Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oncolytic virotherapy including Rigvir and standard therapies in malignant melanoma

The treatment of metastatic melanoma has evolved from an era where interferon and chemotherapy were the mainstay of treatments to an era where immunotherapy has become the frontline. Ipilimumab (IgG1 CTLA-4 inhibitor), nivolumab (IgG4 PD-1 inhibitor), pembrolizumab (IgG4 PD-1 inhibitor) and nivolumab combined with ipilimumab have become first-line therapies in patients with metastatic melanoma. In addition, the high prevalence of BRAF mutations in melanoma has led to the discovery and approval of targeted molecules, such as vemurafenib (BRAF kinase inhibitor) and trametinib (MEK inhibitor), as they yielded improved responses and survival in malignant melanoma patients. This is certainly a burgeoning time in immunotherapy drug development, and the aforementioned efforts along with the recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), a recombinant oncolytic herpes virus, have paved the way to exploring the role of additional oncolytic viruses, such as the echovirus Rigvir, as new and innovative treatment modalities in patients with melanoma. Herein, we discuss the current standard of care treatment in melanoma with an emphasis on immunotherapy and oncolytic viruses in development.
Geomorphic character, age and distribution of rock glaciers in the Olympic Mountains, Washington

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. For more information, please contact pdxscholar@pdx.edu. Recommended Citation Welter, Steven Paul, "Geomorphic character, age and distribution of rock glaciers in the Olympic Mountains, Washington" (1987). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3558.
Parallel programming with object assemblies

We present Chorus, a high-level parallel programming model suitable for irregular, heap-manipulating applications like mesh refinement and epidemic simulations, and JChorus, an implementation of the model on top of Java. One goal of Chorus is to express the dynamic and instance-dependent patterns of memory access that are common in typical irregular applications. Its other focus is locality of effects: the property that in many of the same applications, typical imperative commands only affect small, local regions in the shared heap. Chorus addresses dynamism and locality through the unifying abstraction of an object assembly: a local region in a shared data structure equipped with a short-lived, speculative thread of control. The thread of control in an assembly can only access objects within the assembly. While objects can migrate from assembly to assembly, such migration is local--i.e., objects only move from one assembly to a neighboring one--and does not lead to aliasing. Programming primitives include a merge operation, by which an assembly merges with an adjacent assembly, and a split operation, which splits an assembly into smaller ones. Our abstractions are race and deadlock-free, and inherently data-centric. We demonstrate that Chorus and JChorus allow natural programming of several important applications exhibiting irregular data-parallelism. We also present an implementation of JChorus based on a many-to-one mapping of assemblies to lower-level threads, and report on preliminary performance numbers.
Design Methodology for Magnetic Field-Based Soft Tri-Axis Tactile Sensors

Tactile sensors are essential if robots are to safely interact with the external world and to dexterously manipulate objects. Current tactile sensors have limitations restricting their use, notably being too fragile or having limited performance. Magnetic field-based soft tactile sensors offer a potential improvement, being durable, low cost, accurate and high bandwidth, but they are relatively undeveloped because of the complexities involved in design and calibration. This paper presents a general design methodology for magnetic field-based three-axis soft tactile sensors, enabling researchers to easily develop specific tactile sensors for a variety of applications. All aspects (design, fabrication, calibration and evaluation) of the development of tri-axis soft tactile sensors are presented and discussed. A moving least square approach is used to decouple and convert the magnetic field signal to force output to eliminate non-linearity and cross-talk effects. A case study of a tactile sensor prototype, MagOne, was developed. This achieved a resolution of 1.42 mN in normal force measurement (0.71 mN in shear force), good output repeatability and has a maximum hysteresis error of 3.4%. These results outperform comparable sensors reported previously, highlighting the efficacy of our methodology for sensor design.
Regulation of Feto-Maternal Barrier by Matriptase- and PAR-2-Mediated Signaling Is Required for Placental Morphogenesis and Mouse Embryonic Survival

