Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inverting the Operator / Vehicle Ratio : Approaches to Next Generation UAV Command and Control

A key obstacle in the growth of unmanned vehicle operations is the number of operators required to supervise and control an unmanned vehicle. New unmanned vehicle CONOPS call for an individual or small groups of tightly integrated operators to control several vehicles simultaneously. This push to invert the classic operator/vehicle ratio cannot be achieved solely by increasing the intelligence and autonomy of the vehicle system. The human workload challenges must be overcome through new human-system interaction techniques. Ongoing work in human-machine interaction has generated paradigms of management-byconsent and management-by-exception that help reduce the operator workload bottleneck. In addition, advances in human alerting and multi-modal interface design have made human-system interfaces more intuitive and easier to use. Together, these mechanisms form an effective solution to the unmanned vehicle command and control interface. In this paper, we will describe paradigms for human control of next-generation unmanned vehicle systems, the technologies that will be required to realize them, and the research results that are addressing those requirements.
A General Proximity Analysis of Nonlinear Subdivision Schemes

In recent work nonlinear subdivision schemes which operate on manifold-valued data have been successfully analyzed with the aid of so-called proximity conditions bounding the difference between a linear scheme and the nonlinear one. The main difficulty with this method is the verification of these conditions. In the present paper we obtain a very clear understanding of which properties a nonlinear scheme has to satisfy in order to fulfill proximity conditions. To this end we introduce a novel polynomial generation property for linear subdivision schemes and obtain a characterization of this property via simple multiplicativity properties of the moments of the mask coefficients. As a main application of our results we prove that the Riemannian analogue of a linear subdivision scheme which is defined by replacing linear averages by the Riemannian center of mass satisfies proximity conditions of arbitrary order. As a corollary we conclude that the Riemannian analogue always produces limit curves which are at.
Mycobacterial Dormancy Systems and Host Responses in Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by the intracellular pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), claims more than 1.5 million lives worldwide annually. Despite promulgation of multipronged strategies to prevent and control TB, there is no significant downfall occurring in the number of new cases, and adding to this is the relapse of the disease due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance and the ability of Mtb to remain dormant after primary infection. The pathology of Mtb is complex and largely attributed to immune-evading strategies that this pathogen adopts to establish primary infection, its persistence in the host, and reactivation of pathogenicity under favorable conditions. In this review, we present various biochemical, immunological, and genetic strategies unleashed by Mtb inside the host for its survival. The bacterium enables itself to establish a niche by evading immune recognition via resorting to masking, establishment of dormancy by manipulating immune receptor responses, altering innate immune cell fate, enhancing granuloma formation, and developing antibiotic tolerance. Besides these, the regulatory entities, such as DosR and its regulon, encompassing various putative effector proteins play a vital role in maintaining the dormant nature of this pathogen. Further, reactivation of Mtb allows relapse of the disease and is favored by the genes of the Rtf family and the conditions that suppress the immune system of the host. Identification of target genes and characterizing the function of their respective antigens involved in primary infection, dormancy, and reactivation would likely provide vital clues to design novel drugs and/or vaccines for the control of dormant TB.
The social mix in gentrified neighborhoods: a child's play? La mezcla social en los barrios aburguesados: un juego de niños?

The article deals with the issue of social mixing in gentrified neighborhoods. Therefore takes as empirical field the observation of children aged 9 to 11 years, residents of the city of Paris, France. The paper discusses the mix of children in socialization processes, and analyzes the effects of social class and space in the process. The findings indicate that the sociability of children in the investigated district, are both more numerous and more open socially than those of their parents and the adults of the gentrified neighborhoods in general.
Extraction of Deep Phylogenetic Signal and Improved Resolution of Evolutionary Events within the recA/RAD51 Phylogeny

