Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SMARTFlow: a solution for autonomic management and control of communication networks for smart grids

Smart grids depend on a solid foundation of communications. Although standards like IEC 61850 proposes interoperability, autoconfiguration, and autonomous control solutions for the communication network, there are still open problems on how to efficiently forward high priority sensitive data. This work proposes a complete architecture for autonomic management and control of communication networks for substations based on IEC 61850. The proposed solution, called SMARTFlow, uses OpenFlow in order to achieve granularity and flexibility in the treatment of data flows. SMARTFlow proactively calculates Layer 2 multicast trees to forward the high priorities GOOSE and Sampled Values messages and reconfigures all flow entries in case of network failures. Also, the proposed system monitors the network and defines the configuration of client-server flows on-demand. The proposal was implemented and tested using Mininet and showed a total load up to 44 % lower than the load using typical switches.
Toxic AGE (TAGE) Theory for the Pathophysiology of the Onset/Progression of NAFLD and ALD

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) are among the most common causes of chronic liver diseases in the westernized world. NAFLD and ALD are frequently accompanied by extrahepatic complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma and cardiovascular diseases, which have a negative impact on patient survival. The chronic ingestion of an excessive daily diet containing sugar/high-fructose corn syrup increases the level of the fructose/glucose metabolite, glyceraldehyde (GA), while the chronic consumption of an excessive number of alcoholic beverages increases the level of the alcohol metabolite, acetaldehyde (AA) in the liver. GA and AA are known to react non-enzymatically with the ε- or α-amino groups of proteins, thereby generating advanced glycation end-products (AGEs, GA-AGEs, and AA-AGEs, respectively) in vivo. The interaction between GA-AGEs and the receptor for AGEs (RAGE) alters intracellular signaling, gene expression, and the release of pro-inflammatory molecules and also elicits the production of reactive oxygen species by human hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells, all of which may contribute to the pathological changes associated with chronic liver diseases. We herein discuss the pathophysiological roles of GA-AGEs and AA-AGEs (toxic AGEs, TAGE) and a related novel theory for preventing the onset/progression of NAFLD and ALD.
The Association between Provider Practice and Knowledge of ORS and Zinc Supplementation for the Treatment of Childhood Diarrhea in Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, India: A Multi-Site Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Programs aimed at reducing the burden of diarrhea among children under-five in low-resource settings typically allocate resources to training community-level health workers, but studies have suggested that provider knowledge does not necessarily translate into adequate practice. A diarrhea management program implemented in Bihar, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, India trained private sector rural medical practitioners (RMPs) and public sector Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Anganwadi workers (AWWs) in adequate treatment of childhood diarrhea with oral rehydration salts (ORS) and zinc. We used cross-sectional program evaluation data to determine the association between observed diarrhea treatment practices and reported knowledge of ORS and zinc among each provider cadre. Methods We conducted principal components analysis on providers’ responses to diarrhea treatment questions in order to generate a novel scale assessing ORS/zinc knowledge. We subsequently regressed a binary indicator of whether ORS/zinc was prescribed during direct observation onto the resulting knowledge scores, controlling for other relevant knowledge predictors. Results There was a positive association between ORS/zinc knowledge score and prescribing ORS and zinc to young children with diarrhea among private sector RMPs (aOR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.29-4.17) and public sector ASHAs and AWWs (aOR 2.48; 95% CI: 1.90-3.24). Controlling for knowledge score, receipt of training in the preceding 6 months was a good predictor of adequate prescribing in the public but not the private sector. In the public sector, direct access to ORS and zinc supplies was also highly associated with prescribing. Conclusions To enhance the management of childhood diarrhea in India, programmatic activities should center on increasing knowledge of ORS and zinc among public and private sector providers through biannual trainings but should also focus on ensuring sustained access to an adequate supply chain.
Who will follow you back?: reciprocal relationship prediction