The development of eutherian mammalian embryos is critically dependent on the selective bi-directional transport of molecules across the placenta. Here, we uncover two independent and partially redundant protease signaling pathways that include the membrane-anchored serine proteases, matriptase and prostasin, and the G protein-coupled receptor PAR-2 that mediate the establishment of a functional feto-maternal barrier. Mice with a combined matriptase and PAR-2 deficiency do not survive to term and the survival of matriptase-deficient mice heterozygous for PAR-2 is severely diminished. Embryos with the combined loss of PAR-2 and matriptase or PAR-2 and the matriptase partner protease, prostasin, uniformly die on or before embryonic day 14.5. Despite the extensive co-localization of matriptase, prostasin, and PAR-2 in embryonic epithelia, the overall macroscopic and histological analysis of the double-deficient embryos did not reveal any obvious developmental abnormalities. In agreement with this, the conditional deletion of matriptase from the embryo proper did not affect the prenatal development or survival of PAR-2-deficient mice, indicating that the critical redundant functions of matriptase/prostasin and PAR-2 are limited to extraembryonic tissues. Indeed, placentas of the double-deficient animals showed decreased vascularization, and the ability of placental epithelium to establish a functional feto-maternal barrier was severely diminished. Interestingly, molecular analysis suggested that the barrier defect was associated with a selective deficiency in the expression of the tight junction protein, claudin-1. Our results reveal unexpected complementary roles of matriptase-prostasin- and PAR-2-dependent proteolytic signaling in the establishment of placental epithelial barrier function and overall embryonic survival.
Seasonal Variations and Trends in Hospitalization for Peptic Ulcer Disease in the United States: A 12-Year Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample

Background Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a major public health burden significantly impacting the cost of hospitalization in the United States (US). We examined the trends, characteristics, complications, cost, and seasonality of PUD-related hospitalizations from 2000 to 2011. Methods With the use of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2000 through 2011, we identified PUD-related hospitalizations using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9), 9th Revision, and the Clinical Modification code 531.00 to 534.91 as the principal discharge diagnosis. The total number of hospitalizations for each calendar month of the year were added over a 12-year period, and this number was divided by the number of days in that particular month to obtain the mean hospitalizations per day for each month. Results The study found that 351,921 hospitalizations with the primary discharge diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) occurred in the US between 2000 and 2011. This number dropped significantly from 49,524 to 17,499 between 2000 and 2011, and the rate of PUD-related mortality decreased from 4.3% to 3.1%. The mean age of the study population was 66.2 ± 17.4 years; 52.3% were males, and 56.8% were white. The number of hospitalizations in the US peaked in the spring season (916/day), and reached a nadir in the fall season (861/day). The mean cost of PUD hospitalization increased significantly from $11,755 in 2001 to $13,803 in 2011 (relative increase of 17%; p <0.001). Conclusion The incidence of PUD and its mortality has decreased significantly in the last decade, but its economic burden on the healthcare system remains high. A seasonal pattern of PUD hospitalization showed a peak in PUD-related admissions in the spring season and a trough in the fall season.
Derivation of Seawater Intrusion Models by Formal Asymptotics

In this paper, we consider the flow of fresh- and saltwater in a saturated porous medium in order to describe the process of seawater intrusion. Starting from a formulation with constant densities of fresh- and saltwater, whose velocities are proportional to the gradient of pressure (Darcy's law), we consider the formal asymptotic limit as the aspect ratio between the thickness and the horizontal length of the porous medium tends to zero. In the limit of the regime defined by the Dupuit--Forchheimer condition, we identify reduced models of Boussinesq type in the cases of both unconfined and confined aquifers.
On-line discovery of hot motion paths

