Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NATIVE HYMENOPTERAN PARASITOIDS ASSOCIATED WITH ANASTREPHA SPP . ( DIPTERA : TEPHRITIDAE ) IN SEROPEDICA CITY , RIO DE JANEIRO , BRAZIL

Parasitoids associated with five species of Anastrepha were recovered from host fruits that belong to 12 species of plants growing in Seropedica city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We recovered six native hymenopteran parasitoid species: Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti), Utetes ( Bracanastrephae ) anastrephae (Viereck), Opius bellus Gahan (Braconidae, Opiinae), Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes) (Figitidae, Eucoilinae), Trichopria anastrephae Lima (Diapriidae, Diapriinae) and an unidentified species of Pteromalidae. The most abundant parasitoid species was D. areolatus , representing 61.8% of all parasitoids. The parasitoid species recovered were well established in a wide diversity of fruit and Anastrepha fly species, including economically important pests such as A. fraterculus, A. obliqua and A. sororcula . The analysis of the relative abundance of the recovered parasitoids in different fruit species suggests, at least for the three encountered opiine parasitoids, that the host-parasitoid relationship was influenced by certain physical characteristics such as size and weight of the host fruit. Our results support the original proposal of M. Aluja and J. Sivinski (pers. comm.) that some native host plant species for the Anastrepha flies facilitate parasitoid multiplication. They deserve attention as natural enemy reservoirs and may be important to biological control strategies within fruit fly integrated management programs.
Reconfigurable computing: an innovative solution for multimedia and telecommunication networks simulation

Sequential network simulation is a high time-consuming application, and with the emergence of global multihop networks and gigabit-per-second links is becoming a non-affordable problem with traditional simulations. New techniques for the acceleration of these simulations based on other hardware architectures are required. Previous approaches to simulation acceleration are based on parallel computing and reconfigurable completing. A short review of most outstanding approaches showing its benefits and problems is presented in the paper. A new approach based on mapping network simulations on reconfigurable hardware is presented. Most important features of this system are: the acceleration of the simulation by hardware, and the use of a high level network modeling language which allows a transparent use of the hardware by telecommunication engineers. The core of the proposed environment is an automatic tool that compiles the high-level network model and maps the simulator behaviour into the hardware.
Taking smart space users into the development loop: an architecture for community based software development for smart spaces

Smart spaces need driver services to connect accessed hardware and orchestration services to realize scenarios. There is a problem of scale in software development for smart spaces because it is done by few. It is also problematic that those few decide about what is supported and developed. We propose to provide users with tools for community based development of driver and orchestration services. We analyze the requirements for a middleware framework to allow distributed development. We present necessary extensions that promote community based development: (1) a repository for interface definitions, (2) App Store and App Manager, and (3) multi-dimensional ratings. Finally we present how smart space software development can be facilitated using our Distributed Smart Space Orchestration System (DS2OS).
Conservative Management of Severe Open Bite and Feeding Difficulties in Patient with Noonan Syndrome

Noonan syndrome is a multiple malformation disorder with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. Congenital heart defects, short stature, thoracic deformities, short neck with webbing, hypertelorism, malocclusions, and feeding difficulties are some of the commonly observed clinical features. We report on a case of a patient with Noonan syndrome, severe open bite, associated feeding difficulties, and strong gag reflex, discussing conservative management with myofunctional therapy. Myofunctional therapy has demonstrated a successful outcome, reestablishing masticatory function and routine dental home care after an 18-month follow-up.
Transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells promotes partial recovery in rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

OBJECTIVE This study was to investigate the efficacy of olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). METHODS EAE models were established by guinea pig spinal cord homogenate (GPSCH) immunization in Lewis rats. OECs were purified and cultured from the olfactory nerve layer of SD rats, and then transplanted to the EAE models through the vena caudalis (Group A) or into the lateral cerebral ventricle (Group B). Neurological function scores and body weights were daily recorded following transplantation, and histological analysis was performed to assess the pathological changes in EAE rats. RESULTS Cultured cells mainly exhibited bipolar or tripolar morphology, and the majority of these cells were positive for NGFR p75 staining. Neurological function scoring and the body weight measurement showed that, OEC transplantation could significantly improve the performance of EAE rats, and similar results were observed for the transplantation through the vena caudalis and into the lateral cerebral ventricle. Moreover, the transplanted OECs accumulated to the lesions in the brains of EAE rats, in spite of the different transplantation approaches. However, no significant differences in histopathology (HE and LFB staining) were observed between the OEC-transplanted groups and the control group. CONCLUSION OEC transplantation could exert beneficial effects in the treatment of EAE, no matter which the cells were transplanted through the vena caudalis or into the lateral cerebral ventricle. Our findings might provide evidence for the clinical treatment of multiple sclerosis with cell transplantation.
Prevalence of Virulence Genes and Cytolethal Distending Toxin Production in Campylobacter jejuni Isolates from Diarrheal Patients in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT From 300 stool samples, 58 Campylobacter strains were isolated by standard microbiological and biochemical methods. Of these, 40 strains were identified as Campylobacter jejuni and 5 as Campylobacter coli. The presence of flaA (100%), cadF (100%), racR (100%), dnaJ (100%), pldA (100%), ciaB (95%), virB11 (0%), ceuE (82.5%), cdtA (97.5%), cdtB (97.5%), cdtC (97.5%), and wlaN (7.5%) genes was detected in C. jejuni by PCR. All C. jejuni strains but one produced cytolethal distending toxin in a HeLa cell assay.
On the Complexity of the Interlace Polynomial

