Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reliable Adaptive Video Streaming Driven by Perceptual Semantics for Situational Awareness

A novel cross-layer optimized video adaptation driven by perceptual semantics is presented. The design target is streamed live video to enhance situational awareness in challenging communications conditions. Conventional solutions for recreational applications are inadequate and novel quality of experience (QoE) framework is proposed which allows fully controlled adaptation and enables perceptual semantic feedback. The framework relies on temporal/spatial abstraction for video applications serving beyond recreational purposes. An underlying cross-layer optimization technique takes into account feedback on network congestion (time) and erasures (space) to best distribute available (scarce) bandwidth. Systematic random linear network coding (SRNC) adds reliability while preserving perceptual semantics. Objective metrics of the perceptual features in QoE show homogeneous high performance when using the proposed scheme. Finally, the proposed scheme is in line with content-aware trends, by complying with information-centric-networking philosophy and architecture.
Inhibition of HIV-1 by curcumin A, a novel curcumin analog

Despite the remarkable success of combination antiretroviral therapy at curtailing HIV progression, emergence of drug-resistant viruses, chronic low-grade inflammation, and adverse effects of combination antiretroviral therapy treatments, including metabolic disorders collectively present the impetus for development of newer and safer antiretroviral drugs. Curcumin, a phytochemical compound, was previously reported to have some in vitro anti-HIV and anti-inflammatory activities, but poor bioavailability has limited its clinical utility. To circumvent the bioavailability problem, we derivatized curcumin to sustain retro-aldol decomposition at physiological pH. The lead compound derived, curcumin A, showed increased stability, especially in murine serum where it was stable for up to 25 hours, as compared to curcumin that only had a half-life of 10 hours. Both curcumin and curcumin A showed similar inhibition of one round of HIV-1 infection in cultured lymphoblastoid (also called CEM) T cells (IC50=0.7 μM). But in primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells, curcumin A inhibited HIV-1 more potently (IC50=2 μM) compared to curcumin (IC50=12 μM). Analysis of specific steps of HIV-1 replication showed that curcumin A inhibited HIV-1 reverse transcription, but had no effect on HIV-1 long terminal repeat basal or Tat-induced transcription, or NF-κB-driven transcription at low concentrations that affected reverse transcription. Finally, we showed curcumin A induced expression of HO-1 and decreased cell cycle progression of T cells. Our findings thus indicate that altering the core structure of curcumin could yield more stable compounds with potent antiretroviral and anti-inflammatory activities.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of serial measurement of circulating natriuretic peptide concentration in chronic heart failure

Objective To assess the cost-effectiveness of three monitoring strategies for optimising medical therapy in chronic heart failure (CHF). Design This analysis was based on six randomised controlled trials. Costs were measured from a UK NHS perspective and estimated for patients’ lifetime. The health outcome was the quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). Setting Hospital and community. Patients Patients with CHF. Interventions Serial measurement of natriuretic peptide (NP) by a specialist, clinical assessment by a specialist, and usual care in the community. Main outcome measures Costs, QALYs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results Serial NP measurement by a specialist was the most cost-effective option in patients with CHF due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD), showing an ICER of £3304 compared with clinical assessment. Serial NP measurement by a specialist was strongly favoured in patients with CHF from any cause, for all patients (ICER of £14 694 compared with clinical assessment by a specialist) and for the age subgroup ≤75 years (ICER of £2517 compared with usual care). However, serial NP measurement by a specialist was dominated (less effective and more costly) by alternative strategies in the subgroup age >75 years with CHF from any cause. Clinical assessment by a specialist of patients >75 years of age with CHF from any cause was cost-effective compared with usual care (ICER of £11 508). Conclusions Serial measurement of NP concentration by a specialist is the most cost-effective strategy for CHF due to LVSD and from any cause, except in the subgroup of patients >75 years with CHF from any cause, where treatment guided by NP measurement may be harmful and not cost-effective.
Transmit power allocation for BER performance improvement in multicarrier systems

In a multicarrier system, transmit power allocation over different subchannels is an effective means of improving the performance. We develop the optimal transmit power allocation scheme to improve bit-error rate (BER) performance in a multicarrier system with diversity reception. A simple suboptimal scheme is also derived from the optimal one, and an asymptotic case referred to as the equal-signal-to-noise ratio scheme is discussed. Numerical results show that the optimal and suboptimal power allocation schemes significantly outperform the equal power allocation scheme. The effects of the modulation level, the number of receiving antennas, and the number of subchannels on the BER performance are also investigated.
Management of cognitive radio ad hoc networks using a congestion‐based metric

