Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two-fold Semantic Web service matchmaking – applying ontology mapping for service discovery

Semantic Web Services (SWS) aim at the automated discovery and orchestration of Web services on the basis of comprehensive, machine-interpretable semantic descriptions. Since SWS annotations usually are created by distinct SWS providers, semantic-level mediation, i.e. mediation between concurrent semantic representations, is a key requirement for SWS discovery. Since semantic-level mediation aims at enabling interoperability across heterogeneous semantic representations, it can be perceived as a particular instantiation of the ontology mapping problem. While recent SWS matchmakers usually rely on manual alignments or subscription to a common ontology, we propose a two-fold SWS matchmaking approach, consisting of (a) a general-purpose semantic-level mediator and (b) comparison and matchmaking of SWS capabilities. Our semantic-level mediation approach enables the implicit representation of similarities across distinct SWS by grounding service descriptions in so-called Mediation Spaces (MS). Given a set of SWS and their respective grounding, a SWS matchmaker automatically computes instance similarities across distinct SWS ontologies and matches the request to the most suitable SWS. A prototypical application illustrates our approach.
IgG1 as a Potential Biomarker of Post-chemotherapeutic Relapse in Visceral Leishmaniasis, and Adaptation to a Rapid Diagnostic Test

Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by protozoa of the Leishmania donovani complex, is a widespread parasitic disease of great public health importance; without effective chemotherapy symptomatic VL is usually fatal. Distinction of asymptomatic carriage from progressive disease and the prediction of relapse following treatment are hampered by the lack of prognostic biomarkers for use at point of care. Methodology/Principal Findings All IgG subclass and IgG isotype antibody levels were determined using unpaired serum samples from Indian and Sudanese patients with differing clinical status of VL, which included pre-treatment active VL, post-treatment cured, post-treatment relapsed, and post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), as well as seropositive (DAT and/or rK39) endemic healthy controls (EHCs) and seronegative EHCs. L. donovani antigen-specific IgG1 levels were significantly elevated in relapsed versus cured VL patients (p<0.0001). Using paired Indian VL sera, consistent with the known IgG1 half-life, IgG1 levels had not decreased significantly at day 30 after the start of treatment (p = 0.8304), but were dramatically decreased by 6 months compared to day 0 (p = 0.0032) or day 15 (p<0.0001) after start of treatment. Similarly, Sudanese sera taken soon after treatment did not show a significant change in the IgG1 levels (p = 0.3939). Two prototype lateral flow immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) were developed to detect IgG1 levels following VL treatment: more than 80% of the relapsed VL patients were IgG1 positive; at least 80% of the cured VL patients were IgG1 negative (p<0.0001). Conclusions/Significance Six months after treatment of active VL, elevated levels of specific IgG1 were associated with treatment failure and relapse, whereas no IgG1 or low levels were detected in cured VL patients. A lateral flow RDT was successfully developed to detect anti-Leishmania IgG1 as a potential biomarker of post-chemotherapeutic relapse.
Suppression of constant modulus interference in multimode transceivers using an adaptive nonlinear circuit

In multimode transceivers, the transmitter for one communication standard may induce a large interference in the receiver for another standard. Using linear techniques to suppress this interference requires a receiver with a very large dynamic range, leading to an excessive power consumption. A much more power efficient approach suppresses the interference using an adaptive Nonlinear Interference Suppressor (NIS). In previous works an ideal model was used to study the receiver performance afforded by the NIS. In this paper we present experimental results of a transceiver testbed that uses an implementation of the NIS, fabricated in 140 nm CMOS technology. Main imperfections that limit the NIS performance are identified and simple models are presented that explain the experimental results. Even with these imperfections, a substantial interference suppression is achieved.
Indirect Space-Vector-Based Modulation Techniques for High-Power Multimodular Matrix Converters

Combining concepts of traditional multilevel converter and matrix converter (MC), the multimodular MCs (MMMCs) have reached the medium-voltage high-power level. These topologies possess features such as elimination of dc components and are able to output high-quality multilevel waveforms. Due to the MMMC's particular topological structure, modulation strategies for the conventional converters cannot be directly adopted. This necessitates the design of specially tailored modulation schemes for them to generate sinusoidal input/output waveforms. In this paper, indirect space-vector-based modulation techniques are proposed for the MMMCs. The study begins by establishing an indirect circuit model for the three-module MMMC topology, before using space vector calculations to derive duty ratios for the model's rectification and inversion stages. As the inversion stage can be viewed as multiple sets of three-phase outputs, its switching states and duty ratios are then converted and combined with those from the rectification stage. Finally, the gating signals are produced according to two switching patterns. As demonstrated by simulation and experimental results, the presented modulation techniques can generate sinusoidal waveforms with variable frequency and magnitude, as well as adjustable angle and power factor. The superiority of the second switching pattern is also proved by the obtained results.
Safe engineering of CAR T cells for adoptive cell therapy of cancer using long‐term episomal gene transfer

