Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of Gaps in Cyber Defense Automation

Abstract : Cyber defense automation (CDA) refers to automated response and recovery from cyber at-tacks while still preserving a certain level of mission functionality. The vision of CDA research is to build self-healing, self-immunizing systems. Seven major components are necessary to achieve this vision: attack/vulnerability detection, attack/vulnerability analysis, impact blocking, recovery, vulnerability patching, system cleansing, and an optional active response component (e.g., deception or counter-attack). In this report, by reviewing the state of the art for each of these components, we identify high-priority, short-term research objectives for CDA components, which include: designing low false positive vulnerability detection techniques, developing scalable and fast-impact blocking mechanisms, accurately identifying the location of vulnerabilities, developing new roll-back techniques, evaluating various deception options, and using sanitization techniques for improved cleansing of compromised systems. These eorts will constitute the basic blocks of an effective and automated CDA system.
Isolating cause-effect chains with AskIgor

AskIgor is a Web service for automatically determining causes of program failures. You submit an executable and two invocations: one where the program fails, and one where it passes. AskIgor compares these two runs and conducts a number of systematic tests to narrow down the set of failure-inducing variable values automatically. This reveals the cause-effect chain of the failure - that is, the variables and values that caused the failure. In a case study, AskIgor successfully isolated the cause-effect chain for a failure of the GNU C compiler: "initially, the C program to be compiled contained an addition of 1.0; this caused an addition operator in the intermediate RTL representation; this caused a cycle in the RTL tree - and this caused the compiler to crash".
Real-Time PCR Detection of Dogwood Anthracnose Fungus in Historical Herbarium Specimens from Asia

Cornus species (dogwoods) are popular ornamental trees and important understory plants in natural forests of northern hemisphere. Dogwood anthracnose, one of the major diseases affecting the native North American Cornus species, such as C. florida, is caused by the fungal pathogen Discula destructiva. The origin of this fungus is not known, but it is hypothesized that it was imported to North America with its host plants from Asia. In this study, a TaqMan real-time PCR assay was used to detect D. destructiva in dried herbarium and fresh Cornus samples. Several herbarium specimens from Japan and China were detected positive for D. destructiva, some of which were collected before the first report of the dogwood anthracnose in North America. Our findings further support that D. destructiva was introduced to North America from Asia where the fungus likely does not cause severe disease.
Educators’ Perceptions of the Effects of Teenage Pregnancy on the Behaviour of the Learners in South African Secondary Schools: Implications for Teacher Training

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate educators’ perceptions of the effects of teenage pregnancy on the behaviour of the learners in some South African secondary schools. Fourteen educators from seven secondary schools were purposively sampled for the study. Data were collected using in-depth interviews to allow the researchers a platform to ask open-response questions and to explore the educators’ perspectives about the effects of teenage pregnancy. The data were analysed thematically by carefully identifying and expanding significant themes that emerged from the informants’ perceptions about the effects of teenage pregnancy. The study revealed that teenage pregnancy has a negative or detrimental effect on the school attendance, academic performance, emotional behaviour and relationships between pregnant teenagers, their peers and educators. Implications for teacher training to manage these effects were given.
Epitope Capsid-Incorporation: A New Effective Approach for Vaccine Development for Chagas Disease

Background: Previously we reported that a hexon-modified adenovirus (Ad) vector containing the invasive neutralizing epitope of Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) trypomastigote gp83 (Ad5-gp83) provided immunoprotection against T. cruzi infection. The purpose of this work was to design an improved vaccine for T. cruzi using a novel epitope capsid incorporation strategy. Thus, we evaluated the immunoprotection raised by co-immunization with Ad5-gp83 and an Ad vector containing an epitope (ASP-M) of the T. cruzi amastigote surface protein 2. Methods: Protein IX (pIX)-modified Ad vector (Ad5-pIX-ASP-M) was generated, characterized, and validated. C3H/He mice were immunized with Ad5-pIX-ASP-M and Ad5-gp83 and the cell-mediated responses were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay and intracellular staining. Immunized mice were challenged with T. cruzi to evaluate the vaccine efficacy. Results: Our findings indicate that Ad5-pIX-ASP-M was viable. Specific CD8+ T-cell mediated responses prior to the challenge show an increase in IFNγ and TNFα production. A single immunization with Ad5-pIX-ASP-M provided protection from T. cruzi infection, but co-immunizations with Ad5-pIX-ASP-M and Ad5-gp83 provided a higher immunoprotection and increased survival rate of mice. Conclusions: Overall, these results suggest that the combination of gp83 and ASP-M specific epitopes onto the capsid-incorporated adenoviruses would provide superior protection against Chagas disease as compared with Ad5-gp83 alone.
Clinical overview of the synucleinopathies

