Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2020 Index IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems Vol. 31

—Preserving the availability and integrity of networked computing systems in the face of fast-spreading intrusions requires advances not only in detection algorithms, but also in automated response techniques. In this paper, we propose a new approach to automated response called the Response and Recovery Engine (RRE). Our engine employs a game-theoretic response strategy against adversaries modeled as opponents in a two-player Stackelberg stochastic game. RRE applies attack-response trees to analyze undesired system-level security events within host computers and their countermeasures using Boolean logic to combine lower-level attack consequences. In addition, RRE accounts for uncertainties in intrusion detection alert notifications. RRE then chooses optimal response actions by solving a partially observable competitive Markov decision process that is automatically derived from attack-response trees. To support network-level multi-objective response selection and consider possibly conflicting network security properties, we employ fuzzy logic theory to calculate the network-level security metric values, i.e., security levels of the system's current and potentially future states in each stage of the game. In particular, inputs to the network-level game-theoretic response selection engine, are first fed into the fuzzy system that is in charge of a nonlinear inference and quantitative ranking of the possible actions using its previously-defined fuzzy rule set. Consequently, the optimal network-level response actions are chosen through a game-theoretic optimization process. Experimental results show that RRE, using Snort's alerts, can protect large networks for which attack-response trees have more than 500 nodes.
User-driven implementation of information systems

Information system (IS) implementation projects have throughout their existence been risky and there is no evidence that their success rates would have lately become any better. We argue, that the situation is partially caused by the fact that the organizational implementation of information systems has not received sufficient attention. In this paper, we describe a user-driven implementation method and present a case study where the method was successfully applied. The reasons for why this type of organizational implementation method functions despite of the obvious defects of the technical system are discussed.
Designing for serendipity: supporting end-user configuration of ubiquitous computing environments

The future world of ubiquitous computing is one in which we will be surrounded by an ever-richer set of networked devices and services. In such a world, we cannot expect to have available to us specific applications that allow us to accomplish every conceivable combination of devices that we might wish. Instead, we believe that many of our interactions will be through highly generic tools that allow enduser discovery, configuration, interconnection, and control of the devices around us. This paper presents a design study of such an environment, intended to support serendipitous, opportunistic use of discovered network resources. We present an examination of a generic browser-style application built on top of an infrastructure developed to support arbitrary recombination of devices and services, as well as a number of challenges we believe to be inherent in such settings.
Gaussian multiaccess channels with ISI: Capacity region and multiuser water-filling

The capacity region of a two-user Gaussian multiaccess channel with intersymbol interference (ISI) in which the inputs pass through respective linear systems and are superimposed before being corrupted by an additive Gaussian noise process is discussed. A geometrical method for obtaining the optimal input power spectral densities and the capacity region is presented. This method can be viewed as a nontrivial generalization of the single-user water-filling argument. It is shown that, as in the traditional memoryless multiaccess channel, frequency-division multiaccess (FDMA) with optimally selected frequency bands for each user achieves the total capacity of the multiuser Gaussian multiaccess channel with ISI. However, the capacity region of the two-user channel with memory is, in general, not a pentagon unless the channel transfer functions for both users are identical. >
Lagrangian Numerical Approximations to One-Dimensional Convolution-Diffusion Equations

This work focuses on the numerical analysis of one-dimensional nonlinear diffusion equations involving a convolution product. First, homogeneous friction equations are considered. Algorithms follow recent ideas on mass transportation methods and lead to simple schemes which can be proved to be stable, to decrease entropy, and to converge toward the unique solution of the continuous problem. In particular, for the first time, homogeneous cooling states are displayed numerically. Further, we present results on the more delicate fourth-order thin-film equation for which a nonnegativity-preserving scheme is derived. The dead core phenomenon is presented for the Hele--Shaw cell.
Presence of Tetrodotoxin and Tetrodotoxin-Producing Bacteria in Freshwater Sediments

