Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability of Hemoglobin Mass During a 6-Day UCI ProTour Cycling Race

Objective:Blood doping in endurance sport is a growing problem. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of total hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) measurement in the field and to establish the variability of Hbmass during a cycling race, to assess its viability as an additional antidoping detection parameter. Design:Control-matched longitudinal study. Setting:International Cycling Union's (UCI) ProTour stage race. Participants:Six professional cyclists and 5 recreationally active controls. Interventions:Seventy-two Hbmass tests using the optimized carbon monoxide rebreathing method were performed over 7 consecutive days, before and throughout the tour. Fasted venous blood was obtained for measurement of hematocrit (Hct) and hemoglobin concentration [Hb] in the morning before stages 1, 3, and 6 (D1, D3, and D6). Main Outcome Measures:Reliability of Hbmass measurement was established using typical error calculated from 2 baseline measures. Individual change scores and coefficients of variation were used to assess stability during racing. Results:Typical error for Hbmass was 1.3% [95% confidence limits (CL): 0.9%, 2.5%]. Calculated 95% and 99.99% CL for percent change in Hbmass were ±3.6% and ±7.2%, respectively. Mean Hbmass remained within ±1.9% of baseline in cyclists and ±0.5% in controls. In all cases, individual change scores for both cyclists and controls fell within the 95% CL. There was a decrease in Hct (8.1% ± 2.8%) and [Hb] (9.7% ± 3.2%) throughout the tour in cyclists but not in controls. Conclusions:We demonstrate that Hbmass can be measured reliably via CO-rebreathing during a cycling tour. Unlike [Hb] and Hct, Hbmass remains stable over 6 days of racing in professional cyclists and may have potential in an antidoping context.
A System for Denial-of-Service Attack Detection using MCA and IDS-based on Fuzzy Logic

networking world, a denial of service (DoS) attack is an incident in which a user is deprived of the services of a resource they would normally expect to have. Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is the tool that is able to detect occurrences of intrusion at host, the network and application in the system. One of the most common network attacks is Denial of Service (DoS) attack. In DoS attack of the computer system an individual host will send huge number of packets to one machine so it make the operating of the network and host slow. In this paper, signature of selected attacks such as Smurf, Ping-of-Death which are based on network flow is considered and Mail- Bomb. The system uses MCA based system for detection of the DoS attack. The proposed system monitors the network path to detect attacks and the results show less false negative error during monitoring of the system. Specially, signature based IDS which use fuzzy decision tree for monitoring network path observes that there are great improvements on speed of detection as well as performance of system in the organization.
Reverse Signaling Through Transmembrane TNF Confers Resistance to Lipopolysaccharide in Human Monocytes and Macrophages1

We have previously reported that the CD14+ monocytic subpopulation of human PBMC induces programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cocultured endothelial cells (EC) when stimulated by bacterial endotoxin (LPS). Apoptosis is mediated by two routes, first via transmembrane TNF-α (mTNF) expressed on PBMC and, in addition, by TNF-independent soluble factors that trigger apoptosis in EC. Neutralizing anti-TNF mAb completely blocked coculture-mediated apoptosis, despite the fact that there should have been additional soluble cell death factors. This led to the hypothesis that a reverse signal is transmitted from the TNF receptor on EC to monocytes (MO) via mTNF that prevents the production of soluble apoptotic factors. Here we have tested this hypothesis. The results support the idea of a bidirectional cross-talk between MO and EC. Peripheral blood MO, MO-derived macrophages (MΦ), or the monocytic cell line Mono Mac 6 were preincubated with human microvascular EC that constitutively express TNF receptor type I (TNF-R1) and subsequently stimulated with LPS. Cell-free supernatants of these preparations no longer induced EC apoptosis. The preincubation of MO/MΦ with TNF-reactive agents, such as mAb and soluble receptors, also blocked the production of death factors, providing further evidence for reverse signaling via mTNF. Finally, we show that reverse signaling through mTNF mediated LPS resistance in MO/MΦ as indicated by the down-regulation of LPS-induced soluble TNF and IL-6 as well as IL-1 and IL-10.
Modeling intra-textual variation with entropy and surprisal: topical vs. stylistic patterns

We present a data-driven approach to investigate intra-textual variation by combining entropy and surprisal. With this approach we detect linguistic variation based on phrasal lexico-grammatical patterns across sections of research articles. Entropy is used to detect patterns typical of specific sections. Surprisal is used to differentiate between more and less informationally-loaded patterns as well as type of information (topical vs. stylistic). While we here focus on research articles in biology/genetics, the methodology is especially interesting for digital humanities scholars, as it can be applied to any text type or domain and combined with additional variables (e.g. time, author or social group).
Applying Distance Metric Learning in a Collaborative Melanoma Diagnosis System with Case-Based Reasoning

Current social habits in solar exposure have increased the appearance of melanoma cancer in the last few years. The highest mortality rates in dermatological cancers are caused for this illness. In spite of it, recent studies demonstrate that early diagnosis increases life expectancy. This work introduces a way to classify dermatological cancer with highest rates of accuracy, specificity and sensitivity. The approach is the result of the improvement of previous works that combine information of two of the most important non-invasive image techniques: Reflectance Confocal Microscopy and Dermatoscopy. Current work achieve better results than the previous systems by the use of Distance Metric Learning to the different Case Memories. Keyword. Case-Based Reasoning, Distance Metric Learning, Collaborative Systems.
Efficient Testing of Large Pools of Mycobacterium tuberculosis RD1 Peptides and Identification of Major Antigens and Immunodominant Peptides Recognized by Human Th1 Cells

ABSTRACT Comparative genomics has identified several regions of difference (RDs) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that are deleted or absent in Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccines. To determine their relevance for diagnostic and vaccine applications, it is imperative that efficient methods are developed to test the encoded proteins for immunological reactivity. In this study, we have used 220 synthetic peptides covering sequences of 12 open reading frames (ORFs) of RD1 and tested them as a single pool (RD1pool) with peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients and M. bovis BCG-vaccinated healthy subjects in Th1 cell assays that measure antigen-induced proliferation and IFN-γ secretion. The results showed that RD1pool induced strong responses in both TB patients and BCG-vaccinated healthy subjects. The subsequent testing of peptide pools of individual ORFs revealed that all ORFs induced positive responses in a portion of donors, but PPE68, CFP10, and ESAT6 induced strong responses in TB patients and PPE68 induced strong responses in BCG-vaccinated healthy subjects. In addition, HLA-DR and -DQ typing of donors and HLA-DR binding prediction analysis of proteins suggested HLA-promiscuous presentation of PPE68, CFP10, and ESAT6. Further testing of individual peptides showed that a single peptide of PPE68 (121-VLTATNFFGINTIPIALTEMDYFIR-145) was immunodominant. The search for sequence homology revealed that a part of this peptide, 124-ATNFFGINTIPIAL-137, was present in several PPE family proteins of M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG vaccines. Further experiments limited the promiscuous and immunodominant epitope region to the 10-amino-acid cross-reactive sequence 127-FFGINTIPIA-136.
How Early Stage Entrepreneurs Evaluate Venture Capitalists

This study examines the process and criteria by which entrepreneurs evaluate venture capitalists—the flip side of VCs' due diligence efforts. The selection process involves such issues as the time invested to gather information, the sources of information, and the number of venture capitalists considered. Selection criteria are divided into four groups: 1) Valuation; 2) Value-Added Services; 3) Reputational Factors; and 4) Venture Capitalist Attributes. The article presents results for all respondents and compares results when the respondents are sorted by geographic region, industry, experience, and age. The article also examines satisfaction, sorting respondents by the factors listed as well as by time devoted to the search and criteria ranking.
Intranasal lidocaine for the treatment of migraine headache: a randomized, controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of intranasal lidocaine for immediate relief (5 minutes) of migraine headache pain. METHODS A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial at two university-affiliated community teaching hospitals enrolled patients 18-50 years old with migraine headache as defined by the International Headache Society. Patients who were pregnant, lactating, known to abuse alcohol or drugs, or allergic to one of the study drugs, those who used analgesics within two hours, or those with a first headache were excluded. Statistical significance was assessed by using chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and Student's t-test for continuous variables. Patients rated their pain on a 10-centimeter visual analog scale (VAS) prior to drug administration and at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes after the initial dose. Medication was either 1 mL of 4% lidocaine or normal saline (placebo) intranasally in split doses 2 minutes apart and intravenous prochlorperazine. Medications were packaged so physicians and patients were unaware of the contents. Successful pain relief was achieved if there was a 50% reduction in pain score or a score below 2.5 cm on the VAS. RESULTS Twenty-seven patients received lidocaine and 22 placebo. No significant difference was observed between groups in initial pain scores, 8.4 (95% CI = 7.8 to 9.0) lidocaine and 8.6 (95% CI = 8.0 to 9.2) placebo (p = 0.75). Two of 27 patients (7.4%, 95% CI = 0.8, 24.3) in the lidocaine group and three of 22 patients (13.6%, 95% CI = 2.8 to 34.9) in the placebo group had immediate successful pain relief (p = 0.47), with average pain scores of 6.9 (95% CI = 5.9 to 7.8) and 7.0 (95% CI = 5.8 to 8.2), respectively. No difference in pain relief was detected at subsequent measurements. CONCLUSION There was no evidence that intranasal lidocaine provided rapid relief for migraine headache pain in the emergency department setting.
Minimax Designs for Finite Design Regions

