Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antifungal agents commonly used in the superficial and mucosal candidiasis treatment: mode of action and resistance development

Recent progress in medical sciences and therapy resulted in an increased number of immunocompromised individuals. Candida albicans is the leading opportunistic fungal pathogen causing infections in humans, ranging from superficial mucosal lesions to disseminated or bloodstream candidiasis. Superficial candidiasis not always presents a risk to the life of the infected host, however it significantly lowers the quality of life. Superficial Candida infections are difficult to treat and their frequency of occurrence is currently rising. To implement successful treatment doctors should be up to date with better understanding of C. albicans resistance mechanisms. Despite high frequency of Candida infections there is a limited number of antimycotics available for therapy. This review focuses on current understanding of the mode of action and resistance mechanisms to conventional and emerging antifungal agents for treatment of superficial and mucosal candidiasis.
A novel approach based on fuzzy-GA modeling for online measurement of fouling in steam condenser

A novel approach based on fuzzy-GA modeling for online measurement of fouling in steam condenser is proposed in this paper. In the approach, terminal temperature difference is chosen to reflect fouling state, fuzzy modeling is applied to separate the influence imposed by fouling on terminal temperature difference from other factors. During fuzzy modeling, T-S model is employed to approximate off-design condition terminal temperature difference, a fuzzy clustering algorithm based on similarity assessing is proposed to determine the optimal structure of the model and real-coded genetic algorithm (GA) is adopted to optimize model parameters. All these techniques make the fuzzy model compact and accurate. Based on it, an experimental system is developed and experiment on an actual steam condenser is carried out. The results show the approach measures the fouling correctly, and is more effective than thermal resistance method or heat transfer coefficient method.
Oxygen Exchange Profile in Rat Muscles of Contrasting Fibre Types

To determine whether fibre type affects the O2 exchange characteristics of skeletal muscle at the microcirculatory level we tested the hypothesis that, following the onset of contractions, muscle comprising predominately type I fibres (soleus, Sol, 86 % type I) would, based on demonstrated blood flow responses, exhibit a blunted microvascular PO2 (PO2,m, which is determined by the O2 delivery (Q̇O2) to O2 uptake (V̇O2) ratio) profile (assessed via phosphorescence quenching) compared to muscle of primarily type II fibres (peroneal, Per, 84 % type II). PO2,m was measured at rest, and following the rest‐contractions (twitch, 1 Hz, 2–4 V for 120 s) transition in Sol (n= 6) and Per (n= 6) muscles of Sprague‐Dawley rats. Both muscles exhibited a delay followed by a mono‐exponential decrease in PO2,m to the steady state. However, compared with Sol, Per demonstrated (1) a larger change in baseline minus steady state contracting PO2,m (ΔPO2,m) (Per, 13.4 ± 1.7 mmHg; Sol, 8.6 ± 0.9 mmHg, P < 0.05); (2) a faster mean response time (i.e. time delay (TD) plus time constant (τ); Per, 23.8 ± 1.5 s; Sol, 39.6 ± 4.3 s, P < 0.05); and therefore (3) a greater rate of PO2,m decline (ΔPO2,m/τ; Per, 0.92 ± 0.08 mmHg s−1; Sol, 0.42 ± 0.05 mmHg s−1, P < 0.05). These data demonstrate an increased microvascular pressure head of O2 at any given point after the initial time delay for Sol versus Per following the onset of contractions that is probably due to faster Q̇O2 dynamics relative to those of V̇O2.
VEGF Axonal Transport Dependent on Kinesin-1B and Microtubules Dynamics

