Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FINGER: A novel erasure coding scheme using fine granularity blocks to improve Hadoop write and update performance

With the explosive increase of the data by volume in various fields of science, engineering, information services, etc., data-intensive computing has gained significant interest in recent years. Various challenges ranging from efficient peta-scale data management to the adoption of highly scalable cloud computing have become a norm for data center administrators. Highly scalable architectures such as Hadoop, BlobSeer and MapR are used in large data centers for efficient data management, and employ 3-way replication for fault tolerance or data availability. One means of reducing storage overhead of replication in data-centers is erasure coding. However, HDFS-RAID (erasure-coded Hadoop) uses large block sizes and does not support update operations. Therefore, changing any file-block content requires recreating the whole file, which effectively reduces the overall write and update performance of the system. We propose FINe Grained ERasure coding scheme (FINGER) for the erasure-coded Hadoop FileSystem, which improves both write and update performance without sacrificing the read performance. The main idea is to chunk the large block size (64 or 128 MB) into smaller chunks; the chunk layout is designed to mitigate extra reads when performing erasure coding on a large block update and maintains the same metdata size as HDFS-RAID. We implement the update operation in Hadoop and conduct testbed experiments to demonstrate that FINGER improves the write and update performance by 38.20% and 8.6% w.r. t. 3-way replication and by 8.08% and up to 5.68×w.r. t HDFS-RAID respectively.
Genetic variation of 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type II in three racial/ethnic groups: Implications for prostate cancer risk

Elevated prostatic dihydrotestosterone (DHT) has been suggested to increase the risk of prostate cancer. The HSD3B2 gene encodes the type II 3β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase: one of two enzymes that initiate the inactivation of DHT. Thus, the HSD3B2 gene is a candidate gene for predisposition to prostate cancer.
Full quiescent current enhancement technique for improving transient response on the output-capacitorless Low-Dropout regulator

Low-Dropout voltage regulators (LDOs) have been widely used in the mobile electronic devices. Due to the purpose of energy saving, LDOs are preferred to perform fast transient response with low quiescent current as they operate at low supply voltage condition. This paper proposes a full quiescent current boosting circuit (FQCB) that is augmented to the LDO for further accelerating the response during the load transient. Compared to the other dynamic bias approach, the proposed technique raises the quiescent current to the maximum quantity during the load transient for maximizing the dynamic bias effect. The designed LDO was implemented by a 0. 35μm CMOS process. Testing results show that the voltage spike is reduced by 65% compared with the LDO without the proposed circuit under the 50mA load change within 300ns. The recovery time is less than 1μs and the stability is guaranteed.
Driver stress level detection using HRV analysis

This paper intends to investigate stress level detection of a driver during real world driving experiment. This detection is based on heart rate variability (HRV) analysis which is derived from ECG signal and reflects autonomic nervous system state of the human body. The alteration of autonomic nervous system predicts the stress level of drivers during driving operation and permits a safe driving by the possibility of an early warning. This stress, taking place during driving, is caused by diverse factors such as changing mood, bio rhythm, fatigue, boredom or disease which can prevent the driver from reaching inappropriate state for driving. In our study, the ECG signal of the driver is extracted and preprocessed in order to perform the HRV analysis. This analysis is accomplished using one of the domain analysis approach such as time, frequency, time-frequency or non-linear methods including Wavelet and STFT. After HRV analysis, several parameters are extracted to build a vector of features for the classification phase. Our experimentation is performed with data issued from 16 different subjects from the Stress Recognition in Automobile Driver database (DRIVEDB). Several classification techniques were investigated including support vector machine with radial basis function (SVM-RBF) kernel, K nearest neighbor (KNN), and radial basis function (RBF) classifiers. Our results indicate that stress detection could be predicted with an accuracy of 83% using SVM-RBF classifier. This also points out the robustness of ECG biometric as an accurate physiological indicator of a driver state.
Growth‐compromised HSV‐2 vector ΔRR protects from N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate‐induced neuronal degeneration through redundant activation of the MEK/ERK and PI3‐K/Akt survival pathways, either one of which overrides apoptotic cascades