The problem of choosing a design that is representative of a finite candidate set is an important problem in computer experiments. The minimax criterion measures the degree of representativeness because it is the maximum distance of a candidate point to the design. This article proposes a method for finding minimax designs for finite design regions. We establish the relationship between minimax designs and the classical set covering location problem (SCLP) in operations research, which is a binary linear program. In particular, we prove that the set of minimax distances is the set of discontinuities of the function that maps the covering radius to the optimal objective function value. We show that solving the SCLP at the points of discontinuities, which can be determined, gives minimax designs. These results are employed to design an efficient procedure for finding minimax designs for small-sized candidate sets. A heuristic procedure is proposed to generate near-minimax designs for large candidate sets. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Comparison Of Antimicrobial Activities Of Clove Oil & Its Extract On Some Food Borne Microbes

A study was carried out in the comparative analysis of ethanolic extract (50%) of clove & clove oil as natural antimicrobial agents on some food spoilage bacteria. The antibacterial activity of clove oil & its extract (50% ethanol) was tested against ten bacteria (seven Gram positive & three Gram negative) & seven fungi by agar well diffusion assays. The clove oil was found to be better antagonistic agent as compared to its extract counterpart by inhibiting both bacteria & fungi. The oil was found to be very effective with a lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 2.5% (v/v) against Staphylococcus epidermidis & Staphylococcus sp. Amongst the fungi, Aspergillus niger was found to be highly sensitive to the oil. Sodium propionate (standard food preservative) was used as a positive control. Clove oil was found to be more effective as compared to both clove extract & sodium propionate. This study shows the potential of clove oil to be used as food bio-preservative.
Dissecting Wnt signalling pathways and Wnt-sensitive developmental processes through transient misexpression analyses in embryos of Xenopus laevis.

We review evidence that Xenopus Wnts (Xwnts) have activities consistent with their hypothesized roles as secreted signalling factors involved in multiple developmental processes. Transient misexpression of different Xwnts has distinct effects upon early development, and upon the formation of tissues in UV-irradiated embryos. Misexpression of Xwnts also has distinct effects on the in vitro differentiation of blastula cap explants. Cellular responses to Xwnt signals include changes in gap junctional permeability, altered responsiveness to growth factors, and possibly changes in cell adhesion. Current data suggest that a maternal Xwnt- or noggin-like activity is involved in the Nieuwkoop center activity during mesoderm induction, that Xwnt-8 participates in a pathway of differentiation as ventral mesoderm, and that Xwnt-SA is a potential modulator of morphogenetic movements.
ANNs on Co-occurrence Matrices for Mobile Malware Detection

Android dominates the mobile operating system market, which stimulates the rapid spread of mobile malware. It is quite challenging to detect mobile malware. System call sequence analysis is widely used to identify malware. However, the malware detection accuracy of existing approaches is not satisfactory since they do not consider correlation of system calls in the sequence. In this paper, we propose a new scheme called Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) on Co-occurrence Matrices Droid (ANNCMDroid), using co-occurrence matrices to mine correlation of system calls. Our key observation is that correlation of system calls is significantly different between malware and benign software, which can be accurately expressed by co-occurrence matrices, and ANNs can effectively identify anomaly in the co-occurrence matrices. Thus at first we calculate co-occurrence matrices from the system call sequences and then convert them into vectors. Finally, these vectors are fed into ANN to detect malware. We demonstrate the effectiveness of ANNCMDroid by real experiments. Experimental results show that only 4 applications among 594 evaluated benign applications are falsely detected as malware, and only 18 applications among 614 evaluated malicious applications are not detected. As a result, ANNCMDroid achieved an F-Score of 0.981878, which is much higher than other methods.
The Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS): An alternative remodelled sub-scale structure and its reliability

The original 4 sub-scale version of the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (IEPS) was published by Luecht et al. ([15], Journal of Allied Health, 181 – 191). There appears however to be a lack of evidence of the stability of the original instrument and of the test-retest reliability of the items and sub-scales when used with undergraduates. Given that during its development only 143 subjects completed the questionnaire which contained 18 items the generalizability of the instrument should perhaps have been investigated further. The Interprofessional Learning Group (IPL) at Glasgow Caledonian University has been using both the IEPS and the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) (Parsell & Bligh, [19], Medical Education, 33, 95 – 100) to monitor changes in attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate students from eight different health and social care programmes. This paper reports the development of an alternative sub-scale model for the IEPS based on a sample of 308 students. Various aspects of the reliability of this revised model based on a subsequent data set of 247 students are also reported. This revised model appears to be stable for use with undergraduate students yielding Cronbach Alpha values for two of the sub-scales greater than 0.80 and test-retest weighted kappa values for items being fair to moderate.
Individualised cancer therapeutics: dream or reality?

