Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Nonintegrative Lentiviral Vector-Based Vaccine Provides Long-Term Sterile Protection against Malaria

Trials testing the RTS,S candidate malaria vaccine and radiation-attenuated sporozoites (RAS) have shown that protective immunity against malaria can be induced and that an effective vaccine is not out of reach. However, longer-term protection and higher protection rates are required to eradicate malaria from the endemic regions. It implies that there is still a need to explore new vaccine strategies. Lentiviral vectors are very potent at inducing strong immunological memory. However their integrative status challenges their safety profile. Eliminating the integration step obviates the risk of insertional oncogenesis. Providing they confer sterile immunity, nonintegrative lentiviral vectors (NILV) hold promise as mass pediatric vaccine by meeting high safety standards. In this study, we have assessed the protective efficacy of NILV against malaria in a robust pre-clinical model. Mice were immunized with NILV encoding Plasmodium yoelii Circumsporozoite Protein (Py CSP) and challenged with sporozoites one month later. In two independent protective efficacy studies, 50% (37.5–62.5) of the animals were fully protected (p = 0.0072 and p = 0.0008 respectively when compared to naive mice). The remaining mice with detectable parasitized red blood cells exhibited a prolonged patency and reduced parasitemia. Moreover, protection was long-lasting with 42.8% sterile protection six months after the last immunization (p = 0.0042). Post-challenge CD8+ T cells to CSP, in contrast to anti-CSP antibodies, were associated with protection (r = −0.6615 and p = 0.0004 between the frequency of IFN-g secreting specific T cells in spleen and parasitemia). However, while NILV and RAS immunizations elicited comparable immunity to CSP, only RAS conferred 100% of sterile protection. Given that a better protection can be anticipated from a multi-antigen vaccine and an optimized vector design, NILV appear as a promising malaria vaccine.
Scheduling of tests on vehicle prototypes

In the automotive industry, a manufacturer must perform several hundreds of tests on prototypes of a vehicle before starting its mass production. These tests must be allocated to suitable prototypes and ordered to satisfy temporal constraints and various kinds of test dependencies. To reduce costs, the manufacturer is interested in using the minimum number of prototypes. We apply Constraint Programming (CP) and a hybrid approach to solve the scheduling problem. Our CP method can achieve good feasible solutions even for our largest instances within a reasonable time. In comparison with existing methods, we can improve the solutions for most of our instances and reduce the average number of required prototypes. The hybrid approach uses mixed integer linear programming (MILP) to solve the planning part and CP to find the complete schedule. Although the hybrid approach is not as robust as CP with respect to data characteristics and additional constraints, it can complement CP in finding a better lower bound.
Health-related behaviours in the EpiPorto study: cancer survivors versus participants with no cancer history

Cancer survivors are at an increased risk of a second primary cancer, partly due to unhealthy behaviours. In a cohort of adults (recruitment: 1999–2003; follow-up – linkage with population-based cancer registry: up to 2009) we compared the baseline exposure to smoking, alcohol and dietary intake and physical activity between: cancer survivors (CS) – cancer diagnosis before baseline (n=53); no cancer (NC) participants – without cancer diagnosis at baseline or during follow-up (n=2261); latent cancer (LC) participants – without cancer diagnosis at baseline but diagnosed during follow-up (n=139). Age-, sex- and education-adjusted prevalences and means were computed, as applicable. The prevalence of current smoking was nearly 20% among CS and NC (approximately four cigarettes per day) and 30% in LC (seven cigarettes per day). LC had the highest average alcohol intake (25.5 g/day) and NC the lowest (17.0 g/day). The proportion of participants reporting sports practice was higher for CS (50%) than for NC or LC (approximately 33%). CS and NC had higher fruit/vegetable consumption than LC (4.2 and 4.4 vs. 3.8 servings per day). In a composite index on health behaviours (including smoking, physical activity and alcohol and fruit/vegetable intake) the highest and lowest scores were 1.74 for NC and 1.52 for LC respectively, whereas CS scored 1.63. The exposure to each risk factor appeared comparable in CS and NC, whereas LC tended to have unhealthier behaviours. This may be partially explained by the acquisition of healthier habits by CS after diagnosis, but there still remains scope for improvement, as revealed by the low scores observed for the joint exposure to the main risk factors.
An algorithm for energy detection based on noise variance estimation under noise uncertainty

