Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Semantic Framework to Support the Management of Cloud-Based Service Provision Within a Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure

ABSTRACT Cloud computing has opened a new era in e-commerce. As the growth and complexity of public and private clouds increases, novel solutions are needed, enabling vendors to effectively manage the cloud-based distribution of their services. To this end, this paper presents a novel semantic framework with the main aim to support providers in the overall cloud-based service provision process, in terms of service ownership, licensing, and usage monitoring. The base of our framework is an ontological schema that models service business rules definition and license agreements registration, as well as service usage monitoring, with a special focus on web service and software applications cloud-based distribution. Our proposed ontology supports complex distribution schemas, related to multiple vendor-based service distribution, as well as personalized discount schemas, facilitating the deployment of marketing strategies during cloud-based service provision. On top of this ontological schema, we have further developed service and provider reputation and trust inference mechanisms, which operate on the basis of both service usage statistics and subjective end user feedback. Taking a step forward from the state of the art, our mechanisms also provide personalized discount suggestions, further facilitating providers in defining marketing strategies. Apart from supporting providers, our mechanisms also facilitate users in service and provider selection. In order to examine the application of our framework in practice, we have developed a user interface that provides basic features of our framework, within the context of a real cloud, oriented toward personalized cloud service provision; our framework has been integrated in the “Cloud4All” Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII).
CspD, a novel DNA replication inhibitor induced during the stationary phase in Escherichia coli

CspD is a stationary phase‐induced, stress response protein in the CspA family of Escherichia coli. Here, we demonstrate that overproduction of CspD is lethal, with the cells displaying a morphology typical of cells with impaired DNA replication. CspD consists mainly of β‐strands, and the purified protein exists exclusively as a dimer and binds to single‐stranded (ss)DNA and RNA in a dose‐dependent manner without apparent sequence specificity. CsdD effectively inhibits both the initiation and the elongation steps of minichromosome replication in vitro. Electron microscopic studies revealed that CspD tightly packs ssDNA, resulting in structures distinctly different from those of SSB‐coated DNA. We propose that CspD dimers, with two independent β‐sheets interacting with ssDNA, function as a novel inhibitor of DNA replication and play a regulatory role in chromosomal replication in nutrient‐depleted cells.
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase inhibitors: a patent review (2008 – 2012)

Introduction: The inhibition of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has emerged as a key area in cancer immunotherapy in the past decade. Despite the large variety of potential inhibitors screened so far, the number of active scaffolds remains limited. Areas covered: All relevant patent literature published between 2008 and 2012 is reviewed. Representative examples are given for each patent and/or class of compounds along with data (if available) on their inhibitory activity. The presentation is deepened by additional data published in peer-reviewed literature. Expert opinion: Key events that stimulated the search of IDO inhibitors are presented. To date, however, the number of available scaffolds remains limited with only one confirmed inhibitor (from Incyte Corp.) in the clinic. Major challenges in the search for IDO inhibitors are discussed as well as the relevance of selectivity of IDO inhibition versus inhibition of tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase.
Column 0 Column 1 Column 2 Max throughput Mean Standard deviation

Adaptive systems in engineering are an interdisciplinary field that deals with distributed, nonlinear systems. They harmonize present engineering design principles and are suitable to interface directly with the real world with little or no preprocessing. When applied correctly, such systems can significantly do better than more traditional techniques. In this article I studied an adaptive model for web services throughput prediction using data of 5825 real-world Web Services. Detailed experimental results are also presented in this paper to validate the performance of the model. Using Synapse adaptive model simulator I obtained a prediction error of +9.05139 with 99% confidence.
P-Glycoprotein and Breast Cancer Resistance Protein: Two Dominant Transporters Working Together in Limiting the Brain Penetration of Topotecan

