Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HLA-Matched Donor-Recipient Combinations and Kidney Transplant Probabilities in a Specific Colombian Population

Introduction: In Colombia, despite the fact that kidney transplants are the most common type of transplant surgery, a great number of transplanted patients do not achieve the desired Human Leucocyte Antigen (hla) compatibility. hla compatibility plays an important role in graft survival; patients with matched-hla have a lower chance of graft-versus-host disease and graft ejection. Objective: To determine the probability of finding an hla-matched donor-recipient pairs according to hla−a, −b and −drb1 frequencies in a specific Colombian population. Materials and methods: The study included a total of 484 unrelated individuals (61 donors and 423 recipients) from the hla registry. hla alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction sequence with specific indicators. Results: hla–A*02, –A*24, –B*35 and –DRB1*04 alleles showed the highest minimum allele frequency (>10%). In addition, hla–A*24–B*35–DRB1*04 was the most frequent extended haplotype in both donors and recipients (7.38 % and 6.76 %, respectively). Our experimental evidence showed that the maximum chance of finding at least one hla allele-matched kidney is 20.3 % for a patient with the most frequent extended haplotype, whereas for patients with rare or non-common haplotypes this probability is rather unlikely. Discussion: In terms of probability, the chance of finding an hla matched kidney donor/recipients in our region is low. This is due, at least in part, to the higher number of alleles and a the lower donation rate. Therefore, to define the hla profile of a population is important for establishing transplantation programs and alternative strategies in the kidney donation and allocation processes.
GENETIC DIVERSITY ANALYSIS IN HOUSE SPARROW (PASSER DOMESTICUS) USING MICROSATELLITE MARKERS IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

The sparrow is a thriving ubiquitous species around the world, predominantly considered a serious bird pest in cultivations of variety of habitats.Genetic diversity one of key evolutionary variable and necessary for persistence and viability of such species. Present studies therefore, explored genetic variations in house sparrow using microsatellite markers. In all, 229 sparrows were captured with mist nets from Faisalabad and Rawalpindi while blood was taken from 193 samples and 16 microsatellite markers were incorporated to evaluate genetic relationships. Average allele numbers (Na) for all loci populations in Faisalabad were 4.10, and for Rawalpindi were 2.81, and corresponding heterozygosity (Ho) for the respective habitats were 0.51 and 0.38. Present studies, served apparent indicators for the genetic diversity analysis viz. allelic richness, heterozygosity, and also occurrence of intra and inter populationgenetic differentiation, and phylogenetic tree with atypical results for the sparrow populations.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED SPECULATIVE

The UK house-building industry has often been criticized for failing to meet the housing needs of the country. The traditional craft-based build process prevalent in the UK is labour intensive with a long lead-time, and is difficult to control for product quality. It is also not suitable for configurable designs that would help to customize the home to individual needs, and the industry has been criticized for excessive standardization of its products. Attempts at industrialized housing, found in many other countries, have usually failed in the past due to lack of clear objectives and inadequate R&D. The paper presents work that is being carried out on investigation of alternative technologies. The implication of such changes for the industry – on the product introduction process, organization and culture – are discussed.
SOCIAL INFLUENCE IN RISKY BEHAVIOUR BY ADOLESCENTS∗

Institutional information does not seem to prevent drug experimentation. We use Add Health panel data (1994-1996) to examine risky behaviour by adolescents (the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and marijuana). We find that such behaviours are correlated with the (lagged) behaviour of three peer groups: others in the same school year; others one school year higher than the individual in the same school; and the individual’s friends. Peer group effects are strongest within sexes. However girls do also follow boys, while boys are only little affected by their female peers. We also find evidence of non-linearities in peer group effects. JEL Classification Codes: C23, D12, Z13.
The Responses of the Ecosystems in the Tianshan North Slope under Multiple Representative Concentration Pathway Scenarios in the Middle of the 21st Century