The term synucleinopathies is used to name a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by fibrillary aggregates of α‐synuclein protein in the cytoplasm of selective populations of neurons and glia. These disorders include Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), pure autonomic failure (PAF), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Clinically, they are characterized by a chronic and progressive decline in motor, cognitive, behavioural, and autonomic functions, depending on the distribution of the lesions. Because of clinical overlap, differential diagnosis is sometimes very difficult. Parkinsonism is the predominant symptom of PD, but it can be indistinguishable from the parkinsonism of DLB and MSA. Autonomic dysfunction, which is an isolated finding in PAF, may be present in PD and DLB, but is usually more prominent and appears earlier in MSA. DLB could be the same disease as PD but with widespread cortical pathological states, leading to dementia, fluctuating cognition, and the characteristic visual hallucinations. The deposition of aggregates of synuclein in neurons and glia suggests that a common pathogenic mechanism may exist for these disorders. Even though synuclein may play an important role in disease development in these disorders, in light of the different symptom complex and prognosis and management issues that characterize each disorder, we think that the term synucleinopathy has little practical value as a diagnostic term for the clinician. Clinicians should attempt to reach standard clinical diagnosis on patients, such as PD, PAF, or MSA. © 2003 Movement Disorder Society
Content Internetworking (CDI) Scenarios

In describing content internetworking as a technology targeted for use in production networks, it is useful to provide examples of the sequence of events that may occur when two content networks decide to interconnect. The scenarios presented here seek to provide some concrete examples of what content internetworking is, and also to provide a basis for evaluating content internetworking proposals.
Regulation of intraganglionic synapses among rabbit parasympathetic neurones.

1. The response of parasympathetic neurones to the removal of preganglionic innervation was studied in the ciliary ganglia of adult rabbits. After section of the preganglionic oculomotor nerve, individual ciliary neurones were characterized electrophysiologically by intracellular recording, and morphologically by intracellular injection of horseradish peroxidase. 2. Within the first 24‐48 h after nerve section, only two of fifty‐nine neurones responded to antidromic stimulation of the postganglionic ciliary nerve with synaptic potentials. This result indicates that synaptic connections between principal neurones are rare in normal ganglia. 3. One week after denervation, however, excitatory postsynaptic potentials were recorded in thirty‐nine out of fifty‐three cells examined. Thus there is a rapid and extensive formation of intraganglionic connections after denervation. Morphological analysis of these ganglion cells showed numerous fine processes arising from the cell bodies and dendrites; such neurites were not present among control neurones. Many of these newly formed processes appeared to form synapses on neighbouring cells. 4. A similar proportion of neurones (about two‐thirds of the cells) showed antidromically evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials 2 weeks after denervation. Dendrites were still longer and more complex than controls at this time. After several months the morphology and prevalence of intraganglionic connections returned to normal as the ganglion became reinnervated. 5. Thus, denervation of rabbit ciliary ganglion cells induces the rapid formation of large numbers of functional synaptic connections among ganglion cells. It is postulated that local regulatory factors govern connections between parasympathetic ganglion cells. After denervation, these trophic signals are no longer modulated by presynaptic axons and they exert a stimulus for sprouting and synapse formation among this population of cholinergic neurones.
Changes in the pattern of stuttering over development for children who recover or persist

Three schemes for assessing stuttering were compared. They differed with respect to whether they included whole-word repetitions as characteristics more typical of stuttering. Persistent and recovered groups of children were examined to see whether: (1) one of the schemes differentiated the groups better than others; (2) more and less typical of stuttering characteristics changed over ages in different ways for the groups; and (3) the changes over ages of more and less typical of stuttering classes depended on word type. Twenty-six children who stuttered were classified as persistent or recovered and recorded at three ages between 8–12+ years. Stuttering characteristics were obtained according to the three schemes. The results show: (1) All schemes distinguished persistent, from recovered, children. (2) The proportion of less typical of stuttering characteristics increased and more typical of stuttering characteristics decreased over age for recovered children for all three schemes (there was no change for persistent children). (3) The increased proportion of less typical of stuttering characteristics for the recovered children across age was more apparent for one-syllable content words than one-syllable function words.
MEMS based navigation and control of a nonlinear quadrotor with tiltable rotors

The support of rescue forces using Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) is a challenging task which is addressed in this work. In order to fulfill this task an advanced type of MAV is being developed: A quadrotor with tiltable rotors. This vehicle is able to perform vertical takeoff and landing maneuvers as well as to control attitude and velocity independently. To achieve this goal the navigation filter fuses the information of a micro electrical mechanical system inertial measurement unit (MEMS IMU) with data provided by a laser range finder. A stochastic cloning Kalman filter is used to perform the data fusion appropriately. To control this new kind of vehicle a nonlinear controller is used. The controller is separated into a common backstepping controller and a control allocation unit. The performance of the system is demonstrated by simulations based on model identification of real sensors and hardware.
Biosynthesis, processing, and intracellular transport of lysosomal acid phosphatase in rat hepatocytes.

