Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
StressClick: Sensing Stress from Gaze-Click Patterns

Stress sensing is valuable in many applications, including online learning crowdsourcing and other daily human-computer interactions. Traditional affective computing techniques investigate affect inference based on different individual modalities, such as facial expression, vocal tones, and physiological signals or the aggregation of signals of these independent modalities, without explicitly exploiting their inter-connections. In contrast, this paper focuses on exploring the impact of mental stress on the coordination between two human nervous systems, the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. Specifically, we present the analysis of the subtle but indicative pattern of human gaze behaviors surrounding a mouse-click event, i.e. the gaze-click pattern. Our evaluation shows that mental stress affects the gaze-click pattern, and this influence has largely been ignored in previous work. This paper, therefore, further proposes a non-intrusive approach to inferring human stress level based on the gaze-click pattern, using only data collected from the common computer webcam and mouse. We conducted a human study on solving math questions under different stress levels to explore the validity of stress recognition based on this coordination pattern. Experimental results show the effectiveness of our technique and the generalizability of the proposed features for user-independent modeling. Our results suggest that it may be possible to detect stress non-intrusively in the wild, without the need for specialized equipment.
Liquidity Matters: Money Non-Redundancy in the Euro Area Business Cycle

This paper presents evidence of money non-redundancy in shaping Euro Area business cycle. The dynamic effects of liquidity are evaluated by means of an agnostic approach. Results show that shocks to monetary aggregates permanently raise prices, even if to a different degree depending on the time span and the asset components considered, and have a sizeable short-run effect on output. Liquidity shocks account for a non-negligible share of economic fluctuations. Finally, the linkages with financial markets are examined: the effects of liquidity do not vanish when accounting for financial variables such as the external finance premium, housing wealth, price earnings ratios, long term rate and real exchange rate.
In Women with Previous Pregnancy Hypertension, Levels of Cardiovascular Risk Biomarkers May Be Modulated by Haptoglobin Polymorphism

Preeclampsia (PE) may affect the risk for future cardiovascular disease. Haptoglobin (Hp), an acute phase protein with functional genetic polymorphism, synthesized in the hepatocyte and in many peripheral tissues secondary of oxidative stress of PE, may modulate that risk through the antioxidant, angiogenic, and anti-inflammatory differential effects of their genotypes. We performed a prospective study in 352 women aged 35 ± 5.48 years, which 165 had previous PE, 2 to 16 years ago. We studied demographic, anthropometric, and haemodynamic biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and nitric oxide metabolites (total and nitrites), and others associated with liver function (AST and ALT) and lipid profile (total LDL and cholesterol HDL, non-HDL, and apolipoproteins A and B). Finally, we study the influence of Hp genetic polymorphism on all these biomarkers and as a predisposing factor for PE and its remote cardiovascular disease prognosis. Previously preeclamptic women either hypertensive or normotensive presented significant differences in those risk biomarkers (MPO, nitrites, and ALT), whose variation may be modulated by Hp 1/2 functional genetic polymorphism. The history of PE may be relevant, in association with these biomarkers to the cardiovascular risk in premenopausal women.
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus velezensis, and Bacillus siamensis Form an “Operational Group B. amyloliquefaciens” within the B. subtilis Species Complex

The plant growth promoting model bacterium FZB42T was proposed as the type strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum (Borriss et al., 2011), but has been recently recognized as being synonymous to Bacillus velezensis due to phylogenomic analysis (Dunlap C. et al., 2016). However, until now, majority of publications consider plant-associated close relatives of FZB42 still as “B. amyloliquefaciens. ” Here, we reinvestigated the taxonomic status of FZB42 and related strains in its context to the free-living soil bacterium DSM7T, the type strain of B. amyloliquefaciens. We identified 66 bacterial genomes from the NCBI data bank with high similarity to DSM7T. Dendrograms based on complete rpoB nucleotide sequences and on core genome sequences, respectively, clustered into a clade consisting of three tightly linked branches: (1) B. amyloliquefaciens, (2) Bacillus siamensis, and (3) a conspecific group containing the type strains of B. velezensis, Bacillus methylotrophicus, and B. amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum. The three monophyletic clades shared a common mutation rate of 0.01 substitutions per nucleotide position, but were distantly related to Bacillus subtilis (0.1 substitutions per nucleotide position). The tight relatedness of the three clusters was corroborated by TETRA, dDDH, ANI, and AAI analysis of the core genomes, but dDDH and ANI values were found slightly below species level thresholds when B. amyloliquefaciens DSM7T genome sequence was used as query sequence. Due to these results, we propose that the B. amyloliquefaciens clade should be considered as a taxonomic unit above of species level, designated here as “operational group B. amyloliquefaciens” consisting of the soil borne B. amyloliquefaciens, and plant associated B. siamensis and B. velezensis, whose members are closely related and allow identifying changes on the genomic level due to developing the plant-associated life-style.
Extensive degradation of Aroclors and environmentally transformed polychlorinated biphenyls by Alcaligenes eutrophus H850

