Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization Schemes For Wireless Sensor Network Localization

Optimization Schemes For Wireless Sensor Network Localization Many applications of wireless sensor networks (WSN) require information about the geographical location of each sensor node. Self-organization and localization capabilities are one of the most important requirements in sensor networks. This paper provides an overview of centralized distance-based algorithms for estimating the positions of nodes in a sensor network. We discuss and compare three approaches: semidefinite programming, simulated annealing and two-phase stochastic optimization—a hybrid scheme that we have proposed. We analyze the properties of all listed methods and report the results of numerical tests. Particular attention is paid to our technique—the two-phase method—that uses a combination of trilateration, and stochastic optimization for performing sensor localization. We describe its performance in the case of centralized and distributed implementations.
Proteasome inhibition enhances the efficacy of volasertib-induced mitotic arrest in AML in vitro and prolongs survival in vivo

Elderly and frail patients, diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and ineligible to undergo intensive treatment, have a dismal prognosis. The small molecule inhibitor volasertib induces a mitotic block via inhibition of polo-like kinase 1 and has shown remarkable anti-leukemic activity when combined with low-dose cytarabine. We have demonstrated that AML cells are highly vulnerable to cell death in mitosis yet manage to escape a mitotic block through mitotic slippage by sustained proteasome-dependent slow degradation of cyclin B. Therefore, we tested whether interfering with mitotic slippage through proteasome inhibition arrests and kills AML cells more efficiently during mitosis. We show that therapeutic doses of bortezomib block the slow degradation of cyclin B during a volasertib-induced mitotic arrest in AML cell lines and patient-derived primary AML cells. In a xenotransplant mouse model of human AML, mice receiving volasertib in combination with bortezomib showed superior disease control compared to mice receiving volasertib alone, highlighting the potential therapeutic impact of this drug combination.
Central Venous Catheter–Related Streptomyces Septic Thrombosis

Streptomyces species are part of the actinomycetes group. They have rarely been reported as a cause of invasive infection. We report a case of catheter-related Streptomyces bacteremia complicated by severe sepsis and septic thrombosis. We also present a brief review of the literature on Streptomyces bacteremia.
Representing Uncertainty in RuleML

The RuleML initiative defines a normalized markup for expressing and exchange rules in the Semantic Web. However, the syntax of the language is still limited and lacks features for representing rule-based languages capable of handling uncertainty and vagueness. It is desirable to have a general extension of RuleML which accommodates major existing languages proposed in the latest two decades. The main contribution of the paper is to propose such a general extension, showing how to encode many of the existing languages in this extension. It is detailed the important case of fuzzy rule languages. We hope this work can also provide some insights on how to cover uncertainty in the RIF framework.
Semi-supervised incremental learning

The paper introduces a hybrid evolving architecture for dealing with incremental learning. It consists of two components: resource allocating neural network (RAN) and growing Gaussian mixture model (GGMM). The architecture is motivated by incrementality on one hand and on the other hand by the possibility to handle unlabeled data along with the labeled one, given that the architecture is dedicated to classification problems. The empirical evaluation shows the efficiency of the proposed hybrid learning architecture.
Classical and Lectin Pathways Blocks Complement Activation via the Alkaline Protease Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The complement system rapidly detects and kills Gram-negative bacteria and supports bacterial killing by phagocytes. However, bacterial pathogens exploit several strategies to evade detection by the complement system. The alkaline protease (AprA) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been associated with bacterial virulence and is known to interfere with complement-mediated lysis of erythrocytes, but its exact role in bacterial complement escape is unknown. In this study, we analyzed how AprA interferes with complement activation and whether it could block complement-dependent neutrophil functions. We found that AprA potently blocked phagocytosis and killing of Pseudomonas by human neutrophils. Furthermore, AprA inhibited opsonization of bacteria with C3b and the formation of the chemotactic agent C5a. AprA speciﬁcally blocked C3b deposition via the classical and lectin pathways, whereas the alternative pathway was not affected. Serum degradation assays revealed that AprA degrades both human C1s and C2. However, repletion assays demonstrated that the mechanism of action for complement inhibition is cleavage of C2. In summary, we showed that P. aeruginosa AprA interferes with classical and lectin pathway-mediated complement activation via cleavage of C2. The Journal of Immunology , 2012, 188: 386–393.
No falls, no resets: Reliable humanoid behavior in the DARPA robotics challenge

