Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Failure data analysis of a LAN of Windows NT based computers

This paper presents results of a failure data analysis of a LAN of Windows NT machines. Data for the study was obtained from event logs collected over a six-month period from the mail routing network of a commercial organization. The study focuses on characterizing causes of machine reboots. The key observations from this study are: 1) most of the problems that lead to reboots are software related; 2) rebooting the machine does not always solve the problem; 3) there are indications of propagated or correlated failures; and 4) though the average availability evaluates to over 99%, the machine downtime lasts (on average) two hours. Since the machines are dedicated mail servers, bringing down one or more of them can potentially disrupt storage, forwarding, reception and delivery of mail. This suggests that the average availability is not a good measure to characterize this type of network service.
Effect of conventional milling on the nutritional value and antioxidant capacity of wheat types common in Ethiopia and a recovery attempt with bran supplementation in bread

Abstract The effect of wheat flour refined milling on nutritional and antioxidant quality of hard and soft grown in Ethiopia was evaluated. Bread was prepared with the supplementation of the white wheat flour with different levels (0%, 10%, 20%, and 25%) of wheat bran. Whole (100% extraction) and white wheat (68% extraction) flours were analyzed for proximates, minerals, and antioxidants. Results indicated that at a low extraction rate (68%), the protein, fat, fiber, ash, iron, zinc, phosphorous, and antioxidant contents of the samples significantly (P < 0.05) decreased by milling. The TPC (total phenolic content) of the white wheat flours, which ranged from 3.34 to 3.49 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalent)/g, was significantly (P < 0.005) lower than those of the whole wheat flours, whose TPC ranged from 7.66 to 8.20 GAE/g). At 50 mg/mL, the DPPH (2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) scavenging effect of the wheat extracts decreased in the order of soft whole, hard whole, soft white, and hard white wheat flour, which was 90.39, 89.89, 75.80, and 57.57%, respectively. Moreover, the proximate and mineral contents of the bran‐supplemented breads increased significantly (P < 0.05) with the bran level of the bread, and the highest values (protein, 12.0 g/100 g; fat, 2.6 g/100 g; fiber, 2.5 g/100 g; ash, 3.3 g/100 g; iron, 4.8 mg/100 g and zinc, 2.33 mg/100 g) were found in 25% bran supplemented bread. The sensory evaluation of bread showed that all the supplementation levels had a mean score above 4 for all preferences on a 7‐ point hedonic scale. The results indicated that refined milling at 68% extraction significantly reduces the nutritional and antioxidant activity of the wheat flours. Bread of good nutritional and sensory qualities can be produced from 10% and 20% bran supplementations.
On the impact of propagation disturbances on SAR Tomography: Analysis and compensation

This paper is meant to discuss the role of propagation disturbances, such as those due to atmospheric disturbances or to residual platform motion, in SAR Tomography applications. It will be shown that phase stability requirements vary as a function of the number of targets within the system resolution cell, from which it follows that SAR Tomography applications require a higher phase stability, or a more accurate phase calibration, with respect to SAR Interferometry. Phase calibration will be discussed by comparing two approaches. The first is the traditional approach from Permanent Scatterers Interferometry, based on the assumption that it is possible to find stable targets in the imaged scene. The second is a new technique based on the Sum of Kronecker Products Decomposition, recently introduced in literature, which allows to isolate ground and volume contributions within the data provided the availability of multi-polarimetric acquisitions. As such, the latter approach is suited to carry out phase calibration in presence of volume scattering, as it is the case of forested areas. Experimental results will be provided basing on the analysis of the P-Band data-set relative to the forest site of Remningstorp, Sweden.
Accuracy of Urine Circulating Cathodic Antigen Test for the Diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni in Preschool-Aged Children before and after Treatment

