Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential Surface Expression of ADAM10 and ADAM17 on Human T Lymphocytes and Tumor Cells

A disintegrin and metalloproteases (ADAMs) have been implicated in many processes controlling organismic development and integrity. Important substrates of ADAM proteases include growth factors, cytokines and their receptors and adhesion proteins. The inducible but irreversible cleavage of their substrates alters cell-cell communication and signaling. The crucial role of ADAM proteases (e.g. ADAM10 and 17) for mammalian development became evident from respective knockout mice, that displayed pre- or perinatal lethality with severe defects in many organs and tissues. Although many substrates for these two ADAM proteases were identified over the last decade, the regulation of their surface appearance, their enzymatic activity and their substrate specificity are still not well understood. We therefore analyzed the constitutive and inducible surface expression of ADAM10 and ADAM17 on a variety of human T cell and tumor cell lines. We demonstrate that ADAM10 is constitutively present at comparably high levels on the majority of the tested cell types. Stimulation with phorbol ester and calcium ionophore does not significantly alter the amount of surface ADAM10, except for a slight down-regulation from T cell blasts. Using FasL shedding as a readout for ADAM10 activity, we show that PKC activation and calcium mobilization are both prerequisite for activation of ADAM10 resulting in a production of soluble FasL. In contrast to ADAM10, the close relative ADAM17 is detected at only low levels on unstimulated cells. ADAM17 surface expression on T cell blasts is rapidly induced by stimulation. Since this inducible mobilization of ADAM17 is sensitive to inhibitors of actin filament formation, we propose that ADAM17 but not ADAM10 is prestored in a subcellular compartment that is transported to the cell surface in an activation- and actin-dependent manner.
Protecting data on mobile devices: A taxonomy of security threats to mobile computing and review of applicable defenses

Mobile devices such as laptops, PDAs and cell phones have become essential tools for enterprise productivity, but they are in fact significantly more vulnerable to attack than desktop computers. This paper provides a broad overview of threats to mobile devices and the data that resides on them, as well as available defenses. It provides a taxonomy that divides threats to mobile devices into seven categories: malware, phishing and social engineering, direct attack by hackers, data communication interception and spoofing, loss and theft of devices, malicious insider actions, and user policy violations. It then discusses security technologies that can be applied against each of these threat types, including firewalls, anti-virus and zero day anti-malware software, intrusion prevention systems, virtual private networks, data encryption, device control and data leak prevention technologies. It suggests how to assess priorities among the different threats and defenses, and concludes with suggestions for further research.
The Bayesian Approach Improves the Electrocardiographic Diagnosis of Broad Complex Tachycardia

LAU, E.W. , et al.: The Bayesian Approach Improves the Electrocardiographic Diagnosis of Brand Complex Tachycardia. Despite numerous attempts at devising algorithms for diagnosing broad complex tachycardia (BCT) on the basis of the electrocardiogram (ECG), misdiagnosis is still common. The reason for this may lie with difficulty in implementing existent algorithms in practice, due to imperfect ascertainment of ECG features within them. An attempt was made to approach the problem afresh with the Bayesian inference by the construction of a diagnostic algorithm centered around the likelihood ratio (LR). Previously studied ECG features most effective in discriminating ventricular tachycardia (VT) from supraventricular tachycardia with aberrant conduction (SVTAC), according to their LR values, were selected for inclusion into a Bayesian diagnostic algorithm. A test set of 244 BCT ECGs was assembled and shown to three independent observers who were blinded to the diagnoses made at electrophysiological study. Their diagnostic accuracy by the Bayesian algorithm was compared against that by clinical judgement with the diagnoses from EPS as the criterial standard. Clinical judgement correctly diagnosed 35% of SVTAC, 85% of VT, and 47% of fascicular tachycardia. In comparison, by the Bayesian algorithm devised, 52% of SVTAC, 95% of VT, and 97% of fascicular tachycardia were correctly diagnosed. The Bayesian algorithm devised has proved to be superior to the clinical judgement of the observers who participated in this study, and theoretically will obviate the problem of imperfect ascertainment of ECG features. Hence, it holds the promise for being an effective tool for routine use in clinical practice.
Fast Shadow Detection According to the Moving Region