We describe Team WPI-CMU's approach to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC), focusing on our strategy to avoid failures that required physical human intervention. We implemented safety features in our controller to detect potential catastrophic failures, stop the current behavior, and allow remote intervention by a human supervisor. Our safety methods and operator interface worked: we avoided catastrophe and remote operators could safely recover from difficult situations. We were the only team in the DRC Finals that attempted all tasks, scored points (14/16), did not require physical human intervention (a reset), and did not fall in the two missions during the two days of tests. We also had the most consistent pair of runs. Much of the paper discusses lessons learned from the DRC.
Cartoon Motion Capturing and Retargeting by Rigid Shape Manipulation

Motion capture from live performance has received a lot of attention in the past few years. However, little work has been done on capturing the motions from existing cartoons. This paper presents a novel approach for capturing motion from existing cartoons and retargeting it to new characters in order to animate them. Most current approaches rely on the identification of key shapes and they fail to directly handle articulated shapes or local deformations. In contrast, we propose to use key-points as more efficient descriptors of motion. We use shape context to capture the motion between successive source frames. Then for retargeting the captured motion to a new character, we use an efficient rigid shape manipulation method that handles local deformations. The proposed method relies on user interaction only for the first source frame. Our algorithm has been applied to a set of test cases and the results shows improved performance in preserving the target's visual style particularly for articulated objects.
Regulation of gluconeogenesis in the guinea pig liver.

Because of differences in the pattern of enzyme activities involved in glycolysis and gluconeo-genesis between rat and guinea pig liver, the regulation of gluconeogenesis in guinea pig liver was studied. The following results were obtained: 1 Starvation increases the capacity for gluconeogenesis from pyruvate in vivo. 2 Gluconeogenesis from l-lactate and from pyruvate in isolated perfused livers is greater in the guinea pig than in the rat, whereas gluconeogenesis from other precursors is similar in both species. 3 Long chain and medium chain fatty acids inhibit gluconeogenesis from l-lactate in isolated perfused rat liver. In the guinea pig liver the difference does not result from a lower rate of fatty acid oxidation but from a greater reduction in the cytoplasmic NAD+/NADH system. During enhanced fatty acid oxidation in guinea pig liver and in rat liver, similar changes in the concentrations of both acetyl-S-CoA and CoA-SH are observed. With high concentrations of pyruvate as the gluconeogenic precursor, both fatty acids and ethanol lead to a slight stimulation of glucose formation by supplying hydrogen equivalents to the cytosolic NAD+/NADH system. 4 Both glucagon and dibutyryl-Ado-3′:5′-P stimulate ureogenesis and ketogenesis in isolated perfused guinea pig liver. However, the stimulation of gluconeogenesis by glucagon and Ado-3′:5′-P normally observed in isolated perfused rat livers was not found in isolated perfused guinea pig livers. 5 Partially purified pyruvate carboxylases from rat and guinea pig liver do not differ with respect to the apparent Km values for pyruvate and ATP, and also the apparent Ka values for acetyl-S-CoA at different pH values. At constant concentrations of MgATP2− or MnATP2− the pH-optima for the guinea pig enzyme are significantly lower. 6 5-Methoxyindole-2-carbonic acid inhibits gluconeogenesis in guinea pig liver in the same way as in rat liver. Quinolinate, on the other hand is far less inhibitory in guinea pig liver and does not inhibit at all in isolated perfused pigeon livers. 7 Major species differences are found when the activities of the rate limiting enzymes involved in gluconeogenesis are measured under Vmax conditions. Pyruvate carboxylase activity is in the same range in rat and guinea pig liver; pyruvate kinase activity is considerably lower, phospho-enolpyruvate carboxykinase activity is considerably higher in guinea pig liver. According to our results gluconeogenesis in guinea pig liver from lactate or pyruvate is mainly regulated by the concentration of pyruvate. The difference in the regulation of gluconeogenesis between rat and guinea pig liver probably results from a difference in the compartmentalization of phosphoenopyruvate carboxykinase. A higher rate of futile cycling between phosphoenolpyruvate and pyruvate in rat liver, due to the higher activity of pyruvate kinase in relation to the activities of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and pyruvate carboxylase, may also contribute to the observed differences.
Plasma membrane domain organization regulates EGFR signaling in tumor cells

