Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid performance modeling by transforming use case maps to palladio component models

Complex information flows in the domain of industrial software systems complicate the creation of performance models to validate the challenging performance requirements. Performance models using annotated UML diagrams or mathematical notations are difficult to discuss with stakeholders from the industrial automation domain, who often have a limited software engineering background. We introduce a novel model transformation from Use Case Maps (UCM) to the Palladio Component Model (PCM), which enables performance modeling based on an intuitive notation for complex information flows. The resulting models can be solved using existing simulators or analytical solvers. We validated the correctness of the transformation with three case study models, and performed a user study. The results showed a performance prediction deviation of less than 10 percent compared to a reference model in most cases.
A Bottom-Up Strategy for Enterprise Ontology Implementation

The benefits of semantics for intelligent and interoperable services have been widely accepted in the computing community. Semantics can also improve the quality of software systems that deal with the every day operations of an enterprise. However, building and utilizing an ontology in the enterprise environment is very difficult and risky since ontology inference is complex, slow, and often unpredictable. Also, ontology management is not scalable and building an ontology is a complicated process that takes a huge amount of resources. Presented is a bottom-up strategy for large scale ontology implementation in commercial settings. Important components of the strategy include harvesting instance level ontology, creating success cases early, and ensuring scalability.
Antitumor activity of a C-raf antisense oligonucleotide in combination with standard chemotherapeutic agents against various human tumors transplanted subcutaneously into nude mice.

A 20-mer phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) directed against human C-raf kinase (CGP 69846A or ISIS 5132) was analyzed for its antitumor activity either alone or in combination therapy. Combination studies with CGP 69846A and standard chemotherapeutic agents (cisplatin, mitomycin C, tamoxifen, or Adriamycin) were performed in nude mice that had been transplanted s.c. with a variety of human tumors (breast, prostate, colon, small cell lung, large cell lung, and squamous lung carcinomas). For the majority of the combinations studied, additive antitumor effects with CGP 69846A and the cytotoxins were found. The combination of CGP 69846A with cisplatin or mitomycin C showed superadditive antitumor activities against NCI-H69 small cell lung carcinomas with complete tumor responses. CGP 69846A, in combination with cisplatin, showed superadditive antitumor effects against PC3 human prostate carcinomas with tumor cures, and in combination with mitomycin C, superadditive antitumor effects of CGP 69846A with tumor cures against NCI-H460 large cell lung carcinoma were found. These effects appeared to be sequence-specific because a mismatched control ODN was completely without effect as a single agent against NCI-H69 human small cell lung cancers. The combination of the mismatched control ODN with mitomycin C or cisplatin did not influence the antitumor activity of the cytotoxins against NCI-H69 human small cell lung cancers, indicating that the superadditive antitumor effects observed for CGP 69846A in combination with cisplatin or mitomycin C are the result of a sequence-specific mechanism of action in NCI-H69 human small cell lung cancers.
Prions : Introducing a Complex Scientific Controversy to a Biology Classroom

It has been almost 50 years since Thomas Kuhn, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, posited that science does not progress by the steady accumulation of knowledge, but rather by a system of competition among paradigms. They vie for supremacy through greater parsimony, explanatory power, and popularity among the community of scientists (Kuhn, 1962). The current controversy concerning the identity of prions (PrPs) (proteins devoid of the nucleic acid) as the infectious agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) elucidates all the issues involved in just such a debate.
Role of Bacteroides bivius beta-lactamase in beta-lactam susceptibility

The susceptibility of 46 clinical isolates of Bacteroides bivius to amoxicillin, cefotaxime, cefoxitin, ceftizoxime, cephaloridine, cephalothin, moxalactam, penicillin G, amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid in a ratio of 2:1, carbenicillin, cefamandole, and ceftazidime was determined by an agar dilution technique. For the first eight agents susceptibility testing was also done with the addition of clavulanic acid (0.75 microgram/ml). For all agents, beta-lactamase-positive strains (35, using a nitrocefin slide test) were inhibited at higher concentrations than beta-lactamase-negative strains. Clavulanic acid reduced the susceptibility of the beta-lactamase-positive strains to the level of the beta-lactamase-negative strains to all agents. We prepared crude extracts of beta-lactamase from six strains. Activity against nitrocefin was directly related to their susceptibilities. The beta-lactamase had a mixed-substrate profile, hydrolyzing both penicillins and cephalosporins. Our results suggest a slow inactivation of cefoxitin, ceftizoxime, and moxalactam by the beta-lactamase. Clavulanic acid and cefoxitin inhibited the enzyme, whereas p-hydroxymercuribenzoate and cloxacillin did not. Thus, there was a clear relationship between beta-lactamase activity and susceptibility to beta-lactams, including cefoxitin and third-generation cephalosporins. The substrate and inhibition profiles of the B. bivius beta-lactamase were different from those of enzymes found in the "B. fragilis group. "
LHCSR1 induces a fast and reversible pH-dependent fluorescence quenching in LHCII in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells

Significance Too much light can be dangerous for photosynthetic organisms because the simultaneous presence of excitation energy and molecular oxygen, as it occurs in the photosynthetic membranes, may lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species and induce photodamage. To avoid these effects, photosynthetic organisms dissipate a large part of the absorbed energy as heat in a process known as nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). This process is very complex, and the molecular understanding of its mechanisms in vivo represents a challenge. Here we have developed a “minimal NPQ cell” of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Using these cells, we could check a series of suggestions coming from in vitro studies and obtain new insights on the mechanism of NPQ in this alga. To avoid photodamage, photosynthetic organisms are able to thermally dissipate the energy absorbed in excess in a process known as nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). Although NPQ has been studied extensively, the major players and the mechanism of quenching remain debated. This is a result of the difficulty in extracting molecular information from in vivo experiments and the absence of a validation system for in vitro experiments. Here, we have created a minimal cell of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii that is able to undergo NPQ. We show that LHCII, the main light harvesting complex of algae, cannot switch to a quenched conformation in response to pH changes by itself. Instead, a small amount of the protein LHCSR1 (light-harvesting complex stress related 1) is able to induce a large, fast, and reversible pH-dependent quenching in an LHCII-containing membrane. These results strongly suggest that LHCSR1 acts as pH sensor and that it modulates the excited state lifetimes of a large array of LHCII, also explaining the NPQ observed in the LHCSR3-less mutant. The possible quenching mechanisms are discussed.
Evaluation of Multiple One Repetition Maximum Strength Trials in Untrained Women

Benton, MJ, Swan, PD, and Peterson, MD. Evaluation of multiple 1RM strength trials in untrained women. J Strength Cond Res 23(5): 1503-1507, 2009-Resistance training for health is increasingly popular, yet limited research exists regarding the most appropriate and reliable methods to evaluate outcomes among nonathletic populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences between multiple trials of 1 repetition maximum (1RM) strength in healthy previously untrained women (35.5 ± 2.1 years). Nineteen participants completed 3 trials of 1RM chest and leg press with at least 24 hours rest between trials. Familiarization was incorporated into trial 1 for both tests. All trials were highly reliable (intraclass correlation = 0.95). For 1RM chest press, nonsignificant strength changes between trials 1-2 and 2-3 were 1.2 ± 0.3 kg (p = 0.13) and 1.3 ± 0.4 kg (p = 0.18), respectively, while the overall increase between trials 1-3 was 2.5 ± 0.7 kg (p = 0.06). For 1RM leg press, strength changes between trials 1-2 and 2-3 were 6.9 ± 0.6 kg (p = 0.05) and 7.3 ± 0.4 kg (p = 0.01), respectively, while the overall difference between trials 1-3 was 14.2 ± 1.0 kg (p < 0.01). In this study of untrained women, evaluation of maximal strength was significantly different between multiple repeated trials of lower-body strength but not upper-body strength. Thus, it was determined that a series of 3 1RM tests was sufficient to obtain a consistent measurement of maximal upper-body strength (chest press) but not lower-body strength (leg press). These findings may be of assistance for efficient reliable field testing of untrained women.
The Design of a 3D Rendering Meta System

This paper describes the design of a 3D rendering meta system which wraps the functionality of 3D rendering packages into a uniform, object-oriented framework. The homogeneous interface of the 3D rendering meta system serves as an easy-to-learn application programming interface to 3D rendering packages and allows us to exchange rendering packages without the need to recode an application. Our approach is based on a logical decomposition of the elements of 3D rendering into four major class categories: Shapes define geometric objects; attributes specify quality and visual appearance; controllers describe rendering techniques and rendering processes, and rendering engines evaluate shapes, attributes, and controllers. We have implemented our concepts in VRS, the Virtual Rendering System, as a portable C++ toolkit. VRS currently supports rendering packages such as OpenGL, PEX, XGL, Radiance, POV Ray, and RenderMan.
Mutation in the peb1A Locus ofCampylobacter jejuni Reduces Interactions with Epithelial Cells and Intestinal Colonization of Mice