Purpose: The brain is a pharmacologic sanctuary site, due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Whereas the effect of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) at the BBB is well established, the role of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) that is also expressed at the BBB is not. Experimental Design: We have studied the effect of BCRP by administering topotecan to wild-type (WT), single Mdr1a/b(−/−) and Bcrp1(−/−), and compound Mdr1a/b(−/−)Bcrp1(−/−) knockout mice. Drug levels in plasma and tissues were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: The area under the plasma and tissue concentration-time curve (AUC) of topotecan in brains of Mdr1a/b(−/−) and Bcrp1(−/−) mice was only 1.5-fold higher compared with WT mice, but in Mdr1a/b(−/−)Bcrp1(−/−) mice, where both transporters are absent, the AUC increased by 12-fold. The AUC in plasma was ∼0.75-, 2.4-, and 3.7-fold higher in Mdr1a/b(−/−), Bcrp1(−/−), and Mdr1a/b(−/−)Bcrp1(−/−) mice, respectively, resulting in 2.0-fold (P < 0.01), 0.65-fold (P, not significant), and 3.2-fold (P < 0.01), respectively, higher brain-to-plasma AUC ratios. Results using Mrp4(−/−) mice showed that this transporter had no effect on the brain penetration of topotecan. The P-gp/BCRP inhibitor elacridar fully inhibited P-gp–mediated transport of topotecan, whereas inhibition of Bcrp1-mediated transport by elacridar was minimal. Conclusions: Our results using Mdr1a/b(−/−)Bcrp1(−/−) mice clearly show the effect of Bcrp1 at the BBB and also show how two drug transporters act in concert to limit the brain penetration of topotecan. We expect that this finding will also apply to other drugs that are substrates of both P-gp and BCRP. Consequently, to improve the brain penetration of such compounds for targeting intracranial malignancies in patients, it will be essential to use potent inhibitors of both drug transporters.
Molecular Detection of Coxiella burnetii in the Sera of Patients with Q Fever Endocarditis or Vascular Infection

ABSTRACT In the absence of a specific diagnosis based on serology, chronic Q fever is inevitably fatal. However, diagnosis is often delayed because the test is not widely available. To shorten the diagnostic delay, we adapted a nested-PCR assay with serum as a template and the LightCycler as a thermal cycler, termed LCN-PCR. We retrospectively and prospectively applied this method to samples from 48 patients diagnosed with Q fever endocarditis or vascular infection and to samples from 100 controls with endocarditis caused by other microorganisms. We also prospectively applied this technique to samples from 30 patients treated for a Q fever endocarditis and to samples from 13 patients with a convalescent acute Q fever with ambiguous immunoglobulin G (IgG) phase I titer. LCN-PCR had a specificity of 100%. It was positive only in samples from patients with evolutive Q fever, as none of the samples from patients with a treated chronic Q fever or with a convalescent acute Q fever presented positive results. When performed prospectively on recently stored sera, the sensitivity of LCN-PCR is 64% (7 of 11 samples; P = 0.004), but the efficiency of LCN-PCR was dramatically altered by the storage of specimens at −20°C. High IgG phase I titers decreased the sensitivity of LCN-PCR. A significant difference was observed among LCN-PCR results for sera with IgG phase I titers of ≥1:25,600 compared to sera with IgG phase I titers of <1:25,600 (0 of 15 samples versus 13 of 33 samples; P = 0.004). In patient samples with titers below 1:25,600 tested prospectively, sensitivity was 100% (7 of 7). The LCN-PCR assay may be helpful in establishing an early diagnosis of chronic Q fever.
The effects of aging on muscle strength and functional ability of healthy Saudi Arabian males.

BACKGROUND Loss of muscle strength as a result of normal aging is reported to impair functional ability in various communities. The purpose of this study was to determine the age at which loss of muscle strength and functional ability begins, and to establish a preliminary baseline for the pattern of changes in muscle strength and functional ability of aging in adult healthy Saudi Arabian males. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A sample of 160 healthy Saudi Arabian males aged 20-89 years participated in this study. The subjects were divided into seven age groups, each representing a decade. Maximum isometric A centAAmakeA centAA strength of bilateral quadriceps muscles were measured using a hand-held dynamometer. Functional ability tests that included stair walking, timed-up-and-go and balance tests were also performed and timed using a digital stopwatch. RESULTS Muscle strength and functional ability remained unchanged in the 20- and 30-year-old age groups. Around the age of 40, muscle strength and functional ability began to gradually decline. Muscle strength of males in their twenties was 380+/-62N and 330+/-60N in the right (RT) and left (LT) quadriceps, respectively. A decline with aging is represented by 190+/-40N and 110+/-30N in the RT and LT quadriceps muscles, respectively, by the eighth decade of life. Stair-walking, timed up-and-go and balance tests in the second decade were 4+/-1 sec, 8+/-2 sec and 130+/-20 sec, respectively, against 15+/-4 sec, 26+/-7 sec and 15+/-5 sec in the eighth decade. One-way ANOVA test showed that muscle strength and functional ability differed (P<0.01) among decades, except between the second and third decades (P<0.31). Age, muscle strength and functional ability displayed a significant relationship (P<0.001). CONCLUSION Loss of muscle strength and functional ability seem to begin in the fourth decade of life. The changes in muscle strength and functional ability have a significant relationship to aging. Clinically, these results may provide clinicians with a guide to the strength level of normal quadriceps and the functional ability of adult healthy Saudi Arabian males in relation to the normal aging process.
Reduced fertility of mouse epididymal sperm lacking Prss21/Tesp5 is rescued by sperm exposure to uterine microenvironment