In this paper, we propose a new network management protocol to address the unique challenges of managing cognitive radio ad hoc networks that have distributed, multihop architectures with dynamic spectrum availability. We focus on performance management for these networks, and address the problem of network congestion for secondary users, because of its significant impact on data throughput. Specifically, we define a performance metric, the average congestion level of the network, and derive it analytically as a function of the primary users’ activities and the secondary users’ strategy. For practical implementation, we further propose a cluster‐based management architecture that utilizes a designated central manager and cluster heads that function as distributed managers. The cluster heads collect information from multiple layers of the protocol stack using new MIB (management information base) variables to capture the characteristics of cognitive radio ad hoc networks, such as the location‐dependent spectrum availability. The objective of the management action is to utilize a network‐level view of the congestion situation in the network by directing the secondary users to select the highest‐quality links available and avoid congested clusters. This hierarchical networkmanagement design allows us to take advantage of its scalability to achieve near‐real‐time management. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Distorted usability design in IT tendering

Request-for-proposals (RFP) are documents in IT tendering that define the selection criteria, evaluation procedures and system requirements including system usability. IT vendors' perspective on RFP-originated system configuration and usability design is less studied than of IT procuring organizations. Analysis of empirical data collected from large IT tendering shows that from the vendor's perspective the objectives and means of usability design during the tendering differ drastically from general usability work. During the tendering, the fundamentals of usability recommendations can be based solely on the requirements of RFPs with no adequate intention to improve system usability in the use context. An ethical analysis of the situation and possible futures and alternatives is represented.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea–Hypopnea Syndrome and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Emerging Evidence and Mechanisms

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are common conditions, frequently encountered in patients with metabolic disorders. OSAS has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic complications. It has been recently suggested that the chronic intermittent hypoxia of OSAS may also affect the presence and severity of NAFLD. We will critically review experimental and human evidence connecting OSAS to NAFLD pathogenesis, trying to dissect the effect of intermittent hypoxia from that of obesity and associated comorbidities, and examine molecular mechanisms connecting OSAS to liver and metabolic disease in NAFLD, including hypoxia inducible factor (HIF), nuclear factor-kappa B, unfolded protein response, hypoxic adipose tissue inflammation, and their therapeutic potential for NAFLD and its complications, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Finally, we will provide suggestions for the management of NAFLD patients with suspected OSAS and recommendations for future research.
Mutation in the &ggr;2-Subunit of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Stimulates Cardiomyocyte Proliferation and Hypertrophy Independent of Glycogen Storage

Rationale: AMP-activated protein kinase is a master regulator of cell metabolism and an attractive drug target for cancer and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Point mutations in the regulatory &ggr;2-subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase (encoded by Prkag2 gene) caused a unique form of human cardiomyopathy characterized by cardiac hypertrophy, ventricular preexcitation, and glycogen storage. Understanding the disease mechanisms of Prkag2 cardiomyopathy is not only beneficial for the patients but also critical to the use of AMP-activated protein kinase as a drug target. Objective: We sought to identify the pro–growth-signaling pathway(s) triggered by Prkag2 mutation and to distinguish it from the secondary response to glycogen storage. Methods and Results: In a mouse model of N488I mutation of the Prkag2 gene (R2M), we rescued the glycogen storage phenotype by genetic inhibition of glucose-6-phosphate–stimulated glycogen synthase activity. Ablation of glycogen storage eliminated the ventricular preexcitation but did not affect the excessive cardiac growth in R2M mice. The progrowth effect in R2M hearts was mediated via increased insulin sensitivity and hyperactivity of Akt, resulting in activation of mammalian target of rapamycin and inactivation of forkhead box O transcription factor–signaling pathways. Consequently, cardiac myocyte proliferation during the postnatal period was enhanced in R2M hearts followed by hypertrophic growth in adult hearts. Inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin activity by rapamycin or restoration of forkhead box O transcription factor activity by overexpressing forkhead box O transcription factor 1 rescued the abnormal cardiac growth. Conclusions: Our study reveals a novel mechanism for Prkag2 cardiomyopathy, independent of glycogen storage. The role of &ggr;2-AMP-activated protein kinase in cell growth also has broad implications in cardiac development, growth, and regeneration.
The Major Magnetosome Proteins MamGFDC Are Not Essential for Magnetite Biomineralization in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense but Regulate the Size of Magnetosome Crystals

