Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The challenge of establishing treatment efficacy for cutaneous vascular manifestations of systemic sclerosis

ABSTRACT Introduction: The cutaneous vascular manifestations of systemic sclerosis (SSc) comprise Raynaud’s phenomenon, cutaneous ulceration, telangiectasia formation and critical digital ischaemia; each of which are associated with significant disease-related morbidity. Despite the availability of multiple classes of vasodilator therapy, many of which have been the subject of RCTs, a limited number of pharmacological interventions are currently approved for the management of cutaneous vascular manifestations of SSc. Areas covered: A major challenge has been demonstrating treatment efficacy with examples of promising therapies yielding contrasting results in controlled trial settings. Differences between consensus best-practice guidelines, evidence-based recommendations and marketing approvals in different jurisdictions has resulted in geographic variation in clinical practice concerning the management of cutaneous vascular manifestations of SSc. Difficulty demonstrating treatment efficacy risks waning industry engagement for drug development programmes in this field. This article highlights the key challenges in establishing treatment efficacy and barriers that must be overcome to support successful clinical trial programmes across the spectrum of cutaneous vascular manifestations of SSc. Expert commentary: The paucity of approved treatments for cutaneous vascular manifestations of SSc relates as much to challenges in clinical trial design and the need for reliable clinical trial endpoints, as to lack of therapeutic options.
Intelligent Finger Movement Controlled Interface for Automotive Environment

This paper presents an intelligent finger tracking system to operate infotainment systems or instrument panels in automotive environment. We developed algorithms to control an onscreen pointer using off-the-shelf infra-red sensors and reported a user study on pointing and selection tasks undertaken using the finger tracking system. We proposed polynomial models to predict probable targets and a Bayesian Fusion Model to integrate eye gaze locations of users with their finger tracks. The predictive fusion model resulted in less than 2 seconds pointing and selection times on average inside a car running on a motorway.
A systematic mapping study on success factors of implementing measurement processes in SMEs

Software measurement processes are crucial to plan, organize, monitor, control and improve software processes, products and resources. However, the successful implementation of software measurement processes is a challenging task in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper presents a systematic mapping study to identify the significant factors and challenges of successful implementation of measurement processes. In total, 24 primary studies are analyzed after applying the mapping process. The most important success factors are measurement planning, measurement maturity, and budget allocation to implement a measurement process. This study aims to help SMEs to conduct a feasibility study before planning a measurement process.
Depolarization Ratio Profiles Calibration and Observations of Aerosol and Cloud in the Tibetan Plateau Based on Polarization Raman Lidar

A brief description of the Water vapor, Cloud and Aerosol Lidar (WACAL) system is provided. To calibrate the volume linear depolarization ratio, the concept of “ Δ 90 ° -calibration” is applied in this study. This effective and accurate calibration method is adjusted according to the design of WACAL. Error calculations and analysis of the gain ratio, calibrated volume linear depolarization ratio and particle linear depolarization ratio are provided as well. In this method, the influences of the gain ratio, the rotation angle of the plane of polarization and the polarizing beam splitter are discussed in depth. Two groups of measurements with half wave plate (HWP) at angles of (0 ° , 45 ° ) and (22.5 ° , −22.5 ° ) are operated to calibrate the volume linear depolarization ratio. Then, the particle linear depolarization ratios measured by WACAL and CALIOP (the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) during the simultaneous observations were compared. Good agreements are found. The calibration method was applied in the third Tibetan Plateau Experiment of Atmospheric Sciences (TIPEX III) in 2013 and 2014 in China. Vertical profiles of the particle depolarization ratio of clouds and aerosol in the Tibetan Plateau were measured with WACAL in Litang (30.03° N, 100.28° E, 3949 m above sea level (a.s.l.)) in 2013 and Naqu (31.48° N, 92.06° E, 4508 m a.s.l.) in 2014. Then an analysis on the polarizing properties of the aerosol, clouds and cirrus over the Tibetan Plateau is provided. The particle depolarization ratio of cirrus clouds varies from 0.36 to 0.52, with a mean value of 0.44 ± 0.04. Cirrus clouds occurred between 5.2 and 12 km above ground level (a.g.l.). The cloud thickness ranges from 0.12 to 2.55 km with a mean thickness of 1.22 ± 0.70 km. It is found that the particle depolarization ratio of cirrus clouds become larger as the height increases. However, the increase rate of the particle depolarization ratio becomes smaller as the height increases.
Role of p38 and JNK mitogen-activated protein kinases in the activation of ternary complex factors