Energy detection is popularly used in the detection of idle spectrum because of its simple implement and low complexity. But, the detection performance can be observably affected due to noise uncertainty. Papers have proposed some solutions to resist the effects of noise uncertainty. However, most of these papers are assumed that the noise uncertainty interval is known to the detector, designing algorithms to detect the primary user signal. Few algorithms are designed to estimate the range of the noise uncertainty. This paper presents an algorithm for energy detection based on noise variance estimation that can be relatively accurate estimated the noise uncertainty interval. The simulation results show that in the case of the noise uncertainty interval is unknown to the detector, our proposed algorithm can detect well, which is similar to the theoretical detection, and its complexity is also very low.
Using Nonionic Surfactants for Production of Semiconductor-Type Carbon Nanotubes by Gel-Based Affinity Chromatography

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have remarkable properties based on their electronic properties, i.e., metallic or semiconducting types, but as-grown SWCNTs contain a mixture of both types. Presented here is an improved and detailed method for producing highly enriched semiconducting SWCNTs from a colloidal suspension of as-grown SWCNTs through agarose gel column-based affinity chromatography. After a 2 wt% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) aqueous dispersion of SWCNTs is passed through the gel column, metal-type SWCNTs preferentially elute out using a 1.5 wt% SDS solution. Semiconductor-type SWCNTs are subsequently recovered from the column using a 2 wt% Pluronic F77 surfactant solution eluent. The semiconductor-enriched fraction purity is in the 90–95% range, based on detailed UV-vis-NIR absorption and resonant Raman spectroscopy characterization of the particulate suspension. Semiconductor-type SWCNTs are recovered in solid form by evaporating the suspension fluid, and heating the dried sample in air to a temperature just above the Pluronic decomposition temperature. Using Pluronic and other nonionic-type surfactants can aid the scalability of the chromatographic production of semiconducting SWCNT samples.
Hormone-controlled metamorphic robots

Metamorphic robots with shape-changing capabilities provide a powerful and flexible approach to complex tasks in unstructured environments. However, due to their dynamic topology and decentralized configuration, metamorphic robots demand control mechanisms that go beyond those used by conventional robots. This paper builds on our previous results of hormone-based control, and develops a novel distributed control algorithm called CELL that can select, synchronize, and execute gaits and other reconfiguration actions without assuming any global configuration knowledge. This algorithm is flexible enough to deal with changes of configuration, and can resolve conflicts between locally selected actions and manage multiple active hormones for producing coherent global effects.
Vicinity shading for enhanced perception of volumetric data

This paper presents a shading model for volumetric data which enhances the perception of surfaces within the volume. The model incorporates uniform diffuse illumination, which arrives equally from all directions at each surface point in the volume. This illumination is attenuated by occlusions in the local vicinity of the surface point, resulting in shadows in depressions and crevices. Experiments by other authors have shown that perception of a surface is superior under uniform diffuse lighting, compared to illumination from point source lighting.
Coordinated Navigation of Multiple Independent Disk-Shaped Robots

This paper addresses the coordinated navigation of multiple independently actuated disk-shaped robots-all placed within the same disk-shaped workspace. Assuming perfect sensing, shared-centralized communications and computation, as well as perfect actuation, we encode complete information about the goal, obstacles, and workspace boundary using an artificial potential function over the configuration space of the robots' simultaneous nonoverlapping positions. The closed-loop dynamics governing the motion of each (velocity-controlled) robot take the form of the appropriate projection of the gradient of this function. We impose (conservative) restrictions on the allowable goal positions that yield sufficient conditions for convergence: We prove that this construction is an essential navigation function that guarantees collision-free motion of each robot to its destination from almost all initial free placements. The results of an extensive simulation study investigate practical issues such as average resulting trajectory length and robustness against simulated sensor noise.
Comparison of Two Segmentation Methods for Mammographic Image

mammography is the method of choice for early detection of breast cancer. The image segmentation aims to separate the structure of interest objects from background and other objects. Detection of breast cancer is a very crucial step in mammograms and therefore needs an accurate and standard technique for breast tumor segmentation. In the last few years, a number of algorithms have been published in the literature. Each one has their own merits and de-merits. Fuzzy-level set and wavelet with level set is proposed to facilitate mammogram image segmentation. The existing active contour models can be classified as edge-based models and region- based model. In fuzzy level set, edge based active contour model is used while, in wavelet with level set, a region-based image segmentation technique using active contours with signed pressure force function is used. Furthermore, after evaluating various parameters wavelet with level set is considered to be better than fuzzy level set, as segmentation of mass area is more effective having less error value and it shows higher PSNR as compared to other method.
Oxysterol-binding protein-related protein 4L promotes cell proliferation by sustaining intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis in cervical carcinoma cell lines

