Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy efficient and quality of service aware resource block allocation in OFDMA systems

This study investigates energy efficient allocation of radio resource blocks in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems while considering the status of the users' data buffers to reduce packet dropping rate by the downlink scheduler. The proposed scheme exploits the fluctuations of traffic load to efficiently schedule users' data packets by reducing the overall energy consumption of the system whenever the status of data buffers permits. From information theory point of view, the proposed scheme exploits the fundamental trade-off between energy efficiency and spectral efficiency to perform scheduling. First, the problem is formulated as an optimisation problem and then a novel solution, based on dynamic programming, is applied. By comparing the analytical solution with the ones obtained by exhaustive search, it is demonstrated that the proposed scheme is close to the optimal solution, with low computational complexity. In addition, comprehensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the suggested algorithm. Both analytical and simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed algorithm compared with the well-known benchmark schemes in terms of energy efficiency and packet dropping rate.
Novel Digital Signature Schemes based on Factoring and Discrete Logarithms

In the paper, we propose a new digital signature scheme based on factoring and discrete logarithms. Specially, we prove that the security of the proposed signature scheme is based on both the security of the ElGamal signature scheme and the security of the modified OSS signature scheme. This is the first scheme which can be proved that its security is based on two hard problems. Like Meta-ElGamal signature schemes, the proposed signature scheme can be extended to many kinds of scheme. The corresponding computations for our proposed scheme are also discussed.
Energy-Dependent Modulation of Glucagon-Like Signaling in Drosophila via the AMP-Activated Protein Kinase

Adipokinetic hormone (AKH) is the equivalent of mammalian glucagon, as it is the primary insect hormone that causes energy mobilization. In Drosophila, current knowledge of the mechanisms regulating AKH signaling is limited. Here, we report that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is critical for normal AKH secretion during periods of metabolic challenges. Reduction of AMPK in AKH cells causes a suite of behavioral and physiological phenotypes resembling AKH cell ablations. Specifically, reduced AMPK function increases life span during starvation and delays starvation-induced hyperactivity. Neither AKH cell survival nor gene expression is significantly impacted by reduced AMPK function. AKH immunolabeling was significantly higher in animals with reduced AMPK function; this result is paralleled by genetic inhibition of synaptic release, suggesting that AMPK promotes AKH secretion. We observed reduced secretion in AKH cells bearing AMPK mutations employing a specific secretion reporter, confirming that AMPK functions in AKH secretion. Live-cell imaging of wild-type AKH neuroendocrine cells shows heightened excitability under reduced sugar levels, and this response was delayed and reduced in AMPK-deficient backgrounds. Furthermore, AMPK activation in AKH cells increases intracellular calcium levels in constant high sugar levels, suggesting that the underlying mechanism of AMPK action is modification of ionic currents. These results demonstrate that AMPK signaling is a critical feature that regulates AKH secretion, and, ultimately, metabolic homeostasis. The significance of these findings is that AMPK is important in the regulation of glucagon signaling, suggesting that the organization of metabolic networks is highly conserved and that AMPK plays a prominent role in these networks.
The Place and Function of Doubt in the Philosophies of Descartes and Al-Ghazali

Two OF THE MAIN PROBLEMS of philosophy are the manner in which knowledge is acquired and the method or methods by which such knowledge is ultimately justified. The former inquires into forms of cognition such as sense perception, logical inference, and immediate intuition; whereas the latter raises the question of the validity of believing and accepting as true what is so variously disclosed to the mind. This cluster of problems is the core of what is referred to as the quest for certainty, a quest which originates because knowledge seems to be beset by doubt, deficiency, and error. The solution of the problem, then, often turns out to be the starting point which determines, or at least significantly influences, the formulation of a philosophical system. The following discussion will attempt to expound the ways in which the problem of doubt is tackled and to suggest their ramifications in two rather divergent philosophies. The answer to the problem of doubt is one of the underlying motives of the thinking of al-Djazdli and of Descartes. The distance which separates alGazdli (1058-1111) from Descartes (1596-1650) is not merely temporal; it is cultural and perhaps temperamental as well. Although each of them encountered the problem of skepticism, they differed in the uses which they
Postoperative pain experience and barriers to pain management in Chinese adult patients undergoing thoracic surgery.

