Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Computer Sciences Department RouteBazaar: An Economic Framework for Flexible Routing

The Internet’s routing protocol provides users a single end-to-end route that is not guaranteed to be available or to meet user requirements. Our paper addresses this rigidity using an economically grounded approach that appeals both to users and to service providers. We propose a framework called RouteBazaar in which service providers announce links connecting different parts of the Internet, along with dynamically changing prices associated with using the links. All topology information is exposed to end-users. Users simply use routes that best match their cost-performance requirements. The appeal to users is that they can always obtain a route of their choice as long as they are willing to pay for it. The appeal to providers is that our framework offers them means for monetary gains as long as they are willing to offer greater visibility into their topology and greater ﬂexibility in user routes. We present both centralized and distributed versions of this framework. Both versions are designed to supplement, not supplant, BGP. We design a variety of algorithms to ensure robustness and stability of either framework. We study the framework using a simpliﬁed game-theoretic model and also conduct large scale simulations of its performance in practice using real and synthetic network topologies. We ﬁnd that despite allowing ﬂexibility to both users and service providers, our system operates at a stable and close-to-optimal state.
Reengineering an Educational Institute : a Case Study in New Zealand by

With the education industry becoming more competitive, tertiary institutes resort to various tools and techniques to improve their performance. This paper examines the use of business process reengineering (BPR) in a tertiary education institute in New Zealand. The results of this research shed light on the challenges of implementation of BPR in a medium sized educational institute to improve performance and position itself for international competition. The findings of this study have implications for other tertiary education institutes that plan to undertake similar efforts.
EVALUATION OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

Funding for data collection and analysis of these data has been supported by the 1 International Fund for Agricultural Development (TA Grant No. 301-IFPRI). We gratefully acknowledge this funding, but stress that ideas and opinions presented here are our responsibility and should, in no way, be attributed to IFAD.
Specific antibodies against vaccine-preventable infections: a mother–infant cohort study

Objectives To determine maternal and neonatal specific antibody levels to selected vaccine-preventable infections (pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), tetanus and pneumococcus). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting A UK secondary care maternity unit (March 2011–January 2012). Participants Mothers and infants within 72 h of delivery were eligible. Unwell individuals, mothers less than 18 years of age, and infants born at less than 36 weeks gestation, or weighing less than 2500 g, were excluded. HIV-infected mothers were included. 112 mother–infant pairs were recruited. Samples from 111 mothers and 109 infants (108 pairs) were available for analysis. Outcome measures Specific antibody levels were determined using standard commercial ELISAs. Specific antibody to pertussis antigens (PT and FHA) of >50 IU/ml, defined as ‘positive’ by the test manufacturer, were interpreted as protective. Antitetanus antibody titres >0.1 IU/ml and anti-Hib antibody titres >1 mg/l were regarded as protective. Results Only 17% (19/111) of women exhibited a protective antibody response against pertussis. 50% (56/111) of women had levels of antibody protective against Hib and 79% (88/111) against tetanus. There was a strong positive correlation between maternal-specific and infant-specific antibodies’ responses against pertussis (rs=0.71, p<0.001), Hib (rs=0.80, p<0.001), tetanus (rs=0.90, p<0.001) and pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide (rs=0.85, p<0.001). Only 30% (33/109) and 42% (46/109) of infants showed a protective antibody response to pertussis and Hib, respectively. Placental transfer (infant:mother ratio) of specific IgG to pertussis, Hib, pneumococcus and tetanus was significantly reduced from HIV-infected mothers to their HIV-exposed, uninfected infants (n=12 pairs) compared with HIV-uninfected mothers with HIV-unexposed infants (n=96 pairs) by 58% (<0.001), 61% (<0.001), 28% (p=0.034) and 32% (p=0.035), respectively. Conclusions Low baseline antibody levels against pertussis in this cohort suggest the recently implemented UK maternal pertussis immunisation programme has potential to be effective.
Advances in the role of microRNAs in lipid metabolism-related anti-atherosclerotic drug discovery

