Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of NS-718, a Novel Lipid Nanosphere-Encapsulated Amphotericin B, againstCryptococcus neoformans

ABSTRACT In vitro and in vivo efficacies of NS-718, a lipid nanosphere-encapsulated amphotericin B (AMPH-B), have been studied. Of the tested AMPH-B formulations, NS-718 had the lowest MIC forCryptococcus neoformans. In a murine model, low-dose therapy (0.8 mg/kg of body weight) with NS-718 showed higher efficacy than that with AmBisome. High-dose therapy (2.0 mg/kg) with NS-718 was much more effective than those with Fungizone and AmBisome. In mice treated with a high dose of NS-718, only a few yeast cells had grown in lung by 7 days after inoculation. A pharmacokinetic study showed higher concentrations of AMPH-B in lung following administration of NS-718 than after administration of AmBisome. Our results indicated that NS-718, a new AMPH-B formulation, is a promising antifungal agent for treatment of pulmonary cryptococcosis and could be the most effective antifungal agent against C. neoformans infections.
Anal cancer prevention: how we are failing men who have sex with men

Although receptive anal intercourse (RAI) is far from the sole preserve of men who have sex with men (MSM), the medical consequences of this sexual behaviour and resulting infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) are becoming increasingly apparent in this population. It is over 25 years since Daling et al reported on the increased rates of anal cancer in never married men with positive syphilis serology—their proxy for MSM.1 These rates of up to 35:100 000 were similar to those of cervical cancer before the institution of routine cervical cytology screening, and much greater than the rate of 2:100 000 seen currently in the general population. Since then, MSM have borne the brunt of the HIV epidemic in Western society and, paradoxically, with the now widespread availability and impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy, we are now seeing rates of anal cancer in HIV positive MSM that are more than double those initially reported.2 In contrast to other AIDS-associated malignancies, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, anal cancer rates continue to increase, a fact that clinicians, MSM and the HIV community at large seem, for the most part, unable or unwilling to address. The anal canal is 3–4 cm long and is lined with stratified squamous non-keratinising epithelium. It extends from the anal verge to the anorectal transition zone where it meets the unicellular columnar epithelium of the rectum. For the most part, it is only the anal canal and not the rectum that becomes infected with HPV. In the general population, anogenital HPV is the most common viral sexually transmitted infection. Supporting data from serological studies indicate that over 50% of sexually active North Americans have antibodies indicative of previous exposure to anogenital HPV.3 HPV is both highly infectious and easily transmitted as demonstrated in a recent study showing …
On the Relationship Between Clique-Width and Treewidth

Treewidth is generally regarded as one of the most useful parameterizations of a graph's construction. Clique-width is a similar parameterizations that shares one of the powerful properties of treewidth, namely: if a graph is of bounded treewidth (or clique-width), then there is a polynomial time algorithm for any graph problem expressible in Monadic Second Order Logic, using quantifiers on vertices (in the case of clique-width you must assume a clique-width parse expression is given). In studying the relationship between treewidth and clique-width, Courcelle and Olariu showed that any graph of bounded treewidth is also of bounded clique-width; in particular, for any graph G with treewidth k, the clique-width of G ? 4 * 2k-1 + 1.In this paper, we improve this result to the clique-width of G ? 3 * 2k-1 and more importantly show that there is an exponential lower bound on this relationship. In particular, for any k, there is a graph G with treewidth = k where the clique-width of G ? 2? k/2? -1.
In vitro proliferation and lifespan of human diploid fibroblasts in serum‐free BSA‐containing medium

We have developed two serum‐free chemically defined media (RITC 78‐6 and RITC 80‐7) that support the growth in culture of human diploid fibroblasts to the same extent as Eagle's basal medium (BME) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). These two media contain modified Eagle's minimum essential medium (MEM) supplemented with nonessential amino acids, various trace metals, organic compounds and growth factors [insulin, mouse epidermal growth factor (m‐EGF), transferrin and triiodothyronine (T3)]. RITC 80‐7 medium differs from RITC 78‐6 in that it contains thymidine, hypoxanthine, and vitamin B12 and supports the long‐term serial cultivation of human diploid cultures. The addition of commercial bovine serum albumin (BSA, 5 g/liter) to the medium enhances cell growth. This effect is not observed if BSA is first delipidized, but reconstitution of BSA with certain lipids restores its ability to promote growth. BSA has an inhibitory effect on cellular attachment but this is overcome when fibronectin (FN, 10 mg/liter) is added to the medium.
A gentle introduction to Haskell

