Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Linear Regression Prediction Model for DDOS Attack Detection in Cloud ELB

An ongoing research challenge in cloud computing is to address the security and data availability challenges. Although, DDoS attacks in cloud are not new but still they have been continuously throwing new challenges to the network community which makes detection of these attacks an ongoing research challenge with respect to cloud security. One of the reasons for these challenges is the high non-linearity of the real-world data. Thus, we bring into light the importance of understanding the non-linearity of data. Understanding nature of traffic instances in network datasets helps to build efficient machine learning models. For building a machine learning model, we choose to apply regression analysis. Two datasets namely CICIDS 2017 and CICIDS 2019 are considered for the present study as these datasets show high non-linearity. In this paper, we propose to apply regression analysis after performing feature engineering addressing the problem of DDoS attack detection. We propose to visualize the regression model by plotting residual plot, fit chart. The learning models can also be evaluated by comparing their respective MAPE and accuracy values. To the best of our knowledge, the research addressed in this paper is the first contribution in cloud computing which depicts the importance data visualization in analyzing the machine learning models. We believe that this paper paves a way for future researchers in cloud computing to concentrate on data visualization.
Exploratory testing of apps with opportunity maps

Exploratory Testing (ET) is a well-known technique to perform manual tests. Its main goal is to foster creativity and freedom, while the tester learns, designs and executes tests continuously in a time-boxed session. Popular among agile teams, ET is particularly interesting for software systems with highly-mutable features like mobile apps. Previous results have evinced that testers may fail to verify well-known features of mobile apps, while performing unguided manual testing. This paper investigates an intervention to exploratory tests in which opportunity maps are adopted as a mean to improve the manual testing of mobile apps. Included as a supporting artifact during the test sessions, opportunity maps are mind maps with questions targeting features of apps that are known to be error-prone. To assess the usage of opportunity maps in ET, we conducted a study with 22 participants and compared the proposed approach with a traditional session-based approach. Our results indicated that the number of detected bugs was similar in both approaches, different bugs were revealed by each approach, and opportunity maps tend to guide the detection of specific bugs. Among the participants, we found that practitioners uncovered more bugs than students.
Uncovering Tumorigenesis Circuitry with Combinatorial CRISPR

Oncogenesis relies on the alteration of multiple driver genes, but precisely which groups of alterations lead to cancer is not well understood. To chart these combinations, Zhao and colleagues use the CRISPR-Cas9 system to knockout all pairwise combinations among 52 tumor suppressor genes, with the goal of identifying groups of alterations that collaborate to promote cell growth. Interaction screens are performed across multiple models of tumorigenesis in cell cultures and mice, revealing clear cooperation among NF2, PTEN, and TP53 in multiple models. These and other strongly synergistic interactions are characterized further by single-cell transcriptomic profiling. This methodology presents a scalable approach to move beyond single-gene drivers to map the complex gene networks that give rise to tumorigenesis. See related article by Zhao et al., p. 6090
Turn-end Estimation in Conversational Turn-taking: The Roles of Context and Prosody

ABSTRACT This study investigated the role of contextual and prosodic information in turn-end estimation by means of a button-press task. We presented participants with turns extracted from a corpus of telephone calls visually (i.e., in transcribed form, word-by-word) and auditorily, and asked them to anticipate turn ends by pressing a button. The availability of the previous conversational context was generally helpful for turn-end estimation in short turns only, and more clearly so in the visual task than in the auditory task. To investigate the role of prosody, we examined whether participants in the auditory task pressed the button close to turn-medial points likely to constitute turn ends based on lexico-syntactic information alone. We observed that the vast majority of such button presses occurred in the presence of an intonational boundary rather than in its absence. These results are consistent with the view that prosodic cues in the proximity of turn ends play a relevant role in turn-end estimation.
Central Asia: from dark matter to a dark curtain?

ABSTRACT This article answers the question of why Central Asia studies has not contributed more fully to the study of comparative politics since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It argues that during the Soviet period, Central Asia remained a dark matter to Western scholars specializing in Sovietology and who lacked access to the region. Although in the 1990s Western academics saw the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, expecting Central Asia to join the liberal world order, these hopes declined after the 2000s when not only the transition paradigm failed, but also because a consolidated form of authoritarianism closed access to the field. In conclusion, this article offers the most promising fields for the development of the study of comparative politics across and inside Central Asia.
Measuring transactional sex in different contexts: How do tools to measure this practice perform in rural South Africa?

