gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Optimizing network virtualization in Xen (2006)

<font color=#ff0000><b>BEST PAPER AWARD</b></font><br><br>In this paper, we propose and evaluate three techniques for optimizing network performance in the Xen virtualized environment. Our techniques retain the basic Xen architecture of locating device drivers in a privileged `driver' domain with access to I/O devices, and providing network access to unprivileged `guest' domains through virtualized network interfaces. First, we redefine the virtual network interfaces of guest domains to incorporate high-level network offfload features available in most modern network cards. We demonstrate the performance benefits of high-level offload functionality in the virtual interface, even when such functionality is not supported in the underlying physical interface. Second, we optimize the implementation of the data transfer path between guest and driver domains. The optimization avoids expensive data remapping operations on the transmit path, and replaces page remapping by data copying on the receive path. Finally, we provide support for guest operating systems to effectively utilize advanced virtual memory features such as superpages and global page mappings. The overall impact of these optimizations is an improvement in transmit performance of guest domains by a factor of 4.4. The receive performance of the driver domain is improved by 35% and reaches within 7% of native Linux performance. The receive performance in guest domains improves by 18%, but still trails the native Linux performance by 61%. We analyse the performance improvements in detail, and quantify the contribution of each optimization to the overall performance.
Evidence That Tacrolimus Augments the Bioavailability of Mycophenolate Mofetil Through the Inhibition of Mycophenolic Acid Glucuronidation (1999)

We previously reported an unexpected augmentation of mycophenolic acid (MPA) levels (trough and AUC0-12) in patients receiving mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in combination with tacrolimus versus patients receiving the same dose of MMF in combination with cyclosporin A (CsA). This finding was accompanied by a corresponding reduction of the inactive glucuronide metabolite of MPA (MPAG) in patients, suggesting that tacrolimus may effect the conversion of MPA to MPAG by the enzyme UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT). To investigate this possibility directly, UDPGT was extracted from human liver and kidney tissue and its activity was characterized using MPA as a substrate in vitro, assessing the conversion of MPA to MPAG using analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography. With crude microsomal preparations, amounts of UDPGT at least 100 times higher in specific activity (i.e., units to milligrams of protein) could be extracted per gram of tissue from kidney as opposed to liver. This result did not appear to be related to the coextraction of a liver-specific UDPGT inhibitor because initial enzyme kinetic values (Vmax and km) were identical for kidney and liver extracts, and further purification of the liver enzyme did not enhance activity (as is seen when inhibitors are removed during purification). With further UDPGT purification (approximately 200-fold) from kidney extracts using a combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation, followed by anion exchange, hydroxyapatite, and size exclusion chromatography, the enzyme was more than 80% pure when assessed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Initial enzyme kinetic analysis of this purified product showed a km value for MPA of 35.4+/-5.7 microg/mL and a Vmax of 2.87+/-0.31 MPAG produced per hour (n = 7). The addition of clinically relevant concentrations of CsA (200-1,000 ng/mL) or tacrolimus (10-25 ng/mL) resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of the UDPGT enzyme by both agents with tacrolimus, which was approximately 60-fold more efficient as an inhibitor. The calculated inhibition constants (KI) of tacrolimus and CsA for the purified UDPGT were 27.3+/-5.6 ng/ml and 2,518+/-1473 ng/ml. respectively. Both agents displayed an inhibition profile characteristic of a competitive inhibitor (substrate) that could be demonstrated in a reciprocal experiment with CsA as a substrate, but not with tacrolimus. This finding suggested that the significantly more efficient inhibition of UDPGT by tacrolimus may occur by a more complicated mechanism that is yet to be determined.
A metapopulation model for the study of the evolution of the number of students in a teaching institution (2013)

A metapopulation model for the study of the evolution of the number of students in a teaching institution is presented. The model has an internal dynamic that represents the flow of students which transit from one academic year to the next and an external dynamic which describe the movement of students that enter or leave the institution. An application of the model to the student population of the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (IPG), using historic data, is done. An evolutive analysis of the number of students per academic year with projections for the period 2012-2021 is presented.
Mobile collaborative augmented reality (2002)

The combination of mobile computing and collaborative augmented reality into a single system makes the power of computer enhanced interaction and communication in the real world accessible anytime and everywhere. The paper describes our work to build a mobile collaborative augmented reality system that supports true stereoscopic 3D graphics, a pen and pad interface and direct interaction with virtual objects. The system is assembled from off-the-shelf hardware components and serves as a basic test bed for user interface experiments related to computer supported collaborative work in augmented reality. A mobile platform implementing the described features and collaboration between mobile and stationary users are demonstrated.
Age‐related alterations in superoxide anion generation in mouse peritoneal macrophages studied by repeated stimulations and heat shock treatment (1992)

