Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ICC: An incentive-compatible inter-cloud communication traffic management mechanism

In this paper we introduce the Inter-Cloud Communication Traffic Management mechanism (ICC). ICC performs rate control over the ISP transit link(s) aiming to attain a target reduction of transit cost. ICC reduces ISPs transit charge by shaping a portion of the inter-domain traffic (e.g. delay-tolerant inter-cloud traffic), which has been marked as time-shiftable by the traffic source, i.e. by the business customer of the ISP such as a cloud/data center. In particular, ICC reduces the transmission rate of marked traffic at peak 5-min billable intervals and increases it at off-peak, acting at even shorter timescales according to a novel rate-adaptation algorithm. We evaluate numerically ICC by employing real traffic traces. The results reveal that ICC can significantly reduce the ISP transit charge and thus can be a promising and practically applicable solution for ISPs while also being beneficial for their customers whom the ISP should incentivize by sharing its savings.
Interleukin-6 in Serum and in Synovial Fluid Enhances the Differentiation between Periprosthetic Joint Infection and Aseptic Loosening

The preoperative differentiation between septic and aseptic loosening after total hip or knee arthroplasty is essential for successful therapy and relies in part on biomarkers. The objective of this study was to assess synovial and serum levels of inflammatory proteins as diagnostic tool for periprosthetic joint infection and compare their accuracy with standard tests. 120 patients presenting with a painful knee or hip endoprosthesis for surgical revision were included in this prospective trial. Blood samples and samples of intraoperatively acquired joint fluid aspirate were collected. White blood cell count, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and interleukin-6 were determined. The joint aspirate was analyzed for total leukocyte count and IL-6. The definite diagnosis of PJI was determined on the basis of purulent synovial fluid, histopathology and microbiology. IL-6 in serum showed significantly higher values in the PJI group as compared to aseptic loosening and control, with specificity at 58.3% and a sensitivity of 79.5% at a cut-off value of 2.6 pg/ml. With a cut-off >6.6 pg/ml, the specificity increased to 88.3%. IL-6 in joint aspirate had, at a cut-off of >2100 pg/ml, a specificity of 85.7% and sensitivity of 59.4%. At levels >9000 pg/ml, specificity was almost at 100% with sensitivity just below 50%, so PJI could be considered proven with IL-6 levels above this threshold. Our data supports the published results on IL-6 as a biomarker in PJI. In our large prospective cohort of revision arthroplasty patients, the use of IL-6 in synovial fluid appears to be a more accurate marker than either the white blood cell count or the C-reactive protein level in serum for the detection of periprosthetic joint infection. On the basis of the results we recommend the use of the synovial fluid biomarker IL-6 for the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection following total hip and knee arthroplasty.
An argument from acquisition: Comparing English metrical stress representations by how learnable they are from child-directed speech

ABSTRACT It has long been recognized that there is a natural dependence between theories of knowledge representation and theories of knowledge acquisition, with the idea that the right knowledge representation enables acquisition to happen as reliably as it does. Given this, a reasonable criterion for a theory of knowledge representation is that it be useful for acquisition, particularly in nontrivial learning situations. We propose quantitative learnability metrics meant to capture how useful a representation is for acquisition. We then apply these metrics to the case study of English metrical stress, a language that is notorious for having nonproductive aspects in its grammar and so being nontrivial to learn a productive grammar for. We examine three theories of metrical stress representation, assessing their learnability via these metrics from English child-directed speech at different stages of linguistic development. We find that while all three theories are only somewhat useful at the initial stages of stress acquisition, they are far more useful at later stages and define a grammar able to capture the vast majority of English children’s acquisitional intake. Interestingly, we also find that the proposed English grammars in each representational theory are not the grammars most easily learnable from English child-directed speech. Instead, minor changes to each English grammar yield an English-like grammar that is far more learnable, suggesting that these alternative English grammars should be given further theoretical, experimental, and computational consideration. We discuss implications for both theories of representation and theories of acquisition.
Behavioral Therapy for Childhood Constipation: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE. It has been suggested that the addition of behavioral interventions to laxative therapy improves continence in children with functional fecal incontinence associated with constipation. Our aim was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of behavioral therapy with laxatives compared with conventional treatment in treating functional constipation in childhood. PATIENTS AND METHODS. In this randomized, controlled trial conducted in a tertiary hospital in the Netherlands, 134 children aged 4 to 18 years with functional constipation were randomly assigned to 22 weeks (12 visits) of either behavioral therapy or conventional treatment. Primary outcomes were defecation frequency, fecal incontinence frequency, and success rate. Success was defined as defecation frequency of ≥3 times per week and fecal incontinence frequency of ≤1 times per 2 weeks irrespective of laxative use. Secondary outcomes were stool-withholding behavior and behavior problems. Outcomes were evaluated at the end of treatment and at 6-months follow-up. All of the analyses were done by intention to treat. RESULTS. Defecation frequency was significantly higher for conventional treatment. Fecal incontinence frequency showed no difference between treatments. After 22 weeks, success rates did not differ between conventional treatment and behavioral therapy (respectively, 62.3% and 51.5%), nor did it differ at 6 months of follow-up (respectively, 57.3% and 42.3%). The proportion of children withholding stools was not different between interventions. At follow-up, the proportion of children with behavior problems was significantly smaller for behavioral therapy (11.7% vs 29.2%). CONCLUSION. Behavioral therapy with laxatives has no advantage over conventional treatment in treating childhood constipation. However, when behavior problems are present, behavioral therapy or referral to mental health services should be considered.
Mutations with Hair Shape Phenotypes Abnormalities—The Morphogenetic Waves and Related Diseases

