Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Context-aware HCI service selection

Context-awareness has become a key issue in Human-Computer InteractionHCI to provide better user experience under multi-device and multi-modal environment. With this intuition, we have proposed a web service based framework, which associates interactions with services, and provided service selection mechanism using context knowledge to achieve smart interaction migration [1]. A fundamental problem of such a service-oriented framework for interaction migration is to design an effective while scalable algorithm for service selection. In this paper, we propose a service selection algorithm considering not only context information and user preferences but also inter-service relations such as relative location. Our algorithm detects interaction hot spots within user active scope and presents the best service combination based on evaluation of interaction effectiveness. We also conduct simulation and the results illustrate that our algorithm is effective and scalable for interaction service selection.
Affinity Is an Important Determinant of the Anti-Trypanosome Activity of Nanobodies

Background The discovery of Nanobodies (Nbs) with a direct toxic activity against African trypanosomes is a recent advancement towards a new strategy against these extracellular parasites. The anti-trypanosomal activity relies on perturbing the highly active recycling of the Variant-specific Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) that occurs in the parasite's flagellar pocket. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we expand the existing panel of Nbs with anti-Trypanosoma brucei potential and identify four categories based on their epitope specificity. We modified the binding properties of previously identified Nanobodies Nb_An05 and Nb_An33 by site-directed mutagenesis in the paratope and found this to strongly affect trypanotoxicity despite retention of antigen-targeting properties. Affinity measurements for all identified anti-trypanosomal Nbs reveal a strong correlation between trypanotoxicity and affinity (KD), suggesting that it is a crucial determinant for this activity. Half maximal effective (50%) affinity of 57 nM was calculated from the non-linear dose-response curves. In line with these observations, Nb humanizing mutations only preserved the trypanotoxic activity if the KD remained unaffected. Conclusions/Significance This study reveals that the binding properties of Nanobodies need to be compatible with achieving an occupancy of >95% saturation of the parasite surface VSG in order to exert an anti-trypanosomal activity. As such, Nb-based approaches directed against the VSG target would require binding to an accessible, conserved epitope with high affinity.
Relationship between T-lymphocyte cytokine levels and sero-response to hepatitis B vaccines.

AIM To investigate the cellular defects by analyzing the (Th1/Th2) cytokine levels in vaccine responders and non-responders. METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from responders and non-responders were stimulated with or with out recombinant HBsAg or PHA. Broad spectrum of cytokines viz (Th1) IFN-gamma, IL-2, TNF-alpha, IL-12 and (Th2) IL-10, IL-4 were measured after in vitro stimulation with recombinant HBsAg and were compared with respective antibody titers. RESULTS A significant decrease (P = 0.001) in Th1 and Th2 cytokines namely, IL-2, INF-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-10 in non-responders was observed. The level of IL-4 was not significant between the three groups. Furthermore, despite a strong Th1 and Th2 cytokine response, the level of IL-12 was elevated in high-responders compared to other groups (P = 0.001) and demonstrated a positive correlation with anti-HBs titers and Th1 cytokine response. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that unresponsiveness to recombinant hepatitis B vaccines (rHB) is multifactorial, including specific failure of antigen presentation or the lack of both T helper Th1 and Th2 response.
Capacitive Coupled Frequency Independent Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array for X-Band Applications

A capacitive coupled Dielectric Resonator Antenna (DRA) array based on log periodic technique is investigated experimentally for X-band applications. The Frequency Independent DRA array consists of seven rectangular Dielectric Resonators (DRs). The DRA array has been excited by a series fed microstrip line. Since the resonators are directly coupled to the feed line, it results in more compact and lower loss DRA array. The proposed DRA array has been designed and realized. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulations. The designed array is operating over the frequency range 6.2–12.2 GHz for 2:1 VSWR with the fractional bandwidth 65.2%. The array provides a peak gain of 9.09 dBi with the broadside radiation pattern over the widespread operating band. The proposed design is useful for X-band applications.
Uncemented STAR total ankle prostheses.

