Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and membrane interactions of spin-label bifunctional reagents.

The design of chemical reagents that interact with biological membranes requires knowledge of the orientation and location of the reagents with respect to the membrane surface and of the partition coefficients of the reagents between membrane and water. These properties are explored here for a class of molecules having the following properties: (1) they have long, flexible chains which are, in some cases, long enough to span the membrane; (2) there is a polar, or functional, group at each end of the chain; (3) the structures are symmetrical about a center atom which is part of a paramagnetic, spin-label ring. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra were used to determine whether molecules with the above features take up an Orientation in a lipid membrane such that the polar or functional groups on each end of the molecule are on the same side of a membrane or are on opposite sides, indicating a membrane-spanning orientation. The only case of a mem- brane-spanning orientation found was for a dicarboxylic acid of total chain length equal to twice that of the fatty acyl chains of the lipid. When amide linkages are substituted for two methylenes in the structure that spans the membrane, a dif- ferent orientation is observed. All of the molecules extended by amide linkages take up an orientation in a membrane in which both polar ends of the molecule are on the same side of the membrane, giving EPR signals in oriented membranes similar to those of bifunctional molecules that are too short to span the membrane. The EPR spectra do not provide unambiguous proof of whether the flexible molecules with both functional groups on one side of a membrane are extended on the surface or are bent and intercalated into the membrane hydrophobic interior, so two other tests of these possibilities In the presence of a membrane, an amphiphilic molecule in aqueous solution partitions between the membrane and water. This sort of process is involved in membrane binding of am- phiphilic drugs (Seeman, 1972), of fluorescent and para- magnetic probes (Radda, 1975; Berliner, 1976, 1979), of chemical reagents directed to membrane components (Peters & Richards, 1977), and, probably, also of nascent polrpeptide chains (Inouye et al., 1982), among others. Our own interest in binding of amphiphilic molecules to membranes is based on a desire to design protein modification reagents with spe- cificity for particular cellular components. We have syn- thesized a series of long, flexible bifunctional molecules. In the following paper (Willingham & Gaffney, 1983) we will show that variations in these structures result in specificities
Cough frequency in children with stable asthma: correlation with lung function, exhaled nitric oxide, and sputum eosinophil count

Background: A study was undertaken to assess the correlation between cough frequency in asthmatic children with lung function and two non-invasive markers of airway inflammation. Methods: Thirty two children of median age 12.0 years (interquartile range (IQR) 9.5–13.4) with stable asthma were recruited. They underwent spirometric testing, exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) measurement, sputum induction for differential cell count, and ambulatory cough monitoring over 17 hours and 40 minutes. Coughing episodes were counted both as individual spikes and as clusters. Results: Complete cough frequency data were available in 29 children (90%) and their median forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and eNO were 88.5% (IQR 79.5–98) and 23.9 ppb (IQR 11.4–41.5), respectively. The median number of cough episodes was 14 (IQR 7.0–24.0) which was significantly higher than that of normal children (6.7 (IQR 4.1–10.5), p<0.001). Sputum induction was successful in 61% of the subjects; the median induced sputum eosinophil count was 0.05% (IQR 0–9.0). Cough frequency was found to have a significant positive correlation with eNO (Spearman’s r =0.781, p<0.001) but not with FEV1 or sputum eosinophil count (r =−0.270, p=0.157; r =0.173, p=0.508, respectively). Conclusions: Children with stable asthma have increased cough frequency compared with normal controls and cough frequency was greater during the day than at night. Cough may be a more sensitive marker of airway inflammation than simple spirometry.
Banishing “I” and “we” from accounts of metacognition

Abstract Carruthers offers a promising model for how “we” know the propositional contents of “our” own minds. Unfortunately, in retaining talk of first-person access to mental states, his suggestions assume that a higher-order self is already “in the loop. ” We invite Carruthers to eliminate the first-person from his model and to develop a more thoroughly third-person model of metacognition.
Designing an Energy Management System for smart houses

Most advantages that the smart grid will bring derive from its capability of improving reliability performance and customers' responsiveness and encouraging greater efficiency decisions by the customers. In this optic, the paper presents an innovative Energy Management System for smart houses, allowing the optimization of the electricity cost and electrical energy consumption and, at the same time, preserving the end-user comfort.
Splitarchitecture: SDN for the carrier domain

