Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IL-10 Is Critical for Host Resistance and Survival During Gastrointestinal Helminth Infection

Resistance to many intestinal nematodes is dependent on the induction of polarized type 2 cytokine responses, whereas type 1 responses can exacerbate these infections. The contributions of IL-4 and IL-13 to the development of resistance have been well described for a variety of intestinal parasites; however, the role of IL-10 has not been previously investigated. In this study we infected IL-10-, IL-10/IL-4-, IL-10/IL-12-, IL-4-, and IL-12-deficient mice with Trichuris muris to determine whether IL-10 contributes to the development of immunity. Interestingly, T. muris-infected IL-10-, IL-4-, and IL-10/IL-4-deficient mice failed to expel the parasite, and animals deficient in IL-10 displayed marked morbidity and mortality. In contrast, double IL-10/IL-12-deficient mice were completely resistant and mounted a highly polarized type 2 cytokine response, demonstrating that the increased susceptibility of IL-10-deficient mice was dependent on IL-12. Further study suggested that the susceptibility of IL-10- and IL-10/IL-4-deficient mice was probably attributable to a marked increase in type 1 cytokine production in those animals. The mortality observed in T. muris-infected IL-10- and IL-10/IL-4-deficient mice correlated with increased inflammation, loss of Paneth cells, and absence of mucus in the cecum. Interestingly, survival was enhanced in T. muris-infected IL-10/IL-4-deficient mice if a broad spectrum antibiotic was administered, suggesting that an outgrowth of opportunistic bacteria was contributing to the high degree of morbidity and mortality. Overall, these studies reveal a critical role for IL-10 in the polarization of Th2 responses, development of resistance during T. muris infection, and maintenance of barrier function in the colon.
The Implications of Post-coital Intravaginal Cleansing for the Introduction of Vaginal Microbicides in South Africa

Post-coital intravaginal cleansing (IVC) could counteract the protective effect of a vaginal microbicide. IVC less than 1 h after sex is discouraged in most micro- bicide trials. During a microbicide trial in KwaZulu-Natal, we collected quantitative data on post-coital IVC. We discussed IVC during in-depth-interviews (IDIs) and focus- group discussions (FGDs) with women enrolled in the trial, and during FGDs with community members. Nearly one- third (336/1,143) of women reported IVC less than an hour after sex. In multivariate analysis, post-coital IVC was associated with younger age, larger household size, greater sexual activity, consistent gel use, and clinic of enrolment. During IDIs and FGDs, respondents described post-coital IVC as a common hygiene practice motivated by the need to remove semen, vaginal fluids and sweat, although this practice may be amenable to change in the context of microbicide use. We need to consider strategies for influencing post-coital IVC practices in future microbicide trials and delivery programmes.
Path planning maximising human comfort for assistive robots

Motion planning for service robots used for human assistance in complex environments is a challenging task with multifaceted requirements. On the one hand, the generated path has to avoid obstacles and satisfy the user requirements. On the other, the generated path has to be perceived as comfortable by the user. An efficient solution to this difficult problem is based on a separation of concerns between two subproblems: 1. generating a sequence of waypoints that connects the source to the destination, 2. generating a path that joins the waypoints and complies with the dynamic constraints. In this paper, we concentrate on the second problem with an explicit focus on how to account for users' comfort. The result is accomplished by solving an optimal control problem that inherently generates the smooth trajectories required by the user. The cost functions used in the optimisation problem allows to take different dimensions of the user's comfort into consideration. Our technique lends itself to an efficient numeric solution and can be easily applied to different algorithms for waypoint generation.
Succinct Access Control Policies for Published XML Datasets

We consider the setting of secure publishing of XML documents, in which read-only access control policies (ACPs) over static XML datasets are enforced using cryptographic keys. The role-based access control (RBAC) model provides a flexible method for specifying such policies. Extending the RBAC model to include role parameterization addresses the problem of role proliferation which can occur in large scale systems. In this paper, we describe the complete design of a parameterized RBAC (PRBAC) model for XML documents. We also describe algorithms for generating the minimum number of keys required to enforce an arbitrary PRBAC policy; for distributing to each user only keys needed for decrypting accessible nodes; and for applying the minimal number of encryption operations to an XML document required to satisfy the protection requirements of the policy. The time complexity of our approach is linear w.r. t. document size and the number of roles.
Adult Deformity Correction Through Minimally Invasive Lateral Approach Techniques