BACKGROUND The feasibility of replacing the ankle joint has been a matter of speculation for a long time. In recent years, the designs of ankle prostheses have been improved, and three designs, all used without bone cement, currently dominate the market. However, documentation of the clinical results of the use of these prostheses is sparse. We reviewed the intermediate-term results of fifty-one consecutive Scandinavian Total Ankle Replacements (STAR). METHODS Between 1993 and 1999, fifty-one consecutive ankles were replaced with an uncemented, hydroxyapatite-coated STAR total ankle prosthesis. Clinical examination for the present study was performed by one surgeon who had not taken part in the operations. Standardized radiographs were used. Complications and failures were recorded, and patient satisfaction and functional outcome scores were determined for all patients with an unrevised implant. RESULTS Twelve ankles had to be revised. Seven were revised because of loosening of at least one of the components; two, because of fracture of the meniscus; and three, for other reasons. A component was exchanged in seven of the twelve revisions, whereas the ankle was successfully fused in the other five. An additional eight ankles had radiographic signs of loosening. The thirty-nine unrevised ankles (thirty-seven patients) were examined after thirty-six to ninety-seven months (median, fifty-two months). The patient was satisfied with the result after thirty-one of the ankle replacements, somewhat satisfied after two, and not satisfied after six. The median Kofoed score increased from 39 points before the surgery to 70 points at the time of the follow-up examination. A median follow-up score of 74 points was recorded when the system described by Mazur et al. and the AOFAS (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society) system were used. The median range of motion was approximately the same preoperatively and postoperatively. The estimated five-year survival rate, with revision for any reason as the end point, was 0.70. When radiographic loosening of either component was used as the end point, the estimated five-year radiographic survival rate was significantly better for the last thirty-one ankles treated in the series (p = 0.032). CONCLUSIONS Total ankle replacement may be a realistic alternative to arthrodesis, provided that the components are correctly positioned and are of the correct size. However, the risks of loosening and failure are still higher than are such risks after total hip or total knee replacement.
Expression of RXFP1 Is Decreased in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Implications for Relaxin-based Therapies.

RATIONALE Relaxin is a hormone that has been considered as a potential therapy for patients with fibrotic diseases. OBJECTIVES To gauge the potential efficacy of relaxin-based therapies in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), we studied gene expression for relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 1 (RXFP1) in IPF lungs and controls. METHODS We analyzed gene expression data obtained from the Lung Tissue Research Consortium and correlated RXFP1 gene expression data with cross-sectional clinical and demographic data. We also employed ex vivo donor and IPF lung fibroblasts to test RXFP1 expression in vitro. We tested CGEN25009, a relaxin-like peptide, in lung fibroblasts and in bleomycin injury. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We found that RXFP1 is significantly decreased in IPF. In patients with IPF, the magnitude of RXFP1 gene expression correlated directly with diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (P < 0.0001). Significantly less RXFP1 was detected in vitro in IPF fibroblasts than in donor controls. Transforming growth factor-β decreased RXFP1 in both donor and IPF lung fibroblasts. CGEN25009 was effective at decreasing bleomycin-induced, acid-soluble collagen deposition in vivo. The relaxin-like actions of CGEN25009 were abrogated by RXFP1 silencing in vitro, and, in comparison with donor lung fibroblasts, IPF lung fibroblasts exhibited decreased sensitivity to the relaxin-like effects of CGEN25009. CONCLUSIONS IPF is characterized by the loss of RXFP1 expression. RXFP1 expression is directly associated with pulmonary function in patients with IPF. The relaxin-like effects of CGEN25009 in vitro are dependent on expression of RXFP1. Our data suggest that patients with IPF with the highest RXFP1 expression would be predicted to be most sensitive to relaxin-based therapies.
Endogenous IGF-I and alphaVbeta3 integrin ligands regulate increased smooth muscle hyperplasia in stricturing Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) regulates human intestinal smooth muscle growth by stimulating proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. IGF-I-stimulated growth is augmented when alphaVbeta3 integrin is occupied by its ligands, fibronectin and vitronectin. Increased IGF-I expression and muscle cell hyperplasia are features of stricturing Crohn's disease (CD); however, the role of IGF-I in stricture formation is unknown. The aim was to identify the functional role of endogenous IGF-I and alphaVbeta3 integrin ligands in regulating muscle cell hyperplasia in stricturing CD. METHODS Smooth muscle cells were isolated from muscularis propria of stricturing CD or normal margins. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunoblot analysis, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to measure fibronectin, vitronectin, alphaVbeta3 integrin, and IGF-I levels. Activation of the IGF-I receptor, Erk1/2, p70S6 kinase, and GSK-3beta was measured by immunoblot. Proliferation was quantified by Ki67 immunostaining and [(3)H]thymidine incorporation. Apoptosis was measured from caspase-3 cleavage and nucleosome accumulation. RESULTS IGF-I, vitronectin, and fibronectin RNA and protein levels were increased 1.8- to 3.4-fold in muscle cells from strictures over normal margins. Basal IGF-I receptor phosphorylation was increased 320% in strictured over normal muscle, and basal Erk1/2, p70S6 kinase, and GSK-3beta phosphorylation were increased 205%-292% in strictures. In muscle cells from strictures, Ki67 immunoreactivity and [(3)H]thymidine incorporation were increased and apoptosis was decreased compared with normal margins. Antagonists of the IGF-I receptor or alphaVbeta3 integrin reversed these changes. CONCLUSIONS Smooth muscle cell hyperplasia in stricturing CD is regulated by increased endogenous IGF-I and alphaVbeta3 integrin ligands that regulate augmented proliferation and diminished apoptosis.
Timed Testing of Concurrent Systems