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of “A Gentle Introduction to Haskell” (the Text), to deal in the Text without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Text, and to permit persons to whom the Text is furnished to do so, subject to the following condition: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Text.
Introducing SECURESTREAMS: Scalable Middleware for Reactive and Secure Data Stream Processing

We introduce SECURESTREAMS, a middleware framework for secure stream processing. Its design builds on Intel's Secure Guard Extensions (SGX) to guarantee the privacy and the integrity of the data being processed. Our initial experimental results of SECURESTREAMS are promising: the framework is easy to use, and delivers high throughput, enabling developers to implement complex processing pipelines in a few lines of scripting code.
Mechanisms of drug transfer across the human placenta-a workshop report.

The transfer of charged, polar or hydrophilic molecules across membranes is mediated by carrier proteins. Certain transporters operate by means of a primary, active mechanism that can pump substrates out of the cell against a concentration gradient at the expense of ATP hydrolysis. Other solute carriers are Na + -coupled and support secondary active transport that is dependent on the cellular ionic eletrochemical gradient, whereas facilitative transporters promote the net flux of solute down its concentration gradient. Many new families of membrane carriers have been identified recently, some of which are highly expressed in the placenta and have precise physiological roles in the delivery of individual nutrients or clearance of endogenous substances across the placenta (Ganapathy et al., 2000). Other carriers are multispecific and will interact with drugs/toxins that structurally mimic natural substances. The goal of this workshop was to review the latest information regarding the transporters that are implicated in the trans-placental passage of drugs and other selected physiological substances such as sulphated conjugates of steroid hormones. An update on the mechanisms of iron transfer across the placenta was also presented, as well as a review of the placental drug metabolizing systems that ultimately influence the fetal exposure to xenobiotics.
Ontology driven query language for NoSQL databases

Most NoSQL databases have been devised independently from each other with specific application requirements. This has resulted in developing separate own data model and query language for each NoSQL database. The lack of standards in data models and query languages make applications and data less portable using these databases. Further, absence of formal semantics in query languages inhibits a precise understanding of query over NoSQL databases. To handle these issues, in this paper, an ontology driven query language for NoSQL databases is proposed. The proposed query language provides an efficient and common abstraction over the operational aspects on various kinds of NoSQL databases. The language includes formal common syntax and semantics of distinct query operators of NoSQL databases and those are represented in Description Logic. Further, usefulness of proposed query operators are proved using a suitable case study.
Improved Semantic Retrieval Based on Domain Ontology

Semantic retrieval is a hot area of Web search technology constantly because of the growing information. This paper proposed a creative semantic retrieval method with Path Weight Semantic Distance (PWSD) algorithm which is improved from current model. Based on the domain ontology built by protégé, PWSD considers both the hierarchy and the property restrictions of the concepts synthetically, and provides an accurate computation of semantic distance between conceptions. We have investigated the feasibilities, advantages and statistical significances from the comparison between our system and personalized categorization system (PCAT) and found that our system has high performances with 95% or higher statistical significance for short queries tasks.
Catholic Social Teaching and America's Suboptimal Breastfeeding Rate: Where Faith and Policy Should Meet to Combat Injustice

