Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Security Singularities

In future studies involving artificial intelligence, the so-called technological singularity is a key theme. It refers to a hypothetical point in the future where technological progress becomes automated through the creation of a new form of intelligence. Under the assumption of adversarial behaviour, this could pose an existential threat to humanity. More modestly, singularities and tipping points refer to thresholds beyond which the behaviour of a system changes in a qualitative way. The nonlinearity of the behaviour causes existing control mechanisms to become obsolete, guiding the system towards a new balance, if this exists. In this paper, we ask the question to what extent the notions of singularity and tipping point can contribute to an analysis of security in 2038. Can we expect to have seen such phenomena in twenty years time, and will they have changed our perception of what security entails? Or are they useless forms of speculation diverting our attention away from the day-to-day best practices that are needed to keep our basic security up-to-date? We discuss examples of singularity-style developments, characterise them in terms of acceleration mechanisms and discontinuities, and discuss whether and how these characteristics should be used to prepare ourselves. We conclude that a broad discussion on potential security singularities and associated general adaptation strategies is more useful than focusing on one big singularity.
New CAD/CAM course framework in digital manufacturing

Despite the importance of manufacturing industry, its position in a nation's economy has shown its shrinking; the workforce in manufacturing industry has been continuously declined. Engineering universities are highly pressured to attract new‐generation youth to traditional engineering programs and improve their retention ratios by keeping students in engineering programs. There is an emerging need to bring some innovations in engineering curriculum design to keep up with the rapid changes in other fields, especially, information technology (IT). In this paper, we focus on our effort in developing a new computer aided design (CAD) and computer integrated manufacturing CAM) course. Literatures on CAD/CAM course designs are surveyed to identify the limitations in traditional teaching CAD/CAM, the trend of manufacturing technologies is discussed to determine the industry's expectations of their new employees. A new CAD/CAM course has been designed by incorporating the theory of Digital Manufacturing and CAD/CAM integrated tools together in teaching.
The Role of Magnetic Fields in Setting the Star Formation Rate and the Initial Mass Function

Star-forming gas clouds are strongly magnetized, and their ionization fractions are high enough to place them close to the regime of ideal magnetohydrodyamics on all but the smallest size scales. In this review we discuss the effects of magnetic fields on the star formation rate (SFR) in these clouds, and on the mass spectrum of the fragments that are the outcome of the star formation process, the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Current numerical results suggest that magnetic fields by themselves are minor players in setting either the SFR or the IMF, changing star formation rates and median stellar masses only by factors of $\sim 2-3$ compared to non-magnetized flows. However, the indirect effects of magnetic fields, via their interaction with star formation feedback in the form of jets, photoionization, radiative heating, and supernovae, could have significantly larger effects. We explore evidence for this possibility in current simulations, and suggest avenues for future exploration, both in simulations and observations.
GPX2 suppression of H2O2 stress regulates cervical cancer metastasis and apoptosis via activation of the β-catenin-WNT pathway

Background Increasing evidence suggests that glutathione peroxidase 2 (GPX2) plays important roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of various human cancers, such as colorectal carcinomas and lung adenocarcinomas. However, the role of GPX2 in cervical cancer is unclear. In this study, we identified the role of GPX2 in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines. Materials and methods The basal mRNA and protein expression of GPX2 in cervical cancer cells and a series of key molecules in the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and WNT/β-catenin pathways were examined via real time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot assays. The biological phenotype of the cervical cancer cell lines was detected by the cloning formation and transwell assays, and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were detected by flow cytometry. Finally, the GPX2 expression level in 100 clinical cervical tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry. Results We found that GPX2 was highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues compared to normal individuals and promoted the proliferation and metastasis of cervical cancer cells, and this promotion correlated with the activation of EMT and WNT/β-catenin signaling in vitro. GPX2 was determined to reduce apoptotic damage by reducing hydroperoxides. According to the characteristics and verification of GPX2, this series of phenotypes is clearly related to oxidative stress in cells. Furthermore, we verified that GPX2 was highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and promoted the metastasis of cervical cancer. Conclusion In summary, we found that GPX2 was highly expressed in cervical cancer cells and promoted the proliferation and metastasis of cervical cancer by affecting oxidative stress. Our study provides a new target for the clinical treatment of cervical cancer.
The Estimation Parameters of Kuznets Spatial Environmental Curve in European Countries ( A Case Study of CO2 And PM10 and Incidence of Tuberculosis and Life Expectancy at Birth)

