Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive agent negotiation via argumentation

In this paper, we study how argumentation can be used as a basis for negotiation between autonomous agents, where negotiation strategies of the different parties are represented as argumentation theories within their knowledge. We propose an argumentation based negotiation protocol in which offers by the negotiating parties are linked to different arguments that they can build according to their individual negotiation strategy. This protocol is able to take into account the different roles of agents and context of interaction, where the strength of the arguments supporting an offer can depend on these factors. The agents can adapt their negotiation strategies and offers, as their environment changes, in particular during the course of the negotiation as they exchange information. In addition, using abduction alongside with argumentation, agents can find negotiating conditions to support an argument for an offer, thus extending the negotiation object in order to help find an agreement. To illustrate further the advantages of the approach we also study how we can capture and extend negotiation strategies within another negotiation mechanism, in particular the well-known mechanism of bargaining with multiple parties. This exposes further the main advantages of modularity and flexibility of our argumentation based representation of negotiation strategies and the adaptability that this offers in a changing environment of negotiation.
Role of IL-17A in Neutrophil Recruitment and Hepatic Injury after Warm Ischemia–Reperfusion Mice

Recent evidence suggests that IL-17A regulates neutrophil-dependent organ injury. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to determine the role of IL-17A in neutrophil recruitment after ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) and in subsequent liver injury. Two mouse models including wild-type and IL-17A knockout mice were evaluated for I/R injury. The medial largest lobe of the liver was clamped for 90 min. In another set of experiments, recombinant mouse (rm)IL-17A homodimer or rmIL-17A/F heterodimer were administered to knockout mice before I/R, and liver injury was investigated. Isolated Kupffer cells were incubated with rmIL-17A or rmIL-17F, and production of TNF-α was measured. Studies evaluating the extent of liver injury as measured by serum transaminase levels demonstrated similar levels in the acute phase (6 h) in these two models. In contrast, in the subacute phase (20 h) after I/R, both serum transaminase levels and percent of hepatic necrosis were significantly reduced in the knockout mice compared with the wild-type mice. This reduction in liver injury seen in the knockout mice was associated with suppression of chemokine and adhesion molecule expression and reduction in infiltration of neutrophils into the liver. Administration of rmIL-17A homodimer, but not IL-17A/F heterodimer, increased liver injury in the subacute phase of I/R in KO mice. TNF-α production by isolated Kupffer cells increased significantly in the cells incubated with rmIL-17A compared with rmIL-17F. These results indicate that IL-17A is a key regulator in initiating neutrophil-induced inflammatory responses and hepatic injury in the subacute phase after reperfusion.
Development of a real-time polymerase-chain-reaction assay for quantitative detection of Enterocytozoon bieneusi DNA in stool specimens from immunocompromised patients with intestinal microsporidiosis.

A new real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was developed for quantitation of Enterocytozoon bieneusi DNA in sequential stool specimens from immunocompromised patients with intestinal microsporidiosis. Patients were treated with fumagillin (n=6) or with placebo (n=6), in a randomized comparative trial. At baseline, mean E. bieneusi DNA levels were not significantly different in stool specimens from the placebo group, compared with those from the fumagillin group (5.9+/-0.4 vs. 5.9+/-0.6 log(10) copies/microL of stool suspension, respectively; P=. 96). In the placebo group, parasitic burden remained stable during follow-up (P=.46), whereas, in the fumagillin group, E. bieneusi DNA levels dropped below the lower limit of detection in all patients (mean reduction from baseline, -4.7 log(10) copies; P<. 0001). Real-time PCR performed better than did semiquantitative assessments by microscopy, to measure parasitic burden. In conclusion, this real-time PCR assay is a reliable tool for quantitation of E. bieneusi DNA in stool specimens and for the monitoring of treatment efficacy.
PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF BLIND ADAPTIVE MULTIUSER DETECTION ALGORITHMS

