Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Telecom strategies for service discovery in microservice environments

In order to communicate with another service, a service needs to know the address of other services. This knowledge can be acquired by a process called service discovery (SD). In a microservice architecture (MSA), unlike SOA, a service discovery framework has not been provided out of the box. In a telecom environment additional requirements may arise, besides the basic one of discoverability. In this paper we shortly present the state of the art in service discovery with reflections on the specific needs of MSA and in particular in the context of telecom applications. In this context open source frameworks are investigated and compared.
Role of FNA cytology and immunochemistry in the diagnosis and management of medullary thyroid carcinoma: Report of six cases and review of the literature

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare neuroendocrine thyroid malignancy. This study retrospectively reviewed 10 fine‐needle aspiration samples from six MTC patients. Aspirated specimens were from thyroid (3), cervical lymph nodes (5), left lung (1), and anterior chest wall (1). Cytomorphology consisted predominantly of plasmacytoid cells (3 cases), spindle cells (2 cases), and epithelioid cells (1 case). However, all specimens had a mixture of other cell types and “salt and pepper” chromatin. Only one specimen showed Congo‐red‐positive amyloid. Calcitonin was expressed in 7/7 specimens. Four patients underwent surgical excision and MTC was confirmed in all four. Follow‐up studies included serum calcitonin (3/6 cases) and imaging (2/6 cases). One patient had MTC associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia IIA syndrome and one had familial MTC with a history of MTC in mother. In conclusion, the cytomorphology of MTC is typical and calcitonin immunostain is a reliable method for confirming primary or metastatic MTC. Early cytological diagnosis of MTC positively impacted patient management. Follow‐up with serum calcitonin and imaging is helpful in the early detection of recurrences. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2007;35:285–292. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
War exposure, 5-HTTLPR genotype and lifetime risk of depression.

BACKGROUND In 1962 approximately 1.5 million French people living in Algeria were repatriated to France in very poor and often life-threatening conditions. These people constitute a cohort for the study of the long-term impact of gene-environment interaction on depression. AIMS To examine the interaction between a highly stressful life event and subsequent depression, and its modulation by a length polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). METHOD A community sample of people aged 65 years and over residing in the Montpellier region of the south of France was randomly recruited from electoral rolls. Genotyping was performed on 248 repatriated persons and 632 controls. Current and lifetime major and minor depressive disorders were assessed according to DSM-IV criteria. RESULTS A significant relationship was observed between exposure to repatriation and subsequent depression (P<0.002), but there was no significant effect of gene alone (P = 0.62). After controlling for age, gender, education, disability, recent life events and cognitive function, the gene-environment interaction (repatriation × 5-HTTLPR) was globally significant (P<0.002; OR = 3.21, 95% CI 2.48-5.12). Individuals carrying the two short (s) alleles of 5-HTTLPR were observed to be at higher risk (P<0.005; OR = 2.34, 95% CI 1.24-4.32), particularly when repatriation occurred before age 35 years (P<0.002; OR = 2.91, 95% CI 1.44-5.88), but this did not reach significance in those who were older at the time of the event (P = 0.067). CONCLUSIONS The association between depression and war repatriation was significantly modulated by 5-HTTLPR genotype but this appeared to occur only in people who were younger at the time of exposure.
Improvement of polypropylene (PP)-modified bitumen through lignin addition

Polypropylene (PP) is usually added to bitumen to improve its mechanical properties, however, both of them have different chemical properties. To achieve best mechanical properties of the mixture, coupling agent such as lignin is importantly required. Lignin is an amorphous biopolymer, has bipolar characteristic due to its distinct chemical function which has carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl and phenol chemical function. Otherwise, bitumen and PP have polar and non-polar characteristic, respectively. In the previous research, it is found that lignin is potential to be used as coupling agent. In order to confirm the potential of lignin as a coupling agent, there are various compounds of lignin on PP-bitumen mixtures used in this research. This experiment consists of several stages, ranging from sample preparation, characterization of raw materials, mixing, and characterization of the PP-Modified Bitumen. This experiment used hot melt mixing to mix lignin, PP, and bitumen. The result of this experimental was analyzed by using FTIR and FESEM. The addition of lignin make Polymer Modified Bitumen (PMB) getting better mixing and increase mechanical properties. Furthermore, FESEM characterization indicated that the addition of lignin gave better mixing of PP-Bitumen. FTIR showed a new chemical structure due to the addition of lignin. From this experiment, the addition of lignin can improve mixing between PP and Bitumen. So, we can use lignin as coupling agent.
The effect of motor difficulty on the acquisition of a computer task: a comparison between young and older adults