Introduction: Atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of mortality in industrialized and developing nations and there remains a large unmet medical need for new therapeutic approaches. Therefore, efforts are continuing needed to discover and develop novel drugs based on the advances in the understanding of molecular basis in lipid metabolism, especially a critical role of miRNAs in regulating lipid metabolism. miRNAs are endogeneous non-coding small RNAs that regulate gene expression on the post-transcriptional level. Some miRNAs have been proposed as potential targets in anti-atherosclerotic drug discovery. Areas covered: This review provides a summary of recently reported miRNAs which are functioning in various pathways of lipid metabolism. Furthermore, this review describes the strategies currently employed for the miRNA-based drug discovery, including: the development of antisense oligonucleotides targeting the specific miRNAs directly and the discovery of small molecules targeting the miRNA activity or biogenesis by application of biochemical or cell-based screening assays. Expert opinion: miRNAs play a prominent role in lipid metabolism and provide intriguing therapeutic targets, which add a new dimension for anti-atherosclerotic drug discovery. Translation of these targets and strategies for drug discovery, although still challenging, has shown a promising potential for a more effective reduction in atherosclerotic risk in the future.
Nitrogen engineering in Titanium based high-k gate dielectrics on Ge

In this work, we present the results of physical and electrical characterization of Ti-based high-k gate dielectrics on Ge substrates. To improve the electrical properties, nitrogen engineering has been employed to convert the lossy GeO2 interfacial layer to its oxynitride, and thus forming a TiO2/GeOxN3/Ge stacked-gate structure with improved interfacial and electrical properties. Charge trapping, transient and reliability properties of nitrided gate dielectrics have also been investigated.
Preliminary experiments in visual servo control for autonomous underwater vehicle

We consider a visually-guided autonomous underwater vehicle. We develop a position-based visual servo control of fixed and slow moving targets using visual position feedback and sensor-based orientation feedback. The visual position feedback is implemented on a stereo camera system. We use a compass and an inclinometer for orientation feedback. We also implement a computed torque controller, using Euler parameters to represent the orientation state, for the vehicle motion control. Using Euler parameters eliminates singularities in the model and the controller. Preliminary experimental results of visual servo control are reported.
Sub-100 nm-scale aluminum nanowires by stencil lithography: Fabrication and characterization

We present the fabrication process and electrical characterization of sub-100 nm scale Al nanowires (NWs) fabricated by stencil lithography (SL). We use a stencil with sub- 100 nm wide nanoslits patterned by focused ion beam (FIB) milling. The stencil is aligned and clamped onto a substrate containing predefined electrical contacts. Then a 60 nm-thick layer of Aluminum (Al) is deposited through the stencil producing NWs with lengths of ~1, 2 and 5 mum and widths down to 65 nm. The NWs show an ohmic behavior with values varying from 30 Omega up to 300 Omega, depending on the dimensions of the structures. We have extracted a resistivity for the Al NWs of ~10 x 10-8 Omegam. We also show that stencils can be cleaned and reused, proving that SL is a cost-efficient and scalable manufacturing method for the direct fabrication of metallic NWs on a full wafer scale.
VOLUMETRIC POLYMERIZATION SHRINKAGE OF CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITE RESINS