AIMS The purpose of this study was (1) to explore postoperative pain experience among Chinese thoracotomy patients during hospitalisation; (2) to identify patient-related barriers to pain management; and (3) to explore how these barriers were related to patients' pain experience. BACKGROUND Major thoracotomy causes severe pain and extreme stress for patients. Unrelieved postoperative pain leads to high risks of postoperative complications and chronic post-thoracotomy pain syndrome, compromising the quality of life for those patients. DESIGN Cross-sectional design. METHODS A tertiary general hospital in mainland China was selected for this study. A total of 94 patients undergoing scheduled major thoracotomy operations participated in the study. All patients completed Brief Pain Inventory-Chinese version, the Barrier Questionnaire-Taiwan Form Surgical version and a demographic questionnaire. RESULTS Patients suffered moderate to severe pain and experienced extremely high interferences with daily activities after major thoracotomy operation. Patients reported the four highest barrier scores in the subscale of Barrier Questionnaire-Taiwan Form Surgical version were fear of tolerance, inhibition of wound healing, time intervals and distracting the physician from treating the disease. Patient's demographic data had no significant impact on their concerns about communicating pain and using of analgesics with exception of the subscale 'fatalism' of the Barrier Questionnaire-Taiwan Form Surgical version in patients with higher education levels or patients with 'non-farmer' occupation. However, there were no significant correlations indicated either between Barrier Questionnaire-Taiwan Form Surgical version score and pain severity or pain interference. CONCLUSIONS Patients were underexposure of pain treatment after thoracotomy operation in the study, while patients' concerns about reporting pain and using analgesics had minimal impacts on their pain experience. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Education approach for patients is inadequate to improve the status of unrelieved postoperative pain. Appropriate pain management regime together with attentive nursing care should be provided to achieve better pain relief for Chinese patients.
A revised simplex method of solving degenerate fuzzy number linear programming problems

The focus of this paper is on solving degenerate fuzzy number linear programming problems. A revised fuzzy simplex method is proposed, which can deal with this issue. First, the degenerate fuzzy number linear programming is defined and a new problem related to the original problem is constructed. Then, combined with the ranking function, some relationships between the optimal solution of the new problem and that of the original problem are given and proved. Furthermore, we propose a revised fuzzy simplex method through improving the method of selecting the leaving basic variable, which can successfully find the optimal solution of the original degenerate problem. Finally, to compare the existing method and illustrate our method, we solve one numerical example.
Eficacia clínica de una regla de cálculo para la dosificación de propofol en comparación con diprifusor utilizando índice biespectral

Objetivo: Comparar la eficacia de dos sistemas, un sistema de control manual y un sistema de control automático, ambos sustentados en el mismo modelo farmacocinético de propofol. Material y métodos: Estudiamos 100 pacientes ASA I/II entre 16 y 60 años de edad bajo cirugía laparoscópica. Los pacientes fueron aleatoriamente asignados a recibir anestesia total intravenosa con una infusión controlada automáticamente (TCI) o una infusión controlada manualmente (MCI), sustentados en el modelo farmacocinético descrito por Marsh. El grado de hipnosis fue evaluado por BIS para mantener un valor entre 40 y 60. Evaluamos el consumo total de propofol, el porcentaje del tiempo entre el BIS objetivo, las variables hemodinámicas y el tiempo de recuperación anestésica. Resultados: Ambos grupos fueron similares en sus características clínicas y demográficas. El total del consumo de propofol fue más alto en TCI que en MCI (169 ± 48 vs 144 ± 54 μg/kg/min, p < 0.05). El tiempo de inducción y el valor del BIS al tiempo de la pérdida de conciencia fueron similares en ambos grupos. El porcentaje de tiempo con el BIS objetivo no fue diferente entre los grupos. Conclusión: Nuestros resultados muestran que ambos métodos son igualmente efectivos para el control de la hipnosis, cuando son implementados con el mismo modelo farmacocinético y retroalimentados con una variable de control farmacodinámica.
Peptides other than the neurotrophins that can be cleaved from proneurotrophins: A neglected story