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy is a new successful treatment for refractory B‐cell leukemia. Successful therapeutic outcome depends on long‐term expression of CAR transgene in T cells, which is achieved by delivering transgene using integrating gamma retrovirus (RV) or lentivirus (LV). However, uncontrolled RV/LV integration in host cell genomes has the potential risk of causing insertional mutagenesis. Herein, we describe a novel episomal long‐term cell engineering method using non‐integrating lentiviral (NILV) vector containing a scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) element, for either expression of transgenes or silencing of target genes. The insertional events of this vector into the genome of host cells are below detection level. CD19 CAR T cells engineered with a NILV‐S/MAR vector have similar levels of CAR expression as T cells engineered with an integrating LV vector, even after numerous rounds of cell division. NILV‐S/MAR‐engineered CD19 CAR T cells exhibited similar cytotoxic capacity upon CD19+ target cell recognition as LV‐engineered T cells and are as effective in controlling tumor growth in vivo. We propose that NILV‐S/MAR vectors are superior to current options as they enable long‐term transgene expression without the risk of insertional mutagenesis and genotoxicity.
Towards modeling of Readers’ Emotional State response for the automated annotation of documents

This work presents an experimental study towards modeling the readerspsila emotional state as a response to font and typesetting elements of documents presented on a LCD display. Any content and/or domain dependent information was excluded from the document that was tested. An automated computer-based experimental procedure has been followed based on the paper-and-pencil self assessment Manikin test. The typographic elements: font color, size, type, background color and the typesetting elements: bold, italics, bold-italics, along with their combinations are studied. The results indicate that the combination of text and background color has the same impact across languages; the font size has a typical behavior. Readerspsila emotional state, induced by the typesetting elements and the font type, probably depends on the current as well as on the previously displayed stimuli. A cognitive-based XML architecture for real-time extraction of readerspsila emotional state relatively to documentspsila typographic elements is also presented. The results of this paper can be considered when transforming emotionally annotated documents into acoustic modality.
Fast and Robust Segmentation of Head in T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance Volumes

A fast and robust algorithm to segment the head from T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) volumes is presented based on robust determination of threshold from combination of the original volume (through employing the fuzzy c-means clustering which is insensitive to intensity inhomogeneity) and the average axial image (which suppresses the intensity noise), efficient connected component analysis through iterative recursion and fast implementation of morphological operations via decomposition of structuring elements. The algorithm has been validated against 101 data sets with various artifacts
Asymptotic stabilization of a five-link, four-actuator, planar bipedal runner

Provably asymptotically-stable running-gaits are developed for the five-link, four-actuator bipedal robot, RABBIT. A controller is designed so that the Poincare return map associated with the running gait can be computed on the basis of a model with impulse-effects that, previously, had been used only for the design of walking gaits. This feedback design leads to the notion of a hybrid zero dynamics (HZD) for running and to the closed-form computation of the Poincare return map on the zero dynamics. The main theorem is illustrated via simulation. Animations of the obtained running motion are available on the Web.
On Anonymization of Multi-graphs

The problem of privacy-preserving data mining has attracted considerable attention in recent years because of increasing concerns about the privacy of the underlying data. In recent years, an important data domain which has emerged is that of graphs and structured data. Many data sets such as XML data, transportation networks, traffic in IP networks, social networks and hierarchically structured data are naturally represented as graphs. Existing work on graph privacy has focussed on the problem of anonymizing nodes or edges of a single graph, in which the identity is assumed to be associated with individual nodes. In this paper, we examine the more complex case, where we have a collection of graphs, and the identity is associated with individual graphs rather than nodes or edges. In such cases, the problem of identity anonymization is extremely difficult, since we need to not only anonymize the labels on the nodes, but also the underlying global structural information. In such cases, both the global and local structural information can be a challenge to the anonymization process, since any combination of such information can be used in order to de-identify the underlying graphs. In order to achieve this goal, we will create synthesized representations of the underlying graphs based on aggregate structural analytics of the collection of graphs. The synthesized graphs retain the properties of the original data while satisfying the k-anonymity requirement. Our experimental results show that the synthesized graphs maintain a high level of structural information and compatible classification accuracies with the original data.
HIV gp41 Engages gC1qR on CD4+ T Cells to Induce the Expression of an NK Ligand through the PIP3/H2O2 Pathway