Axon-transport plays an important role in neuronal activity and survival. Reduced endogenous VEGF can cause neuronal damage and axon degeneration. It is unknown at this time if VEGF can be transported within the axon or whether it can be released by axonal depolarization. We transfected VEGF-eGFP plasmids in cultured hippocampal neurons and tracked their movement in the axons by live-cell confocal imaging. Then, we co-transfected phVEGF-eGFP and kinesin-1B-DsRed vectors into neurons and combined with immunoprecipitation and two-color imaging to study the mechanism of VEGF axon-trafficking. We found that VEGF vesicles morphologically co-localized and biochemically bounded with kinesin-1B, as well as co-trafficked with it in the axons. Moreover, the capacity for axonal trafficking of VEGF was reduced by administration of nocodazole, an inhibitor of microtubules, or kinesin-1B shRNA. In addition, we found that VEGF could release from the cultured neurons under acute depolarizing stimulation with potassium chloride. Therefore, present findings suggest that neuronal VEGF is stored in the vesicles, actively released, and transported in the axons, which depends on the presence of kinesin-1B and functional microtubules. These results further help us to understand the importance of neuronal VEGF in the maintenance of neuronal activity and survival throughout life.
Luminescence spectroscopic approaches in studying cell surface dynamics

The major elements of membranes, such as proteins, lipids and polysaccharides, are in dynamic interaction with each other (Alberts et al. 1983). Protein diffusion in the lipid matrix of the membrane, the lipid diffusion and dynamic domain formation below and above their transition temperature from gel to fluid state, have many functional implications. This type of behaviour of membranes is often summarized in one frequently used word membrane fluidity (coined by Shinitzky & Henkart, 1979). The dynamic behaviour of the cell membrane includes rotational, translational and segmental movements of membrane elements (or their domain-like associations) in the plane of, and perpendicular to the membrane. The ever changing proximity relationships form a dynamic pattern of lipids, proteins and saccharide moieties and are usually described as ‘cell-surface dynamics’ (Damjanovich et al. 1981). The knowledge about the above defined behaviour originates from experiments performed mostly on cytoplasmic membranes of eukaryotic cells. Nevertheless numerous data are available also on the mitochondrial and nuclear membranes, as well as endo (sarco-)plasmic reticulum (Martonosi, 1982; Slater, 1981; Siekevitz, 1981).
CDAMA: Concealed Data Aggregation Scheme for Multiple Applications in Wireless Sensor Networks

For wireless sensor networks, data aggregation scheme that reduces a large amount of transmission is the most practical technique. In previous studies, homomorphic encryptions have been applied to conceal communication during aggregation such that enciphered data can be aggregated algebraically without decryption. Since aggregators collect data without decryption, adversaries are not able to forge aggregated results by compromising them. However, these schemes are not satisfy multi-application environments. Second, these schemes become insecure in case some sensor nodes are compromised. Third, these schemes do not provide secure counting; thus, they may suffer unauthorized aggregation attacks. Therefore, we propose a new concealed data aggregation scheme extended from Boneh et al.'s homomorphic public encryption system. The proposed scheme has three contributions. First, it is designed for a multi-application environment. The base station extracts application-specific data from aggregated ciphertexts. Next, it mitigates the impact of compromising attacks in single application environments. Finally, it degrades the damage from unauthorized aggregations. To prove the proposed scheme's robustness and efficiency, we also conducted the comprehensive analyses and comparisons in the end.
Electrophysiologic mechanisms underlying arrhythmias due to reperfusion of ischemic myocardium.

The mechanisms responsible for malignant ventricular arrhythmias associated with reperfusion of ischemic myocardium were delineated with a computerized, three-dimensional mapping system, with simultaneous eight-level transmural recordings from 232 bipolar sites. In six chloralose-anesthetized cats, regional ischemia was induced for 10 min by occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery, followed by reperfusion. At 10 min after ischemia, just before reperfusion, total ventricular activation time during sinus rhythm was significantly delayed (63 +/- 8 vs 25 +/- 2 msec before ischemia, p less than .001). Ventricular tachycardia (VT) occurred within 15 sec after reperfusion and in three animals culminated in ventricular fibrillation. In 75% of cases of nonsustained VT, initiation occurred in the subendocardium, at the border of the reperfused zone via a mechanism not involving reentry, as determined by the fact that continuous activation was not apparent and the time from the end of the sinus beat to the beginning of VT (142 +/- 14 msec) was not associated with any intervening depolarizations. In the remaining 25% of cases of nonsustained VT, initiation of the VT resulted from intramural reentry in the subendocardium adjacent to the site of delayed midmyocardial activation from the preceding sinus beat (total activation time = 151 +/- 9 msec, p less than .001 vs just before reperfusion). This reentrant mechanism was similar to that responsible for the majority of cases of VT during ischemia without reperfusion. Maintenance of VT during reperfusion occurred by nonreentrant mechanisms as well as by intramural reentry, with most cases of VT involving both mechanisms. Ventricular tachycardia leading to ventricular fibrillation was initiated in the subendocardium at the border of the reperfused zone by a nonreentrant mechanism and was maintained by both nonreentrant and reentrant mechanisms, at times in combination in the same beat. The coupling interval of the first ectopic beat of VT leading to ventricular fibrillation was not significantly different from that of nonsustained VT (199 +/- 16 vs 189 +/- 9 msec, p = NS). However, during the transition from VT to ventricular fibrillation, nonreentrant mechanisms arising both in the subendocardium and subepicardium led to very rapid acceleration of the tachycardia to the coupling interval of 92 +/- 2 msec, resulting in enhanced functional block and further conduction delay, with the total activation time of the transition beats exceeding the coupling interval of the tachycardia. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Alpha desynchronization during empathy for pain is modulated by racial group membership

