Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Achievable rate optimization for coordinated multi-point transmission (CoMP) in cloud-based RAN architecture

In this paper, we consider Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) in a cloud-based radio access network (RAN), where each coordinating access point compresses its observation using distributed Wyner-Ziv compression and forwards the compressed signal to the receiving processing unit. We map this architecture to the multiple-relay compress-and-forward (CF) problem, derive the achievable rate of such a system and then show that the achievable rate can be maximized by optimizing the distributed compression rate at each individual coordinating point in a joint manner. An iterative optimization algorithm is proposed and numerical results indicate that compared with other coordinating schemes, when the channel between the coordinating points and the processing unit is strong, using distributed compression can effectively improve the spectrum efficiency.
Detecting Malicious Activity With DNS Backscatter Over Time

Network-wide activity is when one computer (the originator) touches many others (the targets). Motives for activity may be benign (mailing lists, content-delivery networks, and research scanning), malicious (spammers and scanners for security vulnerabilities), or perhaps indeterminate (ad trackers). Knowledge of malicious activity may help anticipate attacks, and understanding benign activity may set a baseline or characterize growth. This paper identifies domain name system (DNS) backscatter as a new source of information about network-wide activity. Backscatter is the reverse DNS queries caused when targets or middleboxes automatically look up the domain name of the originator. Queries are visible to the authoritative DNS servers that handle reverse DNS. While the fraction of backscatter they see depends on the server’s location in the DNS hierarchy, we show that activity that touches many targets appear even in sampled observations. We use information about the queriers to classify originator activity using machine-learning. Our algorithm has reasonable accuracy and precision (70–80%) as shown by data from three different organizations operating DNS servers at the root or country level. Using this technique, we examine nine months of activity from one authority to identify trends in scanning, identifying bursts corresponding to Heartbleed, and broad and continuous scanning of secure shell.
The Nature Of Statistical Learning Theory

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A Farnesylated Coxiella burnetii Effector Forms a Multimeric Complex at the Mitochondrial Outer Membrane during Infection

ABSTRACT Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, establishes a unique lysosome-derived intracellular niche termed the Coxiella-containing vacuole (CCV). The Dot/Icm-type IVB secretion system is essential for the biogenesis of the CCV and the intracellular replication of Coxiella. Effector proteins, translocated into the host cell through this apparatus, act to modulate host trafficking and signaling processes to facilitate CCV development. Here we investigated the role of CBU0077, a conserved Coxiella effector that had previously been observed to localize to lysosomal membranes. CBU0077 was dispensable for the intracellular replication of Coxiella in HeLa and THP-1 cells and did not appear to participate in CCV biogenesis. Intriguingly, native and epitope-tagged CBU0077 produced by Coxiella displayed specific punctate localization at host cell mitochondria. As such, we designated CBU0077 MceA (mitochondrial Coxiellaeffector protein A). Analysis of ectopically expressed MceA truncations revealed that the capacity to traffic to mitochondria is encoded within the first 84 amino acids of this protein. MceA is farnesylated by the host cell; however, this does not impact mitochondrial localization. Examination of mitochondria isolated from infected cells revealed that MceA is specifically integrated into the mitochondrial outer membrane and forms a complex of approximately 120 kDa. Engineering Coxiella to express either MceA tagged with 3×FLAG or MceA tagged with 2×hemagglutinin allowed us to perform immunoprecipitation experiments that showed that MceA forms a homo-oligomeric species at the mitochondrial outer membrane during infection. This research reveals that mitochondria are a bona fide target of Coxiella effectors and MceA is a complex-forming effector at the mitochondrial outer membrane during Coxiella infection.
Vaccination with Proteus Toxic Agglutinin, a Hemolysin-Independent Cytotoxin In Vivo, Protects against Proteus mirabilis Urinary Tract Infection

