Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current Conjugation Methods for Immunosensors

Recent advances in the development of immunosensors using polymeric nanomaterials and nanoparticles have enabled a wide range of new functions and applications in diagnostic and prognostic research. One fundamental challenge that all immunosensors must overcome is to provide the specificity of target molecular recognition by immobilizing antibodies, antibody fragments, and/or other peptides or oligonucleotide molecules that are capable of antigen recognition on a compact device surface. This review presents progress in the application of immobilization strategies including the classical adsorption process, affinity attachment, random cross-linking and specific covalent linking. The choice of immobilization methods and its impact on biosensor performance in terms of capture molecule loading, orientation, stability and capture efficiency are also discussed in this review.
The 'Bologna Process' and College Enrolment Decisions

We use survey data on cohorts of high school graduates observed before and after the Italian reform of tertiary education implementing the ‘Bologna process’ to estimate the impact of the reform on the decision to go to college. We find that individuals leaving high school after the reform have a probability of going to college that is 10 percent higher compared to individuals making the choice under the old system. We show that this increase is concentrated among individuals with good high-school performance and low parental (educational) background. We interpret this result as an indication of the existence of constraints (pre-reform) -- for good students from less affluent household -- on the optimal schooling decision. For the students who would not have enrolled under the old system we also find a small negative impact of the reform on the likelihood to drop-out from university.
Contemporary cybercrime: A taxonomy of ransomware threats & mitigation techniques

An ever-increasing number of Internet-enabled devices over the past decade have highlighted the requirement for robust cybersecurity primitives to effectively deal with contemporary forms of cybercrime. Among the recent cybercrime threat canvass, ransomware has come to limelight as a prominent form of crypto-virus, aiming to hamper everyday user device operation through unsolicited encryption of device data. The perpetrators on successfully encrypting user data, require a payment or ransom, often in the form of digital currencies to furnish a decryption key. Depending on the urgency and criticality of data restoration, both novice users as well as corporate organizations have been observed to pay significant compensations for reinstating normal operation, often without any post-payment assurances. The present paper seeks to review the history and recent evolution of ransomware attacks, providing a detailed taxonomic classification of the inherent attack vectors and currently available mitigation techniques. Furthermore, preventive recommendations are discussed to aid users and organizations in securing devices against ransomware threats. Finally, financial and long-term implications of making ransom payments, along with online resources made available by security and law-enforcement concerns are overviewed to increase end user awareness and equip them against this increasingly successful form of recent cybercrime.
Understanding User's Search Behavior towards Spiky Events

Web searches are done by users every day on a million-daily basis. Many of these web searches are related to events, social occasions that attracts society's attention. Events may happen multiple times on cyclic or non-periodic occasions. These are known as spiky events. When these events occur, multiple spikes can be observed in query logs triggered by a change in the user's behaviour and an increase in the frequency of the user's queries. In this paper, we aim to understand the user's search behaviour towards this kind of events. To this regard, we propose a new taxonomy of spiky events which categorizes queries into two groups: periodic (ongoing, historical, traditional) and aperiodic (predictable and unpredictable), and study how various features concerning the query and the clicked web pages describe the user's behaviour, before, during, and after the event. To conduct this research, we consider 100 spiky events and rely on a two-year Persian search engine query log to analyse their related queries and associated information. The results obtained show that users have a different behaviour regarding the query frequency, length and temporality, depending on the category of the spiky event and that query formulation and clicked pages are also different for each category before, during and after the event. Understanding these user's behaviours and their relationship with the different categories may play an important role for any search engine looking to provide better services for their users.
Automating analysis of large-scale botnet probing events