The concept of SDN has emerged as a way to address numerous challenges with traditional network architectures by decoupling network control and forwarding. So far, the use cases for SDN mainly targeted data-center applications. This article considers SDN for network carriers, facing operation of large-scale networks with millions of customers, multiple technologies, and high availability demands. With specific carrier-grade features such as scalability, reliability, flexibility, modularity, and virtualization in mind, the SPARC EU project has developed the SPARC SplitArchitecture concept. The SplitArchitecture control plane allows hierarchical layering of several control plane layers which can be flexibly mapped to data plane layers. Between control layers open interfaces are used. Furthermore, SplitArchitecture proposes an additional split of forwarding and processing functions in data path elements, enabling switch based OAM functionality and handling of tunneling techniques. The SplitArchitecture concept is evaluated in a prototype demonstrating an SDN version of BRAS: the floating BRAS. The floating BRAS allows creation of residential Internet access services with dynamically managed BRAS instances. The demo is based on a controller enabling protected MPLS transport connections spanning SDN-controlled aggregation and IP/MPLS-based core domains. The prototype showcases how SplitArchitecture enables virtualization of service nodes in an SDN-controlled network, leading to increased flexibility in configuration and placement of service creation functions. Overall, the results show that it is technically and economically beneficial to apply SDN, and specifically the SplitArchitecture concept, to the carrier domain.
Differential regulation of endothelial cell adhesion molecule expression by nitric oxide donors and antioxidants

Although nitric oxide (NO) and antioxidants inhibit adhesion molecule expression, their inhibitory effects on nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) activation may differ. The NO donors, but not 8‐bromo‐cGMP, decreased tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α)‐induced VCAM‐1, ICAM‐1, and E‐selectin expression by 11‐70%. In contrast, NAC completely abolished VCAM‐1 and E‐selectin expression and decreased ICAM‐1 expression by 56%. Gel shift assays demonstrate that NF‐κB activation was inhibited by both NO and antioxidants. The activation of NF‐κB involves the phosphorylation and degradation of its cytoplasmic inhibitor IκB‐α by 26S proteasomes. The 26S proteasome inhibitor MG132 prevented the degradation of phosphorylated IκB‐α. NAC inhibited IκB kinase (IKK) activity and prevented IκB‐α phosphorylation and degradation. In contrast, NO did not inhibit IKK activity, IκB‐α phosphorylation, or IκB‐α degradation. However, NO, but not antioxidants, induced IκB‐α promoter activity. The inhibitory effects of NO on adhesion molecule expression, therefore, differs from that of antioxidants in terms of the mechanism by which NF‐κB is inactivated. J. Leukoc. Biol. 63: 732–739; 1998.
Spineless solutions

Creating and expanding research and development (RD fostering research requires different approaches. Many Asian and Latin American countries have implemented national scholarship programmes to send students, junior and senior researchers abroad for scientific training in an effort to create qualified personnel so as to jumpstart local R&D upon their return. As a result, the publication rates of South American countries have doubled during the past decade, but still account for only 4% of the global publication volume [1], mainly owing to limited funding. > Adopting research strategies based on […] invertebrate models […] could thereby provide a boost for research in developing and middle‐income countries. It is therefore necessary to adopt additional, cost‐efficient strategies to produce reliable data, within the funding constraints, that contribute to building a viable research infrastructure. In terms of biomedical research and drug discovery, this could involve investing into cheaper alternatives to rodent models for in vivo testing of drug candidates, such as invertebrate species, to decrease cost and time, and to stimulate new research areas and high‐throughput (HTS) screening. Adopting research strategies based on HTS of invertebrate models, which are already benefiting research elsewhere, could thereby provide a boost for research in developing and middle‐income countries. ### Animal models in biomedical research In 2013, middle‐income countries invested on average 1.36% of their combined GDP into research and development, compared to 1.70% in the United Kingdom or 2.72% in the United States [2]. In addition, the financial crash of 2007 has greatly affected the budget allocation for research in developing countries where the majority of funding for …
Selective acceptance of MHC class I-deficient tumor grafts in the brain

H-2-deficient (H-2-) tumor variants were accepted equally well compared with H-2+ wild-type cells in the brain of syngeneic mice, while the H-2- cells were selectively eliminated when inoculated extracranially. This indicates a specific absence or suppression of the defense against MHC class I-deficient cells in the brain, suggested to be mediated by NK cells. In contrast, T cell-mediated immune reactions could clearly be detected in the brain under the same experimental conditions. This was shown in control experiments where H-2+ tumor cells were rejected from the brain of preimmunized or allogeneic mice. The present findings may be important for the understanding of neurotropic virus infections, immunology and immunotherapy of brain tumors, as well as for the growing interest in tissue grafting within the central nervous system.
MALT GASTRIC LYMPHOMA : AN UPDATE OF PATHOGENETIC FEATURES

Extra-nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue represents approximately 8% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas1,2. Extranodal low-grade lymphomas were described at different sites including the gastrointestinal tract, salivary glands, lung and thyroid, showed similar clinical and histological features and are grouped into the MALT (Mucosa Associated Lymphoid Tissue) lymphoma3-6. The most common sites of involvement of MALT lymphomas include the stomach (70%), lung (14%), ocular adnexa (12%), thyroid (4%), and small intestine (including immunoproliferative small intestinal disease; 1%)7. Thus, the stomach is involved in almost two-thirds of all cases8. In some geographic areas, such as north-eastern Italy, the frequency of MALT gastric lymphoma is particularly high, with an incidence of 13.2 cases per 100,000 per year, significantly higher than in other European countries9. Gastric MALT lymphoma is an indolent disease, remaining confined to the stomach for long periods, with ten-year survival rate approximately of 90%10,11. However, in some cases a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) could develop in MALT lymphoma, reducing the tenyear survival rate drops to approximately 42%10.
Compliance with inhaled asthma medication in preschool children.