The transcription factors Elk-1 and SAP-1 bind together with serum response factor to the serum response element present in the c-fos promoter and mediate increased gene expression. The ERK, JNK, and p38 groups of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases phosphorylate and activate Elk-1 in response to a variety of extracellular stimuli. In contrast, SAP-1 is activated by ERK and p38 MAP kinases but not by JNK. The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) activates JNK and p38 MAP kinases and induces the transcriptional activity of Elk-1 and SAP-1. These effects of IL-1 appear to be mediated by Rho family GTPases. To examine the relative roles of the JNK and p38 MAP kinase pathways, we examined the effects of IL-1 on CHO and NIH 3T3 cells. Studies of NIH 3T3 cells demonstrated that both the JNK and p38 MAP kinases are required for IL-1-stimulated Elk-1 transcriptional activity, while only p38 MAP kinase contributes to IL-1-induced activation of SAP-1. In contrast, studies of CHO cells demonstrated that JNK (but not the p38 MAP kinase) is required for IL-1-stimulated Elk-1-dependent gene expression and that neither JNK nor p38 MAP kinase is required for IL-1 signaling to SAP-1. We conclude that (i) distinct MAP kinase signal transduction pathways mediate IL-1 signaling to ternary complex transcription factors (TCFs) in different cell types and (ii) individual TCFs show different responses to the JNK and p38 signaling pathways. The differential utilization of TCF proteins and MAP kinase signaling pathways represents a potential mechanism for the determination of cell-type-specific responses to extracellular stimuli.
PERIPHERAL FATIGUE AFTER MAXIMAL CONCENTRIC AND STRETCH SHORTENING CYCLE EXERCISES PERIFERNA UTRUJENOST PO MAKSIMALNO KONCENTRIČNI IN EKSCENTRIČNO KONCENTRIČNI VADBI

To analyse the occurrence of peripheral fatigue after a maximal concentric and stretch-shortening cycle exercise, 11 subjects performed maximal jumping and cycling for 60 seconds. Before and after the exercise, the vastus lateralis muscle was stimulated for single twitch and with trains of electrical stimuli delivered at 20 Hz and 100 Hz. The torque was measured during the exercise. In addition, blood lactate concentrations were measured. After the jumping, a selective reduction in the 100 Hz knee torque was observed (P<0.01) while after the cycling only the 20 Hz knee torque decreased (P<0.01). The muscle twitch peak torque did not change 14.6 + 32.21% (P=0.510) after the jumping, although after the cycling it was reduced by 60.8 + 44.26% (P<0.01), while the contraction time and half-relaxation time were statistically significantly lengthened (P<0.001). Blood lactate accumulation was significantly higher after the cycling (P<0.001) compared to the jumping. It was concluded that the maximal jumping produced high-frequency fatigue and the maximal cycling lowfrequency fatigue. The main reason for the different peripheral fatigue was attributed to differences of the contraction type.
A Novel Performance Prediction Model for Mobile GPUs

With the fast-growing development of mobile devices, the application of high-end three-dimensional (3-D) graphics is expanding to include usage in mobile platforms. Recent mobile application processors are equipped with a multicore CPU and a mobile GPU on a single chip, thereby enabling the incorporation of high-end 3-D graphics into mobile devices. The problem is that such features consume large amounts of power. Thus, previous studies focused on estimating the power consumption of mobile GPUs, but such research has been unfamiliar with user perspective. To address this deficiency, the current work developed a novel performance prediction model for mobile GPUs on Adreno. The model uses both the instruction throughput of a unified shader and GFLOPS. The utilization of the Adreno GPUs was adjusted to its maximum value to ensure that their performance is unaffected by dynamic voltage and frequency scaling and throttling functions. The model was validated using GFXBench under real game application environments. The simulation results provided the computational rates of each hardware unit of the Adreno GPUs and the rate of increase in the instruction processing of the unified shader. To verify the accuracy of the model, we compared the difference rates of the prediction results between those derived from the proposed model and those using Snapdragon profiler. The average error rate was 3.32% with three applications running on four different mobile devices.
Review participation in modern code review: An empirical study of the Android, Qt, and OpenStack projects (journal-first abstract)

This paper empirically investigates the factors influence review participation in the MCR process. Through a case study of the Android, Qt, and OpenStack open source projects, we find that the amount of review participation in the past is a significant indicator of patches that will suffer from poor review participation. Moreover, the description length of a patch and the purpose of introducing new features also share a relationship with the likelihood of receiving poor review participation. This paper is an extended abstract of a paper published in the Empirical Software Engineering journal. The original paper is communicated by Jeffrey C. Carver.
A multicentre phase II gene expression profiling study of putative relationships between tumour biomarkers and clinical response with erlotinib in non-small-cell lung cancer