We consider an environment of numerous moving objects, equipped with location-sensing devices and capable of communicating with a central coordinator. In this setting, we investigate the problem of maintaining hot motion paths, i.e., routes frequently followed by multiple objects over the recent past. Motion paths approximate portions of objects' movement within a tolerance margin that depends on the uncertainty inherent in positional measurements. Discovery of hot motion paths is important to applications requiring classification/profiling based on monitored movement patterns, such as targeted advertising, resource allocation, etc. To achieve this goal, we delegate part of the path extraction process to objects, by assigning to them adaptive lightweight filters that dynamically suppress unnecessary location updates and, thus, help reducing the communication overhead. We demonstrate the benefits of our methods and their efficiency through extensive experiments on synthetic data sets.
Optical coherence tomography with a 2.8-mm beam diameter and sensorless defocus and astigmatism correction

Abstract. An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with a 2.8-mm beam diameter is presented. Sensorless defocus correction can be performed with a Badal optometer and astigmatism correction with a liquid crystal device. OCT B-scans were used in an image-based optimization algorithm for aberration correction. Defocus can be corrected from −4.3 D to +4.3 D and vertical and oblique astigmatism from −2.5 D to +2.5 D. A contrast gain of 6.9 times was measured after aberration correction. In comparison with a 1.3-mm beam diameter OCT system, this concept achieved a 3.7-dB gain in dynamic range on a model retina. Both systems were used to image the retina of a human subject. As the correction of the liquid crystal device can take more than 60 s, the subject’s spectacle prescription was adopted instead. This resulted in a 2.5 times smaller speckle size compared with the standard OCT system. The liquid crystal device for astigmatism correction does not need a high-voltage amplifier and can be operated at 5 V. The correction device is small (9 mm×30 mm×38 mm) and can easily be implemented in existing designs for OCT.
USENIX ATC ’ 14 : 2014 USENIX Annual Technical Conference is sponsored by USENIX . SCFS : A Shared Cloud-backed File System

Despite of their rising popularity, current cloud storage services and cloud-backed storage systems still have some limitations related to reliability, durability assurances and inefficient file sharing. We present SCFS, a cloud-backed file system that addresses these issues and provides strong consistency and near-POSIX semantics on top of eventually-consistent cloud storage services. SCFS provides a pluggable backplane that allows it to work with various storage clouds or a cloud-of-clouds (for added dependability). It also exploits some design opportunities inherent in the current cloud services through a set of novel ideas for cloud-backed file systems: always write and avoid reading, modular coordination, private name spaces and consistency anchors.
Flower Drinking and Masculinity in Taiwan

This study explores the role of the hostess club culture in the creation and maintenance of masculinity in Taiwan. The article focuses on flower drinking (the consumption of alcohol in bars, often integrated with prostitution), which is a common practice in Taiwan. Data were obtained from 58 in-depth interviews with men from a variety of occupations and social backgrounds (mean age = 38.50, SD = 11.00) and 73 questionnaires administered to soldiers (mean age = 21.00, SD = 1.10). Findings indicated that demonstration of skill at flower drinking and facility with the related social etiquette are important channels for male bonding that were central to the mid- to upper-class participants' professional development. Flower drinking also provided a method of discriminating men from other men through their choices of why and where to go and how to behave while there. Specific ways that Taiwanese masculinity differs from Western and from Japanese masculinity, and support for the continuing relevance of the traditional Confucian ideal of masculinity, wen-wu, are discussed.
Fixed-parameter tractability of multicut parameterized by the size of the cutset

Given an undirected graph $G$, a collection {(s<sub>1</sub>,t<sub>1</sub>), . , (s<sub>l</sub>,t<sub>l</sub>)} of pairs of vertices, and an integer p, the Edge Multicut problem ask if there is a set <i>S</i> of at most p edges such that the removal of S disconnects every s<sub>i</sub> from the corresponding t<sub>i</sub>. Vertex Multicut is the analogous problem where S is a set of at most p vertices. Our main result is that both problems can be solved in time 2<sup>O(p<sup>3</sup>)</sup> ⋅ n<sup>O(1)</sup>, i.e., fixed-parameter tractable parameterized by the size p of the cutset in the solution. By contrast, it is unlikely that an algorithm with running time of the form f(p) ⋅ n<sup>O(1)</sup> exists for the directed version of the problem, as we show it to be W[1]-hard parameterized by the size of the cutset.
Test case prioritization technique based on early fault detection using fuzzy logic