We study the extent to which the formation of a two-way relationship can be predicted in a dynamic social network. A two-way (called reciprocal) relationship, usually developed from a one-way (parasocial) relationship, represents a more trustful relationship between people. Understanding the formation of two-way relationships can provide us insights into the micro-level dynamics of the social network, such as what is the underlying community structure and how users influence each other. Employing Twitter as a source for our experimental data, we propose a learning framework to formulate the problem of reciprocal relationship prediction into a graphical model. The framework incorporates social theories into a machine learning model. We demonstrate that it is possible to accurately infer 90% of reciprocal relationships in a dynamic network. Our study provides strong evidence of the existence of the structural balance among reciprocal relationships. In addition, we have some interesting findings, e.g., the likelihood of two "elite" users creating a reciprocal relationships is nearly 8 times higher than the likelihood of two ordinary users. More importantly, our findings have potential implications such as how social structures can be inferred from individuals' behaviors.
Association between systemic lupus erythematosus and insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene.

OBJECTIVE ACE takes part in the renin-angiotensin and kallikrein-kininogen systems by creating angiotensin-II and inactivating bradykinin. ACE gene insertion/deletion polymorphism is associated with the level of circulating enzymes--subjects with the DD genotype have higher levels of circulating ACE than subjects with the II genotype and show an increased tendency towards impaired vascular function and structure. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) suffer from differentially expressed vascular pathology. We attempted to determine whether the type of ACE polymorphism could contribute to this pathology. METHODS 101 SLE patients fulfilling the ACR criteria were investigated. The I/D polymorphism was ascertained by PCR, followed by electrophoresis of the amplified fragments and UV visualization. RESULTS The frequency of the D allele was higher in the SLE group (0.623) than in the controls (0.520) (chi 2 test, p < 0.025). The distribution of the ACE genotype in SLE group was different from that in the control group (p < 0.05). An association between the DD genotype and visceral damage (p < 0.006) was observed. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that in the multifactorially determined vascular pathology of SLE, changes associated with I/D polymorphism could influence vessel wall inflammation (monocyte adhesion and activation with cytokine release, T-lymphocyte metabolism), a tendency towards vascular impairment (neointimal proliferation, vasospasm, platelet activation, myocyte proliferation) and lead to the subsequent ischemia. The ACE gene could serve as the visceral damage indicator in SLE.
Low Enrollment of Adolescents and Young Adults Onto Cancer Trials: Insights From the Community Clinical Oncology Program.

PURPOSE Stagnant outcomes for adolescents and young adults (AYAs; 15 to 39 years old) with cancer are partly attributed to poor enrollment onto clinical trials. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) was developed to improve clinical trial participation in the community setting, where AYAs are most often treated. Further, many CCOP sites had pediatric and medical oncologists with collaborative potential for AYA recruitment and care. For these reasons, we hypothesized that CCOP sites enrolled proportionately more AYAs than non-CCOP sites onto Children's Oncology Group (COG) trials. METHODS For the 10-year period 2004 through 2013, the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention database was queried to evaluate enrollments into relevant COG studies. The proportional enrollment of AYAs at CCOP and non-CCOP sites was compared and the change in AYA enrollment patterns assessed. All sites were COG member institutions. RESULTS Although CCOP sites enrolled a higher proportion of patients in cancer control studies than non-CCOP sites (3.5% v 1.8%; P < .001), they enrolled a lower proportion of AYAs (24.1% v 28.2%, respectively; P < .001). Proportional AYA enrollment at CCOP sites decreased during the intervals 2004 through 2008 and 2009 through 2013 (26.7% v 21.7%; P < .001). CONCLUSION Despite oncology practice settings that might be expected to achieve otherwise, CCOP sites did not enroll a larger proportion of AYAs in clinical trials than traditional COG institutions. Our findings suggest that the CCOP (now the NCI Community Oncology Research Program) can be leveraged for developing targeted interventions for overcoming AYA enrollment barriers.
Understanding Measures of Uncertainty for Adversarial Example Detection