Environmental Kuznets Curve is one of the most well-known concepts in the field of environmental economics that has developed during the past twenty years in various aspects. One of the new improvements in the study of EKC relationship is paying attention to spatial nature of environmental phenomena. The concept of the spatial environmental Kuznets curve (SEKC) is entirely similar to that of EKC, except that it considers spatial autocorrelation of environmental pollutants as one of the explanatory variables. The present investigation attempts by using spatial panel data model to examine the spatial environmental Kuznets curve (SEKC) for two global (CO2) and local (PM10) pollutants, Incidence of tuberculosis and Life expectancy at birth, in geographical scope of 30 European Countries over the period of 1992–2008. According to the results, there is an inverse U-shaped relationship between income and carbon dioxide and particulate matter, tuberculosis, life expectancy at birth there
Regional Cerebral Perfusion and Cerebrovascular Reactivity in Elderly Controls With Subtle Cognitive Deficits

Background: Recent studies suggested that arterial spin labeling (ASL)-based measures of cerebral blood flow (CBF) as well as cerebral vasoreactivity to CO2 (CVR CO2) show significant alterations mainly in posterior neocortical areas both in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease. It remains, however, unknown whether similar changes occur in at risk healthy elders without clinically overt symptoms. This longitudinal study investigated patterns of ASL perfusion and CVR CO2 as a function of the cognitive trajectories in asymptomatic elderly individuals. Methods: Seventy-nine community-dwelling subjects (mean age: 78.7 years, 34 male) underwent three neuropsychological assessments during a subsequent 3-year period. Individuals were classified as stable-stable (SS), variable (V), or progressive-progressive (PP). Between-group comparisons were conducted for ASL CBF and transit-time delay maps and β-maps of CO2 response. Spearman’s rho maps assessed the correlation between ASL (respectively, CVR CO2 measures) and Shapes test for working memory, as well as Verbal fluency test for executive functions. Three group-with-continuous-covariate-interaction designs were implemented to investigate group-based differences on the association between neuropsychological scores and ASL or CO2 measures. Results: Comparison of CBF maps demonstrates significantly lower perfusion in the V-group as to PP-cases predominantly in parietal regions, including the precuneus and, to a lesser degree, in temporal and frontal cortex. A stronger CVR CO2 response was found in the PP-group in left parietal areas compared to the V-group. V-cases showed a stronger ASL-Shape value relationship than V-group in right temporoparietal junction and superior parietal lobule. CO2-Shape value correlation was significantly higher in both SS and PP-groups compared to the V-group in right insular and superior perisylvian regions. Conclusion: Our data indicate the presence of decreased ASL and CVR CO2 values mainly in parietal and fronto-temporal areas in cases with the first signs of cognitive instability (V-group). Importantly, the PP-group, at high risk for MCI transition, displays an increase of both parameters in the same areas. Clinicoradiologic correlations also indicate a clear distinction between the V-group and both PP and SS-cases. These data imply the presence of an inverted U-shape pattern of regional blood flow and CVR in old age that might predict subsequent cognitive fate.
On the Evolution of Feature Dependencies: An Exploratory Study of Preprocessor-based Systems

Feature dependencies are the subject of several studies and have been approached with different goals, such as software quality. However, we still It is not known whether feature dependencies are prone to change during the lifetime of configurable systems. To minimize this lack, we perform an empirical study to assess the evolution of feature dependencies. We focus in feature dependencies at the source-code level written with preprocessor directives, for this, we analyze the history of feature dependency changes in 15 preprocessor based systems written in C. In order to identify the most common types of changes on feature dependencies, we propose a catalog of possible changes in these dependencies. We found out that about 9% of the feature dependencies between two subsequent versions are added, and less of 4% are excluded. Whereas, about 87% of the dependencies between two subsequent versions are preserved, and 14% has some kind of structural modification. Besides, the results show that functions are 3x more prone to change than variables in feature dependencies. In summary, our results show that: (i) feature dependencies prone to be preserved during the evolution; (ii) about 1/5 of the dependencies preserved between two versions have structural changes; (iii) functions changes more than variables; (iv) developers may have to deal with 1/4 of the dependencies on each evolution of the configurable system.
A Process Model for Establishing Business Process Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing can be an organisational strategy to distribute work to Internet users and harness innovation, information, capacities, and variety of business endeavours. As crowdsourcing is different from other business strategies, organisations are often unsure as to how to best structure different crowdsourcing activities and integrate them with other organisational business processes. To manage this problem, we design a process model guiding how to establish business process crowdsourcing. The model consists of seven components covering the main activities of crowdsourcing processes, which are drawn from a knowledge base incorporating diverse knowledge sources in the domain. The built model is evaluated using case studies, suggesting the adequateness and utility of the model.
lncRNA H19 promotes viability and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of lung adenocarcinoma cells by targeting miR-29b-3p and modifying STAT3