The arid ecosystem is fragile and sensitive to the changes in climate and CO2 concentration. Exploring the responses of the arid ecosystem to the changes under different representative concentration pathways (RCPs) is of particular significance for the sustainable development of the ecosystem. In this study, the dynamics of net primary productivity (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET), and water use efficiency (WUE) for arid ecosystems in Tianshan North Slope are explored by running the arid ecosystem model at 25 km resolution under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5. The climate in Tianshan North Slope presents a wet-warming trend during 2006–2055 under each RCP scenario with temporal and spatial heterogeneity. In response to the changes in climate and CO2, the regional annual NPP and ET increased during 2006–2055 by a respectively maximum rate of 2.15 g C m−2 year−1 and 0.52 mm year−1 under RCP8.5. Both the NPP and ET share a similar temporal and spatial heterogeneity with climate change. Different vegetation types respond differently to the changes under different RCP scenarios with increasing WUE. Under each RCP, the non-phreatophyte, phreatophyte, and grass are more sensitive to the changes than in the others, and the broadleaf forest and cropland are less sensitive to the changes.
Efficient and Private Federated Learning using TEE

Extended Abstract Background Federated Learning has received great attention since it enables edge devices to collaboratively train shared or personal models while keeping the raw training data local [3]. However, recent works have demonstrated that private information can leak from gradients present in shared models [4]. Due to the limited resources of edge devices, they do not support complicated defence methods against inference attacks. Therefore, guaranteeing data privacy during federated learning without compromising accuracy and efficiency is of great importance. Recently, Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) have been used for privacy-preserving machine learning. By allocating private regions of computing resources (e.g. memory), it is possible to provide both hardware and software isolation. The TEE provides lower overhead and higher privacy compared to traditional software protections such as homomorphic encryption. After [5] first deployed deep neural networks (DNN) in a real TEE using Intel SGX technique, several studies added outsource support or multiple memory blacks to improve the efficiency of DNNs [2]. However, all these studies used advanced machines with Intel SGX as a setup to simulate high-performance computation, a solution that is hard to be extended in edge computing. For federated learning on edge devices, such as mobile phones or small form factor platforms such as the Raspberry Pi, only limited computing resources are accessible. Leveraging a TEE implementation from ARM, TrustZone, we propose an efficient and private federated learning framework at edge computing. Differential privacy and data obliviousness will be used to enhance the privacy protection.
Potential Threats to Benthic Macroinvertebrate Fauna in Lake Ohrid Watershed: Water Pollution and Alien Species

Two of the key pressures and drivers of biodiversity loss in the aquatic ecosystems are the excessive nutrient load and pollution and the invasive alien species. The aims of our study were to assess the ecological status of the water based on the composition and structure of benthic macroinvertebrate community and to examine the occurrence of alien macrozoobenthic species in the littoral of Lake Ohrid and its watershed. The study was conducted in Lake Ohrid littoral area, six tributaries and the Crni Drim River, in 2013. A total of 79 taxa were recorded. The highest number of taxa (52%) belonged to Insecta, which was presented mostly in the tributaries, followed by Gastropoda (20%), presented in the lake littoral. All taxa were native, there was no any alien species recorded either in the lake or in its tributaries and outflow. The most abundant were the representatives of lower indicative value to pollution, such as Tubifex tubifex, Chironomus plumosus, and Gammarus roeseli. The ecological status of the lake littoral sites was significantly lower (bad and poor) in comparison with that of the sites along the tributaries (from poor to very good) and the Crni Drim River (good). These results may indicate a general decrease in the stability and functionality of the lake ecosystem, which would consequently reduce its natural resilience and resistance capacity against introduction and spread of invasive alien species.
USAGE OF FIREFLY ALGORITHM IN VIGNERE CIPHER TO REDUCE VARIABLE LENGTH KEY SEARCH TIME

Various cryptographic methods rely on optimization techniques to find the key of a given cipher text. A fitness function is defined based on frequency analysis or any other known information. Vignere cipher was crypt analyzed using GA, PSO and other optimization techniques. Firefly algorithm is an optimization algorithm based on the brightness and attraction among fireflies. A fitness function is defined based on frequency of occurrence monograms and bigrams in English. Firefly algorithm is tried on 1 KB of Vignere cipher and it was seen that keyword length ranging from 5 to 20 were found without error and also with less time complexity than GA and PSO.
Comparative Analysis of Commercial Aircraft Trajectory Performance