We have isolated and characterized a strain of Alcaligenes eurtrophus, designated H850, that rapidly degrades a broad and unusual spectrum of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) including many tetra- and pentachlorobiphenyls and several hexachlorobiphenyls. This strain, which was isolated from PCB-containing dredge spoils by enrichment on biphenyl, grows well on biphenyl and 2-chlorobiphenyl but poorly on 3- and 4-chlorobiphenyl. Capillary gas-chromatographic analysis showed that biphenyl-grown resting cells of H850 degraded the components of 38 of the 41 largest peaks of Aroclor 1242 and 15 of the 44 largest peaks of Aroclor 1254, resulting in an overall reduction of PCBs by 81% for Aroclor 1242 (10 ppm) and 35% for Aroclor 1254 (10 ppm) in 2 days. Furthermore, H850 metabolized the predominantly ortho-substituted PCB congeners that resulted from the environmental transformation of the more highly chlorinated congeners of Aroclor 1242 by the upper Hudson River anaerobic meta-, para-dechlorination agent system C (J. F. Brown, R. E. Wagner, Jr., D. L. Bedard, M. J. Brennan, J. C. Carnahan, R. J. May, and J. J. Tofflemire, Northeast Environ. Sci. 3:167-179, 1984). The congener selectivity patterns indicate that a two-step process consisting of anaerobic dechlorination followed by oxidation by H850 can effectively degrade all of the congeners in Aroclor 1242 and possibly all those in Aroclor 1254.
An Antagonist for CCR4 Alleviates Murine Allergic Rhinitis by Intranasal Administration

Background: CCR4 is highly expressed on Th2 cells. These cells play an important role in acute inflammatory responses, including those involved in allergic rhinitis. We determined whether disrupting the CCR4 ligand interaction with CCR4 antagonist could alleviate allergic rhinitis in a mouse model. Methods: BALB/c mice were sensitized with ovalbumin and alum by intraperitoneal injection and challenged with intranasally administered ovalbumin. Compound 22, which has been reported as a novel small-molecule antagonist of CCR4, was also administered intranasally. In addition, budesonide, an efficient glucocorticoid, was used as a positive control. The effects of compound 22 were quantified by multiple parameters of allergic responses in both nasal and pulmonary tissues. Results: Compound 22 significantly improved symptoms of allergic rhinitis and suppressed levels of total IgE of serum. It dramatically reduced the levels of IL-4 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and also decreased the number of inflammatory cells in the fluid. The infiltration of inflammatory cells, especially eosinophils, was markedly reduced in the nasal and pulmonary tissues. The number of IL-4+ cells was also significantly reduced in these tissues. Moreover, the numbers of Foxp3+ cells and IL-17+ cells were reduced, though not to a statistically significant degree. Conclusions: In our research, CCR4 antagonists such as compound 22 were proven for the first time to alleviate murine allergic rhinitis when administered nasally. CCR4 antagonists may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.
Cardioprotective Effects of Exenatide in Patients With ST-Segment–Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Results of Exenatide Myocardial Protection in Revascularization Study

Objective—Experimental evidence suggests that exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor analogue, has significant cardiovascular protective effects in various conditions. We examined whether routine use of exenatide at the time of primary percutaneous coronary intervention would reduce infarct size in patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction. Approach and Results—Fifty-eight patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction and thrombolysis in myocardial infarction flow 0 were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to receive either exenatide or placebo (saline) subcutaneously. Infarct size was assessed by measuring the release of creatine kinase-MB and troponin I during 72 hours and by performing cardiac magnetic resonance imaging at 1 month after infarction. Routine and speckle tracking echocardiography was performed at initial presentation and at 3 days and 6 months after primary percutaneous coronary intervention. The exenatide and control groups had similar results with respect to ischemia time, demographic characteristics, and ejection fraction before primary percutaneous coronary intervention. The releases of creatine kinase-MB and troponin I were significantly reduced in the exenatide group. In 58 patients evaluated with cardiac magnetic resonance, the absolute mass of delayed hyperenhancement was significantly reduced in the exenatide group as compared with the control group (12.8±11.7 versus 26.4±11.6 g; P<0.01). At 6 months, the exenatide group showed a significantly lower value of E/E′ with improved strain parameters. No significant adverse effects of exenatide administration were detected. Conclusions—In patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction, adjunctive exenatide therapy with primary percutaneous coronary intervention was associated with reduction of infarct size and improvement of subclinical left ventricular function.
Differential expression of APE1 and APE2 in germinal centers promotes error-prone repair and A:T mutations during somatic hypermutation