Abstract The members of the family of neurotrophic factors known as neurotrophins, NGF, BDNF, NT-3 and NT4/5 are known to be cleaved intracellularly from immature precursors, the proneurotrophins. NGF and the other neurotrophins regulate neurite outgrowth and neuronal survival during development via binding to Trk receptor tyrosine kinases and the p75 neurotrophin receptor. Surprisingly, the proneurotrophins were shown to be also biologically active ligands. ProNGF and proBDNF induce neuronal apoptosis via binding to a complex of p75 and sortilin. Therefore, life and death seems to be a delicate interplay between ‘cleavage’ or ‘not cleavage’ of the proneurotrophins. However, there is a third aspect to this story. In general, peptide-hormone precursors are known to give rise to several biologically active peptides from one precursor molecule. The paradox with the proneurotrophins is that although they have several additional potential cleavage sites that would necessarily give rise to other peptides besides the neurotrophins and thus new members in the neurotrophin family, this aspect has been largely neglected. This article aims to review evidence for biologically active peptides other than the NGF and NT-3 that can be generated from the proNGF and proNT-3.
Next‐generation sequencing may reduce cost and wait time for some genetic diagnoses: Experts argue that clinical evaluation remains crucial

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) may speed some genetic diagnoses and save money, but it is a tool best used by an experienced clinician guided by a patient’s clinical presentation and previous workup, according to a recent study. That’s because geneticists often diagnose inherited conditions without NGS—which includes advanced methods that can retrieve data from hundreds of genes at once—or results from older genetic tests. Researchers from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina did a retrospective review of 500 unselected, consecutive pediatric and adult cases seen at a Duke University Medical Center genetics clinic. Of the 500 patients, 46% were diagnosed by either clinical evaluation alone or an evaluation followed by targeted genetic testing at Duke. An overwhelming majority (72%) of these patients received a diagnosis at their first visit to the clinic, without any genetic testing, write researchers in a recent Genetics in Medicine article [Shashi et al., 2013]. Obtaining a genetic diagnosis for a patient who had to return for subsequent visits cost them an estimated $25,000, a figure that includes genetic tests [Shashi et al., 2013]. An earlier study of a wholeexome sequencing (WES) pilot program conducted at Duke produced a diagnostic yield of 50% [Need et al., 2012]. Shashi et al referred to that study to estimate that using NGS after the first clinical visit could save about $5,000 per patient. While the current paper stresses these cost savings, it also emphasizes the importance of geneticists’ clinical skills. “Any test, including next-generation sequencing, is only as good as the clinician ordering and interpreting it,” says the study’s co-author and genetic counselor Allyn McConkie-Rosell, PhD, Associate Research Professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
Anomaly in novel metaphor and experimental tests

Abstract In this article, we assess some of the empirical work available in relation to anomaly in novel metaphor. This revision allows us to argue that the results of reaction time experiments do not provide, as many theorists have argued (Gibbs and Gerrig 1989; Keysar and Glucksberg 1992), evidence against any version of anomaly; at most they can be used against anomaly as categorial falsity. In addition, we assess the argument against anomaly based on the results of reaction time experiments to show that it is unsound. Thus, we show that contextual abnormality, a sub-propositional version of anomaly (Romero and Soria 1997/1998), cannot be rejected as one of the necessary identification conditions of novel metaphor. Furthermore, contextual abnormality is supported by the results of recent empirical studies on metaphor processing designed by neuropsychologists to test hypotheses related specifically with anomaly in novel metaphor (Tatter et al. 2002; Ahrens et al. 2007).
TDoA Localization Based on Particle Swarm Optimization in UWB Systems