A hybrid optimal control approach to commercial aircraft tr ajectory optimization is proposed and tested comparing its results with short and medium-range typical flights. Giv en the sequence of phases and flight modes conforming the vertical flight profile of a commercial aircraft, the init al and final states and a set of path constraints, we solve the problem of finding control inputs, switching times betwe en flight modes and the corresponding trajectory of the aircraft that minimizes fuel consumption. Three differ ent profiles are defined for both ranges: typical nowadays flown profiles; free-flight profiles, used as optimal benchmar k performance; and optimized procedure profiles. Performances, procedures and consumptions are analyzed. Resu lts show that current flight profiles efficiency could be substantially improved seeking a new Air Trafic Managemen t paradigm.
Successfully Managing the Literature Review and Write-up Process When Using Grounded Theory Methodology—A Dialogue in Exploration

Fur unerfahrene Forscher*innen kann der Versuch, die Ground-Theory-Methodologie (GTM) anzuwenden, entmutigend sein. Um diesem Problem zu begegnen, prasentieren wir in diesem Artikel den Dialog zwischen einer Doktorandin, die die GTM fur ihre Dissertation nutzt und einem Wissenschaftler mit langjahriger GTM-Erfahrung. Wir greifen verschiedene wichtige Fragen auf, fokussieren uns aber auf zwei zentrale Aspekte, die fur Noviz*innen oft besonders herausfordernd sind: Wann und in welcher Weise kann/soll 1. auf bereits verfugbare Literatur zuruckgegriffen werden, und welche Implikationen ergeben sich 2. fur die Verschriftlichung der gesamten Studie, nicht nur der Prasentation der Theorie im engeren Sinne. Durch das Dialogformat, das wir abschliesend reflektieren, erhoffen wir ein besseres Verstandnis der GTM und versuchen, praktische Hilfen zu geben fur "the long, rocky walk through the dark forest of the research process using the GT methods" (WU & BEAUNAE 2014, S.249).
The importance of nanoscale confinement to electrocatalytic performance

Electrocatalytic nanoparticles that mimic the three-dimensional geometric architecture of enzymes where the reaction occurs down a substrate channel isolated from bulk solution, referred to herein as nanozymes, were used to explore the impact of nano-confinement on electrocatalytic reactions. Surfactant covered Pt–Ni nanozyme nanoparticles, with Ni etched from the nanoparticles, possess a nanoscale channel in which the active sites for electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction are located. Different particle compositions and etching parameters allowed synthesis of nanoparticles with different average substrate channel diameters that have varying amounts of nano-confinement. The results showed that in the kinetically limited regime at low overpotentials, the smaller the substrate channels the higher the specific activity of the electrocatalyst. This is attributed to higher concentrations of protons, relative to bulk solution, required to balance the potential inside the nano-confined channel. However, at higher overpotentials where limitation by mass transport of oxygen becomes important, the nanozymes with larger substrate channels showed higher electrocatalytic activity. A reaction-diffusion model revealed that the higher electrocatalytic activity at low overpotentials with smaller substrate channels can be explained by the higher concentration of protons. The model suggests that the dominant mode of mass transport to achieve these high concentrations is by migration, exemplifying how nano-confinement can be used to enhance reaction rates. Experimental and theoretical data show that under mass transport limiting potentials, the nano-confinement has no effect and the reaction only occurs at the entrance of the substrate channel at the nanoparticle surface.
Record Facet Power Single-Mode Diode Lasers in the 900-1064 nm Range for Demanding Industrial Applications

