Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A framework for constructing semantically composable feature models from natural language requirements

Software Product Line Engineering (SPLE) requires the construction of feature models from large, unstructured and heterogeneous documents, and the reliable derivation of product variants from the resulting model. This can be an arduous task when performed manually, and can be error-prone in the presence of a change in requirements. In this paper we introduce a tool suite which automatically processes natural-language requirements documents into a candidate feature model, which can be refined by the requirements engineer. The framework also guides the process of identifying variant concerns and their composition with other features. We also provide language support for specifying semantic variant feature compositions which are resilient to change. We show that feature models produced by this framework compare favourably with those produced by domain experts by application to a real-life industrial example.
The meanings of qipao as traditional dress: Chinese and Taiwanese perspectives

The development of the qipao as a representative, traditional Chinese symbol involves a series of complicated processes including the process of“being modern”and“being Chinese. ” The researcher investigated how qipao is defined by and has meanings for young women from Chinese and Taiwanese cultures. The purposes of the study were 1) to explore how these women understand and interpret the qipao and 2) to investigate how cultural contexts play a role in the interpretation and use of qipao. Literature was reviewed to investigate how the qipao became representative Chinese dress and what were historical meanings of the qipao. A sample of 14 international Chinese (P.R.C.) and Taiwanese female university students was selected (seven from each country with ages ranging from 24 to 30). All had studied in the U.S.A. less than three years. Open-ended, in-depth interviews were conducted, during which varied qipao photos were used as autodrivers and stimuli to help respondents talk about cultural meanings and define style criteria for qipao. Bourdieu’s practice theory served as the framework of analysis, incorporating semiological analysis to gain understanding of the object structure and subjective interpretation to explore the multi-layered meanings of qipao practices. Paradigmatic and syntagmatic codes of qipao were established. The results also demonstrated the fluidity and instability of traditions. How knowledge of the qipao has been disseminated within cultures and how individuals personally learned about the qipao affected respondents' definitions of traditional qipao and its situational usage. Taiwanese and Chinese responses had similarities in interpretations of cultural and ethnic meanings of qipao. Taiwanese were significantly different from Chinese in describing how the qipao is used as national dress; political conflicts between the two countries may be reflected in
Involvement of the ERK mitogen‐activated protein kinase in cell resistance to complement‐mediated lysis

Sublytic doses of complement desensitize cells and make them resistant to lytic complement doses. This process, named complement‐induced protection, requires calcium ion influx, protein kinase C activation and protein synthesis. The involvement of the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase, ERK, in cell desensitization by sublytic complement was examined in erythroleukaemia K562 cells and in COS‐7 cells. As shown here, ERK is activated in K562 and COS‐7 cells within 10 min of sublytic immune attack and then shows a decline and a second peak of activation at 20 min. C7‐ and C8‐deficient human sera have a small effect on ERK activity. However, a significant increase in ERK activation is observed when C7 or C8, respectively, is added back to these sera. Complement‐induced ERK activation was blocked in cells treated with GF109203X or Go6976, two selective PKC inhibitors, as well as by treatment with PD098059, an inhibitor of MEK1, the ERK kinase. PD098059 treatment also sensitized K562 cells to complement‐mediated lysis and prevented complement‐induced protection. COS‐7 cells transfected with a dominant‐negative MEK plasmid were incapable of undergoing the process of complement‐induced protection. In conclusion, cell desensitization by sublytic doses of the complement membrane attack complex involves a signalling cascade that includes PKC‐mediated ERK activation.
Adaptable SLA-Aware Consistency Tuning for Quorum-Replicated Datastores

Users of distributed datastores that employ quorum-based replication are burdened with the choice of a suitable client-centric consistency setting for each storage operation. The above matching choice is difficult to reason about as it requires deliberating about the tradeoff between the latency and staleness, i.e., how stale (old) the result is. The latency and staleness for a given operation depend on the client-centric consistency setting applied, as well as dynamic parameters such as the current workload and network condition. We present OptCon, a machine learning-based predictive framework, that can automate the choice of client-centric consistency setting under user-specified latency and staleness thresholds given in the service level agreement (SLA). Under a given SLA, OptCon predicts a client-centric consistency setting that is matching, i.e., it is weak enough to satisfy the latency threshold, while being strong enough to satisfy the staleness threshold. While manually tuned consistency settings remain fixed unless explicitly reconfigured, OptCon tunes consistency settings on a per-operation basis with respect to changing workload and network state. Using decision tree learning, OptCon yields 0.14 cross validation error in predicting matching consistency settings under latency and staleness thresholds given in the SLA. We demonstrate experimentally that OptCon is at least as effective as any manually chosen consistency settings in adapting to the SLA thresholds for different use cases. We also demonstrate that OptCon adapts to variations in workload, whereas a given manually chosen fixed consistency setting satisfies the SLA only for a characteristic workload.
Bivalent histone modifications in stem cells poise miRNA loci for CpG island hypermethylation in human cancer