Blind multiuser detection algorithms are used to el iminate the Multiple Access Interference (MAI) and the Near-Far effect in mobile communication systems. Four kinds of blind multiuse r detection algorithms applied to code-division multiple-access (CDMA) communication system are studied in this paper. Tho se algorithms are the Least Mean Squares (LMS), Rec ursive Least Squares (RLS), Kalman filter and subspace-based Kalman filt er algorithms. The resultant signal to interference ratio (SIR) at the output of the receivers controlled by the four kinds of multi-use r detection algorithm has been discussed in this pa per. Simulation results show that the subspace based Kalman filter algorithm outperfo rms all other three algorithms. Subspace-based Kalm an filter algorithm has faster convergence speed, more practical and the ca pability of CDMA system can be increased.
Effect of Creatine Supplementation on Muscle Capacity in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

There has been interest in the use of exogenous creatine (Cr) as an adjunct treatment for neurological disorders. Creatine enhances bouts of activity through augmenting phosphocreatine for increased synthesis of ATP; however, multiple sclerosis (MS) individuals suffering from muscle weakness have not been shown to improve muscle work after 5 days of Cr supplementation. This study's purpose was to determine whether the extended duration would increase muscle capacity. In a double-blind, crossover trial, with a 3-week washout period, eleven MS subjects were randomly assigned to either Cr (5 g 4/day, day 1–7: 2.5 g 2/day, day 8–14) or placebo groups for two 14-day periods. Biodex Dynamometer recorded total work and power over three bouts of 30 maximal knee extensions and flexions. Total work was nonsignificant with Cr for knee extension (pretest 1277.7 ± 214.9 J vs. posttest = 1313.14 ± 200.5 J; p = 0.81) and flexion (pretest = 1220.7 ± 200.5 J vs. posttest = 1302.10 J ± 189.64 J; p = 0.93). Creatine did not enhance muscle power in knee extension (p = 0.31; pretest = 82.1 ± 12.7 W vs. posttest = 87.7 ± 12.6 W) or flexion (p = 0.29; pretest = 75.3 ± 12.1 W vs. posttest = 81.2 ± 11.1 W). Therefore, 14 days of Cr supplementation did not improve muscle capacity or habitual fatigue in MS individuals.
Bone Mineral Density in Healthy Female Adolescents According to Age, Bone Age and Pubertal Breast Stage

Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy female Brazilian adolescents in five groups looking at chronological age, bone age, and pubertal breast stage, and determining BMD behavior for each classification. Methods: Seventy-two healthy female adolescents aged between 10 to 20 incomplete years were divided into five groups and evaluated for calcium intake, weight, height, body mass index (BMI), pubertal breast stage, bone age, and BMD. Bone mass was measured by bone densitometry (DXA) in lumbar spine and proximal femur regions, and the total body. BMI was estimated by Quetelet index. Breast development was assessed by Tanner’s criteria and skeletal maturity by bone age. BMD comparison according to chronologic and bone age, and breast development were analyzed by Anova, with Scheffe’s test used to find significant differences between groups at P≤0.05. Results: BMD (g·cm-2) increased in all studied regions as age advanced, indicating differences from the ages of 13 to 14 years. This group differed to the 10 and 11 to 12 years old groups for lumbar spine BMD (0.865±0.127 vs 0.672±0.082 and 0.689±0.083, respectively) and in girls at pubertal development stage B3, lumbar spine BMD differed from B5 (0.709±0.073 vs 0.936±0.130) and whole body BMD differed from B4 and B5 (0.867±0.056 vs 0.977±0.086 and 1.040±0.080, respectively). Conclusion: Bone mineralization increased in the B3 breast maturity group, and the critical years for bone mass acquisition were between 13 and 14 years of age for all sites evaluated by densitometry.
Toward a new philosophy of preventive nutrition: from a reductionist to a holistic paradigm to improve nutritional recommendations.