Macromolecular complexes exhibit reduced diffusion in biological membranes; however, the physiological consequences of this characteristic of plasma membrane domain organization remain elusive. We report that competition between the galectin lattice and oligomerized caveolin-1 microdomains for epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) recruitment regulates EGFR signaling in tumor cells. In mammary tumor cells deficient for Golgi β1,6N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (Mgat5), a reduction in EGFR binding to the galectin lattice allows an increased association with stable caveolin-1 cell surface microdomains that suppresses EGFR signaling. Depletion of caveolin-1 enhances EGFR diffusion, responsiveness to EGF, and relieves Mgat5 deficiency–imposed restrictions on tumor cell growth. In Mgat5+/+ tumor cells, EGFR association with the galectin lattice reduces first-order EGFR diffusion rates and promotes receptor interaction with the actin cytoskeleton. Importantly, EGFR association with the lattice opposes sequestration by caveolin-1, overriding its negative regulation of EGFR diffusion and signaling. Therefore, caveolin-1 is a conditional tumor suppressor whose loss is advantageous when β1,6GlcNAc-branched N-glycans are below a threshold for optimal galectin lattice formation.
Node Centric Load Balancing Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Load balancing is a crucial part of MANET routing protocols. Most of the currently implemented routing protocols do not account for load balancing. A number of new mechanisms and routing protocols have been proposed recently to deal with load balancing in MANET routing. A majority of the schemes proposed already add to the routing overhead which is an area of great concern since MANETS are resource constrained networks and efforts must be made to somehow achieve both load balancing and avoid adding any extra routing overhead. In this paper we propose a new load balancing routing protocol with the emphasis on adding as little routing overhead as possible to the operation of this protocol. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme can improve the overall network performance.
Ultraviolet B radiation-induced immunosuppression: molecular mechanisms and cellular alterations

About 30 years ago, the discovery of the connection between UV radiation and the immune system triggered the field of photoimmunology. In that time, many aspects were studied, and a complex picture emerged. UV absorption results in multi-tiered molecular and cellular UV radiation-induced events, eventually affecting the immune system. The shorter wavelengths of the UV spectrum, i.e. UVB appear to be the most critical players for impairing immune reactions. This review summarizes and discusses UVB radiation-induced effects on the skin, considering the primary efferent molecular events following energy absorption of UVB radiation, ending with the various afferent cellular changes, such as induction of regulatory T cells.
Leverage parking cars in a two-tier data center

A large number of data centers have been deployed and available for public renting with the rapid development of cloud computing recently. Meanwhile, the proliferation of automotive electronics has made rich resources in various forms of computation and communication. It is challenging but of great significance to make use of these resources in an efficient way. In this paper, we propose a two-tier data center architecture that leverages the excessive storage resources in parking lots. Such resources form an auxiliary vehicular data center (VDC) such that the pressure on the conventional data center can be mitigated and the total communication cost be reduced. After modeling the dynamics of available resources in a parking lot with a finite capacity, we propose three VDC management policies (i.e., non-replication, simple replication and network coding based replication) and derive their total communication cost in closed form. The high efficiency of the two-tier data center architecture and the accuracy of our analysis are validated via extensive simulations.
The Swendsen-Wang process does not always mix rapidly

The Swendsen–Wang process provides one possible dynamics for the q-state Potts model. Computer simulations of this process are widely used to estimate the expectations of various observables (random variables) of a Potts system in the equilibrium (or Gibbs) distribution. The legitimacy of such simulations depends on the rate of convergence of the process to equilibrium, as measured by the “mixing time. ” Empirical observations suggest that the mixing time of the Swendsen–Wang process is short in many instances of practical interest, although proofs of this desirable behavior are known only for some very special cases. Nevertheless, we show that there are occasions when the mixing time of the Swendsen–Wang process is exponential in the size of the system. This undesirable behavior is related to the phenomenon of first-order phase transitions in Potts systems with q > 2 states.
THE VISCOSITY OF THE BLOOD IN NARROW CAPILLARY TUBES

Nearly one hundred years have passed since the French physician Poiseuille (1) took up for consideration the important problem of the resistance of the bloodstream in the narrow parts of the vascular system. As experimental difficulties arose with blood, his fundamental investigations were contied to experiments with water and different fluids in glass capillaries w He found, as is well known, that the time of efflux of a given volume of fluid is directly as the length of the tube, inversely as the difference of pressure at the two ends and inversely as the fourth power of the diameter. During the following time the law of Poiseuille seems to have been generally accepted with regard to the blood also and the results of the first experimental studies by Ewald (2) and Benno Lewy (3) were, like those of many re-examinations, in accordance with the law in question. The now prevailing opinion is that the blood behaves as a real fluid in the vascular system with regard to its viscosity (see the survey by Neuschlosz, 4). Against this opinion, however, objections have been made from a theoretical point of view. Von Kries (5) and Hiirthle (6) have pointed out that the results of investigations of the viscosity of the blood in comparatively wide capillary tubes probably do not apply to the conditions in the narrower parts of the vascular system, whereby these authors especially seem to have had the true capillaries in view. As far as we know, the only statement in the literature regarding the viscosity of the blood being altered in narrow capillary tubes is found in the paper of Denning and Watson (7) In the narrowest capillary employed in their researches, namely, one of a diameter of 0.3 mm. , they observed increased values. This result is, however, certainly erroneous, for reasons that will be given below. It is true that the viscosity of the blood has been earlier investigated in capillary tubes, where a divergence from the law of Poiseuille-corresponding to our own results-ought to appear. Thus Hess (8) has examined the viscosity of the same blood in capillaries of a diameter of 0.239 and 0.126 mm. respectively under the same conditions. A calculation on the basis
iStar 2.0 Language Guide