Botnets dominate today's attack landscape. In this work we investigate ways to analyze collections of malicious probing traffic in order to understand the significance of large-scale "botnet probes". In such events, an entire collection of remote hosts together probes the address space monitored by a sensor in some sort of coordinated fashion. Our goal is to develop methodologies by which sites receiving such probes can infer---using purely local observation---information about the probing activity: What scanning strategies does the probing employ? Is this an attack that specifically targets the site, or is the site only incidentally probed as part of a larger, indiscriminant attack? Our analysis draws upon extensive honeynet data to explore the prevalence of different types of scanning, including properties such as trend, uniformity, coordination, and darknet avoidance. In addition, we design schemes to extrapolate the global properties of scanning events (e.g., total population and target scope) as inferred from the limited local view of a honeynet. Cross-validating with data from DShield shows that our inferences exhibit promising accuracy.
A phase 1 study of lirilumab (antibody against killer immunoglobulin-like receptor antibody KIR2D; IPH2102) in patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies

Purpose Anti-KIR monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can enhance the antitumor responses of natural killer (NK) cells. We evaluated the safety of the anti-KIR2D mAb lirilumab in patients with various cancers. Experimental design Thirty-seven patients with hematological malignancies (n = 22) or solid tumors (n = 15) were included in the study. Dose escalation (0.015 to 10 mg/kg) was conducted following a 3 + 3 design. Patients were scheduled to receive four cycles of treatment. In a second (extension) phase 17 patients were treated at 0.015 (n = 9) or 3 mg/kg (n = 8). Results No dose-limiting toxicity was recorded. The most frequent lirilumab-related adverse events were pruritus (19%), asthenia (16%), fatigue (14%), infusion-related reaction (14%), and headache (11%), mostly mild or moderate. Pharmacokinetics was dose-dependent and linear, with minimal accumulation resulting from the 4-weekly repeated administrations. Full KIR occupancy (>95%) was achieved with all dosages, and the duration of occupancy was dose-related. No significant changes were observed in the number or distribution of lymphocyte subpopulations, nor was any reduction in the distribution of KIR2D-positive NK cells. Conclusions This phase 1 trial demonstrated the satisfactory safety profile of lirilumab up to doses that enable full and sustained blockade of KIR.
The role of peptide YY in energy homeostasis

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to understand the physiological role of peptide YY (PYY) in response to both acute and chronic changes in energy balance and body weight in women. The specific goals of this dissertation are to characterize the diurnal rhythm of PYY with regard to acute dietary energy intake and explore its role in energy balance, to determine if the proposed opposing actions of ghrelin and PYY at the hypothalamus could be related to their patterns in the peripheral circulation both prior and subsequent to dietand exercise-induced weight loss, and to determine whether lowenergy dense diets might facilitate weight loss through actions on circulating concentrations of ghrelin and PYY. Study 1 was designed to characterize features of the diurnal rhythm of PYY and to explore the role of PYY in energy balance in normal weight premenopausal women. We demonstrated that PYY displays a meal-driven diurnal rhythm and is correlated to resting metabolic rate, a major contributor to energy expenditure. Thus, PYY varies in accordance with energy content and RMR, supporting a role for PYY in energy balance modulation. Study 2 was designed to determine if the proposed opposing actions of ghrelin and PYY at the hypothalamus could be related to their patterns in the peripheral circulation during a period of weight stability in nonexercising, normal weight premenopausal women. We demonstrated that circulating concentrations of PYY were inversely associated with ghrelin over an entire 24 hour period. We concluded that these data provide evidence that PYY may contribute to the modulation of the secretion of ghrelin in normal weight, premenopausal women over a 24 hour period which supports similar inferences from experimental studies in animals and humans. The purpose of Study 3 was designed to determine if dietand exercise-induced
Fifty Years of Mountain Passes: A Perspective on Dan Janzen’s Classic Article

In 1967, Dan Janzen published “Why Mountain Passes Are Higher in the Tropics” in The American Naturalist. Janzen’s seminal article has captured the attention of generations of biologists and continues to inspire theoretical and empirical work. The underlying assumptions and derived predictions are broadly synthetic and widely applicable. Consequently, Janzen’s “seasonality hypothesis” has proven relevant to physiology, climate change, ecology, and evolution. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this highly influential article, we highlight the past, present, and future of this work and include a unique historical perspective from Janzen himself.
Differential Host Susceptibility to Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, an Emerging Amphibian Pathogen