Oxsterol binding protein-related protein 4 (ORP4) is essential for cell proliferation, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. ORP4 is expressed as three variants, ORP4L, ORP4M and ORP4S. Here, we reported that silencing of ORP4L with specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited the proliferation of human cervical cancer cell lines C33A, HeLa and CaSki, the reverse effect being observed in ORP4L overexpressing cells. For molecular insight, we found that ORP4L maintained intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis. Through this mechanism, ORP4L activated nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) activity and thus promoted expression of a gene cluster which supported cell proliferation. Of note, ORP4L sustained inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor 1 (IP3R1) expression at both mRNA and protein levels via Ca2+-dependent NFAT3 activation, which offered a mechanic explanation for the role of ORP4L intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis. Furthermore, ORP4L knockdown markedly inhibited tumor growth in a C33A cell xenograft mouse model. To conclude, our results reveal that ORP4L promotes cell proliferation through maintaining intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis.
‘Miller's most important geological discovery’: Archibald Geikie (1835–1924) as pupil and memorialist of Hugh Miller (1802–56)

Abstract Hugh Miller, stonemason turned writer, newspaper editor and geologist, became the young Archibald Geikie's friend and geological mentor, encouraged his first research and presentation to a learned society, and recommended him to the Geological Survey, thus laying the foundations for a career that reached the top of British science. Geikie was deeply distressed when Miller died by his own hand. He helped deal with Miller's posthumous publications. He modelled his early writings on those of Miller and wrote attractive and much-quoted pen-portraits of Miller, which are valuable to this day, although also reflecting Geikie's perspective in biography and historiography, now seen as flawed.
An improved DNS server selection algorithm for faster lookups

The success of the Internet owes immensely to the hierarchical architecture of domain name system (DNS) that maps domain names to IP addresses. DNS servers that implement this mapping and provide lookup services rely heavily on caching of IP addresses for enhancing the lookup performance. It turns out that the caching of IP addresses of other DNS servers is more beneficial than the caching of IP addresses of end hosts. Since several domains have more than one DNS server, this results in the following important issue that arises frequently: given the cached entries, how do we choose the optimal DNS server for forwarding a query when there are more than one DNS servers handling that particular domain? We refer to this as the DNS server selection problem. In this paper, we investigate the use of auto-regression models for estimating the server response times in the DNS server selection algorithm. As compared to existing implementations such as the one used in BIND, our approach is more resilient and adaptable to fluctuations in network delays because all the parameters are determined based on observed response times, instead of being hard-coded. Experiments with real-query logs indicate that our techniques can significantly enhance the BIND implementation and improve the lookup times by up to 40%.
Effects of stair-step nutrition and trace mineral supplementation on attainment of puberty in beef heifers of three sire breeds.

A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of nutrition and sire breed on age at puberty and first lactation milk yield in crossbred beef heifers. After weaning, 208 heifers sired by Hereford, Limousin, or Piedmontese bulls were assigned to either a control (CG) or stair-step gain (SSG) dietary regimen plus a mineral supplement with or without Cu, Zn, and Mn top-dressed onto the feed. Heifers on the SSG regimen were fed a diet intended to supply energy to support gains at a rate of 120% of the CG diet for 55 d and then were switched to a diet formulated to produce an ADG at 70% of the rate of the CG diet for 84 d. They then switched back to the 120% diet for the last 30 d before breeding. Total weight gain and overall rate of gain did not differ among dietary treatments. Hereford- and Limousin-sired heifers gained at similar rates, and Piedmontese-sired heifers gained an average of . 10 kg/d slower than the other two sire breed groups. During one period, Piedmontese-sired heifers on the CG diet gained . 19 kg/d faster ( P < . 01) when supplemented with mineral than when not. During that same period, there was no influence of mineral supplementation on weight gains for Hereford- or Piedmontese-sired heifers on the high SSG diet, but Limousin-sired heifers tended (P = .07) to gain faster (1.00 vs .85 kg/d) when supplemented with Cu, Zn, and Mn than when not. Piedmontese-sired heifers reached puberty at the earliest age (P = .03), followed by Hereford- and then Limousin-sired heifers. There were no treatment effects on milk yield at an average of 70 d of lactation. However, at approximately 120 d of lactation, Piedmontese-sired heifers were producing less milk (P < .05) than Limousin- but not Hereford-sired heifers. Hereford-sired heifers had lower (P < .05) plasma Cu concentrations than Piedmontese-sired heifers. There were no treatment effects on plasma Zn concentrations. Heifers sired by bulls of breeds that differ in potential muscularity differed in growth, reproduction, milk yield, and plasma mineral concentrations, but dietary treatments resulted in little to no differences in these variables.
Model-based development of fault-tolerant real-time systems