The recA/RAD51 gene family encodes a diverse set of recombinase proteins that effect homologous recombination, DNA-repair, and genome stability. The recA gene family is expressed in almost all species of Eubacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes, and even in some viruses. To date, efforts to resolve the deep evolutionary origins of this ancient protein family have been hindered, in part, by the high sequence divergence between families (i.e. ~30% identity between paralogous groups). Through (i) large taxon sampling, (ii) the use of a phylogenetic algorithm designed for measuring highly divergent paralogs, and (iii) novel Evolutionary Spatial Dynamics simulation and analytical tools, we obtained a robust, parsimonious and more refined phylogenetic history of the recA/RAD51 superfamily. Taken together, our model for the evolution of recA/RAD51 family provides a better understanding of ancient origin of recA proteins and multiple events leading to the diversification of recA homologs in eukaryotes, including the discovery of additional RAD51 sub-families.
A Wreath Product Approach to Classical Subgroup Theorems

We provide elementary proofs of the Nielsen-Schreier Theorem and the Kurosh Subgroup Theorem via wreath products. Our proofs are diagrammatic in nature and work simultaneously in the abstract and profinite categories. A new proof that open subgroups of quasifree profinite groups are quasifree is also given.
Altered Metastatic Behavior of Human Breast Cancer Cells after Experimental Manipulation of Matrix Metalloproteinase 8 Gene Expression

Previous work in our laboratory led to the cloning, from the same parent tumor cell line (MDA-MB-435), of two human breast cancer cell lines (M-4A4 and NM-2C5) with opposite metastatic phenotypes. Additional investigations revealed that the nonmetastatic cell line NM-2C5 overexpressed the neutrophil collagenase, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, relative to its partner. Because other studies have implicated the MMP family in promoting tumor metastasis, we investigated the apparently paradoxical expression of MMP-8 in these cell lines. By genetic engineering, we inverted its relative levels of expression in the two partners and studied the effects on the behavior of the tumors that they generated in athymic mice. Knock-down of expression in NM-2C5 cells by transduction with a sequence encoding a specific ribozyme and overexpression of MMP-8 in M-4A4 cells by retroviral transduction both strikingly changed metastatic performance in opposite directions, indicating that this gene plays a role in the regulation of tumor metastasis.
Histone modifications as regulators of life and death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Apoptosis or programmed cell death is an integrated, genetically controlled suicide program that not only regulates tissue homeostasis of multicellular organisms, but also the fate of damaged and aged cells of lower eukaryotes, such as the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recent years have revealed key apoptosis regulatory proteins in yeast that play similar roles in mammalian cells. Apoptosis is a process largely defined by characteristic structural rearrangements in the dying cell that include chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. The mechanism by which chromosomes restructure during apoptosis is still poorly understood, but it is becoming increasingly clear that altered epigenetic histone modifications are fundamental parameters that influence the chromatin state and the nuclear rearrangements within apoptotic cells. The present review will highlight recent work on the epigenetic regulation of programmed cell death in budding yeast.
Cytochrome P450 Alkane Hydroxylases of the CYP153 Family Are Common in Alkane-Degrading Eubacteria Lacking Integral Membrane Alkane Hydroxylases

ABSTRACT Several strains that grow on medium-chain-length alkanes and catalyze interesting hydroxylation and epoxidation reactions do not possess integral membrane nonheme iron alkane hydroxylases. Using PCR, we show that most of these strains possess enzymes related to CYP153A1 and CYP153A6, cytochrome P450 enzymes that were characterized as alkane hydroxylases. A vector for the polycistronic coexpression of individual CYP153 genes with a ferredoxin gene and a ferredoxin reductase gene was constructed. Seven of the 11 CYP153 genes tested allowed Pseudomonas putida GPo12 recombinants to grow well on alkanes, providing evidence that the newly cloned P450s are indeed alkane hydroxylases.
Strong-coupling theory for counter-ion distributions

