Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Channel Time Allocation PSO for Gigabit Multimedia Wireless Networks

This article introduces a resource allocation solution capable of handling mixed media applications within the constraints of a 60 GHz wireless network. The challenges of multimedia wireless transmission include high bandwidth requirements, delay intolerance and wireless channel availability. A new Channel Time Allocation Particle Swarm Optimization (CTA-PSO) is proposed to solve the network utility maximization (NUM) resource allocation problem. CTA-PSO optimizes the time allocated to each device in the network in order to maximize the Quality of Service (QoS) experienced by each user. CTA-PSO introduces network-linked swarm size, an increased diversity function and a learning method based on the personal best, Pbest, results of the swarm. These additional developments to the PSO produce improved convergence speed with respect to Adaptive PSO while maintaining the QoS improvement of the NUM. Specifically, CTA-PSO supports applications described by both convex and non-convex utility functions. The multimedia resource allocation solution presented in this article provides a practical solution for real-time wireless networks.
The relevance and potential roles of microphysiological systems in biology and medicine

Microphysiological systems (MPS), consisting of interacting organs-on-chips or tissue-engineered, 3D organ constructs that use human cells, present an opportunity to bring new tools to biology, medicine, pharmacology, physiology, and toxicology. This issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine describes the ongoing development of MPS that can serve as in-vitro models for bone and cartilage, brain, gastrointestinal tract, lung, liver, microvasculature, reproductive tract, skeletal muscle, and skin. Related topics addressed here are the interconnection of organs-on-chips to support physiologically based pharmacokinetics and drug discovery and screening, and the microscale technologies that regulate stem cell differentiation. The initial motivation for creating MPS was to increase the speed, efficiency, and safety of pharmaceutical development and testing, paying particular regard to the fact that neither monolayer monocultures of immortal or primary cell lines nor animal studies can adequately recapitulate the dynamics of drug–organ, drug–drug, and drug–organ–organ interactions in humans. Other applications include studies of the effect of environmental toxins on humans, identification, characterization, and neutralization of chemical and biological weapons, controlled studies of the microbiome and infectious disease that cannot be conducted in humans, controlled differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells into specific adult cellular phenotypes, and studies of the dynamics of metabolism and signaling within and between human organs. The technical challenges are being addressed by many investigators, and in the process, it seems highly likely that significant progress will be made toward providing more physiologically realistic alternatives to monolayer monocultures or whole animal studies. The effectiveness of this effort will be determined in part by how easy the constructs are to use, how well they function, how accurately they recapitulate and report human pharmacology and toxicology, whether they can be generated in large numbers to enable parallel studies, and if their use can be standardized consistent with the practices of regulatory science.
Enterococcus faecalis Gelatinase Mediates Intestinal Permeability via Protease-Activated Receptor 2

ABSTRACT Microbial protease-mediated disruption of the intestinal epithelium is a potential mechanism whereby a dysbiotic enteric microbiota can lead to disease. This mechanism was investigated using the colitogenic, protease-secreting enteric microbe Enterococcus faecalis. Caco-2 and T-84 epithelial cell monolayers and the mouse colonic epithelium were exposed to concentrated conditioned media (CCM) from E. faecalis V583 and E. faecalis lacking the gelatinase gene (gelE). The flux of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled dextran across monolayers or the mouse epithelium following exposure to CCM from parental or mutant E. faecalis strains indicated paracellular permeability. A protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) antagonist and PAR2-deficient (PAR2−/−) mice were used to investigate the role of this receptor in E. faecalis-induced permeability. Gelatinase (GelE) purified from E. faecalis V583 was used to confirm the ability of this protease to induce epithelial cell permeability and activate PAR2. The protease-mediated permeability of colonic epithelia from wild-type (WT) and PAR2−/− mice by fecal supernatants from ulcerative colitis patients was assessed. Secreted E. faecalis proteins induced permeability in epithelial cell monolayers, which was reduced in the absence of gelE or by blocking PAR2 activity. Secreted E. faecalis proteins induced permeability in the colonic epithelia of WT mice that was absent in tissues from PAR2−/− mice. Purified GelE confirmed the ability of this protease to induce epithelial cell permeability via PAR2 activation. Fecal supernatants from ulcerative colitis patients induced permeability in the colonic epithelia of WT mice that was reduced in tissues from PAR2−/− mice. Our investigations demonstrate that GelE from E. faecalis can regulate enteric epithelial permeability via PAR2.
Macrophage-Mediated Responses to Candida albicans in Mice Expressing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Transgene

