Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implementation of Cluster-based Congestion Management Systems

The paper describes the technical challenges in implementing cluster-based congestion management systems. The study attempts to generalize the market-based zonal pricing method being used in the energy market in California for alleviating congestion in the system. The practical implementation of the cluster-based systems consists of two steps: (1) aggregation of individual nodes into clusters and (2) computation of cluster-wide prices. The resulting clusters and prices determine an operating condition that is at the optimum with respect to some pre-de ned objective function while keeping the power transfer across cluster interfaces within the acceptable limits. We illustrate two possible ways of aggregating nodes into clusters and compare the resulting solutions.
Testing the role of sensory systems in the migratory heading of a songbird

SUMMARY The identification of the sensory cues and mechanisms by which migratory birds are able to reach the same breeding and wintering grounds year after year has eluded biologists despite more than 50 years of intensive study. While a number of environmental cues have been proposed to play a role in the navigation of birds, arguments still persist about which cues are essential for the experience based navigation shown by adult migrants. To date, few studies have tested the sensory basis of navigational cues used during actual migration in the wild: mainly laboratory based studies or homing during the non-migratory season have been used to investigate this behaviour. Here we tested the role of olfactory and magnetic cues in the migration of the catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) by radio tracking the migration of birds with sensory manipulations during their actual migratory flights. Our data suggest that adult birds treated with zinc sulphate to produce anosmia were unable to show the same orientation as control adults, and instead reverted to a direction similar to that shown by juveniles making their first migration. The magnetic manipulation had no effect on the orientation of either adults or juveniles. These results allow us to propose that the olfactory sense may play a role in experience based migration in adult catbirds. While the olfactory sense has been shown to play a role in the homing of pigeons and other birds, this is the first time it has been implicated in migratory orientation.
Deferiprone for the treatment of Friedreich's ataxia

Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is a neurological disease related to a deficiency of the protein frataxin involved in iron–sulfur (Fe–S) cluster biogenesis. This leads to an increased cellular iron uptake accumulating in mitochondria, and a subsequently disturbed iron homeostasis. The detailed mechanism of iron regulation of frataxin expression is yet unknown. Deferiprone, an iron chelator that may cross the blood–brain barrier, was shown to shuttle iron between subcellular compartments. It could also transfer iron from iron‐overloaded cells to extracellular apotransferrin and pre‐erythroid cells for heme synthesis. Here, clinical studies on Deferiprone are reviewed in the context of alternative agents such as desferoxamine, with specific regard to its mechanistic and clinical implications.
Primate Head-free Saccade Generator Implements a Desired (post- Vor) Eye Position Command by Anticipating Intended Head Motion

Primate head-free nisms that distribute this command into separate but coordi-saccade generator implements a desired (post-VOR) eye position nated control signals for the eye and head remain in dispute. command by anticipating intended head motion. The highly coupled eye-head gaze saccades of cats have 78: 2811–2816, 1997. When we glance between objects, the brain been adequately modeled by essentially parsing gaze error ultimately controls gaze direction in space. However, it is currently to the eye and head as a matter of different weightings (Gali-unclear how this is allocated into separate commands for eye and ana and Guitton 1992; Guitton et al. 1990). However, addi-head movement. To determine the role of desired final eye position tional position signals appear to be required to account for commands, and their coordination with intended head movement, the gaze behavior of primates and humans. These signals we trained three monkeys to make large gaze shifts while wearing may come into play in determining both the behavioral limit opaque goggles with a monocular 8Њ aperture. Animals eventually developed a new set of context-dependent eye-head coordination of the size of the saccade (Guitton and Volle 1987), and strategies, in particular expanding the head range and compressing determining the initial proportion of drive to the eye and the eye-in-head range toward the aperture (while wearing the gog-head (Becker and Jürgens 1992; Freedman and Sparks 1997; gles). However, when we shifted the location of the aperture to a Fuller 1996; Goossens and Van Opstal 1997). To account different subsection of the normal head-free oculomotor range (by for such observations, Guitton and Volle (1987) proposed covering the original aperture and creating a new one), eye-head that eye motor error was computed by comparing initial eye saccades failed to acquire visual targets, because they continued position to a saturating desired eye position within a gaze to drive the eye ultimately toward the now occluded original aper-feedback loop. A further position-related problem arises in ture. Even when a head-stationary saccade acquired the new aper-coordinating the initial eye saccade with the subsequent ves-ture, subsequent head-free saccades drove the eye eccentrically tibuloocular reflex (VOR) slow phase, where the direction toward a point that anticipated the intended head movement, such of the latter depends only on concurrent head movement. that the subsequent vestibuloocular reflex slow phase brought the eye onto the location of the original aperture. Animals could only This becomes a nontrivial problem in …
Management of Food-Related Diarrhea Outbreak in the Emergency Department: Lessons Learned from the German STEC O104:H4 Epidemic