ABSTRACT Complicated urinary tract infections (UTI) caused by Proteus mirabilis are associated with severe pathology in the bladder and kidney. To investigate the roles of two established cytotoxins, the HpmA hemolysin, a secreted cytotoxin, and proteus toxic agglutinin (Pta), a surface-associated cytotoxin, mutant analysis was used in conjunction with a mouse model of ascending UTI. Inactivation of pta, but not inactivation of hpmA, resulted in significant decreases in the bacterial loads of the mutant in kidneys (P < 0.01) and spleens (P < 0.05) compared to the bacterial loads of the wild type; the 50% infective dose (ID50) of an isogenic pta mutant or hpmA pta double mutant was 100-fold higher (5 × 108 CFU) than the ID50 of parent strain HI4320 (5 × 106 CFU). Colonization by the parent strain caused severe cystitis and interstitial nephritis as determined by histopathological examination. Mice infected with the same bacterial load of the hpmA pta double mutant showed significantly reduced pathology (P < 0.01), suggesting that the additive effect of these two cytotoxins is critical during Proteus infection. Since Pta is surface associated and important for the persistence of P. mirabilis in the host, it was selected as a vaccine candidate. Mice intranasally vaccinated with a site-directed (indicated by an asterisk) (S366A) mutant purified intact toxin (Pta*) or the passenger domain Pta-α*, each independently conjugated with cholera toxin (CT), had significantly lower bacterial counts in their kidneys ( P = 0.001) and spleens (P = 0.002) than mice that received CT alone. The serum immunoglobulin G levels correlated with protection (P = 0.03). This is the first report describing the in vivo cytotoxicity and antigenicity of an autotransporter in P. mirabilis and its use in vaccine development.
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Assessment Following Exercise Training in Patients With Intermittent Claudication and in Untrained Healthy Participants

Selected near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) parameters were assessed in healthy untrained participants and in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) trained patients to evaluate their usefulness in rehabilitative outcome. Forty-five PAD and 15 healthy participants were studied at entry and at 34 ± 2 weeks. Healthy participants performed their usual activities. Patients with PAD performed 2 home-based programs: structured at prescribed pace (S-pre, n = 31) and unstructured at free pace (U-free, n = 14). We measured ankle–brachial index (ABI), NIRS calf oxygen consumption at rest, NIRS dynamic muscle perfusion during an incremental test, and walking capacity. In all patients with PAD the NIRS parameters significantly increased approaching the stable values of untrained healthy participants. Among PAD, only S-pre group showed significant improvements in hemodynamic, functional, and NIRS parameters with selective adaptations in the worse legs. The assessment of NIRS parameters, that were found stable without training in healthy and modified in PAD only following structured training, might outline the local exercise-induced adaptations.
Nonredundant Roles of Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and IL-22 in Murine Host Defense against Cutaneous and Hematogenous Infection Due to Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of skin and skin structure infections (SSSI) in humans. Moreover, the high frequency of recurring SSSI due to S. aureus, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains, suggests that infection induces suboptimal anamnestic defenses. The present study addresses the hypothesis that interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and IL-22 play distinct roles in immunity to cutaneous and invasive MRSA infection in a mouse model of SSSI. Mice were treated with specific neutralizing antibodies against IL-17A and/or IL-22 and infected with MRSA, after which the severity of infection and host immune response were determined. Neutralization of either IL-17A or IL-22 reduced T cell and neutrophil infiltration and host defense peptide elaboration in lesions. These events corresponded with increased abscess severity, MRSA viability, and CFU density in skin. Interestingly, combined inhibition of IL-17A and IL-22 did not worsen abscesses but did increase gamma interferon (IFN-γ) expression at these sites. The inhibition of IL-22 led to a reduction in IL-17A expression, but not vice versa. These results suggest that the expression of IL-17A is at least partially dependent on IL-22 in this model. Inhibition of IL-17A but not IL-22 led to hematogenous dissemination to kidneys, which correlated with decreased T cell infiltration in renal tissue. Collectively, these findings indicate that IL-17A and IL-22 have complementary but nonredundant roles in host defense against cutaneous versus hematogenous infection. These insights may support targeted immune enhancement or other novel approaches to address the challenge of MRSA infection.
Pancreatic Amylase Is an Environmental Signal for Regulation of Biofilm Formation and Host Interaction in Campylobacter jejuni

