Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interoperability Based Resource Management in Cloud Computing by Adaptive Dimensional Search

The concept of cloud computing is introduced as a new computing technology based on different computing techniques such as virtualization, which implements applications on virtual machines procreated on physical machines. The deployment of cloud computing can be of different types based on the implementation of the service model and the availability of cloud services to the end users. One of the challenges need to be faced by cloud computing is related to the data interoperability and portability. Here we have established a mechanism for flexible resource allocation between the cloud service providers based on SLA mapping and clustering techniques to propose an interoperable cloud computing environment. This interoperability is made possible with the use of multiple techniques such as Adaptive Dimensional Search Algorithm (ADS), Clustering and SLA mapping.
The role of external beam radiotherapy in the treatment of hepatocellular cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing in incidence and mortality. Although the prognosis remains poor, long‐term survival has improved from 3% in 1970 to an 18% 5‐year survival rate today. This is likely because of the introduction of well tolerated, oral antiviral therapies for hepatitis C. Curative options for patients with HCC are often limited by underlying liver dysfunction/cirrhosis and medical comorbidities. Less than one‐third of patients are candidates for surgery, which is the current gold standard for cure. Nonsurgical treatments include embolotherapies, percutaneous ablation, and ablative radiation. Technological advances in radiation delivery in the past several decades now allow for safe and effective ablative doses to the liver. Conformal techniques allow for both dose escalation to target volumes and normal tissue sparing. Multiple retrospective and prospective studies have demonstrated that hypofractionated image‐guided radiation therapy, used as monotherapy or in combination with other liver‐directed therapies, can provide excellent local control that is cost effective. Therefore, as the HCC treatment paradigm continues to evolve, ablative radiation treatment has moved from a palliative treatment to both a “bridge to transplant” and a definitive treatment.
Centrin Phosphorylation and Localization Dynamics during the Centriole Cycle

Centrin was first discovered as a major component of basal body-associated contractile flagellar roots in the algae, and subsequently was found to be a common protein of centrosomes [1-3]. Four centrin genes are expressed in mammals: Cetn-1 through Cetn-4 [4-7]. Centrin-2 and -3 are centriole proteins and recombinant GFP-centrin-2 and centrin-3 localize to centrioles and also to the pericentriolar material that surrounds the centrioles [2, 3, 8, 9].
Effectiveness of UNAIDS targets and HIV vaccination across 127 countries

Significance Despite extraordinary advances in the treatment of HIV, the global pandemic has yet to be reversed. We developed a mathematical model for 127 countries to evaluate Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) targets for expanding diagnosis and treatment of the infected, and partially efficacious HIV vaccination. Under the current levels of diagnosis and treatment, we estimated 49 million new HIV cases globally from 2015 to 2035. Achieving the ambitious UNAIDS target is predicted to avert 25 million of these new infections, with an additional 6.3 million averted by the 2020 introduction of a 50%-efficacy vaccine. Our study provides country-specific impacts of a partially effective HIV vaccine and demonstrates its importance to the elimination of HIV transmission globally. The HIV pandemic continues to impose enormous morbidity, mortality, and economic burdens across the globe. Simultaneously, innovations in antiretroviral therapy, diagnostic approaches, and vaccine development are providing novel tools for treatment-as-prevention and prophylaxis. We developed a mathematical model to evaluate the added benefit of an HIV vaccine in the context of goals to increase rates of diagnosis, treatment, and viral suppression in 127 countries. Under status quo interventions, we predict a median of 49 million [first and third quartiles 44M, 58M] incident cases globally from 2015 to 2035. Achieving the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS 95–95–95 target was estimated to avert 25 million [20M, 33M] of these new infections, and an additional 6.3 million [4.8M, 8.7M] reduction was projected with the 2020 introduction of a 50%-efficacy vaccine gradually scaled up to 70% coverage. This added benefit of prevention through vaccination motivates imminent and ongoing clinical trials of viable candidates to realize the goal of HIV control.
Risk of Anal Cancer in Women With a Human Papillomavirus–Related Gynecological Neoplasm: Puerto Rico 1987–2013

