Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in stressed environments : primary producers and consumers at the basis of marine food webs

Biodiversity is increasingly altered by human activities, which has led to considerable research on the consequences of biodiversity loss for ecosystem functioning. The anthropogenic stressors driving the ongoing biodiversity loss are however rarely included into biodiversity-ecosystem functioning experiments. The present thesis analyses the impact of anthropogenic stressors (pesticides, heavy metals) on the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relation in marine primary producers (diatoms) and consumers (copepods). It was shown that chemical stress alters species evenness rather richness, with a disproportionate effect on functioning if stress causes dominance by tolerant species with a low functional contribution. Stress tolerance and the functional contribution were predictable based on the species’ biological traits, and the effects of stress on ecosystem functioning depended on the correlation of traits predicting species abundance and traits predicting the species’ effect on ecosystem functioning. The biodiversity effect on primary producer biomass production increased under stress due to facilitative interactions (complementarity effect). Stressor-induced biodiversity loss reduced the food quality of primary producers and impaired the energy transfer to the consumer level, highlighting the relevance of stressor-induced biodiversity changers in a trophic context. The thesis ends with a synthetic framework which puts forward the three main effects (selective stress, physiological stress, complementarity) through which anthropogenic stress affects biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relations at the basis of marine food webs.
Targeting Metabolic Remodeling in Glioblastoma Multiforme

A key aberrant biological difference between tumor cells and normal differentiated cells is altered metabolism, whereby cancer cells acquire a number of stable genetic and epigenetic alterations to retain proliferation, survive under unfavorable microenvironments and invade into surrounding tissues. A classic biochemical adaptation is the metabolic shift to aerobic glycolysis rather than mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, regardless of oxygen availability, a phenomenon termed the “Warburg Effect”. Aerobic glycolysis, characterized by high glucose uptake, low oxygen consumption and elevated production of lactate, is associated with a survival advantage as well as the generation of substrates such as fatty acids, amino acids and nucleotides necessary in rapidly proliferating cells. This review discusses the role of key metabolic enzymes and their association with aerobic glycolysis in Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), an aggressive, highly glycolytic and deadly brain tumor. Targeting key metabolic enzymes involved in modulating the “Warburg Effect” may provide a novel therapeutic approach either singularly or in combination with existing therapies in GBMs.
Securing wireless sensor network using deployment knowledge based key predistribution

Wireless Sensor Networks are limited in their energy, computation and communication capabilities. In contrast to traditional networks, sensor nodes are often deployed in inaccessible areas, presenting a risk of physical attacks. A secured system can be achieved only if the security is integrated into each and every component. Otherwise the unsecured components become a point of attack. Thus security and privacy plays a major role in the aspect of system design. Key predistribution is found to be a better choice for resource constrained environments like wireless sensor networks. Another significant information regarding network is the deployment knowledge which can be used to improve the performance of the key predistribution schemes. Some information on deployment knowledge is achievable if deployment follows a particular order. Deployment knowledge offers numerous advantages when used in networks such as achieving better storage, better resilience to node capture, minimizing the number of keys and reduce network overhead. All the deployment knowledge based schemes available are based on the basic scheme and the key generation is based on Vander monde matrix. The main objective of this work is to propose a new scheme where keys are generated using Elliptic Curve Cryptography and by making use of deployment knowledge, the resilience and connectivity will be improved further.
Adversarial design games and the role of anticipation in sensor networks

Sensor networks are not anticipatory, but ideally they should be. In order to detect intruders, the environment of the possible attack scene can be monitored, and the position of sensors modified in order to increase the probability of detection. When faced with a resourceful intruder, the problem of sensing context becomes more difficult, and must expand to include monitoring for information about the intruders' objectives and resources. We call the continuous contest between intruders and sensor network designers an adversarial design game, and discuss ways the sensor network designers may proceed, using human design processes and automated design techniques.
AUTOMATIC DSM GENERATION FROM LINEAR ARRAY IMAGERY DATA