We have previously shown that intrastriatal injection of ΔRR, the growth‐compromised herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV‐2) vector for the antiapoptotic protein ICP10PK, prevents apoptosis caused by the excitotoxin N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) in a mouse model of glutamatergic neuronal cell death (Golembewski et al. [ 2007 ] Exp. Neurol. 203:381–393). Because apoptosis regulation is stimulus and cell type specific, our studies were designed to examine the mechanism of ΔRR‐mediated neuroprotection in striatal neurons. Organotypic striatal cultures (OSC) that retain much of the synaptic circuitry of the intact striatum were infected with ΔRR or a growth‐compromised HSV‐2 vector that lacks ICP10PK (ΔPK) and examined for neuroprotection‐associated signaling. The mutated ICP10 proteins (p175 and p95) were expressed in 70–80% of neurons from ΔRR‐ and ΔPK‐infected cultures, respectively, as determined by double‐immunofluorescent staining with antibodies to ICP10 and NeuN or GAD65. ΔRR‐ but not ΔPK‐treated OSC were protected from NMDA‐induced apoptosis, as verified by ethidium homodimer staining, TUNEL, caspase‐3 activation, and poly(AD‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Neuroprotection was through ICP10PK‐mediated activation of the survival pathways MEK/ERK and PI3‐K/Akt, up‐regulation of the antiapoptotic proteins Bag‐1 and Bcl‐2, and phosphorylation (inactivation) of the proapoptotic protein Bad. It was blocked by the MEK inhibitor U0126 or the PI3‐K inhibitor LY294002, suggesting that either pathway can prevent NMDA‐induced apoptosis. The data indicate that ΔRR‐delivered ICP10PK stimulates redundant survival pathways that override proapoptotic cascades. ΔRR is a promising gene therapy platform against glutamatergic cell death. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Desensitization of endothelial P2Y1 receptors by PKC‐dependent mechanisms in pressurized rat small mesenteric arteries

Background and purpose: Extracellular nucleotides play a crucial role in the regulation of vascular tone and blood flow. Stimulation of endothelial cell P2Y1 receptors evokes concentration‐dependent full dilatation of resistance arteries. However, this GPCR can desensitize upon prolonged exposure to the agonist. Our aim was to determine the extent and nature of P2Y1 desensitization in isolated and pressurized rat small mesenteric arteries.
Alcohol outcome expectancies and alcohol use and problems.

OBJECTIVE Numerous studies have demonstrated that alcohol outcome expectancies are strong correlates of various aspects of alcohol use. However, it has been suggested that forced-choice alcohol expectancy items may not measure the most salient anticipated effects of alcohol for an individual, and thus may create superficial responses. Additionally, research on attitude-behavior consistency has demonstrated that the nature of how an attitude is elicited can lead to attitudes that are more or less cognitive. The present study examined the applicability of this aspect of attitude theory to the study of alcohol outcome expectancies and the utility of self-generated outcome expectancies and subjective evaluations in predicting alcohol use and problems. METHOD In an extension of methodology previously used in attitude research, alcohol-using college students (N = 165, 87 female) generated alcohol expectancies in response to two sentence stems designed to elicit "affectively" and "cognitively" based alcohol expectancies and made subjective evaluations (SE) ratings of each item generated on dimensions of positivity, likelihood and immediacy. RESULTS While no support was found for the generalizability of a particular aspect of attitude theory, several interesting findings emerged. SE ratings were significantly related to measures of alcohol use and problems and, for alcohol use measures, predicted comparably to a standardized measure of expectancies. For alcohol dependence symptoms, the number of expectancies generated predicted significant unique variance over that accounted for by subjective evaluations. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that the sheer number of alcohol expectancies accessible to an individual may be an important correlate of alcohol dependence, independent of subjective evaluations.
Infection of Zebrafish Embryos with Intracellular Bacterial Pathogens

