Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
From Environment to Man: Genome Evolution and Adaptation of Human Opportunistic Bacterial Pathogens

Environment is recognized as a huge reservoir for bacterial species and a source of human pathogens. Some environmental bacteria have an extraordinary range of activities that include promotion of plant growth or disease, breakdown of pollutants, production of original biomolecules, but also multidrug resistance and human pathogenicity. The versatility of bacterial life-style involves adaptation to various niches. Adaptation to both open environment and human specific niches is a major challenge that involves intermediate organisms allowing pre-adaptation to humans. The aim of this review is to analyze genomic features of environmental bacteria in order to explain their adaptation to human beings. The genera Pseudomonas, Aeromonas and Ochrobactrum provide valuable examples of opportunistic behavior associated to particular genomic structure and evolution. Particularly, we performed original genomic comparisons among aeromonads and between the strictly intracellular pathogens Brucella spp. and the mild opportunistic pathogens Ochrobactrum spp. We conclude that the adaptation to human could coincide with a speciation in action revealed by modifications in both genomic and population structures. This adaptation-driven speciation could be a major mechanism for the emergence of true pathogens besides the acquisition of specialized virulence factors.
Revisión de la literatura analítica de interconexión y propuestas de política para México

En los ultimos anos ha habido un numero creciente de ensayos que analizan la interco-nexion desde el punto de vista economico. Sin embargo, muchos de estos ensayos no es-tan escritos de manera asequible para especialistas que se dedican a las telecomunicaciones y que requieren este tipo de conocimiento para realizar su trabajo: regular las telecomuni-caciones. En este texto se simplifican los argumentos analiticos y se revisa la literatura rele-vante que tiene implicaciones practicas para el estudio de las tarifas de interconexion. En ese sentido, este articulo es un puente entre la literatura analitica y el trabajo practico de regular la interconexion. En las siguientes paginas se hace una revision de la literatura so-bre la interconexion en una via y la interconexion en dos vias. Se analizan esquemas de regulacion con base en la formula del precio del componente eficiente (ecpr, por sus siglas en ingles), precios tope y regulacion basada en el costo incremental promedio. Tambien se analizan los modelos de interconexion de dos vias, asi como los incentivos para la colusion y la discriminacion en precios. Se estudia asimismo el tema de los altos cargos por termi-nacion en telefonia movil. Se racionaliza esto ultimo como un cuello de botella competi-tivo
Modeling transcranial electric stimulation in mouse: A high resolution finite element study

Mouse models are widely used in studies of various forms of transcranial electric stimulation (TES). However, there is limited knowledge of the electric field distribution induced by TES in mice, and computational models to estimate this distribution are lacking. This study examines the electric field and current density distribution in the mouse brain induced by TES. We created a high-resolution finite element mouse model incorporating ear clip electrodes commonly used in mouse TES to study, for example, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The electric field strength and current density induced by an ear clip electrode configuration were computed in the anatomically realistic, inhomogenous mouse model. The results show that the median electric field strength induced in the brain at 1 mA of stimulus current is 5.57 V/m, and the strongest field of 20.19 V/m was observed in the cerebellum. Therefore, to match the median electric field in human ECT at 800 mA current, the electrode current in mouse should be set to approximately 15 mA. However, the location of the strongest electric field in posterior brain regions in the mouse does not model well human ECT which targets more frontal regions. Therefore, the ear clip electrode configuration may not be a good model of human ECT. Using high-resolution realistic models for simulating TES in mice may guide the establishment of appropriate stimulation parameters for future in vivo studies.
Outsourcing Multi-Party Computation