3S PHOTONICS demonstrates record power levels for 1060 nm single-lateral mode diode lasers based on a new lowloss (α~1 cm) vertical structure derived from our 980 nm diodes design. This technology enables a vertical far-field divergence of 22-23° and saturation powers well above 1.5 W at 25°C. It opens the way for improved fiber coupling and long-term reliability through the use of long cavities up to 5 mm. The power-current curve shows linear behavior for currents as high as 2 Amps, and a maximum kink-free power of 1.25 W. The reliability level of our 980 nm design has been assessed in a multi-cell test which demonstrates 428 FIT at 1 A or 800 mW for telecommunications lasers. This robustness allows to guarantee 20 khrs MTTF for industrial applications at more than 1.1 W for our 980 nm chips. Preliminary robustness assessment data of our 1060 nm chip will be presented. They indicate the suitability of this exciting technology for industrial applications requiring high brightness in the form of single emitters or bars. Markets such as laser marking, cutting and printing as well as direct diode frequency doubling (DDFD) promising new lower-cost portable instruments in the near future can now be addressed.
Determination of Uric Acid in Blood and in Urine

COLORIMETRIC METHODS The methods which are currently used to assay uric acid in blood and urine depend upon either chemical or enzymatic oxidation to allantoin. In the former, a chromogen is reduced concurrently with the oxidation to yield a chromophore which may be measured spectrophotometrically. In the latter, uricase (urate: oxygen oxidoreductase EC 1.7.3.3.) is used to catalyse the reaction, and the concentration of uric acid may be determined by direct spectrophotometry (following the change in absorbence at 292 nm during the reaction) or by measuring the amount of oxygen consumed or the amount of hydrogen peroxide produced. Alternatively, a chemical oxidising agent may be employed, and colorimetric measurements made before and after treatment with uricase.
Pore-scale modelling of multiphase reactive flow

In this talk, we discuss the recent progress in the modelling of multiphase reactive transport at the pore-scale. The dynamics modelling of reactive flow phenomena in reactive environment is complex because it involves the tracking of multiple interfaces that evolve as a function of the details of the reactive transport: on the one hand, the fluid/fluid interface is subject to surface tension forces, on the other hand, the fluid/solid interface moves with chemical reaction at the mineral surface. The approach developed here employs an extended Darcy–Brinkman– Stokes formulation that accounts for the interfacial tension between the two immiscible fluid phases and the moving contact line at the mineral surface [1]. The mass transfer across fluid/fluid interfaces is modeled using an improved Continuous Species Transfer technique that will be described [2, 3]. The simulation framework is validated using an experimental microfluidic device that provides time-lapse images of the dissolution dynamics. The set-up involves a single-calcite crystal and the subsequent generation of CO2 bubbles in the domain. The experimental dataset can be used to verify other numerical codes along the lines of the recent benchmark on single-phase dissolution at the pore-scale [4].
DISTRIBUTIVE LATTICES ON GRAPH ORIENTATIONS

Propp gave a construction method for distributive lattice s on a class of orientations of a graph – called c-orientations. Given a distributive lattice we construct a set of graphs, realizing the distributive lattice as the lattice o f their c-orientations. One distributive lattice may arise from different graphs. We describe th e set of graphs which generate the same distributive lattice.
Abstract. Phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes 15 (PEA-15) plays an important role in controlling biological behaviors of cancer cells. In the present study, we demonstrated that PEA-15 was overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues and associated with tumor staging, differentiation, pathological type

Phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes 15 (PEA-15) plays an important role in controlling biological behaviors of cancer cells. In the present study, we demonstrated that PEA-15 was overexpressed in gastric cancer tissues and associated with tumor staging, differentiation, pathological types and the prognosis of patients. Gastric cancer cells expressed variable levels of PEA-15 and its bi-phosphorylation forms, p-PEA-15 (Ser104) and p-PEA-15 (Ser116). To gain insight into the functional role of PEA-15, we generated cells stably depleted of PEA-15 and resistant to cisplatin (CDDP) from human gastric cancer cells. PEA-15 depletion inhibited cell proliferation by reducing cyclin D1 expression through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway, resulting in cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, and induced apoptosis by activating caspase-8. PEA-15 depletion also enhanced the inhibitory effect of CDDP that caused cell cycle arrest at the S phase and also enhanced the pro-apoptotic activity of CDDP in vitro and in animal models of tumorigenesis and therapeutic effects. PEA-15 and its phosphorylated forms were overexpressed in CDDP-resistant cells, which had higher levels of p-AKT. Specific inhibition of AKT by MK2206 reduced the expression of p-PEA-15 at the Ser116 residue, resulting in sequential downregulation of p-ERK1/2, cyclin D1 and caspase-8 activation. However, depletion of PEA-15 had little effect on AKT expression or phosphorylation, or its downstream factors including p27, glycogen synthase kinase 3β and caspase-9, indicating that the regulatory effects between PEA-15 and AKT were unidirectional. In summary, the results indicated that PEA-15 expression was associated with clinicopathology and prognosis in gastric cancer and was regulated by AKT to participate in CDDP resistance, indicating that it may be a potential target for overcoming CDDP resistance in the treatment of gastric cancer.
AN ACTIVITY-BASED VIRTUAL SPACE FOR THE LEARNING OF GEOMETRICAL CONCEPTS USING DYNAMIC GEOMETRY SYSTEMS