Background: Identification of appropriate markers for predicting clinical benefit with erlotinib in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may be able to guide patient selection for treatment. This open-label, multicentre, phase II trial aimed to identify genes with potential use as biomarkers for clinical benefit from erlotinib therapy. Methods: Adults with stage IIIb/IV NSCLC in whom one or more chemotherapy regimen had failed were treated with erlotinib (150 mg/day). Tumour biopsies were analysed using gene expression profiling with Affymetrix GeneChip® microarrays. Differentially expressed genes were verified using quantitative RT–PCR (qRT–PCR). Results: A total of 264 patients were enrolled in the study. Gene expression profiles found no statistically significant differentially expressed genes between patients with and without clinical benefit. In an exploratory analysis in responding versus nonresponding patients, three genes on chromosome 7 were expressed at higher levels in the responding group [epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), phosphoserine phosphatase (PSPH) and Rap guanine nucleotide exchange factor 5 (RAPGEF5)]. Independent quantification using qRT–PCR validated the association between EGFR and PSPH overexpression, but not RAPGEF5 overexpression, and clinical outcome. Conclusions: This study supports the use of erlotinib as an alternative to chemotherapy for patients with relapsed advanced NSCLC. Genetic amplification of the EGFR region of chromosome 7 may be associated with response to erlotinib therapy.
Side-Channel Attacks and Countermeasures for Identity-Based Cryptographic Algorithm SM9

Identity-based cryptographic algorithm SM9, which has become the main part of the ISO/IEC 14888-3/AMD1 standard in November 2017, employs the identities of users to generate public-private key pairs. Without the support of digital certificate, it has been applied for cloud computing, cyber-physical system, Internet of Things, and so on. In this paper, the implementation of SM9 algorithm and its Simple Power Attack (SPA) are discussed. Then, we present template attack and fault attack on SPA-resistant SM9. Our experiments have proved that if attackers try the template attack on an 8-bit microcontrol unit, the secret key can be revealed by enabling the device to execute one time. Fault attack even allows the attackers to obtain the 256-bit key of SM9 by performing the algorithm twice and analyzing the two different results. Accordingly, some countermeasures to resist the three kinds of attacks above are given.
Notice of RetractionEmotion recognition based on CSO&SVM in e-learning

The paper about the problem in the interaction for emotion recognition study in e-learning, combined support vector machine (SVM) with the cats swarm optimization (CSO) algorithm. Putting forwards a new bionics algorithm that CSO&SVM to learn expression recognition classification, and applied it in e-learning and emotion recognition. After the relevant experimental data verification, it has achieved satisfied results.
SAR target recognition via incremental nonnegative matrix factorization with Lp sparse constraint

In this paper a novel incremental nonnegative matrix factorization (INMF) for SAR target recognition is proposed in order to overcome the defect that conventional methods have in online processing. When training samples increase, unlike conventional NMF-based methods computing both original and new samples to retrain a new model, INMF just computes the new samples to update the trained model incrementally, which can avoid repetitive learning original samples and reduce the computation cost. Meanwhile, the INMF with Lp constraint is proposed by setting the updating process under Lp sparse constraint for matrices decomposition. The proposed Lp-INMF can solve the problem of the computational cost increasing along with the sample increasing which is common in traditional methods. Experiment results on MSTAR data verify that the recognition performance obtained by Lp-INMF outperforms other traditional methods, and the recognition efficiency can be improved.
Sensitive Attribute Prediction for Social Networks Users

Social networks are popular means of data sharing but they are vulnerable to privacy breaches. For instance, relating users with similar profiles an entity can predict personal data with high probability. We present SONSAI a tool to help Facebook users to protect their private information from these inferences. The system samples a subnetwork centered on the user, cleanses the collected public data and predicts user sensitive attribute values by leveraging machine learning techniques. Since SONSAI displays the most relevant attributes exploited by each inference, the user can modify them to prevent undesirable inferences. The tool is designed to perform reasonably with the limited resources of a personal computer, by collecting and processing a relatively small relevant part of network data.
Impact of Different Time of Use Electricity Pricing Structure on Residential Consumer

Load profile for residential users is different from commercial users where peak load occurs outside of work hours compared to working hours. Consequently, the Time of Use-based electricity price must be different not only in terms of price, but also in terms of time block structure. This paper examines the impacts of different TOU structures on TOU prices and load profiles of residential consumer. Four TOU structures are tested on the real load profile for a selected residential consumer area in Malaysia. Two elasticity factors are used for each structure to represent two different groups of users, a group that responds highly to price changes and a group that does not. The TOU price set for each structure is determined optimally subject to the following constraints; the price difference between the TOU and a fixed price per hour should be minimized and the amount of difference between price increase and price drop should be equal. From the analysis, the TOU structure with 12-time blocks provides better price signals and peak load reduction.
YAP/TAZ Activation as a Target for Treating Metastatic Cancer