BACKGROUND--Previous studies have shown poor compliance with regular drug therapy in children and adults with asthma. In preschool children the parents supervise and are responsible for drug administration, but little is known of compliance in this group. In addition, there are few data on the patterns of drug use of inhaled prophylactic asthma therapy or of the relation between compliance and symptom control. A study was undertaken to address these issues with the hypothesis that parental supervision would result in good compliance. METHODS--The subjects were 29 asthmatic children aged 15 months to five years already established on inhaled prophylactic medication delivered through a large volume spacer. The prescribed drug regimens varied between subjects. This was an observational study using an electronic inhaler timer device to record the date and time of each actuation of the aerosol canister. Diary cards were used for parallel recording of symptoms and parentally reported compliance with a drug regimen. RESULTS--Variable and generally poor compliance was demonstrated with a median of 50% of study days with full compliance (subject range 0-94%) and an overall median of 77% of prescribed doses of therapy taken during the study period. No relation was found between frequency of prescribed regimen and good compliance. Day care was associated with poorer compliance. No relation between good compliance and low symptom scores was found. CONCLUSION--Compliance with inhaled prophylactic therapy is poor in preschool children with asthma whose medication is administered under parental supervision.
Comparison of periosteal pedicle graft and subepithelial connective tissue graft for the treatment of gingival recession defects.

BACKGROUND The use of periosteum as a pedicle graft in the treatment of gingival recession defects is a recent advancement. The subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) is considered the gold standard for the treatment of gingival recession defects. The present randomized controlled trial was done to compare periosteal pedicle graft (PPG) with SCTG for the treatment of gingival recession defects. METHODS 10 males and 10 females between the ages of 16 and 40 years (mean age 25.2 years) with Miller's Class I and II recessions ≥3 mm participated in this one-year clinical study. They were assigned randomly to test group (PPG) and control group (SCTG). Results were evaluated based on parameters measuring patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes associated with two treatment procedures. Significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS At the end of the study, the defect coverage was 3.1 ± 0.13 mm or 92.6% in the test group compared to the control group in which the defect coverage was 2.70 ± 0.11 mm or 88.5%. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). The average residual defect was comparable between the two groups, i.e. 0.3 ± 0.67 and 0.5 ± 0.84 in the PPG and SCTG group respectively. The test group was rated higher in terms of overall patient satisfaction (p < 0.02) and comfort during and after the procedure (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS PPG and SCTG have comparable clinical effectiveness, but PPG is superior to SCTG in terms of patient-centred outcomes, reflecting improved patient comfort and overall patient satisfaction.
bit.ly/malicious: Deep dive into short URL based e-crime detection

Existence of spam URLs over emails and Online Social Media (OSM) has become a massive e-crime. To counter the dissemination of long complex URLs in emails and character limit imposed on various OSM (like Twitter), the concept of URL shortening has gained a lot of traction. URL shorteners take as input a long URL and output a short URL with the same landing page (as in the long URL) in return. With their immense popularity over time, URL shorteners have become a prime target for the attackers giving them an advantage to conceal malicious content. Bitly, a leading service among all shortening services is being exploited heavily to carry out phishing attacks, work-from-home scams, pornographic content propagation, etc. This imposes additional performance pressure on Bitly and other URL shorteners to be able to detect and take a timely action against the illegitimate content. In this study, we analyzed a dataset of 763,160 short URLs marked suspicious by Bitly in the month of October 2013. Our results reveal that Bitly is not using its claimed spam detection services very effectively. We also show how a suspicious Bitly account goes unnoticed despite of a prolonged recurrent illegitimate activity. Bitly displays a warning page on identification of suspicious links, but we observed this approach to be weak in controlling the overall propagation of spam. We also identified some short URL based features and coupled them with two domain specific features to classify a Bitly URL as malicious or benign and achieved an accuracy of 86.41%. The feature set identified can be generalized to other URL shortening services as well. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first large scale study to highlight the issues with the implementation of Bitly's spam detection policies and proposing suitable countermeasures.
Aspirin and the potential role of prostaglandins in colon cancer.

