Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An experimental study of recent hotlink assignment algorithms

The concept of hotlink assignment aims at enhancing the structure of Web sites such that the user's expected navigation effort is minimized. We concentrate on sites that are representable by trees and assume that each leaf carries a weight representing its popularity. The problem of optimally adding at most one additional outgoing edge (“hotlink”) to each inner node has been widely studied. A considerable number of approximation algorithms have been proposed and worst-case bounds for the quality of the computed solutions have been given. However, only little is known about the practical behavior of most of these algorithms. This article contributes to closing this gap by evaluating all recently proposed strategies experimentally. Our experiments are based on trees extracted from real Web sites, as well as on synthetic instances. The latter are generated by a new method that simulates the growth of a Web site over time. Finally, we present a new heuristic that is easy to implement and exhibits excellent behavior in practice.
Caregiver Burden in Epilepsy: Determinants and Impact

Aim. Caregiver burden (CB) in epilepsy constitutes an understudied area. Here we attempt to identify the magnitude of this burden, the factors associated with it, and its impact to caregiver quality of life (QOL). Methods. 48 persons with epilepsy (PWE) underwent video-EEG monitoring and their caregivers completed questionnaires providing demographic, disease-related, psychiatric, cognitive, sleep, QOL, and burden information. Results. On regression analysis, higher number of antiepileptic drugs, poorer patient neuropsychological performance, lower patient QOL score, and lower caregiver education level were associated with higher CB. Time allocated to patient care approximated but did not attain statistical significance. A moderate inverse correlation between CB and caregiver QOL physical component summary score and a stronger inverse correlation between CB and caregiver QOL mental component summary score were seen. Conclusion. In a selected cohort of PWE undergoing video-EEG monitoring, we identified modest degree of CB, comparable to that reported in the literature for other chronic neurological conditions. It is associated with specific patient and caregiver characteristics and has a negative effect on caregiver QOL.
Smart water grids for smart cities: A sustainable prototype demonstrator

In the framework of a smart city, information and communications technologies are applied to tackle urban living challenges, with the aim of improving the citizens' quality of life, through a more efficient use of limited resources. Urban sensing by wireless sensor networks allows the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of valuable information, that is used to design adequate policies matching the users' needs, and avoiding non-ecological wasting of resources. To face an increasing water demand, and ensure a safe access to clean water resources, a network of sensor nodes could be located along water pipes. The automatic monitoring of the water grid, and the smart metering of water consumptions could be enabled, to increase the users' awareness, and improve the efficiency of the infrastructure management. To this aim, the paper presents a prototype demonstrator of a smart water metering infrastructure, developed in cooperation with Telecom Italia Lab, and built upon self-powered nodes in a Wireless Metering Bus capillary network at 169 MHz. The main elements of the system are presented, and the attainable performance discussed, through a number of experimental results.
Parallel and Cached Scan Matching for Robotic 3D Mapping

Intelligent autonomous acting of mobile robots in unstructured environments requires 3D maps. Since manual mapping is a tedious job, automatization of this job is necessary. Automatic, consistent volumetric modeling of environments requires a solution to the simultaneous localization and map building problem (SLAM problem). In 3D task is computationally expensive, since the environments are sampled with many data points with state of the art sensing technology. In addition, the solution space grows exponentially with the additional degrees of freedom needed to represent the robot pose. Mapping environments in 3D must regard six degrees of freedom to characterize the robot pose. This paper summarizes our 6D SLAM algorithm and presents novel algorithmic and technical means to reduce computation time, i.e., the data structure cached \\kd~tree and parallelization. The availability of multi-core processors as well as efficient programming schemes as OpenMP permit the parallel execution of robotics tasks.
Protease phenotype of constitutive connective tissue and of induced mucosal mast cells in mice is regulated by the tissue