Shadow detection is a very important step in the recognition and tracking of the moving vehicles. Based on the color-based and model-based shadow detection methods, this paper presents a fast coarse model shadow detection method according to the moving region. Firstly, it quickly detects the moving region of the image using improved background subtraction method. A quick self-adaptive background updating algorithm based on moving region (Bo Qin et al., 2006). Then it establishes a coarse model of the shadow detection by model-based method. Only the coarse region is applied to the shadow detection method based on the HSV color space. Experiment results show that this method can improve the efficiency of shadow detection greatly.
Viscous Relaxation Times of the Core and Mantle of Mars from Observations of Tidal Decay of the Orbit of Phobos

Viscous relaxation times of the core and mantle of Mars from observations of tidal decay of the orbit of Phobos M.A.Sc 2011 Taronish M. Pithawala Department of Geology University of Toronto The orbit of Phobos exhibits an along-track acceleration, which suggests energy dissipation in the Mars-Phobos system. We hypothesize that the inferred dissipation occurs within Mars. We explore the response of a layered, incompressible Maxwell viscoelastic Mars to tidal forcing by Phobos using normal mode relaxation theory. Our results elucidate the general behavior of a tidally forced viscoelastic body, and have implications for the viscoelastic structure of Mars. We find the real and imaginary part of the degree-two tidal Love number for Mars to be 0.168 and -9.32x10−4 respectively. Models which satisfy these and other constraints have either: a fluid core with radius 2040 km and density 5410 kg/m3; or an elastic inner core with radius 1200 km and density 6700 kg/m3, along with a fluid outer core with thickness 850 km and density 4850 kg/m3. These findings support previous hypotheses that Mars has at least a fluid outer core.
Marine Biology �2000) 136: 1123±1131 Ó Springer-Verlag 2000

Structure and migration corridors in Paci®c populations of the Sword®sh Xiphius gladius, as inferred through analyses of mitochondrial DNA Abstract The sword®sh Xiphias gladius is a migratory oceanic species distributed in subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. Studies utilizing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have demonstrated genetic subdivision between ocean basins, as well as within the Atlantic basin. However, there has been no support of population subdivision within the Paci®c. We sequenced 629 base pairs of the control region for 281 sword®sh collected in the Paci®c. A rate heterogeneity parameter, alpha, was found to be 0.201, indicating substantial variation in mutation rate within the control region of sword®sh. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance supported signi®cant genetic structuring among Paci®c populations. Northern and southern populations in the western Paci®c were signi®cantly divergent, while populations in the east appeared to be genetically continuous. Regression analysis supported a correlation of genetic dierentiation with geographic distance along a U-shaped corridor of gene ¯ow. These results reveal a pelagic biogeographic pattern heretofore unrecognized in the Paci®c, and reject the null hypothesis that Paci®c populations of sword®sh are unstructured and comprise only a single homogeneous stock.
Motor Control Programs and Walking

The question of how the central nervous system coordinates muscle activity is central to an understanding of motor control. The authors argue that motor programs may be considered as a characteristic timing of muscle activations linked to specific kinematic events. In particular, muscle activity occurring during human locomotion can be accounted for by five basic temporal components in a variety of locomotion conditions. Spatiotemporal maps of spinal cord motoneuron activation also show discrete periods of activity. Furthermore, the coordination of locomotion with voluntary tasks is accomplished through a superposition of motor programs or activation timings that are separately associated with each task. As a consequence, the selection of muscle synergies appears to be downstream from the processes that generate activation timings.
Diagnostic surgical pathology: the importance of second opinion in a developing country.