The polymerization shrinkage of composite resins may affect negatively the clinical outcome of the restoration. Extensive research has been carried out to develop new formulations of composite resins in order to provide good handling characteristics and some dimensional stability during polymerization. The purpose of this study was to analyze, in vitro, the magnitude of the volumetric polymerization shrinkage of 7 contemporary composite resins (Definite, Suprafill, SureFil, Filtek Z250, Fill Magic, Alert, and Solitaire) to determine whether there are differences among these materials. The tests were conducted with precision of 0.1 mg. The volumetric shrinkage was measured by hydrostatic weighing before and after polymerization and calculated by known mathematical equations. One-way ANOVA (á=0.05) was used to determine statistically significant differences in volumetric shrinkage among the tested composite resins. Suprafill (1.87±0.01) and Definite (1.89±0.01) shrank significantly less than the other composite resins. SureFil (2.01±0.06), Filtek Z250 (1.99±0.03), and Fill Magic (2.02±0.02) presented intermediate levels of polymerization shrinkage. Alert and Solitaire presented the highest degree of polymerization shrinkage. Knowing the polymerization shrinkage rates of the commercially available composite resins, the dentist would be able to choose between using composite resins with lower polymerization shrinkage rates or adopting technical or operational procedures to minimize the adverse effects deriving from resin contraction during light-activation.
Nitrous oxide in the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract. In order to get a comprehensive picture of the distribution of nitrous oxide (N2O) in the North Atlantic Ocean, measurements of dissolved nitrous oxide were made during three cruises in the tropical, subtropical and cold-temperate North Atlantic Ocean in October/November 2002, March/April 2004, and May 2002, respectively. To account for the history of atmospheric N2O, we suggest a new depth-dependent calculation of excess N2O (ΔN2O). N2O depth profiles showed supersaturation throughout the water column with a distinct increasing trend from the cold-temperate to the tropical region. Lowest nitrous oxide concentrations, near equilibrium and with an average of 11.0±1.7 nmol L−1, were found in the cold-temperate North Atlantic where the profiles showed no clear maxima. Highest values up to 37.3 nmol L−1 occurred in the tropical North Atlantic with clear maxima at approximately 400 m. A positive correlation of nitrous oxide with nitrate, as well as excess nitrous oxide with the apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), was only observed in the subtropical and tropical regions. Therefore, we conclude that the formation of nitrous oxide via nitrification occurs in the tropical region rather than in the cold-temperate region of the North Atlantic Ocean
PS-wave moveout inversion for tilted transversely isotropic media: A physical-modeling study

Mode-converted PS-waves can provide critically important information for velocity analysis in transversely isotropic (TI) media. Here we demonstrate, with physical-modeling data, that the combination of long-spread reflection traveltimes of PPand PS-waves can be inverted for the parameters of a horizontal TI layer with a tilted symmetry axis. The 2D multicomponent reflection data are acquired over a phenolic sample manufactured to simulate the effective medium formed by a system of steeply dipping, penny-shaped cracks. The reflection moveout of PS-waves in this model is asymmetric, and the moveout-asymmetry attributes play a crucial role in constraining the TI parameters. Applying the modified PP+PS=SS method to the PP and PS traveltimes recorded in the symmetry-axis plane, we compute the time and offset asymmetry attributes of the PS-waves along with the traveltimes of the pure SS reflections. Then the algorithm of Dewangan and Tsvankin is used to invert the combination of the moveout attributes of the PP-, SS-, and PS-waves for the medium parameters and thickness of the sample. Our estimates of the tilt of the symmetry axis and layer thickness almost coincide with the actual values. The inverted model was also validated by reproducing the results of transmission experiments with both Pand SV-wave sources. In particular, the transmitted SV wavefield exhibits a prominent cusp (triplication) accurately predicted by the parameter-estimation results.
Saturation or maturation? The diffusion of Twitter and its impact on preference voting in the Dutch general elections of 2010 and 2012

ABSTRACT Does social-media usage (e.g. Twitter) influence candidates’ number of votes? Recent studies have shown that a modest impact might exist. However, these studies used data on elections in which only a limited group of politicians used Twitter. In such a context it was easy for a candidate to stand out. It remains to be seen whether the effect holds in times of widespread usage. This study compares a low-usage with a widespread-usage election, the Dutch 2010 and 2012 national elections respectively. It utilizes unique data on all 1024 candidates of the ‘large’ parties. Interestingly, even in the context of widespread Twitter usage we still find a positive association between Twitter use and preference votes.
Impaired motor control due to proprioceptive sensory loss in a patient with cerebral infarction localized to the postcentral gyrus.