Objective The aim of the study was to estimate the magnitude of the association between HPV-related gynecological neoplasms and secondary anal cancer among women in Puerto Rico (PR). Materials and Methods We identified 9,489 women who had been diagnosed with a primary cervical, vaginal, or vulvar tumor during 1987–2013. To describe the trends of invasive cervical, vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancer, the age-adjusted incidence rates were estimated using the direct method (2000 US as Standard Population). Standardized incidence ratios (observed/expected) were computed using the indirect method; expected cases were calculated using 2 methods based on age-specific rates of anal cancer in PR. The ratio of standardized incidence ratios of anal cancer was estimated using the Poisson regression model to estimate the magnitude of the association between HPV-gynecologic neoplasms and secondary anal cancer. Results A significant increase in the incidence trend for anal cancer was observed from 1987 to 2013 (annual percent change = 1.1, p < .05), whereas from 2004 to 2013, an increase was observed for cervical cancer incidence (annual percent change = 3.3, p < .05). The risk of secondary anal cancer among women with HPV-related gynecological cancers was approximately 3 times this risk among women with non–HPV-related gynecological cancers (relative risk = 3.27, 95% CI = 1.37 to 7.79). Conclusions Anal cancer is increasing among women in PR. Women with gynecological HPV-related tumors are at higher risk of secondary anal cancer as compared with women from the general population and with those with non–HPV-related gynecological cancers. Appropriate anal cancer screening guidelines for high-risk populations are needed, including women with HPV-related gynecological malignancies and potentially other cancer survivors.
1 Reservoirs and Vectors of Emerging Viruses

Wildlife, especially mammals and birds, are hosts to an enormous number of viruses, most of which we have absolutely no knowledge about even though we know these viruses circulate readily in their specific niches. More often than not, these viruses are silent or asymptomatic in their natural hosts. In some instances, they can infect other species, and in rare cases, this cross-species transmission might lead to human infection. There are also instances where we know the reservoir hosts of zoonotic viruses that can and do infect humans. Studies of these animal hosts, the reservoirs of the viruses, provide us with the knowledge of the types of virus circulating in wildlife species, their incidence, pathogenicity for their host, and in some instances, the potential for transmission to other hosts. This paper describes examples of some of the viruses that have been detected in wildlife, and the reservoir hosts from which they have been detected. It also briefly explores the spread of arthropod-borne viruses and their diseases through the movement and establishment of vectors in new habitats.
Treatment of Sexual-Orientation Obsessions in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Exposure and Ritual Prevention

Presented is a case report of exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP) therapy administered to a 51-year-old, White, heterosexual male with sexual-orientation obsessions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The patient had been previously treated with pharmacotherapy, resulting in inadequate symptom reduction and unwanted side effects. OCD symptoms included anxiety about the possibility of becoming gay, mental reassurance, and avoidance of other men, which resulted in depressive symptoms and marital distress. The patient received 17 EX/RP sessions, administered twice per week. The effect of treatment was evaluated using standardized rating instruments and self-monitoring by the patient. OCD symptoms on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) fell from 24 at intake to 3 at posttreatment and to 4 at a 6-week follow-up, indicating minimal symptoms. Improvement also occurred in mood, quality of life, and social adjustment. Issues concerning the assessment and treatment of homosexuality-themed obsessions in OCD are highlighted and discussed.
Terpenoids from Leaves of Guarea macrophylla Display In Vitro Cytotoxic Activity and Induce Apoptosis In Melanoma Cells

Abstract Guarea macrophylla is a Brazilian plant species that has been used in folk medicine to treat a range of diseases. Our ongoing work focuses on the discovery of new bioactive natural products derived from Brazilian flora. The current study describes the identification of cytotoxic compounds from the EtOH extract of leaves from G. macrophylla using bioactivity-guided fractionation. This approach resulted in the isolation and characterization of four compounds: cycloart-23E-ene-3β,25-diol (1), (23S*,24S*)-dihydroxycicloart-25-en-3-one (2), isopimara-7,15-diene-2α,3β-diol (3), and isopimara-7,15-dien-3β-ol (4), in which 2 and 3 are identified as new derivatives. In vitro assays were conducted to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of compounds 1–4 against a panel of cancer cell lines and to determine the possible mechanism(s) related to the activity of the compounds on B16F10Nex2 cells. The most active compound 1 induced cytotoxic effects on tumor cells, with IC50 values of 18.3, 52.1, and 58.9 µM against HL-60, HeLa, and B16F10-Nex2 tumor cells, respectively. Furthermore, it was observed in melanoma cells that compound 1 induced several specific apoptotic hallmarks, such as morphological changes in the cell shape structure, nuclear DNA condensation, specific chromatin fragmentation, and disruption in the mitochondrial membrane potential, which are related to the intrinsic apoptotic pathway.
Sintering and Microstructure of Porous Hydroxyapatite