Despite the numerous health benefits of breastfeeding, few American women breastfeed for the optimal duration of time. Reasons given for not following national and global institutional breastfeeding recommendations are various and multi-faceted. However, for many American women who would like to breastfeed, unjust historical, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors negatively impact their ability to breastfeed. Catholic social teaching seeks to protect the poor and the vulnerable by working for social and economic justice, encourages stewardship of the environment, and uplifts the family as the most important unit in society. As such, Catholic social teaching has clear implications for individuals and institutions seeking to make breastfeeding a more widespread, accepted practice. In response to the crisis in American rates of breastfeeding, American Catholic healthcare institutions should work to promote the just economic and social conditions necessary for American women to breastfeed their children, starting by implementing breastfeeding-friendly policies for patients and employees in their own institutions. Summary For many American women who would like to breastfeed, unjust historical, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors negatively impact their ability to breastfeed. Catholic social teaching has clear implications for individuals and institutions seeking to make breastfeeding a more widespread, accepted practice. Therefore, American Catholic healthcare institutions should work particularly hard to promote the just economic and social conditions necessary for American women to breastfeed their children, starting by implementing breastfeeding-friendly policies for patients and employees in their own institutions.
Die Feinde des Konigs in den Pyramidentexten

Die Pyramidentexte stellen die fruheste Sammlung von Totentexten in Agypten dar und gelten als das alteste Textcorpus religiosen Inhalts uberhaupt. Bisher wurden diese im Alten Reich ausschlieslich koniglichem Gebrauch vorbehaltenen Texte in den Pyramiden von zehn Konigen und Koniginnen nachgewiesen. Die mit Pyramidentexten ausgestatteten Grabmaler datieren in einen Zeitraum von etwa 200 Jahren am Ausgang des dritten Jahrtausends v. Chr. , in die spate 5. und die 6. Dynastie. Seit ihrer Entdeckung durch Gaston Maspero in den Jahren 1880 bis 1881 ist mehr als ein Jahrhundert vergangen, in dem unzahlige Einzeluntersuchungen zu diesem Textcorpus vorgenommen wurde. Dennoch steht bis heute – wie auch fur die Sargtexte des Mittleren Reiches und das Totenbuch bzw. die Unterweltsbucher des Neuen Reiches – eine eingehende Untersuchung zu den Feinden und Gefahrdungen des Verstorbenen in diesen Texten aus. Die zahlreichen Spruche der Pyramidentexte dienen dazu, den Weg des verstorbenen Herrschers ins Jenseits zu bereiten, die jenseitige Existenz zu garantieren und den Verstorbenen vor Gefahren und Bedrohungen zu bewahren. In der vorliegenden Studie werden erstmals die in den Pyramidentexten vorliegenden Konzepte der Feindvernichtung fur den verstoreben Konig systematisch untersucht. Es zeigt sich, dass das analysierte Textkorpus unterschiedlichen Konzepten folgt. Eine Gruppe der Pyramidentexte dient dem Schutz des verstorbenen Herrschers auf seinem Weg zu den Sternen bzw. zum Sonnengott am Himmel. Diese Spruche sollen als potentiell feindlich gesonnenen Gottheiten bzw. Damonen und ihre Behinderungen auf den Wegen des Verstoreben abwehren. Die zweite Hauptgruppe der relevanten Spruche beschaftigt sich dagegen ausschlieslich mit der Bestrafung bzw. Vernichtung des Gottes Seth im Rahmen des Osiris-Seth-Horus-Mythenkreises, in den der verstorbene Herrscher nach seinem Tod durch die Identifikation mit dem von seinem Bruder Seth ermordeten Osiris einbezogen wurde. Weitere, in sich geschlossene Gruppen von Spruchen der Pyramidentexte stellen neben den magischen Schlangenspruchen die Spruche zum Schutz des verstorbenen Konigs vor diesseitigen Feinden und die Spruche zum Schutz der Pyramidenanlage dar. In ihrer Gesamtheit begrunden die Pyramidentexten die theologische Konzeption zur Bewahrung von Fortexistenz, Angedenken und Macht des verstorbenen Konigs in Agypten.
Cellular response to DNA damage is enhanced by the pR plasmid in mouse cells and in Escherichia coli

