma concentrations of cobalamin, folate, total homocysteine and methylmalonic acid were 206 (124) pmol/L, 55 (32) nmol/L, 11.4 (5.6) µmol/L and 0.79 (1.2) µmol/L, respectively. The prevalence of low plasma cobalamin (<150 pmol/L) was 41% but less than 2% (15) children had low folate concentration (<10 nmol/L). Plasma homocysteine and methylmalonic acid concentrations were negatively associated with cobalamin concentration but not associated with folate status. The prevalence of cobalamin deficiency was higher in breastfed than non-breastfed children (44% vs 24%; p = <0.001). The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia (>10 µmol/L) and elevated methylmalonic acid (>0.28 µmol/L) were 73% and 52%, respectively. In the regression analyses, the plasma cobalamin concentration was positively associated with age, and introduction of animal or formula milk. Conclusions Our study indicated that poor cobalamin status was common particularly among breastfed children. Folate deficiency was virtually none existent. Possible consequences of cobalamin deficiency in young children need to be explored.
Association Between the PPARA L162V Polymorphism and Plasma Lipid Levels: The Framingham Offspring Study

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) alpha is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily that regulates key proteins involved in fatty acid oxidation, extracellular lipid metabolism, hemostasis, and inflammation. A L162V polymorphism at the PPARA locus has been associated with alterations in lipid and apolipoprotein concentrations. We studied the association among lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins and the presence of the L162V polymorphism in 2373 participants (1128 men and 1244 women) in the Framingham Offspring Study. The frequency of the less common allele (V162) was 0.069. The V162 allele was associated with increased serum concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol in men (P =0.0012 and P =0.0004, respectively) and apolipoprotein B in men (P =0.009) and women (P =0.03 after adjustment for age, body mass index, smoking, and use of &bgr;-blockers, diuretics or estrogens). Apolipoprotein (apo) C-III concentrations were higher in carriers of the V162 allele. The association of the L162V polymorphism on LDL cholesterol concentration was greatest in those who also carried the E2 allele at the APOE locus and the G allele at the APOC3 3238C>G polymorphism. This suggests that alterations in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism may be involved in the generation of the increase LDL cholesterol observed with the L162V PPARA polymorphism.
Surgeries on periodic links and homology of periodic 3-manifolds

Fix a prime integer p. We show that a closed orientable 3-manifold M admits an action of Zp with the fixed point set S1 if and only if M can be obtained as the result of surgery on a p-periodic framed link L and Zp acts freely on the components of L. We prove a similar theorem for free Zp-actions. As an interesting application, we prove the following, rather unexpected result: for any M as above and for any odd prime p, H1(M, Zp) ≠ Zp. We also prove a similar criterion of 2-periodicity for rational homology 3-spheres.
Physical properties of canola and sunflower meal pellets

White, N.D. G. and Jayas, D.S. 2001. Physical properties of canola and sunflower meal pellets. Canadian Biosystems Engineering/Le génie des biosystèmes au Canada 43:3.49-3.52. The bulk density, emptying and filling angles of repose, and friction coefficients on galvanized steel, plywood, steel-troweled, and wood-floated concrete were determined for canola meal pellets and sunflower meal pellets. The effects of various moisture contents and 0 and 10% fines (crushed pellets) were determined. Most physical properties of canola meal pellets were unaffected by moisture contents from 10.5 to 15.7% wet mass basis. Emptying angle of repose was 33.8° and filling angle of repose was 34.5°. The presence of fines increased bulk density, emptying angle of repose, and coefficients of friction on plywood and wood-floated concrete. Sunflower meal pellets had significantly lower bulk density as moisture content rose from 10.1 to 15.3% wet mass basis. At higher moisture, there was an increase in emptying (26.5° at 10.1% m.c., 39.5° at 15.3% m.c.) and filling (26.5° at 10% m.c., 37.0° at 15.3% m.c.) angles of repose, and an increase in most friction coefficients. The presence of fines increased bulk density, emptying angle of repose, and friction coefficients on plywood and steel. The physical properties of canola meal pellets were not affected by changing moisture content but those of sunflower meal pellets were significantly affected.
Vasoactive Effects of Serotonin on Proximal Coronary Arteries in Awake Dogs

This study evaluates the vasoactive effects and mechanisms of action of serotonin on epicardial arteries in awake dogs chronically instrumented with miniature piezoelectric dimension crystals on the proximal circumflex coronary artery. Serotonin (2–16 μ g) infused as a bolus in the left atrium effected a dose-related biphasic response, which was characterized by an initial increase in vessel dimension with a peak response at 45–75 seconds, followed by a delayed and more sustained vasoconstriction, with a maximum response at 2–8 minutes. The magnitude of the initial vasodilation was generally greater than the delayed vasoconstriction. The initial vasodilation remained unchanged after selective S2 blockade with ketanserin (0.3 mg/kg) and was only minimally but insignificantly attenuated when flow was held constant but was reduced after S1 and S2 blockade with methysergide (0.25 mg/kg). Selective S2 blockade with ketanserin (0.3 mg/kg) attenuated the delayed vasoconstriction in most but not all dogs; the effect of ketanserin was, however, not significant when the entire group was considered. Selective endothelial denudation effectively eliminated the initial vasodilation response to serotonin and significantly augmented the delayed vasoconstriction when the dogs were studied 1–2 days after denudation. The data indicate that in the awake dog, serotonin effects a biphasic vasomotor response characterized by an initial vasodilation that is mediated primarily through a direct endothelium-dependent S1 mechanism followed by a delayed vasoconstriction that is probably mediated via a direct S2 effect on the vascular smooth muscle and is attenuated by the normal endothelium. (Circulation Research 1987;61(suppl II):II-81-II-87)
Conflicting Selection in the Course of Adaptive Diversification: The Interplay between Mutualism and Intraspecific Competition