It has been proposed that the existence of stem cell epigenetic patterns confer a greater likelihood of CpG island hypermethylation on tumor suppressor-coding genes in cancer. The suggested mechanism is based on the Polycomb-mediated methylation of K27 of histone H3 and the recruitment of DNA methyltransferases on the promoters of tumor suppressor genes in cancer cells, when those genes are preferentially pre-marked in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) with bivalent chromatin domains. On the other hand, miRNAs appear to be dysregulated in cancer, with many studies reporting silencing of miRNA genes due to aberrant hypermethylation of their promoter regions. We wondered whether a pre-existing histone modification profile in stem cells might also contribute to the DNA methylation-associated silencing of miRNA genes in cancer. To address this, we examined a group of tumor suppressor miRNA genes previously reported to become hypermethylated and inactivated specifically in cancer cells. We analyzed the epigenetic events that take place along their promoters in human embryonic stem cells and in transformed cells. Our results suggest that there is a positive correlation between the existence of bivalent chromatin domains on miRNA promoters in ESCs and the hypermethylation of those genes in cancer, leading us to conclude that this epigenetic mark could be a mechanism that prepares miRNA promoters for further DNA hypermethylation in human tumors.
Internet architecture evolution and the complex economies of content peering

In recent years, the Internet has been evolving from a hierarchical (multi-level) network to a flatter structure, due in large part to the exponential increase in end user video consumption. This evolution of the Internet has resulted in more highly interconnected ISPs and content providers, with tens, hundreds, and even thousands of inter-domain connections. Each domain or autonomous system (AS) connects to many others through so-called peering connections aimed at reducing expenses and improving performance in a highly competitive on-demand video world. The economics of settlement-free “peering” with neighboring Internet service providers (ISPs), compared to buying “transit” from a backbone provider were attractive several years ago. However, we will show that this approach has created “diseconomies” and loopholes in the Internet ecosystem leading to unbalanced economics. This paper will look at the operation and architecture of the Internet today and how economics have played a strong role in the evolution of the topology. Peering was intended as a reciprocal relationship between ISPs used for symmetric traffic exchange without fees being passed between peering partners. However, as transit fees grew due to increasing video traffic, asymmetric peering with content partners (known as “content peering”) emerged as an alternative peering arrangement. Content peering relationships grew dramatically over the last several years and, as a result, transit expenses fell substantially from several hundred per month dollars to under $10 per Mb/s per month today. While this peering provided temporary economic relief for ISPs, the longer-term consequences were not anticipated. This paper makes the argument that large content providers have used their dominant traffic position (e.g., Google may represent 10 to 20 percent of transit traffic) to mandate content peering. ISPs faced with significantly increasing costs due to large volumes of content providers' traffic were compelled to accept asymmetric peering, in which more content was sourced into their networks than was sourced by their networks. This asymmetric peering was positioned by content providers as mutually beneficial to the ISPs but our analysis shows that the long term impact of content peering is negative for the ISPs. We have developed a representative economic model for the Internet which is used to provide insight into the cost and revenue distributions for different types of ISPs. This model is used to clearly and quantitatively demonstrate the economic imbalance that exists between ISPs and large content providers. © 2012 Alcatel-Lucent.
Analysis of Femto Base Station Network Deployment

In this paper, assurance of proper downlink outage probability, which is a design criterion based on feasible femto base station (BS) density, is analyzed. Considering femto BS deployment, a 3-D Poisson model of random spatial distribution and stochastic geometry are used. From the study, a closed form of feasible femto BS density will be identified. The analysis results not only can be used to predict the performance of various femto BS deployment scenarios but also can be used as a design criterion for resource control mechanism designs.
Receptor-activated Ca2+ Influx via Human Trp3 Stably Expressed in Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK)293 Cells