OBJECTIVE Most rehabilitative interventions following stroke emphasize the improvement of motor deficits but rarely address sensory function and sensorimotor control. We report here a case of cerebral infarction localized to the postcentral gyrus that presented with severe impairment of motor control due to profound proprioceptive sensory loss. We attempted to demonstrate the mechanism for the motor impairment using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). CASE REPORT A 70-year-old woman developed abrupt loss of motor control of the right hand, concomitant with the loss of proprioception of the hand. An fMRI was conducted 12 days after stroke onset. Movement of the unaffected hand activated the normal sensorimotor network in the brain, including the contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor areas, and ipsilateral cerebellum. However, movement of the affected hand activated only the contralateral primary motor cortex and activation of the cerebral sensorimotor network was severely depressed. Diffusion tensor tractography revealed that the corticospinal tracts were intact. Intensive rehabilitation and the use of visual support enabled the patient to live an independent life. CONCLUSION Loss of motor control may occur even with a normal corticospinal tract when proprioception is severely impaired by dysfunction of the sensorimotor network in the brain.
Vasoconstrictive responses by the carotid and auricular arteries in goats to ergot alkaloid exposure

A fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) infects most plants of “Kentucky 31” tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) and produces ergot alkaloids that cause persistent constriction of the vascular system in grazing livestock. Consequently, animals undergoing this toxicosis cannot regulate core body temperature and are vulnerable to heat and cold stresses. An experiment was conducted to determine if the caudal and auricular arteries in goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) vasoconstrict in response to ergot alkaloids. Seven, rumen fistulated goats were fed ad libitum orchardgrass (Dactylis glomeratia) hay and ruminally infused with endophtye-free seed (E−) for a 7-day adjustment period. Two periods followed with E− and endophyte-infected (E+) seed being randomly assigned to the 2 goat groups in period 1 and then switching treatments between groups in period 2. Infused E+ and E− seed were in equal proportions to the hay such that concentrations of ergovaline and ergovalanine were 0.80 μg per g dry matter for the E+ treatment. Cross-sections of both arteries were imaged using Doppler ultrasonography on days 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 in period 1 and on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 9 in period 2. Differences from average baseline areas were used to determine presence or absence of alkaloid-induced vasoconstriction. Carotid arteries initiated constriction on imaging day 2 in both periods, and auricular arteries initiated constriction on imaging day 2 in period 1 and on day 6 in period 2. Luminal areas of the carotid arteries in E+ goats were 46% less than baseline areas in both periods after vasoconstriction occurred, whereas auricular arteries in E+ goats were 52% less than baseline areas in period 1 and 38% in period 2. Both arteries in E+ goats in period 1 relaxed relative to baseline areas by imaging day 2 after they were switched to the E− treatment. Results indicated that goats can vasoconstrict when exposed to ergot alkaloids that could disrupt their thermoregulation.
The ROOT MERISTEMLESS1/CADMIUM SENSITIVE2 Gene Defines a Glutathione-Dependent Pathway Involved in Initiation and Maintenance of Cell Division during Postembryonic Root Development