Obwohl die Literatur der Sozialpsychologie diskutiert, dass rassistische Stereotype und Vorurteile in Verbindung stehen mit verminderter Empathie, gibt es wenige Studien im Bereich der Neuropsychologie, die diesen Zusammenhang untersuchen. 37 weis-hautigen Verspersonen wurden Videos prasentiert, die weis-hautige oder schwarz-hautige Hande zeigten, welche entweder von einer Nadel gestochen (Schmerz-Bedingung) oder von einem Q-tip beruhrt wurden (Kein-Schmerz-Bedingung), wahrend die Desynchronisationen im Alpha Bereich (7-14 Hz) gemessen wurde. 32 Versuchspersonen sahen die gleichen Stimuli wie die anderen 37 Versuchspersonen, jedoch waren in dieser EEG-Session die Hande digital violett eingefarbt, um den Faktor der visuellen Familiaritat mit den Stimuli zu kontrollieren. In Ubereinstimmung mit dem Paradigma ‘Empathie fur Schmerz’ loste die Schmerz-Bedingung eine grosere Alpha Desynchronisation aus als die Kein-Schmerz-Bedingung in frontalen, zentralen, parietalen und okzipitalen Regionen. Diese ‘Empathie fur Schmerz’-Antwort war signifikant niedriger fur original gefarbte schwarze Stimuli als fur original gefarbte weise Stimuli in zentralen, parietalen und okzipitalen Regionen. Da die ‘Empathie fur Schmerz’-Antwort in zentralen Regionen ahnlich war fur original gefarbte weise Stimuli, violett gefarbte weise Stimuli und violett gefarbte schwarze Stimuli, aber niedriger fur original gefarbte schwarze Stimuli, hatte der Faktor der visuellen Familiaritat keinen Einfluss darauf, dass ‘Empathie fur Schmerz’ von ethnischer Gruppenzugehorigkeit moduliert wird. Wir argumentieren, dass die von uns gemessene Alpha Desynchronisation als somatosensorische Alpha Desynchronisation interpretiert werden kann, da die Schmerzstimuli von sich aus somatosensorischer Natur sind, da die somatosensorische Desynchronisation vor allem in einem Zeitintervall gefunden wurde, in dem keine Bewegung in den Videos zu sehen war, und da andere Studien aus unserem Forschungsgebiet ebenfalls die Interpretation von somatosensorischen Oszillationen und somatosensorischer Desynchronisation verteidigen. Die ‘Empathie fur Schmerz’-Antwort korrelierte mit Einschatzungen der Schmerzintensitat und der Unannehmlichkeit bezuglich der EEG Stimuli, als auch mit einem explizit gemessenen Mas des personlichen Disstresses. Der elektrophsyiologische Rassistische Bias fur ‘Empathie fur Schmerz’ korrelierte nicht mit impliziten oder expliziten Masen des Rassistischen Bias. Jedoch korrelierte der auf Grund der Einschatzungen der Schmerzintensitat und der Unannehmlichkeit bezuglich der EEG Stimuli berechnete Rassistische Bias mit dem Bevorzugen von weis-hautigen Menschen und mit der Einstellung gegenuber schwarz-hautigen Menschen.
Signature Systems and Kin Recognition 1