Considering the joint contribution of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) to tumorigenesis, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether and how lncRNA H19 targets miR-29b-3p to affect the progression of lung adenocarcinoma by the modulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). A total of 305 lung adenocarcinoma tissues and four human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines (i.e. Calu-3, NCI-H1975, A549 and NCI-H23) were used. pcDNA3.1-H19, short interfering RNA (si-)H19, miR-29b-3p mimic, miR-29b-3p inhibitor and negative control (NC) were transfected into the cells, and the proliferation, viability and apoptosis of the cells were determined using a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, colony formation assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The results indicated that highly expressed H19 and poorly expressed miR-29b-3p could serve as predictors for the poor prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients. Additionally, si-H19 and miR-29b-3p mimic significantly increased the apoptosis of lung adenocarcinoma cells, and decreased the survival rate and viability of cells. Simultaneously, expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) -specific proteins was significantly altered, i.e. increased epithelial cadherin expression, as well as decreased vimentin, Snail and Slug expression. Furthermore, miR-29b-3p was verified to be targeted and regulated by H19, and STAT3 was targeted and modified by miR-29b-3p. Ultimately, STAT3 was identified to decrease lung adenocarcinoma cell viability, survival, apoptosis and EMT imposed by miR-29b-3p. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that lncRNA H19/miR-29b-3p/STAT3 signaling was involved in the development of lung adenocarcinoma, which may be critical for developing effective diagnostic and treatment strategies for lung adenocarcinoma.
Know your limits: RPA availability and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer

DNA replication stress (DRS), i.e. the abnormal slowing or stalling of DNA replication fork (RF) progression, is recognized as an important cause of genomic instability that in turn drives cancer development (reviewed in [1]). However, DRS is also central to cancer treatment; indeed, genotoxic anti-cancer agents including platinum compounds and nucleoside analogues selectively eliminate rapidly-dividing tumour cells by inhibiting the progression of replicative DNA polymerases. In addition, certain cancer-associated genetic aberrations, e.g, BRCA1/2 mutations in breast and ovarian tumours, have been shown to compromise the integrity of stalled RF, thereby conferring sensitivity to genotoxic chemotherapeutics [2]. The above considerations have spurred considerable research on the molecular underpinnings of DRS, with the ultimate goal of developing new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for clinical management of cancer. Stalled RF are characterized by abnormally long stretches of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) which become rapidly coated by heterotrimeric Replication Protein A (RPA). RPA-bound ssDNA then stages the recruitment and activation of Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase. This triggers the “intra-S phase checkpoint” phosphorylation cascade, culminating in stabilization of stalled RF and inhibition of DNA replication origin firing. Cells defective in intra-S phase checkpoint signalling, e.g. upon treatment with ATR inhibitors, fail to restrain new origin firing upon DRS, which exacerbates the consequences of RF stalling by greatly increasing the production of ssDNA. This engenders so-called “replication catastrophe” i.e., massive generation of ssDNA-RPA complexes, which exhausts the cellular pool of RPA leading to collapse of persistently-stalled RF, formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB), and cell death [3]. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) removes helixdestabilizing replication-blocking DNA lesions induced by a plethora of genotoxins including UV light and platinumbased chemotherapy compounds such as cisplatin (CDDP). In addition to its well-documented functions in the S phase checkpoint and DNA replication, RPA plays Editorial
Vortex-Induced Vibration Tests of a Marine Growth Wrapped Cylinder at Subcritical Reynolds Number

Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) may cause great damage to deep water risers. Estimation of accurate hydrodynamic coefficients and response amplitudes for fouled tubular cylinders subjected to VIVs is a complex task. This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental investigation on in-line and cross-flow forces acting on cylinders wrapped with marine growth, subjected to current at Subcritical Reynolds Number. The drag and lift force coefficients have been determined through the use of the Fast Fourier Analysis methods. The different tests were conducted in the offshore engineering laboratory at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia. In this study, a cylinder with outer diameter Do = 27 mm, fixed at top as cantilever beam was used. The in-line and cross-flow forces were measured using VIV Force Totaller (VIVFT). VIVFT is a two degree of freedom (2DOF) forces sensor developed by UTP to measure the VIV forces. The tests were conducted for current velocity varied between 0.118 to 0.59 m/s. The test results suggest that the cylinder wrapped with marine growth has shown an overall increase in drag and inertia coefficients as well as on response amplitudes.
The effect of small business clusters in prioritising barriers to e-commerce adoption in regional SMEs

There have been many studies of Ecommerce in the small business sector (van Slyke et al 2005, Kaynak et al 2005, MacGregor et al 2005). A number of reasons have been put forward but principal among them has been the realisation that both at an academic as well as a government level that the small to medium enterprise (SME) sector is one of the cornerstones of economic prosperity in many countries (NOIE, 2002, MacGregor et al 2005). Studies (Taylor & Murphy 2004, Scupola 2003, European Commission 2002, Stockdale & Standing 2004) have shown that many SMEs are turning more and more to global markets.
Interocular Symmetry of Fixation, Optic Disc, and Corneal Astigmatism in Bilateral High Myopia: The Shanghai High Myopia Study