Yes-Associated Protein (YAP) and Transcriptional Co-activator with PDZ-binding Motif (TAZ) have both emerged as important drivers of cancer progression and metastasis. YAP and TAZ are often upregulated or nuclear localized in aggressive human cancers. There is abundant experimental evidence demonstrating that YAP or TAZ activation promotes cancer formation, tumor progression, and metastasis. In this review we summarize the evidence linking YAP/TAZ activation to metastasis, and discuss the roles of YAP and TAZ during each step of the metastatic cascade. Collectively, this evidence strongly suggests that inappropriate YAP or TAZ activity plays a causal role in cancer, and that targeting aberrant YAP/TAZ activation is a promising strategy for the treatment of metastatic disease. To this end, we also discuss several potential strategies for inhibiting YAP/TAZ activation in cancer and the challenges each strategy poses.
Spectrum and Energy Efficient Relay Station Placement in Cognitive Radio Networks

Cognitive radio technology enables secondary users (SUs) to opportunistically use the vacant licensed spectrum and significantly improves the utilization of spectrum resource. Traditional architectures for cognitive radio networks (CRNs), such as cognitive cellular networks and cognitive ad hoc networks, impose energy-consuming cognitive radios to SUs' devices for communication and cannot efficiently utilize the spectrum harvested from the primary users (PUs). To enhance the spectrum and energy efficiencies of CRNs, we have designed a new architecture, which is called the Cognitive Capacity Harvesting network (CCH). In CCH, a collection of relay stations (RSs) with cognitive capability are deployed to facilitate the accessing of SUs. In this way, the architecture not only removes the requirement of cognitive radios from SUs and reduces their energy consumption, but also increases frequency reuse and enhances spectrum efficiency. In view of the importance of the RSs on the improvement of spectrum and energy efficiencies, in this paper, we study the RS placement strategy in CCH. A cost minimization problem is mathematically formulated under the spectrum and energy efficiency constraints. Considering the NP-hardness of the problem, we design a framework of heuristic algorithms to compute the near-optimal solutions. Extensive simulations show that the proposed algorithms outperform the random placement strategy and the number of required RSs obtained by our algorithms is always within 2 times of that in the optimal solution.
Circadian Rhythms of Melatonin Secretion in Peri- and Postmenopausal Women with Insomnia

The aim of this study was to assess complaints about sleep quality and to investigate circadian rhythms of melatonin secretion in periand postmenopausal women. Material and Methods: A total of 146 climacteric women were examined. All patients were divided into 2 groups: Group1 included 72 perimenopausal women and Group 2 included 74 postmenopausal women. Women were surveyed with special questionnaires: PSQI, FFS, ESS, Daytime Feeling and Functioning Scale. Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) was calculated. Salivary melatonin content was determined (4 times a day) by immunoassay using Microplate Reader EL×808 (USA). Results: Perimenopausal women often complained about difficulties falling asleep (more than 20 minutes from the moment the light was turned off) and difficulties awakening in the morning, while postmenopausal women often complained about snoring and frequent awakenings during sleep (≥2 times). ISI was 21.3±0.54 in Group 1 and 24.8±0.31 in Group 2, which corresponded to insomnia. Daily melatonin secretion in perimenopausal patients with insomnia was altered – the maximal level was registered in the morning hours. The circadian rhythms of melatonin secretion in the group of postmenopausal women did not correlate to the occurrence of insomnia. Conclusion: We can recommend administration of melatonin in the evening time and light therapy in the early morning hours in the complex treatment of sleep disprders in perimenopausal women for normalizing and shifting the chronobiological rhythms of melatonin secretion, and specific therapy is aimed to eliminate snoring for postmenopausal women. (International Journal of Biomedicine. 2017;7(2):126-130. )
Biogenesis of photosynthetic complexes in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii requires ARSA1, a homolog of prokaryotic arsenite transporter and eukaryotic TRC40 for guided entry of tail-anchored proteins.

as1, for antenna size mutant 1, was obtained by insertion mutagenesis of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This strain has a low chlorophyll content, 8% with respect to the wild type, and displays a general reduction in thylakoid polypeptides. The mutant was found to carry an insertion into a homologous gene, prokaryotic arsenite transporter (ARSA), whose yeast and mammal counterparts were found to be involved in the targeting of tail-anchored (TA) proteins to cytosol-exposed membranes, essential for several cellular functions. Here we present the characterization in a photosynthetic organism of an insertion mutant in an ARSA-homolog gene. The ARSA1 protein was found to be localized in the cytosol, and yet its absence in as1 leads to a small chloroplast and a strongly decreased chlorophyll content per cell. ARSA1 appears to be required for optimal biogenesis of photosynthetic complexes because of its involvement in the accumulation of TOC34, an essential component of the outer chloroplast membrane translocon (TOC) complex, which, in turn, catalyzes the import of nucleus-encoded precursor polypeptides into the chloroplast. Remarkably, the effect of the mutation appears to be restricted to biogenesis of chlorophyll-binding polypeptides and is not compensated by the other ARSA homolog encoded by the C. reinhardtii genome, implying a non-redundant function.