Although the acrosome reaction and subsequent penetration of sperm through the egg zona pellucida (ZP) are essential for mammalian fertilization, the molecular mechanism is still controversial. We have previously identified serine protease Tesp5 identical to Prss21 on the mouse sperm surface as a candidate enzyme involved in sperm penetration through the ZP. Here we show that despite normal fertility of male mice lacking Prss21/Tesp5, the epididymal sperm penetrates the ZP only at a very low rate in vitro, presumably owing to the reduced ability to bind the ZP and undergo the ZP‐induced acrosome reaction. The ability of Prss21‐null sperm to fuse with the egg in vitro was also impaired severely. Intriguingly, the reduced fertility of Prss21‐null epididymal sperm was rescued by exposure of the sperm to the uterine microenvironment and by in vitro treatment of the sperm with uterine fluids. These data suggest the physiological importance of sperm transport through the uterus.
Ecological Risk Aversion and Juvenile Ring-Tailed Lemur Feeding and Foraging

The extended primate juvenile period has been linked to interactions between feeding ecology and sociality. However, accumulating field data on juvenile primates suggest variation in the linkages between foraging efficiency, group foraging and social behaviour. In many non-human primates, juvenile ability (strength, coordination and motor skills) does not limit foraging success. If predicted limitations in feeding are not found in juvenile monkeys, it is possible that the gregarious strepsirrhines may show foraging patterns similar to those implicated in the evolution of a life history where long juvenile periods are advantageous. To test these behavioural predictions, I present a mixed longitudinal sample of observations on feeding and foraging behaviour from ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. Like several platyrrhine species, close proximity during foraging, low feeding efficiency and low dietary diversity are not typical of ring-tailed lemurs. The lack of ecological trade-offs in these species may indicate stronger common roles of sociality and social complexity in structuring the elongation of the primate juvenile period.
Philosophie des âges de la vie de Éric Deschavane et Pierre-Henri Tavoillot

Pour aborder la question des âges de la vie, Eric Deschavanne et Pierre-Henri Tavoillot, deux enseignants chercheurs en philosophie a l’universite Paris IV Sorbonne, partent d’un constat : les societes modernes ont vecu une veritable mutation demographique qui a bouleverse l’echelle des âges. Ainsi, l’esperance de vie etait de 43 ans en France en 1900, elle est de 79 ans en 2000. Auparavant, l’enfance etait l’antichambre de la vie, la vieillesse, l’antichambre de la mort, entre les deux, l’âg.
Presentation of mycobacterial antigens by human dendritic cells: lack of transfer from infected macrophages

When exposed to a challenge of 10 Mycobacterium bovis BCG cells per antigen-presenting cell, most human monocytes engulf several organisms. In contrast, blood dendritic cells which are potent antigen-presenting cells for several antigens are not detectably phagocytic for mycobacteria. We investigated the possibility that infected macrophages might regurgitate antigens for presentation by populations of human blood dendritic cells. Macrophages were infected with M. bovis BCG, mixed with uninfected dendritic cells, and added to immune T cells, either bulk T cells or cloned populations from BCG vaccinees or patients recovering from tuberculosis. The macrophages were from donors who were mismatched to the T cells so that transfer of antigen to major histocompatibility complex-matched dendritic cells could be evaluated. As we describe, there was no evidence for the transfer of mycobacterial antigens from macrophages to dendritic cells in a form that was stimulatory for the T cells.
Mediation of endothelin‐1‐induced inhibition of platelet aggregation via the ETB receptor