The pR plasmid, which enhances the survival of Escherichia coli C600 exposed to UV light by induction of the SOS regulatory mechanism, showed the same effect when it transformed mouse LTA cells (tk-, aprt-). With Tn5 insertion mutagenesis which inactivates UV functions in the pR plasmid, we recognized two different regions of the plasmid, uvp1 and uvp2. These pR UVR- mutants exhibited the same effect in LTA transformed cells, demonstrating that resistance to UV light, carried by the pR plasmid, was really due to the expression of these two regions, which were also in the mouse cells. Statistical analysis showed that the expression of the uvp1 and uvp2 regions significantly increased (P less than 0.01) the survival upon exposure to UV light in mouse cells and bacteria. These results might suggest the presence of an inducible repair response to DNA damage in mouse LTA cells.
Extremal paths on a random cayley tree

We investigate the statistics of extremal path(s) (both the shortest and the longest) from the root to the bottom of a Cayley tree. The lengths of the edges are assumed to be independent identically distributed random variables drawn from a distribution rho(l). Besides, the number of branches from any node is also random. Exact results are derived for arbitrary distribution rho(l). In particular, for the binary 0,1 distribution rho(l)=pdelta(l,1)+(1-p)delta(l, 0), we show that as p increases, the minimal length undergoes an unbinding transition from a "localized" phase to a "moving" phase at the critical value, p=p(c)=1-b(-1), where b is the average branch number of the tree. As the height n of the tree increases, the minimal length saturates to a finite constant in the localized phase (pp(c)) where the velocity v(min)(p) is determined via a front selection mechanism. At p=p(c), the minimal length grows with n in an extremely slow double-logarithmic fashion. The length of the maximal path, on the other hand, increases linearly as v(max)(p)n for all p. The maximal and minimal velocities satisfy a general duality relation, v(min)(p)+v(max)(1-p)=1, which is also valid for directed paths on finite-dimensional lattices.
Imaging of the pituitary: Recent advances

Pituitary lesions, albeit relatively infrequent, can significantly alter the quality of life. This article highlights the role of advanced imaging modalities in evaluating pituitary-hypothalamic axis lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the examination of choice for evaluating hypothalamic-pituitary-related endocrine diseases. Advanced MR techniques discussed in this article include dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, 3T MRI, magnetization transfer (MT) imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), proton MR spectroscopy, fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computed tomography, intraoperative MRI, and intraoperative real-time ultrasonography.
Informalidad y segregación urbana en América Latina: una aproximación

Resumen La produccion del espacio urbano realizada por las acciones e interacciones de diferentes actores publicos y privados se ha modificado sustancialmente en los ultimos anos, resultado de los cambios estructurales en el plano economico, social y politico. Los nuevos procesos generan formas y magnitudes de la segregacion, aun escasamente estudiadas, en las areas urbanas/metropolitanas historicamente segmentadas socioespacialmente. La ciudad posee una configuracion territorial mas compleja que en decadas anteriores y los agentes que la producen son multiples, perteneciendo a los sectores mas polarizados de la sociedad, pudiendo identificarse desde las grandes corporaciones internacionales que comienzan a actuar, fundamentalmente, en los anos ochenta y acentuan sus inversiones en la decada del noventa, a los agentes 'Informales' y la poblacion que ocupa tierra y construye su propio habitat de innumerables formas.Ello se relaciona con el crecimiento de la magnitud y tipos de informalidad en las ciudades, producto del aumento de la desocupacion, los bajos ingresos y la agudizacion de su historica desigual distribucion, asi como el estancamiento de la actividad economica de America Latina. La falta de perspectivas de mejoramiento en las condiciones de pobreza, sino por el contrario, la certeza del creciente fenomeno de pauperizacion de los sectores medios de la poblacion, a quienes cada vez les resulta mas dificil acceder a tierra urbana y vivienda a traves del mercado formal, coloca a la cuestion de la informalidad urbana en tema importante a debatir y a actuar sobre ella. Este trabajo aborda la informalidad de los sectores pobres urbanos en los paises latinoamericanos, algunos elementos para su explicacion y sus relaciones con la segregacion y sustentabilidad urbanas. Finalmente se exponen indicaciones de politicas para mejorar la situacion del habitat de los sectores mas pobres, que redundara, esperamos, en una menor segregacion.
A Low-Jitter Spread Spectrum Clock Generator Using FDMP

