Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
System for transport protocol evaluation with automatic calculation of statistical accuracy and distributed and parallel execution

The paper deals with the architecture and the performance of a system for gathering and processing simulation data where use case are communications transport protocols. The system is based on the ns-2 network simulator and the tcpeval tool for the evaluation of TCP and TCP related protocols. The work promotes the concept of a controlled simulation replication as central to achieve statistical accuracy of the simulation results. The later assures that in each case of the specific set of simulation runs, their number does not exceed the minimal one required by the desired and predefined accuracy. Moreover, the use of interprocess and inter-thread communication provided by Open MPI and OpenMP makes the execution of the system possible over a multiprocessor distributed architecture that eventually reduced the time needed to achieve the preferred precision. While the later work is in an early stage, the initial results of the benchmark tests indicate significant gains in time based on the metrics native to tcpeval.
The effect of aqueous surfactant solutions on alcohol dehydrogenase (LADH)

Alcohol dehydrogenase (LADH) was studied in aqueous solutions of surfactants to determine its structural and catalytic characteristics. Fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), and electron paramagnetic resonance (ERP) techniques were used to study structural changes to the enzyme. The activity of LADH in catalyzing the oxidation of ethanol was investigated. Short‐chain alkyl sulfonates and sulfates did not deactivate LADH or alter its structure. Longer and branched alkyl sulfates and sulfonates, as well as a cationic surfactant (CTAB), affected both LADH activity and conformation. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ADHERENCIA DE CANDIDA A DISPOSITIVOS MÉDICOS DE USO RUTINARIO EN PACIENTES HOSPITALIZADOS

La adhesion es el primer paso para que las especies de Candida puedan formar biopeliculas en dispositivos medicos implantados en el hospedero humano. En este proceso la composicion fisicoquimica del biomaterial asi como las proteinas de pared celular (PPC) del patogeno juegan un papel preponderante. Sin embargo, aun cuando se han identificado in vitro PPC que participan en la formacion de biopeliculas mediante la adherencia a ciertos biomateriales, poco es conocido acerca de las PPC que participan en la adhesion a dispositivos medicos de uso rutinario. Por ello, en el presente trabajo se planteo cuantificar las PPC de C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei y C. parapsilosis a diferentes dispositivos medicos, asi como evaluar la capacidad de adhesion de estos patogenos. Nuestros resultados muestran que las cuatro especies de Candida se adhieren con mayor avidez a los biomateriales fabricados de PVC, despues a los de poliuretano y finalmente a los de silicon. Resultados que sugieren que las PPC son utilizadas por las especies de Candida como un primer paso para que puedan adherirse a la superficie del dispositivo, para permitir despues que otras PPC como las adhesinas con ancla de glicosilfosfatidilinositol puedan crear uniones covalentes con el biomaterial, generando de esta manera una fuerte adherencia entre el patogeno y el dispositivo medico que conllevara a la formacion de biopeliculas y provocara en el hospedero humano algun tipo de candidiasis invasiva.
Brain Structural Changes following HIV Infection: Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have used structural neuroimaging to measure HIV effects on brain macroarchitecture. While many have reported changes in total brain volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, CSF volume, and basal ganglia volume following HIV infection, quantitative inconsistencies observed across studies are large. PURPOSE: Our aim was to evaluate the consistency and temporal stability of serostatus effects on a range of structural neuroimaging measures. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, reference lists, and corresponding authors. STUDY SELECTION: The meta-analysis included 19 cross-sectional studies reporting HIV effects on cortical and subcortical volume from 1993 to 2016. DATA ANALYSIS: Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate individual study standardized mean differences and study heterogeneity. Meta-regression was used to examine the effects of the study publication year. DATA SYNTHESIS: Meta-analysis revealed standardized mean differences related to the serostatus of −0.65 (P = .002) for total brain volume, −0.28 for gray matter volume (P = .008), −0.24 (P = .076) for white matter volume, and 0.56 (P = .001) for CSF volume. Basal ganglia volume differences related to serostatus were not significant. Nevertheless, estimates of between-study heterogeneity suggested that much of the observed variance was between studies. Publication year was associated with recent reductions in many neurostructural effects. LIMITATIONS: Many studies pooled participants with varying durations of treatment, disease, and comorbidities. Image-acquisition methods changed with time. CONCLUSIONS: While published studies of HIV effects on brain structure had substantial variations that are likely to result from changes in HIV treatment practice during the study period, quantitative neurostructural measures can reliably detect the effects of HIV infection during treatment, serving as reliable biomarkers.
Living fast, dying when? The link between aging and energetics.