Measuring uncertainty is a promising technique for detecting adversarial examples, crafted inputs on which the model predicts an incorrect class with high confidence. But many measures of uncertainty exist, including predictive en- tropy and mutual information, each capturing different types of uncertainty. We study these measures, and shed light on why mutual information seems to be effective at the task of adversarial example detection. We highlight failure modes for MC dropout, a widely used approach for estimating uncertainty in deep models. This leads to an improved understanding of the drawbacks of current methods, and a proposal to improve the quality of uncertainty estimates using probabilistic model ensembles. We give illustrative experiments using MNIST to demonstrate the intuition underlying the different measures of uncertainty, as well as experiments on a real world Kaggle dogs vs cats classification dataset.
Rituximab May Cause Increased Hepatitis C Virus Viremia in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Through Declining Exosomal MicroRNA‐155

Several studies have shown that rituximab may enhance hepatitis C virus (HCV) activity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in modulating the host immune response in HCV infection; miRNAs can be packaged into the exosomes and then shuttled by the exosomes to aid biologic functions. However, the role of exosomal miRNAs (exo‐miRNAs) in rituximab‐related HCV activity enhancement remains unclear.
Design and Analysis of Compact H-Like Element Microstrip Reflectarray Antenna for X-Band Applications

This paper introduces a design and analysis method of a microstrip reflectarray antenna (MRA) with a proposed H-like shape radiating element at a frequency of 10.5 GHz. The proposed structure has been analyzed and compared with the traditional square shape one. It is found that the H-like element shape presents a good phase range to compensate for the frequency fluctuation of the
From the sap's perspective: The nature of vessel surfaces in angiosperm xylem.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Xylem sap in angiosperms moves under negative pressure in conduits and cell wall pores that are nanometers to micrometers in diameter, so sap is always very close to surfaces. Surfaces matter for water transport because hydrophobic ones favor nucleation of bubbles, and surface chemistry can have strong effects on flow. Vessel walls contain cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectins, proteins, and possibly lipids, but what is the nature of the inner, lumen-facing surface that is in contact with sap? METHODS Vessel lumen surfaces of five angiosperms from different lineages were examined via transmission electron microscopy and confocal and fluorescence microscopy, using fluorophores and autofluorescence to detect cell wall components. Elemental composition was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and treatments with phospholipase C (PLC) were used to test for phospholipids. KEY RESULTS Vessel surfaces consisted mainly of lignin, with strong cellulose signals confined to pit membranes. Proteins were found mainly in inter-vessel pits and pectins only on outer rims of pit membranes and in vessel-parenchyma pits. Continuous layers of lipids were detected on most vessel surfaces and on most pit membranes and were shown by PLC treatment to consist at least partly of phospholipids. CONCLUSIONS Vessel surfaces appear to be wettable because lignin is not strongly hydrophobic and a coating with amphiphilic lipids would render any surface hydrophilic. New questions arise about these lipids and their possible origins from living xylem cells, especially about their effects on surface tension, surface bubble nucleation, and pit membrane function.
Tales from the tomb: the microbial ecology of exposed rock surfaces