<para> A 1.5 GHz spread spectrum clock generator (SSCG) is realized by a fractional N frequency synthesizer with a third-order delta-sigma modulator and a fractional dual-modulus prescaler (FDMP). This FDMP utilizes a fractional division ratio to have a small phase step to improve the jitter performance. This SSCG has been fabricated in a 0.18 um CMOS process, and it consumes 34.2 mW from a supply of 1.8 V. The measured rms jitter is 5.55 ps and the measured electromagnetic interference reduction amount is 14.77 dB. The measured phase noise is <formula formulatype="inline"><tex>$-97.18$</tex></formula> dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset. </para>
Approximated stochastic model predictive control using statistical linearization of nonlinear dynamical system in latent space

A fast stochastic model predictive control (SMPC) strategy using latent variable model is presented in this paper. In the first part of this paper, we introduce a novel data-driven approach to approximately linearize a nonlinear dynamical system in a latent space, and then identify a stochastic linearized system using a subspace state space system identification algorithm. The stochastic linear system is more tractable than the original nonlinear system because of its linearity and Gaussian distributions of latent states. In the second part of this paper, we discuss transformation of the stochastic problem into tractable deterministic one in the latent space. Our proposed strategy is based on the idea that we translate SMPC problem into tractable one in advance by offline calculation to reduce the online computational cost. The reformulated deterministic MPC problem can be also solved by parallel computation. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is demonstrated by numerical simulations.
Variation in growth form and precocity at birth in eutherian mammals

Using the flexible Chapman—Richards model for describing the growth curves from birth to adulthood of 69 species of eutherian mammals, we demonstrate that growth form differs among eutherian mammals. Thereby the commonly used Gompertz model can no longer be considered as the general model for describing mammalian growth. Precocial mammals have their peak growth rate earlier in the growth process than altricial mammals. However, the position on the altricial—precocial continuum accounts for most growth–form differences only between mammalian lineages. Within mammalian genera differences in growth form are not related to precocity at birth. This inidicates that growth form may have been associated with precocity at birth early in mammalian evolution, when broad patterns of body development radiated. We discuss four non–exclusive interpretations to account for the role of precocity at birth on the observed variation in growth form among mammals. Precocial and altricial mammals could differ according to (i) the distribution of energy output by the mother, (ii) the ability of the young to assimilate the milk yield, (iii) the allocation of energy by the young between competing functions and (iv) the position of birth between conception and attainment of physical maturity.
Improved Fully Homomorphic Encryption over the Integers with Shorter Public Keys

Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) is a “holy grail” of cryptography. However, it is not yet adopted in practice because no known scheme is efficient. In this paper, we mainly focus on how to reduce the public key sizes in FHE. Based on Dijk et al.’s FHE scheme (DGHV) and Gentry’s fully homomorhpic technology, we propose two schemes with shorter public keys by encrypting with a combination of the public key elements to replace a linear form in DGHV scheme and a quadratic form in Coron et al.’s scheme. Compared with DGHV scheme and Coron et al.’s scheme, our schemes can greatly reduce the public key sizes, which make our schemes more efficient. Furthermore, we prove the security of our schemes based on difficulties of the approximate greatest common divisor (AGCD) problem and the sparse subset sum problem.
Right temporal lobe plays a role in verbal memory

Abstract Objectives: Comparison of preoperative and postoperative neurological functions in patients undergoing resection of brain tumors, in combination with data from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies, can provide direct evidence of anatomical localization of brain function. The goal of the present study was to use these techniques to characterize memory function of the right temporal lobe in five patients with right temporal lobe brain tumors. Methods: Memory function was tested using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) before and after surgery in five patients with right temporal lobe brain tumors. Preoperative DTI was performed in four of five cases. Results: In all cases, general and verbal memory, including verbal paired association, significantly improved after surgery (P<0·05). The right inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) was compressed by the tumor in all cases. Conclusion: These results suggest that the right temporal lobe plays a role in verbal memory and that this function may be associated with the right ILF.