ABSTRACT Campylobacter jejuni is one of the leading causes of bacterial diarrhea throughout the world. We previously found that PEB1 is a homolog of cluster 3 binding proteins of bacterial ABC transporters and that a C. jejuni adhesin, cell-binding factor 1 (CBF1), if not identical to, contains PEB1. A single protein migrating at approximately 27 to 28 kDa was recognized by anti-CBF1 and anti-PEB1. To determine the role that the operon encoding PEB1 plays inC. jejuni adherence, peb1A, the gene encoding PEB1, was disrupted in strain 81-176 by insertion of a kanamycin resistance gene through homologous recombination. Inactivation of this operon completely abolished expression of CBF1, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting. In comparison to the wild-type strain, the mutant strain showed 50- to 100-fold less adherence to and 15-fold less invasion of epithelial cells in culture. Mouse challenge studies showed that the rate and duration of intestinal colonization by the mutant were significantly lower and shorter than with the wild-type strain. In summary, PEB1 is identical to a previously identified cell-binding factor, CBF1, in C. jejuni, and the peb1A locus plays an important role in epithelial cell interactions and in intestinal colonization in a mouse model.
Connective Tissue Growth Factor Overexpression in Cardiomyocytes Promotes Cardiac Hypertrophy and Protection against Pressure Overload

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a secreted protein that is strongly induced in human and experimental heart failure. CTGF is said to be profibrotic; however, the precise function of CTGF is unclear. We generated transgenic mice and rats with cardiomyocyte-specific CTGF overexpression (CTGF-TG). To investigate CTGF as a fibrosis inducer, we performed morphological and gene expression analyses of CTGF-TG mice and rat hearts under basal conditions and after stimulation with angiotensin II (Ang II) or isoproterenol, respectively. Surprisingly, cardiac tissues of both models did not show increased fibrosis or enhanced gene expression of fibrotic markers. In contrast to controls, Ang II treated CTGF-TG mice displayed preserved cardiac function. However, CTGF-TG mice developed age-dependent cardiac dysfunction at the age of 7 months. CTGF related heart failure was associated with Akt and JNK activation, but not with the induction of natriuretic peptides. Furthermore, cardiomyocytes from CTGF-TG mice showed unaffected cellular contractility and an increased Ca2+ reuptake from sarcoplasmatic reticulum. In an ischemia/reperfusion model CTGF-TG hearts did not differ from controls. Our data suggest that CTGF itself does not induce cardiac fibrosis. Moreover, it is involved in hypertrophy induction and cellular remodeling depending on the cardiac stress stimulus. Our new transgenic animals are valuable models for reconsideration of CTGF's profibrotic function in the heart.
Mobility-aware mesh construction algorithm for low data-overhead multicast ad hoc routing

We study the problem of controlling data overhead of mesh-based multicast ad hoc routing protocols by adaptively adding redundancy to the minimal data overhead multicast mesh as required by the network conditions. We show that the computation of the minimal data overhead multicast mesh is NP-complete, and we propose an heuristic approximation algorithm inspired on epidemic algorithms. In addition, we propose a mobility-aware and adaptive mesh construction algorithm based on a probabilistic path selection being able to adapt the reliability of the multicast mesh to the mobility of the network. Our simulation results show that the proposed approach, when implemented into ODMRP, is able to offer similar performance results and a lower average latency while reducing data overhead between 25 to 50% compared to the original ODMRP.
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors: Overview and Perspectives

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) comprise structurally diverse compounds that are a group of targeted anticancer agents. The first of these new HDACi, vorinostat (suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid), has received Food and Drug Administration approval for treating patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. This review focuses on the activities of the 11 zinc-containing HDACs, their histone and nonhistone protein substrates, and the different pathways by which HDACi induce transformed cell death. A hypothesis is presented to explain the relative resistance of normal cells to HDACi-induced cell death. (Mol Cancer Res 2007;5(10):981–9)
Recognizing the role of construal processes

A hot stamping machine for transferring a decorative material to an article in which a pair of rack gears are attached to a carriage holding a die which reciprocates. The rack gears drive two driven gears at the same velocity thereby rotating the object to be decorated and the transfer tape having the decorative material thereon at the same rate of speed to insure a good quality transfer of tape. The object to be decorated is moved up and down into and out of contact with the die. A rack guide is used to maintain the rack gear and the gear driving the object in constant mesh despite the up and down movement of the object.
Using Ontologies for the E-learning System in Healthcare Human Resources Management

This paper provides a model for the use of ontology in e-learning systems for structuring educational content in the domain of healthcare human resources management (HHRM) in Romania. In this respect we propose an effective method to improve the learning system by providing personalized learning paths created using ontology and advanced educational strategies to provide a personalized learning content for the medical staff. Personalization of e-learning process for the chosen target group will be achieved by setting up learning path for each user according to his profile. This will become possible using: domain ontology, learning objects, modeling student knowledge. Developing an ontology-based system for competence management allows complex interactions, providing intelligent interfacing. This is a new approach for the healthcare system managers in permanent training based on e-learning technologies and specific ontologies in a complex area that needs urgent modernization and efficiency to meet the public health economic, social and political context of Romania.
Integrating Technology and Problem-based Learning: A Mixed Methods Study of Two Teacher Professional Development Designs