The arachidonic acid cascade generates a family of bioactive lipids that modulate diverse physiological and pathophysiological responses. Although there has been a great deal of interest in the involvement of arachidonic acid metabolites in cancer, there is uncertainty about which metabolites are the most im portant and how they contribute to specific steps in cell trans formation, tumor growth, and metastasis (1-9). The complex ity of arachidonic acid metabolism is daunting to neophytes and the multiplicity of responses exerted by a single metabolite can be confusing to the cognoscenti. This has made it difficult to extrapolate results from animal experiments to human beings. A recent report from Thun et al. (10) and previous reports from Rune et al. (11) and Rosenberg et al. (12) suggest that aspirin intake may reduce colon cancer incidence (11, 12) and mortality (10) in the general population. Other studies from Paganini-Hill et al. (13, 14) do not support such an association. Aspirin is a relatively specific inhibitor of one branch of the arachidonic acid cascade and even though there is not universal agreement among these epidemiological investigations, their findings refocus attention on the role of arachidonic acid me tabolites in cancer. This Perspective was written to highlight some of the existing literature on the aspirin-inhibitable branch of the arachidonic acid cascade and cancer, to apply that liter ature to colon cancer where possible, and to identify deficien cies in our knowledge that need to be addressed. Although the major focus is the colon, the mechanistic concepts should be applicable to other organ sites. The Perspective begins with an overview of arachidonic acid metabolism, proceeds to a consideration of the biochemistry and molecular biology of the enzyme inhibited by aspirin, touches on the signal transduction pathways linked to arachi donic acid metabolism, and then considers mechanisms by which specific arachidonic acid metabolites participate in the carcinogenic process. The review is not meant to be compre hensive and apologies are made in advance to colleagues whose work is not highlighted or was inadvertantly omitted.
Role of Ca 2 (cid:1) /Calmodulin Signaling Pathway on Morphological Development of Candida albicans

A human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans , varies from the yeast form to the hyphal form due to various external signals. This morphogenetic transformation has been implicated in the development of pathogenicity. In this report, we show that calmodulin inhibitors (TFP and W-7) and an adenylatecyclase inhibitor (MDL-12-330A) suppressed the hyphae formation of C. albicans . Furthermore, the expression of hyphae-speciﬁc mRNAs located downstream from the RAS1-cAMP pathway was inhibited by these inhibitors. Suppression of hyphae formation by TFP or W-7 was not inhibited by the addition of cAMP, and these inhibitors did not affect the amount of cAMP in C. albicans . These results suggest that the Ca 2 (cid:1) /calmodulin pathway contributes to hyphae formation and is related to the RAS1-cAMP pathway.
A new approach to beamformer design for massive MIMO systems based on k-Regularity

In this paper, a new beamformer design paradigm, named k-regular beamformer, is proposed for massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission systems to achieve most of the gain inherent to a large antenna array without too much complexity. In the proposed k-regular beamforming scheme, each of multiple data streams for MIMO transmission is multiplied by k complex gains and assigned to k out of available NT transmit antennas, and signals assigned to the same transmit antenna are added and transmitted through the assigned antenna. The proposed k-regular beamformer can implement antenna selection (corresponding to k=1) to optimal eigen-beamforming (corresponding to k=NT) by controlling the parameter k, and thus enables arbitrary trade-off between complexity and performance. Two beamformer design algorithms, the maximum correlation method (MCM) and the projected iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm (PISTA), are proposed to design k-regular beamforming matrices. Numerical results show that the proposed k-regular beamformer even with small k significantly improves the rate gain over simple antenna selection and achieves most of the optimal eigen-beamforming performance with far less complexity than that required for optimal eigen-beamforming for massive MIMO transmission.
Analyzing Early At-Risk Factors in Higher Education e-Learning Courses

College students enrolled in online courses lack many of the supports available to students in traditional face-to-face classes on a campus such as meeting the instructor, having a set class time, discussing topics in-person during class, meeting peers and having the option to speak with them outside of class, being able to visit faculty during office hours, and so on. Instructors also lack these interactions, which typically provide meaningful indications of how students are doing individually and as a cohort. Further, online instructors typically carry a heavier teaching load, making it even more important for them to find quick, reliable, and easily understandable indicators of student progress, so that they can prioritize their interventions based on which students are most in need. In this paper, we study very early predictors of student success and failure. Our data is based on student activity, and is drawn from courses offered online by a large private university. Our data source is the Soomo Learning Environment, which hosts the course content as well as extensive formative assessment. We find that students who access the resources early, continue accessing the resources throughout the early weeks of the course, and perform well on formative activities are more likely to succeed. Through use of these indicators in early weeks, it is possible to derive actionable, understandable, and reasonably reliable predictions of student success and failure.