Mouse mast cells (MCs) express a large number of serine proteases including tryptases, mouse mast cell protease (mMCP)-6 and -7; chymases, mMCP-1, -2, and -4; and an elastase, mMCP-5; along with carboxypeptidase-A3 (CPA3). In helminth-infected mouse intestine, distinct protease phenotypes are observed for connective tissue MCs (CTMCs) (mMCP-4+–7+, and CPA3+) and mucosal MCs (MMCs) (mMCP-1+ and 2+). To determine whether the protease phenotype was regulated by the tissue, we compared the phenotype of constitutive CTMCs and induced MMCs in trachea and large airways in antigen-sensitized unchallenged and challenged mice to MCs in skin and helminthic-infected intestine. We found that in the trachea, unlike in skin and intestine, CTMCs and MMCs both express all six serine proteases and CPA3 (mMCP-1+, -2+, 4+–7+, CPA3+). This phenotype also holds for the lung CTMCs in the proximal bronchi, whereas the induced MMCs express only four proteases, mMCP-1, -2, -6, and -7. Thus, the T-cell–dependent induction of MMCs in trachea, large bronchi, and small intestine provides numbers but does not determine the protease phenotype. Furthermore, the CTMCs, which are constitutive, also show striking differences at these tissue sites, supporting the view that the differences in expression are tissue directed and not dependent on inflammation.
From form to function: the role of Nox4 in the cardiovascular system

The NADPH oxidase (Nox) family of proteins is comprised of seven members, including Noxes1–5 and the Duoxes 1 and 2. Nox4 is readily distinguished from the other Nox isoforms by its high level of expression in cardiovascular tissues and unique enzymatic properties. Nox4 is constitutively active and the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributed by Nox4 is primarily regulated at the transcriptional level although there is recent evidence for post-translational control. Nox4 emits a different pattern of ROS and its subcellular localizations, tissue distribution and influence over signaling pathways is different from the other Nox enzymes. Previous investigations have revealed that Nox4 is involved in oxygen sensing, vasomotor control, cellular proliferation, differentiation, migration, apoptosis, senescence, fibrosis, and angiogenesis. Elevated expression of Nox4 has been reported in a number of cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and hypertension, cardiac failure and ischemic stroke. However, many important questions remain regarding the functional significance of Nox4 in health and disease, including the role of Nox4 subcellular localization and its downstream targets. The goal of this review is to summarize the recent literature on the genetic and enzymatic regulation, subcellular localization, signaling pathways, and the role of Nox4 in cardiovascular disease states.
Keyhole state space construction with applications to user modeling

Most models that explain observations in time depend on a structured state space as a basis for their modeling. We present methods to derive such a state space and its dynamics automatically from the observations, without any knowledge of their meaning or source. First, we build an explicit state space from an observation history in an off-line fashion (OFESI) by starting with the space induced by the observations and splitting a state when new substates significantly improve the information content of the state’s action distribution. We form these new substates by grouping fixed length histories leading up to the state. We apply our algorithm to the user modeling case and show that we can automatically build a meaningful stochastic dynamic model of application use. Second, we discuss prediction of the next observation and show that an approach based on on-line implicit state identification (ONISI) from observed history outperforms other prediction methods. Again, we are interested in user modeling, where we can predict future user actions better than another current algorithm. Both algorithms work without knowledge or modification of the application in use. Third, we apply our explicit state identification algorithm to the problem of state identification for Hidden Markov Models (SIHMM). Taking into account both observation and transition probabilities we learn structures for Hidden Markov Models in a few iterations.
A Mechanism Regulating G Protein-coupled Receptor Signaling That Requires Cycles of Protein Palmitoylation and Depalmitoylation* ♦