Hair morphology is one of the most conspicuous features of human variation. The hair follicle has attracted significant attention as a model for the investigation of diverse biological problems. Whereas, very little is known about the genes influencing the morphology and structure of the hair shaft. Curly hair is very common character of hair phenotypes of human, while most congenital curl occurs owing to genetic factors and some are closely related with genetic diseases. This review highlights current related genes reported affecting hair curliness and human diseases which are due to gene mutations.
Alterations in Food Group Intakes and Subsequent Weight Changes in Adults: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study

Background: The extent of weight change is varied for specific foods. This highlights the effect of dietary quality and food choices on weight control. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the association between alterations in food group intake and weight change over a 3 years follow-up period. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal study was conducted on 851 adults in the framework of Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Intakes of various foods were measured at baseline and after 3 years using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Dietary data was grouped into 13 food groups. Alterations in food group intakes were categorized in tertiles; middle tertile of intake changes was considered as the reference category and the first and last tertiles of changes as increased and decreased intakes, respectively. Weight change per year of follow-up was the outcome of interest. Weight gain was defined as ≥ 0.5 kg/y, weight loss as ≤ -0.5 kg/y and stable weight as > -0.5 to < 0.5 kg/y. Multinomial logistic regression was used with stable weight as the reference group. Results: In men, weight loss was significantly predicted only by decreased intake of added sugars (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.06-4.63). In women, weight gain was significantly predicted by decreased intake of whole grains (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.11-3.31) and weight loss was predicted by decreased intake of vegetables (OR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.21-0.91). Conclusions: Alterations in consumption of whole grains, vegetables, and added sugars are associated with body weight change, suggesting that it could be helpful in weight control.
Expression of Ciliary Tektins in Brain and Sensory Development

Many types of neural tissues and sensory cells possess either motile or primary cilia. We report the first mammalian (murine testis) cDNA for tektin, a protein unique to cilia, flagella, and centrioles, which we have used to identify related proteins and genes in sensory tissues. Comparison with the sequence database reveals that tektins are a gene family, spanning evolution from Caenorhabditis elegans (in which they correlate with touch receptor cilia) andDrosophila melanogaster, to Mus musculusand Homo sapiens (in which they are found in brain, retina, melanocytes, and at least 13 other tissues). The peptide sequence RPNVELCRD, or a variant of it, is a prominent feature of tektins and is likely to form a functionally important protein domain. Using the cDNA as a probe, we determined the onset, relative levels, and locations of tektin expression in mouse for several adult tissues and embryonic stages by Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization. Tektin expression is significant in adult brain and in the choroid plexus, the forming retina (primitive ependymal zone corresponding to early differentiating photoreceptor cells), and olfactory receptor neurons of stage embryonic day 14 embryos. There is a striking correlation of tektin expression with the known presence of either motile or primary cilia. The evolutionary conservation of tektins and their association with tubulin in cilia and centriole formation make them important and useful molecular targets for the study of neural development.
Anomalous Network Packet Detection Using Data Stream Mining