We are concerned with timing considerations for concurrent systems where the time needed by the individual actions is not known beforehand; it has long been suspected that partial order semantics is useful here. We develop a suitable testing scenario to study this idea. With some view of timed behaviour, we can confirm that interval semiword semantics, a special partial order semantics, is indeed useful. With another view, our testing scenario leads to timed-refusal-trace semantics, where no relation to partial order semantics is obvious.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE ACTIONS OF STEROIDS ON THE METAPLASIA OF THE AMOEBA, NAEGLERIA GRUBERI.

1. The age of the culture of Naegleria gruberi , i.e. the time since the last subculture, is of little importance in determining the numbers of cells which turn flagellate when placed in the extremely dilute buffer solutions used. 2. Between 17° and 21° C. there is a very great decrease in the time which the amoebae require in order to become flagellate when placed in buffer solution. 3. There is no evidence that the amoeba, as such, differentiates between solutions of KC1 or NaCl. On the other hand, the flagellate form is somewhat more reactive to KC1 than to NaCl, and fewer flagellates are found in KC1 solutions. 4. The metaplasia is affected by the presence of steroids in the medium. 5. The more interesting actions of the steroids tested may be summarized as follows. At high concentrations, progesterone and deoxycorticosterone, when applied to the amoeba, prevent the change to the flagellate form. When applied to the flagellate, progesterone has little action, but deoxycorticosterone encourages the return to the amoeboid form, especially in the presence of K+. In lower concentrations both steroids favour the change from amoeba to flagellate and also from flagellate to amoeba. Other steroids have characteristic effects. 6. While the dose/response curves indicate qualitatively different effects of concentration of progesterone and deoxycorticosterone they only show quantitatively different effects with oestradiol and androsterone. 7. Progesterone acts on amoebae at concentrations which are comparable with those at which it acts in the human body. 8. When both progesterone and oestradiol are applied together at concentrations which suppress the flagellate form the effects are additive. The same applies to mixtures of testosterone and oestradiol. An activating concentration of progesterone has not yet been tested in combination with an inhibiting dose of oestradiol.
The Japanese and Software: is it a Good Match?