The occurrence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in sediment from Lake Suwa, Japan, was confirmed by a tissue culture assay, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Altogether, 17 TTX-producing bacteria belonging to five genera were isolated from Lake Suwa and Pond Inokasira. Our results indicate that TTX and TTX-producing bacteria occur even in freshwater environments.
DNA damage induces a kinetochore-based ATM/ATR-independent SAC arrest unique to the first meiotic division in mouse oocytes

Mouse oocytes carrying DNA damage arrest in meiosis I, thereby preventing creation of embryos with deleterious mutations. The arrest is dependent on activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint, which results in anaphase-promoting complex (APC) inhibition. However, little is understood about how this checkpoint is engaged following DNA damage. Here, we find that within minutes of DNA damage checkpoint proteins are assembled at the kinetochore, not at damage sites along chromosome arms, such that the APC is fully inhibited within 30 min. Despite this robust response, there is no measurable loss in k-fibres, or tension across the bivalent. Through pharmacological inhibition we observed that the response is dependent on Mps1 kinase, aurora kinase and Haspin. Using oocyte-specific knockouts we find the response does not require the DNA damage response kinases ATM or ATR. Furthermore, checkpoint activation does not occur in response to DNA damage in fully mature eggs during meiosis II, despite the divisions being separated by just a few hours. Therefore, mouse oocytes have a unique ability to sense DNA damage rapidly by activating the checkpoint at their kinetochores. Highlighted Article: DNA damage in MI oocytes causes rapid recruitment and activation of spindle assembly checkpoint proteins at kinetochores leading to cell cycle arrest, thereby preventing the propagation of damaged chromatin.
Multi-tasking SLAM

The problem of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is one of the most studied in the robotics literature. Most existing approaches, however, focus on scenarios where localization and mapping are the only tasks on the robot's agenda. In many real-world scenarios, a robot may be called on to perform other tasks simultaneously, in addition to localization and mapping. These can include target-following (or avoidance), search-and-rescue, point-to-point navigation, refueling, and so on. This paper proposes a framework that balances localization, mapping, and other planning objectives, thus allowing robots to solve sequential decision tasks under map and pose uncertainty. Our approach combines a SLAM algorithm with an online POMDP approach to solve diverse navigation tasks, without prior training, in an unknown environment.
Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: word and pseudoword discrimination.

UNLABELLED In the active phase of benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (BCECTS) there may be a fall in scholastic performance. OBJECTIVE To study lexical decision in children with BCECTS. METHOD 42 children with BCECTS were compared with a control group with respect to their hits and response time in a visual discrimination of words and pseudowords task (DWPT). RESULTS The children with BCECTS had a lower percentage of hits for words and pseudowords and showed longer response times for pseudowords. They also frequently showed inferior reading and writing performance in the school performance test. The percentage of hits for pseudowords was lower when there was bilateral, asynchronous epileptiform activity. CONCLUSIONS The DWPT provided contributions for reading assessments in children with BCECTS. The results indicated the need for attention in detecting reading difficulties in children with BCECTS.
Improving simultaneous speech recognition in real room environments using overdetermined blind source separation

In this paper we present a novel solution to the Overdetermined Blind Speech Separation (OBSS) problem for improving speech recognition accuracy of N simultaneous speakers in real room environments using M, (M>N) microphones. The proposed OBSS system uses basic NxN Blind Speech Separation networks that process in parallel all different combinations of the available mixture signals in the frequency domain, resulting to lower computational complexity and faster convergence. Extensive experiments using an array of two to ten microphones and two simultaneous speakers in a simulated real room, showed that when the number of the microphones increases beyond two, the separation performance is improved and the phoneme recognition accuracy of an HMM based decoder increases drastically (more than 6%). Therefore, the introduction of more microphones than speakers is justified in order to improve speech recognition accuracy in multi simultaneous speaker environments.
Extended glycan diversity in a bacterial protein glycosylation system linked to allelic polymorphisms and minimal genetic alterations in a glycosyltransferase gene