ABSTRACT The critical impairments of innate and adaptive immunity that cause susceptibility to mucosal candidiasis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have not been fully determined. We therefore conducted an analysis of macrophage-mediated responses to Candida albicans in transgenic (Tg) mice expressing Nef, Env, and Rev of HIV type 1 (HIV-1) in CD4+ T cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages and developing an AIDS-like disease (CD4C/HIVMutA Tg mice). Macrophages were successfully recruited to the oral and gastric mucosae of these Tg mice in response to chronic carriage of C. albicans and displayed polarization toward an alternatively activated phenotype. Functionally, peritoneal macrophages from uninfected Tg mice exhibited increased phagocytosis of C. albicans and enhanced production of interleukin 6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, demonstrating that the HIV-1 transgene independently activates selected macrophage functions. Production of H2O2 by macrophages from Tg mice primed with gamma interferon and treated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or C. albicans was moderately reduced, but expression of the HIV-1 transgene did not alter production of nitric oxide or reduce killing of C. albicans. A knockout of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) gene in these Tg mice did not augment oral or gastrointestinal burdens during chronic carriage of C. albicans or cause systemic dissemination, likely due to a redundancy provided by partially preserved production of H2O2 and oxygen-independent candidacidal mechanisms. Thus, the macrophage response to C. albicans is largely preserved in these Tg mice, and no functional macrophage defect appears to primarily determine the susceptibility to mucosal candidiasis.
Specific Roles of the iroBCDEN Genes in Virulence of an Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli O78 Strain and in Production of Salmochelins

ABSTRACT Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains are a subset of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains associated with respiratory infections and septicemia in poultry. The iroBCDEN genes encode the salmochelin siderophore system present in Salmonella enterica and some ExPEC strains. Roles of the iro genes for virulence in chickens and production of salmochelins were assessed by introducing plasmids carrying different combinations of iro genes into an attenuated salmochelin- and aerobactin-negative mutant of O78 strain χ7122. Complementation with the iroBCDEN genes resulted in a regaining of virulence, whereas the absence of iroC, iroDE, or iroN abrogated restoration of virulence. The iroE gene was not required for virulence, since introduction of iroBCDN restored the capacity to cause lesions and colonize extraintestinal tissues. Prevalence studies indicated that iro sequences were associated with virulent APEC strains. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of supernatants of APEC χ7122 and the complemented mutants indicated that (i) for χ7122, salmochelins comprised 14 to 27% of the siderophores present in iron-limited medium or infected tissues; (ii) complementation of the mutant with the iro locus increased levels of glucosylated dimers (S1 and S5) and monomer (SX) compared to APEC strain χ7122; (iii) the iroDE genes were important for generation of S1, S5, and SX; (iv) iroC was required for export of salmochelin trimers and dimers; and (v) iroB was required for generation of salmochelins. Overall, efficient glucosylation (IroB), transport (IroC and IroN), and processing (IroD and IroE) of salmochelins are required for APEC virulence, although IroE appears to serve an ancillary role.
Polymeric Linear Peptide Chimeric Vaccine-Induced Antimalaria Immunity Is Associated with Enhanced In Vitro Antigen Loading

ABSTRACT Immunization of mice with Plasmodium berghei or Plasmodium yoelii synthetic linear peptide chimeras (LPCs) based on the circumsporozoite protein protects against experimental challenge with viable sporozoites. The immunogenicity of LPCs is significantly enhanced by spontaneous polymerization. To better understand the antigenic properties of polymeric antimalarial peptides, we studied the immune responses elicited in mice immunized with a polymer or a monomer of a linear peptide construct specific for P. yoelii and compared the responses of antigen-presenting cells following incubation with both peptide species. Efficient uptake of the polymeric peptide in vitro resulted in higher expression of the coactivation markers CD80, CD40, and CD70 on dendritic cells and higher proinflammatory cytokine production than with the monomeric peptide. Macropinocytosis seems to be the main route used by polymeric peptides internalized by antigen-presenting cells. Spontaneous polymerization of synthetic antimalarial-peptide constructs to target professional antigen-presenting cells shows promise for simple delivery of subunit malaria vaccines.
Adaptation of BitTorrent for Heterogeneous Networks and ISPs' Constraints

The Bittorrent P2P (Peer-to-Peer) network is now well-known and widely used. In Europe, it is mainly used with people connected to ADSL networks. However, with the emergence of various access networks with various capabilities (bandwidth, delay, etc.), we might wonder if Bittorrent is well suited to those heterogeneous networks. Moreover, some mobile 3G network operators even forbid the use of P2P networks in their contract (and eventually block it) because it overloads the shared wireless links. This heterogeneity of networks as well as the the possibility that ISPs block P2P traffic, could have an impact on the Bittorrent system. This is what this paper addresses with simulations of a swarm composed of peers, connected to heterogeneous access networks. The simulations we performed enable us to highlight that the Bittorrent protocol is not optimised for being used from various ISP access networks and thus we propose a simple adaptation of the Bittorrent algorithm, which classifies peers, depending on their access network capabilities and unchokes peers, based on their class and no more independently. This adapted algorithm allows to maintain a good QoE (Quality of Experience) to end-users while satisfying ISPs' constraints since it does no longer load the wireless access network.
On Generating Content-Oriented Geo Features for Sensor-Rich Outdoor Video Search