The key to the Japanese approach to software development is the separation of the planning and implementation phases. This article is a purely personal account, based on 18 months in Tokyo in a research organization consisting entirely of Japanese-speaking personnel, except for myself. It is not intended to be a systematic or scholarly study of the Japanese software industry. I had the good fortune to have an assignment within IBM to go to Japan to help Hisashi Kobayashi, director of the IBM Japan Science Institute, form a software technology research group. This institute is the newest member, now four years old, of IBM's worldwide research organization. My initial intention was to learn the Japanese language so as to be able to participate fully in the work. I already knew four languages fluently, including my native Hungarian. Since Hungarian does not have the same linguistic roots as the western European languages, I thought I would have a head start in learning Japanese. Alas, it didn't work out. I did learn about 400 Chinese characters and I did become able to converse with my Japanese language teacher after a fashion, but I did not become fluent enough to talk with my coworkers in Japanese. That was a disappointment. First, let me give you a brief rundown of the Japanese software industry. Perhaps the best known activity is the Fifth Generation Computer Project. It is primarily an architectural effort, but it includes the development of the software necessary to make the hardware complete. I don't believe this project is primarily aimed at improving the process of efficiently producing high-performance software. That is another issue. Still, ICOT, the institute managing the project, tends to be the gatekeeper between Japan and the rest of the world on the technologies having to do with computers. The real down-to-earth software technology effort resides in the Big Three or the Big Six companies. This effort is aimed at improving productivity and quality in an industrial everyday sense. The Big Three are the Nippon Electric Co., Hita-chi, and Fujitsu, and the other three are probably Toshiba, Oki, and Mitsubishi. In addition, there is a large effort, called the Sigma project, involving a combination of major customers and software houses. The effort started with a couple of dozen participants and is now close to 100. It is being standardized around Unix as the basis for developing software and is tying …
Mild Hypothermia Attenuates Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 Induction via Activation of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase-1/2 in a Focal Cerebral Ischemia Model

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in cerebral vascular endothelium induced by ischemic insult triggers leukocyte infiltration and inflammatory reaction. We investigated the mechanism of hypothermic suppression of ICAM-1 in a model of focal cerebral ischemia. Rats underwent 2 hours of middle cerebral artery occlusion and were kept at 37°C or 33°C during occlusion and rewarmed to normal temperature immediately after reperfusion. Under hypothermic condition, robust activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1/2 (ERK1/2) was observed in vascular endothelium of ischemic brain. Hypothermic suppression of ICAM-1 was reversed by ERK1/2 inhibition. Phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in ischemic vessel was attenuated by hypothermia. STAT3 inhibitor suppressed ICAM-1 production induced by stroke. ERK1/2 inhibition enhanced phosphorylation and DNA binding activity of STAT3 in hypothermic condition. In this study, we demonstrated that hypothermic suppression of ICAM-1 induction is mediated by enhanced ERK1/2 activation and subsequent attenuation of STAT3 action.
Brussel How to Build a Supervised Autonomous System for Robot-Enhanced Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Robot-Assisted Therapy (RAT) has successfully been used to improve social skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) through remote control of the robot in so-called Wizard of Oz (WoZ) paradigms. However, there is a need to increase the autonomy of the robot both to lighten the burden on human therapists (who have to remain in control and, importantly, supervise the robot) and to provide a consistent therapeutic experience. This paper seeks to provide insight into increasing the autonomy level of social robots in therapy to move beyond WoZ. With the final aim of improved human-human social interaction for the children, this multidisciplinary research seeks to facilitate the use of social robots as tools in clinical situations by addressing the challenge of increasing robot autonomy. We introduce the clinical framework in which the developments are tested, alongside initial data obtained from patients in a first phase of the project using a WoZ set-up mimicking the targeted supervised-autonomy behaviour. We further describe the implemented system architecture capable of providing the robot with supervised autonomy.
Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership.