The reductionist approach has been predominant to date in human nutrition research and has unraveled some of the fundamental mechanisms at the basis of food nutrients (e.g., those that involve deficiency diseases). In Western countries, along with progress in medicine and pharmacology, the reductionist approach helped to increase life expectancy. However, despite 40 y of research in nutrition, epidemics of obesity and diabetes are growing each year worldwide, both in developed and developing countries, leading to a decrease in healthy life years. Yet, interactions between nutrition-health relations cannot be modeled on the basis of a linear cause-effect relation between 1 food compound and 1 physiologic effect but rather from multicausal nonlinear relations. In other words, explaining the whole from the specific by a bottom-up reductionist approach has its limits. A top-down approach becomes necessary to investigate complex issues through a holistic view before addressing any specific question to explain the whole. However, it appears that both approaches are necessary and mutually reinforcing. In this review, Eastern and Western research perspectives are first presented, laying out bases for what could be the consequences of applying a reductionist versus holistic approach to research in nutrition vis-à-vis public health, environmental sustainability, breeding, biodiversity, food science and processing, and physiology for improving nutritional recommendations. Therefore, research that replaces reductionism with a more holistic approach will reveal global and efficient solutions to the problems encountered from the field to the plate. Preventive human nutrition can no longer be considered as "pharmacology" or foods as "drugs. "
TNFR signaling: ubiquitin‐conjugated TRAFfic signals control stop‐and‐go for MAPK signaling complexes

Summary: Nearly two decades after the initial cloning and identification of the founding father of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family, much has been learned about the mechanisms by which these receptors signal to critical transcription factors and other targets that regulate gene expression and cellular physiology. Mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and inhibitor of nuclear factor (NF)‐κB (IκB) kinases (IKKs) were identified early on as the upstream kinases responsible for activation of activator‐protein 1 (AP‐1) and NF‐κB, respectively, and later on for their ability to control life‐or‐death decisions in TNF‐stimulated cells. Both of these critical pathways are regulated at the level of MAPK kinase kinases (MAP3Ks), after which point they diverge. Recent work, however, illustrates that protein ubiquitination cascades play a critical initiating role in TNFR signaling and account for spatial and temporal separation of IKK and MAPK signaling cascades and thereby determine biological specificity and outcome. Cellular inhibitors of apoptosis (cIAPs) 1 and 2 are ubiquitin (Ub) ligases (E3s) that mediate canonical Lys48‐linked ubiquitination of TNFR‐associated factor 3 (TRAF3), marking it for subsequent degradation by the proteasome. TRAF3 degradation releases the brake on TRAF2/6:MAP3K signaling complexes responsible for MAPK activation, leading to their translocation from the cytoplasmic segment of the receptor to the cytosol where they initiate MAPK phosphorylation and activation. By contrast, IKK activation proceeds considerably faster than MAPK activation, takes place at the receptor, and is independent of cIAP1/2 activity and TRAF3 degradation. This arrangement may be important for ensuring the proper delivery of NF‐κB‐dependent survival signals and conversion of JNK‐promoted death signals to proliferative ones.
Automated, contour-based tracking and analysis of cell behaviour over long time scales in environments of varying complexity and cell density

Understanding single and collective cell motility in model environments is foundational to many current research efforts in biology and bioengineering. To elucidate subtle differences in cell behaviour despite cell-to-cell variability, we introduce an algorithm for tracking large numbers of cells for long time periods and present a set of physics-based metrics that quantify differences in cell trajectories. Our algorithm, termed automated contour-based tracking for in vitro environments (ACTIVE), was designed for adherent cell populations subject to nuclear staining or transfection. ACTIVE is distinct from existing tracking software because it accommodates both variability in image intensity and multi-cell interactions, such as divisions and occlusions. When applied to low-contrast images from live-cell experiments, ACTIVE reduced error in analysing cell occlusion events by as much as 43% compared with a benchmark-tracking program while simultaneously tracking cell divisions and resulting daughter–daughter cell relationships. The large dataset generated by ACTIVE allowed us to develop metrics that capture subtle differences between cell trajectories on different substrates. We present cell motility data for thousands of cells studied at varying densities on shape-memory-polymer-based nanotopographies and identify several quantitative differences, including an unanticipated difference between two ‘control’ substrates. We expect that ACTIVE will be immediately useful to researchers who require accurate, long-time-scale motility data for many cells.
Paternal exposures to environmental chemicals and time‐to‐pregnancy: overview of results from the LIFE study

