Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Switch from planktonic to sessile life: a major event in pneumococcal pathogenesis

Two main patterns of gene expression of Streptococcus pneumoniae were observed during infection in the host by quantitative real time RT‐PCR; one was characteristic of bacteria in blood and one of bacteria in tissue, such as brain and lung. Gene expression in blood was characterized by increased expression of pneumolysin, pspA and hrcA, while pneumococci in tissue infection showed increased expression of neuraminidases, metalloproteinases, oxidative stress and competence genes. In vitro situations with similar expression patterns were detected in liquid culture and in a newly developed pneumococcal model of biofilm respectively. The biofilm model was dependent on addition of synthetic competence stimulating peptide (CSP) and no biofilm was formed by CSP receptor mutants. As one of the differentially expressed gene sets in vivo were the competence genes, we exploited competence‐specific tools to intervene on pneumococcal virulence during infection. Induction of the competence system by the quorum‐sensing peptide, CSP, not only induced biofilm formation in vitro, but also increased virulence in pneumonia in vivo. In contrast, a mutant for the ComD receptor, which did not form biofilm, also showed reduced virulence in pneumonia. These results were opposite to those found in a bacteraemic sepsis model of infection, where the competence system was downregulated. When pneumococci in the different physiological states were used directly for challenge, sessile cells grown in a biofilm were more effective in inducing meningitis and pneumonia, while planktonic cells from liquid culture were more effective in inducing sepsis. Our data enable us, using in vivo gene expression and in vivo modulation of virulence, to postulate the distinction – from the pneumococcal point of view – between two main types of disease. During bacteraemic sepsis pneumococci resemble planktonic growth, while during tissue infection, such as pneumonia or meningitis, pneumococci are in a biofilm‐like state.
Improving Security Architecture of Anonymous Wireless Mesh Networks

- As users of networks increasingly aware of their privacy needs, the importance of anonymity is gaining popularity. The reason behind it is that anonymity can hide the actual identity of end users while allowing their to access services of network or web site. More over they are allowed to do so without being traced. This usage is prevailing in P2P systems and also payment based networks like e-cash. Achieving anonymity and being able to trace misbehaving users are the two conflicting requirements. This paper proposes a security architecture that is aimed at providing complete anonymity to honest users while tracing misbehaving users thus resolving the conflict between anonymity and traceability requirements. In addition to these, this paper also focuses on basic security requirements such as nonrepudiation, data integrity, confidentiality, and authentication. The empirical results revealed that the proposed architecture is effective and can be adapted to real world systems
Energy efficient on-site tracking of mobile target in wireless sensor networks

Tracking moving targets is one of the important problems of wireless sensor networks. Many approaches have been proposed to deal with this problem (Yang, H. and Sikdar, B., 2003; Gupta, R. and Das, S.R., 2003; Yu-Chee Tseng et al., 2003; Hegazy, T. and Vachtsevanos, G., 2004). Once the information about a moving target is received, subsequent actions are taken in most cases. Sometimes, a physical presence in the vicinity of the moving target is required to take these actions. We characterize this nature of tracking as the on-site tracking problem. Applying existing approaches to solve the on-site tracking problem normally requires excessive message communication and navigation strategies. We propose an ant-based approach which effectively exploits the mobility dependency property inherent in the system to solve the on-site tracking problem. Our approach is simple and energy efficient.
New developments at CAFADIS plenoptic camera

The CAFADIS camera project has consisted in building a camera to measure wave-front phases and distances under different scenarios (from microns to kilometres), using highly specialised electronic technology, namely Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). It is a passive method of depth extraction, it uses incoherent light (natural light). In this paper we will present our new developments.
FACADE - a framework for context-aware content adaptation and delivery

Modern technology promises. mobile users Internet connectivity anytime, anywhere, using any device. However, given the constrained capabilities of mobile devices, the limited bandwidth of wireless networks and the varying personal sphere, effective information access requires the development of new computational patterns. The variety of mobile devices available today makes device-specific authoring of Web content an expensive approach. The problem is further compounded by the heterogeneous nature of the supporting networks and user behaviour. The notions of "typical user" and "typical user behaviour" are no longer applicable for many Internet applications. This research investigates the challenges posed by these problems, and proposes FACADE (FrAmework for Context-aware content Adaptation and DElivery) to bridge the gap between the existing Internet content and today's heterogeneous computing environments. A pilot implementation of a facility for testing and performance evaluation of FACADE is also discussed.
International Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences (eissn: 2230-7605) Assessment of the Cardiovascular Risk in Subclinical Hypothyroidism Biological Sciences Research Article