CCD linear array sensors are widely used to acquire panchromatic and multispectral imagery for photogrammetric and remote sensing applications. The processing of this kind of images provides a challenge for algorithmic redesign and this opens the possibility to reconsider and improve many photogrammetric processing components. In addition, the basic capabilities of image matching techniques have so far not been fully utilized yet. This paper presents a matching procedure for automatic DSM generation from linear array imagery data. It can provide dense, precise and reliable results. The method uses a coarse-to-fine hierarchical solution with an effective combination of several image matching algorithms and automatic quality control. The DSMs are generated by combination of matching results of feature points, grid points and edges. Finally, a modified multi-photo geometrically constrained (MPGC) matching algorithm is employed to achieve sub-pixel accuracy for all the matched features with multi-image or multi-strip image data. The proposed approach in this paper has been applied to different areas with varying textures and terrain types. The accuracy tests are based on the comparison between the high quality DEMs / DSMs derived from airborne Laser Scanner or manual measurements and the automatic extracted DSMs. Results with STARIMAGER, IKONOS and SPOT5 HRS images are reported. We demonstrate with these experiments that our approach leads to good results.
Incidence, risk factors and prevention of mild traumatic brain injury: results of the WHO Collaborating Centre Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE We undertook a best-evidence synthesis on the incidence, risk factors and prevention of mild traumatic brain injury. METHODS Medline, Cinahl, PsycINFO and Embase were searched for relevant articles. After screening 38,806 abstracts, we critically reviewed 169 studies on incidence, risk and prevention, and accepted 121 (72%). RESULTS The accepted articles show that 70-90% of all treated brain injuries are mild, and the incidence of hospital-treated patients with mild traumatic brain injury is about 100-300/100,000 population. However, much mild traumatic brain injury is not treated at hospitals, and the true population-based rate is probably above 600/100,000. Mild traumatic brain injury is more common in males and in teenagers and young adults. Falls and motor-vehicle collisions are common causes. CONCLUSION Strong evidence supports helmet use to prevent mild traumatic brain injury in motorcyclists and bicyclists. The mild traumatic brain injury literature is of varying quality, and the studies are very heterogeneous. Nevertheless, there is evidence that mild traumatic brain injury is an important public health problem, but we need more high-quality research into this area.
Optimized interval splitting in a linear scan register allocator

We present an optimized implementation of the linear scan register allocation algorithm for Sun Microsystems' Java HotSpot™ client compiler. Linear scan register allocation is especially suitable for just-in-time compilers because it is faster than the common graph-coloring approach and yields results of nearly the same quality.Our allocator improves the basic linear scan algorithm by adding more advanced optimizations: It makes use of lifetime holes, splits intervals if the register pressure is too high, and models register constraints of the target architecture with fixed intervals. Three additional optimizations move split positions out of loops, remove register-to-register moves and eliminate unnecessary spill stores. Interval splitting is based on use positions, which also capture the kind of use and whether an operand is needed in a register or not. This avoids the reservation of a scratch register.Benchmark results prove the efficiency of the linear scan algorithm: While the compilation speed is equal to the old local register allocator that is part of the Sun JDK 5.0, integer benchmarks execute about 15% faster. Floating-point benchmarks show the high impact of the Intel SSE2 extensions on the speed of numeric Java applications: With the new SSE2 support enabled, SPECjvm98 executes 25% faster compared with the current Sun JDK 5.0.
A Novel Concept for a Prosthetic Hand With a Bidirectional Interface: A Feasibility Study

A conceptually novel prosthesis consisting of a mechatronic hand, an electromyographic classifier, and a tactile display has been developed and evaluated by addressing problems related to controllability in prosthetics: intention extraction, perception, and feeling of ownership. Experiments have been performed, and encouraging results for a young transradial amputee are reported.
Functional properties of ion channels and transporters in tumour vascularization

Vascularization is crucial for solid tumour growth and invasion, providing metabolic support and sustaining metastatic dissemination. It is now accepted that ion channels and transporters play a significant role in driving the cancer growth at all stages. They may represent novel therapeutic, diagnostic and prognostic targets for anti-cancer therapies. On the other hand, although the expression and role of ion channels and transporters in the vascular endothelium is well recognized and subject of recent reviews, only recently has their involvement in tumour vascularization been recognized. Here, we review the current literature on ion channels and transporters directly involved in the angiogenic process. Particular interest will be focused on tumour angiogenesis in vivo as well as in the different steps that drive this process in vitro, such as endothelial cell proliferation, migration, adhesion and tubulogenesis. Moreover, we compare the ‘transportome’ system of tumour vascular network with the physiological one.
Orthogonal symmetric prefilter banks for discrete multiwavelet transforms