ABSTRACT Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense and related magnetotactic bacteria form magnetosomes, which are membrane-enclosed organelles containing crystals of magnetite (Fe3O4) that cause the cells to orient in magnetic fields. The characteristic sizes, morphologies, and patterns of alignment of magnetite crystals are controlled by vesicles formed of the magnetosome membrane (MM), which contains a number of specific proteins whose precise roles in magnetosome formation have remained largely elusive. Here, we report on a functional analysis of the small hydrophobic MamGFDC proteins, which altogether account for nearly 35% of all proteins associated with the MM. Although their high levels of abundance and conservation among magnetotactic bacteria had suggested a major role in magnetosome formation, we found that the MamGFDC proteins are not essential for biomineralization, as the deletion of neither mamC, encoding the most abundant magnetosome protein, nor the entire mamGFDC operon abolished the formation of magnetite crystals. However, cells lacking mamGFDC produced crystals that were only 75% of the wild-type size and were less regular than wild-type crystals with respect to morphology and chain-like organization. The inhibition of crystal formation could not be eliminated by increased iron concentrations. The growth of mutant crystals apparently was not spatially constrained by the sizes of MM vesicles, as cells lacking mamGFDC formed vesicles with sizes and shapes nearly identical to those formed by wild-type cells. However, the formation of wild-type-size magnetite crystals could be gradually restored by in-trans complementation with one, two, and three genes of the mamGFDC operon, regardless of the combination, whereas the expression of all four genes resulted in crystals exceeding the wild-type size. Our data suggest that the MamGFDC proteins have partially redundant functions and, in a cumulative manner, control the growth of magnetite crystals by an as-yet-unknown mechanism.
A practical system for road marking detection and recognition

We present a system for detecting and recognizing road markings from video input obtained from an in-car camera. Our system learns feature-based templates of road markings from training data and matches these templates to detected features in the test images during runtime. We use MSER features and perform the template matching in an efficient manner so that our system can detect multiple road markings in a single image. Our system also scales well with the number of categories of road markings to be detected. For evaluating our system, we present an extensive dataset (available from www.ananth.in/RoadMarkingDetection.html) of road markings with ground truth labels, which we hope will be useful as a benchmark dataset for future researchers in this area.
Characterisation of the data link communication air traffic for the European airspace

The use of satellites for air traffic management purposes offers many benefits for the future aeronautical communications infrastructure. Satellites can provide seamless and nearly global coverage over land masses, oceans, and remote areas with a reduced terrestrial infrastructure. Research and Development for a new satellite based air-ground data link has been endorsed by the EU Transport Council. It is widely shared among stakeholders that use of this satellite link in dense continental airspace requires new performance standards, which calls for a new ATM-dedicated satellite communication standard and the supporting satellite capacity. This paper provides a characterization of the future data communication traffic profile and derives initial bandwidth estimation for a satellite system providing the service in the ECAC region.
Molecular Interactions and Cellular Itinerary of the Yeast RAVE (Regulator of the H+-ATPase of Vacuolar and Endosomal Membranes) Complex*

Background: The RAVE complex is required for glucose-sensitive V-ATPase assembly, but its mechanism is unknown. Results: Newly defined RAVE-V-ATPase interactions suggest assembly mechanisms. Conclusion: RAVE shows glucose-sensitive interactions with vacuolar membranes and may help orient V-ATPase subunit C during assembly. Significance: Mammalian rabconnectins likely require similar V-ATPase interactions to support V-ATPase assembly and may be reversibly recruited to membranes. The RAVE complex (regulator of the H+-ATPase of vacuolar and endosomal membranes) is required for biosynthetic assembly and glucose-stimulated reassembly of the yeast vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase). Yeast RAVE contains three subunits: Rav1, Rav2, and Skp1. Rav1 is the largest subunit, and it binds Rav2 and Skp1 of RAVE; the E, G, and C subunits of the V-ATPase peripheral V1 sector; and Vph1 of the membrane Vo sector. We identified Rav1 regions required for interaction with its binding partners through deletion analysis, co-immunoprecipitation, two-hybrid assay, and pulldown assays with expressed proteins. We find that Skp1 binding requires sequences near the C terminus of Rav1, V1 subunits E and C bind to a conserved region in the C-terminal half of Rav1, and the cytosolic domain of Vph1 binds near the junction of the Rav1 N- and C-terminal halves. In contrast, Rav2 binds to the N-terminal domain of Rav1, which can be modeled as a double β-propeller. Only the V1 C subunit binds to both Rav1 and Rav2. Using GFP-tagged RAVE subunits in vivo, we demonstrate glucose-dependent association of RAVE with the vacuolar membrane, consistent with its role in glucose-dependent V-ATPase assembly. It is known that V1 subunit C localizes to the V1-Vo interface in assembled V-ATPase complexes and is important in regulated disassembly of V-ATPases. We propose that RAVE cycles between cytosol and vacuolar membrane in a glucose-dependent manner, positioning V1 and V0 subcomplexes and orienting the V1 C subunit to promote assembly.
Scleral necrosis in congenital erythropoietic porphyria: A case report and review of the literature