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos are increasingly used as a model for studying the function of the vertebrate innate immune system in host-pathogen interactions 1. The major cell types of the innate immune system, macrophages and neutrophils, develop during the first days of embryogenesis prior to the maturation of lymphocytes that are required for adaptive immune responses. The ease of obtaining large numbers of embryos, their accessibility due to external development, the optical transparency of embryonic and larval stages, a wide range of genetic tools, extensive mutant resources and collections of transgenic reporter lines, all add to the versatility of the zebrafish model. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) and Mycobacterium marinum can reside intracellularly in macrophages and are frequently used to study host-pathogen interactions in zebrafish embryos. The infection processes of these two bacterial pathogens are interesting to compare because S. typhimurium infection is acute and lethal within one day, whereas M. marinum infection is chronic and can be imaged up to the larval stage 2, 3. The site of micro-injection of bacteria into the embryo (Figure 1) determines whether the infection will rapidly become systemic or will initially remain localized. A rapid systemic infection can be established by micro-injecting bacteria directly into the blood circulation via the caudal vein at the posterior blood island or via the Duct of Cuvier, a wide circulation channel on the yolk sac connecting the heart to the trunk vasculature. At 1 dpf, when embryos at this stage have phagocytically active macrophages but neutrophils have not yet matured, injecting into the blood island is preferred. For injections at 2-3 dpf, when embryos also have developed functional (myeloperoxidase-producing) neutrophils, the Duct of Cuvier is preferred as the injection site. To study directed migration of myeloid cells towards local infections, bacteria can be injected into the tail muscle, otic vesicle, or hindbrain ventricle 4-6. In addition, the notochord, a structure that appears to be normally inaccessible to myeloid cells, is highly susceptible to local infection 7. A useful alternative for high-throughput applications is the injection of bacteria into the yolk of embryos within the first hours after fertilization 8. Combining fluorescent bacteria and transgenic zebrafish lines with fluorescent macrophages or neutrophils creates ideal circumstances for multi-color imaging of host-pathogen interactions. This video article will describe detailed protocols for intravenous and local infection of zebrafish embryos with S. typhimurium or M. marinum bacteria and for subsequent fluorescence imaging of the interaction with cells of the innate immune system.
Neural Oscillations in Temporoparietal Lobes under Inhibitory Control in a Naturalistic Situation

The stop-signal paradigm has been commonly applied as a measure of inhibitory control due to its exclusive ability to capture theoretically important parameters related to the response inhibition. To observe the inhibitory function in realistic environmental settings, we designed a battlefield scenario (BFS), which is inspired by real condition like open fire between soldier and terrorist for saving civilian because terrorism is serious problem worldwide. The stop-signal task has been widely adopted as a way to parametrically quantify the response inhibition process. This study compared the response inhibition in two different scenarios: One used traditional simple visual symbols as go and stop signals i.e. symbol scenario (SBS), and the other translated the typical design into a battlefield scenario. The outcomes confirmed that both scenarios induced increased activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and pre supplementary motor area (preSMA), which have been associated to response inhibition. Particularly, in right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) we found both higher BOLD activation and EEG power modulation in the battlefield scenario than in the traditional scenario after the stop stimulus onset.
Longitudinal modeling of the relationship between age and maximal heart rate.

