Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of synchronous neural activities revealed by regional homogeneity in individuals with acute eye pain: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study

Objective Previous neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that pain-related diseases are associated with brain function and anatomical abnormalities, whereas altered synchronous neural activity in acute eye pain (EP) patients has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not synchronous neural activity changes were measured with the regional homogeneity (ReHo) method in acute EP patients. Methods A total of 20 patients (15 males and 5 females) with EP and 20 healthy controls (HCs) consisting of 15 and 5 age-, sex-, and education-matched males and females, respectively, underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The ReHo method was applied to assess synchronous neural activity changes. Results Compared with HCs, acute EP patients had significantly lower ReHo values in the left precentral/postcentral gyrus (Brodmann area [BA]3/4), right precentral/postcentral gyrus (BA3/4), and left middle frontal gyrus (BA6). In contrast, higher ReHo values in acute EP patients were observed in the left superior frontal gyrus (BA11), right inferior parietal lobule (BA39/40), and left precuneus (BA7). However, no relationship was found between the mean ReHo signal values of the different areas and clinical manifestations, which included both the duration and degree of pain in EP patients. Conclusion Our study highlighted that acute EP patients showed altered synchronous neural activities in many brain regions, including somatosensory regions. These findings might provide useful information for exploration of the neural mechanisms underlying acute EP.
Modulation of liver enzymes by an Iranian preparation of Echinacea purpurea

Hepatitis B, a common infectious disease of liver, is transmitted by blood and body fluids like semen and vaginal fluid that carry hepatitis B virus (HBV). In chronic infection, medical care is required to decrease possibility of cirrhosis and liver cancer. In the present report, the hepatoprotective effect of an Echinacea purpurea preparation (Echiherb®) has been described in a patient who suffered from HBV infection. The levels of both enzymes of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) decreased to their normal level after 6 weeks of treatment. Therefore, this report may provide a new perspective for protection of liver in patients with HBV infection along with other diseases which damage liver cells using E. purpurea preparations.
No Effect of Morphine on Ventral Tegmental Dopamine Neurons during Withdrawal

Substantial evidence indicates that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic (DA) system has a key role in mechanisms of opiate dependence. Although DA neurons have been studied extensively, little is known about their activity and their response to acute morphine during morphine dependence. We recorded the activity of VTA DA neurons in five groups of anesthetized rats: drug-naive (naive) rats, morphine-dependent [(MD) implanted with pellets] rats, and three groups of withdrawn rats. Withdrawals either were precipitated by naltrexone or occurred spontaneously 24 h or 15 d after pellet removal. We confirmed that acute morphine in naive rats produced a marked increase in the firing of VTA DA neurons. We also found that the basal firing rate of VTA DA neurons was markedly higher in MD than in naive rats; however, in MD rats, acute morphine failed to increase DA activity. We confirmed inhibition of VTA DA activity in MD rats in response to precipitated withdrawal; however, this inhibition resulted only in a normalization of the firing rate to that of naive animals. In rats that had spontaneous withdrawal after 24 h or 15 d, the activity of VTA DA neurons was similar to that of naive rats, and an acute injection of morphine failed to alter their activity. Our results indicate that VTA DA neurons show long-lasting tolerance to the acute effect of morphine after withdrawal. These findings show that VTA DA neural activity is unlikely to be a factor in the altered behavioral responses that occur with acute morphine or naltrexone administration after chronic opiate exposure.
Usable Security Mechanisms in Smart Building

Smart building becomes popular these years. It enables many interesting applications, for example, elderly monitoring and remote healthcare. Sensitive information protection in the smart building system is always required, security is thus one important component in such system. So far, many security mechanisms are proposed, however, the study on the balance of security and usability is still lacking. In this paper, we focus on usable security mechanisms in smart building. In particular, usable authentication mechanisms and usable data privacy protection methods are studied.
AIS Electronic

: Electronic marketplaces provide a forum for bringing together sellers and buyers of certain goods or services. Today, a number of commercial market-places are in operation. To make a marketplace attractive to potential participants, it must be distinct from its competitors. One way to do so is to provide efficient functionalities complementing the existing support of search, negotiation, and fulfilment. In this paper, the emphasis is on monitoring and tracing functionalities that a marketplace can offer through a trusted third party (TTP) acting as a mediator. The possibility to trace back the reasons for a contract enables the participants to view the history behind an agreement. Monitoring certain phases of the business transaction can prevent a number of problems that can occur in electronic commerce. In this paper we will present different models of TTPs based on the monitoring and tracing facilities and illustrate them using a real-world scenario.
Quantitative DNA methylation and recurrence of breast cancer: a study of 30 candidate genes.