We consider the two-variable interlace polynomial introduced by Arratia, Bollobas and Sorkin (2004). We develop graph transformations which allow us to derive point-to-point reductions for the interlace polynomial. Exploiting these reductions we obtain new results concerning the computational complexity of evaluating the interlace polynomial at a fixed point. Regarding exact evaluation, we prove that the interlace polynomial is #P-hard to evaluate at every point of the plane, except on one line, where it is trivially polynomial time computable, and four lines, where the complexity is still open. This solves a problem posed by Arratia, Bollobas and Sorkin (2004). In particular, three specializations of the two-variable interlace polynomial, the vertex-nullity interlace polynomial, the vertex-rank interlace polynomial and the independent set polynomial, are almost everywhere #P-hard to evaluate, too. For the independent set polynomial, our reductions allow us to prove that it is even hard to approximate at any point except at 0.
Towards an Ontology-Based Definition of Data Anonymization Policy for Cloud Computing and Big Data

The considerable increase in the use of cloud computing and big data solutions requires the use of advanced technologies to ensure data security, privacy and dependability. One of the possible solutions is the use of data anonymization techniques, which performs an important role in data privacy protection. There are several techniques and algorithms to implement data anonymization. However, specifications and guidelines to guide and standardize the use of these resources are needed. These guidelines, called anonymization policies, are considered an important asset in organizations that want to protect their customer personal data. Although the use of data anonymization brings great benefits, there are no clear directions for data anonymization policies, which ends up lim- iting its adoption by companies and organizations. This work presents a generic anonymization policy to be used in cloud and big data platforms. It also presents a draft ontology with explicit formal specifications for data anonymization policies. This ontology has three main intentions: (i) to standardize the use of data anonymization policies; (ii) share common understanding of the structure of data anonymization among people; (iii) enable reuse of data anonymization policies. In this work, an ongoing study case within the EUBra-BIGSEA project will be implemented.
Impact of thermal pretreatment and MSW origin on composition and hydrolysability in a sugar platform biorefinery

Municipal solid waste (MSW) is a widely available large volume source of lignocellulosic material containing a waste paper/cardboard mixture which can be converted into fermentable sugars via cellulolytic enzyme hydrolysis in a sugar platform biorefinery. Thermal pretreatments are generally applied to MSW to facilitate the extraction of the lignocellulosic material from recyclable materials (plastics, metals etc.) and improve the paper pulp conversion to sugars. Applying high temperature might enhance food waste solubilisation but may collapse cellulose fibre decreasing its hydrolysability. Low temperature pre-treatment will reduce the energy demand but might result in highly contaminated pulp. Preliminary results showed that the enzymatic hydrolysis performances were dependent on the MSW origins. Using 8 different samples, the impact of thermal pretreatment and MSW origin on pulp composition and hydrolysability was assessed in this work. Low pre-treatment temperature produced pulp which contained less lignocellulosic material but which hydrolysed to a higher degree than MSW treated at high temperatures. High temperature pre-treatment could have exposed more of the inhibiting lignin to cellulase. This information would have a significant economic impact on a commercial plant as expensive autoclave could be advantageously replaced by a cheaper process. Glucan conversions were also found to vary depending on the region, the recycling rate possibly because of the lower recycling rate resulting in the use of less paper additive in the material or the difference in paper production technology (chemical VS mechanical pulping). This could also be explained by the differences in paper composition.
Downlink scheduling in CDMA data networks