Ca2+ release from its internal stores as a result of activation of phospholipase C is accompanied by Ca2+ influx from the extracellular space. Ca2+influx channels may be formed of proteins homologous toDrosophila Trp. At least six non-allelic Trpgenes are present in the mouse genome. Full-length human, bovine, mouse, and rat cDNAs for Trp1, 3, 4, 6 have been cloned. Expression of these genes in various mammalian cells has provided evidence that Trp proteins form plasma membrane Ca2+-permeant channels that can be activated by an agonist that activates phospholipase C, by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, and/or store depletion. We have stably expressed human Trp3 (hTrp3) in human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells. Measurement of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations in Fura2-loaded cells showed that cell lines expressing hTrp3 have significantly higher basal and agonist-stimulated influxes of Ca2+, Mn2+, Ba2+, and Sr2+ than control cells. The increase in Ca2+ entry attributable to the expression of hTrp3 obtained upon store depletion by thapsigargin was much lower than that obtained by stimulation with agonists acting via a Gq-coupled receptor. Addition of agonists to thapsigargin-treated Trp3 cells resulted in a further increase in the entry of divalent cations. The increased cation entry in Trp3 cells was blocked by high concentrations of SKF 96365, verapamil, La3+, Ni2+, and Gd3+. The Trp3-mediated Ca2+ influx activated by agonists was inhibited by a phospholipase C inhibitor, U73122. We propose that expression of hTrp3 in these cells forms a non-selective cation channel that opens after the activation of phospholipase C but not after store depletion. In addition, a subpopulation of the expressed hTrp3 may form heteromultimeric channels with endogenous proteins that are sensitive to store depletion.
Efficient Resonant Inductive Coupling Energy Transfer Using New Magnetic and Design Criteria

This paper describes some theoretical and experimental results obtained in an effort to optimize the series resonant converter (SRC) when used with a loosely coupled transformer for inductive coupling power transfer (ICPT). The main goal of this work is to define precisely which mode of operation of the power stage is the most efficient. The results also suggest a way to choose the design criteria for the physical parameters (operation frequency, characteristic impedance, transformer ratio, etc.) to achieve that mode of operation. The analysis involves also the investigation of the separated in two halves pot core ferrite transformer, especially the way it changes its magnetizing and leakage fluxes and hence, inductances. It is shown that for the practical values of the separation distance, the leakage inductance remains almost unchanged. Nevertheless the current distribution between the primary and the secondary windings changes drastically due to the large variation of the magnetizing inductance. The analysis has lead to a set of equations with solutions that show graphically the way to an optimized operation of the converter, i.e. higher primary currents and higher transformer ratios to fit in the desired mode
Propagation of calibration errors in prospective motion correction using external tracking

Prospective motion correction of MRI scans using an external tracking device (such as a camera) is becoming increasingly popular, especially for imaging of the head. In order for external tracking data to be transformed into the MR scanner reference frame, the pose (i.e., position and orientation) of the camera relative to the scanner—or cross‐calibration—must be accurate. In this study, we investigated how errors in cross‐calibration affect the accuracy of motion correction feedback in MRI.
Dynamic Clustering of Interval-Valued Data Based on Adaptive Quadratic Distances

This paper presents partitioning dynamic clustering methods for interval-valued data based on suitable adaptive quadratic distances. These methods furnish a partition and a prototype for each cluster by optimizing an adequacy criterion that measures the fitting between the clusters and their representatives. These adaptive quadratic distances change at each algorithm iteration and can either be the same for all clusters or different from one cluster to another. Moreover, various tools for the partition and cluster interpretation of interval-valued data are also presented. Experiments with real and synthetic interval-valued data sets show the usefulness of these adaptive clustering methods and the merit of the partition and cluster interpretation tools.
Induction of Myocardial Infarction in Adult Zebrafish Using Cryoinjury

The mammalian heart is incapable of significant regeneration following an acute injury such as myocardial infarction1. By contrast, urodele amphibians and teleost fish retain a remarkable capacity for cardiac regeneration with little or no scarring throughout life2,3. It is not known why only some non-mammalian vertebrates can recreate a complete organ from remnant tissues4,5. To understand the molecular and cellular differences between regenerative responses in different species, we need to use similar approaches for inducing acute injuries. In mammals, the most frequently used model to study cardiac repair has been acute ischemia after a ligation of the coronary artery or tissue destruction after cryoinjury6,7. The cardiac regeneration in newts and zebrafish has been predominantly studied after a partial resection of the ventricular apex2,3. Recently, several groups have established the cryoinjury technique in adult zebrafish8-10. This method has a great potential because it allows a comparative discussion of the results obtained from the mammalian and non-mammalian species. Here, we present a method to induce a reproducible disc-shaped infarct of the zebrafish ventricle by cryoinjury. This injury model is based on rapid freezing-thawing tissue, which results in massive cell death of about 20% of cardiomyocytes of the ventricular wall. First, a small incision was made through the chest with iridectomy scissors to access the heart. The ventricular wall was directly frozen by applying for 23-25 seconds a stainless steel cryoprobe precooled in liquid nitrogen. To stop the freezing of the heart, fish water at room temperature was dropped on the tip of the cryoprobe. The procedure is well tolerated by animals, with a survival rate of 95%. To characterize the regenerative process, the hearts were collected and fixed at different days after cryoinjury. Subsequently, the specimen were embedded for cryosectioning. The slides with sections were processed for histological analysis, in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence. This undertaking enhances our understanding of the factors that are required for the regenerative plasticity in the zebrafish, and provide new insights into the machinery of cardiac regeneration. A conceptual and molecular understanding of heart regeneration in zebrafish will impact both developmental biology and regenerative medicine.
Kinetic analysis of the interactions between Troponin C (TnC) and Troponin I (TnI) binding peptides: evidence for separate binding sites for the ‘structural’ N‐terminus and the ‘regulatory’ C‐terminus of TnI on TnC