Abstract: The amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has received considerable attention due to its role in amphibian population declines worldwide. Although many amphibian species appear to be affected by Bd, there is little information on species‐specific differences in susceptibility to this pathogen. We used a comparative experimental approach to examine Bd susceptibility in 6 amphibian species from the United States. We exposed postmetamorphic animals to Bd for 30 days and monitored mortality, feeding rates, and infection levels. In all species tested, Bd‐exposed animals had higher rates of mortality than unexposed (control) animals. However, we found differences in mortality rates among species even though the amount of Bd detected on the different species’ bodies did not differ. Of the species tested, southern toads (Anaxyrus terrestris) and wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) had the highest rates of Bd‐related mortality. Within species, we detected lower levels of Bd on individuals that survived longer and found that the relationship between body size and infection levels differed among species. Our results indicate that, even under identical conditions, amphibian species differ in susceptibility to Bd. This study represents a step toward identifying and understanding species variation in disease susceptibility, which can be used to optimize conservation strategies.
Linking Diversity and Stable Isotope Fractionation in Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacteria

The link between similarity in amino acid sequence for ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and isotopic discrimination for ammonia oxidation ( l AMO ) was investigated in g -subdivision ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. The isotope effects for ammonia oxidation in pure cultures of the nitrifying strains Nitrosomonas marina , Nitrosomonas C-113a, Nitrosospira tenuis , Nitrosomonas europaea , and Nitrosomonas eutropha ranged from 14.2 to 38.2. The differences in isotope effects could not be readily explained by differential rates of ammonia oxidation, transport of NH 4 + , or accumulation of NH 2 OH or N 2 O among the strains. The major similarities and differences observed in l AMO are, however, paralleled by similarities and differences in amino acid sequences for the f -subunit of AMO (AmoA). Robust differences in l AMO among nitrifying bacteria may be expected to influence the stable isotopic signatures of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) produced in various environments.
Unraveling the temporal dynamics between symptom and treatment variables in a lifestyle-oriented approach to anxiety disorder. A time-series analysis

Achtergrond: Er is steeds meer bewijs voor de positieve effecten van een gezonde leefstijl op de psychische gezondheid. Het meeste wetenschappelijk onderzoek hiernaar houdt echter slechts rekening met een leefstijlfactor, gaat voorbij aan de mogelijkheid van bidirectionele causaliteit en focust op gemiddelde groepsresultaten. Methoden: In deze N=1 studie gebruikten we tijdreeksanalyse om de dynamische wisselwerking tussen symptomen en behandelvariabelen te ontrafelen in een multi component behandeling van een patient met een angststoornis. De belangrijkste behandelvariabelen waren de leefstijlfactoren lichamelijke activiteit en ontspanning. Resultaten: De patient in dit onderzoek herstelde volledig. Multivariate tijdreeksanalyse toonde een complex patroon van dynamische relaties tussen symptoom en behandelvariabelen. Het doen van ontspanningsoefeningen was voorspellend voor symptoomreductie, maar fysieke activiteit verergerde verrassend genoeg de klachten. Veranderingen in energie voorspelden veranderingen in angst. Bewijs voor bidirectionele causaliteit was tevens aanwezig: veranderingen in ontspanning werden gevolgd door veranderingen in energie, maar ook omgekeerd, hetgeen wijst op een positieve feedback loop. Conclusie: Dit soort onderzoek is nuttig voor het verkrijgen van inzicht in de causale mechanismen die ten grondslag liggen aan de effecten van een gezonde leefstijl op de psychische gezondheid.
Review of Climate, Landscape, and Viral Genetics as Drivers of the Japanese Encephalitis Virus Ecology