Glycans manifest in conjunction with the broad spectrum O‐linked protein glycosylation in species within the genus Neisseria display intra‐ and interstrain diversity. Variability in glycan structure and antigenicity are attributable to differences in the content and expression status of glycan synthesis genes. Given the high degree of standing allelic polymorphisms in these genes, the level of glycan diversity may exceed that currently defined. Here, we identify unique protein‐associated disaccharide glycoforms that carry N‐acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) at their non‐reducing end. This altered structure was correlated with allelic variants of pglH whose product was previously demonstrated to be responsible for the expression of glucose (Glc)‐containing disaccharides. Allele comparisons and site‐specific mutagenesis showed that the presence of a single residue, alanine at position 303 in place of a glutamine, was sufficient for GlcNAc versus Glc incorporation. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that GlcNAc‐containing disaccharides may be widely distributed within the pgl systems of Neisseria particularly in strains of N. meningitidis. Although analogous minimal structural alterations in glycosyltransferases have been documented in association with lipopolysaccharide and capsular polysaccharide variability, this appears to be the first example in which such changes have been implicated in glycan diversification within a bacterial protein glycosylation system.
A Case of Secondary Leukemia Subsequent to Myelodysplastic Syndromes Successfully Treated with Azacitidine

Elderly patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) following myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are often medically unfit for or resistant to chemotherapy, and their prognosis is dismal. In the present paper, we reported a case of secondary leukemia following MDS in an 80-year-old male patient who was deemed unfit for chemotherapy owing to his old age and poor physical condition. Despite a high tumor burden, treatment with AZA exerted a remarkable response, leading to an immediate cytoreduction in our case. Our results suggest that AZA can be an attractive therapeutic option for elderly MDS or AML patients, offering adequate efficacy and high tolerability.
Warping two‐dimensional electrophoresis gel images to correct for geometric distortions of the spot pattern

A crucial step in two‐dimensional gel based protein expression analysis is to match spots in different gel images that correspond to the same protein. It still requires extensive and time‐consuming manual interference, although several semiautomatic techniques exist. Geometric distortion of the protein patterns inherent to the electrophoresis procedure is one of the main causes of these difficulties. An image warping method to reduce this problem is presented. A warping is a function that deforms images by mapping between image domains. The method proceeds in two steps. Firstly, a simple physicochemical model is formulated and applied for warping of each gel image to correct for what might be one of the main causes of the distortions: current leakage across the sides during the second‐dimensional electrophoresis. Secondly, the images are automatically aligned by maximizing a penalized likelihood criterion. The method is applied to a set of ten gel images showing the radioactively labeled proteome of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae during normal and steady‐state saline growth. The improvement in matching when given the warped images instead of the original ones is exemplified by a comparison within a commercially available software.
Blockade of the Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase Pathway Induces Marked G1 Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Tumor Cells in Which the Pathway Is Constitutively Activated

Constitutive activation of the ERK pathway is associated with the neoplastic phenotype of a relatively large number of human tumor cells. Blockade of the ERK pathway by treatment with PD98059, a specific inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/ERK kinase (MEK), completely suppressed the growth of tumor cells in which the pathway is constitutively activated (RPMI-SE and HT1080 cells). Consistent with its prominent antiproliferative effect, PD98059 induced a remarkable G1 cell cycle arrest, followed by a modest apoptotic response, in these tumor cells. Selective up-regulation of p27Kip1 was observed after PD98059 treatment of RPMI-SE and HT1080 cells. Overexpression in RPMI-SE cells of either a kinase-negative form of MEK1 or wild-type MAP kinase phosphatase-3 also induced up-regulation of p27Kip1. The up-regulation of p27Kip1 correlated with increased association of p27Kip1 with cyclin E-cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 2 complexes, a concomitant inhibition of cyclin E-CDK2 kinase activity, and a consequent decrease in the phosphorylation state of retinoblastoma protein, which would culminate in the marked G1 cell cycle arrest observed in these tumor cells. These results suggest that the complete growth suppression that follows specific blockade of the ERK pathway in tumor cells in which the pathway is constitutively activated is mediated by up-regulation of p27Kip1.
Gaucher Disease and Cancer: Concept and Controversy