The Poisson-Boltzmann approach gives asymptotically exact counter-ion density profiles around charged objects in the weak-coupling limit of low valency and high temperature. In this paper we derive, using field-theoretic methods, a theory which becomes exact in the opposite limit of strong coupling. Formally, it corresponds to a standard virial expansion. Long-range divergences, which render the virial expansion intractable for homogeneous bulk systems, are shown to be renormalizable for the case of inhomogeneous distribution functions by a systematic expansion in powers of the fugacity. For a planar charged wall, our analytical results compare quantitatively with extensive Monte Carlo simulations.
Self-Affirmation Activates the Ventral Striatum

Self-affirmation (reflecting on important personal values) has been shown to have a range of positive effects; however, the neural basis of self-affirmation is not known. Building on studies showing that thinking about self-preferences activates neural reward pathways, we hypothesized that self-affirmation would activate brain reward circuitry during functional MRI (fMRI) studies. In Study 1, with college students, making judgments about important personal values during self-affirmation activated neural reward regions (i.e., ventral striatum), whereas making preference judgments that were not self-relevant did not. Study 2 replicated these results in a community sample, again showing that self-affirmation activated the ventral striatum. These are among the first fMRI studies to identify neural processes during self-affirmation. The findings extend theory by showing that self-affirmation may be rewarding and may provide a first step toward identifying a neural mechanism by which self-affirmation may produce a wide range of beneficial effects.
HIV Delays IFN-α Production from Human Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells and Is Associated with SYK Phosphorylation

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are the major producers of type I interferons (IFNs) in humans and rapidly produce IFN-α in response to virus exposure. Although HIV infection is associated with pDC activation, it is unclear why the innate immune response is unable to effectively control viral replication. We systematically compared the effect of HIV, Influenza, Sendai, and HSV-2 at similar target cell multiplicity of infection (M.O.I.) on human pDC function. We found that Influenza, Sendai, HSV-2 and imiquimod are able to rapidly induce IFN-α production within 4 hours to maximal levels, whereas HIV had a delayed induction that was maximal only after 24 hours. In addition, maximal IFN-α induction by HIV was at least 10 fold less than that of the other viruses in the panel. HIV also induced less TNF-α and MIP-1β but similar levels of IP-10 compared to other viruses, which was also mirrored by delayed upregulation of pDC activation markers CD83 and CD86. BDCA-2 has been identified as an inhibitory receptor on pDC, signaling through a pathway that involves SYK phosphorylation. We find that compared to Influenza, HIV induces the activation of the SYK pathway. Thus, HIV delays pDC IFN-α production and pDC activation via SYK phosphorylation, allowing establishment of viral populations.
Comprehensive Vehicle Motion Analysis using Optical Flow Optimization Based on Pulse-Coupled Neural Network

Abstract This paper presents the application of a novel optical flow optimization algorithm for a comprehensive on-road vehicle motion analysis. Optical flow, which contains abundant local motion information, has been extensively studied for vehicle motion estimation in the last decades. How to generate a reliable optical flow at a low computation cost is always a challenging task. The primary aim of this paper is to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of optical flow estimation for a reliable vehicle motion analysis. In the paper, an innovative optical flow optimization algorithm is proposed based on a 3-D Pulse-Coupled Neural Network (PCNN) model. Because of the excellent information clustering ability of PCNN, the proposed algorithm can significantly improve the quality of optical flow. Moreover, a sparse motion flow field is generated to boost the computation efficiency. We employ a preliminary processing to detect the Region of Interest (ROI) in the image, and optical flow is only calculated and optimized in the ROI to save computation resources. Finally, the improved sparse optical flow field is exploited for a systematic on-road vehicle motion analysis. The proposed methodology has been evaluated under various challenging traffic situations to demonstrate its excellent performance.
Atorvastatin Upregulates Type III Nitric Oxide Synthase in Thrombocytes, Decreases Platelet Activation, and Protects From Cerebral Ischemia in Normocholesterolemic Mice

