Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin as a Central Regulator of Pregnancy Immune Tolerance

Normal pregnancy is characterized by an early expansion of regulatory T cells (Tregs), which is known to contribute to fetal tolerance. However, mechanisms and factors behind Treg expansion are not yet defined. Recently, we proposed that the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) efficiently attracts human Tregs to trophoblasts, favoring their accumulation locally. In this study, we hypothesized that hCG not only acts as a chemoattractant of Tregs but also plays a central role in pregnancy-induced immune tolerance. Virgin, normal pregnant, and abortion-prone female mice were treated either with 10 IU/ml hCG or PBS at days 0, 2, 4, and 6 of pregnancy. The hCG effect on Treg frequency and cytokine secretion was determined in Foxp3gfp females. hCG impact on Treg suppressive capacity was studied in vitro. In vivo, we investigated whether hCG enhances Treg suppressive capacity indirectly by modulating dendritic cell maturation in an established mouse model of disturbed fetal tolerance. Application of hCG increased Treg frequency in vivo and their suppressive activity in vitro. In females having spontaneous abortions, hCG provoked not only an augmentation of Treg numbers, but also normalized fetal abortion rates. hCG-generated Tregs were fully functional and could confer tolerance when adoptively transferred. hCG also retained dendritic cells in a tolerogenic state that is likely to contribute to both Treg expansion and prevention of abortion. Our results position hCG in a novel, so far unknown role as modulator of immune tolerance during pregnancy.
Switching dynamics of ferroelectric HfO2-ZrO2 with various ZrO2 contents

To explore the effect of the ZrO2 content on the switching speed of ferroelectric HfO2-ZrO2 (FE-HZO), we demonstrate 10 nm FE-HZO capacitors fabricated with 5:5, 6:4, and 7:3 HfO2 and ZrO2 atomic-layer-deposition-cycling ratios. The FE-HZO devices show high remanent polarization (Pr) of 26, 20, and 11 μC/cm2 for the 5:5, 6:4, and 7:3 samples, respectively. The FE-HZO capacitors with lower ZrO2 contents show increasing coercive fields, which intuitively seem to increase switching difficulty. However, the FE-HZO devices with 50 mol. %, 40 mol. %, and 30 mol. % ZrO2 contents show decreasing switching times for 80% polarization, namely, 1.2, 0.9, and 0.7 μs, respectively. Because of the polycrystalline nature of FE-HZO, the distribution of local fields in the film is analyzed based on the inhomogeneous field mechanism model. The results show that the FE-HZO devices with lower ZrO2 contents have higher active fields and less uniform distribution of local fields. However, time constants for the 5:5, 6:4, and 7:3 samples decrease dramatically, being 137, 98, and 14 ps, respectively. These results unveil the distribution of the local fields in FE-HZO with varying ZrO2 contents and are helpful for understanding and optimizing the switching dynamics of FE-HZO for non-volatile memory applications.
A lighting model aiming at drive simulators

Many techniques for rendering natural objects such as the sea, terrains, and trees have been developed; they are indispensable for flight simulators. In this paper, techniques for rendering road surfaces under various conditions are discussed. Rendering road surfaces is quite useful for the evaluation of driving safety, and it will play an important part in the development of drive simulators. Light sources with high intensity often disturb drivers especially under wet road surface conditions.This paper proposes two models, a reflection model for road surfaces taking into account weather conditions, and a model on streaks of light taking into account both refraction and diffraction of light. Some examples demonstrate the possibility of applications for drive simulators in the future.
Viabilidade tecnológica da triploidia em Anomalocardia brasiliana (Bivalvia: Veneridae) em escala laboratorial