1 The effects of FR139317 (ETA antagonist) or PD145065 (non‐selective ETA/ETB antagonist) on endothelin‐1 (ET‐1)‐induced changes in blood pressure and inhibition of ex vivo platelet aggregation were investigated in the anaesthetized rabbit. 2 ET‐1 (1 nmol kg−1, i.a. bolus) caused a sustained increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) (peak increase 47 ± 5 mmHg, n = 8). Intravenous infusion of FR139317 at 0.2 (n = 4) or 0.6 mg kg−1 min−1 (n = 4) inhibited the ET‐1 pressor response by 83 or 89%, respectively. Infusion of PD 145065 at 0.2 (n = 4) or 0.6 mg kg−1 min−1 (n = 4) inhibited the ET‐1‐induced increase in MAP by 79 or 75%, respectively. 3 The transient depressor response (−16 ± 3 mmHg) which preceded the rise in blood pressure induced by ET‐1 (1 nmol kg−1, i.a., n = 8) was enhanced by an intravenous infusion of FR139317 (0.6 mg kg−1 min−1) to −35 ± 5 mmHg (P < 0.05, n = 4). This enhancement was abolished by indomethacin (5 mg kg−1, i.v.) pretreatment (−17 ± 1 mmHg, n = 4). PD145065 (0.2 mg kg−1 min−1, i.v.) attenuated the ET‐1‐induced fall in blood pressure to −9 ± 1 mmHg (n = 4), while a higher dose of this antagonist (0.6 mg kg−1 min−1, i.v.) completely abolished the ET‐1‐mediated depressor response. 4 ET‐1 (1 nmol kg−1, n = 8) inhibited ex vivo platelet aggregation by 96% at 5 min after injection of the peptide. FR139317 (0.2 or 0.6 mg kg−1 min−1, i.v.) or PD145065 (0.2 mg kg−1 min−1, i.v.) did not affect the inhibition of ex vivo platelet aggregation in response to ET‐1. In contrast, intravenous infusion of PD145065 (0.6 mg kg−1 min−1) abolished the anti‐aggregatory effects of ET‐1. 5 Thus, FR139317 inhibits the pressor, but not the depressor actions of ET‐1 and has no effect on the ET‐1‐induced inhibition of ex vivo platelet aggregation. In contrast, PD145065 antagonizes the pressor and depressor responses to ET‐1 and abolishes the anti‐aggregatory effects of the peptide. 6 These results strongly suggest that ET‐1‐induced vasoconstriction in the anaesthetized rabbit is primarily mediated via the ETA receptor while the depressor and antiaggregatory actions of ET‐1 are due to activation of the ETB receptor.
Dynamic expression of a LEF‐EGFP Wnt reporter in mouse development and cancer

We have characterized a transgenic mouse line in which enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) is expressed under the control of multimerized LEF‐1 responsive elements. In embryos, EGFP was detected in known sites of Wnt activation, including the primitive streak, mesoderm, neural tube, somites, heart, limb buds, mammary placodes, and whisker follicles. In vitro cultured transgenic embryonic fibroblasts upregulated EGFP expression in response to activation of Wnt signaling by GSK3β inhibition. Mammary tumor cell lines derived from female LEF‐EGFP transgenic mice treated with the carcinogen 7, 12‐dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) also express EGFP. Thus, this transgenic line is useful for ex vivo and in vitro studies of Wnt signaling in development and cancer. genesis 48:183–194, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Correction of time base error for high speed sampling oscilloscope

In order to improve the accuracy of measurement the correction of time base error of oscilloscope is essential. In this paper we studied time base error. There are three kinds of time base error including time base drift, time base jitter and time base distortion. Reason of time base error causes and the influence for measurement and calibration, the method for correction or compensation were studied. We also had good results as we process the experiment data which proofed the method in this paper were right.
Prevalencia de leucosis enzoótica bovina (LEB) en lecherías de las comunas de San Fernando, Chimbarongo y Placilla