The present study investigated the extent to which the impact of motor difficulty on the acquisition of a computer task varies as a function of age. Fourteen young and 14 older participants performed 352 sequences of 10 serial pointing movements with a wireless pen on a digitiser tablet. A conditional probabilistic structure governed the succession of target keys to be pointed at on a virtual keyboard. Detecting and learning with practice how to use this probabilistic structure was expected to allow the participants to anticipate the location of the targets, and thus to improve pointing performance in terms of speed, accuracy, and trajectory rectitude. Motor difficulty was manipulated through the size of the targets to be pointed at. Results showed that for older participants, but not for younger ones, motor difficulty had a detrimental effect on their ability to learn the probabilistic structure. This finding suggests that decreasing the target size provides complex detrimental influence on the performance, affecting the efficiency of both the motor and cognitive processes involved in the task, especially for the elderly.
A literature survey on objectives and success factors of mobile CRM projects

Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM) frames the interface between companies and their customers by assisting mobile actors with mobile and wireless technologies. The aim of mCRM projects is the implementation of such systems. Experiences from the CRM background show problems in the implementation phase, which are caused by poor execution of the project and unrealistic project objectives. Therefore achievable objectives and success factors of mCRM projects are identified by two analyses of scientific publications and best-practice cases. The findings of our research suggest that there is a set of reachable objectives which can be classified into customer, market, interaction and performance objectives. We will also discus how mCRM can be applied to the public sector. Based on our results we want to point out how the public sector can benefit from our research in mCRM projects.
The presence of two skeletal muscle alpha-actinins correlates with troponin-tropomyosin expression and Z-line width

Two species of alpha-actinin from rabbit fast skeletal muscles were identified with a monospecific antisera. Designated alpha-actinin1f and alpha-actinin2f, their distribution in muscles does not correlate with histochemically defined fast fiber type. Rather, the presence of each correlates with Z-line width and with the expression of different thin filament Ca2+-regulatory complexes. alpha-Actinin1f is expressed with troponin T 1f-alpha beta tropomyosin, and alpha-actinin2f with troponin T 2f-alpha 2 tropomyosin. CNBr peptide maps show that the fast alpha- actinin species differ in primary structure. In contrast, the slow alpha-actinin is indistinguishable from alpha-actinin1f. Further evidence for the similarity of alpha-actinin1f and slow alpha-actinin comes from electron microscopic studies which show that fibers that express these species exhibit thick Z-lines. So, unlike other contractile proteins, the multiple forms of alpha-actinin do not reflect the distinction between fast- and slow-twitch muscles.
Neuroblastoma in a Patient With Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type I

Spinal muscular atrophy is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of anterior horn cells of the spinal cord resulting in hypotonia, skeletal muscle atrophy, and weakness. Herein, we report a 4-month-old male infant who presented to our hospital with an abdominal mass that was diagnosed as neuroblastoma and spinal muscular atrophy type I. We would like to discuss the course and differential diagnosis with an algorithm leading to the diagnosis in this peculiar patient. To our knowledge, coexistence of spinal muscular atrophy type I and neuroblastoma is defined for the first time in the literature.
Digital Nets and Sequences: Discrepancy Theory and Quasi-Monte Carlo Integration

Indispensable for students, invaluable for researchers, this comprehensive treatment of contemporary quasi-Monte Carlo methods, digital nets and sequences, and discrepancy theory starts from scratch with detailed explanations of the basic concepts and then advances to current methods used in research. As deterministic versions of the Monte Carlo method, quasi-Monte Carlo rules have increased in popularity, with many fruitful applications in mathematical practice. These rules require nodes with good uniform distribution properties, and digital nets and sequences in the sense of Niederreiter are known to be excellent candidates. Besides the classical theory, the book contains chapters on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces and weighted integration, duality theory for digital nets, polynomial lattice rules, the newest constructions by Niederreiter and Xing and many more. The authors present an accessible introduction to the subject based mainly on material taught in undergraduate courses with numerous examples, exercises and illustrations.
Plasmid-encoded degradation of p-nitrophenol and 4-nitrocatechol by Arthrobacter protophormiae.