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni is a commensal bacterium in the intestines of animals and birds and a major cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. Here we show that exposure to pancreatic amylase leads to secretion of an α-dextran by C. jejuni and that a secreted protease, Cj0511, is required. Exposure of C. jejuni to pancreatic amylase promotes biofilm formation in vitro, increases interaction with human epithelial cell lines, increases virulence in the Galleria mellonella infection model, and promotes colonization of the chicken ileum. We also show that exposure to pancreatic amylase protects C. jejuni from stress conditions in vitro, suggesting that the induced α-dextran may be important during transmission between hosts. This is the first evidence that pancreatic amylase functions as an interkingdom signal in an enteric microorganism.
Clinical efficacy and safety of XM01, a biosimilar recombinant human erythropoietin, in the management of anemia

Since the expiration of the patent for epoetin alfa in Europe in 2004, the European Medicines Agency has approved three biosimilar erythropoietins. Using the European Medicines Agency's European Public Assessment Reports and scientific publications, we review the evidence regarding the clinical efficacy and safety of HX575 (Sandoz/Novartis) relative to the originator product Eprex/Erypo (Johnson & Johnson). Clinical efficacy is assessed as a function of therapeutic equivalence of a biosimilar and originator product, while safety is evaluated in terms of immunogenicity, venous thromboembolism, and mortality. Five studies that examined chronic renal failure and oncology populations are reviewed. In the renal setting, these stud- ies include a randomized controlled trial on Hb maintenance in patients receiving long-term hemodialysis, a randomized safety trial in patients with chronic kidney disease not yet requiring renal replacement therapy, and a post-approval saftey commitment study. Studies in the cancer setting include a clinical validation study in patients with solid tumors receiving antineoplastic chemotherapy and a retrospective clinical audit of Binocrit in routine clinical practice. Based on available therapeutic equivalence and safety data, the clinical and safety outcomes of treatment with HX575 are likely to be similar to those of the originator product Eprex/Erypo. Both products can be considered interchangeable in the management of anemia in the approved indications, and patients transferred from the reference product to the biosimilar product are expected to show the same efficacy and safety outcomes. There is no evidence of the interchangeability of HX575 with other biosimilar or originator erythropoietins other than Eprex/Erypo. In keeping with European Medicines Agency guidance about traceability, it is recommended that clinicians document the product prescribed by its commercial name, especially when switching patients from an originator to a biosimilar or vice versa.
The Stringent Response Regulator DksA Is Required for Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Growth in Minimal Medium, Motility, Biofilm Formation, and Intestinal Colonization

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is a facultative intracellular human and animal bacterial pathogen posing a major threat to public health worldwide. Salmonella pathogenicity requires complex coordination of multiple physiological and virulence pathways. DksA is a conserved Gram-negative regulator that belongs to a distinct group of transcription factors that bind directly to the RNA polymerase secondary channel, potentiating the effect of the signaling molecule ppGpp during a stringent response. Here, we established that in S. Typhimurium, dksA is induced during the logarithmic phase and DksA is essential for growth in minimal defined medium and plays an important role in motility and biofilm formation. Furthermore, we determined that DksA positively regulates the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 and motility-chemotaxis genes and is necessary for S. Typhimurium invasion of human epithelial cells and uptake by macrophages. In contrast, DksA was found to be dispensable for S. Typhimurium host cell adhesion. Finally, using the colitis mouse model, we found that dksA is spatially induced at the midcecum during the early stage of the infection and required for gastrointestinal colonization and systemic infection in vivo. Taken together, these data indicate that the ancestral stringent response regulator DksA coordinates various physiological and virulence S. Typhimurium programs and therefore is a key virulence regulator of Salmonella.
Sequential Compression Biomechanical Device Versus Primary Amputation in Patients With Critical Limb Ischemia