BACKGROUND The need for new prognostic factors in breast cancer is ever increasing as breast cancer management evolves. Aberrant DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in cancer development and progression; DNA methylation-based biomarkers may provide independent prognostic information. We used pyrosequencing to investigate the prognostic potential of quantitative DNA methylation of a large set of candidate genes in a Korean single-institution series of operable breast cancer. METHODS Absolute DNA methylation in 20 candidate genes from an initial set of 30 genes was measured by pyrosequencing of bisulfite converted DNA in 121 fresh frozen breast cancer cases. Survival analyses used continuous and categorized (quintile-based) gene methylation data with time to recurrence (TTR) as an endpoint. Prognostic abilities of gene-only and risk-score models were explored. RESULTS Median follow-up was 5.1 years; 25 recurrences (21%) were observed. Nodal status, methylation of TWIST1, SLIT2 (both as continuous and categorized variables) and APC, HLA-A, NKX2-5, SERPINB5, SFN (as categorized variables) were significantly prognostic; grade showed a prognostic trend. A multivariate model containing nodal status, grade and TWIST1 was a best fit (p< 0.001) in stepwise regression; risk-score based on this model separated patients into 3 distinct risk-groups (p< 0.001). A gene-only model based on TWIST1 and SFN also classified patients into distinct risk-groups (p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS This study shows that accurate quantitative measurement of DNA methylation by pyrosequencing identifies a small set of genes with independent prognostic potential in breast cancer. These genes complement the current clinico-pathological prognostic factors and appear to be potential biomarkers that warrant further validation.
Mechanism of activation of methyltransferases involved in translation by the Trm112 ‘hub’ protein

Methylation is a common modification encountered in DNA, RNA and proteins. It plays a central role in gene expression, protein function and mRNA translation. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic class I translation termination factors are methylated on the glutamine of the essential and universally conserved GGQ motif, in line with an important cellular role. In eukaryotes, this modification is performed by the Mtq2-Trm112 holoenzyme. Trm112 activates not only the Mtq2 catalytic subunit but also two other tRNA methyltransferases (Trm9 and Trm11). To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying methyltransferase activation by Trm112, we have determined the 3D structure of the Mtq2-Trm112 complex and mapped its active site. Using site-directed mutagenesis and in vivo functional experiments, we show that this structure can also serve as a model for the Trm9-Trm112 complex, supporting our hypothesis that Trm112 uses a common strategy to activate these three methyltransferases.
Rising of Text Mining Technique: As Unforeseen-part of Data Mining

Text Data Mining or Knowledge-Discovery in Text (KDT) technique refers generally to the process of extracting interesting and non-trivial information and knowledge from unstructured text. Text mining technique is a deviation on a countryside called data mining that tries to find interesting patterns from large databases; text mining also known as the Intelligent Text Analysis (ITA). Text mining is a young interdisciplinary field which draws on information retrieval, data mining, machine learning, statistics and computational linguistics. Text Mining Technique (TMT) is the discovery by computer of new, previously unknown information, by automatically extracting information from different written resources. Text mining, sometimes alternately referred to as text data mining, roughly equivalent to text analytics, refers to the process of deriving high-quality information from text. High-quality information is typically derived through the devising of patterns and trends through means such as statistical pattern learning. Text mining usually involves the process of structuring the input text (usually parsing, along with the addition of some derived linguistic features and the removal of others, and subsequent insertion into a database), deriving patterns within the structured data, and finally evaluation and interpretation of the output. 'High quality' in text mining usually refers to some combination of relevance, novelty, and interestingness. In this paper, we introduce the rising of Text Mining Technique as unforeseen-part of the Data Mining and Data Warehouse Methodologies; for improving its role, performances and productivities and also used in different research areas.
Anarchy in Tor: Performance Cost of Decentralization

Like many routing protocols, the Tor anonymity network has decentralized path selection, in clients locally and independently choose paths. As a result, network resources may be left idle, leaving the system in a suboptimal state. This is referred to as the price of anarchy, where agents acting in their own self interest can make poor decisions when viewed in a global context. In this paper we explore the cost of anarchy in Tor by examining the potential performance increases that can be gained by centrally optimizing circuit and relay selection using global knowledge. In experiments with both offline and online algorithms, we show that centrally coordinated clients can achieve up to 75% higher bandwidth compared to traditional Tor. Drawing on these findings, we design and evaluate a decentralized version of our online algorithm, in which relays locally distribute information enabling clients to make smarter decisions locally and perform downloads 10-60% faster. Finally, we perform a privacy analysis of the decentralized algorithm against a passive and active adversary trying to reduce anonymity of clients and increase their view of the Tor network. We conclude that this decentralized algorithm does not enable new attacks, while providing significantly higher performance.
Population Bottlenecks Increase Additive Genetic Variance But Do Not Break a Selection Limit in Rain Forest Drosophila