Background The Kato-Katz technique is widely used for the diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni, but shows low sensitivity in light-intensity infections. We assessed the accuracy of a commercially available point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) cassette test for the diagnosis of S. mansoni in preschool-aged children before and after praziquantel administration. Methodology A 3-week longitudinal survey with a treatment intervention was conducted in Azaguié, south Côte d'Ivoire. Overall, 242 preschoolers (age range: 2 months to 5.5 years) submitted two stool and two urine samples before praziquantel administration, and 86 individuals were followed-up posttreatment. Stool samples were examined with duplicate Kato-Katz thick smears for S. mansoni. Urine samples were subjected to POC-CCA cassette test for S. mansoni, and a filtration method for S. haematobium diagnosis. Principal Findings Before treatment, the prevalence of S. mansoni, as determined by quadruplicate Kato-Katz, single CCA considering ‘trace’ as negative (t−), and single CCA with ‘trace’ as positive (t+), was 23.1%, 34.3% and 64.5%, respectively. Using the combined results (i.e., four Kato-Katz and duplicate CCA(t−)) as diagnostic ‘gold’ standard, the sensitivity of a single Kato-Katz, a single CCA(t−) or CCA(t+) was 28.3%, 69.7% and 89.1%, respectively. Three weeks posttreatment, the sensitivity of a single Kato-Katz, single CCA(t−) and CCA(t+) was 4.0%, 80.0% and 84.0%, respectively. The intensity of the POC-CCA test band reaction was correlated with S. mansoni egg burden (odds ratio = 1.2, p = 0.04). Conclusions/Significance A single POC-CCA cassette test appears to be more sensitive than multiple Kato-Katz thick smears for the diagnosis of S. mansoni in preschool-aged children before and after praziquantel administration. The POC-CCA cassette test can be recommended for the rapid identification of S. mansoni infections before treatment. Additional studies are warranted to determine the usefulness of POC-CCA for assessing drug efficacy and monitoring the impact of control interventions.
Unlocking the secrets of galectins: a challenge at the frontier of glyco‐immunology

Over the last decade, we have witnessed an explosion of information regarding the function of glycoconjugates, carbohydrate‐binding proteins, and the elucidation of the sugar code. This progress has yielded not only important insights into fundamental areas of glycobiology but has also influenced other fields such as immunology and molecular medicine. A family of galactoside‐binding proteins, called galectins, has emerged recently as a novel kind of bioactive molecules with powerful, immunoregulatory functions. Different members of this family have been shown to modulate positively or negatively multiple steps of the inflammatory response, such as cell‐matrix interactions, cell trafficking, cell survival, cell‐growth regulation, chemotaxis, and proinflammatory cytokine secretion. To introduce a comprehensive overview of these new advances, here we will explore the molecular mechanisms and biochemical pathways involved in these functions. We will also examine the role of these proteins in the modulation of different pathological processes, such as chronic inflammation, autoimmunity, infection, allergic reactions, and tumor spreading. Understanding the intimate mechanisms involved in galectin functions will help to delineate selective and novel strategies for disease intervention and diagnosis.
Essential Ca2+-independent Role of the Group IVA Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 C2 Domain for Interfacial Activity*

The cytosolic Group IVA phospholipase A2 (GIVAPLA2) translocates to intracellular membranes to catalyze the release of lysophospholipids and arachidonic acid. GIVAPLA2 translocation and subsequent activity is regulated by its Ca2+-dependent phospholipid binding C2 domain. Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI-4,5-P2) also binds with high affinity and specificity to GIVAPLA2, facilitating membrane binding and activity. Herein, we demonstrate that GIVAPLA2 possessed full activity in the absence of Ca2+ when PI-4,5-P2 or phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate were present. A point mutant, D43N, that is unable to bind Ca2+ also had full activity in the presence of PI-4,5-P2. However, when GIVAPLA2 was expressed without its Ca2+-binding C2 domain (ΔC2), there was no interfacial activity. GIVAPLA2 and ΔC2 both had activity on monomeric lysophospholipids. ΔC2, but not the C2 domain alone, binds to phosphoinositides (PIPns) in the same manner as the full-length GIVAPLA2, confirming the location of the PIPn binding site as the GIVAPLA2 catalytic domain. Moreover, proposed PIPn-binding residues in the catalytic domain (Lys488, Lys541, Lys543, and Lys544) were confirmed to be essential for PI-4,5-P2-dependent activity increases. Exploiting the effects of PI-4,5-P2, we have discovered that the C2 domain plays a critical role in the interfacial activity of GIVAPLA2 above and beyond its Ca2+-dependent phospholipid binding.
Foundations of Spatioterminological Reasoning with Description Logics

