Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modulation of Innate Immune Mechanisms to Enhance Leishmania Vaccine-Induced Immunity: Role of Coinhibitory Molecules

No licensed human vaccines are currently available against any parasitic disease including leishmaniasis. Several antileishmanial vaccine formulations have been tested in various animal models, including genetically modified live-attenuated parasite vaccines. Experimental infection studies have shown that Leishmania parasites utilize a broad range of strategies to undermine effector properties of host phagocytic cells, i.e., dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages (MΦ). Furthermore, Leishmania parasites have evolved strategies to actively inhibit TH1 polarizing functions of DCs and to condition the infected MΦ toward anti-inflammatory/alternative/M2 phenotype. The altered phenotype of phagocytic cells is characterized by decreased production of antimicrobial reactive oxygen, nitrogen molecules, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IFN-γ, IL-12, and TNF-α. These early events limit the activation of TH1-effector cells and set the stage for pathogenesis. Furthermore, this early control of innate immunity by the virulent parasites results in substantial alteration in the adaptive immunity characterized by reduced proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and TH2-biased immunity that results in production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, such as TGF-β, and IL-10. More recent studies have also documented the induction of coinhibitory ligands, such as CTLA-4, PD-L1, CD200, and Tim-3, that induce exhaustion and/or non-proliferation in antigen-experienced T cells. Most of these studies focus on viral infections in chronic phase, thus limiting the direct application of these results to parasitic infections and much less to parasitic vaccines. However, these studies suggest that vaccine-induced protective immunity can be modulated using strategies that enhance the costimulation that might reduce the threshold necessary for T cell activation and conversely by strategies that reduce or block inhibitory molecules, such as PD-L1 and CD200. In this review, we will focus on the polarization of antigen-presenting cells and subsequent role of costimulatory and coinhibitory molecules in mediating vaccine-induced immunity using live-attenuated Leishmania parasites as specific examples.
Exploring factors that determine consumer attitude toward use of intelligent software agents

The aim of the research described in this paper is to evaluate the impact of Intelligent Software Agents (ISA) used in the on-line purchase of e-tickets, and their acceptance as a source of information service and decision assistance for customers. An empirical study was conducted using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the EC Consumer Behaviour Model in order to determine the factors affecting consumer attitude towards using ISA. The research instrument employed was a questionnaire survey among 150 postgraduate students from the School of Management at the University of Surrey, the findings demonstrate a positive view of ISA – the stronger predictors of consumer attitude towards ISA being perceived usefulness (PU), information richness (IR), customer interface (CI) and perceived trust (PT). Overall, the future of ISA at the business-to-customer (B2C) interface level is to a great extent affected by the consumers’ perception of ISA usefulness and control over it. The present study’s recommendations indicate a need for travel businesses to develop more intelligent electronic environments that will elicit a more positive response from the consumers if they are to be used more.
Kif13b Regulates PNS and CNS Myelination through the Dlg1 Scaffold

Microtubule-based kinesin motors have many cellular functions, including the transport of a variety of cargos. However, unconventional roles have recently emerged, and kinesins have also been reported to act as scaffolding proteins and signaling molecules. In this work, we further extend the notion of unconventional functions for kinesin motor proteins, and we propose that Kif13b kinesin acts as a signaling molecule regulating peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) myelination. In this process, positive and negative signals must be tightly coordinated in time and space to orchestrate myelin biogenesis. Here, we report that in Schwann cells Kif13b positively regulates myelination by promoting p38γ mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-mediated phosphorylation and ubiquitination of Discs large 1 (Dlg1), a known brake on myelination, which downregulates the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/v-AKT murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT) pathway. Interestingly, Kif13b also negatively regulates Dlg1 stability in oligodendrocytes, in which Dlg1, in contrast to Schwann cells, enhances AKT activation and promotes myelination. Thus, our data indicate that Kif13b is a negative regulator of CNS myelination. In summary, we propose a novel function for the Kif13b kinesin in glial cells as a key component of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, which controls myelination in both PNS and CNS.
Continuous electrochemical reactor improved by the addition of Moringa oleífera lam extract: optimization of operational conditions for Blue 5G dye removal