Adaptive speciation can occur when a population undergoes assortative mating and disruptive selection caused by frequency-dependent intraspecific competition. However, other interactions, such as mutualisms based on trait matching, may generate conflicting selective pressures that constrain species diversification. We used individual-based simulations to explore how different types of mutualism affect adaptive diversification. A magic trait was assumed to simultaneously mediate mate choice, intraspecific competition, and mutualisms. In scenarios of intimate, specialized mutualisms, individuals interact with one or few individual mutualistic partners, and diversification is constrained only if the mutualism is obligate. In other scenarios, increasing numbers of different partners per individual limit diversification by generating stabilizing selection. Stabilizing selection emerges from the greater likelihood of trait mismatches for rare, extreme phenotypes than for common intermediate phenotypes. Constraints on diversification imposed by increased numbers of partners decrease if the trait matching degree has smaller positive effects on fitness. These results hold after the relaxation of various assumptions. When trait matching matters, mutualism-generated stabilizing selection would thus often constrain diversification in obligate mutualisms, such as ant-myrmecophyte associations, and in low-intimacy mutualisms, including plant-seed disperser systems. Hence, different processes, such as trait convergence favoring the incorporation of nonrelated species, are needed to explain the higher richness of low-intimacy assemblages—shown here to be up to 1 order of magnitude richer than high-intimacy systems.
Preeclamptic cord blood hemolysis and the effect of Monascus purpureus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in modulating preeclamptic stress.

BACKGROUND Preeclampsia is associated with impaired antioxidant defense that results in materno- fetal complications. In addition to antioxidant deficiency, hemolytic disorder has also been observed in preeclamptic mother. METHODS This study aims in analyzing the fetal complications using cord blood RBC (red blood cell); further the antihemolytic and antioxidant efficiency of two common probiotic yeasts Monascus purpureus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in preeclamptic and normotensive RBCs were assessed. RESULTS There was a significant decrease in the antioxidant status (p<0.05) with increased oxidative stress, nitrative stress (p<0.05) and hemolysis (p<0.001) in preeclamptic RBC comparatively. M. purpureus demonstrated a highly significant reactive oxygen radical scavenging activity (p<0.001) whereas S. cerevisiae exhibited a highly significant nitric oxide radical scavenging activity (p<0.001). It was noted that oxidative stress hemolysis was decreased with increased antioxidant level in cord blood RBC from both samples after incubation with both yeasts in a similar manner. The antihemolytic property of M. purpureus and S. cerevisiae suggests that S. cerevisiae functions efficiently with increasing stress. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates for the first time that despite their differential scavenging activities, a diet rich in M. purpureus and S. cerevisiae could equally serve as a good natural supplement to alleviate the stress status in the preeclamptic fetus (Tab. 4, Fig. 1, Ref. 39).
TARGET-TRACKING IN FLIR IMAGERY USING MEAN-SHIFT AND GLOBAL MOTION COMPENSATION

In this paper , we presenta new approachfor tracking targetsin forward-lookinginfrared(FLIR) imagerytakenfrom anairborne,moving platform. Our trackingapproachuses thetargetintensityandtheGaborresponsedistributionsand computesa likelihoodmeasurebetweenthe candidateand themodeldistributionsby evaluatingtheMeanShift Vector. When the Mean Shift Vector basedtracker fails to locate the targetdueto largeego motion,we compensatethe ego motionusingamulti-resolutionscheme, whichemploysthe Gaborresponsesof two consecuti ve frames,andassumesa pseudo-perspecti ve motion model. We presentthe experimentsperformedon anAMCOM FLIR datasetof theproposedtrackingalgorithm.
Local Casimir energy for solitons

Direct calculation of the one-loop contributions to the energy density of bosonic and supersymmetric phi-to-the-fourth kinks exhibits: (1) Local mode regularization. Requiring the mode density in the kink and the trivial sectors to be equal at each point in space yields the anomalous part of the energy density. (2) Phase space factorization. A striking position-momentum factorization for reflectionless potentials gives the non-anomalous energy density a simple relation to that for the bound state. For the supersymmetric kink, our expression for the energy density (both the anomalous and non-anomalous parts) agrees with the published central charge density, whose anomalous part we also compute directly by point-splitting regularization. Finally we show that, for a scalar field with arbitrary scalar background potential in one space dimension, point-splitting regularization implies local mode regularization of the Casimir energy density.