Although a broad diversity of eukaryotic and bacterial taxa reside on rock surfaces where they can influence the weathering of rocks and minerals, these communities and their contributions to mineral weathering remain poorly resolved. To build a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity, ecology and potential functional attributes of microbial communities living on rock, we sampled 149 tombstones across three continents and analysed their bacterial and eukaryotic communities via marker gene and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. We found that geographic location and climate were important factors structuring the composition of these communities. Moreover, the tombstone-associated microbial communities varied as a function of rock type, with granite and limestone tombstones from the same cemeteries harbouring taxonomically distinct microbial communities. The granite and limestone-associated communities also had distinct functional attributes, with granite-associated bacteria having more genes linked to acid tolerance and chemotaxis, while bacteria on limestone were more likely to be lichen associated and have genes involved in photosynthesis and radiation resistance. Together these results indicate that rock-dwelling microbes exhibit adaptations to survive the stresses of the rock surface, differ based on location, climate and rock type, and seem pre-disposed to different ecological strategies (symbiotic versus free-living lifestyles) depending on the rock type.
Interstellar extinction in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Recent UV observations together with complementary visible data of several reddened and comparison stars of similar spectral types in the Large Magellanic Cloud have been used to study the interstellar extinction in that galaxy. Most of the reddened stars studied here are located within 2° of 30 Doradus and show remarkably high extinction in the far UV, suggesting a large abundance of small particles. From the optical wavelength to 2,600 Å the normalised extinction curves of the LMC stars are similar to the mean galactic extinction law.
Associations between expression levels of nucleotide excision repair proteins in lymphoblastoid cells and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, and nucleotide excision repair (NER) is involved in SCCHN susceptibility. In this analysis of 349 newly diagnosed SCCHN patients and 295 cancer‐free controls, we investigated whether expression levels of eight core NER proteins were associated with risk of SCCHN. We quantified NER protein expression levels in cultured peripheral lymphocytes using a reverse‐phase protein microarray. Compared with the controls, SCCHN patients had statistically significantly lower expression levels of ERCC3 and XPA (P = 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). After dividing the subjects by controls’ median values of expression levels, we found a dose‐dependent association between an increased risk of SCCHN and low expression levels of ERCC3 (adjusted OR, 1.75, and 95% CI: 1.26‐2.42; Ptrend = 0.008) and XPA (adjusted OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.35‐2.60; Ptrend = 0.001). We also identified a significant multiplicative interaction between smoking status and ERCC3 expression levels (P = 0.014). Finally, after integrating demographic and clinical variables, we found that the addition of ERCC3 and XPA expression levels to the model significantly improved the sensitivity of the expanded model on SCCHN risk. In conclusion, reduced protein expression levels of ERCC3 and XPA were associated with an increased risk of SCCHN. However, these results need to be confirmed in additional large studies.
Damage prediction in notched fiber-reinforced composite laminates

Abstract In early loading stage of composite laminates, longitudinal splitting in terms of matrix cracking usually initiates from notch tips and propagates in fiber directions. The extremely high stress concentrations at the notch tips could be drastically alleviated by the splitting. An efficient finite element model is created in this article to perform progressive failure analyses on notched composite laminates. To capture the true stress concentrations at notch tips, surface-based cohesive contacts instead of cohesive elements were introduced to model the splitting. The advantage of the surfaced-based cohesive contact over the traditional cohesive element is that it allows different mesh configurations for different plies. Predicted failure patterns and tensile strengths by the finite element model were compared with tested results from open literature.
Recognizing and treating cutaneous signs of liver disease

Cutaneous changes may be the first clue that a patient has liver disease. Recognizing these signs is crucial to diagnosing liver conditions early. Here we describe the spectrum of skin manifestations that may be found in various liver diseases. If we can recognize these manifestations early, we will be better able to promptly diagnose and treat the underlying liver disease as well as the skin lesions.
Effect of antiretroviral therapy on bone turnover and bone mineral density in men with primary HIV-1 infection

