Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study on Architecture of Autonomic Computing-Self Managed Systems

As in a complex growing mesh technologies field, autonomic computing is an auspicious new approach for building large scale distributed systems without assistance of any human interaction. This paradigm provides an environment, which has the potential to manage itself and adapt to the changes. The main objective of autonomic environment is to render the system administrator free by achieving self management properties at a higher level. The main characteristics of autonomic systems, which are to be achieved, are Selfhealing, Self-optimizing, Self-protecting and Self-configuring. This paper describes the architecture of stable autonomic systems.
Safety assessment of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis rice T1c‐19 in Sprague–Dawley rats from metabonomics and bacterial profile perspectives

Bacillus thuringiensis rice is facing commercialization as the main food source in the near future. The unintended effects of genetically modified (GM) organisms are the most important barriers to their promotion. We aimed to establish a new in vivo evaluation model for genetically modified foods by using metabonomics and bacterial profile approaches. T1c‐19 rice flour or its transgenic parent MH63 was used at 70% wt/wt to produce diets that were fed to rats for ∼ 90 days. Urine metabolite changes were detected using 1H NMR. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and real‐time polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) were used to detect the bacterial profiles between the two groups. The metabonomics was analyzed for metabolite changes in rat urine, when compared with the non‐GM rice group, where rats were fed a GM rice diet. Several metabolites correlated with rat age and sex but not with GM rice diet. Significant biological differences were not identified between the GM rice diet and the non‐GM rice diet. The bacteria related to rat urine metabolites were also discussed. The results from metabonomics and bacterial profile analyses were comparable with the results attained using the traditional method. Because metabonomics and bacterial profiling offer noninvasive, dynamic approaches for monitoring food safety, they provide a novel process for assessing the safety of GM foods. © 2012 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 2012.
Information Management Issues and Challenges in an Enterprise 2.0 Era: Imperatives for Action

The potential benefits of E2.0 such as improved intraand inter-organisational collaboration and information sharing are now widely acknowledged, however the management of digital information arising from the use of E2.0 technologies is presenting significant issues and challenges. In this paper we report on a research study to identify the issues and challenges associated with E2.0 and digital information management more widely and outline key imperatives for action. Key issues emerging from the analysis include uncertainty about the nature and scope of E2.0 and how the information it generates should be preserved and managed in a dynamic and changing environment.
Species–fragmented area relationship

The species–area relationship (SAR) gives a quantitative description of the increasing number of species in a community with increasing area of habitat. In conservation, SARs have been used to predict the number of extinctions when the area of habitat is reduced. Such predictions are most needed for landscapes rather than for individual habitat fragments, but SAR-based predictions of extinctions for landscapes with highly fragmented habitat are likely to be biased because SAR assumes contiguous habitat. In reality, habitat loss is typically accompanied by habitat fragmentation. To quantify the effect of fragmentation in addition to the effect of habitat loss on the number of species, we extend the power-law SAR to the species–fragmented area relationship. This model unites the single-species metapopulation theory with the multispecies SAR for communities. We demonstrate with a realistic simulation model and with empirical data for forest-inhabiting subtropical birds that the species–fragmented area relationship gives a far superior prediction than SAR of the number of species in fragmented landscapes. The results demonstrate that for communities of species that are not well adapted to live in fragmented landscapes, the conventional SAR underestimates the number of extinctions for landscapes in which little habitat remains and it is highly fragmented.
Treatment Options in Alzheimer’s Disease: Maximizing Benefit, Managing Expectations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is becoming an increasingly heavy burden on the society of developed countries, and physicians now face the challenge of providing efficient treatment regimens to an ever-higher number of individuals affected by the disease. Currently approved anti-AD therapies – the cholinesterase inhibitors and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist memantine – offer modest symptomatic relief, which can be enhanced using combination therapy with both classes of drugs. Additionally, alternative therapies such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E, selegiline, Ginkgo biloba extracts, estrogens, and statins, as well as behavioral and lifestyle changes, have been explored as therapeutic options. Until a therapy is developed that can prevent or reverse the disease, the optimal goal for effective AD management is to develop a treatment regimen that will yield maximum benefits for individual patients across multiple domains, including cognition, daily functioning, and behavior, and to provide realistic expectations for patients and caregivers throughout the course of the disease. This review provides a basic overview of approved AD therapies, discusses some pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment strategies that are currently being investigated, and offers suggestions for optimizing treatment to fit the needs of individual patients.
Gag Mutations Strongly Contribute to HIV-1 Resistance to Protease Inhibitors in Highly Drug-Experienced Patients besides Compensating for Fitness Loss