Significance Error-prone DNA repair of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-induced lesions in B cells is known to cause hypermutation of the antibody genes and, when coupled with selection mechanisms in germinal centers, leads to increased affinity of antibody. These lesions can also lead to substantial genomic instability that can promote lymphomagenesis, and the cause of error-prone repair is unknown. We have found that expression of an essential DNA repair protein, AP endonuclease (APE) 1, is dramatically reduced in mouse germinal center B cells where somatic hypermutation occurs. By contrast, the very inefficient homologue, APE2, becomes highly expressed. We show that APE2 promotes mutations and present a model proposing that differential expression of APE homologues in germinal centers is a major reason for error-prone repair of AID-induced lesions. Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of antibody variable region genes is initiated in germinal center B cells during an immune response by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which converts cytosines to uracils. During accurate repair in nonmutating cells, uracil is excised by uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG), leaving abasic sites that are incised by AP endonuclease (APE) to create single-strand breaks, and the correct nucleotide is reinserted by DNA polymerase β. During SHM, for unknown reasons, repair is error prone. There are two APE homologs in mammals and, surprisingly, APE1, in contrast to its high expression in both resting and in vitro-activated splenic B cells, is expressed at very low levels in mouse germinal center B cells where SHM occurs, and APE1 haploinsufficiency has very little effect on SHM. In contrast, the less efficient homolog, APE2, is highly expressed and contributes not only to the frequency of mutations, but also to the generation of mutations at A:T base pair (bp), insertions, and deletions. In the absence of both UNG and APE2, mutations at A:T bp are dramatically reduced. Single-strand breaks generated by APE2 could provide entry points for exonuclease recruited by the mismatch repair proteins Msh2–Msh6, and the known association of APE2 with proliferating cell nuclear antigen could recruit translesion polymerases to create mutations at AID-induced lesions and also at A:T bp. Our data provide new insight into error-prone repair of AID-induced lesions, which we propose is facilitated by down-regulation of APE1 and up-regulation of APE2 expression in germinal center B cells.
Optimal server allocation for real time computing systems with bursty priority jobs

Among the many distinguishing features of the real-time computing system, the response time might be the most important one. In this paper we consider a MIMD type parallel computer system with different job priority and bursty job arrival pattern. Real-time jobs have higher priority than other jobs to guarantee faster response time, and the job server consists of array of processors, i.e. processor pool. Job requests arrive at different request buffers according to their priority, and we assume that the arrival pattern is a bursty process. These two issues, job priority and the bursty job request pattern, are studied for real-time computing systems. The processor pool is shared in such a way that if high priority queue is not empty, a fixed amount of the processing capacity is allocated to the queue, while the rest of the server is allocated to the other queue. Average waiting time is calculated for both queues. The optimal partition ratio of the processor pool is obtained analytically based on the average waiting time of high priority queue and low priority queue with respect to variable values of traffic loads /spl rho/.
From Hilbert space to Dilbert space: context semantics as a language for games and flow analysis

We give a tutorial and first-principles description of the context semantics of Gonthier, Abadi, and Lévy [5, 4], a computer-science analogue of Girard's geometry of interaction [3]. In the spirit of the invited presentation of Tom Knight (see this Proceedings [7]), the semantics is reversible, and supports pseudo-quantum computation via a superposed sharing of terms and evaluation contexts [2]. Context semantics provides a mechanism for modelling ? -calculus, and more generally multiplicative-exponential linear logic (MELL); we explain the the call-by-name (CBN) coding of the ? -calculus, and sketch a proof of the correctness of readback, where the normal form of a ? -term is recovered from its semantics. This analysis yields the algorithmic correctness of Lamping's optimal reduction algorithm [8]. We relate the context semantics to linear logic types and to ideas from game semantics, used to prove full abstraction theorems for PCF and other ? -calculus variants [1, 6, 10]. Readback is essentially a game played by an environment (the Opponent) who wants to discover the Böhm tree (normal form) of a term known by a Player. A type plays the role---using the games jargon---of an arena of possible moves, and a term of that type provides a winning strategy for the Player, permitting the Player to respond correctly to moves made by the Opponent. The interaction between Opponent and Player describes a perfect flow analysis which answers questions like, "can call site a ever call procedure p? " The context semantics provides a low-level coding mechanism for describing such flows, the positions of subexpressions and head variables in Böhm trees, as well as moves in the above described two-player games.
Ethyl 3-oxo-2-(2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-3-yl)butanoate Derivatives: Anthelmintic and Cytotoxic Potentials, Antimicrobial, and Docking Studies