OBJECTIVE To review the cases sent to the section of histopathology, Aga Khan Universty (AKU) for second opinion and see whether there are significant differences in the original outside diagnosis and the subsequent diagnosis submitted by us. METHODS A retrospective study of all consecutive cases for second opinion in the form of paraffin blocks from 1st Novemver 2001 to 31st July 2002. The primary submitted diagnosis in each case was compared with the subsequent AKU diagnosis. RESULTS The study included a total of 381 cases. However, in 45 cases (11.81%), initial histopathological diagnosis was not provided. Out of the remaining 336 cases, there were differences between the original diagnosis and the subsequent AKU diagnosis in 120 cases (35.71%). Out of these 120 cases, immunohistochemistry was performed in 65 cases (54.16%) only. CONCLUSION In a developing country like Pakistan, where few laboratories are equipped to function as modern histopathology units, second opinion on difficult cases is very important. Worldwide, the concept of second opinion in surgical pathology is well established.
Blue Banana: resilience to avatar mobility in distributed MMOGs

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) recently emerged as a popular class of applications with millions of users. To offer acceptable gaming experience, such applications need to render the virtual world surrounding the player with a very low latency. However, current state-of-the-art MMOGs based on peer-to-peer overlays fail to satisfy these requirements. This happens because avatar mobility implies many data exchanges through the overlay. As state-of-the-art overlays do not anticipate this mobility, the needed data is not delivered on time, which leads to transient failures at the application level. To solve this problem, we propose Blue Banana, a mechanism that models and predicts avatar movement, allowing the overlay to adapt itself by anticipation to the MMOG needs. Our evaluation is based on large-scale traces derived from Second life. It shows that our anticipation mechanism decreases by 20% the number of transient failures with only a network overhead of 2%.
Evidence for homosexuality gene.

A genetic analysis of 40 pairs of homosexual brothers has uncovered a region on the X chromosome that appears to contain a gene or genes for homosexuality. When analyzing the pedigrees of homosexual males, the researcheres found evidence that the trait has a higher likelihood of being passed through maternal genes. This led them to search the X chromosome for genes predisposing to homosexuality. The researchers examined the X chromosomes of pairs of homosexual brothers for regions of DNA that most or all had in common. Of the 40 sets of brothers, 33 shared a set of five markers in the q28 region of the long arm of the X chromosome. The linkage has a LOD score of 4.0, which translates into a 99.5% certainty that there is a gene or genes in this area that predispose males to homosexuality. The chief researcher warns, however, that this one site cannot explain all instances of homosexuality, since there were some cases where the trait seemed to be passed paternally. And even among those brothers where there was no evidence that the trait was passed paternally, seven sets of brothers did not share the Xq28 markers. It seems likely that homosexuality arisesmore » from a variety of causes. « less
Lipoprotein Particle Profiles by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Compared With Standard Lipids and Apolipoproteins in Predicting Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Background— Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy measures the number and size of lipoprotein particles instead of their cholesterol or triglyceride content, but its clinical utility is uncertain. Methods and Results— Baseline lipoproteins were measured by NMR in 27 673 initially healthy women followed up for incident cardiovascular disease (n=1015) over an 11-year period. After adjustment for nonlipid risk factors, hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the top versus the bottom quintile of NMR-measured lipoprotein particle concentration (measured in particles per liter) were 2.51 (1.91 to 3.30) for low-density lipoprotein (LDLNMR), 0.91 (0.75 to 1.12) for high-density lipoprotein (HDLNMR), 1.71 (1.38 to 2.12) for very low–density lipoprotein (VLDLNMR), and 2.25 (1.80 to 2.81) for the LDLNMR/HDLNMR ratio. Similarly adjusted results for NMR-measured lipoprotein particle size (measured in nanometers) were 0.64 (0.52 to 0.79) for LDLNMR size, 0.65 (0.51 to 0.81) for HDLNMR size, and 1.37 (1.10 to 1.70) for VLDLNMR size. Hazard ratios for NMR measures were comparable but not superior to standard lipids (total cholesterol 2.08 [1.63 to 2.67], LDL cholesterol 1.74 [1.40 to 2.16], HDL cholesterol 0.52 [0.42 to 0.64], triglycerides 2.58 [1.95 to 3.41], non-HDL cholesterol 2.52 [1.95 to 3.25], total/HDL cholesterol ratio 2.82 [2.23 to 3.58]) and apolipoproteins (B100 2.57 [1.98 to 3.33], A-1 0.63 [0.52 to 0.77], and B100/A-1 ratio 2.79 [2.21 to 3.54]). Essentially no reclassification improvement was found with the addition of the LDLNMR particle concentration or apolipoprotein B100 to a model that already included the total/HDL cholesterol ratio and nonlipid risk factors (net reclassification index 0% and 1.9%, respectively), nor did the addition of either variable result in a statistically significant improvement in the c-index. Conclusions— In this prospective study of healthy women, cardiovascular disease risk prediction associated with lipoprotein profiles evaluated by NMR was comparable but not superior to that of standard lipids or apolipoproteins.
A new domain of conjugative relaxase TrwC responsible for efficient oriT‐specific recombination on minimal target sequences