The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), an arthropod-born Flavivirus, is the major cause of viral encephalitis, responsible for 10,000–15,000 deaths each year, yet is a neglected tropical disease. Since the JEV distribution area has been large and continuously extending toward new Asian and Australasian regions, it is considered an emerging and reemerging pathogen. Despite large effective immunization campaigns, Japanese encephalitis remains a disease of global health concern. JEV zoonotic transmission cycles may be either wild or domestic: the first involves wading birds as wild amplifying hosts; the second involves pigs as the main domestic amplifying hosts. Culex mosquito species, especially Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, are the main competent vectors. Although five JEV genotypes circulate, neither clear-cut genotype-phenotype relationship nor clear variations in genotype fitness to hosts or vectors have been identified. Instead, the molecular epidemiology appears highly dependent on vectors, hosts' biology, and on a set of environmental factors. At global scale, climate, land cover, and land use, otherwise strongly dependent on human activities, affect the abundance of JEV vectors, and of wild and domestic hosts. Chiefly, the increase of rice-cultivated surface, intensively used by wading birds, and of pig production in Asia has provided a high availability of resources to mosquito vectors, enhancing the JEV maintenance, amplification, and transmission. At fine scale, the characteristics (density, size, spatial arrangement) of three landscape elements (paddy fields, pig farms, human habitations) facilitate or impede movement of vectors, then determine how the JEV interacts with hosts and vectors and ultimately the infection risk to humans. If the JEV is introduced in a favorable landscape, either by live infected animals or by vectors, then the virus can emerge and become a major threat for human health. Multidisciplinary research is essential to shed light on the biological mechanisms involved in the emergence, spread, reemergence, and genotypic changes of JEV.
Eyewitness confidence and the impact of expert testimony by a psychologist versus judge's instructions

E y e w i t n e s s ' C o n f i d e n c e a s B a s i s o f D e c i s i o n . 60 R e a l i s m R a t i n g s o f E y e w i t n e s s T e s t i m o n y . 6 2 E x p e r t T e s t i m o n y as a B a s i s o f D e c i s i o n . 64 R e a l i s m R a t i n g s o f E x p e r t T e s t i m o n y . 66 CHAPTER V. D I S C U S S I O N . 68 S u m m a r y . 7 7 R E F E R E N C E S 78 A P P E N D I C E S 8 5 A. Low Confidence Eyewitness T ra n s c r ip t 86 B. H i g h C o n f i d e n c e E y e w i t n e s s T r a n s c r i p t . '. c . G e n e r a l E x p e r t T e s t i m o n y b y a P s y c h o l o g i s t T r a n s c r i p t . 99 D. R e l e v a n t F a c t o r s E x p e r t T e s t i m o n y b y a P s y c h o l o g i s t T r a n s c r i p t . 1 0 5 EG e n e r a l E x p e r t T e s t i m o n y b y J u d g e ' s I n s t r u c t i o n s T r a n s c r i p t . 112 F. D e p e n d e n t M e a s u r e s a n d C o v e r S h e e t . 1 1 5 G. I n t r o d u c t i o n t o E y e w i t n e s s V i d e o t a p e s . 1 2 0 H. I n t r o d u c t i o n t o E x p e r t T e s t i m o n y b y a Psycholog is t Videotape I . In t ro d u c t io n to Expert Testimony by a J u d g e V i d e o t a p e .
Effects of Rolapitant Administered Intravenously on the Pharmacokinetics of a Modified Cooperstown Cocktail (Midazolam, Omeprazole, Warfarin, Caffeine, and Dextromethorphan) in Healthy Subjects

Rolapitant is a selective, long‐acting neurokinin‐1 receptor antagonist, approved in the United States and Europe for prevention of delayed chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting in adults. This open‐label study evaluated the effects of a new intravenous formulation of rolapitant on cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme (CYP3A, CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, and CYP2D6) activity. On days 1 and 14, 36 healthy volunteers received a modified Cooperstown cocktail (midazolam 3 mg [CYP3A substrate], caffeine 200 mg [CYP1A2 substrate], S‐warfarin 10 mg [CYP2C9 substrate] + vitamin K 10 mg, omeprazole 40 mg [CYP2C19 substrate], and dextromethorphan 30 mg [CYP2D6 substrate]). On day 7, subjects received the modified Cooperstown cocktail after 166.5‐mg rolapitant infusion. On days 21, 28, and 35, subjects received oral dextromethorphan. Maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and area under the plasma concentration‐time curve (AUC0‐last) of probe drugs post‐ vs pre–rolapitant administration were assessed using geometric least‐squares mean ratios (GMRs) with 90%CIs. The 90%CIs of the GMRs were within the 0.80–1.25 no‐effect limits for caffeine and S‐warfarin Cmax and AUC0‐last. For midazolam Cmax and AUC0‐last and omeprazole Cmax, the 90%CIs of the GMRs were marginally outside these limits. Intravenous rolapitant coadministration increased dextromethorphan exposure, peaking 14 days post–rolapitant administration (GMRs: Cmax, 2.74, 90%CI 2.21–3.40; AUC0‐last, 3.36, 90%CI 2.74–4.13). Intravenous rolapitant 166.5 mg and probe drugs were well tolerated when coadministered. These data suggest that intravenous rolapitant is not an inhibitor of CYP3A, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, or CYP1A2 but is a moderate inhibitor of CYP2D6.
CorrelatedMultiples: Spatially Coherent Small Multiples With Constrained Multi‐Dimensional Scaling