We initiate the study of secure multi-party computation (MPC) in a server-aided setting, where the parties have access to a single server that (1) does not have any input to the computation; (2) does not receive any output from the computation; but (3) has a vast (but bounded) amount of computational resources. In this setting, we are concerned with designing protocols that minimize the computation of the parties at the expense of the server. We develop new definitions of security for this server-aided setting that generalize the standard simulation-based definitions for MPC and allow us to formally capture the existence of dishonest but non-colluding participants. This requires us to introduce a formal characterization of non-colluding adversaries that may be of independent interest. We then design general and special-purpose server-aided MPC protocols that are more efficient (in terms of computation and communication) for the parties than the alternative of running a standard MPC protocol (i.e., without the server). Our main general-purpose protocol provides security when there is at least one honest party with input. We also construct a new and efficient server-aided protocol for private set intersection and give a general transformation from any secure delegated computation scheme to a server-aided two-party protocol. ∗Microsoft Research. senyk@microsoft.com. †University of Calgary. pmohassel@cspc.ucalgary. ca. Work done while visiting Microsoft Research. ‡Columbia University. mariana@cs.columbia. edu. Work done as an intern at Microsoft Research.
The Effect of Connection Cost on Modularity in Evolved Neural Networks

Modularity, often observed in biological systems, does not easily arise in computational evolution. We explore the effect of adding a small fitness cost for each connection between neurons on the modularity of neural networks produced by the NEAT neuroevolution algorithm. We find that this connection cost does not increase the modularity of the best network produced by each run of the algorithm, but that it does lead to increased consistency in the level of modularity produced by the algorithm.
Vector Competence of California Mosquitoes for West Nile virus

To identify the mosquito species competent for West Nile virus (WNV) transmission, we evaluated 10 California species that are known vectors of other arboviruses or major pests: Culex tarsalis, Cx. pipiens pipiens, Cx. p. quinquefasciatus, Cx. stigmatosoma, Cx. erythrothorax, Ochlerotatus dorsalis, Oc. melanimon, Oc. sierrensis, Aedes vexans, and Culiseta inornata. All 10 became infected and were able to transmit WNV at some level. Ochlerotatus, Culiseta, and Aedes were low to moderately efficient vectors. They feed primarily on mammals and could play a secondary role in transmission. Oc. sierrensis, a major pest species, and Cx. p. quinquefasciatus from southern California were the least efficient laboratory vectors. Cx. tarsalis, Cx. stigmatosoma, Cx. erythrothorax, and other populations of Cx. pipiens complex were the most efficient laboratory vectors. Culex species are likely to play the primary role in the enzootic maintenance and transmission of WNV in California.
Saturation Performance of IEEE 802.11 Broadcast Scheme in Ad Hoc Wireless LANs

Broadcast communication is important in inter- vehicle communication. Vehicles broadcast safety related messages to pre-warn the vicinity vehicles. The new IEEE 802.11p is being developed based on IEEE 802.11a to address the need for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside-unit communication. In this paper, we study the saturation performance of IEEE 802.11 broadcast by developing an analytic model as well as by conducting simulation. Having investigated the literature and studied the features of the broadcast, we point out that the analytic models for IEEE 802.11 unicast cannot be simply applied for broadcast. We construct our model to characterize the operation of the backoff counter in broadcast. Based on solutions to the model, closed form expressions of performance indices including throughput, packet delay, and packet deliver ratio are derived. Numerical results reveal several characteristics of the broadcast service. Our research work provides a new means to approach analysis and enhancement of IEEE 802.11 broadcast performance and reliability in wireless ad hoc networks.
Tracking the Transitional Demand for Legal Recall: The Foreclosing and Promise of Law in Argentina

The article tracks the symbolic role that law plays in the varying phases of the transition to democracy in Argentina. It offers a descriptive and conceptual account of how the struggle for legal recall was structured against the force of containment wielded by the state. Focusing on the social demand that comes before Judge Cavallo’s 2001 ruling, which overturned the amnesty laws protecting the military from being prosecuted for past rights violations, the article concerns itself with how the resolve and desire for law are sustained. It thus reflects on how the unfulfilled promises for justice helped to shape a legacy, a pedagogical resource, which was utilized to contest the conciliatory politics and settlements brokered by the state.
Approach and avoidance motivation in close relationships