Wastewaters from textile industries are known for their difficulty to treat, several alternative technologies are applied for their treatment. In this context, the study examined a hybrid treatment system, composed of electrocoagulation combined with a natural coagulant (extract of Moringa oleífera lam seeds) to remove reactive dye Blue 5G aqueous solutions. The work evaluated the use of milder operating conditions to improve the efficiency of treatment, with reduced demands for electrical power and coagulant. The following factors were evaluated: electric current intensity, natural coagulant concentration and hydraulic retention time. A quadratic model was adjusted and validated at a 5% significance level. The overall optimization resulted in conditions of 0.28 A for electrical current intensity, 1000.00 mg L-1 of aqueous extract of Moringa oleífera lam and 5 min for hydraulic retention time. While operating under optimal conditions, the removal of 71.38% of color and 5.22 mg L-1 of iron residual concentration was achieved.
Novel recruitment strategy to enrich for LRRK2 mutation carriers

The LRRK2 G2019S mutation is found at higher frequency among Parkinson disease (PD) patients of Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) ancestry. This study was designed to test whether an internet‐based approach could be an effective approach to screen and identify mutation carriers. Individuals with and without PD of AJ ancestry were recruited and consented through an internet‐based study website. An algorithm was applied to a series of screening questions to identify individuals at increased risk to carry the LRRK2 G2019S mutation. About 1000 individuals completed the initial screening. Around 741 qualified for mutation testing and 650 were tested. Seventy‐two individuals carried at least one LRRK2 G2019S mutation; 38 with PD (12.5%) and 34 without (10.1%). Among the AJ PD participants, each affected first‐degree relative increased the likelihood the individual was LRRK2+ [OR = 4.7; 95% confidence interval = (2.4–9.0)]. The same was not observed among the unaffected AJ subjects (P = 0.11). An internet‐based approach successfully screened large numbers of individuals to identify those with risk factors increasing the likelihood that they carried a LRRK2 G2019S mutation. A similar approach could be implemented in other disorders to identify individuals for clinical trials, biomarker analyses and other types of research studies.
Video use in lecture classes: current practices, student perceptions and preferences

Purpose Despite the expansion of e-learning, higher education still involves live lectures, which students often see as “boring”. Lecture classes can be made more engaging and effective by including videos. However, empirical research is yet to report on current video use in lectures, or on student perceptions of and preferences for videos. The purpose of this paper is to fill that knowledge gap. Design/methodology/approach A two-stage mixed-method study used focus groups to gain a rich understanding of student’s video experiences, preferences and the types of videos they are shown. These understandings were utilised in a detailed on-line survey questionnaire, which was completed by a diverse sample of 773 university students, who responded about their recent in-class video experiences. Findings Students report that about 87 per cent of lecture classes included one or more videos. This paper reports on instructor practices, develops a video typology and reports on students’ preferred frequency, type of video, video source, video length and existing vs preferred video integration methods. Practical implications The results provide useful information for educational administrators. Recommendations are made for effective use of videos in lectures by instructors. Originality/value This is the first qualitative and survey research investigating current practice and student perceptions of video use during lecture classes. The authors also conduct the first survey with a broad sample across universities and academic disciplines using the unit of analysis of videos seen per course last week. Typologies of sources of videos, instructional functions, video facilitation techniques and types of videos used during lectures are proposed and then measured.
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Making Immunotherapy a Reality for the Treatment of Lung Cancer

Despite the limited success of immunotherapies in solid malignancy, two human cancers, melanoma and renal cancer, have, for many years, responded to systemic administration of immune-targeted biologics and showed signals of response to certain therapeutic vaccines. These findings underpinned a long-held perception that melanoma and renal cancer were uniquely “immunogenic” but that virtually all other human cancers were not and thus would not respond to immune modulation. That notion has now been shattered by the significant and durable responses in non–small cell lung cancer induced by therapeutic treatment with antibodies blocking the PD-1 checkpoint. The immunotherapy success in lung cancer thus provides a gateway to development of treatments for multiple cancer types that were previously believed not accessible to immune-based therapies. Cancer Immunol Res; 1(2); 85–91. ©2013 AACR.
A Cross Layer Solution to Address TCP Intra-flow Performance Degradation in Multihop Ad hoc Networks

Incorporating the concept of TCP end-to-end congestion control for wireless networks is one of the primary concerns in designing ad hoc networks since TCP was primarily designed and optimized based on the assumptions for wired networks. In this study, our interest lies on tackling the TCP instability and in particular intra-flow instability problem since due to the nature of applications in multihop ad hoc networks, connection instability or starvation even for a short period of time can have a negative impact on the Quality of Service and may not be acceptable for the end user. Through a detailed analysis, it will be shown that the main causes of TCP intra-flow instability lies in overloading the network by sending more packets than the capacity of the channel. Based on this, the paper proposes a novel cross layer solution called “TCP Contention Control” that dynamically adjusts the amount of outstanding data in the network based on the level of contention experienced by packets as well as the throughput achieved by connections. The simulation results show TCP Contention Control can drastically improve TCP stability over 802.11 multihop ad hoc networks.
Quotients of Banach Spaces with the Daugavet Property