This thesis presents an approach for model-based development of fault-tolerant real-time systems. The main goal is the automatic generation of code realizing non-functional systems, such as fault-tolerance mechanisms, communication in the distributed system, and scheduling. Contributions of this work are the formulation of an adequate domain-specific modeling language, a formal model for the specification of fault assumptions, the implementation of an according tool chain, and the integration of formal mechanisms to prove the correctness of the implementation. The approach is implemented in the context of two demonstrators to point out the advantages of the approach. The demonstrator point out that hard real-time constraints can be satisfied and heterogeneous systems can be supported.
Mosquito-inspired swarming for decentralized pursuit with autonomous vehicles

Inspired by the swarming behavior of male mosquitoes that aggregate to attract and subsequently pursue a female mosquito, we study how oscillatory motion in autonomous swarming vehicles helps the success of target capture. We consider the scenario in which multiple guardians with limited perceptual range are deployed to protect an area from an aerial intruder. The intruder becomes a target once it enters the perceptual range of a guardian and, when a guardian becomes a pursuer, it speeds up and chases the target. We focus on the strategy in the swarming phase, when the intruder has not yet been perceived by any of the guardians. In the parameter space consisting of the intruder's speed and guardians' ability (i.e., maximum acceleration and perceptual range) we identify necessary and sufficient conditions for target capture. We further compare circular and radial swarming motion and its effect on successful target capture. For the application to autonomous aerial vehicles, we propose a control algorithm that achieves swarming motion while also avoiding collisions. The theoretical results are demonstrated by experiments with a swarm of quadrotors.
A Fuzzy MLP Approach for Non-linear Pattern Classification

In case of decision making problems, classification of pattern is a complex and crucial task. Pattern classification using multilayer perceptron (MLP) trained with back propagation learning becomes much complex with increase in number of layers, number of nodes and number of epochs and ultimate increases computational time (31). In this paper, an attempt has been made to use fuzzy MLP and its learning algorithm for pattern classification. The time and space complexities of the algorithm have been analyzed. A training performance comparison has been carried out between MLP and the proposed fuzzy-MLP model by considering six cases. Results are noted against different learning rates (α) ranging from 0 to 1. A new performance evaluation factor ‗convergence gain' has been introduced. It is observed that the number of epochs drastically reduced and performance increased compared to MLP. The average and minimum gain has been found to be 93% and 75% respectively. The best gain is found to be 95% and is obtained by setting the learning rate to 0.55.
Bacillus subtilis CheD Is a Chemoreceptor Modification Enzyme Required for Chemotaxis*

The chemotaxis machinery of Bacillus subtilis is similar to that of the well characterized system ofEscherichia coli. However, B. subtilis contains several chemotaxis genes not found in the E. coli genome, such as cheC and cheD, indicating that theB. subtilis chemotactic system is more complex. In B. subtilis, CheD is required for chemotaxis; the cheDmutant displays a tumbly phenotype, has abnormally methylated chemoreceptors, and responds poorly to most chemical stimuli. Homologs of B. subtilis CheD have been found in chemotaxis-like operons of a large number of bacteria and archaea, suggesting that CheD plays an important role in chemotactic sensory transduction for many organisms. However, the molecular function of CheD has remained unknown. In this study, we show that CheD catalyzes amide hydrolysis of specific glutaminyl side chains of the B. subtilis chemoreceptor McpA. In addition, we present evidence that CheD deamidates other B. subtilis chemoreceptors including McpB and McpC. Previously, deamidation of B. subtilis receptors was thought to be catalyzed by the CheB methylesterase, as is the case for E. coli receptors. Because cheD mutant cells do not respond to most chemoattractants, we conclude that deamidation by CheD is required forB. subtilis chemoreceptors to effectively transduce signals to the CheA kinase.
Data Bridge: solving diverse Data Access in Scientific Applications

The nature of data for scientific computation is very diverse in the age of big data. First, it may be available at a number of locations, e.g. the scientist’s machine, some institutional filesystem, a remote service, or some sort of database. Second, the size of the data may vary from a few kilobytes to many terabytes. In order to be available for computation, data has to be transferred to the location where the computation takes place. This requires a diverse set of middleware tools that are compatible both with the data and the compute resources. However, using this tools requires additional knowledge and makes running the experiments an inconvenient task. In this paper we present the Data Bridge, a high-level service that can be used easily in scientific computations to perform data transfer to and from a diverse set of storage services. The Data Bridge not only unifies access to different types of storage services, but it can also be used at different levels (e.g., single jobs, parameter sweeps, scientific workflows) in scientific computations.
Statistical Post-Editing on SYSTRAN‘s Rule-Based Translation System

This article describes the combination of a SYSTRAN system with a "statistical post-editing" (SPE) system. We document qualitative analysis on two experiments performed in the shared task of the ACL 2007 Workshop on Statistical Machine Translation. Comparative results and more integrated "hybrid" techniques are discussed.