Introduction: Patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI), who are unsuitable for intervention, face the consequence of primary amputation. Sequential compression biomechanical device (SCBD) therapy provides a limb salvage option for these patients. Objectives: To assess the outcome of SCBD in patients with severe CLI who are unsuitable for revascularization. Primary end points were limb salvage and 30-day mortality. Methods: From 2005 to 2012, 189 patients with severe CLI were not suitable for revascularization. In all, 171 joined the SCBD program. We match controlled 75 primary amputations. Results: All patients were Rutherford category 4 or higher. Sustained clinical improvement was 68% at 1 year. Mean toe pressure increased from 19.9 to 35.42 mm Hg, P < . 0001. Mean popliteal flow increased from 35.44 to 55.91 cm/sec, P < . 0001. The 30-day mortality was 0.6%. Limb salvage was 94% at 5 years. Freedom from major adverse clinical events was 62.5%. All-cause survival was 69%. Median cost of managing a primary amputation patient is €29 815 compared to €3985 for SCBD. We treated 171 patients with artassist at a cost of €681 965. However, primary amputation for 75 patients cost €2 236 125. Conclusion: The SCBD therapy is a cost-effective and clinically effective solution in patients with CLI having no option of revascularization. It provides adequate limb salvage while providing relief of rest pain without any intervention.
Utility based QoS aware uplink scheduler scheme for LTE Small Cell Network

LTE uses the SC-FDMA radio access technology for its uplink data traffic transmission from the User Equipment (UE) to eNodeB. To the best of our knowledge the uplink MAC scheduling decisions at the eNodeB that have been proposed so far for Small Cell network are mostly based on single parameters like channel awareness, buffer status, or minimal power transmission. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm to support Quality of Service (QoS) aware uplink scheduling and resource allocation scheme at the small cell eNodeB. The proposed scheme dynamically calculates user weights through utility functions considering the parameters like queuing delay and throughput and does resource allocation based on uplink channel condition as well as Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) retransmission status. The proposed scheduler is referred to as UQUS (Utility based QoS Uplink Scheduler). The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with traditional scheduling algorithms such as round robin (RR) and proportionate fairness (PF). The simulation results show that the proposed UQUS mechanism achieves minimum gain of 4 times the video cell throughput and minimum gain of 2 times voip cell throughput compared with RR and PF schedulers.
Corrigendum to "Stability Analysis and the Stabilization of a Class of Discrete-Time Dynamic Neural Networks"

This note is a supplement to the previously published paper entitled "Stability analysis and the stabilization of a class of discrete-time dynamic neural networks" (Patan, 2007) and focuses on a complete formulation of the minimum distance projection. The undertaken analysis results in the procedure defining the homogeneous projection operator and returning the feasible network parameters.
Early Bacterial Colonization Induces Toll-Like Receptor-Dependent Transforming Growth Factor β Signaling in the Epithelium

ABSTRACT Colonization of the upper respiratory tract is an initial step that may lead to disease for many pathogens. To prevent compromise of the epithelial barrier, the host must monitor and tightly control bacterial levels on the mucosa. Here we show that innate immune functions of respiratory epithelial cells control colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae in a Toll-like receptor (TLR)-dependent manner. Activation of inflammatory pathways, including mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, in respiratory epithelial cells was accompanied by the induction of the transforming growth factor β signaling cascade during early colonization. Thus, colonization resulted in upregulation of factors involved in a proinflammatory response (e.g., interleukin-6) as well as factors known to modulate the epithelial barrier (e.g., Snail-1). These in vivo data provided a link between inflammation control and maintenance of the mucosal barrier function during infection and emphasized the importance of TLR-dependent inflammatory responses of the respiratory epithelium.
Model for In Vivo Assessment of Humoral Protection against Malaria Sporozoite Challenge by Passive Transfer of Monoclonal Antibodies and Immune Serum