Purpose We investigate the interocular symmetry of fixation, optic disc, and corneal astigmatism in bilateral high myopia, and evaluate the predictive relationships between them. Methods We enrolled 202 cases with bilateral high myopia. Fixation, in terms of the bivariate contour ellipse area (BCEA), was evaluated with the Macular Integrity Assessment microperimetry. Optic disc features, including orientation, tilt, and rotation, were evaluated with ultrawide-field retinal photographs. Corneal topography was performed with Pentacam. Interocular symmetry of fixation, optic disc, and corneal astigmatism was assessed, and the predictive relationships between these parameters were investigated. Results Axial length differences between the two eyes were: ≥0 to ≤1 mm, 67.8%; 1 to ≤2 mm, 20.3%; 2 to ≤3 mm, 9.4%; and >3 mm, 2.5%. Axial length, 95% BCEA, and magnitude of corneal astigmatism showed good interocular symmetry, whereas the optic disc tilt, rotation, and axis of corneal astigmatism (mirror axes) showed less symmetry (all P < 0.05). No interocular symmetry was observed in the direction of the fixation ellipse. In both eyes, the corneal steep meridian more often was consistent with the optic disc orientation than inconsistent (right eye [OD], P < 0.001; left eye [OS], P = 0.029). Conclusions As different parameters presented different degrees of symmetry, cautions are needed when including both eyes or only one lateral eye in cases of bilateral high myopia for clinical investigations. The optic disc orientation, to some extent, may indicate the steep meridian of the cornea. Translational Relevance Our study provided evidences for selection of eye laterality in clinical investigations of highly myopic eyes.
Delineating conditions and subtypes in chronic pain using neuroimaging

Abstract Differentiating subtypes of chronic pain still remains a challenge—both from a subjective and objective point of view. Personalized medicine is the current goal of modern medical care and is limited by the subjective nature of patient self-reporting of symptoms and behavioral evaluation. Physiology-focused techniques such as genome and epigenetic analyses inform the delineation of pain groups; however, except under rare circumstances, they have diluted effects that again, share a common reliance on behavioral evaluation. The application of structural neuroimaging towards distinguishing pain subtypes is a growing field and may inform pain-group classification through the analysis of brain regions showing hypertrophic and atrophic changes in the presence of pain. Analytical techniques such as machine-learning classifiers have the capacity to process large volumes of data and delineate diagnostically relevant information from neuroimaging analysis. The issue of defining a “brain type” is an emerging field aimed at interpreting observed brain changes and delineating their clinical identity/significance. In this review, 2 chronic pain conditions (migraine and irritable bowel syndrome) with similar clinical phenotypes are compared in terms of their structural neuroimaging findings. Independent investigations are compared with findings from application of machine-learning algorithms. Findings are discussed in terms of differentiating patient subgroups using neuroimaging data in patients with chronic pain and how they may be applied towards defining a personalized pain signature that helps segregate patient subgroups (eg, migraine with and without aura, with or without nausea; irritable bowel syndrome vs other functional gastrointestinal disorders).
Effect of testosterone on the expression of PPARγ mRNA in PCOS patients

Expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) mRNA in ovarian granulosa cells of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were explored. Ovarian granulosa cells were extracted from 5 patients with PCOS and 30 normal controls. Expression of PPARγ mRNA in granulosa cells of the 5 PCOS patients (observation group) and 5 normal controls (control group) was detected by RT-qPCR. The remaining 25 cases of normal human ovarian granulosa cells were cultured in vitro for 48 h, followed by cell culture for another 24 h with different concentrations of testosterone, insulin (INS), and rosiglitazone (RGZ). After that, expression of PPARγ mRNA was detected by RT-qPCR. Relative expression level of PPARγ mRNA in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group. Compared with testosterone concentration at 10-2 mol/ml, testosterone concentration at 10-3 mol/ml significantly reduced the expression level of PPARγ mRNA. When the INS concentration was 10-5 mol/ml, relative expression level of PPARγ mRNA was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.01). Relative expression level of PPARγ mRNA was significantly higher than that of the control group when INS concentration was 10-4 mol/ml. When the concentration of RGZ was 10-4 mol/ml, the relative expression level of PPARγ mRNA was significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.01). When concentration of RGZ was 10-3 mol/ml, expression level of PPARγ mRNA was significantly increased comparing to that under a RGZ concentration of 10-4 mol/ml or that of the control group (P<0.01). Appropriate concentrations of testosterone can inhibit the expression of PPARγ mRNA in ovarian granulosa cells, and certain concentrations of INS and RGZ can induce the expression of PPARγ mRNA in ovarian granulosa cells. Abnormal expression of PPARγ mRNA in ovarian granulosa cells may be related to the mechanism of PCOS.