Advanced technologies in consumer electronics products have enabled individual users to record, share, and view videos on mobile devices. With the volume of videos increasing tremendously on the Internet, fast and accurate video search has attracted much research attention. A good similarity measure is a key component in a video retrieval system. Most of the existing solutions only rely on either the low-level visual features or the surrounding textual annotations. Those approaches often suffer from low recall as they are highly susceptible to changes in viewpoint, illumination, and noisy tags. By leveraging geo-metadata , more reliable and precise search results can be obtained. However, two issues remain challenging: (1) how to quantify the spatial relevance of videos with the visual similarity to generate a pertinent ranking of results according to users' needs, and (2) how to design a compact video representation that supports efficient indexing for fast video retrieval. In this study, we propose a novel video description which consists of (a) determining the geographic coverage of a video based on the camera's field-of-view and a pre-constructed geo-codebook, and (b) fusing video spatial relevance and region-aware visual similarities to achieve a robust video similarity measure. Toward a better encoding of a video's geo-coverage, we construct a geo-codebook by semantically segmenting a map into a collection of coherent regions. To evaluate the proposed technique we developed a video retrieval prototype. Experiments show that our proposed method improves the mean average precision by 4.6% ~ 10.5%, compared with existing approaches.
Determination of minerals by ICP-AES in indigenous vegetables from Southwest Nigeria

Purpose – It is very pertinent to determine the nutritional value of indigenous leafy-vegetables to establish their potentials in ensuring adequate nutrition and food security. One of the ways to promote fresh produce is through nutritional information. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Simultaneous multi-element analysis of eight indigenous (with underutilized) vegetables commonly found in the Southwest Nigeria was done by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. Wild-grown vegetables were harvested from the National Horticultural Research Institute orchard, in Southwest Nigeria. The contents of investigated quantity minerals as well as trace and heavy metals were determined. Findings – In all the vegetables, potassium was discovered as the most abundant quantity mineral present with range of 4.364 mg/g in Vernonia amygdalina to 78.218 mg/g in Senecio biafrae (an underutilized vegetable). This was followed by calcium ranging from 3.351 mg/g (Vernonia am.
Caring for the Frail Elderly in the Home: A Multidisciplinary Approach

As people live longer, maintaining independence in the home will become a significant health care issue. This article explains how one home care agency developed a comprehensive multidiscipli-nary program to identify, screen, assess, and treat the four common geriatric syndromes that affect quality of life for older people and are often the cause for nursing home admissions. The four syndromes are falls risk, incontinence, dementia, and depression. By screening for these four syndromes clinicians can develop care plans that address the needs of the frail elderly. Through an interdiscipli-nary approach, the team can work together to keep patients safe and independent in their own homes, allowing them to stay in their own environment with assistance if needed.
Transition of Visual Attention Assessment in Stereoscopic Images With Evaluation of Subjective Visual Quality and Discomfort

Through statistical analysis of the behaviors of human visual attention, we discovered that fixation behaviors are highly correlated with the degree to which the viewer experiences visual quality/discomfort with stereoscopic images. To quantify the correlation between visual attention and quality/discomfort with respect to various distortions and disparities, we explore a novel methodology called transition of visual attention (ToVA) that accounts for diverse low-level luminance, chrominance, and depth attributes of 3D images in eye-tracker experiments. Moreover, saliency entropy is defined in order to quantify the distribution of fixations for 3D images. Using saliency entropy, we interpret perceptual factors in accordance with the non-uniform resolution of the human eye and the stereoscopic limits caused by foveation and Panum's fusional area. We then measure ToVA in terms of relative saliency entropy using Kullback-Leibler divergence. To evaluate the effectiveness of ToVA, a successful example application is also provided for which ToVA is applied to obtain subjective measurements of the quality and discomfort experienced when viewing 3D displays, rather than relying on conventional subjective tests using a scoring system.
Biofilm Formation Avoids Complement Immunity and Phagocytosis of Streptococcus pneumoniae

ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae is a frequent member of the microbiota of the human nasopharynx. Colonization of the nasopharyngeal tract is a first and necessary step in the infectious process and often involves the formation of sessile microbial communities by this human pathogen. The ability to grow and persist as biofilms is an advantage for many microorganisms, because biofilm-grown bacteria show reduced susceptibility to antimicrobial agents and hinder recognition by the immune system. The extent of host protection against biofilm-related pneumococcal disease has not been determined yet. Using pneumococcal strains growing as planktonic cultures or as biofilms, we have investigated the recognition of S. pneumoniae by the complement system and its interactions with human neutrophils. Deposition of C3b, the key complement component, was impaired on S. pneumoniae biofilms. In addition, binding of C-reactive protein and the complement component C1q to the pneumococcal surface was reduced in biofilm bacteria, demonstrating that pneumococcal biofilms avoid the activation of the classical complement pathway. In addition, recruitment of factor H, the downregulator of the alternative pathway, was enhanced by S. pneumoniae growing as biofilms. Our results also show that biofilm formation diverts the alternative complement pathway activation by a PspC-mediated mechanism. Furthermore, phagocytosis of pneumococcal biofilms was also impaired. The present study confirms that biofilm formation in S. pneumoniae is an efficient means of evading both the classical and the PspC-dependent alternative complement pathways the host immune system.
Role of Ferroportin in Macrophage-Mediated Immunity

ABSTRACT Perturbations in iron metabolism have been shown to dramatically impact host response to infection. The most common inherited iron overload disorder results from defects in the HFE gene product, a major histocompatibility complex class I-like protein that interacts with transferrin receptors. HFE-associated hemochromatosis is characterized by abnormally high levels of the iron efflux protein ferroportin. In this study, J774 murine macrophages overexpressing ferroportin were used to investigate the influence of iron metabolism on the release of nitric oxide (NO) in response to infection. Overexpression of ferroportin significantly impaired intracellular Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth during early stages of infection. When challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or M. tuberculosis infection, control macrophages increased NO synthesis, but macrophages overexpressing ferroportin had significantly impaired NO production in response to LPS or M. tuberculosis. Increased NO synthesis in control cells was accompanied by increased iNOS mRNA and protein, while upregulation of iNOS protein was markedly reduced when J744 cells overexpressing ferroportin were challenged with LPS or M. tuberculosis, thus limiting the bactericidal activity of these macrophages. The proinflammatory cytokine gamma interferon reversed the inhibitory effect of ferroportin overexpression on NO production. These results suggest a novel role for ferroportin in attenuating macrophage-mediated immune responses.
Characterization of Intracellular Growth Regulator icgR by Utilizing Transcriptomics To Identify Mediators of Pathogenesis in Shigella flexneri

ABSTRACT Shigella species Gram-negative bacteria which cause a diarrheal disease, known as shigellosis, by invading and destroying the colonic mucosa and inducing a robust inflammatory response. With no vaccine available, shigellosis annually kills over 600,000 children in developing countries. This study demonstrates the utility of combining high-throughput bioinformatic methods with in vitro and in vivo assays to provide new insights into pathogenesis. Comparisons of in vivo and in vitro gene expression identified genes associated with intracellular growth. Additional bioinformatics analyses identified genes that are present in S. flexneri isolates but not in the three other Shigella species. Comparison of these two analyses revealed nine genes that are differentially expressed during invasion and that are specific to S. flexneri. One gene, a DeoR family transcriptional regulator with decreased expression during invasion, was further characterized and is now designated icgR, for intracellular growth regulator. Deletion of icgR caused no difference in growth in vitro but resulted in increased intracellular replication in HCT-8 cells. Further in vitro and in vivo studies using high-throughput sequencing of RNA transcripts (RNA-seq) of an isogenic ΔicgR mutant identified 34 genes that were upregulated under both growth conditions. This combined informatics and functional approach has allowed the characterization of a gene and pathway previously unknown in Shigella pathogenesis and provides a framework for further identification of novel virulence factors and regulatory pathways.
Control of lesion geometry using asymmetric beams for ultrasonic tumor therapy

This report describes ultrasonic transducers that are designed to expedite thermal-necrosis treatment of tumors, particularly in the eye. The spherical-cap transducers employ pairs of parallel strip-electrodes to generate focal-zone beam patterns that are narrow in one direction and exhibit a number ofprominent lobes over a larger width in the orthogonal direction. Diffraction analysis and thermal modelling are employed to derive information for designing such asymmetric beams and producing continuous, asymmetric thermal lesions within tumors. Compared with typical ellipsoidal lesions, the "chicklet" shaped lesions produced by these beams permit a larger tissue volume to be treated as the transducer is scanned across a tumor. This fact can reduce the number ofscans required to treat entire tumors and may significantly reduce overall clinical treatment times. Keywords: ultrasonic therapy, ultrasonic transducers, thermal modelling, thermal necrosis, high-intensity focused ultrasound