Study Design. Review of the available literature, authors' opinion. Objective. To review the literature on minimally invasive lateral approach for interbody fusion in treatment of adult deformity. To describe the key points of pertinent surgical anatomy and outline the results of our experience with this technique. Summary of Background Data. Minimally invasive surgery in the management of adult spinal deformity has been introduced to minimize the postoperative morbidity and facilitate earlier recovery in a group of medically fragile patients. Methods. Literature review. Results. Both patient-centered outcome measures (including Oswestry Disability Index, Visual Analogue Scale, and SRS-22) and objective results (correction of coronal and sagittal deformity) are significantly improved in most studies. Reported complication rates differ from one study to another but major complications are low. Infrequent neurologic complications occurred; however, most surgical sequelae were transient and had resolved at later follow-up. The lower blood loss and shorter hospital stay are further benefits of the minimally invasive techniques when compared with results reported for open anterior surgeries for patients with adult deformity. Conclusion. The current expertise of minimally invasive techniques in the management of adult spinal deformity is exponentially evolving, yet even the preliminary outcomes seem quite promising. Acknowledging the details of meticulous surgical technique and local anatomy (e.g., lumbosacral plexus and blood vessels) is the essential key to improving outcomes and reducing the risk of complications.
Analysis of Particle Swarm-Aided Power Plant Optimization

Stochastic optimization algorithms are usually evaluated based on performance on high dimensional benchmark functions and results of these tests determine the direction of development. Benchmark functions however, do not emulate complex engineering problems. In this paper a power plant optimization problem is presented and solved under different constraints with multiple elite dependent and single elite dependent swarm intelligence. Although on benchmark problems multiple elite dependent algorithms usually outperform single elite dependent ones, if search space is represented by simulation software, diversity not just increases iterations but computation time as well and because of that conventional PSO (particle swarm optimization) exceeds modified ones.
A qualitative study of the international medical graduate and the orientation process.

INTRODUCTION International medical graduates (IMGs) play an important role in physician resource planning in many countries and are heavily relied on to fill vacancies in underserved communities. New IMGs may experience difficulty with understanding how medicine is organized in new countries. Effective orientation processes can assist new IMGs in making successful transitions to medical practice in their new countries, reducing professional isolation and enhancing the integration of IMGs and their families within their new communities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore perceptions of, and experiences with, orientation processes for new IMGs. METHODS A stratified sample of IMGs and senior administrators of medical services from each of the regional health authorities in Newfoundland and Labrador was invited to participate in semistructured telephone interviews. RESULTS Thirteen general practitioners/family physicians, 6 specialists and 4 administrators were interviewed. New IMGs need to learn about the health care system and the peculiarities of the specific practice context in which they will be working. Orientation needs to include opportunities for reflecting on one's own cultural biases and for learning about the cultural background and beliefs of a new patient population. Mentoring and effective integration within the community also emerged as important components of effective orientation processes. DISCUSSION Our findings suggest that orientation processes for new IMGs must be attentive to both professional and personal needs, comprehensive, multifaceted and sustained. Orientation that is responsive to the various needs of new IMGs and their families may contribute to enhanced retention. CONCLUSION Effective orientation processes are an important means of reducing professional isolation and supporting new IMGs in the transition to medical practice in their new communities.
Precision Motion Control of Piezoelectric Nanopositioning Stage With Chattering-Free Adaptive Sliding Mode Control

This paper presents the precision motion control of a piezoelectric nanopositioning stage using a new scheme of adaptive sliding mode control with uncertainty and disturbance estimation (ASMC-UDE). One uniqueness of the reported ASMC-UDE scheme is that an inherent chattering-free control action is guaranteed by eliminating the use of discontinuous control term. The reported ASMC-UDE strategy is easy to realize because the hysteresis effect is not needed to be modeled. Instead, the hysteresis is estimated and compensated by the robust control scheme. The control scheme is applicable to a system plant with either matched or unmatched disturbances. Unlike the existing UDE-based SMC control schemes, a reference model is not required by the proposed ASMC-UDE scheme. The stability of the chattering-free SMC strategy is proved in theory under the Lyapunov framework. The superiority of the presented control scheme over conventional approaches has been confirmed through comparative experimental studies. Moreover, the robustness of the controller in the presence of model disturbance and external disturbance has been verified.
Functional Analysis of the TCR Binding Domain of Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin-1 Predicts Further Diversity in MHC Class II/Superantigen/TCR Ternary Complexes 1

Superantigens (SAGs) aberrantly alter immune system function through simultaneous interaction with lateral surfaces of MHC class II molecules on APCs and with particular variable regions of the TCR β-chain (Vβ). To further define the interface between the bacterial SAG toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) and the TCR, we performed alanine scanning mutagenesis within the putative TCR binding region of TSST-1 along the central α helix adjacent to the N-terminal α helix and the β7-β9 loop as well as with two universally conserved SAG residues (Leu137 and Tyr144 in TSST-1). Mutants were analyzed for multiple functional activities, and various residues appeared to play minor or insignificant roles in the TCR interaction. The locations of six residues (Gly16, Trp116, Glu132, His135, Gln136, and Gln139), each individually critical for functional activity as well as direct interaction with the human TCR Vβ2. 1-chain, indicate that the interface occurs in a novel region of the SAG molecule. Based on these data, a model of the MHC/TSST-1/TCR ternary complex predicts similarities seen with other characterized SAGs, although the CDR3 loop of Vβ2. 1 is probably involved in direct SAG-TCR molecular interactions, possibly contributing to the TCR Vβ specificity of TSST-1.
On the Use of Microarchitecture-Driven Dynamic Voltage Scaling