We propose an improved TDoA (Time Difference of Arrival) localization scheme based on PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) in UWB (Ultra Wide Band) systems. The proposed scheme is composed of two steps: the re-estimation of TDoA parameters and the re-localization of tag position. In both steps, the PSO algorithm is employed to improve the performance. In the first step, the proposed scheme re-estimates the TDoA parameters obtained by traditional TDoA localization to reduce the TDoA estimation error. In the second step, the proposed scheme with the TDoA parameters estimated in the first step, re-localizes the tag to minimize the location error. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves better location performance than the traditional TDoA localization in various channel environments.
Multiple mRNA species are generated by alternate polyadenylation from the human calmodulin‐I gene

Three distinct genes encode an identical calmodulin protein in mammalian cells. In addition, multiple mRNA transcripts, with approximate sizes of 1.6 kb and 4.4 kb, are visualized on Northern blots hybridized to calmodulin‐I cDNA probes. To elucidate the mechanism generating multiple calmodulin mRNAs, the complete sequence of the 4194 base human calmodulin‐I mRNA was determined from cDNA clones and 3′ rapid amplification of complementary ends (3′ RACE). The 5′ untranslated region of calmodulin‐I mRNA contains a GC‐rich domain containing multiple repeats of GGC interrupted by a GCA sequence, as well as a tandem repeat sequence of eight GCA triplets. The 3′ untranslated region of calmodulin‐I mRNA contains two canonical and one aberrant (ATTAAA) polyadenylation signal, consistent with the sizes of 1.6 kb and 4.4 kb mRNAs visualized on Northern blots, and a potential minor 4.2 kb mRNA detected by 3′ RACE. Hybridization experiments using specific probes upstream and downstream of the polyadenylation signals demonstrated that alternate use of polyadenylation signals is the molecular mechanism for multiple calmodulin‐I mRNA transcripts in human cells. Thirteen adenine rich elements with the motif AUUUA were detected in the 3′ untranslated region. Three such motifs are embedded in regions that are conserved with the rat 3′ untranslated region of calmodulin‐I mRNA. One of these is surrounded by an adenine‐uridine rich region that can form an 11‐base pair stem structure. We propose that sequences in the 3′ untranslated region of calmodulin‐I mRNA may play a role in the regulation of calmodulin expression.
Long-QT syndrome: from genetics to management.

The congenital long-QT syndrome (LQTS) is a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia syndrome that represents a leading cause of sudden death in the young. LQTS is typically characterized by a prolongation of the QT interval on the ECG and by the occurrence of syncope or cardiac arrest, mainly precipitated by emotional or physical stress. Since 1975,1 2 hereditary variants, the Romano-Ward (RW) syndrome2,3 and the extremely severe Jervell and Lange-Nielsen (JLN) syndrome,4,5 which is associated with congenital deafness, have been included under the comprehensive name of LQTS, one of the best understood monogenic diseases. The usual mode of inheritance for RW is autosomal dominant, whereas JLN shows autosomal recessive inheritance or sporadic cases of compound heterozygosity. Several reasons make LQTS an important disease. It can often be a lethal disorder, and symptomatic patients left without therapy have a high mortality rate, 21% within 1 year from the first syncope.6 However, with proper treatment, mortality is now ≈1% during a 15-year follow-up.7 This makes inexcusable the existence of symptomatic but undiagnosed patients. LQTS is without doubt the cardiac disease in which molecular biology and genetics have made the greatest progress and unquestionably is the best example of genotype-phenotype correlation. In this regard, it represents a paradigm for sudden cardiac death, and its progressive unraveling helps to better understand the mechanisms underlying sudden death in more complex disorders, such as ischemic heart disease and heart failure. This review will outline the current knowledge about the genetics of LQTS and provide essential clinical data, whereas its primary focus will be on our approach to the clinical management of these patients. The electrocardiographic QT interval represents the depolarization and the repolarization phases of the cardiac action potential. The interplay of several ion channels determines the action potential …
Congenital absence of right pulmonary artery associated with left patent ductus arteriosus and aortic coarctation.