In recent years, significant research has been devoted to the development of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) able to detect anomalous computer network traffic indicative of malicious activity. While signature-based IDS have proven effective in discovering known attacks, anomaly-based IDS hold the even greater promise of being able to automatically detect previously undocumented threats. Traditional IDS are generally trained in batch mode, and therefore cannot adapt to evolving network data streams in real time. To resolve this limitation, data stream mining techniques can be utilized to create a new type of IDS able to dynamically model a stream of network traffic. In this paper, we present two methods for anomalous network packet detection based on the data stream mining paradigm. The first of these is an adapted version of the DenStream algorithm for stream clustering specifically tailored to evaluate network traffic. In this algorithm, individual packets are treated as points and are flagged as normal or abnormal based on their belonging to either normal or outlier clusters. The second algorithm utilizes a histogram to create a model of the evolving network traffic to which incoming traffic can be compared using Pearson correlation. Both of these algorithms were tested using the first week of data from the DARPA ’99 dataset with Generic HTTP, Shell-code and Polymorphic attacks inserted. We were able to achieve reasonably high detection rates with moderately low false positive percentages for different types of attacks, though detection rates varied between the two algorithms. Overall, the histogram-based detection algorithm achieved slightly superior results, but required more parameters than the clustering-based algorithm. As a result of its fewer parameter requirements, the clustering approach can be more easily generalized to different types of network traffic streams.
The function of social support in engaging and disengaging experiences among post PhD researchers in STEM disciplines

ABSTRACT The post-doctoral phase is characterized by a high level of competition and even a risk of unemployment due to the increasing number of PhDs. This study explores the function of social support or lack of it in post PhD researchers’ engaging and disengaging experiences from the beginning of their careers as researchers. The data were collected from 40 post PhD researchers from STEM disciplines through semi-structured interviews and qualitatively content analysed. Receiving socio-emotional and informational support was perceived as highly significant for experienced engagement and disengagement, while instrumental support was rarely reported. Also a fourth form of social support, that is,. co-constructional support was identified. The results indicate that various forms of social support provide a significant mechanism that mediates post PhD researchers’ engagement and disengagement in their early careers.
Incidental prostate cancer in radical cystoprostatectomy specimens.

AIM To investigate the rates of prostate cancer (PCa) in radical cystoprostatectomy (RCP) specimens for bladder cancer in mainland China. To determine the follow-up outcome of patients with two concurrent cancers and identify whether prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a useful tool for the detection of PCa prior to surgery. METHODS From January 2002 to January 2007, 264 male patients with bladder cancer underwent RCP at our center. All patients underwent digital rectal examination (DRE) and B ultrasound. Serum PSA levels were tested in 168 patients. None of the patients had any evidence of PCa before RCP. Entire prostates were embedded and sectioned at 5 mm intervals. RESULTS Incidental PCa was observed in 37 of 264 (14.0%) RCP specimens. Of these, 12 (32.4%) were clinically significant according to an accepted definition. The PSA levels were not significantly different between patients with PCa and those without PCa, nor between patients with significant PCa and those with insignificant PCa. Thirty-four patients with incidental PCa were followed up. During a mean follow-up period of 26 months, two patients with PSA > 4 ng/mL underwent castration. None of the patients died of PCa. CONCLUSION The incidence of PCa in RCP specimens in mainland China is lower than that in most developed countries. PSA cannot identify asymptomatic PCa prior to RCP. In line with published reports, incidental PCa does not impact the prognosis of bladder cancer patients undergoing RCP.
Ideal reformulation of belief networks

The intelligent reformulation or restructuring of a belief network can greatly increase the efficiency of inference. However, time expended for reformulation is not available for performing inference. Thus, under time pressure, there is a tradeoff between the time dedicated to reformulating the network and the time applied to the implementation of a solution. We investigate this partition of resources into time applied to reformulation and time used for inference. We shall describe first general principles for computing the ideal partition of resources under uncertainty. These principles have applicability to a wide variety of problems that can be divided into interdependent phases of problem solving. After, we shall present results of our empirical study of the problem of determining the ideal amount of time to devote to searching for clusters in belief networks. In this work, we acquired and made use of probability distributions that characterize (1) the performance of alternative heuristic search methods for reformulating a network instance into a set of cliques, and (2) the time for executing inference procedures on various belief networks. Given a preference model describing the value of a solution as a function of the delay required for its computation, the system selects an ideal time to devote to reformulation. ∗This work was supported by Rockwell International Science Center and the National Science Foundation under Grant IRI-8703710.
Metabolism of alkaloids in coffee plants