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) resistance to protease inhibitors (PI) results from mutations in the viral protease (PR) that reduce PI binding but also decrease viral replicative capacity (RC). Additional mutations compensating for the RC loss subsequently accumulate within PR and in Gag substrate cleavage sites. We examined the respective contribution of mutations in PR and Gag to PI resistance and RC and their interdependence using a panel of HIV-1 molecular clones carrying different sequences from six patients who had failed multiple lines of treatment. Mutations in Gag strongly and directly contributed to PI resistance besides compensating for fitness loss. This effect was essentially carried by the C-terminal region of Gag (containing NC-SP2-p6) with little or no contribution from MA, CA, and SP1. The effect of Gag on resistance depended on the presence of cleavage site mutations A431V or I437V in NC-SP2-p6 and correlated with processing of the NC/SP2 cleavage site. By contrast, reverting the A431V or I437V mutation in these highly evolved sequences had little effect on RC. Mutations in the NC-SP2-p6 region of Gag can be dually selected as compensatory and as direct PI resistance mutations, with cleavage at the NC-SP2 site behaving as a rate-limiting step in PI resistance. Further compensatory mutations render viral RC independent of the A431V or I437V mutations while their effect on resistance persists.
Online Energy Management for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are equipped with multiple power sources for improving the efficiency and performance of their power supply system. An energy management (EM) strategy is needed to optimize the internal power flows and satisfy the driver's power demand. To achieve maximum fuel profits from EM, many solution methods have been presented. Optimal solution methods are typically not feasible in an online application due to their computational demand and their need to have a priori knowledge about future vehicle power demand. In this paper, an online EM strategy is presented with the ability to mimic the optimal solution but without using a priori road information. Rather than solving a mathematical optimization problem, the methodology concentrates on a physical explanation about when to produce, consume, and store electric power. This immediately reveals the vehicle characteristics that are important for EM. It is shown that this concept applies to many existing HEVs as well as possible future vehicle configurations. Since the method only focuses on typical vehicle characteristics, the underlying algorithm requires minor computational effort and can be executed in real time. Clear directions for online implementation are given in this paper. A parallel HEV with a 5-kW integrated starter/generator (ISG) is selected to demonstrate the performance of the EM strategy. Simulation results indicate that the proposed EM strategy exhibits similar behavior as an optimal solution obtained from dynamic programming. Profits in fuel economy primarily arise from engine stop/start and energy obtained during regenerative braking. This latter energy is preferably used for pure electric propulsion where the internal combustion engine is switched off.
Integrative Analysis of Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Data to Reveal Regulation Patterns for BMD Variation

Integration of multiple profiling data and construction of functional gene networks may provide additional insights into the molecular mechanisms of complex diseases. Osteoporosis is a worldwide public health problem, but the complex gene-gene interactions, post-transcriptional modifications and regulation of functional networks are still unclear. To gain a comprehensive understanding of osteoporosis etiology, transcriptome gene expression microarray, epigenomic miRNA microarray and methylome sequencing were performed simultaneously in 5 high hip BMD (Bone Mineral Density) subjects and 5 low hip BMD subjects. SPIA (Signaling Pathway Impact Analysis) and PCST (Prize Collecting Steiner Tree) algorithm were used to perform pathway-enrichment analysis and construct the interaction networks. Through integrating the transcriptomic and epigenomic data, firstly we identified 3 genes (FAM50A, ZNF473 and TMEM55B) and one miRNA (hsa-mir-4291) which showed the consistent association evidence from both gene expression and methylation data; secondly in network analysis we identified an interaction network module with 12 genes and 11 miRNAs including AKT1, STAT3, STAT5A, FLT3, hsa-mir-141 and hsa-mir-34a which have been associated with BMD in previous studies. This module revealed the crosstalk among miRNAs, mRNAs and DNA methylation and showed four potential regulatory patterns of gene expression to influence the BMD status. In conclusion, the integration of multiple layers of omics can yield in-depth results than analysis of individual omics data respectively. Integrative analysis from transcriptomics and epigenomic data improves our ability to identify causal genetic factors, and more importantly uncover functional regulation pattern of multi-omics for osteoporosis etiology.
‘Steroids, it’s so much an identity thing!’ perceptions of steroid use, risk and masculine body image