PURPOSE Maximal heart rate (HRmax)-prediction equations based on a person's age are frequently used in prescribing exercise intensity and other clinical applications. Results from various cross-sectional studies have shown a linear decrease in HRmax during exercise with increasing age. However, it is less well established that longitudinal tracking of the same individuals' HRmax as they age exhibits an identical linear relationship. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between age and HRmax during exercise. METHODS A retrospective analysis of maximal graded exercise test (GXT) results for members participating in a university-based health-assessment/fitness center between 1978 and 2003 was undertaken in 2006. Records were examined from individuals (N = 132) of both sexes who represented a broad range of age and fitness levels and who had multiple GXT (total N = 908) conducted over 25 years. HRmax-prediction equations based on participants' age and HRmax elicited during the tests were developed using a linear mixed-models statistical analysis approach. RESULTS Clinical measurements obtained during the administration of the GXT included in this longitudinal study resulted in the generation of a univariate prediction model: HRmax = 207 - 0.7 x age. Model parameters were highly statistically significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS The relationship between age and HRmax during exercise developed in this longitudinal study has resulted in a prediction equation appreciably different from the conventional HRmax formula (220 - age) often used in exercise prescription, and it confirms findings from recent cross-sectional investigations of HRmax.
HIV/AIDS through the lens of Christianity: Perspectives from a South African urban support group

HIV is one of the most obscure viruses that humankind has had to face in recent times. Compounding this obscurity are often contesting perspectives on what it means to be HIV infected, and these perspectives are largely constituted by people's rationalisation of complex situations or experiences. Using qualitative research methods and ethnography in particular, this paper reflects on a broad understanding of what it means to live with HIV in the context of Christianity, using research participants' perspectives in an urban support group setting. Two fundamental patterns are evident in this paper: (1) as support group members rationalise their HIV infection, they continuously construct and reconstruct their identities; and (2) support group members rationalise their HIV infection to enhance their coping abilities, using Christianity and the Bible in particular, as a reference. Whilst rationalising HIV infection, three viewpoints emerge. The first viewpoint perceives HIV infection as an affliction by Satan; the second viewpoint sees it as originating from God; while the last viewpoint interprets HIV infection as a negotiated settlement between God and Satan. The paper is intended to trigger debate, and hopefully also to seek and provide answers from various sectors of society, and religious communities in particular, in order to help other HIV positive people in similar situations better manage their HIV condition.
In vitro display technologies reveal novel biopharmaceutics

Display technologies are fundamental to the isolation of specific high‐affinity binding proteins for diagnostic and therapeutic applications in cancer, neurodegenerative, and infectious diseases as well as autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Applications extend into the broad field of antibody (Ab) engineering, synthetic enzymes, proteomics, and cell‐free protein synthesis. Recently, in vitro display technologies have come to prominence due to the isolation of high‐affinity human antibodies by phage display, the development of novel scaffolds for ribosome display, and the discovery of novel protein‐protein interactions. In vitro display represents an emerging and innovative technology for the rapid isolation and evolution of high‐affinity peptides and proteins. So far, only one clinical drug candidate produced by in vitro display technology has been approved by the FDA for use in humans, but several are in clinical or preclinical testing. This review highlights recent advances in various engineered biopharmaceutical products isolated by in vitro display with a focus on the commercial developments. —Rothe, A. , Hosse, R. J., Power, B. E. In vitro display technologies reveal novel biopharmaceutics. FASEB J. 20, 1599–1610 (2006)
Clustered organization and region‐specific identities of estrogen‐producing neurons in the forebrain of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