The ability of thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages (PM) from young and senescent mice to generate superoxide anions (O2-) under repeated stimulation or thermal stress was studied using either zymosan, opsonized zymosan (OZ), or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). A diminished capacity to recover from repeated stimulation was found with aging. When stimulated for a second time 24 hours after the primary stimulation, PM from young animals generated 80% of the initial O2- responses to either zymosan, or OZ. Under the same conditions, PM from senescent mice generated 62% of the initial O2- produced in response to zymosan, and 45% in response to OZ. In both age groups the response to a second PMA stimulation comprised only 10% of the primary response. A considerably diminished capacity to generate O2- was also demonstrated in PM from senescent mice after recovery from exposure to thermal stress. Exposure to 42.5 degrees C for 20 minutes was found to be the threshold temperature for irreversible loss of activity in senescent PM, whereas at this temperature, PM from young animals recovered up to 70% of their O2- generating activity. Since NADPH oxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were only mildly affected by the hyperthermia in all age groups, they could not account for the age-related decline in the recovery from stress. Age-related alterations in signal transduction or receptor alterations could possibly play a primary role in this decline.
A Comparative Study on Machine Learning Algorithms for Network Defense (2017)

Network security specialists use machine learning algorithms to detect computer network attacks and prevent unauthorized access to their networks. Traditionally, signature and anomaly detection techniques have been used for network defense. However, detection techniques must adapt to keep pace with continuously changing security attacks. Therefore, machine learning algorithms always learn from experience and are appropriate tools for this adaptation. In this paper, ten machine learning algorithms were trained with the KDD99 dataset with labels, then they were tested with different dataset without labels. The researchers investigate the speed and the efficiency of these machine learning algorithms in terms of several selected benchmarks such as time to build models, kappa statistic, root mean squared error, accuracy by attack class, and percentage of correctly classified instances of the classifier algorithms.
Improving Awareness of Intelligent Virtual Agents (2013)

Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) are interactive characters controlled by software agents that exhibit human-like qualities. When interacting with human participants in virtual communities, an IVA is expected to be intelligent, as well as believable. A major factor that determines the intelligence and believability of an IVA is its ability to be aware of its physical and social environments.\n\nAn important aspect of physical environment awareness is the ability of an agent to refer at an abstract level to the interactions of entities (avatars and objects) in its surrounding environment. However, sensor data received from many virtual worlds describe the agent’s environment at the level of objects and avatars. This has introduced an information representation gap between virtual worlds and IVAs implemented using agent systems such as those based on the BDI architecture.\n\nIn this thesis, the dynamic virtual environment of an IVA is described using entity relationships that abstractly describe the state of the environment, communication actions included in the messages exchanged in chat channels, complex events that take place, and situations that are unfolding. An abstract model of virtual environments is formulated to describe these different virtual environment elements, and their interrelationships. A set of data inference mechanisms is identified, which interprets the low-level sensor data received from virtual worlds into the aforementioned elements of dynamic virtual environments. A framework implementing these data inference mechanisms is used to process sensor data received by Jason agents deployed in the popular multi-purpose virtual world Second Life.\n\nWith respect to improving social environment awareness of an IVA, an important aspect that has not been considered in previous research is how an IVA can be aware of the fulfilments and violations of its social expectations. A hindrance to enable an IVA to monitor for its expectations is the lack of such mechanisms in common agent frameworks such as those based on the BDI architecture. As a solution to this problem, this thesis integrates the concept of expectation monitoring with the BDI agent paradigm. An interface is defined that can be used by BDI agents to delegate monitoring for their expectations to monitoring processes outside the agent system. This interface is currently implemented for the Jason BDI agent development platform.
Palladium-Catalyzed Synthesis of α-Iminoamides from Imidoyl Chlorides and a Carbamoylsilane (2005)

A series of pure imidoyl chlorides were converted into alpha-iminoamides by treatment with a carbamoylsilane under catalysis by palladium(0) complexes.
Implementation of metadata logging and power loss recovery for page-mapping FTL (2013)

In NAND flash systems, the mapping table and related metadata information of FTL should be recovered from sudden power loss to provide data consistency. Nowadays, a lot of FTLs have been reported, however, there are little development reports for FTL recovery schemes. In this paper, we design fast metadata logging and recovery scheme to support efficient and fast power loss recovery. The designed recovery scheme is based on the page-level mapping FTL. In the designed FTL, All the metadata changes are logged into dedicated flash block, which minimize the frequency of metadata updates. At the recovery stage, only metadata blocks are retrieved. The designed FTL metadata logging and recovery scheme support fast sudden power loss recovery, with small amount of metadata logging overhead.
Innate Protection of <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i> against the Antimicrobial Activity of Nitric Oxide Is Provided by Mycothiol (2007)