Traditional design of critically sampled prefilters for discrete multiwavelet transform in scalar signal processing ignores the preservation of the linear phase property, which is very desirable for many applications such as image coding and digital communications. Balanced multiwavelets solve this problem by making the filters longer. By using linear phase filter banks, we propose a simple design algorithm of orthogonal symmetric prefilter banks for discrete multiwavelet that are critically sampled and can preserve approximation power. This keeps the overall system as compact as possible. The resulted systems give better performance as compared with using non-linear phase prefilters.
Gabapentin enacarbil extended release for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia in adults

The development of biomedical technology is allowing refinement of drug therapies in order to improve medication profiles and benefit patients. Gabapentin (Gp) is a medication licensed globally for various indications, including postherpetic neuralgia. It has a pharmacokinetic profile which has been suggested may limit its clinical effects and reduce medication compliance. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration licensed a novel preparation which aims to circumvent these limitations. Gp enacarbil is a prodrug of Gp, which is additionally prepared in an extended release preparation. The resulting compound has an improved absorption profile and a reduced dosing frequency in comparison to immediate release Gp. An absence of comparative data, however, limits the direct evaluation of the medication to both immediate release and other extended release preparations available on the market. Additionally, no data are currently available addressing efficacy, tolerability, or side effects with other first line treatments of postherpetic neuralgia. Additional experimental data should be sought to clarify the position of Gp enacarbil, both within postherpetic neuralgia treatment protocols and in relation to the increasing numbers of gabapentinoids available.
Learning to reason

We introduce a new framework for the study of reasoning. The Learning (in order) to Reason approach developed here views learning as an integral part of the inference process, and suggests that learning and reasoning should be studied together. The Learning to Reason framework combines the interfaces to the world used by known learning models with the reasoning task and a performance criterion suitable for it. In this framework, the intelligent agent is given access to its favorite learning interface, and is also given a grace period in with it can interact with this interface and construct a representation KB of the world W. The reasoning performance is measured only after this period, when the agent is presented with queries α from some query language, relevant to the world, and has to answer whether W implies α. The approach is meant to overcome the main computational difficulties in the traditional treatment of reasoning which stem from its separation from the “world”. Since the agent interacts with the world when construction its knowledge representation it can choose a representation that is useful for the task at hand. Moreover, we can now make explicit the dependence of the reasoning performance on the environment the agent interacts with. We show how previous results from learning theory and reasoning fit into this framwork and illustrate the usefulness of the Learning to Reason approach by exhibiting new results that are not possible in the traditional setting. First, we give Learning to Reason algorithms for classes of propositional languages for which there are no efficient reasoning algorithms, when represented as a traditional (formula-based) knowledge base. Second, we exhibit a Learning to Reason algorithm for a class of propositional languages that is not know to be learnable in the traditional sense.
PLURALISM IN LOGIC

A number of people have proposed that we should be pluralists about logic, but there are several things this can mean. Are there versions of logical pluralism that are both high on the interest scale and also true? After discussing some forms of pluralism that seem either insufficiently interesting or quite unlikely to be true, the paper suggests a new form which might be both interesting and true; however, the scope of the pluralism that it allows logic is extremely narrow.
Requirements communication culture in mobile services development

The software business is changing; partly due to a global re-distribution of engineering competencies, partly due to abundant, but marginally profitable opportunities of providing lightweight infotainment services in a global network. The software development process has not changed accordingly, and within a broader trend of globalization, companies look towards offshore outsourcing of software development as one way of cutting development costs. However, many stakeholders are discontent with the quality of deliveries from offshore projects. Many of the problems are explicated by the demographically dispersed nature of a global economy: Different cultures, language barriers and unrealistic expectations. This paper addresses these issues from another angle. Examining in-depth the development processes of an international company, it is concluded that outsourcing, rather than causing upheaval to software development, ought to be seen as subjected to the same naive division of labour as many previous attempts of ‘rationalizing’ this process. Moreover, the counter-measures usually proposed imply ‘much more of the same’ which did not work to begin with either. Therefore, globalization is putting empirical studies of software development back on the agenda and it indicates a need to re-conceptualize the entire software process. A better understanding of how programmers work is needed to back the development of methods for co-located as well as distributed development.
Example-based style synthesis