A fast, neuromodulatory role for estrogen signaling has been reported in many regions of the vertebrate brain. Regional differences in the cellular distribution of aromatase (estrogen synthase) in several species suggest that mechanisms for neuroestrogen signaling differ between and even within brain regions. A more comprehensive understanding of neuroestrogen signaling depends on characterizing the cellular identities of neurons that express aromatase. Calcium‐binding proteins such as parvalbumin and calbindin are molecular markers for interneuron subtypes, and are co‐expressed with aromatase in human temporal cortex. Songbirds like the zebra finch have become important models to understand the brain synthesis of steroids like estrogens and the implications for neurobiology and behavior. Here, we investigated the regional differences in cytoarchitecture and cellular identities of aromatase‐expressing neurons in the auditory and sensorimotor forebrain of zebra finches. Aromatase was co‐expressed with parvalbumin in the caudomedial nidopallium (NCM) and HVC shelf (proper name) but not in the caudolateral nidopallium (NCL) or hippocampus. By contrast, calbindin was not co‐expressed with aromatase in any region investigated. Notably, aromatase‐expressing neurons were found in dense somato‐somatic clusters, suggesting a coordinated release of local neuroestrogens from clustered neurons. Aromatase clusters were also more abundant and tightly packed in the NCM of males as compared to females. Overall, this study provides new insights into neuroestrogen regulation at the network level, and extends previous findings from human cortex by identifying a subset of aromatase neurons as putative inhibitory interneurons.
MRI Findings of Inverted Urothelial Papilloma of the Bladder.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to characterize MRI findings of inverted urothelial papilloma of the bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data pertaining to 16 patients with 18 pathologically proven inverted urothelial papillomas of the bladder who had undergone MRI were retrospectively collected from seven institutions. The shape and surface characteristics of the tumors were evaluated using T2-weighted MR images. In addition, the signal intensity of inverted urothelial papillomas was visually assessed on T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and DW images and on early and delayed phase contrast-enhanced images. RESULTS The shape of the 18 inverted urothelial papillomas of the bladder was classified as polypoid with a stalk for 16 tumors (89%) and polypoid without a stalk for two tumors (11%). All stalks were surrounded by urine in the bladder. A total of 15 of the tumor surfaces (83%) were nonpapillary and three (17%) were papillary. All 12 of the inverted urothelial papillomas for which evaluable T1-weighted images were available were isointense with the bladder wall. The lesions had a slightly higher signal intensity than the bladder wall in 15 of the patients (83%) and showed isointensity with the bladder wall in three patients (17%). A total of three patients (17%) had tiny hyperintense foci noted on T2-weighted images. All 16 of the inverted urothelial papillomas examined by DWI had very high signal intensity. All 13 of the lesions for which early phase images were obtained using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI showed strong enhancement. When compared with early phase images, delayed phase images of the same 13 lesions showed that enhancement was stronger in two lesions (15%), similar in six lesions (46%), and weaker in five lesions (38%). CONCLUSION On MRI, the typical appearance of inverted urothelial papillomas of the bladder is a polypoid shape with a nonpapillary surface and a thin short stalk surrounded by urine. Cystic foci are also occasionally seen within the tumor.
Molecular Evidence for Similarity Between Anopheles hyrcanus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Anopheles pseudopictus (Diptera: Culicidae), Sympatric Potential Vectors of Malaria in France

Abstract Malaria was a former public health problem in the Camargue, southeastern France, where members of the Hyrcanus group were recently described as the main malaria potential vectors. However, the systematic status in this group, which includes at least two sympatric sibling species, Anopheles hyrcanus (Pallas) and Anopheles pseudopictus Grassi as well as a morphologically intermediate form in the Camargue, is unclear. Indeed, both species have been alternatively considered as separated or synonymous species. We examined sequence variation of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 2 and domain-3 (D3) of 28S ribosomal DNA and the cytochrome oxidase subunit I and II (COI and COII) genes of mitochondrial DNA of the Hyrcanus group mosquitoes from the Camargue and Turkey to infer the taxonomic status of the members of this group. DNA sequence analysis of ITS2 and D3 showed no difference between either species or geographical origin (mean pairwise genetic distances d = 0.000–0.003). The COI and COII sequences between French specimens also were nearly identical (d = 0.001–0.002), whereas French and Turkish Anopheles were genetically distinct (d = 0.009–0.014). The distinction between populations of the two areas, supported, respectively, by four and five fixed mutations, attested the differentiation by the distance. Finally, the high degree of genetic similarity, despite morphological differences between An. hyrcanus, An. pseudopictus, and an intermediate form, suggests that these three taxa may belong to a single species in the Camargue.