This paper presents a method for reasoning about spatial objects and their qualitative spatial relationships. In contrast to existing work, which mainly focusses on reasoning about qualitative spatial relations alone, we integrate quantitative and qualitative information with terminological reasoning. For spatioterminological reasoning we present the description logic ALCRP(D) and define an appropriate concrete domain D for polygons. The theory is motivated as a basis for knowledge representation and query processing in the domain of deductive geographic information systems.
Epidermal Growth Factor Protects Squamous Cell Carcinoma against Cisplatin-Induced Cytotoxicity through Increased Interleukin-1β Expression

The expression of cytokines, such as IL-1β, and the activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are crucial regulators in the process of carcinogenesis. The correlation between growth factor and activated cytokine signals in the control of tumor development is a critical issue to be clarified. In our study, we found that the IL-1β gene and protein expression were induced by EGF in squamous cell carcinoma. To clarify the mechanism involved in EGF-regulated IL-1β expression, we examined the transcriptional activity and mRNA stability of IL-1β in EGF-treated cells. We found that EGF induced the expression of IL-1β and was mediated through transcriptional activation, but not through mRNA stability. The involvement of Akt and NF-κB signaling pathways in the EGF-induced IL-1β gene expression was confirmed by knockdown of RelA and Akt in cells or treating cells with Akt and NF-κB inhibitors, LY294002 and parthenolide, respectively. The expression of dominant negative IκB also repressed the activation of NF-κB and inhibited EGF-induced IL-1β expression. Using immunofluorescence staining assay, the EGF-stimulated nuclear translocation of NF-κB (p65) was inhibited by pre-treating cells with LY294002 and parthenolide. Furthermore, EGF increased the binding of NF-κB to the NF-κB binding site of the IL-1β promoter through the activation of the Akt/NF-κB pathway, which resulted in activating IL-1β promoter activity. The expression and secretion of IL-1β induced by EGF considerably reduced chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin-induced cell death. These results showed that EGF enhanced the expression of IL-1β, which was mediated by the Akt/NF-κB pathway. The activation of EGF signaling and increase of IL-1β contributed to chemotherapeutic resistance of cancer cells, suggesting that the expression of IL-1β may be used as a biomarker to evaluate successful cancer treatment.
Survey of neural network technology for automatic target recognition

A review is presented of ATR (automatic target recognition), and some of the highlights of neural network technology developments that have the potential for making a significant impact on ATR are presented. In particular, neural network technology developments in the areas of collective computation, learning algorithms, expert systems, and neurocomputer hardware could provide crucial tools for developing improved algorithms and computational hardware for ATR. The discussion covers previous ATR system efforts. ATR issues and needs, early vision and collective computation, learning and adaptation for ATR, feature extraction, higher vision and expert systems, and neurocomputer hardware.
How the Inhomogeneity of Wet Sea Salt Aerosols Affects Direct Radiative Forcing

Sea salt aerosols were assumed to be homogeneous spheres in most climate models. However, observations show that sea salt particles are inhomogeneous during the deliquesce and crystallization processes. Using a two‐layer sphere model, we found that backscattering of solar radiation associated with sea salts is underestimated in homogeneous sea salt models. The Community Earth System Model is used to assess the inhomogeneity effect on direct radiative forcing. For global climate model simulation, the inhomogeneity effect on radiative transfer is found to be small as high RHs over widespread oceans suppress the impact of inhomogeneity. On the other hand, in coastal regions, the inhomogeneity effect can cause up to 10% radiative forcing difference of sea salt aerosols. The inhomogeneity effect of sea salt aerosols has to be considered over coastal regions, especially in the Mediterranean, Australia, and the eastern coast of South America.
The neuroprotective effect of a nitric oxide inhibitor in a rat model of focal cerebral ischaemia