This paper explores how taste and distaste, body image and masculinity play into young people’s perceptions of risk related to steroid use. Data are drawn from a qualitative study on risk-taking among 52 Danish youths enrolled in high school or vocational training. A number of ‘risky’ practices such as drug use, fights, speeding, etc. were discussed. In contrast to these practices, which were primarily described in relation to ‘physical risks’, steroid use was understood as part of an ‘identity’ or ‘lifestyle’ in a way these other risks were not. Few interviewees had used steroids, and the large majority distanced themselves from the practice. Reasons for not wanting to use steroids were related to (1) perceiving the drug to be part of a broader lifestyle and identity that they are not interested in committing to or embodying and (2) finding the body image, physicality and associations with steroid use ‘fake’, ‘gross’ and distasteful. We draw on recent developments in feminist sociological theory related to the gendered body as both a performance and process to understand steroid use as a practice through which the body and self is produced. More than a one-dimensional ‘risky’ practice, we argue that gendered and embodied identities are crucial to understanding the dynamics of steroid use.
Children's Memory of a Naturalistic Event Following Misinformation

Can children's reports of a naturalistic event be influenced by inaccurate postevent information? This study investigated conditions under which misinformation may or may not alter 6- and 9-year-old children's reports of a naturalistic event. Two weeks after participating in interactive play, 72 children listened to a narrative that included neutral and inaccurate information. Using a yes-no recognition test, misinformation acceptance and interference were measured. A recall test followed. Misinformation effects were assessed for 3 types of information. On the yes-no test, children evidenced significantly poorer memory for misled event items than for control event items. On the free-recall task, misinformation effects (i.e., suppression of event information) were found only for older children. However, overall, misinformation effects were dependent on the type of information. Results demonstrate that misleading information can, but does not necessarily, impair children's memory reports, and that the impai.
History of the Teaching of Handwriting in America

The five periods. -The teaching of handwriting in America may be divided into five periods based on the dominant influence or interest at the time. These are the Colonial Period, 16oo-i8oo; Transition Period, 18oo-i850; Period of Independent Elaboration of American Systems, 1850-189o0; Vertical-Writing Movement, 189o-19oo00; Combination of Commercial and Scientific Influences, 19Oo-I916. COLONIAL PERIOD, 1600-1800 During this period English texts were almost exclusively used. The acquisition of writing skill was so highly esteemed that it was common to have schools devoted solely to the purpose of teaching this art. In spite of many handicaps of material and method Wickersham says (16, p. 205)' that handwriting was better taught than most subjects, and Ward says (15, p. 64) that, judged by some preserved specimens of the handwriting of the Colonial children, it was equal to, or better than, that of a later date. Littlefield (9, p. 81) reports two young men "licensed to teach writing. " Bates reports (i, pp. 403-18) Abiah Holbrook, master of South Writing School in Boston, at ioo pounds a year with 260 town children under his care and the information that his salary was "left for the most part unpaid for years together" and that "he paid back one fourth of his salary in taxes yearly. " Methods and influence of materials. -During this period the methods of teaching handwriting were very uneconomical. This was due in large part to the crude materials available. The quill pen requiring so much of the master's time to make and keep in order was a source of much wasted time. The necessity for setting individual copies also took time that might have been spent in
Expression of Extracellular Matrix Proteins in Ovarian Serous Tumors

The aims of this study were to perform a comprehensive expression analysis of the genes encoding extracellular matrix proteins and to investigate the expression pattern in one of these proteins, syndecan 1, in normal ovarian epithelium as well as benign and malignant ovarian serous tumors. Gene expression of 16 different extracellular matrix proteins was analyzed in ovarian serous tumors based on serial analysis of gene expression database. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the serial analysis of gene expression result from each gene. As compared with normal ovarian surface epithelium, we found overexpression of syndecan 1, collagen type IV alpha 2, elastin microfibril interfase located protein 1, and laminin 5 in ovarian serous carcinomas. Syndecan 1 was selected for further study as it has not been well characterized in ovarian cancer and the syndecan 1 antibody was available for immunohistochemistry. Using a syndecan 1-specific monoclonal antibody, we demonstrated that syndecan 1 was expressed in 30.4% of high-grade serous carcinomas, 29.7% of low-grade carcinomas and serous borderline tumors, but none of benign serous cystadenomas and ovarian surface epithelium. Although both high-grade and low-grade serous carcinomas had a similar percentage of syndecan 1-positive cases, the immunointensity in high-grade carcinoma was significantly higher than that in low-grade carcinomas and serous borderline tumors (P = 0.007). In summary, ovarian carcinomas exhibit up-regulated expression of several extracellular matrix proteins, and syndecan 1 represents a novel tumor-associated marker in ovarian serous carcinomas.
Optimising the number of channels in EEG-augmented image search

Recent proof-of-concept research has appeared showing the applicability of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology in combination with the human visual system, to classify images. The basic premise here is that images that arouse a participant's attention generate a detectable response in their brainwaves, measurable using an electroencephalograph (EEG). When a participant is given a target class of images to search for, each image belonging to that target class presented within a stream of images should elicit a distinctly detectable neural response. Previous work in this domain has primarily focused on validating the technique on proof of concept image sets that demonstrate desired properties and on examining the capabilities of the technique at various image presentation speeds. In this paper we expand on this by examining the capability of the technique when using a reduced number of channels in the EEG, and its impact on the detection accuracy.
Actin polymerization stimulated by contractile activation regulates force development in canine tracheal smooth muscle