We consider a general concept of Daugavet property with respect to a norming subspace. This concept covers both the usual Daugavet property and its weak analogue. We introduce and study analogues for narrow operators and rich subspaces in this general setting and apply the results to show that a quotient of L1(0; 1) over an '1- subspace can fail the Daugavet property. The latter answers a question posed to us by A. Pe lczy nski in the negative.
Backing Up a Truck and Trailer Using Variable Universe Based Fuzzy Controller

This paper presents an efficient and practical variable universe based fuzzy controller (VUBFC) for the control problem of backing up a truck and trailer. The design of VUBFC essentially amounts to (1) designing a typical fuzzy controller, and (2) choosing contraction-expansion factors on input-output universes. To design a VUBFC for truck backer-upper problem, we propose a new contraction-expansion factor on the universe of the fuzzy controller's output. Being with such a contraction-expansion factor, a VUBFC is able to vary the membership functions of its input-output valuables in response to the varying of system errors, thus to achieve a precise, efficient and energy-economic control. Moreover, such a VUBFC is easy to design because it is not difficult to construct a typical fuzzy controller from data or the experience of human experts, and we do not need to optimize the typical fuzzy controller integrated inside the VUBFC. Compared to the typical fuzzy controller, the newly designed VUBFC exhibits good performance in many ways in the simulation experiments
A study of the Galactic plane towards l= 305°

We present optical (UBVI C ) observations of a rich and complex field in the Galactic plane towards l ~ 305° and b~ 0°. Our analysis reveals a significantly high interstellar absorption (A v ~ 10) and an abnormal extinction law in this line of sight. Availing a considerable number of colour combinations, the photometric diagrams allow us to derive new estimates of the fundamental parameters of the two open clusters Danks 1 and Danks 2. Due to the derived abnormal reddening law in this line of sight, both clusters appear much closer (to the Sun) than previously thought. Additionally, we present the optical colours and magnitudes of the WR 48a star, and its main parameters were estimated. The properties of the two embedded clusters, DBS2003 130 and 131, are also addressed. We identify a number of young stellar objects which are probable members of these clusters. This new material is then used to revisit the spiral structure in this sector of the Galaxy showing evidence of populations associated with the inner Galaxy Scutum-Crux arm.
Optimization on Submanifolds of Convolution Kernels in CNNs

Kernel normalization methods have been employed to improve robustness of optimization methods to reparametrization of convolution kernels, covariate shift, and to accelerate training of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). However, our understanding of theoretical properties of these methods has lagged behind their success in applications. We develop a geometric framework to elucidate underlying mechanisms of a diverse range of kernel normalization methods. Our framework enables us to expound and identify geometry of space of normalized kernels. We analyze and delineate how state-of-the-art kernel normalization methods affect the geometry of search spaces of the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithms in CNNs. Following our theoretical results, we propose a SGD algorithm with assurance of almost sure convergence of the methods to a solution at single minimum of classification loss of CNNs. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance for major image classification benchmarks with CNNs.
Thinking parallel: the process of learning concurrency

This paper describes a course in concurrent and distributed computing for high school students and empirical research that was done to study students' conceptions and attitudes. We found that both their conceptions and their work methods evolved during course to the point that they were able to successfully develop algorithms and to prove their correctness. Students initially found the course extremely challenging but eventually came to appreciate its relevance and its contribution to improving their cognitive skills.
Towards Automated Analysis of Business Processes for Financial Audits

Financial audits play a significant role in the economy by safeguarding the correctness of published financial information. Public auditors face the challenge to audit financial statements that are created by increasingly integrated and complex information systems. This paper addresses a specific problem in the auditing process. A major challenge in this process is the analysis and audit of business processes that produce financial entries. We illustrate results from applying business process mining techniques to extensive test and real life data and discuss gained insights from the application for the development of automated business process analysis methods in the context of financial audits.
Combining inverted indices and structured search for ad-hoc object retrieval

Retrieving semi-structured entities to answer keyword queries is an increasingly important feature of many modern Web applications. The fast-growing Linked Open Data (LOD) movement makes it possible to crawl and index very large amounts of structured data describing hundreds of millions of entities. However, entity retrieval approaches have yet to find efficient and effective ways of ranking and navigating through those large data sets. In this paper, we address the problem of Ad-hoc Object Retrieval over large-scale LOD data by proposing a hybrid approach that combines IR and structured search techniques. Specifically, we propose an architecture that exploits an inverted index to answer keyword queries as well as a semi-structured database to improve the search effectiveness by automatically generating queries over the LOD graph. Experimental results show that our ranking algorithms exploiting both IR and graph indices outperform state-of-the-art entity retrieval techniques by up to 25% over the BM25 baseline.
USING WAVELET NEURAL NETWORK FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF A BUILDING STRUCTURE FROM EXPERIMENTAL DATA