Emergency department (ED) management of the German STEC O104:H4 outbreak in 2011 was not limited to patients being truly infected with STEC. In parallel to spread of alarming news in public media, patients suffering from diarrhea due to other reasons fearfully presented, equally. We retrospectively characterized these two cohorts for anamnestic, clinical, and laboratory findings at their first ED contact. From 15th of May to July 2011, 302 adult patients with diarrheal complaint presented at the EDs of two tertiary hospitals in Lubeck, northern Germany. Fecal testing for STEC was obtained in 245 (81%) patients: 105 were STEC-positive and 140 were STEC-negative. Anamnestic characteristics (defecation rate, visible bloody diarrhea, and lower abdominal pain), abdominal tenderness, and some laboratory findings were significantly different between both cohorts but not reliable to exclude STEC. In >90% of STEC-positive patients diarrheal symptoms had started in May, reflecting the retrospective nationwide peak of infections, whereas the majority of STEC-negative patients became symptomatic in June 2011. During the German STEC O104:H4 outbreak a definite distinction at initial ED contact between STEC-positive versus STEC-negative patients by clinical judgment alone was not reliable. Fecal testing in the ED, however, might survey the outbreak of foodborne infections with the utmost precision.
Multi-oriented Text Detection with Fully Convolutional Networks

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for text detection in natural images. Both local and global cues are taken into account for localizing text lines in a coarse-to-fine procedure. First, a Fully Convolutional Network (FCN) model is trained to predict the salient map of text regions in a holistic manner. Then, text line hypotheses are estimated by combining the salient map and character components. Finally, another FCN classifier is used to predict the centroid of each character, in order to remove the false hypotheses. The framework is general for handling text in multiple orientations, languages and fonts. The proposed method consistently achieves the state-of-the-art performance on three text detection benchmarks: MSRA-TD500, ICDAR2015 and ICDAR2013.
A polyethylenimine-modified carboxyl-poly(styrene/acrylamide) copolymer nanosphere for co-delivering of CpG and TGF-β receptor I inhibitor with remarkable additive tumor regression effect against liver cancer in mice

Cancer immunotherapy based on nanodelivery systems has shown potential for treatment of various malignancies, owing to the benefits of tumor targeting of nanoparticles. However, induction of a potent T-cell immune response against tumors still remains a challenge. In this study, polyethylenimine-modified carboxyl-styrene/acrylamide (PS) copolymer nano-spheres were developed as a delivery system of unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) oligodeoxynucleotides and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) receptor I inhibitors for cancer immunotherapy. TGF-β receptor I inhibitors (LY2157299, LY) were encapsulated to the PS via hydrophobic interaction, while CpG oligodeoxynucleotides were loaded onto the PS through electrostatic interaction. Compared to the control group, tumor inhibition in the PS-LY/CpG group was up to 99.7% without noticeable toxicity. The tumor regression may be attributed to T-cell activation and amplification in mouse models. The results highlight the additive effect of CpG and TGF-β receptor I inhibitors co-delivered in cancer immunotherapy.
Activity Outcome Measurement for Postacute Care

BackgroundEfforts to evaluate the effectiveness of a broad range of postacute care services have been hindered by the lack of conceptually sound and comprehensive measures of outcomes. It is critical to determine a common underlying structure before employing current methods of item equating across outcome instruments for future item banking and computer-adaptive testing applications. ObjectiveTo investigate the factor structure, reliability, and scale properties of items underlying the Activity domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for use in postacute care outcome measurement. MethodsWe developed a 41-item Activity Measure for Postacute Care (AM-PAC) that assessed an individual’s execution of discrete daily tasks in his or her own environment across major content domains as defined by the ICF. We evaluated the reliability and discriminant validity of the prototype AM-PAC in 477 individuals in active rehabilitation programs across 4 rehabilitation settings using factor analyses, tests of item scaling, internal consistency reliability analyses, Rasch item response theory modeling, residual component analysis, and modified parallel analysis. ResultsResults from an initial exploratory factor analysis produced 3 distinct, interpretable factors that accounted for 72% of the variance:Applied Cognition (44%), Personal Care & Instrumental Activities (19%), and Physical & Movement Activities (9%); these 3 activity factors were verified by a confirmatory factor analysis. Scaling assumptions were met for each factor in the total sample and across diagnostic groups. Internal consistency reliability was high for the total sample (Cronbach &agr; = 0.92 to 0.94), and for specific diagnostic groups (Cronbach &agr; = 0.90 to 0.95). Rasch scaling, residual factor, differential item functioning, and modified parallel analyses supported the unidimensionality and goodness of fit of each unique activity domain. ConclusionsThis 3-factor model of the AM-PAC can form the conceptual basis for common-item equating and computer-adaptive applications, leading to a comprehensive system of outcome instruments for postacute care settings.
Therapeutic potential of peptide deformylase inhibitors