Background: Adolescent girls and young women across sub-Saharan Africa are at disproportionate risk of HIV infection compared to their male counterparts. Transactional sex has been identified as an important proximate risk for infection in this population. Definitions and measures of transactional sex vary, necessitating improved measures to better estimate prevalence across settings, over time, and to understand the mechanisms through which transactional sex increases HIV risk. This article describes the results of cognitive interviews in rural KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to evaluate the performance of an improved measure of transactional sex. Methods: Data were collected between May and June 2017 with sexually active adolescent girls and young women (n = 10) and men (n = 10) drawn from a general population sample. Two questions were tested. Audio-recorded interviews were conducted in isiZulu using a structured tool. Matrices were used to summarise the data across participants which were then compared using constant comparative techniques. Results: Participants captured the instrumental nature of transactional sex relationships clearly and understood that the questions were about relationships that were primarily motivated by benefit. However, despite prior qualitative research in this setting describing transactional sex as widely practised, only one male participant answered either question in the affirmative in this face-to-face interview. This implies a judgement placed on relationships that are deemed as having been motivated mainly by exchange, perhaps compelling people to under-report such relationships. Conclusion: Participants’ unwillingness to answer in the affirmative highlights the importance of understanding the research context and the possible social and historical influences which may influence how survey questions are answered. This has implications for measurement development, and highlights the need for measures that can be responsive to contextual differences. Further research is needed for refinements to measurement approaches in this and other settings.
A behavioural and HIV serological survey among detainees of Ankazondrano jail in Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

Aims: The prevalence of HIV in the general population of Madagascar is 0.3%. Some population groups, especially detainees are vulnerable to this infection. Our study was the first combined HIV survey of the detainees of Ankazondrano jail in Fianarantsoa. The study aims to determine the serological status of the detainees related to HIV infection and their risky behaviours for this infection. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of the detainees 18 years old and over was carried out in Ankazondrano jail in Fianarantsoa during September 2020. Results: The prevalence of HIV in the sample was zero; 89.43% of the detainees reported to have heard about HIV; only 15.45% had a general knowledge about it; 76.42% of them knew that a condom is a way of protection against HIV infection; however, they had wrong responses about protection against this infection. In fact, 47.97% of the surveyed detainees thought that HIV is transmitted by mosquito bites and 65.04% thought that it is transmitted by shaking hands. Almost one quarter of the detainees reported that there is no risk of HIV contraction in jail. Conclusion: In this study, nevertheless, the prevalence of HIV is zero; detainees of Ankazondrano jail are a vulnerable group to HIV due to their lack of knowledge of this infection and the fact that they undertook risky behaviours.
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD/GAPS) and Dietary Supplements for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Abstract The objective of the study was to investigate the potential of a specific carbohydrate diet and selected dietary supplements in reducing some autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms in children. This was a quantitative, non-blinded, non-randomised three-month pilot study of a dietary and nutritional intervention. The study participants were 17 children from Latvia and the United Kingdom with a diagnosis of ASD or autistic symptoms waiting to be diagnosed (intervention group n = 10, control group n = 7). The intervention group received a specific carbohydrate dietary plan — Specific Carbohydrate Diet / Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet (SCD/GAPS) — and a few dietary supplements (omega-3 essential fatty acids, ascorbyl-palmitate, probiotics, vitamin D, and vitamin C). Family compliance to the dietary guidelines was 40–80%. Autistic and digestive symptoms were evaluated by parents using validated questionnaires. By the end of the study, gastrointestinal symptoms decreased in both groups (p = 0.01 for the intervention group, p = 0.02 for the control group), especially abdominal pain and bloating. The Overall Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) score decreased by 23% in the intervention group (p = 0.05), with the largest improvement in Socialising (p = 0.03) and Health/Behaviour (p = 0.02) aspects. The Aberrant Behaviour Checklist (ABC) score decreased by 29% in the intervention group (p = 0.01), with the largest improvement in Irritability (p < 0.01) and Hyperactivity (p = 0.02) subcategories. Overall Parent Global Impressions — Revised-2 (PGI-2) evaluation showed a 43% improvement in the intervention group in comparison to 14% in the control group, p = 0.02. The specific carbohydrate diet (SCD/GAPS) and supplements were found to be a safe and effective approach for reducing some symptoms of ASD in children.
Performance improvement of array shape estimation using spline interpolation

This paper suggests a technique to improve the performance of array shape estimation. First, array shape is estimated using polynomial fitting method under the assumption of horizontally equi-spaced hydrophones. The second, the estimated hydrophone positions are interpolated using spline interpolation. The last, the hydrophone positions, which satisfy the real hydrophone spacing, are selected among the interpolated hydrophone positions. The numerical experiments showed that the proposed technique effectively reduces distance error, especially in the cases of severe array shape perturbations.
Multiple ETS Factors Participate in the Transcriptional Control of TERT Mutant Promoter in Thyroid Cancers