Displaying small multiples is a popular method for visually summarizing and comparing multiple facets of a complex data set. If the correlations between the data are not considered when displaying the multiples, searching and comparing specific items become more difficult since a sequential scan of the display is often required. To address this issue, we introduce CorrelatedMultiples, a spatially coherent visualization based on small multiples, where the items are placed so that the distances reflect their dissimilarities. We propose a constrained multi‐dimensional scaling (CMDS) solver that preserves spatial proximity while forcing the items to remain within a fixed region. We evaluate the effectiveness of our approach by comparing CMDS with other competing methods through a controlled user study and a quantitative study, and demonstrate the usefulness of CorrelatedMultiples for visual search and comparison in three real‐world case studies.
Trends in the Epidemiology of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3 / Machado-Joseph Disease in the Azores Islands , Portugal

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3)/Machado Joseph disease (MJD) is the most common form of autosomal dominant ataxias worldwide. In Portugal, the epidemiological situation of the Azores Islands, known to be a worldwide cluster for this disorder, needs to be regularly monitored. The present work aims to characterize the epidemiological situation of MJD in the Azores Islands, updating values of prevalence and establishing a temporal trend for its evolution from 1980 until the present day. The prevalence value for the Azores archipelago by the end of 2015 was 39/100 000; prevalence values in the different islands are highly dependent on population size differences within the archipelago. An increase of prevalence from 1981 to 2015 was evidenced in the present study, values ranging from 23 to 39 patient’s per 100 000 habitants, respectively. MJD is recognised worldwide as a rare disease; this study confirms that the Azorean islands still represent an important cluster for this disorder. Given the local burden associated with the high prevalence of SCA3, regional specific measures need to be reinforced, targeting the improvement of the life quality of patients and families.
Socjalizacja poznawcza jako (d)efekt kształcenia szkolnego (na tle rozważań nad kulturowym kontekstem konstruowania struktur poznawczych człowieka)

Issues taken in the presented article refer to the relationship bet ween culture, the development of human cognitive structures, and school education. Starting from the theses presented within the discourse of contemporary cultural psychology I analyse the role of culture in the development of human cognitive abilities, where further references to the concept of cognitive socialization are made. Finally I make an attempt to point out the principles of effective cognitive socialization in the area of formal education which provides the basis for a sketchy evaluation of the impact of contemporary education on the effects of the cognitive socialization process.
Third European Evidence-based Consensus on Diagnosis and Management of Ulcerative Colitis. Part 2: Current Management.

aImperial College London, and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, UK bDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel cDepartment of Medicine B, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany dDepartment of Gastroenterology, Venizeleio General Hospital, Heraklion, Crete, Greece eDepartment of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University and Medical School of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece fDepartment of Gastroenterology, Tel-Hashomer Sheba Medical Center, and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel gDepartment of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Hospital Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany hFirst Department of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary iDepartment of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK jIBD Unit, Hull & East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Hull, UK kGastroenterology Department, Algarve Hospital Center; Biomedical Sciences & Medicine Department, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal lDepartment of Medicine I, Agaplesion Markus Hospital, Frankfurt/Main, Germany mDepartment of Gastroenterology, CHU Bicêtre, Université Paris Sud, Paris, France