Regression testing is time consuming and expensive activity in software testing. In Regression testing when any changes made to already tested program it should not affect to other part of program. Regression testing is crucial activities in software testing and maintenance phases. If some part of code is altered then it is mandatory to validate the modified code. Throughout regression testing test case from test suite will be re-executed and re-execution of all the test case will be very expensive. In this paper we present regression test case prioritization for object oriented program. The most important research is how to select efficient and suitable test cases during regression testing from the test suite. To minimize the regression testing cost we have applied prioritization technique. In this paper prioritization is done based on fault detection rate of program, execution time and requirement coverage using fuzzy logic.
EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF 2-MULTIOBJECTIVE EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM

A multi-objective optimization problem (MOP) is often found in real-world optimization problem. Among various multiobjective optimization techniques, multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) is highlighted as a good candidate due to its flexibility, feasibility, and its ability to handle multiple solutions. Among various MOEAs, we analyze 2MOEA which can achieve good convergence and diversity using2-dominance. We compare 2-MOEA with controlled elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) which is currently one of the most popular and widely used MOEAs and have showed reasonable performance in various applications. We compare two algorithms experimentally for popular and scalable test function DTLZ2 and its modified version. The experimental results show that 2MOEA is better than NSGA-II in convergence and is comparable to NSGA-II in diversity.
Combined QoS Scheduling and Call Admission Control Algorithm in Cellular Networks

In this paper, a scheduling problem in wireless networks is considered when there simultaneously exist CBR (constant bit rate) users requiring exact minimum average throughput guarantee and EMG (elastic with minimum guarantee) users requiring minimum average throughput guarantee and more if possible. By exploiting utility maximization problem without minimum throughput constraint and newly defined utility functions, we propose a combined scheduling and call admission control scheme that exactly guarantees the minimum requirements of CBR and EMG users and then allocates the leftover capacity to EMG users. In the proposed scheme, it is easy to give priority to particular users so that they are guaranteed their requirements prior to any other user. Moreover, the priority structure enables the proposed measurement-based call admission control algorithm to perform admission trial without affecting the minimum performance of existing users. We show through mathematical analysis and simulations that our scheme works as designed.
The progressive tactile hyperalgesia induced by peripheral inflammation is nerve growth factor dependent

EXPERIMENTAL peripheral inflammation results in cutaneous mechanical hypersensitivity, and repeated low intensity mechanical stimulation of the inflamed skin induces a progressively incrementing hyperalgesia. We have now examined whether the elevation in nerve growth factor (NGF) induced by the inflammation contributes to this progressive hyperalgesia. An i.p. injection of anti-NGF antiserum (5 μlg−1) 1 h before induction of inflammation by intraplantar complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) injection and 24 h after, both reduced the basal inflammatory hypersensitivity and significantly attenuated the progressive increase of spontaneous activity, touch-, pinch- and Aβ-afferent-evoked responses, and the progressive reduction of the mechanical threshold of biceps femoris/semitendinosus alpha motoneurones normally evoked by repeated (every 5 min) tactile stimulation of the inflamed hindpaw, in decerebrate-spinal rats. NGF contributes, therefore, to the progressive tactile hyperalgesia elicited by repeated touch stimulation of inflamed tissue.
Bi-Temporal Texton Forest for Land Cover Transition Detection on Remotely Sensed Imagery