Control of the microstructure and pore characteristics of porous hydroxyapatite was examined. Porous hydroxyapatites were prepared with using different starting hydroxyapatite powders and sintering at various temperatures by pressureless-sintering method. The overall microstructure porosity characteristics, such as the fraction of open porosity and the pore size distribution, of porous hydroxy-apatites were evaluated. The pore volume and size distribution greatly depended on sintering temperature and the morphology of the starting hydroxyapatite powders. The fraction of open porosity of whisker hydroxyapatite powder sintered at 900 and 1000°C was 100 and 96%, respectively. The pore diameter and pore volume of porous hydroxyapatites prepared from whisker-like hydroxyapatite powder were larger than that from spherical and rod-like powders. Furthermore, the pore size distribution of the porous hydroxy-apatites body from whisker-like powder was very narrow. According to these results, various porous microstructure hydroxyapatite can be designed and the porosity characteristics reliably controlled.
Versatile Vectors for Efficient Mutagenesis of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens and Other Alphaproteobacteria

ABSTRACT Analysis of bacterial gene function commonly relies on gene disruption or replacement followed by phenotypic characterization of the resulting mutant strains. Deletion or replacement of targeted regions is commonly achieved via two homologous recombination (HR) events between the bacterial genome and a nonreplicating plasmid carrying DNA fragments flanking the region to be deleted. The counterselection of clones that have integrated the entire plasmid in their genome via a single HR event is crucial in this procedure. Various genetic tools and well-established protocols are available for this type of mutagenesis in model bacteria; however, these methods are not always efficiently applicable in less established systems. Here we describe the construction and application of versatile plasmid vectors pREDSIX and pTETSIX for marker replacement and markerless mutagenesis, respectively. Apart from an array of restriction sites optimized for cloning of GC-rich DNA fragments, the vector backbone contains a constitutively expressed gene for mCherry, enabling the rapid identification of clones originating from single or double HR events by fluorescence-assisted cell sorting (FACS). In parallel, we constructed a series of plasmids from which gene cassettes providing resistance against gentamicin, kanamycin, hygromycin B, streptomycin and spectinomycin, or tetracycline were excised for use with pREDSIX-based marker replacement mutagenesis. In proof-of-concept mutagenesis experiments, we demonstrated the potential for the use of the developed tools for gene deletion mutagenesis in the nitrogen-fixing soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens (formerly Bradyrhizobium japonicum) and three additional members of the alphaproteobacteria. IMPORTANCE Mutation and phenotypic analysis are essential to the study of gene function. Efficient mutagenesis protocols and tools are available for many bacterial species, including various model organisms; however, genetic analysis of less-well-characterized organisms is often impaired by the lack of efficient methods. Here we describe a set of novel genetic tools for facilitated mutagenesis of the nitrogen-fixing soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens and related alphaproteobacteria. We demonstrated their usefulness by generating several mutant strains lacking defined genes. Isolation of both antibiotic resistance gene-containing and markerless deletion mutants is greatly facilitated because undesired clones which contain the entire mutagenic plasmid integrated in the genome can be identified on the basis of their fluorescent phenotype derived from the mCherry gene carried by the vector backbone. The possibility to generate markerless mutants assists with the isolation of strains carrying multiple deletions, which can be crucial while studying functionally redundant genes.
Myosin II activity is required for structural plasticity at the axon initial segment