Development of multidrug resistance (MDR) to antimicrobial, antiparasitic and chemotherapeutic agents is a global challenge for the scientific community. Despite of the emergence of MDR pathogens, the development of novel and more effective drugs is slow and scientist even speculate that we are going back the pre-antibiotic era. This work aims to study and evaluate the preliminary antibacterial, anthelmintic and cytotoxic potentials of ethyl 3-oxo-2-(2,5-dioxopyrrolidin-3-yl)butanoates. Among all of the four compounds, compound 2 has displayed remarkable potency with MIC values of 0.125, 0.083, 0.073, and 0.109 mg/ml against E. sakazakii, E. coli. S. aureus, and K. pneumonia, respectively. Compared to etoposide (LC50 9.8 μg/ml), the compounds demonstrated LC50 values from 280 to 765 μg/ml. For anthelmintic assay, three concentrations of each compound and standard drug were studied in determination of time of death of the two species. Excellent anthelmintic activity was observed by all four compounds against P. posthuma and A. galli better than standard albendazole. High GOLD fitness score data from docking analysis toward the targets represent better protein–ligand binding affinity and thus indicate a high propensity for all the active compounds to bind to the active site. The promising in-vitro antimicrobial, anthelmintic activity, and cytotoxicity data conclusively revealed that these compounds may serve as viable lead compounds for the treatment of bacterial and parasitic infections, and therefore, could help the medicinal chemists to design future chemotherapeutic agents to avoid rapid drug resistance.
Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) extract inhibits obesity in mice fed a high-fat diet over the long term

Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are traditionally used to add bitterness and flavour to beer. Although the isomerised hop extracts produced by the brewing process have been thought to ameliorate lipid and glucose metabolism, the influence of untreated hop extracts on high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity is unclear. The present study examined the anti-obesity effects of a hop extract in male C57BL/6J mice fed a HF diet, or HF diet plus 2 or 5 % hop extract for 20 weeks. The oral glucose tolerance test was performed at week 19. Furthermore, water excretion was evaluated in water-loaded Balb/c male mice. The effects of the extract on lipid accumulation and PPARγ expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes were examined. The hop extract inhibited the increase in body and adipose tissue weight, adipose cell diameter and liver lipids induced by the HF diet. Furthermore, it improved glucose intolerance. The extract enhanced water excretion in water-loaded mice. Various fractions of the hop extract inhibited lipid accumulation and PPARγ expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Hop extracts might be useful for preventing obesity and glucose intolerance caused by a HF diet.
RESEARCH ON AD HOC NETWORKING : CURRENT ACTIVITY AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

This article is a survey on the current status and direction of research on ad hoc networking. We categorize the ongoing research and outline the major challenges which have to be solved before widespread deployment of the technology is possible. The views presented by Perkins in [1] are used as a premise, which is then complemented with discussion and references to the latest publications.
Automatic Process to Build a Contextualized Detector

This article tackles the real-time pedestrian detection problem using a stationary uncalibrated camera. More precisely we try to specialize a classi er by taking into account the context of the scene. To achieve this goal, we introduce an o ine semi-supervised approach which uses an oracle. This latter must automatically label a video, in order to obtain contextualized training data. The proposed oracle is composed of several detectors. Each of them is trained on a di erent signal: appearance, background subtraction and optical ow signals. Then we merge their responses and keep the more con dent detections. A specialized detector is then built on the resulting dataset. Designed for improving camera network installation procedure, the presented method is completely automatic and does not need any knowledge about the scene.
A Detailed Physiologically Based Model to Simulate the Pharmacokinetics and Hormonal Pharmacodynamics of Enalapril on the Circulating Endocrine Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays a key role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders including hypertension and is one of the most important targets for drugs. A whole body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (wb PBPK) model integrating this hormone circulation system and its inhibition can be used to explore the influence of drugs that interfere with this system, and thus to improve the understanding of interactions between drugs and the target system. In this study, we describe the development of a mechanistic RAAS model and exemplify drug action by a simulation of enalapril administration. Enalapril and its metabolite enalaprilat are potent inhibitors of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE). To this end, a coupled dynamic parent-metabolite PBPK model was developed and linked with the RAAS model that consists of seven coupled PBPK models for aldosterone, ACE, angiotensin 1, angiotensin 2, angiotensin 2 receptor type 1, renin, and prorenin. The results indicate that the model represents the interactions in the RAAS in response to the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of enalapril and enalaprilat in an accurate manner. The full set of RAAS-hormone profiles and interactions are consistently described at pre- and post-administration steady state as well as during their dynamic transition and show a good agreement with literature data. The model allows a simultaneous representation of the parent-metabolite conversion to the active form as well as the effect of the drug on the hormone levels, offering a detailed mechanistic insight into the hormone cascade and its inhibition. This model constitutes a first major step to establish a PBPK-PD-model including the PK and the mode of action (MoA) of a drug acting on a dynamic RAAS that can be further used to link to clinical endpoints such as blood pressure.