We introduce an example-based synthesis technique that extrapolates novel styles for a given input image. The technique is based on separating the style and content of image fragments. Given an image with a new style and content, it is first adaptively partitioned into fragments. Stitching together novel fragments produces a coherent image in a new style for a given content. The aggregate of synthesized fragments approximates a globally non-linear model with a set of locally linear models. We show the result of our method for various artistic, sketch, and texture filters and painterly styles applied to different image content classes.
A NEW CLASS OF HUMAN IMMUNOGLOBULINS

A new class of immunoglobulin, IgD, was identified in normal human serum by immunochemical technics. Antiserums prepared against the unique S.J. myeloma protein facilitated recognition of the related normal protein. IgD was shown to possess type K (I) and type L (II) light chain determinants, similar to those present in other classes of immunoglobulins. IgD does not possess determinants which are specific to IgG, IgA, or IgM. The IgD proteins possess their own specific antigenic determinants. IgD migrates in the fast γ-region on immunoelectrophoresis. The properties on sephadex gel filtration and DEAE cellulose chromatography are described. IgD was found to have a median level of 0.03 mg/ml in 100 normal serums. The range of concentrations found in individual normal serums is much wider, however, than that of other classes of immunoglobulins. IgD, on the average, accounts for less than 1 per cent of the normal serum immunoglobulins.
Crystal structure of elongation factor P from Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 1.75 å resolution

The translation of messenger RNA to protein requires an interplay between the ribosome and various translation factors.1 Among them, elongation factor P (EF-P) stimulates the peptidyltransferase activity of 70S ribosome, by promoting the synthesis of the first peptide bond.2,3 EF-P is universally conserved in bacteria and is essential for the viability of Escherichia coli.4 The interruption of EF-P function has been shown to result in cell death, because of a defect in protein synthesis.5 There are about 0.1–0.2 copies of EF-P’s per ribosome in the cell, a ratio that is similar to other initiation factors.6 Archaea and eukarya have translation initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A), which shares sequence and structural similarities to the first two domains of bacterial EF-P.7–10 eIF-5A undergoes a posttranslational modification of a very well-conserved lysine residue to hypusine, by deoxyhypusine synthase and deoxyhypusine hydroxylase; this modification is essential for the viability of yeast.11,12 The corresponding residue (either lysine or arginine) is strongly conserved in bacterial EF-P. GenX, a paralog of lysyl-tRNA synthetase, transfers a lysyl moiety to this conserved residue in E. coli.13 Previously determined crystal structures of EF-P showed that it has three b-barrel domains and its overall shape and dimension is strikingly similar to those of tRNA.7 The structure of EF-P in complex with 70S ribosome, initiator tRNA, and mRNA showed that it binds to the ribosome between the Pand E-site differently from the classical tRNA binding sites, and interacts with initiator tRNA and other ribosomal components, such as ribosomal L1 protein.14 The initiator tRNA occupies the preliminary P/I site when the E-site is empty.15 The role of EF-P is to place the initiator tRNA into the P site so that the N-formylmethionine of initiator tRNA can be correctly positioned in the peptidyl transfer center (PTC) for the first peptide bond formation.14,16 In this study, we report the crystal structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa EF-P at 1.75 Å. We analyzed the conformational changes of P. aeruginosa EF-P in comparison with the previously determined EF-P structures, and proposed the functional roles of conserved surface residues including the C-terminal loop, which was often disordered in the previous structures.
Efficient gene transfection by bisguanylated diacetylene lipid formulations.

We have previously shown that cationic cholesterol derivatives bearing guanidinium groups were efficient vectors for gene transfer. To further evaluate the potentiality of this novel class of cationic lipids, we undertook to study the transfection efficiency of guanidinium-based lipids with other hydrophobic moieties. Specifically, we synthesized a reagent where two guanidinium groups are linked to a diacetylene lipid which may provide the lipoplexes with favorable structural features. We report here that the cationic lipid bisguanidinium-diacetylene (BGDA) is highly efficient for in vitro gene transfection when formulated with dioleoylphosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE). We also show that liposomes composed of BGDA, DOPE, and a neutral diacetylene colipid, hydroxyethylenediacetylene (HEDA), are efficient for transfection. Thus, diacetylene-based lipids provide a novel scaffold for gene transfection and will be particularly useful for gaining new insights into the structure-activity relationships of the lipid/DNA complexes as they offer a means to study the effects of polymerizable domains.