Background: The functions of palmitate turnover in signal transduction are poorly understood. Results: Inhibiting palmitate turnover on R7BP redistributed R7BP-R7 RGS complexes from the plasma membrane to endomembranes, dissociated them from GIRK channels, and delayed Gi/o deactivation and channel closure. Conclusion: Palmitate turnover on R7BP promotes GIRK channel deactivation. Significance: Inhibiting palmitate turnover on R7BP could enhance GIRK activity in neurological disorders. Reversible attachment and removal of palmitate or other long-chain fatty acids on proteins has been hypothesized, like phosphorylation, to control diverse biological processes. Indeed, palmitate turnover regulates Ras trafficking and signaling. Beyond this example, however, the functions of palmitate turnover on specific proteins remain poorly understood. Here, we show that a mechanism regulating G protein-coupled receptor signaling in neuronal cells requires palmitate turnover. We used hexadecyl fluorophosphonate or palmostatin B to inhibit enzymes in the serine hydrolase family that depalmitoylate proteins, and we studied R7 regulator of G protein signaling (RGS)-binding protein (R7BP), a palmitoylated allosteric modulator of R7 RGS proteins that accelerate deactivation of Gi/o class G proteins. Depalmitoylation inhibition caused R7BP to redistribute from the plasma membrane to endomembrane compartments, dissociated R7BP-bound R7 RGS complexes from Gi/o-gated G protein-regulated inwardly rectifying K+ (GIRK) channels and delayed GIRK channel closure. In contrast, targeting R7BP to the plasma membrane with a polybasic domain and an irreversibly attached lipid instead of palmitate rendered GIRK channel closure insensitive to depalmitoylation inhibitors. Palmitate turnover therefore is required for localizing R7BP to the plasma membrane and facilitating Gi/o deactivation by R7 RGS proteins on GIRK channels. Our findings broaden the scope of biological processes regulated by palmitate turnover on specific target proteins. Inhibiting R7BP depalmitoylation may provide a means of enhancing GIRK activity in neurological disorders.
Pseudo-Projectivity, A Polynomially Parsable Non-Projective Dependency Grammar

Dependency grammar has a long tradition in syntactic theory, dating back to at least Tesni~re's work from the thirties3 Recently, it has gained renewed attention as empirical methods in parsing are discovering the importance of relations between words (see, e.g., (Collins, 1997)), which is what dependency grammars model explicitly do, but context-free phrasestructure grammars do not. One problem that has posed an impediment to more wide-spread acceptance of dependency grammars is the fact that there is no computationally tractable version of dependency grammar which is not restricted to projective analyses. However, it is well known that there are some syntactic phenomena (such as wh-movement in English or clitic climbing in Romance) that require nonprojective analyses. In this paper, we present a form of projectivity which we call pseudoprojectivity, and we present a generative stringrewriting formalism that can generate pseudoprojective analyses and which is polynomially parsable. The paper is structured as follows. In Section 2, we introduce our notion of pseudoprojectivity. We briefly review a previously proposed formalization of projective dependency grammars in Section 3. In Section 4, we extend this formalism to handle pseudo-projectivity. We informally present a parser in Section 5.
Turnover of resident retinal microglia in the normal adult mouse

The retina contains two distinct populations of monocyte‐derived cells: perivascular cells (macrophages) and parenchymal cells (microglia), important in homeostasis, neuroinflammation, degeneration, and injury. The turnover of these cells in the retina and their repopulation in normal physiological conditions have not been clarified. Bone marrow (BM) cells from EGFP‐transgenic mice were adoptively transferred into lethally irradiated normal adult C57BL/6 mice. Eight, 14, and 26 weeks later mice were sacrificed and retinal flatmounts were prepared. Retinal microglia were identified by F4/80, CD45, and Iba‐1 immunostaining. BrdU was injected into normal mice for 3–14 days and cell proliferation was examined by confocal microscopy of retinal flatmounts. Few (6.15 ± 2.02 cells/retina) BrdU+ cells were detected and of these some coexpressed CD11b (1.67 ± 0.62 cells/retina) or F4/80 (0.57 ± 0.30 cells/retina). BM‐derived EGFP+ cells were detected by 8‐weeks post‐transplantation. By 6 months, all retinal myeloid cells were EGFP+. Consecutively, donor BM‐EGFP+ cells were demonstrated within the: (1) peripheral and juxtapapillary retina, (2) ganglion cell layer, (3) inner and outer plexiform layers, and (4) photoreceptor layer. EGFP+ cells within the ganglion layer were amoeboid in shape and F4/80highCD45highIba‐1high, whereas cells in the inner and outer plexiform layers were ramified and F4/80low CD45lowIba‐1low. Perivascular macrophages expressed less F4/80, CD45, and Iba‐1 compared with parenchymal microglia. Our results suggest that BM‐derived monocyte precursor cells are able to migrate across the BRB and replace retinal microglia/macrophages. The complete replacement of retinal microglia/macrophages takes about 6 months. In situ proliferation was predominantly of nonhemopoetic retinal cells. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
First Report of Infectious Pericarditis Due to Bordetella holmesii in an Adult Patient with Malignant Lymphoma