Nitric oxide (NO) is an efficient antimicrobial agent. A role for mycothiol in protecting mycobacteria from nitrosative damage was revealed by showing that a Mycobacterium smegmatis mutant is sensitive to NO. A direct correlation between NO and mycothiol levels confirmed that mycothiol is important for protecting mycobacteria from NO attack.
Continous Monitoring of Melt Composition (1984)

Compositions of glasses and alloys analyzed and corrected in real time. Spectral analysis and temperature measurement performed simultaneously on molten material in container, such as open-hearth furnace, crucible or tank of continuous furnace. Speed of analysis makes it possible to quickly measure concentration of volatile elements depleted by prolonged heating.
Tuning of CD40–CD154 Interactions in Human B-Lymphocyte Activation: A Broad Array of In Vitro Models for a Complex In Vivo Situation (2011)

Naive and memory B-lymphocyte populations can be activated through the binding of CD154 to CD40, a receptor that is constitutively expressed on the surface of these cells. Models based on the in vitro stimulation of human B lymphocytes through CD40 have greatly contributed to our understanding of the human immune response in healthy individuals and patients suffering from immune disorders. The nature of the engineered CD40 ligands is as diverse as the in vitro models used in studies of CD40-activated B lymphocytes. Monoclonal anti-CD40 antibodies, recombinant CD154 proteins, soluble CD154(+) membranes as well as CD154(+) cell lines have turned out to be very useful tools, and are still in use today. As for any receptor-ligand interaction, parameters such as duration and strength of contact, timing, affinity, and receptor density are major determinants of CD40 binding by CD154 or anti-CD40. Furthermore, variation in the intensity of CD40 stimulation has been shown to influence proliferation, differentiation and immunoglobulin secretion of human hybridomas, B-cell lines, tonsil and blood B lymphocytes. The objective of this review is to present an overview of the great diversity of CD40 agonists used in in vitro models of B-lymphocyte activation, with a particular emphasis on variations in the resulting strength of CD40 signaling generated by these models. A better understanding of these models could open up new avenues for the rational use of human B lymphocytes as antigen-presenting cells in cellular therapies.
Condensation Op 3-Acetyl-and 3-Acetyl-4-Methyl-2H-1-Benzopyran-2-One with Aromatic Adehydes (1986)

Abstract The reactivities of 3-acetyl-2H-1-benzo-pyran-2-one (2) and 3-acetyl-4-methyl-2H-1-benzopy-ran-2-one (3)are compared in the condensation with aromatic aldehydes. It is established that the benzopyrones 2 and 4 condense with various aromatic aldehydes in chloroform containing some drops of piperidine by boiling for 7 hours and azeotropic distillation of water, yielding 3-cinnamoyl-2H-1-benzopyran-2-ones (3a-g) and 4-(2-arylvinyl)-3-acetyl-2H-1-benzopyran-2-ones (6a-f), respectively. Evidence is provided that benzopyrone 4 participates in the condensation with the methyl group in position 4. A probable mechanism of the process is proposed.
Expression of gtfS is essential for normal insoluble glucan synthesis by Streptococcus downei (1993)

The gtfI and gtfS genes of Streptococcus downei were investigated to determine the contribution of the respective enzymes to glucan production in the presence and absence of other glucosyltransferases. Extracts of Escherichia coli expressing cloned gtfS produced a short linear dextran from sucrose which could act as a primer for insoluble glucan synthesis when mixed with extracts of a strain expressing recombinant gtfI. To elucidate the contribution of gtfS to glucan production by S. downei, a mutant was constructed by insertionally inactivating gtfS. S. downei (gtfS mutant) colonies exhibited a marked phenotypic change on sucrose-containing media and a decreased ability to adhere to glass and produced no detectable water-insoluble glucan. These experiments confirm that expression of gtfS is essential for normal insoluble glucan synthesis by S. downei.
Refuting the evidence for an earlier birth of the Taklimakan Desert (2015)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans the biological, physical, and social sciences.
Genome-wide Scan for Type 2 Diabetes Loci in Hong Kong Chinese and Confirmation of a Susceptibility Locus on Chromosome 1q21-q25 (2004)