How do leadership ratings collected from units operating under stable conditions predict subsequent performance of those units operating under high stress and uncertainty? To examine this question, the authors calculated the predictive relationships for the transformational and transactional leadership of 72 light infantry rifle platoon leaders for ratings of unit potency, cohesion, and performance for U.S. Army platoons participating in combat simulation exercises. Both transformational and transactional contingent reward leadership ratings of platoon leaders and sergeants positively predicted unit performance. The relationship of platoon leadership to performance was partially mediated through the unit's level of potency and cohesion. Implications, limitations, and future directions for leadership research are discussed.
Slowly progressive defect in recognition of familiar people in a patient with right anterior temporal atrophy.

We report the case of a patient (C.O.) who showed a selective defect in the recognition of familiar people, with very mild disease progression during a period of 30 months resulting from focal atrophy of the right temporal lobe. On formal neuropsychological testing, C.O. obtained high scores on tests of general intelligence, episodic memory, language, executive functions, selective attention, visual recognition and visual-spatial abilities. On more specific tasks of familiar and unfamiliar face recognition, C.O. scored above the controls' means on perceptual tests, but obtained highly pathological results on amnesic-associative tests. His disorder of recognition of familiar people was not due to loss of person-specific information, since he obtained highly abnormal naming scores when presented with photographs of famous people but borderline or mildly abnormal scores in a tasks in which he had to name celebrities from verbal definitions. On the other hand, C.O. 's recognition disorder could not be considered to be a form of 'associative prosopagnosia' since a similar defect was observed when he was requested to access information about famous persons through their voice rather than their face. Two alternative interpretations are advanced to explain C.O. 's inability to access his relatively spared person-specific knowledge not only through the person's face but also through the person's voice. The first hypothesis is that, before accessing the person-specific information, unimodal recognition channels must converge into a multimodal, non-verbal person-recognition system and that the right anterior temporal cortices play a crucial role in this integrative activity. The second hypothesis is that the face-recognition units have privileged access to person-specific semantic knowledge and that other recognition subsystems require coactivation of the face-recognition units in order to access person-specific semantic information.
Initial Steps of Ferulic Acid Polymerization by Lignin Peroxidase*

The major products of the initial steps of ferulic acid polymerization by lignin peroxidase included three dehydrodimers resulting from β-5′ and β-β′coupling and two trimers resulting from the addition of ferulic acid moieties to decarboxylated derivatives of β-O-4′- and β-5′-coupled dehydrodimers. This is the first time that trimers have been identified from peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of ferulic acid, and their formation appears to be favored by decarboxylation of dehydrodimer intermediates. After initial oxidation, the coupling reactions appear to be determined by the chemistry of ferulic acid phenoxy radicals, regardless of the enzyme and of whether the reaction is performedin vitro or in vivo. This claim is supported by our finding that horseradish peroxidase provides a similar product profile. Furthermore, two of the dehydrodimers were the two products obtained from laccase-catalyzed oxidation (Tatsumi, K. S., Freyer, A., Minard, R. D., and Bollag, J.-M. (1994) Environ. Sci. Technol. 28, 210–215), and the most abundant dehydrodimer is the most prominent in grass cell walls (Ralph, J., Quideau, S., Grabber, J. H., and Hatfield, R. D. (1994) J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. 1, 3485–3498). Our results also indicate that the dehydrodimers and trimers are further oxidized by lignin peroxidase, suggesting that they are only intermediates in the polymerization of ferulic acid. The extent of polymerization appears to be dependent on the ionization potential of formed intermediates, H2O2 concentration, and, probably, enzyme stability.
Separate origins for the dynorphin and enkephalin immunoreactive fibers in the inferior mesenteric ganglion of the guinea pig

By different denervation procedures the origin of dynorphin‐(1–17) and enkephalin immunoreactive fibers in the guinea pig inferior mesenteric ganglion was investigated. It was found that the dynorphin‐(1–17)‐positive fibers reached the ganglion predominantly via the colonic nerves and to a lesser extent via the hypogastric and intermesenteric nerves whereas the enkephalin‐positive fibers reached the ganglion via the lumbar splanchnic nerves. These findings show that the dynorphin‐(1–17) and enkephalin systems are separate in this ganglion.