This paper proposes microarchitecture-driven dynamic voltage scaling as a viable solution to power efficient architectures, with little or no performance penalty. The run-time behavior exhibited by common applications, with active periods, alternated with stall periods due to cache misses, is exploited to reduce the dynamic component of power consumption via selective voltage scaling. As it is shown by experimental results, up to 20% reduction in total energy consumption, 22% in average power and 14% in peak power have been achieved with less than 6% penalty in performance. The study shows that microarchitecture-driven dynamic voltage scaling can become an effective tool for energy reduction in high-performance processors.
An integrated platform for advanced diagnostics

The objective of this work is the systematic study of the use of electrochemical readout for advanced diagnosis and drug monitoring. Whereas to date various electrochemical principles have been studied and successfully tested, they typically operate on a single target molecule and are not integrated in a full data analysis chain. The present work aims to view various sensing approaches and explore the design space for integrated realization of multi-target sensors and sensor arrays.
Consensus tracking control for lure multi-agent systems with time-delays

This paper mainly focuses on the leader — follower exponential consensus tracking problem for lure multi-agent systems with time-delays. First, the one leader — follower consensus tracking is discussed. By the Lyapunov function and the feature of Lure nonlinear function, sufficient conditions of the one leader — follower consensus tracking in a exponential way are obtained and the corresponding static output feedback controller is designed. Furthermore, we extend the one leader — follower consensus tracking to the leadership team — follower consensus tracking with a disconnected communication topology among followers. Using the Lyapunov function and the partial stability theory, sufficient conditions of leadership team — follower exponential consensus tracking with static output feedback controllers are sought out. Finally, two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed schemes.
Opening of Mitochondrial KATP Channels Triggers the Preconditioned State by Generating Free Radicals

The critical time for opening mitochondrial (mito) KATP channels, putative end effectors of ischemic preconditioning (PC), was examined. In isolated rabbit hearts 29±3% of risk zone infarcted after 30 minutes of regional ischemia. Ischemic PC or 5-minute exposure to 10 &mgr;mol/L diazoxide, a mito KATP channel opener, reduced infarction to 3±1% and 8±1%, respectively. The mito KATP channel closer 5-hydroxydecanoate (200 &mgr;mol/L), bracketing either 5-minute PC ischemia or diazoxide infusion, blocked protection (24±3 and 28±6% infarction, respectively). However, 5-hydroxydecanoate starting 5 minutes before long ischemia did not affect protection. Glibenclamide (5 &mgr;mol/L), another KATP channel closer, blocked the protection by PC only when administered early. These data suggest that KATP channel opening triggers protection but is not the final step. Five minutes of diazoxide followed by a 30-minute washout still reduced infarct size (8±3%), implying memory as seen with other PC triggers. The protection by diazoxide was not blocked by 5 &mgr;mol/L chelerythrine, a protein kinase C antagonist, given either to bracket diazoxide infusion or just before the index ischemia. Bracketing preischemic exposure to diazoxide with 50 &mgr;mol/L genistein, a tyrosine kinase antagonist, did not affect infarction, but genistein blocked the protection by diazoxide when administered shortly before the index ischemia. Thus, although it is not protein kinase C-dependent, the protection by diazoxide involves tyrosine kinase. Bracketing diazoxide perfusion with N-(2-mercaptopropionyl) glycine (300 &mgr;mol/L) or Mn(III)tetrakis(4-benzoic acid) porphyrin chloride (7 &mgr;mol/L), each of which is a free radical scavenger, blocked protection, indicating that diazoxide triggers protection through free radicals. Therefore, mito KATP channels are not the end effectors of protection, but rather their opening before ischemia generates free radicals that trigger entrance into a preconditioned state and activation of kinases.
The Genome Sequence of Bluetongue Virus Type 2 from India: Evidence for Reassortment between Eastern and Western Topotype Field Strains

ABSTRACT Bluetongue virus type 2, isolated in India in 1982 (IND1982/01), was obtained from the Orbivirus Reference Collection at IAH Pirbright (http://www.reoviridae.org/dsRNA_virus_proteins/ReoID/btv-2.htm#IND1982/01). Full genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses show that IND1982/01 is a reassortant virus containing genome segments derived from both eastern and western topotypes. These data will help to identify further reassortment events involving this or other virus lineages in the subcontinent.
Autonomic Resource Management with Support Vector Machines