We conducted an autosomal genome scan to map loci for type 2 diabetes in a Hong Kong Chinese population. We studied 64 families, segregating type 2 diabetes, of which 57 had at least one member with an age at diagnosis of </=40 years. These families included a total of 126 affected sibpairs and 4 other affected relative pairs. Nonparametric linkage analysis revealed seven regions showing nominal evidence for linkage with type 2 diabetes (logarithm of odds [LOD] >0.59, P(pointwise) < 0.05): chromosome 1 at 173.9 cM (LOD = 3.09), chromosome 3 at 26.3 cM (LOD = 1.27), chromosome 4 at 135.3 cM (LOD = 2.63), chromosome 5 at 139.3 cM (LOD = 0.84), chromosome 6 at 178.9 cM (LOD = 1.91), chromosome 12 at 48.7 cM (LOD = 1.99), and chromosome 18 at 28.1 cM (LOD = 1.00). Simulation studies showed genome-wide significant evidence for linkage of the chromosome 1 region (P(genome-wide) = 0.036). We have confirmed the results of previous studies for the presence of a susceptibility locus on chromosome 1q21-q25 (173.9 cM) and suggest the locations of other loci that may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese.
Efficacy of the 26-Kilodalton Outer Membrane Protein and Two P5 Fimbrin-Derived Immunogens To Induce Clearance of Nontypeable <i>Haemophilus influenzae</i> from the Rat Middle Ear and Lungs as Well as from the Chinchilla Middle Ear and Nasopharynx (2003)

The rat middle ear and lung clearance model has been used to show that the nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae 26-kDa outer membrane protein OMP26 is highly efficacious as a mucosal immunogen, inducing significantly enhanced clearance in immunized rats upon direct challenge of these two anatomic sites. Similarly, the chinchilla model of middle ear and nasopharyngeal clearance has been used to show that two P5 fimbrin adhesin-derived immunogens, LB1 and lipoprotein D (LPD)-LB1(f)(2,1,3), are highly efficacious as parenteral immunogens. Both induced significantly augmented clearance of nontypeable H. influenzae upon challenge of these sites. Here, these three nontypeable H. influenzae immunogens in addition to six bovine serum albumin and keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugates of the synthetic peptide LB1(f) were assayed for relative efficacy in the reciprocal rodent model system. OMP26 was assayed in the chinchilla host by a parenteral immunization route, with clearance of the middle ear and nasopharynx used as outcome measures. Both LB1 and LPD-LB1(f)(2,1,3) were assayed in the rat host with a mucosal immunization route and clearance of nontypeable H. influenzae from the lungs and middle ears as outcome measures. Both of the immunogens were found to induce a high-titered and specific immune responses in the heterologous host system. Moreover, each was found to be highly efficacious in the reciprocal host system, providing strong support for the continued development and inclusion of both OMP26 and P5 fimbrin-derived peptides as candidate vaccine antigens directed at otitis media caused by nontypeable H. influenzae.
α-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone and acute renal failure (1998)

alpha-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) is an endogenous anti-inflammatory cytokine that inhibits all major forms of inflammation, alpha-MSH level is increased at sites of inflammation in humans, and is produced in the pituitary and in macrophages. The effects of alpha-MSH are mediated by melanocortin receptors found on macrophages, neutrophils, and renal tubules. alpha-MSH inhibited ischemic acute renal failure in mice and rats, even when started 6 h after injury. alpha-MSH acts, in part, by inhibiting the maladaptive activation of genes that cause inflammatory and cytotoxic renal injury. However, alpha-MSH is effective even in the absence of neutrophils, suggesting that alpha-MSH also acts directly on renal tubules.
A rampage through the body (2020)

The lungs are ground zero, but COVID-19 also tears through organ systems from brain to blood vessels.
Internal constraints and arrested relaxation in main-chain nematic elastomers (2021)

Nematic liquid crystal elastomers (N-LCE) exhibit intriguing mechanical properties, such as reversible actuation and soft elasticity, which manifests as a wide plateau of low nearly-constant stress upon stretching. N-LCE also have a characteristically slow stress relaxation, which sometimes prevents their shape recovery. To understand how the inherent nematic order retards and arrests the equilibration, here we examine hysteretic stress-strain characteristics in a series of specifically designed main-chain N-LCE, investigating both macroscopic mechanical properties and the microscopic nematic director distribution under applied strains. The hysteretic features are attributed to the dynamics of thermodynamically unfavoured hairpins, the sharp folds on anisotropic polymer strands, the creation and transition of which are restricted by the nematic order. These findings provide a new avenue for tuning the hysteretic nature of N-LCE at both macro- and microscopic levels via different designs of polymer networks, toward materials with highly nonlinear mechanical properties and shape-memory applications.