A poliploidia, por meio da manipulacao cromossomica, e uma das ferramentas mais importantes para melhorar o desempenho zootecnico na malacocultura e e responsavel pelos maiores avancos nesse setor. Estudos citogeneticos podem fornecer informacoes essenciais para a manipulacao cromossomica direcionada a producao de organismos poliploides. No presente estudo, os momentos pos-fecundacao em que os corpos polares sao expelidos foram identificados, bem como o numero mais frequente de cromossomos em Anomalocardia brasiliana. A inducao a triploidia por inducao quimica e fisica foi avaliada usando-se os indutores Citocalasina B (CB) e 6 -Dimetilaminopurina (6-DMAP), assim como por choque termico frio e por choque hiposmotico, respectivamente. Os especimes foram capturados no litoral norte de Pernambuco, regiao nordeste, na praia de Mangue Seco, e no sul do Espirito Santo, regiao sudeste, na praia de Piuma, Brasil. Os gametas foram obtidos por inducao, as amostras de solucao de ovocitos foram tomadas antes e apos as fertilizacoes a cada dois minutos. O material foi fixado em Carnoy, corado em DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenilindole) a 2μg/mL, e fotografado em microscopio de epifluorescencia. A inducao a triploidia por CB foi realizada a 1 mg. L-1, enquanto que a inducao por 6-DMAP foi feita a 450 μmols. L-1. As inducoes por choque termico frio foram realizadas a 2, 5 e 7°C, e as por choque hiposmotico realizadas a 12‰ de salinidade. Foram observados 19 bivalentes em 50 ovocitos no estagio de metafase I. Em 70% dos ovos, a saida do primeiro corpo polar foi detectada aos dez minutos apos a fertilizacao, e em 62% dos ovos o segundo corpo polar foi expelido aos 16 minutos. Estes percentuais foram obtidos a uma temperatura media de 26°C e 35‰ de salinidade. As inducoes quimicas a triploidia apresentaram baixa sobrevivencia larval apos as primeiras 24 horas, diferentemente dos tratamentos fisicos, que obtiveram mais de 90% de sobrevivencia. Os resultados obtidos nesta pesquisa podem auxiliar outros estudos envolvendo a manipulacao genetica para fins de poliploidia na aquicultura.
The Relationship between Health-Promoting Behaviors and Resilience in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

This cross-sectional research study explored differences in health-promoting behavior and resilience among three groups of chronic kidney disease patients (high-risk, early chronic kidney disease; early CKD and pre-end stage renal disease; pre-ESRD) treated at the Nephrology outpatient clinic in northern Taiwan. A total of 150 CKD outpatients were interviewed using structured questionnaires including a CKD Health to Promote Lifestyle Scale, and resilience scale. We found that the pre-ESRD group had lower resilience than either high-risk or early CKD groups. Factors affecting pre-ESRD resilience were gender, occupational status, diabetes and health-promoting behaviors. Factors affecting resilience of the high-risk group included level of education and health-promoting behaviors while factors affecting resilience in the early CKD group involved whether they are employed and health promoting behaviors. A significant positive correlation was found between health promoting behavior and resilience in all study subjects. Multiple regression analysis found that factors which could effectively predict resilience in patients at high-risk for CKD were gender, whether the patient had a job, nutrition, self-actualization, and stress level, accounting for 69.7% of the variance. Therefore, nursing education should focus on health promotion advocacy throughout the life of not only patients but also their families.
Toward Ethical Robots via Mechanized Deontic Logic ∗

We suggest that mechanized multi-agent deontic logics might be appropriate vehicles for engineering trustworthy robots. Mechanically checked proofs in such logics can serve to establish the permissibility (or obligatoriness) of agent actions, and such proofs, when translated into English, can also explain the rationale behind those actions. We use the logical framework Athena to encode a natural deduction system for a deontic logic recently proposed by Horty for reasoning about what agents ought to do. We present the syntax and semantics of the logic, discuss its encoding in Athena, and illustrate with an example of a mechanized proof.
Mining High Utility Itemsets from Vertical Distributed Databases

The utility based on itemsets mining approach has been discussed widely in recent years. There are many algorithms mining high utility itemsets (HUIs) by pruning candidates based on the estimated utility values, and based on the transaction-weighted utilization values. These algorithms aim to reduce search space. In this paper, we propose a method for HUIs from vertical distributed databases. This method does not integrate local databases in SlaverSites to MasterSite, and scan local database one time. Experiments show the run-time of this method is more efficient than that in the concentration database.
Dynamic analysis of bet-hedging strategies as a protection mechanism against environmental fluctuations