Published findings from the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study regarding the relation between environmental chemicals and couple fecundity, as measured by time‐to‐pregnancy (TTP), are reviewed with a particular focus on role of the male partner. The LIFE Study recruited 501 couples from 16 counties in two U.S. states upon discontinuing contraception for purposes of becoming pregnant. Upon enrollment, couples provided a blood and urine sample for the quantification of persistent and non‐persistent environmental chemicals, respectively, and then completed daily journals until pregnant or up to one year of trying. Female partners used fertility monitors to aid the timing of intercourse relative to ovulation, and digital home pregnancy test kits on the day of expected menses. Chemical classes included: metals, persistent organic pollutants, environmental phenols, and phthalates that were quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry or isotope dilution high‐resolution or tandem mass spectrometry. Time‐to‐pregnancy (TTP) was defined as the number of prospectively observed menstrual cycles required for pregnancy. Fecundability odds ratios (FORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for each chemical and partner after adjusting for potential confounders and accounting for right censoring and time off contraception. FORs < 1 are suggestive of diminished fecundity or a longer TTP. Significant reductions (ranging from 17–31%) in couple fecundity were observed for male partners' concentration of lead (0.83; 0.70, 0.98), 2,2′,4,4′‐tetrahydroxybenzophenone (0.69; 0.49, 0.97), monobenzyl (0.80; 0.67, 0.97), and monomethyl (0.81; 0.70, 0.94) phthalates after adjusting for the female partners' concentrations. Seven PCB congeners quantified in men's serum were associated with a 17–29% reduction in couple fecundity. Our findings underscore the importance of a couple‐based exposure design, inclusive of the male partner, when assessing couple‐dependent outcomes such as TTP to avoid misinterpretation of results based only upon the female partner.
A Molecular Phylogeny of Plesiorycteropus Reassigns the Extinct Mammalian Order ‘Bibymalagasia’

Madagascar is well known for its diverse fauna and flora, being home to many species not found anywhere else in the world. However, its biodiversity in the recent past included a range of extinct enigmatic fauna, such as elephant birds, giant lemurs and dwarfed hippopotami. The ‘Malagasy aardvark’ (Plesiorycteropus) has remained one of Madagascar’s least well-understood extinct species since its discovery in the 19th century. Initially considered a close relative of the aardvark (Orycteropus) within the order Tubulidentata, more recent morphological analyses challenged this placement on the grounds that the identifiably derived traits supporting this allocation were adaptations to digging rather than shared ancestry. Because the skeletal evidence showed many morphological traits diagnostic of different eutherian mammal orders, they could not be used to resolve its closest relatives. As a result, the genus was tentatively assigned its own taxonomic order ‘Bibymalagasia’, yet how this order relates to other eutherian mammal orders remains unclear despite numerous morphological investigations. This research presents the first known molecular sequence data for Plesiorycteropus, obtained from the bone protein collagen (I), which places the ‘Malagasy aardvark’ as more closely related to tenrecs than aardvarks. More specifically, Plesiorycteropus was recovered within the order Tenrecoidea (golden moles and tenrecs) within Afrotheria, suggesting that the taxonomic order ‘Bibymalagasia’ is obsolete. This research highlights the potential for collagen sequencing in investigating the phylogeny of extinct species as a viable alternative to ancient DNA (aDNA) sequencing, particularly in cases where aDNA cannot be recovered.
Generating Coherent Argumentative Paragraphs