This paper presents the design of a virtual space for Mathematics teacher education across Europe for the appropriate use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their teaching practices. The design of this virtual space is based on social and constructivist theories of learning. The well-known educational software Cabri-Geometry II (Laborde, 1990) was selected to help teachers introduce Dynamic Geometry Systems into their teaching practices. The basic structural element of the aforementioned virtual space is the learning activity using the tools provided by Cabri. This space is integrated into a wider virtual space named ‘Virtual Community Collaborating Space for Science Education (VccSSe) which is dedicated for Sciences teacher education across Europe, aiming at the adaptation, development, testing, implementation and dissemination of training modules, teaching methodologies and pedagogical strategies based on the use of Virtual tools and Instruments, with the view of implementing them in the classroom, through the use of Information and Communication Technology tools.
On Reliability of Majority Voting

In ensemble learning ﬁeld, the voting of different experts can produce an optimal solution. However, the quality of voting depends on the participant expertise. In this paper, an expert selection algorithm is proposed by considering reliability measure extracted from the conﬁdence score. Our method has been applied based on the combination of 6 algorithms. Experimental result using 8 datasets shows that the proposed reliable majority voting algorithm provides a better average accuracy than the ordinary majority voting and the base classi-ﬁers.
Algorithms and Complexity in Phylogenetics

Phylogenetics is the study of ancestral relationships between species. Its central goal is the reconstruction and analysis of phylogenetic trees and networks. Even though research in phylogenetics is motivated by biological questions and applications, it heavily relies on mathematics and computer science. Dagstuhl Seminar 19443 on Algorithms and Complexity in Phylogenetics aimed at bringing together researchers from phylogenetics and theoretical computer science to enable an exchange of expertise, facilitate interactions across both research areas
Screening and application of lactic acid bacteria isolated from vanamei shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) intestine as a probiotic potential for tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

Bacterial and viral diseases are the main problems in shrimp farming. Vibriosis and white spot disease has been the cause of mass mortality in shrimp in the hatchery and grow-out ponds. One of the possible control measures is by probiotic application of lactic acid bacteria, particularly from indigenous species. The objectives of this study were: 1) to screen lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from vanamei shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) intestine for their potential antimicrobial activities; 2) characterizing the probiotic candidate and identified molecularly to accurately determine the species; 3) to study the effect of the LAB that was isolated from vanamei shrimp in enhancing the immune system of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). Four isolates of LAB were collected, designated as C1, 18K, D3, and 23P. The LAB isolates showed antimicrobial activity against three species of Vibrio with an inhibitory zone up to 15 mm, able to live at acidic to basic pH (1.5-7.2), bile salts (3000 ppm), negative catalase, non-motility negative, and Gram-positive. The molecular characterization and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the isolate of LAB from the gut of vanamei (18K) belongs to Enterococcus avium. The application of LAB (18K) in tiger shrimp juvenile through feed could stimulate the cellular immune system of the tiger shrimp after being challenged with V. harveyi, indicated by increasing of total haemocyte count (THC) and phagocytosis index, suppressed the population of Vibrio in the tiger shrimp and improved survival rate of shrimp. This research proved the importance of indigenous species of lactic acid bacteria to be used as probiotic to combat against bacterial pathogen in shrimp.