We show that relaxase TrwC promotes recombination between two directly repeated oriTs while related relaxases TraI of F and pKM101 do not. Efficient recombination required also relaxosome accessory protein TrwA even after deletion of TrwA binding sites at oriT, suggesting that the effect of TrwA is mediated by protein–protein interactions. TrwC relaxase domain was necessary but not sufficient to catalyse recombination efficiently. Full recombinase activity was obtained with the N‐terminal 600 residues of TrwC. The minimal target sequences required for recombination were different at each of the two involved oriTs: oriT1 could be reduced to the nic site and TrwC binding site, while oriT2 required an extended sequence including a set of iterons that are not required for conjugation. TrwC‐mediated integration of a transferred DNA into a resident oriT copy required a complete oriT in the recipient. We observed dramatic changes in the efficiency of recombination between tandem oriTs linked to the direction of plasmid replication and transcription through oriT1. We propose that recombination is triggered by the generation of a single‐stranded DNA at oriT1 that causes TrwC nicking. The resulting TrwC‐DNA complex reacts with oriT2, excising the intervening DNA. This intermediate can be resolved by host‐encoded replication functions.
Independent Component Analysis-Support Vector Machine-Based Computer-Aided Diagnosis System for Alzheimer's with Visual Support

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems constitute a powerful tool for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but limitations on interpretability and performance exist. In this work, a fully automatic CAD system based on supervised learning methods is proposed to be applied on segmented brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative (ADNI) participants for automatic classification. The proposed CAD system possesses two relevant characteristics: optimal performance and visual support for decision making. The CAD is built in two stages: a first feature extraction based on independent component analysis (ICA) on class mean images and, secondly, a support vector machine (SVM) training and classification. The obtained features for classification offer a full graphical representation of the images, giving an understandable logic in the CAD output, that can increase confidence in the CAD support. The proposed method yields classification results up to 89% of accuracy (with 92% of sensitivity and 86% of specificity) for normal controls (NC) and AD patients, 79% of accuracy (with 82% of sensitivity and 76% of specificity) for NC and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 85% of accuracy (with 85% of sensitivity and 86% of specificity) for MCI and AD patients.
Long-Acting Reversible Contraception.