ABSTRACT Bordetella holmesii is a fastidious Gram-negative rod first identified in 1995. Though rare, it is isolated mainly in immunocompromised and asplenic hosts and is associated with bacteremia, pertussis-like respiratory tract infection, and endocarditis. Herein, we describe a unique B. holmesii infectious pericarditis patient with malignant lymphoma.
Attenuated associations between increasing BMI and unfavorable lipid profiles in Chinese Buddhist vegetarians.

UNLABELLED Obesity is related to hyperlipidemia and risk of cardiovascular disease. Health benefits of vegetarian diets have well-documented in the Western countries where both obesity and hyperlipidemia were prevalent. We studied the association between BMI and various lipid/lipoprotein measures, as well as between BMI and predicted coronary heart disease probability in lean, low risk populations in Southern China. The study included 170 Buddhist monks (vegetarians) and 126 omnivore men. Interaction between BMI and vegetarian status was tested in the multivariable regression analysis adjusting for age, education, smoking, alcohol drinking, and physical activity. Compared with omnivores, vegetarians had significantly lower mean BMI, blood pressures, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol to high density lipoprotein ratio, triglycerides, apolipoprotein B and A-I, as well as lower predicted probability of coronary heart disease. Higher BMI was associated with unfavorable lipid/lipoprotein profile and predicted probability of coronary heart disease in both vegetarians and omnivores. However, the associations were significantly diminished in Buddhist vegetarians. CONCLUSIONS Vegetarian diets not only lower BMI, but also attenuate the BMI-related increases of atherogenic lipid/ lipoprotein and the probability of coronary heart disease.
A stateful CSG-based distributed firewall architecture for robust distributed security

Distributed firewalls have been developed in order to provide networks with a higher level of protection than traditional firewalling mechanisms like gateway and host-based firewalls. Although distributed firewalls provide higher security, they too have limitations. This work presents the design & implementation of a new distributed firewall model, based on stateful Cluster Security Gateway (CSG) architecture, which addresses those shortcomings. This distributed security model adopts a bottom-up approach such that each cluster of end-user hosts is first secured using the CSG architecture. These different CSGs are then centrally managed by the Network Administrator. A file-based firewall update mechanism is used for dynamic real-time security. IPsec is used to secure the firewall policy update distribution while X.509 certificates cater for sender/receiver authentication. The major benefits of this approach to distributed security include tamper resistance, anti-spoofing, anti-sniffing, secure real-time firewall updating, low overall network load, high scalability and low firewall convergence times.
A privacy-respectful input method for public terminals

Nowadays, people often have to input information on public terminals. By doing so, they might disclose information to strangers looking over their shoulders. In this paper we introduce a new way of interacting with public terminals, which offers more privacy by using a personal mobile device to enter private data. It allows the users to choose which information is to be regarded personal, which can then be entered on their mobile device and is hidden from the screen accordingly. Furthermore we created a prototype and conducted a user study measuring users' input performance and to collect opinions about the system's usability and practical value. The paper concludes with some ideas to make the system even more useful.
Human domain antibodies to conserved sterically restricted regions on gp120 as exceptionally potent cross-reactive HIV-1 neutralizers

The antibody access to some conserved structures on the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein (Env) is sterically restricted. We have hypothesized that the smallest independently folded antibody fragments (domains) could exhibit exceptionally potent and broadly cross-reactive neutralizing activity by targeting hidden conserved epitopes that are not accessible by larger antibodies. To test this hypothesis, we constructed a large (size 2.5 × 1010), highly diversified library of human antibody variable domains (domain antibodies) and used it for selection of binders to conserved Env structures by panning sequentially against Envs from different isolates. The highest affinity binder, m36, neutralized all tested HIV-1 isolates from clades A– D with an activity on average higher than that of C34, a peptide similar to the fusion inhibitor T20, which is in clinical use, and that of m9, which exhibits a neutralizing activity superior to known potent cross-reactive antibodies. Large-size fusion proteins of m36 exhibited diminished neutralizing activity but preincubation of virions with soluble CD4 restored it, suggesting that m36 epitope is sterically restricted and induced by CD4 (CD4i). M36 bound to gp120-CD4 complexes better than to gp120 alone and competed with CD4i antibodies. M36 is the only reported representative of a promising class of potent, broadly cross-reactive HIV-1 inhibitors based on human domain antibodies. It has potential for prevention and therapy and as an agent for exploration of the closely guarded conserved Env structures with implications for design of small molecule inhibitors and elucidation of mechanisms of virus entry and evasion of immune responses.
Harnessing the Deep Web: Present and Future

The Deep Web refers to content hidden behind HTML forms. In order to get to such content, a user has to perform a form submission with valid input values. The name Deep Web arises from the fact that such content was thought to be beyond the reach of search engines. The Deep Web is also believed to be the biggest source of structured data on the Web and hence accessing its contents has been a long standing challenge in the data management community [1, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19]. Over the past few years, we have built a system that exposed content from the Deep Web to web-search users of Google.com. The results of our surfacing are now shown in over 1000 web-search queries per-second, and the content surfaced is in over 45 languages and in hundreds of domains. The algorithms underlying our system are described in [12]. In this paper we report some of our key observations in building our system and outline the main challenges we see in the further exploration and use of deep-web content. To understand the different efforts on providing access to deep-web content, we first present the rapidly changing landscape of different kinds of structured data that exist on the web and the relationships between them (Section 2). In fact, there appears to be some confusion about the term Deep Web – it has often been incorrectly used synonymously with structured data on the Web. The Deep Web is one (significant) source of data, much of which is structured, but not the only one. We describe the different types of structured data in the context of the varying search tasks that we can strive to support over them. Second, we discuss our choice of underlying approach in exposing deep-web content in a search engine. Most prior works on the Deep Web have espoused one of two main approaches. The first, known as virtual integration, follows the data integration paradigm. Here, we consider each deepweb site as a source in a data integration system. Users pose queries over a mediated schema that is exposed to them as a web form, and queries are routed to the relevant sites. The second, known as surfacing, attempts to
Topology exploration with hierarchical landscapes

Topological landscapes have been proposed as a visual metaphor for contour trees that does not require an understanding of the theory involved in defining contour trees. The idea is to create a representative terrain with the same topological structure as a given contour tree. This representation exploits the natural human ability to interpret topography and results in an intuitive visualization of otherwise abstract information. However, topological landscapes still suffer from some of the same limitations as traditional contour tree visualization. Most notable is the fact that for complex functions landscapes can quickly become highly complex, exceeding the limits of human comprehension as well as the available computing resources. To address this challenge, we propose a new framework for the dynamic creation and visualization of hierarchical topological landscapes. Our system provides an interactive visualization of complex functions by utilizing a hierarchical decomposition of the contour tree as well as focus+context type interactions. For three dimensional data, we link the landscape display to flexible isosurface extraction in order to correlate terrain features with their corresponding three dimensional counterparts. We demonstrate the utility and versatility of our approach on a variety of both low and high dimensional data sets.