Approach and avoidance motives relationships: " Laughter is the closest distance between two people. " Victor Borge " My toughest fight was with my first wife. " – Muhammad Ali Close relationships can be the source of incredible joy; but they can also be the source of profound pain. The incentives in relationships are many, including affection, laughter, intimacy, love, and companionship. What has been long understood by the public and increasingly documented by science is that the rewards in relationships are quite beneficial to health and well-being. For example, when asked what gives their lives purpose and meaning, people often put relationships at the top of their list (Klinger, 1977; Little, 1989); and when asked to look back across their lives, people cite close friends and family relationships as a significant source of their happiness (Sears, 1977). In a study of over 2,000 Americans, Campbell and colleagues (1976) found that marriage and family life were the best predictors of overall life satisfaction. Looking at the happiest people (i.e., the top 10% of the sample using multiple converging reports), Diener and Seligman (2002) found that the one thing they all had in common was that they had strong positive social relationships. And, in a review of over 80 published studies, Uchino, Cacioppo, and Kiecolt-Glaser (1996) found a robust association between positive social ties and physiological markers of the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems. The threats in relationships, however, are almost equal in number, such as conflict, rejection, competition, jealously, and grief. Also long understood by laypersons and the research community is that the harsh features of relationships are detrimental to health and well-being. More than half of people seeking psychotherapy cite some type of problems with relationships as a reason for beginning treatment (Pinsker, 1985). The possibility of rejection or negative evaluation from others and negative emotional exchanges between relationship partners have been repeatedly associated with heightened activity in physiological stress systems, such as increased cortisol production (Dickerson & Kemeny, 2004) and ambulatory blood pressure (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2003). There is even evidence that the brain processes social pain and physical pain similarity (Eisenberger, Lieberman, & Williams, 2003). Regrettably, relationships can also pose a direct threat to physical health through the violence enacted by intimate Approach and avoidance social motivation 3 partners at alarmingly high rates (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). In short, social relationships are ripe with potential rewards and …
Movements of the Schwann cell nucleus implicate progression of the inner (axon-related) Schwann cell process during myelination

Although it has been known for several decades that peripheral myelin is formed from an extended, spiraled, and compacted sheet of Schwann cell (SC) plasma membrane, the mechanism by which this unique spiraling is accomplished remains unknown. We have studied the movements of SC nuclei before, during, and subsequent to myelin formation (over periods of 24-72 h) to determine if this nuclear motion (noted in earlier reports) would provide useful insights into the mechanism of myelinogenesis. We used rodent sensory neuron and SC cultures in which initiation of myelinogenesis is relatively synchronized and bright field conditions that allowed resolution of the axon, compact myelin, and position of the SC nucleus. Observed areas were subsequently examined by electron microscopy (EM); eight myelinating SCs with known nuclear movement history were subjected to detailed EM analysis. We observed that, prefatory to myelination, SCs extended along the length of larger axons, apparently competing with adjacent SCs for axonal surface contact. This lengthening preceded the deposition of compact myelin. SC nuclear circumnavigation of the axon was found to attend early myelin sheath formation. This movement was rarely greater than 0.25 turns per 3 h; on the average, more nuclear motion was seen in relation to internodes that formed during observation (0.8 +/- 0.1 turns/24 h) than in relation to those that had begun to form before observation (0.3 +/- 0.1 turns/24 h). Nuclear circumnavigation generally proceeded in one direction, could be in similar or opposite direction in neighboring myelinating SCs on the same axon, and was not proportional to the number of major dense lines within the myelin sheath. A critical finding was that, in all eight cases examined, the overall direction of nuclear movement was the same as that of the inner end of the spiraling SC process, and thus opposite the direction of the outer end of the spiral. We conclude that the correspondence of the direction of nuclear rotation and inner end of the spiraling cytoplasmic lip implicates active progression of the inner lip over the axonal surface to form the membranous spiral of myelin, the nuclear motion resulting from towing by the advancing adaxonal lip. This interpretation fits with finding basal lamina and macular adhering junctions associated with the external lip of SC cytoplasm; these attributes would imply anchorage rather than movement of this region of the SC.
Simulations of Long-Term Community Dynamics in Coral Reefs - How Perturbations Shape Trajectories