Packet data is expected to dominate third generation wireless networks, unlike current generation voice networks. This opens up new and interesting problems. Physical and link layer issues have been studied extensively, while resource allocation and scheduling issues have not been addressed satisfactorily. In this work, we address resource management on the downlink of CDMA packet data networks. Network performance (for example, capacity) has been addressed, but user centric performance has not received much attention. Recently, various non-traditional scheduling schemes based on new metrics have been proposed, and target user performance (mostly without reference to wireless). We adapt these metrics to the CDMA context, and establish some new results for the offline scheduling problem. In addition, we modify a large class of online algorithms to work in our setup and conduct a wide range of experiments. Based on detailed simulations, we infer that:Algorithms which exploit “request sizes” seem to outperform those that do not. Among these, algorithms that also exploit channel conditions provide significantly higher network throughput. Depending on continuous or discretized bandwidth conditions, either pure time multiplexing or a combination of time and code multiplexing strikes an excellent balance between user satisfaction and network performance. Discrete bandwidth conditions can lead to degraded user level performance without much impact on network performance. We argue that the discretization needs to be fine tuned to address this shortcoming.
Internal magnesium, 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, and the regulation of the steady-state volume of human red blood cells by the Na/K/2Cl cotransport system

This study is concerned with the relationship between the Na/K/Cl cotransport system and the steady-state volume (MCV) of red blood cells. Cotransport rate was determined in unfractionated and density- separated red cells of different MCV from different donors to see whether cotransport differences contribute to the difference in the distribution of MCVs. Cotransport, studied in cells at their original MCVs, was determined as the bumetanide (10 microM)-sensitive 22Na efflux in the presence of ouabain (50 microM) after adjusting cellular Na (Nai) and Ki to achieve near maximal transport rates. This condition was chosen to rule out MCV-related differences in Nai and Ki that might contribute to differences in the net chemical driving force for cotransport. We found that in both unfractionated and density-separated red cells the cotransport rate was inversely correlated with MCV. MCV was correlated directly with red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG), whereas total red cell Mg was only slightly elevated in cells with high MCV. Thus intracellular free Mg (Mgifree) is evidently lower in red cells with high 2,3-DPG (i.e., high MCV) and vice versa. Results from flux measurements at their original MCVs, after altering Mgifree with the ionophore A23187, indicated a high Mgi sensitivity of cotransport: depletion of Mgifree inhibited and an elevation of Mgifree increased the cotransport rate. The apparent K0.5 for Mgifree was approximately 0.4 mM. Maximizing Mgifree at optimum Nai and Ki minimized the differences in cotransport rates among the different donors. It is concluded that the relative cotransport rate is regulated for cells in the steady state at their original cell volume, not by the number of copies of the cotransporter but by differences in Mgifree. The interindividual differences in Mgifree, determined primarily by differences in the 2,3-DPG content, are responsible for the differences in the relative cotransport activity that results in an inverse relationship with in vivo differences in MCV. Indirect evidence indicates that the relative cotransport rate, as indexed by Mgifree, is determined by the phosphorylated level of the cotransport system.
A Real Time Optimistic Strategy to achieve Concurrency Control in Mobile Environments Using On-demand Multicasting

In mobile database environments, multiple users may access similar data items irrespective of their physical location leading to concurrent access anomalies. As disconnections and mobility are the common characteristics in mobile environment, performing concurrent access to a particular data item leads to inconsistency. Most of the approaches use locking mechanisms to achieve concurrency control. However this leads to increase in blocking and abort rate. In this paper an optimistic concurrency control strategy using on-demand multicasting is proposed for mobile database environments which guarantees consistency and introduces application-specific conflict detection and resolution strategies. The simulation results specify increase in system throughput by reducing the transaction abort rates as compared to the other optimistic strategies proposed in literature.
The Foldback-like element Galileo belongs to the P superfamily of DNA transposons and is widespread within the Drosophila genus

Galileo is the only transposable element (TE) known to have generated natural chromosomal inversions in the genus Drosophila. It was discovered in Drosophila buzzatii and classified as a Foldback-like element because of its long, internally repetitive, terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) and lack of coding capacity. Here, we characterized a seemingly complete copy of Galileo from the D. buzzatii genome. It is 5,406 bp long, possesses 1,229-bp TIRs, and encodes a 912-aa transposase similar to those of the Drosophila melanogaster 1360 (Hoppel) and P elements. We also searched the recently available genome sequences of 12 Drosophila species for elements similar to Dbuz\Galileo by using bioinformatic tools. Galileo was found in six species (ananassae, willistoni, peudoobscura, persimilis, virilis, and mojavensis) from the two main lineages within the Drosophila genus. Our observations place Galileo within the P superfamily of cut-and-paste transposons and extend considerably its phylogenetic distribution. The interspecific distribution of Galileo indicates an ancient presence in the genus, but the phylogenetic tree built with the transposase amino acid sequences contrasts significantly with that of the species, indicating lineage sorting and/or horizontal transfer events. Our results also suggest that Foldback-like elements such as Galileo may evolve from DNA-based transposon ancestors by loss of the transposase gene and disproportionate elongation of TIRs.
Approximate temporal aggregation