Synopsis. This paper examines mechanisms of individual identification in the kin rec? ognition process. In type 1 kin recognition, the individual {e.g., a parent) learns the identifying cues (the "signature") of particular kin {e.g., offspring) at some stage when there are reliable contextual cues as to kinship {e.g., the parent finds the young in its nest). These kin are subsequently recognized via their signatures in situations in which contex? tual evidence of kinship is lacking. The primary selection pressure in this case is for a mechanism that can generate a large number of distinctive signatures, and thus permit recognition in large groups. I develop a model that predicts the necessary information capacity of a signature system, and I test this prediction for the signature call of the bank swallow {Riparia riparia). The measured information capacity of 17 bits corresponds well to the prediction and, moreover, is substantially greater than that of the homologous call of the similar but non-colonial rough-winged swallow {Stelgidopteryx ruficollis). In type 2 kin recognition, reliable contextual evidence as to kinship is absent at all times, and kin must be recognized via a signature-matching process. For example, the individual might compare its own signature to that of the unknown individual, inferring kinship if their signatures are sufficiently similar. I describe a multi-locus genetic signature mechanism that would permit discrimination of kin from non-kin, and suggest how this model might be tested.
A new method for prediction 3G path loss propagation in suburban of Thailand

This paper proposes the prediction propagation of path loss band 2100 MHz 3G, the mobile in suburban of Thailand. The selected site is Pathum Thani province which has a few of construction. This experiment measured the signal at different distance and different direction from mobile base stations. The results from experiment will be compared with the calculating value in order to make the new empirical model that will be suitable in suburban of Thailand. The statistical method Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Okumura model are used in this paper.
Ubiquitous animated agents for augmented reality

Most of today's Augmented Reality (AR) systems operate as passive information browsers relying on a finite and deterministic world model and a predefined hardware and software infrastructure. We propose an AR framework that dynamically and proactively exploits hitherto unknown applications and hardware devices, and adapts the appearance of the user interface to persistently stored and accumulated user preferences. Our framework explores proactive computing, multi-user interface adaptation, and user interface migration. We employ mobile and autonomous agents embodied by real and virtual objects as an interface and interaction metaphor, where agent bodies are able to opportunistically migrate between multiple AR applications and computing platforms to best match the needs of the current application context. We present two pilot applications to illustrate design concepts.
Generalized Algebraic Deadlock Avoidance Policies for Sequential Resource Allocation Systems

Currently, one of the most actively researched approaches regarding the design of deadlock avoidance policies for sequential resource allocation systems is based on concepts and techniques provided by the, so called, theory of regions, that addresses the broader problem of synthesizing PN models with prespecified behaviors. However, one limitation of the theory of regions and its aforementioned derivatives is that they cannot be applied when the target behavior has a nonconvex representation in the underlying state space. In this note, we show how this problem can be circumvented by appropriately generalizing the employed class of the candidate policies.
Bi‐parental vs. cooperative breeding in a passerine: fitness‐maximizing strategies of males in response to risk of extra‐pair paternity?

In socially monogamous species, males that risk cuckoldry more than others might gain inclusive fitness by yielding paternity to relatives. We tested this prediction in the Tibetan ground tit Pseudopodoces humilis, an unusual facultative cooperative breeder wherein most helpers (87% males) join a mated pair shortly before clutch completion. Extra‐pair paternity among bi‐parental broods occurred less often (26% of broods, 9% of young) compared with cooperative broods (68%, 25%). In the former, most extra‐pair sires (88%) were pair breeders unrelated to the cuckolded males, whereas in the latter, sires (87%) were mainly helpers related to the dominant males. Brood productivity did not differ between the bi‐parental and cooperative breeders, but helpers’ partitioning over group paternity reduced the realized reproductive success of helped males. After taking inclusive fitness into account, however, there was no difference in success of dominant males between the two social systems. One possible explanation for the differences in the rates of cuckoldry in the two systems was body size, because pair‐bond males in bi‐parental situations were significantly larger than those in cooperative ones. We propose two alternative strategies for males to maximize fitness: breed as a pair if large to avoid cuckoldry from helpers, or breed cooperatively if small but compromise some paternity to relatives. Our results provide an unusual route to the incidence of cooperative groups, based on constraints imposed by low competitive ability of breeding males rather than some external ecological or demographic factors.
Null controllable region of delta operator systems subject to actuator saturation