In order to increase their robustness against environmental fluctuations, many biological populations have developed bet-hedging mechanisms in which the population `bets' against the presence of prolonged favorable environmental conditions by having a few individual behaving as if they sensed a threatening or stressful environment. As a result, the population (as a whole) increases its chances of surviving environmental fluctuations in the long term, while sacrificing short-term performance. In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework, based on Markov jump linear systems, to model and evaluate the performance of bet-hedging strategies in the presence of stochastic fluctuations. We illustrate our results using numerical simulations.
Fast Binary Embedding via Circulant Downsampled Matrix - A Data-Independent Approach

Binary embedding of high-dimensional data aims to produce low-dimensional binary codes while preserving discriminative power. State-of-the-art methods often suffer from high computation and storage costs. We present a simple and fast embedding scheme by first downsampling N-dimensional data into M-dimensional data and then multiplying the data with an MxM circulant matrix. Our method requires O(N +M log M) computation and O(N) storage costs. We prove if data have sparsity, our scheme can achieve similarity-preserving well. Experiments further demonstrate that though our method is cost-effective and fast, it still achieves comparable performance in image applications.
Inactivation of Salmonella on tainted foods: using blue light to disinfect cucumbers and processed meat products

Abstract Foodborne illness resulting from infectious organisms occurring in vegetables and processed meat is a serious health concern in the United States. Improved and cost‐effective techniques for disinfection are needed. Visible light in the blue range (405 nm) was administered to processed meat that had been inoculated with Escherichia coli. One application of light energy at doses of 10, 30, 60, and 100 J/cm2 was applied, in vitro. In the case of vegetables contaminated with Salmonella (cucumbers), 464 nm light was used at 6, 12, and 18 J/cm2. In both cases, after 20 hours of incubation, colony‐forming units were counted and compared to controls to determine whether the light energy inhibited growth of E. coli or Salmonella. E. coli – 405 nm light at doses of 30, 60, and 100 J/cm2 were all effective inhibitors of the organism. Kill rates of 75.61 – 96.34% were achieved. Salmonella – 464 nm light at doses of 6, 12, and 18 J/cm2 produced significant inactivation of the organism. Kill rates of 80.23–100% were obtained. Blue light, delivered in the wavelength/dose combinations used in this study is an effective inhibitor of both E. coli and Salmonella on actual foodstuffs. Blue light should be considered as a potentially effective tool in the effort to protect humans from foodborne illnesses.
Optical flip-flop based on two-coupled mode-locked ring lasers

We report an all-optical flip-flop that is based on two coupled actively mode-locked fiber ring lasers. The lasers are coupled so that when one of the lasers lases, it quenches lasing in the other laser. The state of the flip-flop is determined by the wavelength of the laser that is currently lasing. The concept of the flip-flop is explained and experimental results are presented that indicate a flip-flop operation over 25-dB contrast ratio and less than 0.3-mW switching power.
Técnicas de otimização multiobjetivo e otimização estocástica para o roteamento de fluxos em redes

Neste trabalho estamos interessados em problemas de otimizacao ligados ao roteamento de fluxos em redes. Tres modelos e um algoritmo exato e polinomial sao apresentados. O primeiro modelo e um problema de programacao inteira biobjetivo em que as funcoes objetivo referem-se ao balanceamento de carga da rede e ao comprimento dos caminhos por onde os fluxos sao roteados. Um algoritmo exato e polinomial baseado na tecnica -constraint e apresentado. O segundo modelo difere do primeiro no que tange aos pesos dos fluxos e as qualidades das arestas. Nele esses parâmetros podem assumir valores distintos. O ultimo modelo trata-se de um problema estocastico mono-objetivo de roteamento de fluxos. Ele visa minimizar o gargalo da rede, respeitando um certo limite no comprimento dos caminhos por onde os fluxos sao roteados. Alem disso, as qualidades dos enlaces sao variaveis aleatorias, que podem ser aproximadas por um conjunto discreto e finito de cenarios. Implementacoes foram desenvolvidas em linguagem C++ utilizando o solver CPLEX para a resolucao das instâncias. Topologias Grid e topologias aleatorias baseadas no modelo Barabasi-Albert foram utilizadas em nossos experimentos computacionais. As configuracoes dos fluxos de rede definidos aqui sao aquelas comumente usadas em redes de sensores sem fio e redes de malha sem fio. A analise dos resultados computacionais fornece ao tomador de decisao informacoes valiosas sobre quais fatores que mais afetam as solucoes.
Faecal excretion of rotavirus and other enteropathogens in newborns of the high and low socio-economic stratum in Santiago, Chile