Peptide deformylase (PDF) is an attractive target for antibacterial drug discovery. Progress in the biological characterisation of the enzyme, coupled with newly obtained mechanistic and structural insight, enabled the pharmaceutical industry to discover potent PDF inhibitors that can be considered as clinical development candidates for this new class of antibacterial agents. The in vitro and in vivo data for several lead PDF inhibitors suggest that the current PDF inhibitors are most suitable for the treatment of respiratory tract infections and they are not cross-resistant to the current clinically used antibiotics. Two PDF inhibitors, BB-83698 and VIC-104959, have progressed to Phase I clinical trials by intravenous and oral administration, respectively. Both of these compounds show promising in vitro and in vivo efficacy and an excellent safety profile. The pharmacokinetics in humans for both of the compounds suggest the possibility of a twice-daily dosing regimen for clinical use. Thus far, all of the data suggest a promising future for this new class of antibacterial agents.
Correlated evolution of sex and reproductive mode in corals (Anthozoa: Scleractinia)

Sexuality and reproductive mode are two fundamental life-history traits that exhibit largely unexplained macroevolutionary patterns among the major groups of multicellular organisms. For example, the cnidarian class Anthozoa (corals and anemones) is mainly comprised of gonochoric (separate sex) brooders or spawners, while one order, Scleractinia (skeleton-forming corals), appears to be mostly hermaphroditic spawners. Here, using the most complete phylogeny of scleractinians, we reconstruct how evolutionary transitions between sexual systems (gonochorism versus hermaphrodism) and reproductive modes (brooding versus spawning) have generated large-scale taxonomic patterns in these characters. Hermaphrodites have independently evolved in three large, distantly related lineages consisting of mostly reef-building species. Reproductive mode in corals has evolved at twice the rate of sexuality, while the evolution of sexuality has been heavily biased: gonochorism is over 100 times more likely to be lost than gained, and can only be acquired by brooders. This circuitous evolutionary pathway accounts for the prevalence of hermaphroditic spawners among reef-forming scleractinians, despite their ancient gonochoric heritage.
Overland heroin trafficking routes and HIV-1 spread in south and south-east Asia

ObjectivesBurma produces approximately 60% of the world's heroin, Laos is the third leading producer. Recent outbreaks of injecting drug use and HIV-1 in Burma, India, China, and Vietnam have been associated with Burmese and Laotian overland heroin trafficking routes. We analyzed findings from narcotics investigations, molecular epidemiology studies of HIV-1, and epidemiologic and behavioral studies of injecting drug use, to evaluate the roles that the heroin export routes play in the spread of drug use and HIV-1 in south and south-east Asia. MethodsWe reviewed the medical and narcotics literature, the molecular epidemiology of HIV, and did key informant interviews in India, China, and Burma with injecting drug users, drug traffickers, public health staff, and narcotics control personnel. ResultsFour recent outbreaks of HIV-1 among injecting drug users appear linked to trafficking routes. Route 1: From Burma's eastern border to China's Yunnan Province, with initial spread of HIV-1 subtype B, and later C. Route 2: Eastern Burma to Yunnan, going north and west, to Xinjiang Province, with B, C, and a B/C recombinant subtype. Route 3: Burma and Laos, through northern Vietnam, to China's Guangxi Province, subtype E. Route 4: Western Burma, across the Burma–India border to Manipur, predominant subtype C, and B and E. ConclusionsOverland heroin export routes have been associated with dual epidemics of injecting drug use and HIV infection in three Asian countries and along four routes. Molecular epidemiology is useful for mapping heroin routes. Single country narcotics and HIV programs are unlikely to succeed unless the regional narcotic-based economy is addressed.
FinGeR in FLiGht ReVeaLS PaRaLLeL cateGoRiZation acRoSS MULtiPLe SociaL diMenSionS

On catching sight of another's face, multiple social categories may be potentially extracted. Prior work has often found that one category (e.g., sex) comes to dominate perception at the expense of others (e.g., race) being ignored. In the present study, participants categorized a face's sex or race by tapping a response with their finger. While the participants were en route to indicating their response, the authors measured the finger's trajectory through midair. Before tapping the correct category, the finger showed a partial, simultaneous attraction to the response location for the task-irrelevant (but nonetheless applicable) category membership, demonstrating that the task-irrelevant category was partially active in parallel. This is evidence that face-perceptual processing triggers parallel, partially active representations of a target's multiple applicable category memberships, which come to stabilize onto a focal categorization over time. Thus, even when perceivers focus on one category dimension,.
The decidability of distributed decision tasks (extended abstract)