Background: The decision about whether to screen patients for subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is clouded by inconsistent evidence of association of dyslipidemia and other risk factors of cardiovascular disease with SCH and also any benefit from early treatment. Objective: To determine whether the known risk factors of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, increase in fasting blood glucose and lipid abnormalities are more significant in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism when compared with those in euthyroid individuals and to find out any correlation between the TSH levels and lipid profile parameters in subclinical hypothyroidism subjects. Methods: A total of 60 subjects comprising 30 subclinical hypothyroidism patients and 30 age & sex matched healthy controls were included in the study. In all the subjects BMI, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipid profile tests were analyzed by standard methods. Results: We found that, serum mean levels of diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides were significantly higher in SCH patients than in controls and were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The percentage of subjects having higher BMI, hypertension, elevated TC, LDL, TG, and decreased HDL was higher in SCH patients than in controls. Among the SCH patients, TSH levels were positively correlated with that of total cholesterol and triglycerides. Conclusion: There were higher prevalence rates for hypertension, elevated triglycerides, an undesirable lipid profiles in SCH patients in our study which seem to increase the cardiovascular risk and weigh in favour of treatment of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.
The NGC 7129 Young Stellar Cluster: A Combined Spitzer, MMT, and Two Micron All Sky Survey Census of Disks, Protostars, and Outflows

We present the analysis of seven-band (1.2 to 8 μm) ground- and space-based imaging of the NGC 7129 young stellar cluster from FLAMINGOS on MMT, Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on Spitzer. An analysis of the H-[4.5] versus J-H colors reveals 84 objects with circumstellar disks. Of these, 42 are located within the cluster core, a 0.5 pc (100″) radius region of enhanced stellar surface density. From a luminosity- and extinction-limited sample of the stars within the cluster core boundary we have determined that 54% ± 14% have circumstellar disks. Finally, we report the detection of several resolved outflows in the IRAC 4.5 μm mosaic.
Investigating the memory requirements for publish/subscribe filtering algorithms

Various filtering algorithms for publish/subscribe systems have been proposed. One distinguishing characteristic is their internal representation of Boolean subscriptions: They either require conversions to disjunctive normal forms (canonical approaches) or are directly exploited in event filtering (non-canonical approaches). In this paper, we present a detailed analysis and comparison of the memory requirements of canonical and non-canonical filtering algorithms. This includes a theoretical analysis of space usages as well as a verification of our theoretical results by an evaluation of a practical implementation. This practical analysis also considers time (filter) efficiency, which is the other important quality measure of filtering algorithms. By correlating the results of space and time efficiency, we conclude when to use non-canonical and canonical approaches.
Surface electromyographic analysis of exercises for the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles.

STUDY DESIGN This study used a prospective, single-group repeated-measures design to analyze differences between the electromyographic (EMG) amplitudes produced by exercises for the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. OBJECTIVE To identify high-intensity exercises that elicit the greatest level of EMG activity in the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. BACKGROUND The trapezius and serratus anterior muscles are considered to be the only upward rotators of the scapula and are important for normal shoulder function. Electromyographic studies have been performed for these muscles during active and low-intensity exercises, but they have not been analyzed during high intensity exercises. METHODS AND MEASURES Surface electrodes recorded EMG activity of the upper, middle, and lower trapezius and serratus anterior muscles during 10 exercises in 30 healthy subjects. RESULTS The unilateral shoulder shrug exercise was found to produce the greatest EMG activity in the upper trapezius. For the middle trapezius, the greatest EMG amplitudes were generated with 2 exercises: shoulder horizontal extension with external rotation and the overhead arm raise in line with the lower trapezius muscle in the prone position. The arm raise overhead exercise in the prone position produced the maximum EMG activity in the lower trapezius. The serratus anterior was activated maximally with exercises requiring a great amount of upward rotation of the scapula. The exercises were shoulder abduction in the plane of the scapula above 120 degrees and a diagonal exercise with a combination of shoulder flexion, horizontal flexion, and external rotation. CONCLUSION This study identified exercises that maximally activate the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles. This information may be helpful for clinicians in developing exercise programs for these muscles.
Energy-aware traffic engineering

Energy consumption of the Internet is already substantial and it is likely to increase as operators deploy faster equipment to handle popular bandwidth-intensive services, such as streaming and video-on-demand. Existing work on energy saving considers local adaptation relying primarily on hardware-based techniques, such as sleeping and rate adaptation. We argue that a complete solution requires a network-wide approach that works in conjunction with local measures. However, traditional traffic engineering objectives do not include energy. This paper presents Energy-Aware Traffic engineering (EATe), a technique that takes energy consumption into account while achieving the same traffic rates as the energy-oblivious approaches. EATe uses a scalable, online technique to spread the load among multiple paths so as to increase energy savings. Our extensive ns-2 simulations over realistic topologies show that EATe succeeds in moving 21% of the links to the sleep state, while keeping the same sending rates and being close to the optimal energy-aware solution. Further, we demonstrate that EATe successfully handles changes in traffic load and quickly restores a low overall energy state. Alternatively, EATe can move links to lower energy levels, resulting in energy savings of 8%. Finally, EATe can succeed in making 16% of active routers sleep.
A Blind Video Watermarking Scheme Based on DWT