SUMMARY Faecal excretion of enteropathogens was studied in newborns in their first week of life. Rotavirus was investigated in 225 neonates, of whom 107 belonged to the low socio-economic stratum (SES) and 118 to the high SES. Half of each group were delivered by caesarean section. Rotavirus was detected in 10 infants (4.4%). Eight of them had been in the same ward and excreted the same viral electrophoretype. Enteropathogenic bacteria were isolated from 8 out of 57 (14–0%) newborns. Positive cultures were equally distributed by SES and route of delivery. Giardia lamblia was the only parasite detected, in one infant (2–6%) of the high SES. None of the children developed symptoms. Faecal excretion of enteropathogens ended spontaneously within a week in all cases. It is suggested that the lack of symptomatology and the spontaneous termination of the faecal excretion are related to immaturity of the small intestinal mucosa, that does not allow the completion of the steps that must take place during a successful infectious event.
Implementasi Natural Language Processing pada Chatbot Peribahasa Indonesia

Natural language Processing (NLP) Chatbot provides a solution on the issue of unavailability of interactive media to search for meaning Indonesian proverb, to search part of word from proverbs and to search proverb from it means. The goal of NLP is to model the computation process on languages so it could enable an interaction between a user and computer with natural language as its medium. User’s input will be processed using text mining method. The resulting response is a pattern matching with the knowledge base by using the Boyer-Moore algorithm and generates the most matching response. Boyer-Moore algorithm could only handle the exact keyword which is matching the knowledge base. In addition to the system, Levenshtein distance algorithm is used as a spelling correction which is used when there are typos from user’s input by comparing two strings and picks its smallest difference value. From this research, it can be The conclusion from this research is this system can be used as an interactive media to get information about Indonesian proverb with chatbot’s success rate up to 83,3% where the results are obtained from the response of a chatbot that depends on the entire keywords. The level of difficulty in creating the system are more to the adjustment of user input with the knowledge base.
Caenorhabditis elegans HOPS and CCZ-1 mediate trafficking to lysosome-related organelles independently of RAB-7 and SAND-1

This work presents a systematic analysis of how VPS-C/HOPS, CCZ-1/SAND-1, and RAB-7, which have well-defined roles in lysosome formation, act in the biogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans lysosome-related organelles. It identifies key molecular similarities and differences in trafficking to these homologous, yet distinct organelles.
Augmenting the Activity of Monoterpenoid Phenols against Fungal Pathogens Using 2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde that Target Cell Wall Integrity

Disruption of cell wall integrity system should be an effective strategy for control of fungal pathogens. To augment the cell wall disruption efficacy of monoterpenoid phenols (carvacrol, thymol), antimycotic potency of benzaldehyde derivatives that can serve as chemosensitizing agents were evaluated against strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild type (WT), slt2Δ and bck1Δ (mutants of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and MAPK kinase kinase, respectively, in the cell wall integrity pathway). Among fourteen compounds investigated, slt2Δ and bck1Δ showed higher susceptibility to nine benzaldehydes, compared to WT. Differential antimycotic activity of screened compounds indicated “structure-activity relationship” for targeting the cell wall integrity, where 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde (2H4M) exhibited the highest antimycotic potency. The efficacy of 2H4M as an effective chemosensitizer to monoterpenoid phenols (viz., 2H4M + carvacrol or thymol) was assessed in yeasts or filamentous fungi (Aspergillus, Penicillium) according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing or Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute M38-A protocols, respectively. Synergistic chemosensitization greatly lowers minimum inhibitory or fungicidal concentrations of the co-administered compounds. 2H4M also overcame the tolerance of two MAPK mutants (sakAΔ, mpkCΔ) of Aspergillus fumigatus to fludioxonil (phenylpyrrole fungicide). Collectively, 2H4M possesses chemosensitizing capability to magnify the efficacy of monoterpenoid phenols, which improves target-based (viz., cell wall disruption) antifungal intervention.
An ACE inhibitor reduces Th2 cytokines and TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2 isoforms in murine lupus nephritis.