ABSTRACT Evidence from clinical trials of malaria vaccine candidates suggests that both cell-mediated and humoral immunity to pre-erythrocytic parasite stages can provide protection against infection. Novel pre-erythrocytic antibody (Ab) targets could be key to improving vaccine formulations, which are currently based on targeting antigens such as the circumsporozoite protein (CSP). However, methods to assess the effects of sporozoite-specific Abs on pre-erythrocytic infection in vivo remain underdeveloped. Here, we combined passive transfer of monoclonal Abs (MAbs) or immune serum with a luciferase-expressing Plasmodium yoelii sporozoite challenge to assess Ab-mediated inhibition of liver infection in mice. Passive transfer of a P. yoelii CSP MAb showed inhibition of liver infection when mice were challenged with sporozoites either intravenously or by infectious mosquito bite. However, inhibition was most potent for the mosquito bite challenge, leading to a more significant reduction of liver-stage burden and even a lack of progression to blood-stage parasitemia. This suggests that Abs provide effective protection against a natural infection. Inhibition of liver infection was also achieved by passive transfer of immune serum from whole-parasite-immunized mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that passive transfer of a MAb against P. falciparum CSP inhibited liver-stage infection in a humanized mouse/P. falciparum challenge model. Together, these models constitute unique and sensitive in vivo methods to assess serum-transferable protection against Plasmodium sporozoite challenge.
T2FELA: Type-2 Fuzzy Extreme Learning Algorithm for Fast Training of Interval Type-2 TSK Fuzzy Logic System

A challenge in modeling type-2 fuzzy logic systems is the development of efficient learning algorithms to cope with the ever increasing size of real-world data sets. In this paper, the extreme learning strategy is introduced to develop a fast training algorithm for interval type-2 Takagi-Sugeno-Kang fuzzy logic systems. The proposed algorithm, called type-2 fuzzy extreme learning algorithm (T2FELA), has two distinctive characteristics. First, the parameters of the antecedents are randomly generated and parameters of the consequents are obtained by a fast learning method according to the extreme learning mechanism. In addition, because the obtained parameters are optimal in the sense of minimizing the norm, the resulting fuzzy systems exhibit better generalization performance. The experimental results clearly demonstrate that the training speed of the proposed T2FELA algorithm is superior to that of the existing state-of-the-art algorithms. The proposed algorithm also shows competitive performance in generalization abilities.
The Structure of Neisseria meningitidis Lipid A Determines Outcome in Experimental Meningococcal Disease

ABSTRACT Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of the meningococcal outer membrane, is sensed by the host through activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Recently, we demonstrated that a surprisingly large fraction of Neisseria meningitidis disease isolates are lipid A mutants, due to inactivating mutations in the lpxL1 gene. The lpxL1 mutants activate human TLR4 much less efficiently than wild-type bacteria, which may be advantageous by allowing them to escape from the innate immune system. Here we investigated the influence of lipid A structure on virulence in a mouse model of meningococcal sepsis. One limitation, however, is that murine TLR4 recognizes lpxL1 mutant bacteria much better than human TLR4. We show that an lpxL2 mutant, another lipid A mutant lacking an acyl chain at a different position, activates murine TLR4 less efficiently than the lpxL1 mutant. Therefore, the lpxL2 mutant in mice might be a better model for infections with lpxL1 mutants in humans. Interestingly, we found that the lpxL2 mutant is more virulent in mice than the wild-type strain, whereas the lpxL1 mutant is actually much less virulent than the wild-type strain. These results demonstrate the crucial role of N. meningitidis lipid A structure in virulence.