Hotspot mutations in the TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase) gene are key determinants of thyroid cancer progression. TERT promoter mutations (TPM) create de novo consensus binding sites for the ETS (“E26 transforming sequence”) family of transcription factors. In this study, we systematically knocked down each of the 20 ETS factors expressed in thyroid tumors and screened their effects on TERT expression in seven thyroid cancer cell lines with defined TPM status. We observed that, unlike in other TPM-carrying cancers such as glioblastomas, ETS factor GABPA does not unambiguously regulate transcription from the TERT mutant promoter in thyroid specimens. In fact, multiple members of the ETS family impact TERT expression, and they typically do so in a mutation-independent manner. In addition, we observe that partial inhibition of MAPK, a central pathway in thyroid cancer transformation, is more effective at suppressing TERT transcription in the absence of TPMs. Taken together, our results show a more complex scenario of TERT regulation in thyroid cancers compared to other lineages, suggest that compensatory mechanisms by ETS and other regulators likely exist and advocate for the need of a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of TERT deregulation in thyroid tumors before eventually exploring TPM-specific therapeutic strategies. Graphical Abstract
Mitochondrial fission dysfunction alleviates heterokaryon incompatibility-triggered cell death in the industrial filamentous fungus Aspergillus oryzae

In filamentous fungi, cell-to-cell recognition is a fundamental requirement for the formation, development, and maintenance of complex hyphal networks. Basically, self/compatible individuals within the fungal species are capable of fusing together, a step important for crossbreeding, which results in the formation of viable vegetative heterokaryons. Conversely, the fusion of incompatible individuals does not result in the formation of viable hyphal networks, but it often leads to growth inhibition or cell death. Even though a number of studies have been conducted to investigate such incompatibility, the understanding of the associated molecular mechanism is still limited, and this restricts the possibility of crossbreeding incompatible individuals. Therefore, in this study, the characteristics of compatibility/incompatibility in the industrial filamentous fungus, Aspergillus oryzae, were comprehensively investigated. Protoplast fusion and co-culture assays indicated the existence of a correlation between strain phylogeny and compatibility/incompatibility features. Time-course fluorescence observations were employed to investigate the types of incompatible responses that are induced at different cellular levels upon incompatible cell fusion, which eventually lead to cell death. Propidium iodide-indicated cell death, ROS accumulation, and mitochondrial fragmentation were identified as the major responses, with mitochondrial fragmentation showing the most significant subcellular change immediately after incompatible cell fusion. Furthermore, the deletions of mitochondrial fission-related genes Aofis1 and Aodnm1 in incompatible pairing alleviated cell death, indicating that mitochondrial fission is an important mechanism by which incompatibility-triggered cell death occurs. Therefore, this study provides new insights about heterokaryon incompatibility. IMPORTANCE For a long time, it was believed that as an asexual fungus, A. oryzae does not exhibit any sexual cycle. However, the fungus has two mating types, indicating the potential for sexual reproduction besides a known parasexual cycle. Therefore, given that viable heterokaryon formation following cell fusion is an important step required for genetic crossing, we explored the mechanism of incompatibility, which restricts the possibility of cell fusion in A. oryzae. Protoplast fusion and co-culture assays led to the identification of various vegetative compatible groups. Mitochondrial fragmentation was found to be the most significant incompatible cellular response that occurred in organelles during incompatible pairing, while the deletion of mitochondrial fission-related genes was identified as a strategy used to alleviate incompatibility-triggered cell death. Thus, this study revealed a novel mechanism by which mitochondrial fission regulates incompatible responses.
Improving genomically recoded Escherichia coli for the production of proteins containing non-canonical amino acids

A genomically recoded Escherichia coli strain that lacks all amber codons and release factor 1 (C321.ΔA) enables efficient genetic encoding of chemically diverse, non-canonical amino acids (ncAAs) into proteins. While C321. ΔA has opened new opportunities in chemical and synthetic biology, this strain has not been optimized for protein production, limiting its utility in widespread industrial and academic applications. To address this limitation, we describe the construction of a series of genomically recoded organisms that are optimized for cellular protein production. We demonstrate that the functional deactivation of nucleases (e.g., rne, endA) and proteases (e.g., lon) increases production of wild-type superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) and sfGFP containing two ncAAs up to ∼5-fold. Additionally, we introduce a genomic IPTG-inducible T7 RNA polymerase (T7RNAP) cassette into these strains. Using an optimized platform, we demonstrated the ability to introduce 2 identical N6-(propargyloxycarbonyl)-L-Lysine residues site specifically into sfGFP with a 17-fold improvement in production relative to the parent. We envision that our library of organisms will provide the community with multiple options for increased expression of proteins with new and diverse chemistries.
Towards Strategic Support and Guidance of the Digital Transformation: A Conceptual Model