In this paper, a novel blind video watermarking scheme based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is proposed. In this scheme, DWT is performed to each frame of the original video. Then embed watermark into some high-frequency coefficients, which are selected according to certain rules, to guarantee the perceptual quality of the watermarked video. When embedding, the Quantization Index Modulation (QIM) algorithm is used for good robustness. The simulations show that the proposed scheme has a good performance to resist Gaussian noises, salt & pepper noises, cutting, resizing, MPEG-2 compression, frame dropping and frame changing.
GROWTH OF CARBON NANO-ONIONS IN THE OPEN AIR BY LASER RESONANT EXCITATION OF PRECURSOR MOLECULES N305

In this paper, a highly efficient method was developed for the growth of CNOs in open air by effectively coupling the laser energy into the combustion flames through the resonant excitation of C2H4 molecules. CNOs with concentric graphitic shells were obtained at the wavelength of 10.532 μm compared with those grown without laser. The CNO growth rate at the wavelength of 10.532 μm is 2.1 g/h. Laser scattering of the CNO particles during the synthetic process indicates the formation of the CNO particles is ascribed to the direct decomposition of the C2H4 molecules into solid carbons on surfaces of growing particles
Sparse incomplete representations: A novel role for olfactory granule cells

Mitral cells of the olfactory bulb form sparse representations of the odorants and transmit this information to the cortex. The olfactory code carried by the mitral cells is sparser than the inputs that they receive. In this study we analyze the mechanisms and functional significance of sparse olfactory codes. We consider a model of olfactory bulb containing populations of excitatory mitral and inhibitory granule cells. We argue that sparse codes may emerge as a result of self organization in the network leading to the precise balance between mitral cells' excitatory inputs and inhibition provided by the granule cells. We propose a novel role for the olfactory granule cells. We show that these cells can build representations of odorant stimuli that are not fully accurate. Due to the incompleteness in the granule cell representation, the exact excitation-inhibition balance is established only for some mitral cells leading to sparse responses of the mitral cell. Our model suggests a functional significance to the dendrodendritic synapses that mediate interactions between mitral and granule cells. The model accounts for the sparse olfactory code in the steady state and predicts that transient dynamics may be less sparse.
A genetic algorithm based haplotyping method provides better control on haplotype error rate

Background The linkage phase, or haplotype, is an extra level of information that in addition to genotype and pedigree can be useful for reconstructing the inheritance pattern of the alleles in a pedigree, and compute for example IBD probabilities. If a haplotype is provided, it will increase the precision of estimated IBD probabilities as long as the haplotype is estimated without errors. It is therefore important to only use haplotypes that are strongly supported by data for IBD estimation in order to avoid introducing new errors due to erroneous linkage phase data. Results We propose a genetic algorithm based method for haplotype estimation that include a stringency parameter for inferring haplotypes. This allows the user to decide how robust a marker phase should be in order to be considered as known and inferred by the algorithm. This is a novel feature compared to existing methods for haplotype estimation. We show that using a high stringency produces haplotype data with few errors, whereas a low stringency provides haplotype estimates in most situations, but with an increased number of errors. Conclusions By including a stringency criterion in our haplotyping method, we allow the user to control the error rate at a level suitable for the particular study; one can select anything from haplotyped data containing very small proportion of errors with a higher proportion of non-inferred haplotypes when robust estimates are needed, to data containing phase estimates for every marker, when a higher proportion of haplotype errors are acceptable. Giving the user this choice makes the method more flexible and useful in a wide range of applications as it is able to fulfil the different requirements imposed by analyses performed using the haplotyped data regarding the tolerance for haplotype errors, or uncertain marker-phases.
Effect of hypoxia on the hematopoietic and immune modulator preprotachykinin-I.

OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of hypoxia on bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) and their ability to proliferate into granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-GMs) and erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-Es) and to determine the role of the neuroimmune and hematopoietic mediator, substance P. DESIGN Controlled in vitro study. SETTING University research laboratory. MATERIALS Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from the posterior iliac crests of healthy volunteers after obtaining informed consent. INTERVENTIONS The BMMCs were divided into the following groups: (1) normoxia, (2) two hours of hypoxia, and (3) six hours of hypoxia. Additional BMMCs were purified before the period of hypoxia, while others were incubated with neurokinin (NK) receptor antagonists. In other experiments, bone marrow stroma was grown to confluence and randomized to the following groups: (1) normoxia, (2) hypoxia, (3) normoxia and interleukin (IL) 1, and (4) hypoxia and IL-1. All groups were cultured for 2, 6, 12, or 24 hours. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The formation of CFU-GMs and BFU-Es was measured after 10 to 14 days of incubation of the BMMCs. The messenger RNA of the preprotachykinin-I (PPT-I) gene and the NK-1 and NK-2 receptors was detected by using semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction or Northern blot analysis on bone marrow stroma. The immunoreactivity of substance P in bone marrow stroma was measured by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS Hypoxia resulted in a 110% increase in the number of CFU-GMs and a 78% increase in the number of BFU-E colonies at 6 hours (both P<.05). Elimination of the stromal elements by purification abrogated the increase in colony formation to nonhypoxic levels. Hypoxia induced PPT-I gene expression at 24 hours; however, no PPT-I expression was found in the hypoxic group incubated with IL-1. The receptor, NK-1, was found to be equal in both hypoxic groups; NK-2 was found to have a 4-fold increase in the hypoxia and IL-1 group over the hypoxia alone group and normoxia and IL-1 group. The levels of substance P immunoreactivity were found to be similar in all groups. Incubation of BMMCs with NK receptor antagonists to NK-1 alone or NK-1 and NK-2 decreased the number of CFU-GM and BFU-E colonies similar to the level in controls. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that hypoxia has a role in the proliferation and control of CFU-GMs and BFU-Es. This control seems to be mediated through the bone marrow stroma and modulated by NK receptors and induction of PPT-I. The neuropeptide, substance P, probably has a role but is clearly not the only mediator involved.
Anterior cingulate cortex findings in child disruptive behavior disorders

☆ This work was supported by a grant of the firs National Authority for Scientific Research, CNCS — PN-II-RU-PD-2011-3-0131. Part of this work was s Dinu Patriciu through a scholarship for the first autho Laboratories of Cognitive Neurosciences. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Clinical P Babes-Bolyai University, No. 37 Republicii Street, 40001 Tel. /fax: +40 264 434141. E-mail address: oanagavita@psychology.ro (O.A. Gav
Interference Two-Way Relay Channel with Three End-nodes

In this paper, we study a communication system consisting of three end-nodes, e.g. a single transceiver base station (BS), one transmitting and one receiving user equipments (UEs), and a common two-way relay node (RN) wherein the full-duplex BS transmits to the receiving UE in downlink direction and receives from the transmitting UE in uplink direction with the help of the intermediate full-duplex RN. We call this system model as interference two-way relay channel (ITWRC) with three end-nodes. Information theoretic bounds corresponding this system model are derived and analyzed so as to better understand the potentials of exploiting RN in future communication systems. Specifically, achievable rate regions corresponding to decode-and-forward (DF) relaying with and without rate splitting, and partial-DF and compress-and-forward (pDF+CF) relaying strategies are derived.
The Minimum Conductance Dissimilarity Cut ( MCDC ) Algorithm to Increase Novelty and Diversity of Recommendations

As established by Herlocker et al. and Ekstrand et al., recommender systems that consider diversity and novelty as well as expected ratings when selecting sets of items to recommend can increase user engagement and exposure to a broader base of inventory addressing the Pigeonhole and Blockbuster problems. Novelty, diversity, and expected rating define a multi-objective optimization problem that is difficult to solve. Existing approaches rely on iterative optimization techniques like evolutionary algorithms or simulated annealing. In this paper, we present MCDC, an algorithm for approximately solving this problem as an eigenvector problem, solving a graph partition problem on a weighted dissimilarity graph. MCDC efficiently exploits the local-global structure of the problem (novelty is a global property and diversity is a local property) to approximate a Pareto-optimal balance between novelty, coverage (which is related to diversity), and the recommendation score. Results with several datasets, including Jester and the latest Movielens data, show that MCDC provides recommendations sets with up to 21% higher combined geometric mean values and that MCDC is up to an order of magnitude faster than previous methods. MCDC can be easily applied to any recommender system based on a user-item ratings matrix. Code is provided at: https://github.com/sjyk/mcdc
An Improved Adaptive Lifting Scheme Combining Gradient Operator for Image Coding

In this paper, an improved adaptive update and adaptive prediction algorithm is put forward. The method makes full use of the correlation of neighboring pixels, which the approximation band and the detail bands obtained by a polyphase decomposition of an original image perform the proposed adaptive update step one by one, then the detail bands perform the adaptive prediction algorithm. The advantage of this method is its discrimination ability to use gradient operator for deciding the smooth areas and the discontinued areas, and choosing the different prediction filter according to the local characteristics. Simulation results show that the proposed lifting scheme algorithm generates lower entropy of high-frequency coefficients, lower energy of high-frequency coefficients and more zero values in wavelet transform domain, which makes it useful for digital image compression.