The Ca2+/Mg2+‐dependent interactions between TnC and TnI play a critical role in regulating the ‘on’ and ‘off’ states of muscle contraction as well as maintaining the structural integrity of the troponin complex in the off state. In the present study, we have investigated the binding interactions between the N‐terminus of TnI (residues 1–40 of skeletal TnI) and skeletal TnC in the presence of Ca2+ ions, Mg2+ ions and in the presence of the C‐terminal regulatory region peptides: TnI96–115, TnI96–131 and TnI96–139. Our results show the N‐terminus of TnI can bind to TnC with high affinity in the presence of Ca2+ or Mg2+ ions with apparent equilibrium dissociation constants of K d Ca 2+ = 48 nM and K d Mg 2+ = 29 nM. The apparent association and dissociation rate constants for the interactions were, kon = 4.8 × 105 M −1 s−1, 3.4 × 105 M −1 s−1 and koff = 2.3 × 10−2 s−1, 1.0 × 10−2 s−1 for TnC(Ca2+) and TnC(Mg2+) states, respectively. Competition studies between each of the TnI regions and TnC showed that both TnI regions can bind simultaneously to TnC while native gel electrophoresis and SEC confirmed the formation of stable ternary complexes between TnI96–139 (or TnI96–131) and TnC–TnI1–40. Further analysis of the binding interactions in the ternary complex showed the binding of the TnI regulatory region to TnC was critically dependent upon the presence of both TnC binding sites (i.e. TnI96–115 and TnI116–131) and the presence of Ca2+. Furthermore, the presence of TnI1–40 slightly weakened the affinity of the regulatory peptides for TnC. Taken together, these results support the model for TnI–TnC interaction where the N‐terminus of TnI remains bound to the C‐domain of TnC in the presence of high and low Ca2+ levels while the TnI regulatory region (residues 96–139) switches in its binding interactions between the actin‐tropomyosin thin filament and its own sites on the N‐ and C‐domain of TnC at high Ca2+ levels, thus regulating muscle contraction. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Insulin-like Growth Factor-I Receptor Internalization Regulates Signaling via the Shc/Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Pathway, but Not the Insulin Receptor Substrate-1 Pathway*

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptors activate divergent signaling pathways by phosphorylating multiple cellular proteins, including insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and the Shc proteins. Following hormone binding, IGF-I receptors cluster into clathrin-coated pits and are internalized via an endocytotic mechanism. This study investigates the relationship between IGF-I receptor internalization and signaling via IRS-1 and Shc. A mutation in the C terminus of the IGF-I receptor decreased both the rate of receptor internalization and IGF-I-stimulated Shc phosphorylation by more than 50%, but did not affect IRS-1 phosphorylation. Low temperature (15 °C) decreased IGF-I receptor internalization and completely inhibited Shc phosphorylation. Although receptor and IRS-1 phosphorylation were decreased in accordance with delayed binding kinetics at 15 °C, the ratio of IRS-1 to receptor phosphorylation was increased more than 2-fold. Dansylcadaverine decreased receptor internalization and Shc phosphorylation, but did not change receptor or IRS-1 phosphorylation. Consistent with these findings, dansylcadaverine inhibited IGF-I-stimulated Shc-Grb2 association, mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, and p90 ribosomal S6 kinase activation, but did not affect the association of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase with IRS-1 or activation of p70 S6 kinase. These data support the concept that Shc/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway activation requires IGF-I receptor internalization, whereas the IRS-1 pathway is activated by both cell surface and endosomal receptors.
Measurement lab: overview and an invitation to the research community

Measurement Lab (M-Lab) is an open, distributed server platform for researchers to deploy active Internet measurement tools. The goal of M-Lab is to advance network research and empower the public with useful information about their broadband connections. By enhancing Internet transparency, M-Lab helps sustain a healthy, innovative Internet. This article describes M-Lab's objectives, administrative organization, software and hardware infrastructure. It also provides an overview of the currently available measurement tools and datasets, and invites the broader networking research community to participate in the project.