The i* modeling language was introduced to fill the gap in the spectrum of conceptual modeling languages, focusing on the intentional (why? ), social (who? ), and strategic (how? how else? ) dimensions. i* has been applied in many areas, e.g., healthcare, security analysis, eCommerce. Although i* has seen much academic application, the diversity of extensions and variations can make it difficult for novices to learn and use it in a consistent way. This document introduces the iStar 2.0 core language, evolving the basic concepts of i* into a consistent and clear set of core concepts, upon which to build future work and to base goal-oriented teaching materials. This document was built from a set of discussions and input from various members of the i* community. It is our intention to revisit, update and expand the document after collecting examples and concrete experiences with iStar 2.0.
Comprehensive Analysis of Genic Male Sterility-Related Genes in Brassica rapa Using a Newly Developed Br300K Oligomeric Chip

To identify genes associated with genic male sterility (GMS) that could be useful for hybrid breeding in Chinese cabbage ( Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis ), floral bud transcriptome analysis was carried out using a B . rapa microarray with 300,000 probes (Br300K). Among 47,548 clones deposited on a Br300K microarray with seven probes of 60 nt length within the 3' 150 bp region, a total of 10,622 genes were differentially expressed between fertile and sterile floral buds; 4,774 and 5,848 genes were up-regulated over 2-fold in fertile and sterile buds, respectively. However, the expression of 1,413 and 199 genes showed fertile and sterile bud-specific features, respectively. Genes expressed specifically in fertile buds, possibly GMS-related genes, included homologs of several Arabidopsis male sterility-related genes, genes associated with the cell wall and synthesis of its surface proteins, pollen wall and coat components, signaling components, and nutrient supplies. However, most early genes for pollen development, genes for primexine and callose formation, and genes for pollen maturation and anther dehiscence showed no difference in expression between fertile and sterile buds. Some of the known genes associated with Arabidopsis pollen development showed similar expression patterns to those seen in this study, while others did not. BrbHLH89 and BrMYP99 are putative GMS genes. Additionally, 17 novel genes identified only in B . rapa were specifically and highly expressed only in fertile buds, implying the possible involvement in male fertility. All data suggest that Chinese cabbage GMS might be controlled by genes acting in post-meiotic tapetal development that are different from those known to be associated with Arabidopsis male sterility.
Conserved androgenic differentiation pathways are repurposed during the evolution of adult sexual plasticity

Early exposure to androgens is necessary to organize male phenotype, and inhibition of androgen signaling adversely affects external genitalia development. Nonetheless, vertebrates that remain sexually plastic as adults require mechanisms that induce changes and prevent fixation of genital morphology. In Lythrypnus dalli, a highly social hermaphroditic fish, sex differences in genitalia morphology are maintained in the absence of dimorphic levels of potent fish androgen 11-ketotestosterone. Since a functional androgen receptor (AR) is critical to the masculinization of phenotype across all vertebrates, local differences in the AR may be one mechanism to maintain dimorphic genitalia in this species. We demonstrate that AR expression is high throughout the male genitalia, but low or absent in female genitalia. Animals with ambiguous genitalia exhibited higher AR expression than females within the body of the papilla. In addition, both male and female developing L. dalli exhibited high mesenchymal AR expression suggesting that elevated that levels of AR in this region of ambiguous animals may be characteristic of multipotentiality, allowing for genitalia morphogenesis in either direction. To examine the necessity of AR in maintaining male-typical genitalia, nesting males were intraperitoneally injected with 50μg/g/day of flutamide (AR antagonist) or a vehicle for five days. Compared to control animals, flutamide treated males had a significant percent decrease in papilla length to width ratio. In a species that must remain neutral to sexual canalization, regional differences in AR expression appear to mediate this phenotypic difference. INDEX WORDS: Androgen receptor, Sexual plasticity, Sexual differentiation CONSERVED ANDROGENIC DIFFERENTIATION PATHWAYS ARE REPURPOSED DURING THE EVOLUTION OF ADULT SEXUAL PLASTICITY