Sementes de cafe possuem dois tipos de alcaloides, cafeina e trigonelina, como principais componentes. Esta revisao descreve a distribuicao e metabolismo desses compostos. Cafeina e sintetizada a partir da xantosina derivada de nucleotideos purinicos. A principal rota biossintetica e xantosina ® 7-metilxantosina ® 7-metilxantina ® teobromina ® cafeina. A atividade de degradacao de cafeina em cafe e muito baixa, mas o catabolismo de teofilina esta sempre presente. Teofilina e convertida a xantina, que entra na via convencional de degradacao de purinas. Um recente desenvolvimento na pesquisa com cafeina e a clonagem de genes de N-metiltransferases e a caracterizacao de proteinas recombinantes desses genes. Possiveis aplicacoes biotecnologicas sao discutidas brevemente. Trigonelina (acido N-metilnicotinico) e sintetizada a partir de acido nicotinico derivado de nucleotideos de nicotinamida adenina. Atividade de nicotinato N-metiltransferase (trigonelina sintase) foi detectada em plantas de cafe, mas a purificacao desta enzima ou a clonagem dos genes desta N-metiltransferase ainda nao foi relatada na literatura. A atividade de degradacao de trigonelina em cafe e extremamente baixa.
Association between histopathological subtype, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in lung adenocarcinoma

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between histopathological subtypes, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (ADC). The cases of 97 patients with lung ADC who underwent 18F-FDG positron emission tomography-computed tomography prior to surgical resection were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were stratified according to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (IASLC/ATS/ERS) classification, and graded using a histopathological scoring system. EGFR mutations were identified. Clinicopathological characteristics associated with EGFR mutation status were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. EGFR mutation was identified in 45.4% of the patients and was associated with gender, smoking history, maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and histopathological score. ADC patients with a low SUVmax were more likely to exhibit EGFR mutations compared with patients with a high SUVmax (P=0.018). Patients with a lower histopathological score possessed a significantly lower SUVmax compared with patients with a higher score (P<0.001). Furthermore, the histopathological score and smoking history of the patients were identified to be independent predictors for EGFR mutations, according to multivariate logistic regression analysis. In conclusion, SUVmax and EGFR mutations were associated with lung ADC patients stratified according to the IASLC/ATS/ERS classification. Overall, SUVmax has the potential to be a useful marker in stratifying pre-operative patients with lung ADC and identifying EGFR mutations.
The Impact of Social Supports on Families of Young Children with Disabilities Living in Low-Income Communities

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL SUPPORTS ON FAMILIES OF YOUNG CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES LIVING IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES Revlon D. Stoddart Advisor: University of Guelph, 2011 Dr. Kathleen Brophy The present study focuses on families of children with disabilities living in low-income communities. Little research has been done previously on these families in poverty and the importance of social supports for children with disabilities. The sample consisted of 663 participants; there were 523 families of children without a disability and 140 families of children with a disability living in low-income communities. Poverty is associated with negative influences that may hinder a child‟s development, moreso, the development of children with disabilities. Additionally, elevated levels of maternal depression, stress and diminished social support is related to poverty and/or at-risk situations. Importantly, social support may minimize the pressures faced by parents or children within the community. There were four parental variables used in this research along with the use of social supports (formal and informal), concerns about access to formal supports and perceived social support. Chi-squares, independent t-tests and correlation analyses were conducted to determine significant differences between both groups. The results indicated that both groups are quite similar; whereas families of children with a disability were statistically more likely to visit a health and social service professional.
ERG Immunohistochemistry and Clinicopathologic Characteristics in Korean Prostate Adenocarcinoma Patients

Background Transmembrane protease serine 2-ETS related gene (TMPRSS2-ERG) gene fusion, the most common genetic alternation in prostate cancer, is associated with protein expression of the oncogene ERG. Recently, an immunohistochemical staining method using an anti-ERG antibody was shown to have a strong correlation with altered ERG protein expression. Methods We analyzed a total of 303 radical prostatectomy specimens (obtained from Korean prostate cancer cases) using a constructed tissue microarray and ERG immunohistochemical staining. Thereafter, we evaluated the association between ERG expression and clinicopathological factors. Results The ERG-positive rate was 24.4% (74/303) and significantly higher ERG expression was observed in the subgroup with a lower Gleason score (p=0.004). Analysis of the histologic pattern of prostate adenocarcinomas revealed that tumors with discrete glandular units (Gleason pattern 3) displayed higher frequency of ERG expression (p=0.016). The ERG-positive rate was lower than that found (approximately 50%) in studies involving western populations. Other factors including age, tumor volume, initial protein-specific antigen level, a pathological stage and margin status were not significantly related with the ERG expression. Conclusions ERG immunohistochemical staining is significantly higher in tumors with well-formed glands and is associated with a lower Gleason score.