A task is a distributed coordination problem in which each process starts with a private input value taken from a tlnite set, communicates with the other processes by applying operations to shared objects, and eventually halts with a private output value, also taken from a finite set. A protocol is a distributed program that solves a task. A protocol is t-resikent if it tolerates failures by t or fewer processes. A task is solvable in a given model of computation if it has a t-resilientprotocol in that model. A set of tasks is decidable in a given model of computation if there exists an effective procedure for deciding whether any task in that set has a t-resilient protocol. This paper gives the first necessary and sufficient conditions for task decidability in a range of different models and resilience levels. We prove undecidability by exploiting classical decidabilit y results from algebraic topology, and we prove decidability by explicit construction.
Nanoformulated cell-penetrating survivin mutant and its dual actions

In this study, we investigated the differential actions of a dominant-negative survivin mutant (SurR9-C84A) against cancerous SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell lines and differentiated SK-N-SH neurons. In both the cases, the mutant protein displayed dual actions, where its effects were cytotoxic toward cancerous cells and proliferative toward the differentiated neurons. This can be explained by the fact that tumorous (undifferentiated SK-N-SH) cells have a high endogenous survivin pool and upon treatment with mutant SuR9-C84A causes forceful survivin expression. These events significantly lowered the microtubule dynamics and stability, eventually leading to apoptosis. In the case of differentiated SK-N-SH neurons that express negligible levels of wild-type survivin, the mutant indistinguishably behaved in a wild-type fashion. It also favored cell-cycle progression, forming the chromosome-passenger complex, and stabilized the microtubule-organizing center. Therefore, mutant SurR9-C84A represents a novel therapeutic with its dual actions (cytotoxic toward tumor cells and protective and proliferative toward neuronal cells), and hence finds potential applications against a variety of neurological disorders. In this study, we also developed a novel poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticulate formulation to surmount the hurdles associated with the delivery of SurR9-C84A, thus enhancing its effective therapeutic outcome.
Periconceptional Undernutrition of Ewes Impairs Glucose Tolerance in Their Adult Offspring

Maternal undernutrition throughout pregnancy can have long-term effects on the health of adult offspring. Undernutrition around the time of conception alters growth, metabolism, and endocrinology of the sheep fetus, but the impact on offspring after birth is largely unknown. We determined the effect of maternal periconceptional undernutrition in sheep on glucose tolerance in the offspring before and after puberty. Undernourished (UN) ewes were fed individually to maintain weight loss of 10–15% bodyweight from 61 d before until 30 d after mating. Offspring (24 UN, 30 control) underwent an i.v. glucose tolerance test at 4 and 10 mo of age. Glucose tolerance was similar in both groups at 4 mo. Insulin area under the curve increased by 33% between 4 and 10 mo (101 ± 8 versus 154 ± 12 ng · min · mL−1, p < 0.0001). At 10 mo, UN offspring had a 10% greater glucose area under the curve than controls (809 ± 22 versus 712 ± 20 mM · min, p < 0.01), a reduced first phase insulin response (p = 0.003) which was particularly apparent in females and in singletons, and a decreased insulin:glucose ratio (p = 0.01). We conclude that maternal undernutrition around the time of conception results in impaired glucose tolerance in postpubertal offspring.
Attenuation of Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatic Toxicity by a Dietary Supplement

ABSTRACT Advanced liver disease (ALD) is often characterized with overt malnutrition and liver fibrosis. In this study, a dietary supplement (DS) was first developed, including branch chain amino acids, fat soluble vitamins, zinc, medium chain triglycerides, soy lecithin, L-carnitine, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Benefits of DS were then tested using an ALD rat model treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) for 6, 8, and 10 weeks, respectively. Our study showed that CCl4-induced drop of serum albumin and ratio of branch chain to aromatic amino acids were significantly prevented at all three time points. DS also mitigated CCl4-induced elevation of classical liver function markers (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and bilirubin) at certain time points, depending on specific liver function markers. Moreover, CCl4-induced liver fibrosis was strongly inhibited at all three time points in a transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) independent manner. These findings indicated multi-faceted benefits of DS in this animal model, suggesting that it could be a useful adjunctive treatment of ALD in clinic.
Eye-based head gestures

A novel method for video-based head gesture recognition using eye information by an eye tracker has been proposed. The method uses a combination of gaze and eye movement to infer head gestures. Compared to other gesture-based methods a major advantage of the method is that the user keeps the gaze on the interaction object while interacting. This method has been implemented on a head-mounted eye tracker for detecting a set of predefined head gestures. The accuracy of the gesture classifier is evaluated and verified for gaze-based interaction in applications intended for both large public displays and small mobile phone screens. The user study shows that the method detects a set of defined gestures reliably.