T the editor: A 7-month-old appeared with acyanosis, an III/6 continuous murmur at left sternal border and weak femoral pulses. Electrocardiography presented biventricular enlargement with strain. Chest X-ray showed asymmetric bilateral pulmonary blood flow. Echocardiography revealed absence of right pulmonary artery (RPA), aortic coarctation (CoA), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation, enlargement of right atrium and right ventricle. Cardiac catheterization and angiogram were performed under general anesthesia. The main pulmonary artery was extended only by the left pulmonary artery (LPA). A small isolated RPA was shown by right pulmonary vein wedge angiography, and there were fine collateral vessels into the right lung from right brachiocephalic artery and the descending aorta. The right ductus arteriosus closed with a diverticulum left in the base of the innominate artery in this left aortic arch. The long tube-shaped left ductus was patent with 3 mm diameter, and there was preductal discrete aortic coarctation with systemic pressure gradient 34 mmHg (Figure 1): QP/QS was 1.25 and PVR was 8.2 wood unit.
Inverse Correlation between CD4+CD25HighCD127low/− Regulatory T-Cells and Serum Immunoglobulin A in Patients with New-Onset Ankylosing Spondylitis

This study investigated the role of regulatory T (Treg) cells in patients with new-onset, treatment-naïve ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Levels of CD4+CD25highCD127low/- Treg cells in the peripheral blood of 14 AS patients and 18 age-matched healthy volunteers were investigated by flow cytometry and correlations with serum levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and AS activity, as assessed by the Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), were analysed. The number of peripheral blood CD4+CD25highCD127low/- Treg cells in AS patients was found to be significantly lower than in healthy controls and was inversely correlated with serum IgA levels. There was no significant correlation between CD4+CD25highCD127low/- Treg cell numbers and BASDAI scores. It is concluded that CD4+CD25highCD127low/-Treg cells may play a role in the pathogenesis and activity of AS.
Genetic Basis for Natural and Acquired Resistance to the Diarylquinoline R207910 in Mycobacteria

ABSTRACT The atpE gene encoding the subunit c of the ATP synthase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the target of the new diarylquinoline drug R207910, has been sequenced from in vitro mutants resistant to the drug. The previously reported mutation A63P and a new mutation, I66M, were found. The genetic diversity of atpE in 13 mycobacterial species was also investigated, revealing that the region involved in resistance to R207910 is conserved, except in Mycobacterium xenopi in which the highly conserved residue Ala63 is replaced by Met, a modification that may be associated with the natural resistance of M. xenopi to R207910.
Identification of FleQ from Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a c‐di‐GMP‐responsive transcription factor

High levels of the intracellular signalling molecule cyclic diguanylate (c‐di‐GMP) supress motility and activate exopolysaccharide (EPS) production in a variety of bacterial species. In many bacteria part of the effect of c‐di‐GMP is on gene expression, but the mechanism involved is not known for any species. We have identified the protein FleQ as a c‐di‐GMP‐responsive transcriptional regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. FleQ is known to activate expression of flagella biosynthesis genes. Here we show that it also represses transcription of genes including the pel operon involved in EPS biosynthesis, and that this repression is relieved by c‐di‐GMP. Our in vivo data indicate that FleQ represses pel transcription and that pel transcription is not repressed when intracellular c‐di‐GMP levels are high. FleN, a known antiactivator of FleQ also participates in control of pel expression. In in vitro experiments we found that FleQ binds to pel promoter DNA and that this binding is inhibited by c‐di‐GMP. FleQ binds radiolabelled c‐di‐GMP in vitro. FleQ does not have amino acid motifs that resemble previously defined c‐di‐GMP binding domains. Our results show that FleQ is a new type of c‐di‐GMP binding protein that controls the transcriptional regulation of EPS biosynthesis genes in P. aeruginosa.