Introduction Previous studies indicate that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infection and combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) can affect bone turnover. Furthermore, HIV-infected patients have lower bone mineral density (BMD) compared to a healthy reference population. Objective To evaluate the longitudinal effect of HIV-infection and cART on bone turnover markers (BTMs) and BMD in men with primary HIV-infection (PHI). Design, methods Thirty-five PHI-men were divided into two groups, those that received cART for the first time (n = 26) versus no-cART (n = 9). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed on femoral neck (FN), total hip (TH) and lumbar spine (LS) and BTMs (P1NP, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, ICTP and CTX) were measured at baseline and follow-up. Results At baseline, the median CD4+ T-cell count was 455 cells/mm3 (IQR 320–620) and plasma viral load 5.4 log10 copies/mL (IQR 4.7–6.0) in the cART treated group, compared to 630 (IQR 590–910) and 4.8 (IQR 4.2–5.1) in the untreated group. The median follow-up time was 60.7 weeks (IQR 24.7–96.0). All BTMs, except ICTP, showed a significant increase during cART versus no changes of BTMs in the untreated group. FN and TH BMD showed a significant decrease in both groups. LS BMD did not change in both groups. Conclusion Bone turnover increased in PHI-men treated with cART which was accompanied by a decrease in FN and TH BMD. No increase of bone turnover was seen in untreated PHI-men. Our study suggests that cART results in increased bone turnover and decreased BMD of the hip in PHI-men.
The effects of zinc on the structure and functioning of a freshwater community: A microcosm experiment

A major problem with risk assessment of chemicals is the extrapolation of laboratory single‐species toxicity tests, which oversimplify the actual field situation by ignoring species interactions, to natural communities. The authors tested if the bioavailability‐normalized 5% hazardous concentration (HC5) estimated from chronic planktonic single‐species toxicity data (HC5plankton) for zinc (Zn) is protective for a plankton community and investigated the direct and indirect effects of Zn (at HC5 and HC50) on a freshwater community's structure and function. Microcosms were exposed to 3 different Zn concentrations (background, HC5plankton = 75 μg Zn/L and HC50plankton = 300 μg Zn/L) for 5 wk. The planktonic groups revealed a consistent no‐observed‐effect concentration for the community of 75 μg Zn/L, similar to or higher than the HC5plankton, thus suggesting its protectiveness in the present study. At 300 μg Zn/L a significant reduction in cladocerans resulted in increases of rotifer, ciliate, and phytoplankton abundance. In addition, the phytoplankton community shifted in dominance from grazing‐resistant to edible species. Contrary to the species sensitivity distribution (SSD) prediction, which identified phytoplankton as the most sensitive group, only the total chlorophyll and the abundance of 2 phytoplankton species were adversely affected at 300 μg Zn/L. Thus, although the HC5 estimated from the bioavailability‐normalized SSD was overall protective for the plankton community, the SSD was not able to correctly predict the species sensitivity ranking within their community context at the HC50. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2698–2712. © 2016 SETAC
Identification of factors which affect the tendency towards and attitudes of emergency unit nurses to make medical errors

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To determine individual and professional factors affecting the tendency of emergency unit nurses to make medical errors and their attitudes towards these errors in Turkey. BACKGROUND Compared with other units, the emergency unit is an environment where there is an increased tendency for making medical errors due to its intensive and rapid pace, noise and complex and dynamic structure. DESIGN A descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS The study was carried out from 25 July 2014-16 September 2015 with the participation of 284 nurses who volunteered to take part in the study. Data were gathered using the data collection survey for nurses, the Medical Error Tendency Scale and the Medical Error Attitude Scale. RESULTS It was determined that 40.1% of the nurses previously witnessed medical errors, 19.4% made a medical error in the last year, 17.6% of medical errors were caused by medication errors where the wrong medication was administered in the wrong dose, and none of the nurses filled out a case report form about the medical errors they made. Regarding the factors that caused medical errors in the emergency unit, 91.2% of the nurses stated excessive workload as a cause; 85.1% stated an insufficient number of nurses; and 75.4% stated fatigue, exhaustion and burnout. CONCLUSIONS The study showed that nurses who loved their job were satisfied with their unit and who always worked during day shifts had a lower medical error tendency. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE It is suggested to consider the following actions: increase awareness about medical errors, organise training to reduce errors in medication administration, develop procedures and protocols specific to the emergency unit health care and create an environment which is not punitive wherein nurses can safely report medical errors.