A 28-year-old presented with complaints of severe pain and redness in the left eye since 2 weeks. He had similar complaints in the right eye 2 years back for which he had undergone a scleral patch graft. Best corrected visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes. The right had a well vascularized scleral graft and rest of the anterior segment was normal. The left eye had inferior conjunctival congestion with an area of the scleral melt with uveal show just temporal to the limbus in the interpalbebral area. The cornea was clear and anterior chamber was quiet in the left eye. Applanation tonometry and fundus evaluation were normal in both eyes. Physical examination revealed hyperpigmented skin lesion, hypertrichosis and absorption of distal phalanges. Laboratory, ocular and physical findings confirmed the diagnosis of congenital erythropoietic porphyria. He was on oral steroids 40 mg/day since 2 weeks and topical antibiotics and lubricants. He was advised to continue the same and was taken up for scleral patch graft with fibrin glue in the left eye. Postoperatively he was continued on topical and oral steroids and lubricants.3 weeks later the left eye had stabilized however patient came with a melt in the right eye. Since it was an early melt, we went ahead with cyanoacrylate glue and bandage contact lens in the right eye and started him on topical steroids for the right eye also. Three months later both the eyes were stable, and the patient was gradually tapered off the steroids.
Discrete-time controlled Markov processes with average cost criterion: a survey

This work is a survey of the average cost control problem for discrete-time Markov processes. The authors have attempted to put together a comprehensive account of the considerable research on this problem over the past three decades. The exposition ranges from finite to Borel state and action spaces and includes a variety of methodologies to find and characterize optimal policies. The authors have included a brief historical perspective of the research efforts in this area and have compiled a substantial yet not exhaustive bibliography. The authors have also identified several important questions that are still open to investigation.
Open kyphoplasty in the treatment of a painful vertebral lytic lesion with spinal cord compression caused by multiple myeloma: A case report

Multiple myeloma is a fatal hematological malignancy, with the most common localization being the spine. A 72-year-old male patient presented with progressive back pain and dysfunction of ambulation. Spinal computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed spinal cord compression at the T9-T10 level due to an extensive epidural mass in the spinal canal, a large lytic mass of T7-T12 with extraosseous extension and involvement of T9 and T10 vertebral pedicle and posterior wall. The patient underwent posterior spinal decompression and kyphoplasty of T9 and T10 with pedicle screw fixation in T7, T8, T11 and T12. Pain and neural function were improved significantly postoperatively. To our knowledge, such methods have rarely been used to treat a patient with intractable back pain and neurological compromise with multiple myeloma or spinal metastases.
Towards better scalability for IoT-cloud interactions via combined exploitation of MQTT and CoAP

It is manifest the growing research and industrial interest in scalable solutions for the efficient integration of large amounts of deployed sensors and actuators (Internet of Things - IoT-devices) and cloud-hosted virtualized resources for elastic storage and processing (including big data online stream processing). Such relevant attention is also demonstrated by the emergence of interesting IoT-cloud platforms from industry and open-source communities, as well as by the flourishing research area of fog/edge computing, where decentralized virtual resources at edge nodes can support enhanced scalability and reduced latency via locality-based optimizations. In this perspective, this paper proposes an innovative distributed architecture combining machine-to-machine industry-mature protocols (i.e., MQTT and CoAP) in an original way to enhance the scalability of gateways for the efficient IoT-cloud integration. In addition, the paper presents how we have applied the approach in the practical experience of efficiently and effectively extending the implementation of the open-source gateway that is available in the industry-oriented Kura framework for IoT.
Conjunctive query containment and answering under description logic constraints

Query containment and query answering are two important computational tasks in databases. While query answering amounts to computing the result of a query over a database, query containment is the problem of checking whether, for every database, the result of one query is a subset of the result of another query. In this article, we deal with unions of conjunctive queries, and we address query containment and query answering under description logic constraints. Every such constraint is essentially an inclusion dependency between concepts and relations, and their expressive power is due to the possibility of using complex expressions in the specification of the dependencies, for example, intersection and difference of relations, special forms of quantification, regular expressions over binary relations. These types of constraints capture a great variety of data models, including the relational, the entity-relationship, and the object-oriented model, all extended with various forms of constraints. They also capture the basic features of the ontology languages used in the context of the Semantic Web. We present the following results on both query containment and query answering. We provide a method for query containment under description logic constraints, thus showing that the problem is decidable, and analyze its computational complexity. We prove that query containment is undecidable in the case where we allow inequalities in the right-hand-side query, even for very simple constraints and queries. We show that query answering under description logic constraints can be reduced to query containment, and illustrate how such a reduction provides upper-bound results with respect to both combined and data complexity.