According to neutral quantitative genetic theory, population bottlenecks are expected to decrease standing levels of additive genetic variance of quantitative traits. However, some empirical and theoretical results suggest that, if nonadditive genetic effects influence the trait, bottlenecks may actually increase additive genetic variance. This has been an important issue in conservation genetics where it has been suggested that small population size might actually experience an increase rather than a decrease in the rate of adaptation. Here we test if bottlenecks can break a selection limit for desiccation resistance in the rain forest-restricted fly Drosophila bunnanda. After one generation of single-pair mating, additive genetic variance for desiccation resistance increased to a significant level, on average higher than for the control lines. Line crosses revealed that both dominance and epistatic effects were responsible for the divergence in desiccation resistance between the original control and a bottlenecked line exhibiting increased additive genetic variance for desiccation resistance. However, when bottlenecked lines were selected for increased desiccation resistance, there was only a small shift in resistance, much less than predicted by the released additive genetic variance. The small selection response in the bottlenecked lines was no greater than that observed in the control lines. Thus bottlenecks might produce a statistically detectable change in additive genetic variance but this change has no impact on the response to selection.
Generalized Haag's Theorem in S O (1, 1) and S O (1, 3) Invariant Quantum Field Theory 1

One of the most important results of the axiomatic quantum field theory - the generalized Haag theorem - is proven in S O (1,1) invariant quantum field theory, of which an important example is noncommutative quantum field theory. In S O (1,3) invariant theory new consequences of generalized Haag’s theorem are obtained: it is proven that the equality of four-point Wightman functions in two theories leads to the equality of elastic scattering amplitudes and thus total cross-sections in these theories.
Sperm Competition and the Evolution of Ejaculate Composition

We present a model of sperm competition that incorporates both sperm and nonsperm parts of the ejaculate. Our primary focus is on determining how ejaculate composition and size evolves as a function of the effects of seminal fluid on male reproductive success and as a function of asymmetry in sperm usage by females. The model predicts that different patterns of investment in sperm and seminal products are expected to evolve as a function of the bias in sperm usage by females. It also predicts the evolution of distinct patterns in ejaculate composition depending on the function of seminal fluid. In the discussion, we highlight a number of potential approaches for testing the theory that we develop.
The Observational Mass Function of Loose Galaxy Groups

We analyze the three catalogs of nearby loose groups compiled by A. M. Garcia. She identified groups in a magnitude-limited redshift galaxy catalog, which covers about ~ of sky within cz = 5500 km s-1, using two methods, a percolation method and a hierarchical method. The free parameters of the group-selection algorithms were tuned to obtain similar catalogs of groups. The author also proposed a third catalog of groups, defined as a combination of the two. Each catalog contains almost 500 groups. In agreement with previous works on earlier catalogs, we find that groups can be described as collapsing systems. Their sampled size is in general considerably larger than their expected virialized region. We compute the virial masses and correct them by taking into account the young dynamical status of these groups. We estimate corrected group masses, M, for two reference cosmological models, a flat one with a matter density parameter Ω0 = 1 and an open one with Ω0 = 0.2. We calculate the mass function for each of the three catalogs. We find that the amplitude of the mass function is not very sensitive to the choice of the group-identification algorithm. The number density of groups with M > 9 × 1012 h-1 M☉, which is the adopted limit of sample completeness, ranges in the interval 1.3-1.9 × 10-3 h3 Mpc-3 for Ω0 = 1, and it is about a factor of 15% lower for Ω0 = 0.2. The mass functions of the hierarchical and combined catalogs have essentially the same shape, while the mass function of the percolation catalog shows a flattening toward large masses. However, the difference decreases if we do not consider the most massive groups, for which reliable results come from galaxy cluster studies. After having estimated the mass contained within the central, presumably virialized, regions of groups by adopting a reduction in mass of ~30%-40%, we make a comparison with the results from the virial analysis of nearby rich clusters. All three group mass functions turn out to be a smooth extrapolation of the cluster mass function at M < 4 × 1014 h-1 M☉, which is the completeness limit of the cluster sample. The resulting optical virial mass function of galaxy systems, which extends over 2 orders of magnitude, is fitted to a Schechter expression with a slope of ~ 1.5 and a characteristic mass of M* ~ 3 × 1014 h-1 M☉. We also verify that our group mass function agrees reasonably well with the Press-Schechter predictions of models which at large masses describe the virial mass function of clusters.
Thermo-Plasmonics for Localized Graphitization and Welding of Polymeric Nanofibers

