Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Network vulnerability in two-phase evolution

Contrary to traditional evolutionary models of complex networks a novel consideration with two-formation & degradation - phases has been proposed. To clarify which of the stages of the phases are more sensible the evolving network has been put to simulated attacks. A novel integral vulnerability metrics has been proposed which demonstrated strong dependence on the network growth rate of the stage put under short time attacks. It was found that the higher the rate is the higher pertinent vulnerability is observed. The study gives a dynamic scope for future analysis of network security, hints to build resilient network systems, and ways to perform network management effectively.
DPerm: Assisting the Migration of Android Apps to Runtime Permissions

Android apps require permissions when accessing resources related to privacy or system integrity. Starting from Android 6, these permissions have to be asked at runtime. However, migrating to the new permission model poses multiple challenges for developers. First, developers have to discover where the app uses permissions, which requires a permission specification. To date several such specifications have been built, yet these are either imprecise, incomplete or don't support all types of protected resources. We first present DPSpec, a novel permission specification built from several documentation formats supplied with the Android SDK. Compared with the state the art specification, it contains 2.5x as many entries for protected methods and detects dangerous permission usages in more than twice as many apps. A second challenge for developers is where to insert permission requests, with possible locations restricted by the request mechanism. We also present DPerm, a static analysis for Android apps that recommends locations for permission requests in code. It achieves high precision through context sensitivity and improves recall through a general call graph augmentation algorithm for incomplete code. Our empirical evaluation on 32 apps shows a precision of 96% and recall of 89%.
Proneness to guilt, shame, and pride in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and neurotypical children

Self‐conscious emotions (e.g., guilt, shame, and pride) are complex emotions that require self‐reflection and self‐evaluation, and are thought to facilitate the maintenance of societal norms and personal standards. Despite the importance of self‐conscious emotions, most research has focused on basic emotion processing in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Therefore, in the present study, we used the Test of Self‐Conscious Affect for Children (TOSCA‐C) to assess proneness to, or propensity to experience, the self‐conscious emotions guilt, shame, and pride in children with ASD and neurotypical children. The TOSCA‐C is designed to capture a child's natural tendency to experience a given emotion across a range of everyday situations [Tangney, Stuewig, & Mashek, 2007]. We also assessed how individual characteristics contribute to the development of proneness to self‐conscious emotions, including theory of mind (ToM) and ASD symptomatology. In comparison to neurotypical children, children with ASD showed less proneness to guilt, although all children showed relatively high levels of proneness to guilt. Greater ToM ability was related to more proneness to guilt and authentic pride in children with ASD. Additionally, we found that children with ASD with more severe symptomatology were more prone to hubristic pride. Our results provide evidence of differences in proneness to self‐conscious emotions in children with ASD, as well as highlight important mechanisms contributing to how children with ASD may experience self‐conscious emotions. Autism Res 2018,11:883–892. ©2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Detailed modeling of wind power plants incorporating variable-speed Synchronous Generator

The modeling of wind power plants incorporating synchronous generator and full-converters for using in power system simulations is presented in this paper. In other words, all components of the above-mentioned power plant using typical values as well as their corresponding control systems are in details modeled and also simulated. The control strategy of the variable-speed wind turbine is the maximum power point tracking strategy which guarantees gathering the maximum possible wind energy under normal operation of power plant. In order to model Synchronous Generator (SG), the space-phasor coordinates with orthogonal direct (d) and quadrature (q) axes are used. The generator is controlled using two back-to-back converters with current vector control method. Having these full-controlled converters and pitch control system, the electric grid requirements can be satisfied by controlling active and reactive power at the point of common coupling. Unlike old wind power plants, this ability aids the power system to be more stable. Finally, simulation results are compared with data measured at a 20-MW wind park with the same topology in Germany. The proper coincidence between simulations and measured data proves the validity of the proposed model to be used in power system simulations, especially transient simulations.
Ability of the hydrophobic FGF and basic TAT peptides to promote cellular uptake of recombinant Cre recombinase: A tool for efficient genetic engineering of mammalian genomes

Conditional mutagenesis is a powerful tool to analyze gene functions in mammalian cells. The site-specific recombinase Cre can be used to recombine loxP-modified alleles under temporal and spatial control. However, the efficient delivery of biologically active Cre recombinase to living cells represents a limiting factor. In this study we compared the potential of a hydrophobic peptide modified from Kaposi fibroblast growth factor with a basic peptide derived from HIV-TAT to promote cellular uptake of recombinant Cre. We present the production and characterization of a Cre protein that enters mammalian cells and subsequently performs recombination with high efficiency in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Histidine-tagged Cre recombinase transduced inefficiently unless fused to a nuclear localization signal (NLS). Fusion of NLS-Cre to the fibroblast growth factor transduction peptide did not improve the transducibility, whereas fusion with the TAT peptide significantly enhanced cellular uptake and subsequent recombination. More than 95% recombination efficiency in fibroblast cells, as well as murine embryonic stem cells, was achieved after His-TAT-NLS-Cre transduction. Efficient recombination could also be obtained in primary splenocytes ex vivo. We expect that application of His-TAT-NLS-Cre, which can be produced readily in large quantities from a bacterial source, will expand our abilities to manipulate mammalian genomes.
Is the Mood Disorder Questionnaire an appropriate screening tool in detecting bipolar spectrum disorder among substance use populations?

Background: Bipolar spectrum disorder (BSD) has been shown to be difficult to assess in general and is further complicated by the presence of substance use disorder (SUD). Objective: To review the specificity of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) in detecting BSD among substance abusers. Method: A retrospective chart review was conducted using 183 SUD patients who were screened using the MDQ and later assessed by a psychiatrist specializing in BSD. Results: Among SUD patients scoring positive results on the MDQ for the presence of BSD, the BSD diagnosis could only be confirmed in 23% of the sample by an expert psychiatrist. Conclusions: The MDQ reports low specificity in detecting BSD among SUD populations. Scientific Significance: Physicians should question individuals on substance use behaviors if BSD is suspected due to high rates of comorbidity and diagnostic challenges.
Online support vector regression based actor-critic method

This paper proposes a new algorithm for actor-critic method using online support vector regression(SVR), which can do incremental learning and automatically track variation of environment with time-varying characteristics. It gives good generalization properties to value function approximation and helps the critic converge fast. In addition, sample vectors in data set of the online SVR are used as center positions of actor's basis functions. Actor updates policy parameters with those functions using policy gradient algorithm. Throughout simulations, the feasibility and usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparison with other methods.
Analysis and performance evaluation of turbo equalizer for fast equalization in single-carrier system

The BER performance of conventional single-carrier system is seriously affected by ISI (inter-symbol interference) channel. In order to overcome ISI channel, we can consider the turbo equalization technique in single-carrier systems. The turbo equalizer performs iterative equalization and decoding at receiver side. That is, the turbo equalizer feed the extrinsic information back to SISO(soft-input soft-output) equalizer from SISO decoder. The turbo equalizer commonly used to calculate LLR (log-likelihood ratio) value for iteration. In addition, the turbo equalizer used to adapt MAP (maximum a posterior probability) algorithm. In this paper, we analysis and evaluate the performance of turbo equalizer for fast equalization using convolutional, turbo and LDPC code.
Methods and Applications in Fluorescence TOPICAL REVIEW Fluorescence lifetime based bioassays

Fluorescence lifetime (FLT) is a robust intrinsic property andmaterial constant offluorescentmatter. Measuring this important physical indicator has evolved from a laboratory curiosity to a powerful and established technique for a variety of applications in drug discovery,medical diagnostics and basic biological research. This distinct trendwasmainly driven by improved andmeanwhile affordable laser and detection instrumentation on the one hand, and the development of suitable FLT probes and biological assays on the other. In this process two essential working approaches emerged. Thefirst one is primarily focused on high throughput applications employing biochemical in vitro assays with no requirement for high spatial resolution. The second evenmore dynamic trend is the significant expansion of assaymethods combining highly time and spatially resolved fluorescence data by fluorescence lifetime imaging. The latter approach is currently pursued to enable not only the investigation of immortal tumor cell lines, but also specific tissues or even organs in living animals. This review tries to give an actual overview about the current status of FLT based bioassays and the wide range of application opportunities in biomedical and life science areas. In addition, future trends of FLT technologies will be discussed.
Efficient Biostimulation of Native and Introduced Quorum-Quenching Rhodococcus erythropolis Populations Is Revealed by a Combination of Analytical Chemistry, Microbiology, and Pyrosequencing

ABSTRACT Degradation of the quorum-sensing (QS) signals known as N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHL) by soil bacteria may be useful as a beneficial trait for protecting crops, such as potato plants, against the worldwide pathogen Pectobacterium. In this work, analytical chemistry and microbial and molecular approaches were combined to explore and compare biostimulation of native and introduced AHL-degrading Rhodococcus erythropolis populations in the rhizosphere of potato plants cultivated in farm greenhouses under hydroponic conditions. We first identified gamma-heptalactone (GHL) as a novel biostimulating agent that efficiently promotes plant root colonization by AHL-degrading R. erythropolis population. We also characterized an AHL-degrading biocontrol R. erythropolis isolate, R138, which was introduced in the potato rhizosphere. Moreover, root colonization by AHL-degrading bacteria receiving different combinations of GHL and R138 treatments was compared by using a cultivation-based approach (percentage of AHL-degrading bacteria), pyrosequencing of PCR-amplified rrs loci (total bacterial community), and quantitative PCR (qPCR) of the qsdA gene, which encodes an AHL lactonase in R. erythropolis. Higher densities of the AHL-degrading R. erythropolis population in the rhizosphere were observed when GHL treatment was associated with biocontrol strain R138. Under this condition, the introduced R. erythropolis population displaced the native R. erythropolis population. Finally, chemical analyses revealed that GHL, gamma-caprolactone (GCL), and their by-products, gamma-hydroxyheptanoic acid and gamma-hydroxycaproic acid, rapidly disappeared from the rhizosphere and did not accumulate in plant tissues. This integrative study highlights biostimulation as a potential innovative approach for improving root colonization by beneficial bacteria.
Inverting and latching optical logic gates based on the integration of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and photothyristors

Inverting optical logic gates based on the monolithic integration of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with a heterojunction photothyristor (PNPN) are described. Logic functions INVERT, NAND, and NOR are experimentally demonstrated for the first time using latchable and cascadable PNPN/VCSEL switches, which can be triggered with very low optical energy, while producing high optical gain and optical contrast. These gates are integrable on a single epitaxial structure to provide multifunctional logic and memory arrays. <<ETX>>
Correlating Yeast Cell Stress Physiology to Changes in the Cell Surface Morphology: Atomic Force Microscopic Studies

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a powerful biophysical tool in biotechnology and medicine to investigate the morphological, physical, and mechanical properties of yeasts and other biological systems. However, properties such as, yeasts' response to environmental stresses, metabolic activities of pathogenic yeasts, cell-cell/cell-substrate adhesion, and cell-flocculation have rarely been investigated so far by using biophysical tools. Our recent results obtained by AFM on one strain each of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe show a clear correlation between the physiology of environmentally stressed yeasts and the changes in their surface morphology. The future directions of the AFM related techniques in relation to yeasts are also discussed.
Quaternary structure is critical for protein display on capsid‐like particles (CLPs): Efficient generation of hepatitis B virus CLPs presenting monomeric but not dimeric and tetrameric fluorescent proteins

Self‐organizing assemblies such as viral capsids may be used as symmetrical molecular platforms for the display of heterologous sequences, with applications ranging from vaccines to structural studies. The 183‐amino‐acid hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein assembles spontaneously into icosahedral capsid‐like particles (CLPs). The most exposed, and most immunogenic, substructure on the CLPs is a small loop that connects two long antiparallel α‐helices which act as dimerization interface. Ninety (90) or 120 dimers multimerize into the capsid; the four‐helix bundles formed by the dimers protrude as spikes from the surface. We recently demonstrated that the entire enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) can be inserted into this loop, yielding CLPs that natively displayed eGFP on their surface. The central location of the insertion site requires that any insert be fixed to the carrier via both termini, with corresponding restrictions regarding insert size and structure. eGFP obviously satisfied these criteria but, surprisingly, all attempts to produce CLPs with the isostructural red fluorescent proteins DsRed1, DsRed2, and HcRed failed. Suspecting their oligomerization tendency to be responsible, we generated fusions containing instead monomeric yellow, cyan, and red fluorescent proteins (mYFP, mCFP and mRFP1). This strongly increased the yields of YFP and CFP‐CLPs, and it allowed for the first time to efficiently generate red fluorescent CLPs. Hence insert quaternary structure is a highly critical factor for CLP assembly. These data have important implications for the rational design of self‐assembling fusion proteins. Proteins 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the complementarity of classical test theory and item response models: item difficulty estimates and computerized adaptive testing

O presente artigo tem por objetivo fornecer evidencia estatistica sobre a complementaridade entre a teoria classica dos testes e os modelos de resposta ao item para determinados fins de avaliacao educacional. Essa complementaridade pode contribuir para o desenvolvimento futuro de processos inovadores de calibracao dos items no contexto de testes adaptativos, a custo reduzido. A teoria classica dos testes e o modelo de resposta ao item de credito parcial generalizado sao aplicados a testes compostos por items de multipla escolha, de resposta curta, de completamento e de resposta aberta, parcialmente classificados. Os conjuntos de dados advem dos testes realizados junto da populacao portuguesa de estudantes inscritos no 4o e no 6o ano. Os intervalos de confianca de 95% baseados em 1.000 amostras bootstrap revelam uma forte associacao entre as estimativas da dificuldade do item, corroborando a teoria estatistica de testes psicologicos.
Fixed point attractors of dynamical systems

In this paper, after studying some properties of attracting fixed points, we focus on the conditions on which a fixed point becomes an attractor. And the results are as follows: (1) the fixed point of a system is an attractor when is a contraction map of a locally compact metric space or an ultimate contraction map of a compact metric space; (2) with respect to one kind of weakly contraction map of a compact metric space, a necessary and sufficient condition of an attracting fixed point is provided.
Thermo-stability of seven Hepatitis C virus genotypes in vitro and in vivo

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted primarily through percutaneous exposure to contaminated blood especially in health care settings and among people who inject drugs. The environmental stability of HCV has been extrapolated from studies with the bovine viral diarrhea virus or was so far only addressed with HCV genotype 2a viruses. The aim of this study was to compare the environmental and thermo-stability of all so far known seven HCV genotypes in vitro and in vivo. Incubation experiments at room temperature revealed that all HCV genotypes showed similar environmental stabilities in suspension with viral infectivity detectable for up to 28 days. The risk of HCV infection may not accurately be reflected by determination of HCV RNA levels. However, viral stability and transmission risks assessed from in vitro experiments correlated with viral infectivity in transgenic mice containing human liver xenografts. A reduced viral stability for up to two days was observed at 37°C with comparable decays for all HCV genotypes confirmed by thermodynamic analysis. These results demonstrate that different HCV genotypes possess comparable stability in the environment and that non-infectious particles after incubation in vitro do not cause infection in an HCV in vivo model. These findings are important for estimation of HCV cross-transmission in the environment and indicate that different HCV genotypes do not display an altered stability or resistance at certain temperatures.
LPV methods for fault-tolerant vehicle dynamic control

This paper aims at presenting the interest of the Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) methods for vehicle dynamics control, in particular when some actuators may be in failure. The cases of the semi-active suspension control problem and the yaw control using braking, steering and suspension actuators will be presented. In the first part, we will consider the semi-active suspension control problem, where some sensors or actuator (damper leakage) faults are considered. From a quarter-car vehicle model including a non linear semi-active damper model, an LPV model will be described, accounting for some actuator fault represented as some varying parameters. A single LPV fault-tolerant control approach is then developed to manage the system performances and constraints. In the second part the synthesis of a robust gain-scheduled H = vehicle dynamic stability controller, involving front steering, rear braking, and four active suspension actuators, is proposed to improve the yaw stability and lateral performances. An original LPV method for actuator coordination is proposed, when the actuator limitations and eventually failures, are taken into account. Some simulations on a complex full vehicle model (which has been validated on a real car), subject to critical driving situations (in particular a loss of some actuator), show the efficiency and robustness of the proposed solution.
The Dkk3 gene encodes a vital intracellular regulator of cell proliferation

Members of the Dickkopf (Dkk) family of Wnt antagonists interrupt Wnt-induced receptor assembly and participate in axial patterning and cell fate determination. One family member, DKK3, does not block Wnt receptor activation. Loss of Dkk3 expression in cancer is associated with hyperproliferation and dysregulated ß-catenin signaling, and ectopic expression of Dkk3 halts cancer growth. The molecular events mediating the DKK3-dependent arrest of ß-catenin-driven cell proliferation in cancer cells are unknown. Here we report the identification of a new intracellular gene product originating from the Dkk3 locus. This Dkk3b transcript originates from a second transcriptional start site located in intron 2 of the Dkk3 gene. It is essential for early mouse development and is a newly recognized regulator of ß-catenin signaling and cell proliferation. Dkk3b interrupts nuclear translocation ß-catenin by capturing cytoplasmic, unphosphorylated ß-catenin in an extra-nuclear complex with ß-TrCP. These data reveal a new regulator of one of the most studied signal transduction pathways in metazoans and provides a novel, completely untapped therapeutic target for silencing the aberrant ß-catenin signaling that drives hyperproliferation in many cancers.
Plants Against Cancer: A Review on Natural Phytochemicals in Preventing and Treating Cancers and Their Druggability

Cancer remains to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States and around the world. The advent of modern drug-targeted therapies has undeniably improved cancer patients’ cares. However, advanced metastasized cancer remains untreatable. Hence, continued searching for a safer and more effective chemoprevention and treatment is clearly needed for the improvement of the efficiency and to lower the treatment cost for cancer care. Cancer chemoprevention with natural phytochemical compounds is an emerging strategy to prevent, impede, delay, or cure cancer. This review summarizes the latest research in cancer chemoprevention and treatment using the bioactive components from natural plants. Relevant molecular mechanisms involved in the pharmacological effects of these phytochemicals are discussed. Pharmaceutical developmental challenges and opportunities in bringing the phytochemicals into the market are also explored. The authors wish to expand this research area not only for their scientific soundness, but also for their potential druggability.
Sex Offender Polygraph Examination: An Evidence-Based Case Management Tool for Social Workers

This article will review the use of polygraphy in the assessment and treatment of sexual perpetrators. Such information can be utilized by social workers who are involved in the treatment and case management of child sexual abuse cases. First, the controversial literature regarding the validity and reliability of polygraph examination in general will be reviewed. Next, an emerging body of evidence supporting the utility of polygraph testing with sex offenders will be discussed. Finally, ways that social workers can incorporate this knowledge into their case management and clinical roles will be offered.