Background and Purpose Thrombosis superimposed on atherosclerosis causes approximately two thirds of all brain infarctions. We previously demonstrated that statins protect from cerebral ischemia by upregulation of endothelial type III nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), but the downstream mechanisms have not been determined. Therefore, we investigated whether antithrombotic effects contribute to stroke protection by statins. Methods 129/SV wild-type and eNOS knockout mice were treated with atorvastatin for 14 days (0.5, 1, and 10 mg/kg). eNOS mRNA from aortas and platelets was measured by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Platelet factor 4 (PF 4) and &bgr;-thromboglobulin (&bgr;-TG) in the plasma were quantified by ELISA. Transient cerebral ischemia was induced by filamentous occlusion of the middle cerebral artery followed by reperfusion. Results Stroke volume after 1-hour middle cerebral artery occlusion/23-hour reperfusion was significantly reduced by 38% in atorvastatin-treated animals (10 mg/kg) compared with controls. Serum cholesterol levels were not affected by the treatment. eNOS mRNA was significantly upregulated in a dose-dependent manner in aortas and in thrombocytes of statin-treated mice compared with controls. Moreover, indices of platelet activation in vivo, ie, plasma levels of PF 4 and &bgr;-TG, were dose-dependently downregulated in the treatment group. Surprisingly, atorvastatin-treatment did not influence PF 4 and &bgr;-TG levels in eNOS knockout mice. Conclusions The synthetic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor atorvastatin upregulates eNOS in thrombocytes, decreases platelet activation in vivo, and protects from cerebral ischemia in normocholesterolemic mice. Antithrombotic and stroke-protective effects of statins are mediated in part by eNOS upregulation. Our results suggest that statins may provide a novel prophylactic treatment strategy independent of serum cholesterol levels.
Sensor bean: a component platform for sensor-based services

Sensor-based services propose to gather, manage, analyze, access and react to sensor data. These services are distributed over heterogeneous platforms. The complexity of the implementation of such services requires software engineering tools to relieve the architect and the developer who are often business experts and not technologies experts. Our proposal relates to the definition of a component model dedicated to the development of SBS, called Sensor Bean. Sensor Bean differs from the usual components models by its service orientation and dynamic architecture and the introduction of data-centric connectors well adapted to measurement flows. This proposal is validated by a prototype coupling OSGi and J2EE and by a first component container for OSGi gateways.
A Fuzzy Preferences Method of QoS-Awared Grid Workflow Schedule

Grid workflow schedule requires sophisticated expertise of domain in order to automate the process of managing workflows and its components. QoS-aware selection and execution of Grid workflow can fulfill customer's expectations. a new preference method is proposed to design the grid workflow schedule. The grid workflow matching relation is achieved by mobile agent negotiation based on projection-join closure to capture such message situations. We propose a fuzzy preferences evolutionary algorithm to resolve the QoS-aware selection optimization. The simulation results show that the approach can significantly improve the performance. It adapts well to the changes of environments A new preference method is proposed in grid workflow schedule based on QoS-aware. The grid workflow matching relation is achieved by mobile agent negotiation based on projection-join closure to capture such message situations. We propose a fuzzy preferences evolutionary algorithm to resolve the QoS-aware selection optimization. The simulation results show that the approach can significantly improve the performance. It adapts well to the changes of environments
Far-Infrared Polarization of the Quasar 3C 279