ABSTRACT In this paper, we give exact description of null controllable regions for delta operator systems subject to actuator saturation. The null controllable region is in terms of a set of extremal trajectories of anti-stable subsystems. For the delta operator system with real eigenvalues or complex eigenvalues, the description is simplified to an explicit formula which is used to characterise the boundary of a null controllable region. The relations of null controllable regions are shown separately for continuous-time systems, discrete-time systems and delta operator systems. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques on null controllable regions.
Estimating impulse parameters from point sources in onboard IR-sensor

This paper describes the method for quick calculating rough estimators of channel impulses from point sources for their detection and coordinates estimation in onboard infrared (IR) sensors. It is supposed that the IR-sensor has the line of photo elements with interlaced photosensitive squares and the diameter of the light spot from the point source is equal to the size of the photo element. The method uses the matching filter based on the model which describes the cases of small quantity of samples for channel impulses, voltage shifts and correlated white noise for each photo element. The experiments have shown that the suggested method provides restoration of weak channel impulses that allows successfully detecting the point source and estimating its rough coordinates.
Optimal scheduling of gas pipeline operation using genetic algorithms

This paper presents a feasibility study of evolutionary scheduling for gas pipeline operations. The objective of gas pipeline operations is to transfer sufficient gas from gas stations to consumers so as to satisfy customer demand with minimum costs. The scheduling involves selection of a set of compressors to operate during a shift. The scheduling decision has to be made so as to satisfy the dual objectives of minimizing the sum of fuel cost, start-up cost, the cost of gas wasted due to oversupply, and satisfying minimal operative and inoperative time of the compressors. The problem was decomposed into the two subproblems of gas load forecast and selection of compressors. Neural networks were used for forecasting the load; and genetic algorithms were used to search for a near optimal combination of compressors. The study was conducted on a subsystem of the pipeline network located in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. The results are compared with the solutions generated by an expert system and a fuzzy programming model
Pre-hypertension and hypertension in college students in Kuwait: A neglected issue

Objective: To determine the proportion of pre-hypertension and hypertension in college students in Kuwait and their related risk factors. Materials and Methods: A total of 803, randomly selected students aged 17 to 23 years (346 male, 457 female) from different colleges in Kuwait, were included in the study between 2009 and 2010. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements were taken by trained personnel. Pre-hypertension was defined as systolic pressure between 120 and 139 mm Hg or diastolic pressure between 80 and 89 mm Hg. Risk factor measurements that were determined, included smoking, body mass index (BMI), and family history of hypertension. Blood samples were collected and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and lipid profile levels were determined. Results: There were no hypotensive students. Normotensives constituted 53.5% (n = 430), pre-hypertensives formed 39.5% (n = 317), and hypertensive students comprised of 7% (n = 56). The overall proportions of hypertension and pre-hypertension were higher among male students (85.7 and 64.4%) than female students (14.3 and 35.6%), respectively. Hypertensive and pre-hypertensive students versus normotensive students had significantly higher levels of BMI-based obesity, smoking, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and IGT. Also, hypertensive and pre-hypertensive, compared to normotensive students, had significantly higher proportions (21.4, 18.3, and 4.0%, respectively) of risky high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level (< 1 mg / dL), cholesterol (7.1, 3.8, and 1.4%, respectively), and triglycerides (TG) (17.9, 9.1, and 7.9%, respectively) where p was< 0.001, 0.016, and 0.051, respectively. Conclusion: Hypertensive and pre-hypertensive students showed elevated levels of lipids and BMI-based obesity more than normotensive students. TG, HDL, HbA1c, and cholesterol appeared to influence pre-hypertension.