Long-acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) methods are an important treatment option for women requesting contraception. They refer to hormonal and non-hormonal methods that require use less frequently than once every month or every cycle. In contrast to some other commonly used methods, such as oral contraceptives and barriers, the effectiveness of LARC does not depend on daily administration or consistent techniques. Health professionals prescribing LARCS should be familiar with UK Medical Eligibility Criteria (UKMEC) updated in 2016. Reasons for litigations relate to complications of individual methods but causes common to all methods are failure to communicate, adequately consent or ensure confidentiality in prescribing.
Intracranial EEG Spike Detection Based on Rhythm Information and SVM

Spike detection plays a key role in clinical diagnosis of epilepsy. Intracranial EEG is mainly used to locate the lesion according to the location and number of spikes before the epilepsy surgery. Many spike detection methods have been adopted for scalp EEG, but few of them aimed at intracranial EEG. So this paper proposes a novel spike detection algorithm using frequency-band amplitude feature and kernel support vector machine classifier for intracranial EEG data. The algorithm consists of two steps. In the first step, a fast Fourier transform algorithm computes the discrete Fourier transform of intracranial EEG, which includes the spikes and its locations marked by two expert neurologists. The total amplitude of the delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma frequency-band is extracted as the different features, respectively. In the second step, those features are selectively used, and the kernel support vector machine is used as a classifier for training a detection model to detect spikes on the training sets. The performance of algorithm is shown to be efficient and accurate on the testing sets, and the average performance is obtained with 98.44% sensitivity, 100% selectivity and 99.54% accuracy.
Parasitoids as vectors of facultative bacterial endosymbionts in aphids

Heritable bacterial endosymbionts play an important role in aphid ecology. Sequence-based evidence suggests that facultative symbionts such as Hamiltonella defensa or Regiella insecticola also undergo horizontal transmission. Other than through male-to-female transfer during the sexual generation in autumn, the routes by which this occurs remain largely unknown. Here, we tested if parasitoids or ectoparasitic mites can act as vectors for horizontal transfer of facultative symbionts. Using symbiont-specific primers for diagnostic PCR, we demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, that parasitoids can indeed transfer H. defensa and R. insecticola by sequentially stabbing infected and uninfected individuals of their host, Aphis fabae, establishing new, heritable infections. Thus, a natural route of horizontal symbiont transmission is also available during the many clonal generations of the aphid life cycle. No transmissions by ectoparasitic mites were observed, nor did parasitoids that emerged from symbiont-infected aphids transfer any symbionts in our experiments.
Simultaneous floorplanning and resource binding: a probabilistic approach

In this work we present a probabilistic approach to simultaneous floorplanning and resource binding for low power. Traditional approaches iteratively perform floorplanning and resource binding while using crude deterministic wire-length estimates like bounding box (since we do not have routing information for inter module interconnect). Non-availability of accurate wire-length results in suboptimal design and failure of timing closure. In this work we model the wire-lengths as probability distributions and propose a novel probabilistic optimization methodology. Experimental results using state of the art commercial and academic tools were conducted. The novelty in this work is in the higher chance of ending with a feasible design that is synthesizable without losing in overall power (interconnect + module + register). Experimental results show that on-average the number of unsynthesized modules after routing for Mediabench benchmarks were 2 in the conventional case, while on average our probabilistic approach had all modules synthesized after routing.
Cross-layer scheduler for video streaming over MPTCP

Transport protocols that can exploit multiple paths, especially MPTCP, do not match the requirements of video streaming: high average transmission delay, too strict reliability, and frequent head-of-line phenomenons resulting in abrupt throughput drops. In this paper, we address this mismatch by introducing a cross-layer scheduler, which leverages information from both application and transport layers to re-order the transmission of data and prioritize the most significant parts of the video. Our objective is to maximize the amount of video data that is received in time at the client. We show that current technologies enable the implementation of this cross-layer scheduler without much overhead. We then demonstrate the validity of our approach by studying the performance of an optimal cross-layer scheduler. The gap between the performance of the traditional scheduler versus the optimal scheduler justifies our motivation to implement a cross-layer scheduler in practice. We propose one implementation with basic cross-layer awareness. To evaluate the performance of our proposal, we aggregate a dataset of real MPTCP sessions and we use video stream encoded with HEVC. Our results show that our cross-layer proposal outperforms the traditional scheduler. Viewers not only benefit from the inherent advantages of using MPTCP (such as a better resilience to path failure) but also get a better QoE compared to the traditional scheduler.