This article describes two consecutive enactments of technology-oriented teacher professional development designs, aimed at helping teachers find high-quality online learning resources and use them in designing effective problem-based learning (PBL) activities for their students. To align with current professional development prescriptions, in the first enactment, teachers learned PBL design skills concurrently with technology skills. Following aspects of design-based research, the professional development theory, participant feedback, and results from the first enactment informed the design of the second. In this second enactment, technology skills were separated and presented prior to learning about PBL. Results from a mixed-methods study of impact indicated that both professional development enactments were associated with large increases in teacher knowledge, experience, and confidence with regards to technology use and integration. Variations in the level of PBL usage by teachers in their activities, and the degree to which they discuss PBL and technology integration are presented alongside limitations, practical significance, scholarly significance, and planned future work.
Energy-efficient algorithms for flow time minimization

We study scheduling problems in battery-operated computing devices, aiming at schedules with low total energy consumption. While most of the previous work has focused on finding feasible schedules in deadline-based settings, in this article we are interested in schedules that guarantee good response times. More specifically, our goal is to schedule a sequence of jobs on a variable-speed processor so as to minimize the total cost consisting of the energy consumption and the total flow time of all jobs. We first show that when the amount of work, for any job, may take an arbitrary value, then no online algorithm can achieve a constant competitive ratio. Therefore, most of the article is concerned with unit-size jobs. We devise a deterministic constant competitive online algorithm and show that the offline problem can be solved in polynomial time.
Games and Their Overlooked Potential: Facilitating Learning Using Entertainment Games

This paper proposes and discusses the opportunities and possibilities of using entertainment games for delivering educational contents and raise awareness, socially and individually. It also discusses an example of the incidents where high end entertainment games have had a notable educational effect on the general public, explains the reason behind said effect, the benefits of using entertainment games rather than focusing on educational games. Lastly this paper explains the need of reconsidering utilizing both the entertainment and educational games markets and expertise.
Current Distribution in the Brain From Surface Electrodes

N CONTEMPORARY medical research, many I examples are found, particularly in the fields of electroanesthesia, electrosleep, electrotherapy, and brain hemodynamics, of the application of electric currents to the surface of the head. In each of these examples, the objectives can be achieved only if the current passes through the skull into the brain. It is apparent that the amount and distribution of current entering the brain is of great consequence. Yet the literature discloses no systematic mathematical or experimental method for predicting current flow.
Antioxidant Compounds from Propolis Collected in Anhui, China

The antioxidant activities of the chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol extract fractions from propolis collected in Anhui, China were evaluated in this study. The ethyl acetate fraction contained the highest amount of total phenolics and total flavonoids, and showed the greatest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging capacities and Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power (FRAP). The antioxidant activity of twenty-two compounds isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction was also evaluated using the above-mentioned three assays. The results indicated that phenolics contributed to the antioxidant activity of propolis collected in Anhui, China. Therefore, propolis collected in Anhui, China and its phenolics might be used as a natural antioxidant.
Análisis morfosintáctico y clasificación de entidades nombradas en un entorno Big Data

Este trabajo ha sido subvencionado con cargo a los proyectos HPCPLN - Ref:EM13/041 (Programa Emergentes, Xunta de Galicia), Celtic - Ref:2012-CE138 y Plastic - Ref:2013-CE298 (Programa Feder-Innterconecta).
Insulin‐like growth factor actions during development of neural stem cells and progenitors in the central nervous system

Insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) plays a key role in normal development. Recent studies show that IGF‐I exerts a wide variety actions in the central nervous system during development as well as in adulthood. This report reviews recent developments on IGF‐I actions and its mechanisms in the central nervous system, with a focus on its actions during the development of neural stem cells and progenitors. Available data strongly indicate that IGF‐I shortens the length of the cell cycle in neuron progenitors during embryonic life and has an influence on the growth of all neural cell types. The phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase/Akt and mitogen‐activated protein kinase pathways seem to be the predominant mediators of IGF‐I–stimulated neural cell proliferation and survival. IGF‐I actions, however, likely depend on cell type, developmental stage, and microenvironmental milieu. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
New results on quantized controller design for delay-distribution-dependent discrete-time networked control systems

Motivated by the study of a class of networked control systems(NCSs), in this paper we are concerned with the problem of quantized control for a class of discrete time linear NCSs with stochastic network delays. Different from the common assumptions on time delays, it is assumed here that the probability distribution of the delay taking values in some intervals is known a priori. A new discrete model of NCSs is derived considering the delay, quantization and delay probability distribution, which can translate the probabilistic effects of the delay to a parameter matrix of the transformed system. By using of the Lyapunov stability theory, Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method, convexity of matrix function, free-weighting technology and Jesson inequalities etc, the stability and stabilization criteria of the discrete NCS are proposed. The simulation result validates the effectiveness of the given method.