Recent data showed that glutamate toxicity in primary cortical cultures is mediated by nitric oxide. In order to investigate the effect of inhibition of NO synthase on focal cerebral ischaemia in rats, we studied the histological consequences of a middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion after post‐operative treatment with NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. We found a significant reduction of cortical (−43%) and striatal (−25%) necrotic volumes induced by MCA occlusion, indicating that NO synthesis plays an important role in the neurotoxic cascade leading to neuronal damage after focal cerebral ischaemia in rats.
A Hierarchical Phrase-Based Model for Statistical Machine Translation

We present a statistical phrase-based translation model that uses hierarchical phrases---phrases that contain subphrases. The model is formally a synchronous context-free grammar but is learned from a bitext without any syntactic information. Thus it can be seen as a shift to the formal machinery of syntax-based translation systems without any linguistic commitment. In our experiments using BLEU as a metric, the hierarchical phrase-based model achieves a relative improvement of 7.5% over Pharaoh, a state-of-the-art phrase-based system.
Diversity and ecological structure of vibrios in benthic and pelagic habitats along a latitudinal gradient in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

We analyzed the diversity and population structure of the 775 Vibrio isolates from different locations of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SAO), including St. Peter and St. Paul Archipelago (SPSPA), Abrolhos Bank (AB) and the St. Sebastian region (SS), between 2005 and 2010. In this study, 195 novel isolates, obtained from seawater and major benthic organisms (rhodoliths and corals), were compared with a collection of 580 isolates previously characterized (available at www.taxvibrio.lncc.br). The isolates were distributed in 8 major habitat spectra according to AdaptML analysis on the basis of pyrH phylogenetic reconstruction and ecological information, such as isolation source (i.e., corals: Madracis decactis, Mussismilia braziliensis, M. hispida, Phyllogorgia dilatata, Scolymia wellsi; zoanthids: Palythoa caribaeorum, P. variabilis and Zoanthus solanderi; fireworm: Hermodice carunculata; rhodolith; water and sediment) and sampling site regions (SPSPA, AB and SS). Ecologically distinct groups were discerned through AdaptML, which finds phylogenetic groups that are significantly different in their spectra of habitat preferences. Some habitat spectra suggested ecological specialization, with habitat spectra 2, 3, and 4 corresponding to specialization on SPSPA, AB, and SS, respectively. This match between habitat and location may reflect a minor exchange of Vibrio populations between geographically isolated benthic systems. Moreover, we found several widespread Vibrio species predominantly from water column, and different populations of a single Vibrio species from H. carunculata in ecologically distinct groups (H-1 and H-8 respectively). On the other hand, AdaptML detected phylogenetic groups that are found in both the benthos and in open water. The ecological grouping observed suggests dispersal and connectivity between the benthic and pelagic systems in AB. This study is a first attempt to characterize the biogeographic distribution of vibrios in both seawater and several benthic hosts in the SAO. The benthopelagic coupling observed here stands out the importance of vibrios in the global ocean health.
An ACT-R Model of Individual Differences in Changes in Adaptivity due to Mental Fatigue

In this paper we show that adaptivity is reduced when people become fatigued. Fatigued people adapt worse to changing probability distributions as compared to non-fatigued individuals. In an ACT-R model of the task we show that this decreased adaptivity is due to a decrease in the use of one specific strategy. We argue that the use of this strategy is decreased, because it places high demands on working memory. In previous research we also found indications that mental fatigue is related to changes in working memory functioning. We argue that modeling individual differences in performance will provide better insight in the processes involved in mental fatigue.
Short‐Term Effects of Estrogen and Progestin on Blood Pressure of Normotensive Postmenopausal Women