Arthrobacter protophormiae strain RKJ100 is capable of utilizing p-nitrophenol (PNP) as well as 4-nitrocatechol (NC) as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen and energy. The degradation of PNP and NC by this microorganism takes place through an oxidative route, as stoichiometry of nitrite molecules was observed when the strain was grown on PNP or NC as sole carbon and energy sources. The degradative pathways of PNP and NC were elucidated on the basis of enzyme assays and chemical characterization of the intermediates by TLC, GC, (1)H NMR, GC-MS, UV spectroscopy, and HPLC analyses. Our studies clearly indicate that the degradation of PNP proceeds with the formation of p-benzoquinone (BQ) and hydroquinone (HQ) and is further degraded via the beta-ketoadipate pathway. Degradation of NC involved initial oxidation to generate 1,2,4-benzenetriol (BT) and 2-hydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone; the latter intermediate is then reductively dehydroxylated, forming BQ and HQ, and is further cleaved via beta-ketoadipate to TCA intermediates. It is likely, therefore, that the same set of genes encode the further metabolism of HQ in PNP and NC degradation. A plasmid of approximately 65 kb was found to be responsible for harboring genes for PNP and NC degradation in this strain. This was based on the fact that PNP(-) NC(-) derivatives were devoid of the plasmid and had simultaneously lost their capability to grow at the expense of these nitroaromatic compounds.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection in Elderly Mice Results in Altered Antiviral Gene Expression and Enhanced Pathology

Elderly persons are more susceptible to RSV-induced pneumonia than young people, but the molecular mechanism underlying this susceptibility is not well understood. In this study, we used an aged mouse model of RSV-induced pneumonia to examine how aging alters the lung pathology, modulates antiviral gene expressions, and the production of inflammatory cytokines in response to RSV infection. Young (2–3 months) and aged (19–21 months) mice were intranasally infected with mucogenic or non-mucogenic RSV strains, lung histology was examined, and gene expression was analyzed. Upon infection with mucogenic strains of RSV, leukocyte infiltration in the airways was elevated and prolonged in aged mice compared to young mice. Minitab factorial analysis identified several antiviral genes that are influenced by age, infection, and a combination of both factors. The expression of five antiviral genes, including pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and osteopontin (OPN), was altered by both age and infection, while age was associated with the expression of 15 antiviral genes. Both kinetics and magnitude of antiviral gene expression were diminished as a result of older age. In addition to delays in cytokine signaling and pattern recognition receptor induction, we found TLR7/8 signaling to be impaired in alveolar macrophages in aged mice. In vivo, induction of IL-1β and OPN were delayed but prolonged in aged mice upon RSV infection compared to young. In conclusion, this study demonstrates inherent differences in response to RSV infection in young vs. aged mice, accompanied by delayed antiviral gene induction and cytokine signaling.
Cyclooxygenase Isozymes: The Biology of Prostaglandin Synthesis and Inhibition

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) represent one of the most highly utilized classes of pharmaceutical agents in medicine. All NSAIDs act through inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis, a catalytic activity possessed by two distinct cyclooxygenase (COX) isozymes encoded by separate genes. The discovery of COX-2 launched a new era in NSAID pharmacology, resulting in the synthesis, marketing, and widespread use of COX-2 selective drugs. These pharmaceutical agents have quickly become established as important therapeutic medications with potentially fewer side effects than traditional NSAIDs. Additionally, characterization of the two COX isozymes is allowing the discrimination of the roles each play in physiological processes such as homeostatic maintenance of the gastrointestinal tract, renal function, blood clotting, embryonic implantation, parturition, pain, and fever. Of particular importance has been the investigation of COX-1 and -2 isozymic functions in cancer, dysregulation of inflammation, and Alzheimer's disease. More recently, additional heterogeneity in COX-related proteins has been described, with the finding of variants of COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. These variants may function in tissue-specific physiological and pathophysiological processes and may represent important new targets for drug therapy.
Correlation power analysis attack against STT-MRAM based cyptosystems

Emerging technologies such as Spin-transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) are considered potential candidates for implementing low-power, high density storage systems. The vulnerability of such nonvolatile memory (NVM) based cryptosystems to standard side-channel attacks must be thoroughly assessed before deploying them in practice. In this paper, we outline a generic Correlation Power Analysis (CPA) attack strategy against STT-MRAM based cryptographic designs using a new power model. In our proposed attack methodology, an adversary exploits the power consumption patterns during the write operation of an STT-MRAM based cryptographic implementation to successfully retrieve the secret key. In order to validate our proposed attack technique, we mounted a CPA attack on MICKEY-128 2.0 stream cipher design consisting of STT-MRAM cells with Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs) as storage elements. The results of the experiments show that the STT-MRAM based implementation of the cipher circuit is susceptible to standard differential power analysis attack strategy provided a suitable hypothetical power model (such as the one proposed in this paper) is selected. In addition, we also investigated the effectiveness of state-of-the-art side-channel attack countermeasures for MRAMs and found that our proposed scheme is able to break such protected implementations as well.
Analysis of criminal social networks with typed and directed edges

