Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Congestion games with variable demands

We initiate the study of congestion games with variable demands where the (variable) demand has to be assigned to exactly one subset of resources. The players' incentives to use higher demands are stimulated by non-decreasing and concave utility functions. The payoff for a player is defined as the difference between the utility of the demand and the associated cost on the used resources. Although this class of non-cooperative games captures many elements of real-world applications, it has not been studied in this generality, to our knowledge, in the past. We study the fundamental problem of the existence of pure Nash equilibria (PNE for short) in congestion games with variable demands. We call a set of cost functions C consistent if every congestion game with variable demands and cost functions in C possesses a PNE. We say that C is FIP consistent if every such game possesses the α-Finite Improvement Property for every α > 0. Our main results provide a complete characterization of consistency of cost functions revealing structural differences to congestion games with fixed demands (weighted congestion games), where in the latter even inhomogeneously exponential functions are FIP consistent. Finally, we study consistency and FIP consistency of cost functions in a slightly different class of games, where every player experiences the same cost on a resource (uniform cost model). We give a characterization of consistency and FIP consistency showing that only homogeneously exponential functions are consistent while no functions are FIP consistent.
Enhanced Immune System Activation and Arterial Inflammation Accelerates Atherosclerosis in Lupus-Prone Mice

Objective—Premature atherosclerosis is a characteristic feature of systemic lupus erythematosus, a prototypic autoimmune disease. The principle cellular and molecular mechanisms which underlie such accelerated atherosclerosis are indeterminate. Methods and Results—The pathophysiology of lupus-mediated atherogenesis was evaluated in a novel animal model involving transplantation of bone marrow cells from the lupus prone strain gld into Ldl-r−/− mice. Diet-induced atherogenesis in lethally-irradiated Ldl-r−/− mice transplanted with gld bone marrow cells resulted in accelerated atherosclerosis (+65%) as compared with control mice transplanted with wild-type marrow cells. Enhanced atherogenesis was associated with enhanced activation of both B and T lymphocytes and with arterial inflammation involving endothelial cell activation, monocyte recruitment, and accumulation of apoptotic debris, macrophages, and CD4 T cells, but was independent of plasma lipid levels and renal function. Conclusions—Our data support the contention that despite the absence of both disturbed cholesterol homeostasis and renal dysfunction in autoimmune gld→Ldl-r−/− mice, lupus disease induces enhanced activation of the immune system and acts locally on the vasculature to induce inflammation, together with accumulation of apoptotic debris, macrophages, and CD4 T cells, thereby accelerating plaque progression.
Effect of castration and sex hormone treatment on survival, anti- nucleic acid antibodies, and glomerulonephritis in NZB/NZW F1 mice

NZB/NZW F1 mice of both sexes were castrated at 2 wk of age and implanted subcutaneously with silastic tubes containing either 5-alpha- dihydrotestosterone or estradiol-17-beta. Mice receiving androgen showed improved survival, reduced anti-nucleic acid antibodies, or less evidence of glomerulonephritis as determined by light, immunofluorescent, and electron microscopy. By contrast, opposite effects were observed in castrated mice receiving estrogen. Intact male NZB/NZW F1 mice received androgen implants at 8 mo, an age when they develop an accelerated autoimmune disease associated with a decline in serum testosterone concentration. Such treated mice had improved survival and reduced concentrations of antibodies to DNA and to polyadenylic acid (Poly A). Prepubertal castration of male NZB/NZW F1 mice results in an earlier appearance of IgG antibodies to Poly A. This effect of castration was prevented if neonatal thymectomy was also performed.
Aloe-Vera: A Nature’s Gift to Children

ABSTRACT 1Aloe-Barbadensis Mill (Liliaceae) is used in the traditional medicine of Mexico and other countries for anti-inflammatory and cosmetic purposes (Diez-Martinez 1981, Grindlay and Reynolds 1986). Two components are obtained from the fresh leaves of Aloe-Barbadensis, a bitter yellow juice (exudate), which drains from the transversally cut leaves used as a laxative (Ishii et al 1990) and a mucilaginous gel from leaf parenchyma, which has been used as a remedy for a variety of pathological states such as arthritis, gout, acne, dermatitis, burns and peptic ulcers induced by epithelial alterations (Cap-passo and Ganginella 1997, Reynolds and Dweek 1999). The aim of this study is to evaluate efficacy of Aloe-Vera gel as a healing agent in an endodontic procedure called pulpotomy. Fifteen primary molars were treated for pulpotomy using ‘Aloe-Vera gel’. Patients were recalled after 1 month to check for any clinical symptoms. None of the patients reported with clinical symptoms of pain, mobility, abscess and histopathological evaluation done following extraction after 2 months showed positive signs of healing.
Origin and Evolutionary History of HIV-1 Subtype B in Cuba.

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Cuba’s HIV epidemic is characterized by high genetic diversity, with circulation of several subtypes and recombinant forms. Earlier studies described a predominance of subtype B in the HIV-positive population, but these studies did not take into account patients’ epidemiologic history. OBJECTIVE Clarify the origin and phylodynamics of HIV-1 subtype B in the Cuban epidemic. METHODS We analysed phylogenetic relationships among 120 sequences (from different geographic origins) of the pol gene in HIV-1 subtype B isolates from Cuban patients diagnosed from 1987 through 2012. Time of HIV-1 subtype B introduction and viral evolutionary rate were determined using a Bayesian coalescent method. RESULTS Based on phylogenetic relationships, subtype B was introduced into Cuba multiple times. Subtype B spread in Cuba through dissemination of strains that probably came from the USA, Canada and Europe. The time of the most recent common ancestor of Cuban subtype B was close to 1977 (95% CI 1974–1982), and the evolutionary rate was 2.7 × 10-3 nucleotide substitutions per site per year. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest multiple introductions of HIV-1B into Cuba in the late 1970s, predominantly strains from North America and Europe. The results reflect the importance of maintaining, reviewing and updating molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Cuba, due to its rapid evolution and possible implications for the National STI/HIV/AIDS Program of Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health.
Meta-analysis reveals PTPN22 1858C/T polymorphism confers susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in Caucasian but not in Asian population

Abstract The PTPN22 1858C/T polymorphism is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, reports from the Asian populations are conflicting in nature and lacks consensus. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between the PTPN22 1858C/T polymorphism and RA in Asian and Caucasian subjects by carrying out a meta-analysis of Asian and Caucasian data. A total of 27 205 RA cases and 27 677 controls were considered in the present meta-analysis involving eight Asian and 35 Caucasian studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) were performed for the allele, dominant, and recessive genetic model. No statistically significant association was found between the PTPN22 1858C/T polymorphism and risk of RA in Asian population (allele genetic model: OR = 1.217, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.99–1.496, p value 0.061; dominant genetic model: OR = 1.238, 95% CI = 0.982–1.562, p value 0.071; recessive genetic model: OR = 1.964, 95% CI = 0.678–5.693, p value 0.213). A significant association with risk of RA in Caucasian population suggesting that T–– allele does confer susceptibility to RA in this subgroup was observed (allele genetic model: OR = 1.638, 95% CI = 1.574–1.705, p value < 0.0001; dominant genetic model: OR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.598–1.745, p value < 0.0001; recessive genetic model: OR = 2.65, 95% CI = 2.273–3.089, p value < 0.0001). The PTPN22 1858C/T polymorphism is not associated with RA risk in Asian populations. However, our meta-analysis confirms that the PTPN22 1858C/T polymorphism is associated with RA susceptibility in Caucasians.
Substrate Recognition and Modification by a Pathogen-Associated Aminoglycoside Resistance 16S rRNA Methyltransferase

ABSTRACT The pathogen-associated 16S rRNA methyltransferase NpmA catalyzes m1A1408 modification to block the action of structurally diverse aminoglycoside antibiotics. Here, we describe the development of a fluorescence polarization binding assay and its use, together with complementary functional assays, to dissect the mechanism of NpmA substrate recognition. These studies reveal that electrostatic interactions made by the NpmA β2/3 linker collectively are critical for docking of NpmA on a conserved 16S rRNA tertiary surface. In contrast, other NpmA regions (β5/β6 and β6/β7 linkers) contain several residues critical for optimal positioning of A1408 but are largely dispensable for 30S binding. Our data support a model for NpmA action in which 30S binding and adoption of a catalytically competent state are distinct: docking on 16S rRNA via the β2/3 linker necessarily precedes functionally critical 30S substrate-driven conformational changes elsewhere in NpmA. This model is also consistent with catalysis being completely positional in nature, as the most significant effects on activity arise from changes that impact binding or stabilization of the flipped A1408 conformation. Our results provide a molecular framework for aminoglycoside resistance methyltransferase action that may serve as a functional paradigm for related enzymes and a starting point for development of inhibitors of these resistance determinants.
A Pilot Study to Improve Venipuncture Compliance in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Objective: Medical procedures, particularly venipuncture (the puncture of a vein especially for the withdrawal of blood), can cause serious distress and behavior disturbance for many children. Noncompliance to blood draws can have significant ramifications in both research and clinical settings. The negative reactions may be exacerbated in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Even so, there has been little research into the prevalence of the problem or effective intervention procedures. In response to these concerns, we developed and evaluated the Blood Draw Intervention Program. The program was designed to be easy to use, require little provider or family time, effectively reduce negative behaviors, and increase blood draw compliance. Method: In a quasi-randomized trial over the course of ∼18 months, 58 of 210 families with children with autism spectrum disorders participating in a larger study of phenotypic and genotypic factors reported significant concerns about blood draws and elected to use the Blood Draw Intervention Program. Results: Completion of the program increased blood draw compliance rates from 85.4% to 96.6% (odds ratio = 4.80; 95% confidence interval = 1.12, 20.59; p = .03). Conclusion: Results indicate the efficacy of the program in a research setting and suggest a potential clinical application. The current intervention, unlike many others for the same or similar difficulties proposed in the past, was successful without requiring extensive time, training, or effort on the part of providers and parents or their children, nor did it require large-scale institutional changes.
Mood congruent tuning of reward expectation in positive mood: evidence from FRN and theta modulations

Abstract Positive mood broadens attention and builds additional mental resources. However, its effect on performance monitoring and reward prediction errors remain unclear. To examine this issue, we used a standard mood induction procedure (based on guided imagery) and asked 45 participants to complete a gambling task suited to study reward prediction errors by means of the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and mid-frontal theta band power. Results showed a larger FRN for negative feedback as well as a lack of reward expectation modulation for positive feedback at the theta level with positive mood, relative to a neutral mood condition. A control analysis showed that this latter result could not be explained by the mere superposition of the event-related brain potential component on the theta oscillations. Moreover, these neurophysiological effects were evidenced in the absence of impairments at the behavioral level or increase in autonomic arousal with positive mood, suggesting that this mood state reliably altered brain mechanisms of reward prediction errors during performance monitoring. We interpret these new results as reflecting a genuine mood congruency effect, whereby reward is anticipated as the default outcome with positive mood and therefore processed as unsurprising (even when it is unlikely), while negative feedback is perceived as unexpected.
Using explicit ontologies in KBS development

Abstract This article presents a number of ways in which ontologies-schematic descriptions of the contents of domain knowledge-can be constructed and can be used to improve the knowledge engineering process. The main message is that early in the knowledge engineering process an application-specific ontology should be constructed. To facilitate this, the article presents some principles for organizing a library of reusable ontological theories which can be configured into an application ontology. This application ontology is then exploited to organize the knowledge acquisition process and to support computational design. The process is illustrated with a knowledge engineering scenario in the domain of treating acute radiation syndrome.
Enhancing Online Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Models and Data Visualization Techniques for Predicting Learner Flexibility

The fast growth of online learning has increased the demand for efficient tools and approaches to measure and improve student’s capacity to adapt to online learning. This paper gives a thorough comparative comparison of Machine Learning (ML) models and data visualization techniques for predicting the flexibility of learners in the realm of online education. In this study, various data visualization techniques are investigated to learn more about how learners behave, engage with, and perform in online courses. Understanding patterns and trends through data visualization is essential for educators and institutions to make well-informed decisions to enhance learner’s learning journeys. To find out how effective different visualization techniques are in revealing useful insights, IBM Cognos and Python are used. The suitability of several ML algorithms for predicting learners’ flexibility levels is also examined in this study. The predictive accuracy or mean accuracy score of several ML models, including XGBoost, Random Forests, CatBoost, Logistic Regression, and K Nearest Neighbour, is compared. The dataset used for this investigation contains a variety of learner-related variables, such as demographic data, past academic achievement, and interactions with online courses. For educators and educational institutions looking to use data-driven techniques to improve online learning experiences, the findings of this comparative study offer invaluable advice to them. This study contributes to the ongoing attempts to raise the caliber and efficacy of online education by identifying the most efficient data visualization strategies and ML models for forecasting learners’ flexibility. The study’s conclusions enable educators to proactively identify learners who are at risk of having difficulty with online learning, enabling prompt interventions and individualized support for academic success.
Graph Autoencoders for Detecting Anomalous Intrusions in OT Networks Through Dynamic Link Detection

This paper evaluates the use of graph neural network (GNN) based autoencoders for detecting network intrusions or anomalous traffic in Operational Technology (OT) networks. Traditional intrusion detection methods often struggle to capture the complex relationships and interdependencies found in OT network communications. These spatial relationships can provide information vital for identifying harder to detect attacks (i.e. Advanced Persistent Threats). GNNs are a machine learning technique which operate on graph-structured data and can be used to identify underlying patterns and relationships between the nodes. Graph autoencoders (GAEs) are an unsupervised GNN-based learning technique that incorporates an encoder-decoder architecture and can be used for anomaly detection in graph structured data. This work evaluates the use of graph autoencoders for detecting anomalous edges (extracted from packets) in OT network data. Additionally, we introduce a method for encoding raw network traffic into discrete temporal graphs which can be used to apply GAEs for real-time intrusion detection. The proposed network traffic encoding scheme incorporates multi-dimensional edge attributes in order to capture information for determining the relevance of a given network packet. The approach is evaluated using two OT network datasets each containing labeled examples of commonly encountered malicious attack traffic. Results are compared against baseline anomaly detection methods including K-Nearest Neighbors, Deep Autoencoders, and Isolation Forest. The proposed graph autoencoder outperforms the baseline cases in terms of detection accuracy achieving a 31.05% and 8.64% improvement in F1 scores over the baseline models on the two OT network datasets.
Mucin 1 Gene (MUC1) and Gastric-Cancer Susceptibility

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the major malignant diseases worldwide, especially in Asia. It is classified into intestinal and diffuse types. While the intestinal-type GC (IGC) is almost certainly caused by Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, its role in the diffuse-type GC (DGC) appears limited. Recently, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on Japanese and Chinese populations identified chromosome 1q22 as a GC susceptibility locus which harbors mucin 1 gene (MUC1) encoding a cell membrane-bound mucin protein. MUC1 has been known as an oncogene with an anti-apoptotic function in cancer cells; however, in normal gastric mucosa, it is anticipated that the mucin 1 protein has a role in protecting gastric epithelial cells from a variety of external insults which cause inflammation and carcinogenesis. HP infection is the most definite insult leading to GC, and a protective function of mucin 1 protein has been suggested by studies on Muc1 knocked-out mice.
Defining Dunes: Evaluating How Dune Feature Definitions Affect Dune Interpretations from Remote Sensing

ABSTRACT Wernette, P.; Thompson, S. ; Eyler, R. ; Taylor, H. ; Taube, C. ; Medlin, A. ; Decuir, C. , and Houser, C. , 2018. Defining dunes: Evaluating how dune feature definitions affect dune interpretations from remote sensing. Coastal resiliency is the ability of a beach–dune system to recover to a previous state after a storm, and this resiliency is affected by prestorm beach and dune morphology and storm climate (i.e. storm frequency and intensity). Improvements in remote sensing technology such as LIDAR and structure from motion have enabled rapid collection and production of digital elevation models used to assess storm impact and recovery. Although rapid poststorm assessment requires a consistent approach for extracting dune morphology, relatively little attention has focused on defining the different parts of a dune. The goals of this paper are to examine how the definition of a dune feature drives the methodology used to extract dunes and to synthesize a comprehensive definition of dune features. An analysis of existing approaches for extracting beach and dune morphology demonstrates that there is considerable variation in how the beach–dune transition (i.e. dune toe) is defined. Many definitions are recursive or include ambiguous terminology, resulting in a dune toe or crest line position dependent on user interpretation of the definition. Other definitions rely heavily on user interpretation of dune features at varying stages in the feature extraction process. Reliance on visual interpretation can result in substantially different feature locations across different interpreters. Given the impact of varying definitions on dune resiliency assessments and legal implications for dune features location, this study proposes a series of semantic models for dune features. Semantic modelling of coastal morphology is vital for consistently and accurately assessing coastal recovery and predicting future coastal assessments on the basis of a consistent set of criteria.
Convergence Based Prediction Surrogates for High-lift CFD Optimization

Using a surrogate model to evaluate the expensive fitness of candidate solutions in an evolutionary algorithm can significantly reduce the overall computational cost of optimization tasks. In this paper we analyze the convergence profiles of a multi-element high-lift system, revealing insights into the flow physics of the system and how CL varies for different numbers of flow iterations. A hybrid multi-objective evolutionary algorithm that trains and optimizes the structure of a recurrent neural network ensemble is then introduced as a surrogate for the long-term prediction of the high-lift systems computational fluid dynamic convergence data. The intermediate data is used for training the networks and results presented show that the trends of the design space can be better predicted than the absolute magnitudes of the CL convergence histories.
Mandibular third molar impactions in male adults: Relationship of Operative time and Types of impaction on inflammatory complications.

BACKGROUND This paper investigates the relationship betweendifferent types of impactions with postoperativeinflammatory tissue reaction. MATERIALS & METHODS Consecutive patients with only mandibular third molar impactions were included in our study. They were classified by winter's classification. The disimpactions were performed under local anaesthesia. Time for surgery was noted for each surgical procedure. Postoperative inflammatory complication in terms of pain, swelling and trismus were noted. RESULTS 150 male patients in the age groupof 18-40 years were studied. Inflammatory tissue reactions were increasing with more operative time. Distoangular and Horizontal impactions were associated with more pain on first 3 days of surgery along with more swelling and trismus. Vertically impacted teeth were associated with least complications. CONCLUSION Post operative morbidity was increasing along with moreoperating time and increase in the depth of mandibular third molar impaction. How to cite the article: Mansuri S, Mujeeb A, Hussain SA, Hussain MA. Mandibular third molar impactions in male adults: Relationship of Operative time and Types of impaction on inflammatory complications. J Int Oral Health 2014;6(2):9-15.