The biosynthesis, processing, and intracellular transport of lysosomal acid phosphatase was studied using an in vitro cell-free translation system, pulse-chase experiments with primary cultured rat hepatocytes and subcellular fractionation techniques of rat liver after pulse-labeling with [35S]methionine in vivo. The single polypeptide of 45 kDa translated in the cell-free system from membrane-bound polysomal RNAs was converted to the 64 kDa form when the translation was carried out in the presence of microsomal vesicles. Pulse-chase experiments using cultured rat hepatocytes showed that acid phosphatase is initially synthesized as an endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H (Endo H)-sensitive form of 64 kDa, and processed via an Endo H-sensitive intermediate form of 62 kDa to an Endo H-resistant form with a 67 kDa mass. Phase separation with Triton X-114 showed that both the 64 and 67 kDa forms have hydrophobic properties. Treatment of the cells with chloroquine or tunicamycin, drugs which enhance the secretion of lysosomal hydrolases, had no effect on the normal transport of acid phosphatase to lysosomes. Acid phosphatase did not contain the phosphorylated high mannose type of oligosaccharide chains observed in cathepsin D. Subcellular fractionation experiments in conjunction with pulse-labeling in vivo showed that the acid phosphatase of the 67 kDa form was present in the Golgi heavy fraction (GF3) and the Golgi light fraction (GF1+2) enriched in cis and trans Golgi elements, respectively, at 30 min after the administration of [35S]methionine. Simultaneously, this polypeptide was also found in the lysosomal membrane fraction, thereby indicating that acid phosphatase is delivered to lysosomes in a membrane-bound form, immediately after reaching the trans-Golgi region. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
High rate anaerobic treatment of coffee processing wastewater using upflow anaerobic hybrid reactor.

The present study is an attempt to treat the coffee processing wastewater using upflow anaerobic hybrid reactor which offers the advantage of both suspended and attached growth anaerobic reactor systems. Upflow anaerobic hybrid reactor with a volume of 19.5 L was operated at 24 h hydraulic retention time. After the startup period, the reactor was evaluated by operating at different hydraulic retention times of 24, 18, 12 and 6 h. The reactor performed better at HRT=18 h with short period of time. At 18 h retention time, reduction of chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and total solids were 61.0, 66.0 and 58.0 per cent, respectively, with organic loading rate of 9.55 kg/m3/day. The maximum quantity of biogas produced were 840, 775 and 430 L/kg of TS, BOD and COD removal, respectively, with the methane content of 60.7% at HRT=18 h. The finding of the study helps to design low cost and compact onsite treatment systems with a very short retention period.
Detection of minimal residual disease by polymerase chain reaction of bcr/abl transcripts in chronic myelogenous leukaemia following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

The prognostic significance of detecting minimal residual disease by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of bcr/abl mRNA transcripts was investigated in 27 bone marrow samples from 20 patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1) positive chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) in complete cytogenetic remission following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Sixteen were transplanted in first chronic phase, two were in second chronic phase, one was in accelerated phase and one was in blast crisis. All 20 achieved complete cytogenetic remission post transplant and 15 patients had detectable bcriabl mRNA by PCR from 2 to 22 months following the procedure. One of these patients had graft failure and one died from graft‐versus‐host‐disease at 7 months. Of the remaining 13 PCR‐positive patients, only one (8%) relapsed after 23 months: the other 12 were alive and still in remission after a median follow‐up of 16 + months (ranging 5+ to 29+ months). Five patients were PCR negative: all are alive in complete clinical and cytogenetic remission at lo +, 11 +, 19 +, 25+ and 25+ months post transplant. In this study, detection of subclinical Phl‐positive cells by PCR was not associated with imminent clinical or cytogenetic relapse. Since late recurrence may potentially occur, long‐term follow‐up is required to definitely determine the prognostic value of the PCR assay.
Eating with a Purpose: Consumer Response to Functional Food Health Claims in Conflicting versus Complementary Information Environments

Marketers of food products have recently introduced a variety of “functional foods” that promise consumers improvements in targeted physiological functions. However, despite the proliferation of functional food health claims promising more than basic nutrition, little is known about consumer responses to these claims, particularly in information environments in which inconsistent information may be available about the efficacy of a particular functional ingredient. Across two studies, the authors demonstrate that consumers with lower health consciousness are particularly sensitive to conflicting information about the validity of a functional food health claim; specifically, the presentation of conflicting (versus complementary) information significantly lowers their likelihood of choosing a functional over a nonfunctional food. In contrast, consumers with higher health consciousness do not reduce their likelihood of choosing a functional food when confronted with conflicting information. The authors demonstrate that this effect is driven by a confirmatory bias to believe the functional food health claim on the part of more health conscious consumers. The authors discuss implications for the successful marketing of functional foods and for public policy makers and consumers.
The non-compressibility ratio for accurate diagnosis of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis

BACKGROUND Accurate identification of patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is critical, as untreated cases can be fatal. It is well established that the specificity of the clinical signs and symptoms of DVT is low. Therefore, clinicians rely on additional tests to make this diagnosis. There are three modalities for DVT diagnosis; clinical scoring, laboratory investigations, and radiology. The objective of this study was to determine the correlation of plasma D-dimer concentration with the ultrasonographic non-compressibility ratio in patients with DVT in the lower extremities. METHODS This research was a cross-sectional observational study. The sample comprised 25 subjects over 30 years of age with clinically diagnosed DVT in the lower extremities. In all subjects, D-dimer determination using latex enhanced turbidimetric test was performed, as well as ultrasonographic non-compressibility ratio assessment of the lower extremities. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation at significance level of 0.05. RESULTS Mean plasma D-dimer concentration was 2953.00 ± 2054.44 μg/L. The highest mean non-compressibility ratio (59.96 ± 35.98%) was found in the superficial femoral vein and the lowest mean non-compressibility ratio (42.68 ± 33.71%) in the common femoral vein. There was a moderately significant correlation between plasma D-dimer level and non-compressibility ratio in the popliteal vein (r=0.582; p=0.037). In the other veins of the lower extremities, no significant correlation was found. CONCLUSION The sonographic non-compressibility ratio is an objective test for quick and accurate diagnosis of lower extremity DVT and for evaluation of DVT severity.
Evaluation of a Handwashing Intervention to Reduce Respiratory Illness Rates in Senior Day-Care Centers

Abstract To decrease respiratory infections in senior day care, staff were educated on viral transmission and the value of hand washing. Fanny packs with alcohol foam supplemented hand washing and were alternated monthly between centers. Infection rates were unchanged with alcohol foam use. The intervention year's infection rate was significantly lower than the previous 3 years, suggesting a benefit of education.
Experimental analysis of malayalam pos tagger using epic framework in scala

In Natural Language Processing (NLP), one of the well-studiedproblems under constant exploration is part-ofspeech tagging or POS tagging or grammatical tagging. The task is to assign labels or syntactic categories such as noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition etc. to the words in a sentence or in an un-annotated corpus. This paper presents a simple machine learning based experimental study for POS tagging using a new structured prediction framework known as EPIC, developed in scale programming language. This paper is first of its kind to perform POS tagging in Indian Language using EPIC framework. In this framework, the corpus contains labelled Malayalam sentences in domains like health, tourism and general (news, stories). The EPIC framework uses conditional random field (CRF) for building tagged models. The framework provides several parameters to adjust and arrive at improved accuracy and thereby a better POS tagger model. The overall accuracy were calculated separately for each domains and obtained a maximum accuracy of 85.48%, 85.39%, and 87.35% for small tagged data in health, tourism and general domain.
Discontinued drugs in 2006: anti-infectives

Of the drugs dropped from development in 2006, 11 were being developed for infectious diseases. Of these, nine were for viral diseases, including four against HIV, two against hepatitis C virus and one each against respiratory syncytial virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (coronavirus) and a variety of viruses. The nine antiviral agents comprised six synthetic small-molecule compounds, one peptide, one monoclonal antibody and a vaccine. The remaining two agents were a vaccine for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, and lipid-based agent for septic shock. Each of these drugs is briefly reviewed and reasons for failure are discussed.
Full Peptide Synthesis, Purification, and Characterization of Six Tat Variants

AIDS in Africa is characterized by the equal distribution of mortality between the two genders because of highly virulent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains. The viral protein Tat trans-activates viral gene expression and is essential for HIV-1 replication. We chemically synthesized six different Tat proteins, with sizes ranging from 86 to 101 residues, from HIV-1 isolates located in different parts of the world including highly virulent African strains. Protein purification, mass spectroscopy, and amino acid analysis showed that the synthesis was successful in each case but with different yields. We show that all have the ability to bind the HIV long terminal repeat (LTR) RNA trans-activation response element (TAR) region, involved in Tat-mediated trans-activation, but structural heterogeneities are revealed by circular dichroism. These Tat synthetic proteins cross membranes but differ in their ability to trans-activate an HIV LTR-reporter gene in stably transfected HeLa cells. Two Tat proteins from virulent African HIV-1 strains were much more active than those from Europe and the United States. The interferon-induced kinase (PKR), involved in cell antiviral defense, phosphorylates only Tat variants corresponding to less or nonvirulent HIV-1 isolates. Our results indicate that the high virulence of some African HIV-1 strains could be related to Tat activity.