The idea that aging should be linked to energy expenditure has a long history that can be traced to the late 1800s and the industrial revolution. Machines that are run fast wear out more quickly, so the notion was born that humans and animals might experience similar fates: the faster they live (expressed as greater energy expenditure), the sooner they die. Evidence supporting the "rate-of-living" theory was gleaned from the scaling of resting metabolism and life span as functions of body mass. The product of these factors yields a mass-invariant term, equivalent to the "amount of living. " There are at least four problems with this evidence, which are summarized and reviewed in this communication: 1) life span is a poor measure of aging, 2) resting metabolism is a poor measure of energy expenditure, 3) the effects are confounded by body mass and 4) the comparisons made are not phylogenetically independent. We demonstrate that there is a poor association between resting metabolic rate (RMR) and daily energy expenditure (DEE) measured using the doubly labeled water (DLW) method at the level of species. Nevertheless, the scaling relation between DEE and body mass still has the same scaling exponent as the RMR and body mass relationship. Thus, if we use DEE rather than RMR in the analysis, the rate-of-living ideas are still supported. Data for 13 species of small mammal were obtained, where energy demands by DLW and longevity were reliably known. In these species, there was a strong negative relationship between residual longevity and residual DEE, both with the effects of body mass removed (r(2) = 0.763, F = 32.1, P < 0.001). Hence, the association of energy demands and life span is not attributed to the confounding effects of body size. We subjected these latter data to an analysis that extracts phylogenetically independent contrasts, and the relationship remained significant (r(2) = 0.815, F = 39.74, P < 0.001). Small mammals that live fast really do die young. However, there are very large differences between species in the amounts of living that each enjoy and these disparities are even greater when other taxa are included in the comparisons. Such differences are incompatible with the "rate-of-living" theory. However, the link between energetics and aging across species is reconcilable within the framework of the "free-radical damage hypothesis" and the "disposable soma hypothesis. " Within species one might anticipate the rate-of-living model would be more appropriate. We reviewed data generated from three different sources to evaluate whether this were so, studies in which metabolic rate is experimentally increased and impacts on life span followed, studies of caloric restriction and studies where links between natural variation in metabolism and life span are sought. This review reveals that there might be contrasting effects of resting and nonresting energy expenditure on aging, with increases in the former being protective and increases in the latter being harmful.
Glycogenolysis in the anoxic heart.

It has been generally accepted that cardiac anoxia caused glycogen depletion and epinephrine was implicated as a mediator in this glycogenolysis. Recently, work has shown that epinephrine and norepinephrine produce an increase in cardiac glycogen rather than glycogen depletion in the rat. Since cardiac work was not considered in previous studies, the present experiment was designed to test the effect of work on glycogenolysis of the anoxic heart in vivo and in vitro . Unfasted rats were anesthetized and observations were made on intact rats with anoxia resulting from an open chest. In vitro studies were performed on rapidly excised hearts studied in room air, in saline and in nitrogen. After 4 minutes of anoxia in the open chest 83% of the control glycogen was lost and no difference was noted whether or not the adrenal medullae were present. When the large vessels were severed, much less glycogenolysis occurred in the anoxic heart. No glycogen decrease was observed in the excised heart beating 4 minutes in room air or in nitrogen, but significant glycogenolysis was observed in the anoxic heart beating 4 minutes in saline. The anoxic heart severed from the circulation has shown no glycogenolysis whereas the anoxic heart with intact circulation showed marked glycogenolysis. It would appear from this experiment that anoxia per se was not the cause of glycogen decrease but that the amount of work performed by the anoxic heart was the critical factor in producing glycogenolysis. When a work load was placed on the excised heart beating in saline, glycogen decrease was observed. Epinephrine has been excluded as the cause of glycogenolysis in the anoxic heart since comparable cardiac glycogen changes were observed during anoxia in normal and adrenal demedullated rats.
How does polyspermy happen in mammalian oocytes?

Polyspermy is one of the most commonly observed abnormal types of fertilization in mammalian oocytes. In vitro fertilization (IVF) provides approaches to study the mechanisms by which oocytes block polyspermic fertilization. Accumulated data indicate that oocyte, sperm and insemination conditions are all related to the occurrence of polyspermic fertilization. A high proportion of immature and aged oocytes showed polyspermy as compared with mature oocytes. Preincubation of oocytes and/or sperm with oviductal epithelial cells or collected oviductal fluid before IVF reduces polyspermic penetration. Recently, it was found that an abnormal zona pellucida is one of main causes of polyspermy in human eggs. A high proportion of polyspermy has resulted from the use of a high concentration of capacitated spermatozoa at the site of fertilization, irrespective of in the in vivo or in vitro environment. Oviductal secretions or oviductal epithelial cells themselves can regulate the number of spermatozoa reaching or binding to the zona pellucida thus reducing multiple sperm penetration. Suboptimal in vitro conditions, such as supplementations in IVF media, pH, and temperature during IVF, also induce polyspermic fertilization in some mammals. Species‐specific differences are present regarding the relationship between insemination conditions and polyspermy. Microsc. Res. Tech. 61:335–341, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Recent progress in understanding the pathogenesis of fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia

Fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) occurs in c. 1 in 1000 births and is caused by maternal antibodies against human platelet alloantigens that bind incompatible fetal platelets and promote their clearance from the circulation. Affected infants can experience bleeding, bruising and, in severe cases, intracranial haemorrhage and even death. As maternal screening is not routinely performed, and first pregnancies can be affected, most cases are diagnosed at delivery of a first affected pregnancy. Unlike its erythrocyte counterpart, Haemolytic Disease of the Fetus and Newborn, there is no prophylactic treatment for FNAIT. This report will review recent advances made in understanding the pathogenesis of FNAIT: the platelet alloantigens involved, maternal exposure and sensitization to fetal platelet antigens, properties of platelet Immunoglobulin G antibodies, maternal‐fetal antibody transport mechanisms and efforts to develop an effective FNAIT prophylaxis.
AVSS 2011 demo session: Level of service classification for smart cameras

Summary form only given. Automated code analysis is technology aimed at locating, describing and repairing areas of weakness in code. Code weaknesses range from security vulnerabilities, logic errors, concurrency violations, to improper resource usage, violations of architectures or coding guidelines. Common to all code analysis techniques is that they build abstractions of code and then check those abstractions for properties of interest. For instance a type checker computes how types are used, abstract interpreters and symbolic evaluators check how values flow, model checkers analyze how state evolves. Building modern program analysis tools thus requires a multi-pronged approach to find a variety of weaknesses. In this talk I will discuss and compare several program analysis tools, which MSR build during the last ten years. They include theorem provers, program verifiers, bug finders, malware scanners, and test case generators. I will describe the need for their development, their innovation, and application. Many of these tools had considerable impact on Microsoft's development practices, as well as on the research community. Some of them are being shipped in products such as the Static Driver Verifier or as part of Visual Studio. Performing program analysis as part of quality assurance is meanwhile standard practice in many software development companies. However several challenges have not yet been resolved. Thus, I will conclude with a set of open challenges in program analysis which hopefully triggers new aspiring directions in our joint quest of delivering predictable software that is free from defect and vulnerabilities.
Correlations of Antibiotic Use and Carbapenem Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae

ABSTRACT Epidemiological studies have shown a link between carbapenem use and resistance; however, the clinical relationship between antibiotic consumption and the epidemiology of carbapenem-intermediate or -resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CIRE) remains unclear. This study sought to analyze temporal antibiotic consumption trends for relationships with incident CIRE. In total, 310,892 days of therapy and 55 deduplicated CIRE were analyzed. When conservative corrections were applied for multiple comparisons, carbapenem class use and piperacillin-tazobactam use retained significant positive and negative relationships with the incidence of CIRE, respectively.
Performance of a novel clinical score, the Pediatric Asthma Severity Score (PASS), in the evaluation of acute asthma.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of a new clinical asthma score, the Pediatric Asthma Severity Score (PASS), in children aged 1 through 18 years in an acute clinical setting. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study of children treated for acute asthma at two urban pediatric emergency departments (EDs). A total of 852 patients were enrolled at one site and 369 at the second site. Clinical findings were assessed at the start of the ED visit, after one hour of treatment, and at the time of disposition. Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) (for patients aged 6 years and older) and pulse oximetry were also measured. RESULTS Composite scores including three, four, or five clinical findings were evaluated, and the three-item score (wheezing, prolonged expiration, and work of breathing) was selected as the PASS. Interobserver reliability for the PASS was good to excellent (kappa = 0.72 to 0.83). There was a significant correlation between PASS and PEFR (r = 0.27 to 0.37) and pulse oximetry (r = 0.29 to 0.41) at various time points. The PASS was able to discriminate between those patients who did and did not require hospitalization, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.82. Finally, the PASS was shown to be responsive, with a 48% relative increase in score from start to end of treatment and an overall effect size of 0.62, indicating a moderate to large effect. CONCLUSIONS This clinical score, the PASS, based on three clinical findings, is a reliable and valid measure of asthma severity in children and shows both discriminative and responsive properties. The PASS may be a useful tool to assess acute asthma severity for clinical and research purposes.
Bone metabolism and RANKL/RANK/OPG trail in periodontal disease

Abstract Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease of multifactorial etiology. In order for it to appear there must come to an imbalance between the effects of pathogens and host defense mechanisms. As a result of its course the destruction of structures supporting the teeth appears (periodontium, cement, bone), and consequently leads to teeth loosening and loss. In recent years, the participation of RANKL/RANK/OPG in bone remodeling process was highligted. At the molecular level the bone resorption is regulated through the interaction of the ligand receptor activator of nuclear NF-kappa B (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG), which is a system of two proteins belonging to the protein tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Recent findings about the RANKL protein and OPG have shed new light on the previously unexplained phenomenon of the basis of bone resorption. Research has shown that both protein OPG and RANKL can be detected in gingival crevicular fluid, which has become a window of opportunity in the analysis of non-invasive markers of periodontal tissues, confirming elevated levels of RANKL protein in periodontal disease, and decreased levels of OPG protein. Bone resorption is initiated by the binding of the RANKL protein to receptors RANK present on the surface of mature osteoclasts, and their precursors, which leads to the differentiation and activation of osteoclasts. OPG, being RANKL’s inhibitor, has, in turn, opposite characteristics to RANKL, resulting in the reduction of osteoclastogenesis process. Despite all this, the exact mechanism of bone resorption has not yet been elucidated.
Possible role of anti-idiotypic antibodies in the induction of tumor immunity.

Introduction An idiotype (Id),' or idiotypic determinant, is the antigenic portion of an antibody that encompasses the variable (V) region of the molecule. Within the V region is the site where the antigen specifically binds to the antibody. Early studies by Oudin and Michel (1) and Kunkel and co-workers (2) indicated that an Id was unique to a small set of antibody molecules. However, Ids can also be shared by antibodies specific for a given antigen and are useful as phenotypic V region antibody gene markers (reviewed in references 3 and 4). The Id is often defined by an anti-idiotypic antibody (anti-Id), whereby the Id behaves as an antigen and induces the production of antibodies against itself. The idea that the immune response to an antigen can be regulated by a series of Id-anti-Id reactions was first proposed by Niels Jerne (5). This network theory of immune regulation proposes that Id-anti-Id reactions control a host's response to an antigen via either a positive (enhancing) or negative (suppressing) feedback mechanism. Id, located on or close to the antigen binding sites of both antibody molecules and lymphocyte antigen receptors, represent components of this network. Numerous studies have implicated Id networks in regulation of the immune response to a large variety of haptens and protein or carbohydrate antigens (reviewed in references 6 and 7). The injection of anti-Id before antigen exposure has resulted in either suppression of Id-positive antigen binding molecules or increased Id expression and antigen binding activity. Numerous reports have suggested the potential use of anti-Id in the induction of protective immunity against a wide variety of infectious agents (8-18). Thus, anti-Ids may represent possi-
PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF HOLSTEIN COWS RASIED UNDER INTENSIVE FARMING SYSTEM IN EGYPT

A total of 4382 lactation records for 1868 Holstein cows sired by 182 bulls in a herd belongs to The Modern Agricultural Development Company (Dina). The data were analyzed using SAS (1998) and DF-REML (Meyer, 1998) for estimating the phenotypic and genetic parameters of some productive and reproductive traits. Means of total milk yield (TMY), 305-day milk yield (305-dMY), lactation period (LP), annualized milk yield (AMY), dry period (DP), days open (DO) and calving interval (CI) were 13172 kg, 10847 kg, 370 day, 10899 kg, 63.47 day, 154 day and 430 day, respectively. All the studied traits, except AMY, were significantly affected by parity of the cow. Also, year of calving showed a significant effect on all traits. Season of calving showed no significant effect on all traits except TMY and DP. Estimates of heritability ranged between 0.0003 for DP and CI to 0.13 for 305dMY. All estimates of the phenotypic and genetic correlation coefficients among these traits were positive. The results indicated that Holstein cattle in Egypt could produce high amount of milk if kept under reasonable management standards.
Expression and enzyme activity of α(1,6)fucosyltransferase in human colorectal cancer

Changes in enzyme activity and the expression levels of α(1,6)fucosyltransferase [α(1,6)FT] have been reported in certain types of malignant transformations. To develop a better understanding of the role of α(1,6)FT in human colorectal carcinoma (CRC), we analysed the enzyme activity in healthy and tumour tissues. α(1,6)FT activity was considerably higher in tumour tissue than in healthy tissue and was related to gender, lymph node metastasis, type of growth and tumour stage. We also observed a significant increase in the α(1,6)FT expression in tumour tissues as compared to healthy and transitional tissues, inflammatory lesions and adenomas. The immunohistochemical expression in tumour tissues was correlated with the degree of infiltration through the intestinal wall. Finally, a statistical correlation was found between enzyme activity and expression obtained by Western blot in colorectal tumours when compared in the same patient. All these findings demonstrate an alteration of α(1,6)FT activity and expression in CRC. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 3a Protein Is Released in Membranous Structures from 3a Protein-Expressing Cells and Infected Cells

ABSTRACT Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SCoV) accessory protein 3a is a virus structural protein. We demonstrate here that 3a protein was released efficiently in membranous structures from various cell lines expressing 3a protein. A subpopulation of the released 3a protein is associated with detergent-resistant membranes. The presence of the YxxΦ and diacidic motifs, located within the cytoplasmic tail of the 3a protein, was not required for its efficient release. Analysis of supernatant from SCoV-infected cells with sucrose gradient sedimentation and virus capture assay indicated that the 3a protein was released from infected cells in two distinct populations, as a component of SCoV particles, and in membrane structures with a lower buoyant density. These data provide new insights into the biological properties of SCoV 3a protein.