La LEB es una enfermedad infecto contagiosa ampliamente diseminada en el pais, cuya prevalencia es variable de una region a otra no existiendo estudios de ella en la zona central del pais. Esta investigacion tiene como proposito, determinar la prevalencia de la LEB en un sector lechero de la provincia de Colcha­gua y relacionar la edad y numero de animales por predio con la prevalencia en los rebanos. El numero de predios fue 78, con una poblacion de 6.191 hembras de las cuales se muestrearon 500 (8,07%), usando el diseno estadistico de CEPANZO para estudios de prevalencia. El diagnos­tico de la enfermedad se realizo mediante el test de inmunodifusion en gel de agar. Los resultados muestran una prevalencia del 34%, resultando 7/8 de los predios muestreados infestados. Al analizar el porcentaje de animales infestados, en relacion a la edad, se observa una preva­lencia mayor en los animales adultos, existiendo diferencias significativas en la tasa de infeccion segun la edad de los animales. Los resultados obtenidos permiten concluir que la infeccion esta ampliamente diseminada en el sector lechero donde se realizo el estudio.
Recovery of visual function after removal of chronic subfoveal perfluorocarbon liquid.

These symptoms can include weakness, fatigue, spontaneous bleeding, and increased infection.3 As the disease progresses, hypercalcemia due to increased bone resorption is often seen.3 Commonly, patients can develop kidney involvement, resulting in renal failure.3 In this case, the patient had none of these signs and symptoms when she initially presented with visual complaints. In the literature, there is a report of known systemic multiple myeloma with choroidal involvement,1 and there is a case of an extramedullary plasmacytoma in the choroid without development of multiple myeloma.2 This case demonstrates that systemic multiple myeloma can present initially as an amelanotic choroidal mass that simulates a choroidal melanoma. The diagnosis of choroidal plasmacytoma in this case is strongly supported by the rapid and complete response of the lesion to radiotherapy. In addition, the finding of multiple systemic plasmacytomas further supports the diagnosis. References 1. Sandberg HO, Westby RK, Arnesen K. Plasmacytoma of the uvea in a case of multiple myeloma. Acta Ophthalmol 1989; 67:329–332. 2. Honavar SG, Shields CL, Shields JA, Demirci H, Ehya H. Extramedullary plasmacytoma confined to the choroid. Am J Ophthalmol 2001;131:277–278. 3. Munshi NC, Tricot G, Barlogie B. Plasma cell neoplasms. In: DeVita VT, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA, eds. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 6th ed. Vol 2. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001:2465–2491.
Malware and Formal Methods: Rigorous Approaches for detecting Malicious Behaviour

The crucial aim of software security is malware detection. A malware is a program with malicious intents. The predominate anti-malware solutions are signature-based. These detectors compute the signature starting from the syntactic characteristics of the malicious code. Unfortunately, the signature-based techniques are ineffective against the code obfuscations, i.e., trivial transformations that alter the syntax of the code preserving the normal behaviour of the program. To address this limitation, formal methods are used in software security. Formal methods are rigorous techniques used to verify the behaviour of a system. This paper aims to make an overview on behavioural based techniques developed to detect malware programs. The illustrated approaches are based on different formal techniques.
One-Dimensional R=2 Cellular Automata with Memory

Standard Cellular Automata (CA) are ahistoric (memoryless): i.e. the new state of a cell depends on the neighborhood configuration only at the preceding time step. This article introduces an extension to the standard framework of CA by considering automata implementing memory capabilities. While the update rules of the CA remains the same, each site remembers a weighted mean of all its past states, with a decreasing weight of states farther in the past. The historic weighting is defined by a geometric series of coefficients based on a memory factor (α). This paper considers the time evolution of one-dimensional range-two CA with memory.
Bilingual phrase-to-phrase alignment for arbitrarily-small datasets

This paper presents a novel system for sub-sentential alignment of bilingual sentence pairs, however few, using readily-available machine-readable bilingual dictionaries. Performance is evaluated against an existing gold-standard parallel corpus where word alignments are annotated, showing results that are a considerable improvement on a comparable system and on GIZA++ performance for the same corpus. Since naïve application of the system for N languages would require N(N - 1) dictionaries, it is also evaluated using a pivot language, where only 2(N - 1) dictionaries would be required, with surprisingly similar performance. The system is proposed as an alternative to statistical methods, for use with very small corpora or for ‘on-the-fly’ alignment.