With the advancement of machine learning, classification methods have been increasingly used in change (or transition) detection. The texton forest (TF)-based method has received increasing research attention because of its speed, good generalization characteristics, stability, and especially its ability to capture spatial contextual information. In this paper, we propose a TF-based method for transition detection in remotely sensed imagery. We investigate a maximal joint-information gain criterion for random forests to better capture combined information in the bi-temporal images in transition detection, which is implemented by a natural extension of binary-trees in traditional methods into a quad-decision tree structure. We also utilize color-invariant gradient as a feature to help alleviate the impact of difference in imaging conditions on bi-temporal transition detection. The experimental results for transition detection show that our bi-temporal TF classifier achieves better performance than a post-classification comparison method and several other alternative methods.
Visual analytics of movement: An overview of methods, tools and procedures

Analysis of movement is currently a hot research topic in visual analytics. A wide variety of methods and tools for analysis of movement data has been developed in recent years. They allow analysts to look at the data from different perspectives and fulfil diverse analytical tasks. Visual displays and interactive techniques are often combined with computational processing, which, in particular, enables analysis of a larger number of data than would be possible with purely visual methods. Visual analytics leverages methods and tools developed in other areas related to data analytics, particularly statistics, machine learning and geographic information science. We present an illustrated structured survey of the state of the art in visual analytics concerning the analysis of movement data. Besides reviewing the existing works, we demonstrate, using examples, how different visual analytics techniques can support our understanding of various aspects of movement.
Multilevel design validation in a secure embedded system

We present a simulation-based methodology to support secure embedded design. The methodology is explained through a case study, the Thumbpod-2 portable embedded fingerprint authenticator. By using multilevel validation, we can observe the flow of sensitive information through the system as it takes on multiple forms, from software variables to hardware bus-signals. This allows shielding off of unwanted side-channel information leaks at the protocol, software, or hardware level. We discuss how the ThumbPod-2 design is partitioned into a side-channel-free implementation, and how a codesign environment called GEZEL is used to validate this partitioning process at each abstraction level.
Catalase Overexpression Prevents Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2–Related Factor 2 Stimulation of Renal Angiotensinogen Gene Expression, Hypertension, and Kidney Injury in Diabetic Mice

This study investigated the impact of catalase (Cat) overexpression in renal proximal tubule cells (RPTCs) on nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) stimulation of angiotensinogen (Agt) gene expression and the development of hypertension and renal injury in diabetic Akita transgenic mice. Additionally, adult male mice were treated with the Nrf2 activator oltipraz with or without the inhibitor trigonelline. Rat RPTCs, stably transfected with plasmid containing either rat Agt or Nrf2 gene promoter, were also studied. Cat overexpression normalized systolic BP, attenuated renal injury, and inhibited RPTC Nrf2, Agt, and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) gene expression in Akita Cat transgenic mice compared with Akita mice. In vitro, high glucose level, hydrogen peroxide, and oltipraz stimulated Nrf2 and Agt gene expression; these changes were blocked by trigonelline, small interfering RNAs of Nrf2, antioxidants, or pharmacological inhibitors of nuclear factor-κB and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. The deletion of Nrf2-responsive elements in the rat Agt gene promoter abolished the stimulatory effect of oltipraz. Oltipraz administration also augmented Agt, HO-1, and Nrf2 gene expression in mouse RPTCs and was reversed by trigonelline. These data identify a novel mechanism, Nrf2-mediated stimulation of intrarenal Agt gene expression and activation of the renin-angiotensin system, by which hyperglycemia induces hypertension and renal injury in diabetic mice.
Iris

We present Iris, a concurrent separation logic with a simple premise: monoids and invariants are all you need. Partial commutative monoids enable us to express---and invariants enable us to enforce---user-defined *protocols* on shared state, which are at the conceptual core of most recent program logics for concurrency. Furthermore, through a novel extension of the concept of a *view shift*, Iris supports the encoding of *logically atomic specifications*, i.e., Hoare-style specs that permit the client of an operation to treat the operation essentially as if it were atomic, even if it is not.