Blood pressure rises in women with increasing age, possibly related to the decrease in production of female hormones that accompanies menopause. Although estrogen or progestin administration alone consistently does not lower blood pressure in postmenopausal women, possible interactions of these two hormones in affecting blood pressure are not well understood. We studied 12 surgically postmenopausal, normotensive women, aged 51 ±2 years (SEM). Treatment for each subject consisted of 1 week each of placebo, estrogen (conjugated equine estrogens, 2.5 mg/day), progestin (medroxyprogesterone acetate, 60 mg/day), and combined estrogen and progestin, given in varied order. At the end of each week, auscultatory blood pressures were measured while patients were seated. Neither estrogen nor progestin alone either increased or decreased blood pressure significantly, whereas combined estrogen and progestin lowered systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures 6 to 7 mm Hg (P <.05). Treatment order was unrelated to the change in blood pressure values. The authors suggest that administering progestin with estrogen may be more effective in lowering blood pressure than either hormone alone in postmenopausal women.
Firefly Luciferase Complementation Imaging Assay for Protein-Protein Interactions in Plants1[C][W][OA]

The development of sensitive and versatile techniques to detect protein-protein interactions in vivo is important for understanding protein functions. The previously described techniques, fluorescence resonance energy transfer and bimolecular fluorescence complementation, which are used widely for protein-protein interaction studies in plants, require extensive instrumentation. To facilitate protein-protein interaction studies in plants, we adopted the luciferase complementation imaging assay. The amino-terminal and carboxyl-terminal halves of the firefly luciferase reconstitute active luciferase enzyme only when fused to two interacting proteins, and that can be visualized with a low-light imaging system. A series of plasmid constructs were made to enable the transient expression of fusion proteins or generation of stable transgenic plants. We tested nine pairs of proteins known to interact in plants, including Pseudomonas syringae bacterial effector proteins and their protein targets in the plant, proteins of the SKP1-Cullin-F-box protein E3 ligase complex, the HSP90 chaperone complex, components of disease resistance protein complex, and transcription factors. In each case, strong luciferase complementation was observed for positive interactions. Mutants that are known to compromise protein-protein interactions showed little or much reduced luciferase activity. Thus, the assay is simple, reliable, and quantitative in detection of protein-protein interactions in plants.
Factiva and Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies: Comparing retrieval reliability between academic institutions

Purpose – Scholars rely on electronic databases to conduct searches and locate relevant citations. The purpose of this paper is to compare the retrieval results on the same topic (multiple sclerosis and liberation therapy) of two commonly used databases for searching print news media: ProQuest’s Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies and Dow Jones’ Factiva. Design/methodology/approach – A case study comparing two electronic searchable databases using the same keywords, date range, and newspaper-specific search parameters across three Canadian university institutions. Findings – Considerable differences were found between institutional searches using Factiva. Factiva allows all individual users the capacity to establish systems-wide “administrator” privileges, thereby controlling the output for subsequent users if these preferences are not changed. The capacity for individual users to tailor searches within Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies was more in line with standard protocols for institutions paying for sing.
Energy saving investments : simple analytics and an application to electricity

We consider a simple model of energy saving investments under uncertainty of energy costs. Adjustment delays in replacing energy-intensive capital follow from two natural elements: uncertainty and heterogeneity of the existing capital structure. They imply a simple dichotomy where short-run output contracts, but the long-run output recovers and increases above the initial output, despite the increasing energy costs. To provide a quantitative assessment of the consumer price increase needed for the investments, adjustment delays, and policies expediting the change, the elements of the model are estimated using electricity market data. Counterfactual simulations show that large scale entry of green energy requires unprecedented energy cost and consumer price increases mainly due to rents of the existing capital. Subsidies to green energy can greatly benefit the consumer side at the expense of the old capital rents. JEL Classification: D00; D40; L00 Q30.
A high speed coprocessor for elliptic curve scalar multiplication over Fp

We present a new hardware architecture to compute scalar multiplications in the group of rational points of elliptic curves defined over a prime field. We have made an implementation on Altera FPGA family for some elliptic curves defined over randomly chosen ground fields offering classic cryptographic security level. Our implementations show that our architecture is the fastest among the public designs to compute scalar multiplication for elliptic curves defined over a general prime ground field. Our design is based upon the Residue Number System, guaranteeing carry-free arithmetic and easy parallelism. It is SPA resistant and DPA capable.