Temporal aggregate queries retrieve summarized information about records with time-evolving attributes. Existing approaches have at least one of the following shortcomings: (i) they incur large space requirements, (ii) they have high processing cost and (iii) they are based on complex structures, which are not available in commercial systems. We solve these problems by approximation techniques with bounded error. We propose two methods: the first one is based on multiversion B-trees and has logarithmic worst-case query cost, while the second technique uses off-the-shelf B- and R-trees, and achieves the same performance in the expected case. We experimentally demonstrate that the proposed methods consume an order of magnitude less space than their competitors and are significantly faster, even for cases that the permissible error bound is very small.
Local elongation of stretched filled rubber surface

Local elongation of the surface of a stretched rubber is estimated by comparing the stiffness of stretched filled (30 or 50 phr of silicica) styrene-butadiene vulcanizate and the results of finite element simulation of the indentation of the unfilled elastomer. The local strain exceeds the macroscopic value, yet the weakly loaded areas are also present. As the macroscopic elongation increases, the oriented polymer strands are formed, whose strain is particularly high. An increase in the filler content significantly increases the number and local elongation of strands. The highest tensile loads of the filled matrix occur in the gaps with the initial size of 100 nm. The limitations of the dynamic indentation of stretched elastomers are shown.
Numerical Evaluation of Biomechanical Stresses in Dental Bridges Supported by Dental Implants

The number of supporting dental implants is an important criterion for the surgical outcome of dental bridge fixation, which has considerable impact on biomechanical load transfer characteristics. Excessive stress at the bone–implant interface by masticatory loading may result in implant failure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the number of implants supporting the dental bridge on stress in neighboring tissues around the implants. Results of the study will provide useful information on appropriate surgical techniques for dental bridge fixation. In this study, osseointegrated smooth cylindrical dental implants of same diameter and length were numerically analyzed, using three-dimensional bone–implant models. The effect of the number of supporting implants on biomechanical stability of dental bridge was examined, using two, three and four supporting implants. All materials were assumed to be linearly elastic and isotropic. Masticatory load was applied in coron-apical direction on the external part of dental bridge. Finite Element (FE) analyses were run to solve for von Mises stress. Maximum von Mises stresses were located in the cervical line of cortical bone around dental implants. Peak von Mises stress values decreased with an increase in the number of implants that support the dental bridge. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of using the correct number of supporting implants to for dental bridge fixation.
How common is self-incompatibility across species of the herkogamous genus Ariocarpus?

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Self-incompatibility (SI), the most effective mechanism to prevent selfing, may limit the number of compatible mates in populations. The seven species of Ariocarpus are endangered and predominantly outcrossers but fruit set may reach 1-20% after selfing. We aimed to determine whether SI is the underlying mechanism influencing mating in Ariocarpus species. METHODS We characterized the presence/absence of SI using pollination treatments (self-pollination, cross-pollination, natural pollination) in one population per species. We assessed SI using epifluorescence and generalized linear models (GLMs) to compare the presence of pollen tubes in the stigma, stylar transmitting tissue, and ovary among self- and cross-pollinated pistils 48 h after pollination. Following the same treatments, production of fruit set was noted and related to pollen tube growth. KEY RESULTS Pollen tubes were found more frequently in the ovaries of natural and cross-pollinated flowers than in ovaries of self-pollinated. Stylar rejection of self-pollen indicated gametophytic SI, although pollen tubes reached the ovaries in six species (4-33% of pistils). Fruit set was lower after hand-pollinations than expected from pollen tube observations. CONCLUSIONS The low percentages of self-compatibility in all species in pollen tube growth and pollination experiments indicated that no species had complete self-sterility, suggesting the presence of partial SI. Reduced fruit set relative to pollen tube production could result from a threshold of insufficient pollination, early-acting inbreeding depression, or resource limitation. The origin of partial SI in Ariocarpus could respond to pressures such as pollen limitation and population size.
Perspectives of graphene-nucleotide complexes for the development of new bioelectronics devices

The purpose of this work is to study the physical phenomena that arise during contact of DNA nucleotides with a graphene substrate, and the numerical evaluation of the electrically conductive properties of graphene-nucleotide complexes. As a graphene substrate we considered graphene nanoribbons of armchair and zigzag type. We investigated changes in the atomic structure of the graphene-nucleotide complexes. Such characteristics of the complexes as charge redistribution, electron transmission functions, electrical conductivity and current-voltage characteristic were calculated using Nonequilibrium Green’s function (NGF) matrices method. In order to calculate the electrical conductivity we constructed a model, where semi-infinite graphene sheets with the zigzag and armchair edges acted as electrodes, respectively. The search for the equilibrium configuration of graphenenucleotide complexe was carried out by the method of relaxation scanning of the multi-well potential of the nucleotide interaction energy with a carbon object. Analysis of the calculated resistances and current-voltage characteristic showed that the most suitable for biosensorics are graphene nanoribbons of the zigzag type.