There is a growing interest in modulating the temperature under the illumination of light. As a heat source, metal nanoparticles (NPs) have played an important role to pave the way for a new branch of plasmonics, i.e., thermo-plasmonics. While thermo-plasmonics have been well established in photo-thermal therapy, it has received comparatively less attention in materials science and chemistry. Here, we demonstrate the first proof of concept experiment of local chemistry and graphitization of metalized polymeric nanofibers through thermo-plasmonic effect. In particular, by tuning the plasmonic absorption of the nanohybrid through a change in the thickness of the deposited silver film on the fibers, the thermo-plasmonic effect can be adjusted in such a way that high enough temperature is generated enabling local welding and graphitization of the polymeric nanofibers.
A hypermedia version control framework

The areas of application of hypermedia technology, combined with the capabilities that hypermedia provides for manipulating structure, create an environment in which version control is very important. A hypermedia version control framework has been designed to specifically address the version control problem in open hypermedia environments. One of the primary distinctions of the framework is the partitioning of hypermedia version control functionality into intrinsic and application-specific categories. The version control has been used as a model for the design of version control services for a hyperbase management system that provides complete version support for both data and structural entities. In addition to serving as a version control model for open hypermedia environments, the framework offers a clarifying and unifying context in which to examine the issues of version control in hypermedia.
A predictive approach to the analysis of intonation in discourse in French

This paper presents an approach to the analysis of prosody in French discourse, based on a prediction of the unmarked default intonation matching the lexical and syntactic properties of the sequence. By confronting this default intonation with the actual intonation used by the speaker, all marked intonation elements can be identified. The prediction of default intonation takes into account word stress, syllable count, syntactic dependency relations, and syntactic construction. In the process, criteria are proposed for the definition of discourse units based on both syntactic and prosodic formal criteria.
The Use of Anchored Agonists of Phagocytic Receptors for Cancer Immunotherapy: B16-F10 Murine Melanoma Model

The application of the phagocytic receptor agonists in cancer immunotherapy was studied. Agonists (laminarin, molecules with terminal mannose, N-Formyl-methioninyl-leucyl-phenylalanine) were firmly anchored to the tumor cell surface. When particular agonists of phagocytic receptors were used together with LPS (Toll-like receptor agonist), high synergy causing tumour shrinkage and a temporary or permanent disappearance was observed. Methods of anchoring phagocytic receptor agonists (charge interactions, anchoring based on hydrophobic chains, covalent bonds) and various regimes of phagocytic agonist/LPS mixture applications were tested to achieve maximum therapeutic effect. Combinations of mannan/LPS and f-MLF/LPS (hydrophobic anchors) in appropriate (pulse) regimes resulted in an 80% and 60% recovery for mice, respectively. We propose that substantial synergy between agonists of phagocytic and Toll-like receptors (TLR) is based on two events. The TLR ligand induces early and massive inflammatory infiltration of tumors. The effect of this cell infiltrate is directed towards tumor cells, bearing agonists of phagocytic receptors on their surface. The result of these processes was effective killing of tumor cells. This novel approach represents exploitation of innate immunity mechanisms for treating cancer.
The optical counterpart to SAX J1808.4-3658 in quiescence: Evidence of an active radio pulsar?

The optical counterpart of the binary millisecond X-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4–3658 during quiescence was detected at $V = 21.5$ mag by Homer et al. (2001). This star shows a 6% semi-amplitude sinusoidal modulation of its flux at the orbital period of the system. It was proposed that the modulation arises from X-ray irradiation of the intrinsically faint companion by a remnant accretion disk, and that the bulk of the optical emission arises from viscous dissipation in the disk. The serious difficulty in this scenario lies in the estimate of the irradiating luminosity required to match the observational data, that is a factor $10{-}50$ higher than the quiescent X-ray luminosity of this source. To overcome this problem, we propose an alternative scenario, in which the irradiation is due to the release of rotational energy by the fast spinning neutron star, switched on, as magneto-dipole rotator (radio pulsar), during quiescence. Our computations indicate that the optical magnitudes are fully consistent with this hypothesis. In this case the observed optical luminosity may be the first evidence that a radio pulsar is active in this system in quiescence, a key phase for understanding the evolution of this class of objects.
Automatic proofs of properties of simple C/sup --/ modules

We address the problem of automatically verifying properties of modules written in the C/sup --/ language, a very simple imperative language. We develop a framework for automatically proving properties of modules written in C/sup --/. Our approach consists of two steps. At the first step, the C/sup -$/module is automatically transformed into a set of axioms written in the language of equational logic. This transformation is bused on the algebraic semantics of C/sup --/ modules. At the second step, the theorem prover NICE is used to mechanically perform the proof of the desired properties. Our system enables us to prove many properties completely automatically from the C/sup -$/code alone. We illustrate computer applications on programs computing integers and linked lists.