The relationships within criminal groups are of qualitatively different kinds, and are typically not symmetric because of issues of power and influence. Social network analysis techniques have not been able to model this richness of relationships well. We develop a new technique for spectral embedding of directed graphs, and combine it with a recently developed technique for spectral embedding of graphs with typed edges. We use the combination to model two 'Ndrangheta organized crime groups, and show that structure that is otherwise not visible can be extracted.
Slovenian Practice Story: 10 Years of e-Counselling Service for Teenagers

This is Me is the largest youth counseling web portal in Slovenia, providing teens with a friendly, simple, fast, free, anonymous and efficient public access to expert information and problem-solving assistance. Network of web counselors includes 38 experts (medical specialists, psychologists, social pedagogues, social workers, and teachers), who are volunteers from 12 different institutions. In the course of ten years, experts have answered almost 21,000 questions about dilemmas and problems faced by teens. The program was created by the Institute of Public Health Celje. This is Me supports adolescents in their problem-solving efforts. The program focuses on development of positive mental health, with emphasis on self-image, social and life skills. The program responds to the adolescents needs and makes efficient use of web technology. Youth web portal is a response to the current teen lifestyle. Most users are between ages of 13 and 18.
Infinite horizon MPC applied to an industrial FCC converter

This paper concerns the application of a closed-loop stable MPC to an industrial FCC converter. The nominal stability of the proposed controller is achieved by considering an infinite prediction horizon. In addition, the state-space model used in the controller formulation is derived from the analytical form of the step response associated with transfer function models of the process, which were obtained from real plant tests.
Highly Effective Compensatory Mechanisms in a 76-Year-Old Man with a Coarctation of the Aorta

We present a man who was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta (CA) at the age of 76. He had developed an extensive collateral circulation for maintaining the circulation below the CA. This compensatory mechanism was highly effective, since the patient had remained asymptomatic and in good health during most of his life. He died from intrahospitalary pneumonia, unrelated to CA. Long-term survival in patients with untreated CA is exceptional, with only 11 patients living into their 70s being previously reported. A review of these cases is included.
Differences in patellofemoral kinematics between weight‐bearing and non‐weight‐bearing conditions in patients with patellofemoral pain

Patellar maltracking is thought to be one source of patellofemoral pain. Measurements of patellar tracking are frequently obtained during non‐weight‐bearing knee extension; however, pain typically arises during highly loaded activities, such as squatting, stair climbing, and running. It is unclear whether patellofemoral joint kinematics during lightly loaded tasks replicate patellofemoral joint motion during weight‐bearing activities. The purpose of this study was to: evaluate differences between upright, weight‐bearing and supine, non‐weight‐bearing joint kinematics in patients with patellofemoral pain; and evaluate whether the kinematics in subjects with maltracking respond differently to weight‐bearing than those in nonmaltrackers. We used real‐time magnetic resonance imaging to visualize the patellofemoral joint during dynamic knee extension from 30° to 0° of knee flexion during two conditions: upright, weight‐bearing and supine, non‐weight‐bearing. We compared patellofemoral kinematics measured from the images. The patella translated more laterally during the supine task compared to the weight‐bearing task for knee flexion angles between 0° and 5° (p = 0.001). The kinematics of the maltrackers responded differently to joint loading than those of the non‐maltrackers. In subjects with excessive lateral patellar translation, the patella translated more laterally during upright, weight‐bearing knee extension for knee flexion angles between 25° and 30° (p = 0.001). However, in subjects with normal patellar translation, the patella translated more laterally during supine, non‐weight‐bearing knee extension near full extension (p = 0.001). These results suggest that patellofemoral kinematics measured during supine, unloaded tasks do not accurately represent the joint motion during weight‐bearing activities. © 2010 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:312–317, 2011
Synthesis of Spongy-Like Mesoporous Hydroxyapatite from Raw Waste Eggshells for Enhanced Dissolution of Ibuprofen Loaded via Supercritical CO2

The use of cheaper and recyclable biomaterials (like eggshells) to synthesize high purity hydroxyapatite (HAp) with better properties (small particle size, large surface area and pore volume) for applications (in environmental remediation, bone augmentation and replacement, and drug delivery systems) is vital since high-purity synthetic calcium sources are expensive. In this work, pure and mesoporous HAp nanopowder with large pore volume (1.4 cm3/g) and surface area (284.1 m2/g) was produced from raw eggshells at room temperature using a simple two-step procedure. The control of precursor droplets could stabilize the pH value of the reaction solution, because of the size of the needle (of the syringe pump used for precursor additions) leading to production of HAp with high surface area and pore size. The as-produced HAp revealed high ibuprofen (as a model drug) loading (1.38 g/g HAp), enhanced dissolution and controllable release of the drug via solute-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide.