Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Population Size and Long‐Term Selection

The effect of population size on selection response is of interest to evolutionary biologists as well as plant and animal breeders. Theory and experiment agree that selection is more efficient in large populations than in small ones, as a mechanism for the sorting and concentration of small additive effects that contribute to narrow-sense heritability. This advantage can be detected even in short-term selection, and becomes substantial in the longer term. Although most of the relevant experiments have been done on animals, the implications for plant breeders are equally clear. This paper will review and evaluate the experimental evidence, before presenting some recent results (Part II) and a short practical discussion of population size effects (Part III).
Screening of Extractable Nuclear Antibodies by ELISA in Patients with Connective Tissue Disorders in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Autoimmune diseases occur in 3–5% of the population (Kavanaugh et al., 2000) as a result of myriad of genetic and environmental factors that lead to altered immune reactivity (Jacobson et al., 1997; Marrack et al., 2001). The alterations in the immune system initiated by a loss of immunological tolerance to selfantigens lead to the development of auto reactive phenomena that can be detected in the peripheral blood. Alteration in immune system occurs due to various genetic and environmental factors leading to development of auto reactive phenomenon by a loss of immunological tolerance to self-antigens that can be detected in the peripheral blood in the form of the autoantibodies (Salaman, 2003). Autoimmune connective tissue diseases (AI CTDs) are a group of polygenic disorders often having heterogeneous and overlapping clinical features. Certain features are common International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 03 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Chemistry and biological activities of Anethum graveolens L. (dill) essential oil: A review

Anethum graveolens L. commonly known as dill belonging to the family Umbelliferae, is one of the most useful essential oil bearing spices as well as medicinal herb. Dill is cultivated throughout the world as a medicinal plant. Dill seeds are used as a flavouring agent. Essential oil can be extracted from various parts of plant and chiefly consisted of dill carvone, limonene, dill apiol and α-phellendrene. The essential oil and extracts of dill plant possess promising antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, insecticidal, antiinflammatory, antidiabetic, antispasmodic, hypolipidemic activities etc.
Heterogeneity of Phenotype in Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Breast cancer is a major challenge to current medicine; it is the disease with highest death rate in the female population and is even of significance to the male population. Although breast cancer is effectively treated by surgery at early stages, patients who present with breast cancer metastases at diagnosis or who subsequently develop metastatic disease have a much poorer prognosis. A feature of the normal breast endothelium is its regulation by the endocrine system; steroid hormones such as oestrogen are released predominantly by the ovary and control both proliferation and differentiation of epithelial cells. The proliferation of corresponding carcinoma cells that arise in early breast cancer has a similar dependence on endocrine hormones. Thus, one of the main methods for treating early breast cancer, apart from surgery, is to block the growth promoting action of oestrogen, either by blocking the downstream action with antioestrogens such as tamoxifen or by reducing the concentration of circulating oestrogen through oophorectomy or treatment with aromatase inhibitors. While such treatment is generally effective, the consequent emergence of aggressive tumours is common and poses a major barrier to successful disease management. Heterogeneity has been postulated to be a key property of both breast cancer and epithelial subtypes of normal breast tissue (Visvader, 2009). MCF-7, a commonly used breast cancer cell line, has been propagated for many years by multiple groups and it might be expected that such propagation would select a single phenotype that had the highest growth rate. However, the finding of extensive heterogeneity among MCF-7 lines used by different groups (Nugoli et al., 2003) suggests that mechanisms may be operating within proliferating MCF-7 populations to generate phenotypic diversity continuously. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the evidence of the way that the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line is heterogeneous with respect to both the expression of hormone receptors and to the utilization of the signalling pathways linked to these receptors. Such heterogeneity may be reflected by the presence of multiple phenotypes within a tumour population that differ markedly in their relative expression of receptors such as progesterone receptor (PR), oestrogen receptor (ER), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2; also known as ErbB2).
Landscape analysis of Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairies1

Abstract Corbett, E. A. (Department of Biological Sciences, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK 74701-0609) and R. C. Anderson (Behavior, Ecology, Evolution and Systematics Section, Department of Biological Sciences 4120, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4120). Landscape analysis of Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairies. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 133(2): 267–279. 2006. —We examined Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairie data to determine regional patterns of species composition as influenced by landforms with different topographic positions and soil properties resulting from glacial history. Three data sets were used, including 84 sites from Wisconsin sampled in the 1950s; 216 sites from Illinois sampled as part of the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) in the 1970s; and a subset of 29 INAI sites resampled in 1998. These data sets are the best characterization of remnant prairie vegetation in the two states after most of the original prairies were lost. Data were analyzed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), principal components analysis (PCA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). CCA was used only for the INAI sites resampled in 1998 that had a complete set of soils data. Results from all analyses were similar. We determined that an interaction between topographic position and soil texture, which affected moisture availability, was most important in influencing species composition and abundance in Illinois and Wisconsin remnant prairies. Separation of dominant prairie species in Illinois and Wisconsin followed similar patterns, if differences in community designation for similar vegetation types were considered. However, Wisconsin and Illinois sites separated on DCA axis 2, which was negatively correlated with calcium and phosphorus. The first DCA ordination axis for INAI prairie sites was correlated with a topographically-based Integrated Moisture Index (IMI). For the 1998 INAI data, PCA was used to reduce soil variables to fewer dimensions and resulting axis 1 scores were used in stepwise multiple regression analysis to determine relationships between environmental variables and DCA ordination axis scores. The IMI was the first variable entered in the stepwise multiple regression model; however, PCA axis 1 stand scores based on soil variables did not meet criteria for entry into the model. For all data sets, including the CCA ordination of the resampled INAI sites, there was a secondary separation at the dry end of the moisture gradient between hill prairies and dry sand prairies, which was related to differences in soil texture and availability of calcium and phosphorus. In general, soil nutrients and texture were less important than topographically controlled moisture availability in determining prairie species composition and abundance at this scale of analysis.
Shape Constraints in Economics and Operations Research

Shape constraints, motivated by either application-specific assumptions or existing theory, can be imposed during model estimation to restrict the feasible region of the parameters. Although such restrictions may not provide any benefits in an asymptotic analysis, they often improve finite sample performance of statistical estimators and the computational efficiency of finding near-optimal control policies. This paper briefly reviews an illustrative set of research utilizing shape constraints in the economics and operations research literature. We highlight the methodological innovations and applications, with a particular emphasis on utility functions, production economics and sequential decision making applications.
An Aggregative Games Approach to Merger Analysis in Multiproduct-Firm Oligopoly

Using an aggregative games approach, we analyze horizontal mergers in a model of multiproduct-firm price competition with nested CES or nested logit demands. We show that the Herfindahl index provides an adequate measure of the welfare distortions introduced by market power, and that the induced change in the naively-computed Herfindahl index is a good approximation for the market power effect of a merger. We also provide conditions under which a merger raises consumer surplus, and conditions under which a myopic, consumer-surplus-based merger approval policy is dynamically optimal. Finally, we study the aggregate surplus and external effects of a merger.
Chemical constituents and potential anti-inflammatory activity of the essential oil from the leaves of Croton argyrophyllus

Many species from Croton genus have been used in traditional medicine and its pharmacological activities demonstrated. Croton argyrophyllus Kunth, Euphorbiaceae, is a shrub that grows in the flora of Northeastern Brazilian. The essential oil of C. argyrophyllus leaves was tested in rodents (10-100 mg/kg, p.o.) in classical models of inflammation (carrageenan-induced paw oedema and peritonitis) and its chemical constituents were determined by GC-MS/FID analysis. Nitric oxide radical-scavenging activity and lipidic peroxidation were determined to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of the essential oil (0.001-100 µg/mL). Forty-two components were identified, among them, bicyclogermacrene (14.60%) and spathulenol (8.27%) were the most abundant ones. C. argyrophyllus essential oil reduced significantly the oedema (30 and 100 mg/kg, p<0.05) and, besides, reduced the carrageenan increase in mieloperoxidase activity (10, 30, and 100 mg/kg, p<0.001). The carrageenan-induced peritonitis was significantly reduced (p<0.001) by the essential oil (10, 30, and 100 mg/kg). The essential oil (100 mg/kg) reduces the total peritoneal lavage NOx- concentration (p<0.01). Nitric oxide radical generated from sodium nitroprusside was found to be inhibited by the essential oil (p<0.001). C. argyrophyllus essential oil was able to prevent Fe2+- or Fe2+ plus H2O2-induced lipid peroxidation (p<0.001). This study suggests that the anti-inflammatory effect of the essential oil of C. argyrophyllus observed in the present study can be related, at least in part, its antioxidant capacity.
BITE: Bitcoin Lightweight Client Privacy using Trusted Execution

Blockchains offer attractive advantages over traditional payments such as the ability to operate without a trusted authority and increased user privacy. However, the veriﬁcation of blockchain payments requires the user to download and process the entire chain which can be infeasible for resource-constrained devices like mobile phones. To address this problem, most major blockchain systems support so called lightweight clients that outsource most of the computational and storage burden to full blockchain nodes. However, such veriﬁcation leaks critical information about clients’ transactions, thus defeating user privacy that is often considered one of the main goals of decentralized cryptocurrencies. In this paper, we propose a new approach to protect the privacy of light clients in Bitcoin. Our main idea is to leverage the trusted execution capabilities of commonly available SGX enclaves. We design and implement a system called B ITE where enclaves on full nodes serve privacy-preserving requests from light clients. However, as we will show, naive processing of client requests from within SGX enclaves still leaks client’s addresses and transactions. B ITE therefore integrates several private information retrieval and side-channel protection techniques at critical parts of the sys-tem. We show that B ITE provides signiﬁcantly improved privacy protection for light clients without compromising the performance of the assisting full nodes.
Dimensions of difficulty in children reported to have an autism spectrum diagnosis and features of extreme/‘pathological’ demand avoidance

BACKGROUND A subset of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) resemble descriptions of extreme/'pathological' demand avoidance, displaying obsessive avoidance of everyday demands and requests, strategic or 'socially manipulative' behaviour and sudden changes in mood. Investigating challenging presentations using dimensional description may prove preferable to identifying subgroups. However, there remains an imperative to explore which behavioural traits appear most problematic to inform quantitative investigation. This study provides an in-depth exploration of parent perspectives on maladaptive behaviour in children reported to have an autism spectrum diagnosis and features of extreme/'pathological' demand avoidance. METHOD Parents completed a tailored semistructured interview about their child's behaviour, focusing on difficulties relevant to descriptions of extreme/'pathological' demand avoidance. The 26 interviews rated as scoring above threshold for 'substantial' features of extreme/'pathological' demand avoidance on relevant indicators were analysed qualitatively using a general inductive approach. RESULTS New themes that emerged from these data included attempts by the child to control situations and others' activities. Avoidance behaviours in this sample could be described as 'strategic' rather than 'manipulative'. A range of factors, including a negative emotional response to demands, but also phobias, novelty, and uncertainty, were perceived to play a role in triggering extreme behaviour. CONCLUSIONS These descriptions highlight the importance of systematically measuring noncompliance, attempts to control situations and others' activities, and extreme mood variability in individuals with ASD. These dimensions represent important targets for intervention, given their considerable impact on daily life.
Study on the Multi-targets Mechanism of YiQiFuMai Powder Injection on Cardio-Cerebral Ischemic Diseases Based on Network Pharmacology

YiQiFuMai Powder Injection is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine formula that has been used extensively in clinical treatment of cardio-cerebral ischemic diseases in China. However, the mechanisms underlying its clinical efficacy remain unknown. In this study, a network pharmacology approach was employed to identify the YiQiFuMai Powder Injection’s potential pathways and targets against cardio-cerebral ischemia. The target-pathway interaction network clustered the signaling pathways based on high degree nodes of the drug-target network. The potential protein targets presented in the highly scored clustered pathways were the key network hubs and concentrated on one or limited functional signaling pathways amenable to experimental verification. Twelve main functional annotation clusters and main signaling pathways for YiQiFuMai Powder Injection were established by Biocarta analysis, including the NF-κB signaling pathway, the MAPKinase signaling pathway and the mTOR-signaling pathway and so on. YiQiFuMai Powder Injection is hypothesized to target multiple proteins with a high degree and betweenness of network. In addition, the most related pathways were also confirmed in tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) induced human vascular endothelial cell line EA.hy926 by Western blotting. This study elucidates the systematic network and pathway analysis of multitargets in YiQiFuMai Powder Injection. The results provide the possible mechanisms for its mode of action against cardio-cerebral ischemic diseases and may also reveal new clues for its potential application in the inflammatory diseases or tumors.
Flickering Elimination Method for Background Region in Depth Video

In three-dimensional (3D) video systems, the depth image is very important to represent complete 3D contents. However, there is a flickering problem in the original depth video in the temporal domain. It is quite annoying to users. In this paper, we propose a flickering elimination method in the original depth video from a depth camera. In order to solve this problem, first we use a depth weighted joint bilateral filter to fill hole areas in the original depth image. Then, we employ a temporal mean filter to eliminate a flickering effect on the refined depth video and classify static and moving areas. Depending on the type of areas, we adaptively choose the refined depth image or temporal mean filtered depth image. Experimental results show that the proposed method reduces flickering effects significantly in the background of depth video. Keywords—flickering effect; depth image; temporal mean filter;
DCAuth: Data-Centric Authentication for Secure In-Network Big-Data Retrieval