Gaucher disease is an inherited disorder caused by a deficiency in the lysosomal hydrolase glucocerebrosidase. There is a wide spectrum of clinical presentations, with the most common features being hepatosplenomegaly, skeletal disease, and cytopenia. Gaucher disease has been classified into three broad phenotypes based upon the presence or absence of neurological involvement: Type 1 (nonneuronopathic), Type 2 (acute neuronopathic), and Type 3 (subacute neuronopathic). The two main treatment options include enzyme replacement therapy and substrate reduction therapy. Recently, discussion has escalated around the association of Gaucher disease and cancer, with conflicting reports as to whether Gaucher patients have an increased risk of malignancy. In this review, we present both the concept and controversy surrounding the association of Gaucher disease with cancer.
Factors Associated with Stunting among Children Under Five Years of Age in Pakistan: Evidence from PDHS 2012-13.

Objective: The main objective of this research study was to drawn the association of different factors towards stunting in under five years of age children in Pakistan. Methods: The survey was conducted in a total of 498 areas. Data was collected by using a stratiA¯Â¬Âed two-stage cluster national sample across 14,000 households (6,944 in urban areas and 7,056 in rural areas). For data collection a representative sample of households was taken from different provinces of Pakistan (Islamabad and Gilgit Baltistan) including 12,943 household with 13,557 women aged between 15-49 years. Results: This study had showed that 31.4% population of less than five years of age is suffering from stunning in Pakistan. In regional wise distribution stunting was much higher in Baluchistan as compare to other regions, i.e., 43%. While Islamabad (ICT) has the lowest number of stunted children, i.e., 18.5%. Conclusion: This study exposed that the Region, Access to information, Parents Education, economic status has substantial relationship with malnutrition. While the Number of children in family and taking another type of milk rather than mother feed in first 3 days has no significant relationship towards stunting among children less than 5 years of age.
Neighboring Pallidal Neurons Do Not Exhibit more Synchronous Oscillations than Remote Ones in the MPTP Primate Model of Parkinson's Disease

In the healthy primate, neurons of the external and internal segments of the globus pallidus (GP) present a primarily irregular firing pattern, and a negligible level of synchrony is observed between pairs of neurons. This holds even for neighboring cells, despite their higher probability to receive common inputs and to innervate each other via lateral connectivity. In the Parkinsonian primate, this changes drastically, and many pairs of GP cells show synchronous oscillations. To address the relation between distance and synchrony in the Parkinsonian state, we compared the synchrony of discharge of close pairs of neurons, recorded by the same electrode, with remote pairs, recorded by different ones. However, spike trains of neighboring cells recorded by the same extracellular electrode exhibit the shadowing effect; i.e., lack of detection of spikes that occur within a few milliseconds of each other. Here, we demonstrate that the shadowing artifact can both induce apparent correlations between non-correlated neurons, as well as conceal existing correlations between neighboring ones. We therefore introduced artificial shadowing in the remote pairs, similar to the effect we observed in the close ones. After the artificial shadowing, neighboring cells did not show a higher tendency to oscillate synchronously than remote ones. On the contrary, the average percentage (over all sessions) of artificially shadowed remote pairs exhibiting synchronous oscillations was 35.4% compared to 17.2% in the close ones. Similar trend was found when the unshadowed remote pairs were separated according to the estimated distance between electrode tips: 29.9% of pairs at approximate distance of less than 750 μm were significantly synchronized, in comparison with 28.5% of the pairs whose distance was more than 750 μm. We conclude that the synchronous oscillations in the GP of MPTP treated primates are homogenously distributed.
The Heritability of Antinociception: Common Pharmacogenetic Mediation of Five Neurochemically Distinct Analgesics