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, such as captopril, are used to control hypertension. In patients and animals with primary nephropathies, these agents improve renal function more than that would be expected from their control of hypertension. Here, we examine the effects of treatment with captopril on lupus nephritis and discuss the potential mechanism(s) by which this agent exerts its renoprotective effects. METHODS Lupus-prone, NZB/NZW F1 and MRL-lpr/lpr, mice were treated with captopril or with a control antihypertensive agent, verapamil. Mice were monitored for nephritis, and their sera and tissues analyzed for cytokine and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) expression. RESULTS Captopril treatment delayed the onset of proteinuria when administered to prenephritic mice, whereas verapamil did not. Captopril treatment also retarded disease progression when given to lupus mice that had early disease, and even reversed severe proteinuria in at least some older animals with advanced disease. It reduced chronic renal lesions, but had no effect on autoantibody production. The improvement in renal disease correlated with reduced TGF-beta expression, particularly of the TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2 isoforms, in the kidneys. Interestingly, in vivo or in vitro exposure to captopril reduced splenic levels of type 2 cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10, suggesting a possible role of the immune system in captopril-mediated disease modulation. CONCLUSION Since type 2 cytokines are known to promote lupus glomerulosclerosis, decreased IL-4 and IL-10 production in captopril-treated mice may be related to this agent's renoprotective effects. We argue here that ACE inhibitors not only act as selective TGF-beta inhibitors, but also as selective immunomodulators, to improve lupus nephritis.
Persistent Data-only Malware: Function Hooks without Code

As protection mechanisms become increasingly advanced, so too does the malware that seeks to circumvent them. Protection mechanisms such as secure boot, stack protection, heap protection, W X , and address space layout randomization have raised the bar for system security. In turn, attack mechanisms have become increasingly sophisticated. Starting with simple instruction pointer manipulation aimed at executing shellcode on the stack, we are now seeing sophisticated attacks that combine complex heap exploitation with techniques such as return-oriented programming (ROP). ROP belongs to a family of exploitation techniques called data-only exploitation. This class of exploitation and the malware that is built around it makes use solely of data to manipulate the control flow of software without introducing any code. This advanced form of exploitation circumvents many of the modern protection mechanisms presented above, however it has had, until now, one limitation. Due to the fact that it introduces no code, it is very difficult to achieve any sort of persistence. Placing a function hook is straightforward, but where should this hook point to if the malware introduces no code? There are many challenges that must first be overcome if one wishes to answer this question. In this paper, we present the first persistent data-only malware proof of concept in the form of a persistent rootkit. We also present several methods by which one can achieve persistence beyond our proof of concept.
Evidence of Iteroparity in Jumbo Squid Dosidicus gigas in the Gulf of California, Mexico

ABSTRACT The jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) has been considered a species with a semelparous life history, and this assumption has been erroneously adopted without histological evidence. Recent studies suggest that this species can spawn more than once during its life span. To identify the reproductive strategy of jumbo squid, qualitative and quantitative analyses were used in this study. Biological data were collected fortnightly from March 2008 to November 2009 off the coast of Santa Rosalía, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The histological analyses showed five stages of development: previtellogenesis, vitellogenesis, postvitellogenesis, spawning, and postspawning, with the simultaneous presence of oocytes at different substages. These results were confirmed by the presence of multiple cohorts of oocytes at each ovarian stage. Analysis applied to resting females of D. gigas confirmed that the postovulatory follicles were simultaneously found with previtellogenic oocytes denoting the ovarian recovery. The presence of postovulatory follicles at all ovarian stages and in individuals throughout the mantle length (ML) structure (from 32 to 82 cm) was an indicator of multiple spawning events. During 2008 and 2009, four ML groups (41.2, 48.5, 55.2, and 68.5 cm) and threeMLgroups (39.9, 47.8, and 53.9 cm) were observed, respectively. In conclusion, the evidence of postovulatory follicles in resting females of D. gigas indicates that the reproductive strategy of jumbo squid is iteroparity.