The use of virtualization technology makes data centers more dynamic and easier to administrate. Today, cloud providers offer customers access to complex applications running on virtualized hardware. Nevertheless, big virtualized data centers become stochastic environments and the implification on the user side leads to many challenges for the provider. He has to find cost-efficient configurations and has to deal with dynamic environments to ensure service guarantees. In this paper, we introduce a software solution that reduces the degree of human intervention to manage cloud services. We present a multi-agent system located in the Software as a Service (SaaS) layer. Agents allocate resources, configure applications, check the feasibility of requests, and generate cost estimates. The agents learn behavior models of the services via Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and share their experiences via a global knowledge base. We evaluate our approach on real cloud systems with three different applications, a brokerage system, a high-performance computing software, and a web server.
Superiority of “triple” therapy with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate and tiotropium bromide versus individual components in moderate to severe COPD

Background: The combination of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate (SFC) and tiotropium bromide (TIO) are commonly used treatments in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but there are few data on their effectiveness when used together. We compared the effects of SFC 50/500 μg twice daily in addition to TIO 18 μg once daily with the individual treatments alone. Methods: 41 patients with COPD participated in a randomised, double blind, double dummy, three way crossover study with 2 week washout periods between treatments. Lung function assessment included plethysmography and spirometry. The primary end point was post-dose specific airways conductance (sGaw) area under the curve (AUC0–4 h) on day 14. Results: AUC0–4 h sGaw was significantly higher on day 14 after SFC+TIO compared with TIO (22%) or SFC alone (27%) (both p<0.001). SFC+TIO significantly improved trough forced expiratory volume in 1 s compared with TIO alone (212 ml, p<0.001) and SFC alone (110 ml, p = 0.017) on day 14. Inspiratory capacity measurements also showed significant benefits for triple therapy over individual components on day 14. Subjects receiving SFC+TIO had clinically relevant improvements in Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI) total score of 2.2 compared with TIO alone (p<0.001) (but not SFC alone, 0.7; NS) and used significantly less rescue medication (1.0 occasion less daily than TIO (p<0.001) and 0.6 less than SFC (p = 0.01)). Conclusion: SFC+TIO triple therapy led to greater improvements in bronchodilation compared with TIO and SFC alone. The advantages of triple therapy are observed across a range of physiologically important parameters, including airway conductance and lung volumes. Triple therapy also led to patient related benefits by improving TDI and use of rescue medication. Trial registration number: NCT00325169.
AUI: a programming language for developing plastic interactive software

With the proliferation of consumer computing devices with varied display and input characteristics, it has become desirable to develop interactive systems that are usable across multiple physical environments without requiring costly redesign and reimplementation. Interactive software that easily adapts to new computer systems and environments while maintaining its usability is said to be 'plastic'. This paper introduces the AUI programming language that was designed specifically to support the development of plastic interactive software. An AUI program describes the abstract interaction of the user interface, independent of a particular physical device or concrete interaction style. The features of the AUI language are presented here with examples of how they are used to specify user interaction. As well, this paper describes a prototype implementation that uses function application, pattern matching and lazy evaluation techniques to process the abstract descriptions of the display and user actions.
Partial Shape Matching Without Point-Wise Correspondence

Partial similarity of shapes is a challenging problem arising in many impor-tant applications in computer vision, shape analysis, and graphics, e.g. when one has to deal with partial information and acquisition artifacts. The problem is especially hard when the underlying shapes are non-rigid and are given up to a deformation. Partial matching is usually approached by computing local descriptors on a pair of shapes and then establishing a point-wise non-bijective correspondence between the two, taking into account possibly different parts. In this paper, we introduce an alternative correspondence-less approach to matching fragments to an entire shape undergoing a non-rigid deformation. We use region-wise local descriptors and optimize over the integration domains on which the integral descriptors of the two parts match. The problem is regularized using the Mumford-Shah functional. We show an efﬁcient discretization based on the Ambrosio-Tortorelli approximation generalized to triangular point clouds and meshes, and present experiments demonstrating the success of the proposed method. partial similarity between range scans, point clouds and shapes which does not rely on explicit correspondence. The method is based on regularized matching of region-wise local descriptors, and can be efﬁciently implemented. Experimental results show that our approach performs well with different kind of descriptors and in challenging matching scenarios, such as the presence of geometric and topological noise and occlusions. In the future work, we will efﬁciently implement this method and test in on full cluttered scenes, then extend the method to the setting of two partially-similar full shapes, in which two similar parts have to be found in each shape, and then consider a multi-part matching (puzzle) scenario.