Activation of cell division in the root apical meristem after germination is essential for postembryonic root development. Arabidopsis plants homozygous for a mutation in the ROOT MERISTEMLESS1 (RML1) gene are unable to establish an active postembryonic meristem in the root apex. This mutation abolishes cell division in the root but not in the shoot. We report the molecular cloning of the RML1 gene, which encodes the first enzyme of glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis, γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase, and which is allelic to CADMIUM SENSITIVE2. The phenotype of the rml1 mutant, which was also evident in the roots of wild-type Arabidopsis and tobacco treated with an inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis, could be relieved by applying GSH to rml1 seedlings. By using a synchronized tobacco cell suspension culture, we showed that the G1-to-S phase transition requires an adequate level of GSH. These observations suggest the existence of a GSH-dependent developmental pathway essential for initiation and maintenance of cell division during postembryonic root development.
Expression of cell adhesion molecules in dilated cardiomyopathy: evidence for endothelial activation in inflammatory cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is pathogenically linked to inflammatory cardiomyopathy (InfCM), which is characterized by intramyocardial infiltration. The transendothelial migration of immunocompetent cells is mediated by cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). METHODS AND RESULTS We investigated the expression pattern of CAMs (immunoglobulin superfamily, 32 selectins, and beta1- and beta2-integrins) in endomyocardial biopsies from DCM patients (n=152; left ventricular ejection fraction <40%) using immunohistochemistry. Whereas few specimens obtained at autopsy (controls; n=14) presented enhanced expression regarding single endothelial CAMs (human leukocyte antigen [HLA] class I, 7%; HLA-DR, 14%; CD29, 14%), none demonstrated concurrent abundance of >3 CAMs (inflammatory endothelial activation), nor did any control tissue prove positive for InfCM (>7.0 CD3+ lymphocytes per 1 mm2). In comparison, 64% (n=97) of the DCM biopsies were evaluated positive for InfCM and 67% (n=101) for inflammatory endothelial activation, respectively. Whereas expression of HLA class I, HLA-DR, intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1, and CD29 was distributed homogeneously within a patient's serial sections, immunoreactivity of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, lymphocyte function antigen-3, and the selectins was accentuated on single vascular endothelia. Sixty-six percent of the DCM biopsies presented CD29 abundance also within the extracellular matrix and the sarcolemma. CD62P and CD62E were present in 16% and 40% of the DCM patients, respectively. Endothelial CAM representatives correlated with one another (P<0.05), except for CD62P with HLA. Endothelial CAM expression correlated with intramyocardial infiltrates phenotyped by the corresponding counterreceptors. CONCLUSIONS Inflammatory endothelial activation is present in 67% of DCM patients. Because CAM expression correlates with the immunohistological diagnosis of InfCM and counterreceptor-bearing intramyocardial infiltrates, evaluation of endothelial CAMs might be of diagnostic significance in InfCM.
Relational Learning Assisted Construction of Rule Base for Indian Language NER

We present Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) based techniques for automatically extracting rules for Named Entity Recognition (NER) from tagged corpora and background knowledge. Results using WARMR (Luc Dehaspe and Luc De Raedt 1997) and TILDE (Hendrik Blockeel and Luc De Raedt 1998) to learn rules for named entities of Hindi 1 and Marathi 2 show that the ILP approach has two advantages over hand-crafting the NER rules: (i) the development time reduces by a factor of 120 compared to a linguist doing the entire rule development, and (ii) a complete and consistent view of all significant patterns in the data at the level of abstraction specified through the mode declarations prevails in the learned rules.
Selection and analysis of an optimized anti-VEGF antibody: crystal structure of an affinity-matured Fab in complex with antigen.

The Fab portion of a humanized antibody (Fab-12; IgG form known as rhuMAb VEGF) to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been affinity-matured through complementarity-determining region (CDR) mutation, followed by affinity selection using monovalent phage display. After stringent binding selections at 37 degrees C, with dissociation (off-rate) selection periods of several days, high affinity variants were isolated from CDR-H1, H2, and H3 libraries. Mutations were combined to obtain cumulatively tighter-binding variants. The final variant identified here, Y0317, contained six mutations from the parental antibody. In vitro cell-based assays show that four mutations yielded an improvement of about 100-fold in potency for inhibition of VEGF-dependent cell proliferation by this variant, consistent with the equilibrium binding constant determined from kinetics experiments at 37 degrees C. Using X-ray crystallography, we determined a high-resolution structure of the complex between VEGF and the affinity-matured Fab fragment. The overall features of the binding interface seen previously with wild-type are preserved, and many contact residues are maintained in precise alignment in the superimposed structures. However, locally, we see evidence for improved contacts between antibody and antigen, and two mutations result in increased van der Waals contact and improved hydrogen bonding. Site-directed mutants confirm that the most favorable improvements as judged by examination of the complex structure, in fact, have the greatest impact on free energy of binding. In general, the final antibody has improved affinity for several VEGF variants as compared with the parental antibody; however, some contact residues on VEGF differ in their contribution to the energetics of Fab binding. The results show that small changes even in a large protein-protein binding interface can have significant effects on the energetics of interaction.