We present the first far-infrared (FIR) polarization results of the OVV quasar 3C 279 obtained with ISOPHOT for two epochs in 1996 and 1997. We describe its integral polarization properties at a wavelength of 170 μm, where the source shows a maximum in its energy distribution. After a γ-ray flare in 1996 January, a polarization of 23% closely aligned with the radio jet axis was measured in 1996 July. In 1997 June, the polarization degree had decreased to 6.5%, with a less good alignment. On the other hand, the total 170 μm flux is the same for both epochs. Our measurements provide additional constraints for the multiwavelength properties of synchrotron emission in radio jets and the temporal evolution of these properties: they show that the FIR radiation of 3C 279 is optically thin and that its origin is very close to the core. The variability of the FIR polarization without any change of the total FIR flux can be explained by a disordering of the magnetic field in between the core and the first stationary VLBI radio knot.
Immunologic proliferation marker Ki-S2 as prognostic indicator for lymph node-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND Proper treatment of lymph node-negative breast cancer depends on an accurate prognosis. To improve prognostic models for this disease, we evaluated whether an immunohistochemical marker for proliferating cells, Ki-S2 (a monoclonal antibody that binds to a 100-kd nuclear protein expressed in S, G2, and M phases of the cell cycle), is an accurate indicator of prognosis. METHODS We studied 371 Swedish women with lymph node-negative breast cancer; the median follow-up time was 95 months. The fraction of tumor cells in S phase was assessed by flow cytometry, and tumor cell proliferation was measured immunohistochemically with the monoclonal antibodies Ki-S2 and Ki-S5 (directed against the nuclear antigen Ki-67). A combined prognostic index was calculated on the basis of the S-phase fraction, progesterone receptor content, and tumor size. RESULTS In multivariate analyses that did or did not (263 and 332 observations, respectively) include the S-phase fraction and the combined prognostic index, the Ki-S2 labeling index (percentage of antibody-stained tumor cell nuclei) emerged as the most statistically significant predictor of overall survival, disease-specific survival, and disease-free survival (all two-sided P<.0001). In the risk group defined by a Ki-S2 labeling index of 10% or less, life expectancy was not statistically significantly different from that of age-matched women without breast cancer, whereas the group with a high Ki-S2 labeling index had an increased risk of mortality of up to 20-fold. CONCLUSIONS Cellular proliferation is a major determinant of the biologic behavior of breast cancer. Prognosis is apparently best indicated by the percentage of cells in S through M phases of the cell cycle. Measurement of the Ki-S2 labeling index of a tumor sample may improve a clinician's ability to make an accurate prognosis and to identify patients with a low risk of recurrence who may not need adjuvant therapy.
Evaluating User Influence Based on the Properties of User in Social Networks

In large-scale social networks, identifying the most influential collection of nodes plays an important role in recommendation, public opinion analysis and product marketing. Therefore, identifying the collection of nodes which have the most influence by evaluating the user influence is an important research direction. The paper analyzes and studies an algorithm for evaluating the nodes influence, and presents the improvement methods based on the PageRank algorithm, and identifies that the improvement methods are better than the PageRank algorithm.
Analysis of Time-Varying VEP Signal Using Rational RBF Network

This contribution studies the problem of denoising single-trial visual evoked potentials (VEP) signal. The main objective for VEP detection is to extract the change of the response and the corresponding latency without losing the individual properties of each trial of the signals, which is meaningful to clinic and practical application. Based on the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), we proposed normalized RBFNN to obtain preferable results against other nonlinear methods: adaptive noise canceling (ANC) with RBFNN prefilter and RBFNN alone. These three approaches are compared with MSE and the ability of tracking peaks. The experimental results provide convergent evidence for the view that NRBFNN significantly attenuates noise and can successfully identify variance between trials
Economics of Information Security Investment in the Case of Simultaneous Attacks

ABSTRACT With billions of dollars being spent on information security related products and services each year, the economics of information security investment has become an important area of research, with significant implications for management practices. Drawing on recent studies that examine optimal security investment levels under various attack scenarios, we propose an economic model that considers simultaneous attacks from multiple external agents with distinct characteristics, and derive optimal investments based on the principle of benefit maximization. The relationships among the major variables, such as systems vulnerability, security breach probability, potential loss of security breach, and security investment levels, are investigated via analytical and numerical analyses subject to various boundary conditions. In particular, our model shows how a firm should allocate its limited security budget to defend against two types of security attacks (distributed and targeted) simultaneously. Among the results of these analyses, we find that a firm with a small security budget is better off allocating most or all of the investment to measures against one of the classes of attack. Further, when the potential loss from the targeted attacks and the system vulnerability are relatively large, the focal firm should allocate most of its budget to such attacks.