In neurons, axons possess a molecularly defined and highly organised proximal region – the axon initial segment (AIS) – that is a key regulator of both electrical excitability and cellular polarity. Despite existing as a large, dense structure with specialised cytoskeletal architecture, the AIS is surprisingly plastic, with sustained alterations in neuronal activity bringing about significant alterations to its position, length or molecular composition. However, although the upstream activity-dependent signalling pathways that lead to such plasticity have begun to be elucidated, the downstream mechanisms that produce structural changes at the AIS are completely unknown. Here, we use dissociated cultures of rat hippocampus to show that two forms of AIS plasticity in dentate granule cells – long-term relocation, and more rapid shortening – are completely blocked by treatment with blebbistatin, a potent and selective myosin II ATPase inhibitor. These data establish a link between myosin II and AIS function, and suggest that myosin II’s primary role at the structure may be to effect activity-dependent morphological alterations.
Nonlinear Acoustic Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an essential technology for maintaining the safety, high performance and operational readiness of civilian and military aircraft. Passive and active SHM methodologies incorporating fiber optic, piezoelectric, dielectric and other types of sensors have been explored for the detection of structural damage resulting from excessive mechanical and/or environmental (e.g. corrosion) loads. One of the promising SHM techniques is embedded ultrasonics in which information on structural health is inferred from records of the elastic waves scattered by structural inhomogeneities or cracks. This approach works well when the damage size exceeds a wavelength of the interrogation signal. As a result, small-scale incipient damage may be difficult to detect using conventional embedded ultrasonics practices. In addition, in complex structures such as the aircraft skin, a large number of structural features (e.g. holes, ribs, etc) opens the possibility of misclassification if features and damage scattered signals exhibit comparable characteristics. To address these limitations of the ultrasonic SHM, we propose to utilize the damageinduced nonlinearity of structural material for discriminating different stages of material deterioration and damage development. A concept of a nonlinear acoustic SHM is introduced that is based on the effect of the nonlinear interaction of elastic waves at the damage interface. This nonlinear interaction results in additional spectral components at the combination frequencies noticeable in the spectrum of the received signal. Amplitudes of the additional spectral components indicate the presence and severity of structural damage. We demonstrate the applicability of the nonlinear acoustic SHM for the detection of material degradation at various scales: from micro/meso damage accumulation to macro scale cracks. Examples of macro-scale damage detection are presented and damage characterization capabilities of the method are highlighted. To determine the sensitivity of the method to the micro/meso scale damage accumulation before the material fracture, we conducted a series of strain-controlled fatigue tests in which deterioration of structural material (aluminum) was monitored simultaneously by assessing the sample’s mechanical characteristics and by measuring the nonlinear acoustic manifestation of structural damage at the combination frequencies. A stable increase of the material nonlinearity was observed during the test, which correlated with the respective decrease of the specimen’s stiffness. Scanning acoustic microscopy and SEM analyses of the experimental samples further support the feasibility of nonlinear acoustic SHM for monitoring material degradation at extremely early stages before the onset of macro-scale disintegration and fracture.
EFPI-FBG hybrid sensor for simultaneous measurement of high temperature and large strain

We report an extrinsic Fabry–Perot interferometer-fiber Bragg grating(EFPI-FBG) hybrid sensor in this letter. The interferometric cavity of the proposed hybrid sensor is composed of a glass capillary tube, a section of single-mode fiber, and a section of single-mode metal fiber with one FBG. The FBG processed by high-temperature annealing is used to measure temperature, whereas the fiber EFPI is adopted for strain measurement. One of the two aligned fibers is free along the axial direction, which is different from the traditional structure that both the fibers are fixed to glass capillary tube. Experimental results show that the sensor can measure high temperature and large strain simultaneously. The measuring range of temperature and strain for the hybrid sensor is up to 500 °C and 10,000 μe, respectively. Effective temperature compensation of the hybrid sensor is realized, too.
A Recombinant HAV Expressing a Neutralization Epitope of HEV Induces Immune Response against HAV and HEV in Mice

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are causative agents of acute viral hepatitis transmitted via the fecal–oral route. Both viruses place a heavy burden on the public health and economy of developing countries. To test the possibility that HAV could be used as an expression vector for the development of a combination vaccine against hepatitis A and E infections, recombinant HAV-HEp148 was created as a vector to express an HEV neutralization epitope (HEp148) located at aa 459–606 of the HEV capsid protein. The recombinant virus expressed the HEp148 protein in a partially dimerized state in HAV-susceptible cells. Immunization with the HAV-HEp148 virus induced a strong HAV- and HEV-specific immune response in mice. Thus, the present study demonstrates a novel approach to the development of a combined hepatitis A and E vaccine.
Run-time simulation model for Li-ion battery using in-circuit extracted mass transport parameters

A run-time model for Li-ion battery, which can be modified or updated when the battery is operating in the circuit, based on, in-circuit extraction of required mass transport parameters is presented. The modeling approach is based on the segmented diffusion modeling and in-circuit parameter extrac­tion. Lithium-ion batteries are finding large application demand in many areas and at different power levels. LG18650, 2.6Ah, Li-ion cell is used as the sample cell in the study. A comparison of the model behavior is made with test data obtained from an LG18650 cell. The comparative study between the model behavior and experimental data, for a constant current charge rate and pulse discharge scenario are carried out and the results are presented. An analytical approach for obtaining the expected variation in the capacitance parameter values of the run-time equivalent circuit model, with change in state of charge (SoC) of the battery is arrived at. The percentage root mean square error between the model prediction and experimental data is 0.63% for the run-time simulation at C/10 charge rate.