Big data raises a strong demand on a network infrastructure to support the secure and efficient data retrieval with in-network caching. Information-Centric Networking (ICN) is an emerging approach to satisfy this demand, where big data are ubiquitously cached at the intermediate physical entities (IPEs) in the network and users retrieve the published data from the close copy holders. For the ICN, the unpredictability of users, IPEs, copy holders, and publishers during in-network big data retrievals poses a challenge to design a data-centric authentication mechanism to inhibit the malicious users to flood data requests and prevent the fake data from being cached and provided. However, the existing work only provides the authentications between users and publishers and suffers from the delay enlargement problem. To solve these problems, we design a trust model, namely a suspension-chain model (SCM), which is a trust chain that seamlessly merges certificate authority (CA)-based trust and neighbor-based trust. Based on SCM, we propose the DCAuth integrating certificate collection and packet forwarding, where the suspension certificate chain can be constructed for realizing any authentication to the unpredictable users/IPEs/publishers without accessing servers. Extensive simulations have been conducted to compare DCAuth with the existing work, which shows that delay can be greatly reduced and attacks can be efficiently prevented by DCAuth.
5839 – 5861 Automated extraction of street-scene objects from mobile lidar point clouds

Automated extraction of street-scene objects from mobile lidar point clouds Bisheng Yang a , Zheng Wei a , Qingquan Li a & Jonathan Li a b a State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, China b Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, N2L 3G1 Version of record first published: 30 Mar 2012.
Effect of dynamization in delayed union tibia shaft fracture

Introduction: Tibial shaft fracture is among the most common long bone fracture encountered, open fractures are more common in the tibia because one third of the Tibial surface is subcutaneous throughout most of its length, and the blood supply to the tibia is more precarious than that of bones enclosed by heavy muscles. Whenever open fractures occur in the tibia they are more commonly type IIIB. Objective: To study delayed union, non-union and infection are relatively common complications of tibial shaft fracture functional outcome & effect of dynamization in closed Intra-medullary Interlocking nailing for closed and open (Gustilo & Anderson Type I to Type IIIb) Tibial diaphyseal fractures. Material and Methods: Total of 56 skeletally mature patients diagnosed as Tibial diaphyseal fracture included closed & open (Gustilo type I to IIIb). Treated with intramedullary interlocking nail. Observation & Results: The age distribution was 42.9% in 21-40 years age group & 41.1% in 41-60 years age group with mean age 39.32 ± 14.85. Majority of fractures occurred in male i.e. 76.8%. Road traffic Accidents were found to be the main culprit as it contributed to 83.9% of total cases, other includes the fall from height (12.5%) & slip at home (3.6%). Among 56 tibia fractures 51.8 % were the lower 1/3 shaft of tibia. 31.5% were middle 1/3 shaft of tibia fracture. 1.8% upper 1/3 shaft of tibia fracture. 8.9% are segmental fracture. In 33 cases which is more commonly i.e. 58.9% & Right side was involved in only 23 cases i.e. 41.1% of total cases. 80.4% of total cases (45) were closed tibia fractures. Dynamization increases the rate of callus formation with mean time to union post dynamization is 6.86 weeks. We evaluated patient using Lysholm score at 3 months and we found that mean Lysholm score was 75.54, which has increased in 6 months to 87.84. At the end of the study we found score further increased to 95.39. Final result in 56 case of tibia shaft fractures treated with intramedullary interlocking nail, 39 case (69.6%) result was “Good to excellent”, in 13 patient (23.2%) results were “Excellent”. 3 patients (5.4%) had “fair to good “result. 1 patient had “fair” result. We found no case with poor results. Conclusion: Dynamization increases the pace of fracture healing in delayed uniting fracture. Intramedullary interlocking nails shows good to excellent results in the treatment of diaphyseal fractures. Distal tibia shaft fracture are more common followed by middle 1/3.
Analysis of the H-polarized electromagnetic wave diffraction by an infinite periodical strip grating without one strip

Analysis of the electrodynamical properties of the infinite periodical grating without one strip is performed in this paper. The H-polarization case is considered. The mathematical model is based on the singular integral equations method. Scattered field is presented as sum of three summands: field of the infinite periodical grating, field of a single strip of the infinite periodical grating and correction field. The directional patterns and field distribution are represented.