1 The role of actin polymerization in the regulation of smooth muscle contractility was investigated in canine trachealis muscle strips. The effect of contractile activation on the content of monomeric globular (G)‐actin was estimated by the method of DNase I inhibition. The G‐actin content was 30 % lower in extracts of muscle strips activated with 10−4 M acetylcholine (ACh) than in extracts from unstimulated muscle strips. The decrease in G‐actin in response to contractile stimulation was prevented by latrunculin‐A, an agent that prevents actin polymerization by binding to G‐actin monomers. 2 The inhibition of actin polymerization by latrunculin‐A markedly depressed force development in response to ACh but had no effect on ACh‐induced myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. Latrunculin also suppressed the length sensitivity of force during ACh‐induced isometric contractions. The actin‐capping agent cytochalasin‐D also markedly inhibited force and caused only a slight decrease in MLC phosphorylation. Cytochalasin‐D also inhibited force in α‐toxin‐permeabilized muscle strips that were activated either by Ca2+ or by ACh at constant pCa. No disorganization of smooth muscle cell ultrastructure was detected by electron microscopy or by immunofluorescence microscopy of muscles treated with either agent. 3 The results suggest that the polymerization of actin is stimulated by the contractile activation of tracheal smooth muscle and that this actin polymerization contributes directly to force development. In addition, actin filament remodelling contributes to the length sensitivity of tracheal smooth muscle contractility.
Crowd-based detection of routing anomalies on the internet

The Internet is highly susceptible to routing attacks and there is no universally deployed solution that ensures that traffic is not hijacked by third parties. Individuals or organizations wanting to protect themselves from sustained attacks must therefore typically rely on measurements and traffic monitoring to detect attacks. Motivated by the high overhead costs of continuous active measurements, we argue that passive monitoring combined with collaborative information sharing and statistics can be used to provide alerts about traffic anomalies that may require further investigation. In this paper we present and evaluate a user-centric crowd-based approach in which users passively monitor their network traffic, share information about potential anomalies, and apply combined collaborative statistics to identify potential routing anomalies. The approach uses only passively collected round-trip time (RTT) measurements, is shown to have low overhead, regardless if a central or distributed architecture is used, and provides an attractive tradeoff between attack detection rates (when there is an attack) and false alert rates (needing further investigation) under normal conditions. Our data-driven analysis using longitudinal and distributed RTT measurements also provides insights into detector selection and the relative weight that should be given to candidate detectors at different distances from the potential victim node.
Modulation of telomere terminal structure by telomerase components in Candida albicans

The telomerase ribonucleoprotein in Candida albicans is presumed to contain at least three Est proteins: CaEst1p, CaEst2p/TERT and CaEst3p. We constructed mutants missing each of the protein subunit of telomerase and analyzed overall telomere dynamics and single-stranded telomere overhangs over the course of many generations. The est1-ΔΔ mutant manifested abrupt telomere loss and recovery, consistent with heightened recombination. Both the est2-ΔΔ and est3-ΔΔ mutant exhibited progressive telomere loss, followed by the gradual emergence of survivors with long telomeres. In no case was telomere loss accompanied by severe growth defects, suggesting that cells with short telomeres can continue to proliferate. Furthermore, the amount of G-strand terminal overhangs was greatly increased in the est2-ΔΔ mutant, but not others. Our results suggest that in addition to their well-characterized function in telomere elongation, both CaEst1p and CaEst2p mediate some aspects of telomere protection in Candida, with the former suppressing excessive recombination, and the latter preventing excessive C-strand degradation.
The effects of feature analysis, transparency in probabilistic category learning in adults and children

Abstract The Weather Prediction (WP) Task is one of the most widely used tasks in probabilistic category learning research. Earlier studies mainly tested adults on similarly structured but different versions of the WP task, mostly without specific focus given to the differences between these tasks. The current paper focuses on the effects of stimulus organization on learning, manipulating two variables: 1) transparency of cues and outcomes and 2) combination of cues into features of a single image vs presenting them as distinct cues. Results show that different variables affect probabilistic categorization differently; cue-based (as opposed to holistic) presentation leads to better performance, and transparency also helps categorization in the early phases of the task, but this advantage turns into a disadvantage later. In general, adults’ probabilistic categorization abilities surpass children's categorization, but the pattern of performance was similar regardless of age.