CD4+ T cell loss is central to HIV pathogenesis. In the initial weeks post-infection, the great majority of dying cells are uninfected CD4+ T cells. We previously showed that the 3S motif of HIV-1 gp41 induces surface expression of NKp44L, a cellular ligand for an activating NK receptor, on uninfected bystander CD4+ T cells, rendering them susceptible to autologous NK killing. However, the mechanism of the 3S mediated NKp44L surface expression on CD4+ T cells remains unknown. Here, using immunoprecipitation, ELISA and blocking antibodies, we demonstrate that the 3S motif of HIV-1 gp41 binds to gC1qR on CD4+ T cells. We also show that the 3S peptide and two endogenous gC1qR ligands, C1q and HK, each trigger the translocation of pre-existing NKp44L molecules through a signaling cascade that involves sequential activation of PI3K, NADPH oxidase and p190 RhoGAP, and TC10 inactivation. The involvement of PI3K and NADPH oxidase derives from 2D PAGE experiments and the use of PIP3 and H2O2 as well as small molecule inhibitors to respectively induce and inhibit NKp44L surface expression. Using plasmid encoding wild type or mutated form of p190 RhoGAP, we show that 3S mediated NKp44L surface expression on CD4+ T cells is dependent on p190 RhoGAP. Finally, the role of TC10 in NKp44L surface induction was demonstrated by measuring Rho protein activity following 3S stimulation and using RNA interference. Thus, our results identify gC1qR as a new receptor of HIV-gp41 and demonstrate the signaling cascade it triggers. These findings identify potential mechanisms that new therapeutic strategies could use to prevent the CD4+ T cell depletion during HIV infection and provide further evidence of a detrimental role played by NK cells in CD4+ T cell depletion during HIV-1 infection.
The spatial structure of the beta Pictoris gas disk

We have used VLT/UVES to spatially resolve the gas disk of β Pictoris. 88 extended emission lines are observed, with the brightest coming from Fe I, Na I and Ca II. The extent of the gas disk is much larger than previously anticipated; we trace Na I radially from 13 AU out to 323 AU and Ca II to heights of 77 AU above the disk plane, both to the limits of our observations. The degree of flaring is significantly larger for the gas disk than the dust disk. A strong NE/SW brightness asymmetry is observed, with the SW emission being abruptly truncated at 150-200 AU. The inner gas disk is tilted about 5 ◦ with respect to the outer disk, similar to the appearance of the disk in light scattered from dust. We show that most, perhaps all, of the Na I column density seen in the "stable" component of absorption, comes from the extended disk. Finally, we discuss the effects of radiation pressure in the extended gas disk and show that the assumption of hydrogen, in whatever form, as a braking agent is inconsistent with observations.
Differences and Commonalities of Service-Oriented Device Architectures, Wireless Sensor Networks and Networks-on-Chip

Device centric Service-oriented Architectures have shown to be applicable in the automation industry for interconnecting manufacturing devices and enterprise systems, thus, establishing comprehensive heterogeneous service architectures. A similar scenario can also be found in the domain of integrated circuits where a growing number of components is being interconnected by a network inside a single chip. Thus, service-oriented concepts seem promising to be used for the abstract composition of on-chip components. However, tight constraints on power consumption and performance have to be considered when a compound service shall be executed. In this paper, it will be described that the consideration of such constraints is profoundly beneficial. From this starting point, we argue that such an approach can also be useful in the context of wireless sensor networks with its large number of distributed, heterogeneous sensor nodes and limited energy sources.
Alkaline phosphatase positive precursors of adipocytes in the human bone marrow

Summary Developing fat cells in the bone marrow of leukaemic patients treated with chemotherapy were found to be endowed with membrane‐bound alkaline phosphatase. Since alkaline phosphatase is a cytochemical marker of ‘reticular’cells, this observation provides cytochemical evidence that reticular cells may convert to adipocytes when marrow cellularity abruptly decreases.
NXG04-2: A Negotiation-Based Network Selection Scheme for Next-Generation Mobile Systems

In order to support seamless mobility in next-generation overlapping wireless networks, we develop a novel network selection scheme, which decides an optimum network through discovering a tradeoff among users' preferences, operators' benefits, network conditions and application requirements. A merit function is defined to select the best possible network for a mobile user. A negotiation process between the user and the selected network operator is developed to guarantee the operator can obtain benefits from accepting the user's handoff request. The network environment is formulated as a semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) in the negotiation process. An optimal policy that maximizes the network revenue without violating any quality-of-service (QoS) constraints is found by resolving the SMDP problem using Q-learning. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed network selection scheme enhances the performance in terms of handoff call-dropping probability (HCDP) and network revenue.
Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket

Diversification of resources is a strategy found everywhere from the level of microorganisms to that of giant Wall Street investment firms. We examine the functional nature of diversification using life-history theory—a framework for understanding how organisms navigate resource-allocation trade-offs. This framework suggests that diversification may be adaptive or maladaptive depending on one’s life-history strategy and that these differences should be observed under conditions of threat. In three studies, we found that cues of mortality threat interact with one index of life-history strategy, childhood socioeconomic status (SES), to affect diversification. Among those from low-SES backgrounds, mortality threat increased preferences for diversification. However, among those from high-SES backgrounds, mortality threat had the opposite effect, inclining people to put all their eggs in one basket. The same interaction pattern emerged with a potential biomarker of life-history strategy, oxidative stress. These findings highlight when, and for whom, different diversification strategies can be advantageous.
Design and experimental study of a shared-controlled omnidirectional mobile platform

It is usually difficult to remote control of a mobile robot using only an onboard camera. The robot can easily bump into an obstacle due to limited view angle of the on-site scene. This paper presents a shared-control design for effective remote control of an omnidirectional mobile platform. The platform is able to move in any direction without changing robot's heading, and a stable camera view is available for remote control. A user interface is designed for a smart phone/tablet to remote control the robot using a touch panel. The proposed controller determines the human and robot interactive gains by computing user's confidence factor. In this approach, the robot assists a user to manipulate its motion from a remote site by compensating local insufficiency of human remote control. Practical experiments validate the proposed design and demonstrate that the proposed shared-control approach of an omnidirectional platform can have potential use for future home service tasks.
Joint prosodic and spectral modeling for robust speaker verification

In this paper, a joint prosodic and spectral modeling framework is proposed instead of traditional score-domain fusion approaches to alleviate the problem of mismatch channel/handset/ambient noise. The basic idea is to embed the concept of hierarchical structure of speech prosody into an ergodic HMM (EHMM), and model the prosodic status transitions and prosodic/spectral features by EHMM’s states, state transition probabilities and state-dependent observation distributions, respectively. Experimental results evaluated on the standard single-speaker detection task of NIST 2001 speaker recognition evaluation (NIST-SRE 2001) showed that the proposed approach not only outperformed the spectral feature-based baseline (8.04% vs. 8.64% in equal error rate, EER) but also worked a little bit better than score-domain fusion ( 8.44%) approach.
Lipid Fingerprinting in Mild versus Severe Forms of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

The blood serum lipid profile of women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is still under study. There are no data on the serum lipid profile of GDM patients with more severe (insulin treated) compared to milder forms (diet treated) GDM. The aim of our study was to analyze the blood serum lipid profile of patients with milder versus more severe forms of GDM and to compare these findings with those of healthy pregnant women. This cross-sectional analytical study included 30 insulin-treated GDM, 30 diet-only GDM and 30 healthy pregnant women. Serum lipid was extracted from the 90 participants and their lipid profiles were analyzed by lipid fingerprinting using liquid-chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 143 parent ions were differentially represented in each of the three groups, belonging to the following classes: Glycerophospholipids, Sterol Lipids, Sphingolipids, Prenol Lipids, Fatty Acyls and Glycerolipids. There were significant differences in the lipid profiles of healthy pregnant women compared to GDM patients and also between milder versus more severe forms of GDM. There are marked differences in lipid fingerprinting between healthy pregnant women compared to those with GDM in the third trimester. Moreover, the lipid profile of women with more severe forms of GDM differs considerably from that of women with milder forms of GDM. These findings may be useful to help clarify the pathogenesis of milder and more severe forms of GDM.
The Story of La Raza Studies: An Historiography Investigating Deficit Discourses, Latino Students and Critical Pedagogy

Constructed from a social justice paradigm, the researcher of this study combines historical research methods, case study strategies and the lens of critical race theory (CRT) to investigate the Raza Studies program within the Tucson Unified School District’s Ethnic Studies Department. With equal emphasis, this study has four aims: 1) to provide a deep literature review revealing the historical plight of Latin@ students (Darder, 1997; Valencia, 1991/1997/2002); 2) to explore the maintenance of deficit discourses and subtractive schooling conditions in relation to Latin@ students (Ogbu, 1998; Solorzano and Yosso, 2001; Valenzuela, 1999); 3) to offer a counter discourse based on an exploration of alternative critical pedagogies (Cammarota and Romero, 2006/2009; Freire, 1970/1973; Giroux; 1988; Kincheloe; 2004; McLaren, 1997/2003) and; 4) to tell the story of Raza Studies primarily using newspaper articles, letters to the editor and editorials written in response to four major events that occurred from 2007-2010. Within this study, CRT is the most effective theoretical framework to uncover the malignant schooling conditions and practices imposed on Latin@ youth because it allows the researcher to examine how racial stereotyping might contribute to the continued marginalization and subordination of Latin@ students. In turn, the investigation into the conditions and events surrounding La Raza Studies suggests that implicit (and explicit) racist attitudes, within the public discourse, not only impede Latin@ student success but that they also intend to. (Solorzano and Yosso 2001; Giroux 2005). Additionally, this