Traditional measures for treating metastatic cancer involve identification of the originating organ from which the neoplasm arose and empirical treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Arguably, with the exception of haematological malignancies, demonstration of efficacy in solid tumours has been limited. Over the past half-decade, theoretical and technological advances have resulted in greater application of molecular science to drug design, which has enabled development of new ‘targeted’ therapeutics. However, generic chemotherapy paradigms have not changed. Establishment of the optimal population for ‘targeted’ therapeutics based on molecular diagnostics (i.e. genomic and proteomic characterisation) to identify sensitive tumour–host ecosystems in individual patients at the ‘bedside’, is not being done as part of routine oncology management. This review focuses on the concept of designing individualised therapeutics based on genomic and proteomic profile of malignant tissue. Genetic and epigenetic perturbations in signal pathways drive cancer growth, survival, invasion and metastatic spread. The burgeoning evidence which supports the concept that each patient’s cancer has a unique complement of pathogenic genetic and molecular derangements is reviewed. Such evidence supports the strategy of individualised selection of a therapeutic complex from a menu of targeting options that best complements the specific oncomolecular profile of the ‘tumour–host’ system.
A Study on Complications of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Diabetes Clinic of a Tertiary Care Hospital , Kolkata , West Bengal

Background: The prevalence of diabetes and its associated complications is increasing at an alarming rate over the last few decades . The burden of these complications if estimated, may help to prevent the morbidity and mortality by appropriate preventive strategies. Objective: To determine the magnitude and distribution of complications of Type 2 diabetes mellitus among the patients attending the diabetes clinic of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, observational, cross sectional study was conducted in the diabetes clinic of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. The study population included all the Type 2 diabetic subjects who attended the clinic from May 2012 to April 2013.345 subjects were selected by systematic random sampling. A pre-designed and pre-tested schedule was used for data collection. Data were collected regarding socio-demographic characteristics and duration of diabetes.HbA1C levels were estimated. The data were analysed using statistical software SPSS 20.Proportions and Chi-square test were used for analysis. Results: 40% patients were suffering from complications of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular disease were found in 32.5%,9%and 6.7% patients respectively whereas 13.3%,33.0% and 30.1% patients were having diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy respectively. Significant association was found between the complications with religion, socio-economic status, duration of diabetes,HbA1C.Also, significant association was found between duration of diabetes and HbA1C levels with each of theindividual complications. Conclusion: Early diagnosis, periodic screening . and blood sugar control may help to reduce the complications of Type 2 diabetes.
Interpretation of myoelectric power spectra: A model and its applications

Some essential elements of a mathematical model describing the power spectrum of myoelectric signals are presented. The influences of electrode cofiguration and of biological parameters such as muscle-fiber radius, action-potential conduction velocity, spread of synapses over the innervation zone, number of fibers per motor unit, and electrode-to-muscle distance are expressed in terms of filter functions modifying the shape of the power spectrum of the generator signal. Signal processing for parameter identification is described and results are listed. A few applications are discussed.
Effect Of Different Sugars On Shoot Regeneration Of Maize ( Zea Mays L.)

Effect of various concentrations of different sugars was investigated for induction of root and shoot from maize. The seedling development was induced with the application of fructose, maltose and sucrose at different concentrations (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0%, 2.5%, 5%, and 10%) of each. Dissected embryos were transferred in ½ MS basal media fortified with various concentrations of different carbon sources. In vitro regenerated maize plantlets were healthy and attained a length of 12.2 cm at 1.0 % concentration in maltose within a week. Out of three sugars low concentration (0.25%- 2.5%) of maltose and sucrose exhibited the maximum shoot and root growth. All the concentrations of maltose and sucrose showed the good growth response of shoot and root. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/kuset.v8i1. 6051 KUSET 2012; 8(1): 119-124
Multiplex assay to identify Korean vectors of malaria

Following the recent emergence of malaria in South Korea, vector control has been an important task. For this, vector identification is very important. Earlier, two PCR‐based assays have been described. But, poor species resolution and their ability to include only 4–5 species limit their use. Thus, it has now become important to revise the assay identifying these members. In this study, a new assay based on internal transcribed spacer 2 and 28S of ribosomal DNA has been described. The assay successfully identified all the Korean malaria vector mosquitoes. Therefore, it is an indispensable tool to study ecology, abundance and biology of these species.
An Effective Aggregation Function for Image Denoising Based on Low Rank Matrix Completion

In this paper, an aggregation function is proposed to improve the performance of the conventional denoising method based on low rank matrix completion. Since this method determines the denoised value of each pixel by averaging the corresponding pixels in the denoised image patches, the performance can be improved by a reasonable aggregation function. The proposed aggregation function exploits the intensity similarity and geometry closeness of the denoised patches, to reduce the unwanted artifacts in the synthesized denoised image. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves substantial PSNR improvement as compared with the conventional denoising algorithm.