A wavelet neural network-based identification approach is presented in this paper to dynamically modeling a building structure. By combining wavelet decomposition and artificial neural networks, wavelet neural networks (WNN) are used for solving chaotic signal processing. The theoretical basis and basic operations of WNNs are first briefly introduced. Then the feasibility of structural behavior modeling and the possibility of structural health monitoring using WNNs are investigated and discussed. A practical application of WNNs to the structural dynamic modeling of a building frame in shaking tests is presented in an example. Structural acceleration responses under various levels of the strength of the Kobe earthquake were used to train and then test the WNNs. The results reveal that the WNNs not only identify the structural dynamic model, but also can be applied to monitor the health condition of a building structure under strong external excitation.
Effect of Mobile Banking and Online Shopping on Consumer Behavior

The development of information technology is used in various sectors including the banking sector and shopping media. This study aims to determine the effect of mobile banking and online shopping on consumer behavior of students of the economics faculty of Universitas Negeri Surabaya. The number of research samples is 102 students who have used mobile banking and online shopping services. This study is a type of explanatory research that use a quantitative approach. The hypothesis test used is multiple linear regression and F-test. Based on the results of the regression test, it can be concluded that mobile banking has a significant positive effect on consumer behavior and online shopping also has a significant positive effect on consumer behavior. From the results of the F-test, it can be concluded that mobile banking and online shopping have a joint effect on consumer behavior by 47.6%, while the remaining 52.4% is influenced by other variables.
R-symmetric gauge mediation

We present a version of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking which preserves an R-symmetry—the gauginos are Dirac particles, the A-terms are zero, and there are four Higgs doublets. This offers an alternative way for gauginos to acquire mass in the supersymmetry-breaking models of Intriligator, Seiberg, and Shih. We investigate the possibility of using R-symmetric gauge mediation to realize the spectrum and large sfermion mixing of the model of Kribs, Poppitz, and Weiner.
The evolution and development of visual perspective taking

I outline three conceptions of seeing that a creature might possess: “the headlamp conception,” which involves an understanding of the causal connections between gazing at an object, certain mental states, and behavior; “the stage lights conception,” which involves an understanding of the selective nature of visual attention; and seeing-as. I argue that infants and various nonhumans possess the headlamp conception. There is also evidence that chim- panzees and 3-year-old children have some grasp of seeing-as. However, due to a dearth of studies, there is no evidence that infants or nonhumans possess the stage lights conception of seeing. I outline the kinds of experi- ments that are needed, and what we stand to learn about the evolution and development of perspective taking.
General Rainfall Patterns in Indonesia and the Potential Impacts of Local Seas on Rainfall Intensity

The relationships between observed rainfall, El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans were analyzed using a 1° latitude–longitude grid over Indonesia. The Global Summary of the Day rainfall records provide 26 years of rainfall data (January 1985 to August 2010) for 23 stations throughout the Indonesian islands. The ENSO and SST variations were calculated using the Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), NINO1 + 2, NINO3, NINO3.4, NINO4, the Dipole Mode Index (DMI) for the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and Indian Ocean Basin-wide (IOBW) index. The results show that the rainfall in the southern Sumatra and southern Java Islands, which face the Indian Ocean, was positively correlated with the negative IOD, whereas the rainfall in northwestern Sumatra was positively correlated with the positive IOD. In eastern Indonesia, the rainfall was positively correlated with La Niña. The PDO index was also strongly correlated with the rainfall in this region. In central Indonesia, seasonal variations due to monsoons are predominant, and the rainfall exhibited strong negative and positive correlations with the MEI and NINO.WEST, respectively, indicating that high rainfall occurred during strong La Niña episodes. The highly negative and positive correlations with the MEI and NINO.WEST, respectively, in central Indonesia led us to analyze the impacts of Indonesian seas on the rainfall in the region. Using four synoptic-scale scenarios, we investigated the relative residence time of Indonesian seawater along the pathways associated with the Pacific-Indian hydraulic head difference. The results show that when both the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans are warm (positive NINO.WEST and negative DMI), the rainfall intensity over central Indonesia is strongest. OPEN ACCESS