The heritability of nociception and antinociception has been well established in the mouse. The pharmacogenetics of morphine analgesia are fairly well characterized, but far less is known about other analgesics. The purpose of this work was to begin the systematic genetic study of non-μ-opioid analgesics. We tested mice of 12 inbred mouse strains for baseline nociceptive sensitivity (49°C tail-withdrawal assay) and subsequent antinociceptive sensitivity to systemic administration of (trans)-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]benzeneacetamide methane-sulfonate hydrate (U50,488; 10–150 mg/kg), a κ-opioid receptor agonist; (R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-1-naphthalenylmethanone (WIN55,212-2; 0.5–480 mg/kg), a synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist; epibatidine (7.5–150 μg/kg), a nicotinic receptor agonist; clonidine (0.1–5 mg/kg), an α2-adrenergic receptor agonist; and, for purposes of comparison, the prototypic μ-opioid receptor agonist, morphine (5–200 mg/kg). Robust interstrain variability was observed in nociceptive sensitivity and in the antinociceptive effects of each of the drugs, with extreme-responding strains exhibiting antinociceptive potencies differing up to 37-fold. Unexpectedly, we observed moderate-to-high genetic correlations of strain sensitivities to the five drugs (r = 0.39–0.77). We also found moderate-to-high correlations between baseline nociceptive sensitivity and subsequent analgesic response to each drug (r = 0.33–0.68). The generalizability of these findings was established in follow-up experiments investigating morphine and clonidine inhibition of formalin test nociception. Despite the fact that each drug activates a unique receptor, our results suggest that the potency of each drug is affected by a common set of genes. However, the genes in question may affect antinociception indirectly, via a primary action on baseline nociceptive sensitivity.
MicroRNA-17-5p promotes chemotherapeutic drug resistance and tumour metastasis of colorectal cancer by repressing PTEN expression

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, especially in Western countries. Although chemotherapy is used as an adjuvant or as a palliative treatment, drug resistance poses a great challenge. This study intended to identify biomarkers as predictive factors for chemotherapy. Patients and methods: By microarray analysis, we studied miRNAs expression profiles in CRC patient, comparing chemoresistant and chemosensitive groups. The miRNAs of interest were validated and the impact on clinical outcomes was assessed in a cohort of 295 patients. To search for potential targets of these miRNAs, tissue samples were subject to in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry analysis. Colorectal adenocarcinoma cells were also used for in vitro experimentation, where cellular invasiveness and drug resistance were examined in miRNA-transfected cells. Results: The expression level of miRNA-17-5p was found increased in chemoresistant patients. Significantly higher expression levels of miR-17-5p were found in CRC patients with distant metastases and higher clinical stages. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that CRC patients with higher levels of miR-17-5p had reduced survival, especially in patients who had previously received chemotherapy. Overexpression of miR-17-5p promoted COLO205 cell invasiveness. We found that PTEN was a target of miR-17-5p in the colon cancer cells, and their context-specific interactions were responsible for multiple drug-resistance. Chemotherapy was found to increase the expression levels of miR-17-5p, which further repressed PTEN levels, contributing to the development of chemo-resistance. Conclusions: MiR-17-5p is a predictive factor for chemotherapy response and a prognostic factor for overall survival in CRC, which is due to its regulation of PTEN expression.
On Edge-Disjoint Spanning Trees in a Randomly Weighted Complete Graph

Assume that the edges of the complete graph Kn are given independent uniform [0, 1] weights. We consider the expected minimum total weight μk of k ⩽ 2 edge-disjoint spanning trees. When k is large we show that μk ≈ k 2. Most of the paper is concerned with the case k = 2. We show that m 2 tends to an explicitly defined constant and that μ 2 ≈ 4.1704288.