Tropical coral reefs feature extraordinary biodiversity and high productivity rates in oligotrophic waters. Due to increasing frequencies of perturbations – anthropogenic and natural – many reefs are under threat. Such perturbations often have devastating effects on these unique ecosystems and especially if they occur simultaneously and amplify each other's impact, they might trigger a phase shift and create irreversible conditions. We developed a generic, spatially explicit, individual-based model in which competition drives the dynamics of a virtual benthic reef community – comprised of scleractinian corals and algae – under different environmental settings. Higher system properties, like population dynamics or community composition arise through self-organization as emergent properties. The model was parameterized for a typical coral reef site at Zanzibar, Tanzania and features coral bleaching and physical disturbance regimes as major sources of perturbations. Our results show that various types and modes (intensities and frequencies) of perturbations create diverse outcomes and that the switch from high diversity to single species dominance can be evoked by small changes in a key parameter. Here we extend the understanding of coral reef resilience and the identification of key processes, drivers and respective thresholds, responsible for changes in local situations. One future goal is to provide a tool which may aid decision making processes in management of coral reefs.
Prediction of the Fate of Organic Compounds in the Environment From Their Molecular Properties: A Review

A comprehensive review of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) allowing the prediction of the fate of organic compounds in the environment from their molecular properties was done. The considered processes were water dissolution, dissociation, volatilization, retention on soils and sediments (mainly adsorption and desorption), degradation (biotic and abiotic), and absorption by plants. A total of 790 equations involving 686 structural molecular descriptors are reported to estimate 90 environmental parameters related to these processes. A significant number of equations was found for dissociation process (pKa), water dissolution or hydrophobic behavior (especially through the KOW parameter), adsorption to soils and biodegradation. A lack of QSAR was observed to estimate desorption or potential of transfer to water. Among the 686 molecular descriptors, five were found to be dominant in the 790 collected equations and the most generic ones: four quantum-chemical descriptors, the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO) and the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO), polarizability (α) and dipole moment (μ), and one constitutional descriptor, the molecular weight. Keeping in mind that the combination of descriptors belonging to different categories (constitutional, topological, quantum-chemical) led to improve QSAR performances, these descriptors should be considered for the development of new QSAR, for further predictions of environmental parameters. This review also allows finding of the relevant QSAR equations to predict the fate of a wide diversity of compounds in the environment.
Epileptic seizure-induced hypoxemia in infants with apparent life-threatening events.

OBJECTIVE To describe the physiologic changes that occur during epileptic seizure (ES)-induced apparent life-threatening events (ALTE) and to provide an explanation for the mechanism whereby the hypoxemia characterizing these events occurred. PATIENTS AND DESIGN Six infants were retrospectively selected from a group of 17 because they had ALTE documented on physiologic recordings where the first change in signals was in the electroencephalogram (EEG). The 17 infants had clinical features suggestive of partial seizures (but normal standard EEGs) and were from a sample of 172 infants with recurrent ALTE. All 17 infants underwent continuous recordings of breathing, electrocardiogram (ECG), oxygenation, and EEG, but only in 6 was an ES-induced ALTE recorded and the physiologic changes described. RESULTS Twenty-three ALTE were documented in six infants. Events commenced with an abnormality in the EEG, followed by a decrease in SaO2 after a median interval of 27 seconds (range 2 to 147). Despite resuscitation, the median duration of severe hypoxemia (SaO2 < or = 60%) was 40 seconds (range 8 to 74). In 18 events (five infants) there was a median of four apneic pauses (range 1 to 9) preceding the decrease in SaO2 by a median duration of 24 seconds (range 3 to 48). The longest apneic pause per event lasted a median of 19 seconds (range 8 to 47). Breathing movements continued in five events (four infants), and expiratory airflow in one. Sinus tachycardia was found in 19 of the 23 events (six infants), but there were no cardiac arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS ES in infants can manifest as ALTE and be accompanied by potentially life-threatening episodes of severe hypoxemia and apnea, despite a normal EEG between events.
A Dynamic Packet Fragmentation Extension to High Throughput WLANs for Real-Time H264/AVC Video Streaming