Progress in digital technology has led to new business opportunity and changed the way in which organizations create, deliver, and capture value. Traditional companies could fail in operationalizing their digital transformation approach because they believe that they can pursue digitalization simply by applying new IT technologies. Having a profound impact on the way business is conducted, the digital transformation needs to be understood by the C-level executives of an organization. For this purpose, this research aims to identify and depict the core digital transformation concepts using conceptual modelling. The latter provides a common understanding for all stakeholders of an organization especially the board of directors from whom a clear vision and transformation support is required. The proposed framework provides a high-level overview of the custom digital transformation context that would help an organization in its digitalization journey and supports it to shift from an ad-hoc technology-driven approach to a rather systematic integrated approach to digital transformation.
N-Acetyl-Cysteine-Loaded Biomimetic Nanofibrous Scaffold for Osteogenesis of Induced-Pluripotent-Stem-Cell-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Bone Regeneration

To regenerate bone tissues, we investigated the osteogenic differentiation of induced-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iPSC-MSCs) and bone regeneration capacities using N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)-loaded biomimetic nanofibers of hydroxyapatite/silk fibroin (HAp/SF). The addition of HAp and NAC decreased the diameters of the electrospun fibers and enhanced the mechanical properties of the silk scaffold. The release kinetic curve indicated that NAC was released from NAC/HAp/SF nanofibers in a biphasic pattern, with an initial burst release stage and a later sustained release stage. This pattern of release of NAC encapsulated on the NAC/HAp/SF scaffolds prolonged the release of high concentrations of NAC, thereby largely affecting the osteogenic differentiation of iPSC-MSCs and bone regeneration. Thus, a new silk electrospun scaffold was developed. HAp was used as a separate nanocarrier for recharging the NAC concentration, which demonstrated the promising potential for the use of NAC/HAp/SF for bone tissue engineering.
Acronyms and Opportunities for Improving Deep Nets

Recently, several studies have reported promising results with BERT-like methods on acronym tasks. In this study, we find an older rule-based program, Ab3P, not only performs better, but error analysis suggests why. There is a well-known spelling convention in acronyms where each letter in the short form (SF) refers to “salient” letters in the long form (LF). The error analysis uses decision trees and logistic regression to show that there is an opportunity for many pre-trained models (BERT, T5, BioBert, BART, ERNIE) to take advantage of this spelling convention.
Spleen Perfusion as an Index of Gender Impact on Sympathetic Nervous System Response to Exercise

Objective: Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) reaction to exercise is gender dependent. Nevertheless, clinically applicable methods to identify this difference are still missing. An organ largely sensitive to SNS is the spleen whose response to exercise can be easily evaluated, being included in the field of view of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Here, we aimed to verify whether gender interferes with the spleen perfusion and its response to exercise. Methods: For this purpose, we evaluated 286 original scans of consecutive patients submitted to MPI in the course of 2019. Our standard procedure implies a single-day stress-rest sequence with a gap of ≥2 h between the administrations of 180 and 500 MBq of 99mTc-Sestamibi, respectively. Imaging is performed 30 min after radiotracer administration, with scan duration set at 25 and 35 s per view, respectively. Non-gated scans were reconstructed with the filtered back-projection method. A volume of interest was drawn on the spleen and heart to estimate the dose-normalized average counting rate that was expressed in normalized counts per seconds (NCPS). Results: In all subjects submitted to exercise MPI (n = 228), NCPS were higher during stress than at rest (3.52 ± 2.03 vs. 2.78 ± 2.07, respectively; p < 0.01). This effect was not detected in the 58 patients submitted to dipyridamole-stress. The response to exercise selectively involved the spleen, since NCPS in heart were unchanged irrespective of the used stressor. This same response was dependent upon gender, indeed spleen NCPS during stress were significantly higher in the 75 women than in the 153 men (3.86 ± 1.8 vs. 3.23 ± 1.6, respectively, p < 0.01). Again, this variance was not reproduced by heart. Finally, spleen NCPS were lower in the 173 patients with myocardial reversible perfusion defects (summed difference score ≥3) than in the remaining 55, despite similar values of rate pressure product at tracer injection. Conclusion: Thus, exercise interference on spleen perfusion can be detected during MPI. This effect is dependent upon gender and ischemia confirming the high sensitivity of this organ to SNS activation.