We address the problem of generating a coherent paragraph presenting arguments for a conclusion in a text generation system. Existing text planning techniques are not appropriate for this task for two main reasons: they do not explain how arguments can be linked together in a linear presentation order and they do not explain how the rhetorical function of a proposition affects its wording.We present a mechanism to generate argumentative paragraphs where argumentative relations constrain not only the rhetorical structure of the paragraph, but also the surface form of each proposition. In our approach, a text planner relies on a set of specific argumentative relations to extract information from the knowledge base, to map it to scalar and context dependent evaluations and to organize it into chains of arguments. The same information used for planning is also used by the surface realization component to perform lexical choice at all the levels of the clause (connectives, main verb, adverbial adjuncts, adjectives and determiners). The mechanism is implemented in the ADVISOR II system using FUF, an extended functional unification formalism.
Message passing for the coloring problem: Gallager meets Alon and Kahale

Message passing algorithms are popular in many combinatorial optimization problems. For example, experimental results show that {\em survey propagation} (a certain message passing algorithm) is effective in finding proper $k$-colorings of random graphs in the near-threshold regime. In 1962 Gallager introduced the concept of Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes, and suggested a simple decoding algorithm based on message passing. In 1994 Alon and Kahale exhibited a coloring algorithm and proved its usefulness for finding a $k$-coloring of graphs drawn from a certain planted-solution distribution over $k$-colorable graphs. In this work we show an interpretation of Alon and Kahale's coloring algorithm in light of Gallager's decoding algorithm, thus showing a connection between the two problems - coloring and decoding. This also provides a rigorous evidence for the usefulness of the message passing paradigm for the graph coloring problem. Our techniques can be applied to several other combinatorial optimization problems and networking-related issues.
Description of Pediatric Tuberculosis Evaluated in a Referral Center in Istanbul Turkey

Purpose Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children is more challenging than in adults. This study aimed to describe demographical, clinical and laboratory findings of children diagnosed with tuberculosis in Turkey, including the issues of contact tracing, culture positivity and forms of the disease. Materials and Methods Clinical and laboratory data of 51 children with a mean age of 8.0±4.6 years who were diagnosed with TB were retrospectively reviewed. Main diagnostic tools included tuberculin skin test, chest X-ray, sputum/gastric aspirate culture with sensitivity testing, and direct microscopy for acid-fast bacilli on available samples. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of the patients were examined. Results Thirty-six (70.6%) children were diagnosed with intra-thoracic and 15 (29.4%) with extra-thoracic tuberculosis. Twenty-eight of the patients had a positive Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine scar (28/51, 54.9%) and 23/51 (45.1%) had a positive tuberculin skin test. An adult TB contact was identified in 27 (52.9%) of the cases. On direct microscopy, acid-fast bacilli were found in nine (17.6%) patients and positive culture for Mycobacterium tuberculosis was found in 19 (37.3%). Drug resistance to isoniazid was detected in four (7.8%). One patient with nephrotic syndrome and miliary tuberculosis died during follow-up. All other patients responded well to the treatment. Conclusion Focusing on active contact tracing among all household contacts of tuberculous cases may be helpful in early identification and controlling childhood disease, even in regions with low disease prevalence. Adopting a suspicious and proactive approach in this particular age group is warranted.
Vertical laryngeal position and oral pressure variations during resonance tube phonation in water and in air. A pilot study

Resonance tube phonation in water (RTPW) is commonly used in voice therapy, particularly in Finland and Sweden. The method is believed to induce a lowering of the vertical laryngeal position (VLP) in phonation as well as variations of the oral pressure, possibly inducing a massage effect. This pilot study presents an attempt to measure VLP and oral pressure in two subjects during RTPW and during phonation with the free tube end in air. VLP is recorded by means of a dual-channel electroglottograph. RTPW was found to lower VLP in the subjects, while it increased during phonation with the tube end in air. RTPW caused an oral pressure modulation with a bubble frequency of 14–22 Hz, depending mainly on the depth of the tube end under the water surface. The results indicate that RTPW lowers the VLP instantly and creates oral pressure variations.