This paper proposes an extension to high throughput WLANs such as IEEE 802.11n and IEEE 802.11ac for efficient streaming of H264/AVC encoded videos. The main idea is to fragment IP packets containing several TS packets into smaller IP packets containing fewer TS packets which leads to higher transmission success rate and TS level prioritization of H264/AVC frames. Unlike existing fragmentation schemes, it is done without any modification to the MAC layer at the receiver side. Evaluation results show that the proposed scheme achieves up to 5 dB gain on PSNR and 3.5 times higher goodput than legacy WLANs.
Experimental data and computational modeling link auxin gradient and development in the Arabidopsis root

The presence of an auxin gradient in the Arabidopsis root is crucial for proper root development and importantly, for stem cell niche (SCN) maintenance. Subsequently, developmental pathways in the root SCN regulate the formation of the auxin gradient. Combinations of experimental data and computational modeling enable the identification of pathways involved in establishing and maintaining the auxin gradient. We describe how the predictive power of these computational models is used to find how genes and their interactions tightly control the formation of an auxin maximum in the SCN. In addition, we highlight known connections between signaling pathways involving auxin and controlling patterning and development in Arabidopsis.
Sequential Therapy with Gemcitabine and Carboplatin Followed by Paclitaxel as First Line Treatment for Advanced Urothelial Cancer

Objective: Gemcitabine and platinum-based compounds represent the new standard combination therapy for bladder cancer. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine and carboplatin followed sequentially by paclitaxel in 27 patients with advanced transitional cell carcinoma. Methods: This phase II multicentre study was based on the doublet gemcitabine 800 mg/m2 and carboplatin area under the concentration-time curve 2 on days 1 and 8 every 21 days for 4 cycles, followed sequentially by paclitaxel 60 mg/m2/w for 12 consecutive weeks. The disease was assessed after each sequence. Results: Primary tumor was localized in the bladder and renal pelvis in 25 and 2 patients, respectively. Twenty patients completed all 4 cycles of the gemcitabine and carboplatin sequence. Mean number of cycles was 3.5 (range 1 to 4). Toxicities were mainly hematologic, including Grade 3 neutropenia and anemia in 3 patients. Objective response was noted in 11 pts (40.7%), including 1 complete response (CR) and 10 partial responses (PR). Three patients had stable disease and 11 progressed. Among the 20 patients, 14 received the second sequence. Mean number of paclitaxel injections was 7 (range 2 to 12). Toxicities were limited to diarrhea and neurotoxicity in 1 patient each. Objective response was documented in 6 patients (30%) (3 CR and 3 PR), including the improvement of PR into CR in 2 patients. Median duration of response was 6 months. After a median follow-up of 7 months, 21 patients died and 6 remained alive, including 2 who maintained CR and 1 PR. Sixteen patients had locally advanced disease and 11 had metastatic disease, better prognostic was noticed with patients with locally advanced disease. Conclusion: the sequential approach of treatment for advanced urothelial cancer using gemcitabine and carboplatine followed by paclitaxel seems to be a safer alternative to the combined triplet, but due to the limited number of patients this study failed to improve outcome. Further investigations with larger population are required.