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Assessing the quality of Deep Learning (DL) systems is crucial, as they are increasingly adopted in safety-critical domains. Researchers have proposed several input generation techniques for DL systems. While such techniques can expose failures, they do not explain which features of the test inputs influenced the system’s (mis-) behaviour. DeepHyperion was the first test generator to overcome this limitation by exploring the DL systems’ feature space at large. In this article, we propose DeepHyperion-CS , a test generator for DL systems that enhances DeepHyperion by promoting the inputs that contributed more to feature space exploration during the previous search iterations. We performed an empirical study involving two different test subjects (i.e., a digit classifier and a lane-keeping system for self-driving cars). Our results proved that the contribution-based guidance implemented within DeepHyperion-CS outperforms state-of-the-art tools and significantly improves the efficiency and the effectiveness of DeepHyperion . DeepHyperion-CS exposed significantly more misbehaviours for five out of six feature combinations and was up to 65% more efficient than DeepHyperion in finding misbehaviour-inducing inputs and exploring the feature space. DeepHyperion-CS was useful for expanding the datasets used to train the DL systems, populating up to 200% more feature map cells than the original training set.

The research aimed to improve the accuracy of estimating water-based paint requirements for a given wall using mathematical algorithms. The approach used in this study included a survey and document review to obtain details concerning paint. The study focused on water-based paints, including silk, weather guard, emulsion hi-cover and polyvinyl acetate (PVA) roof paint used in Tanzania’s building and construction industry. Data collected from the field study were analysed systematically. It was observed that there is a high level of familiarity in improving the accuracy of estimation of the required water-based paints, namely silk, weather guard, emulsion hi-cover and PVA roof paint for a given wall. The algorithm validation was performed by benchmarking the pre-established algorithms. Validation involved conducting five experiments: the physical study by applying two paint coats on a wall and recording the results. The percentage errors of a painting by approximating the paint using the algorithm developed gives better results than that from the different projects held in Tanzania, which was taken as a sample. The novelty of this study is based on the developed mathematical algorithm. In fact, this is among the fewer studies that mainly improve the accuracy of estimating the paint required for a given wall using a mathematical algorithm in Tanzania. There are limited studies of that nature as the majority use experience, which result in higher discrepancies.

Background: The use of inflammatory markers in order to accurate the diagnosis, decrease the reoperation rate and enable earlier interventions during the postoperative period of a colorectal surgery is increasingly necessary, with the purpose of reducing morbimortality, nosocomial infections, costs and time of a readmission. Objective: To analyze C-reactive protein level on the third postoperative day of an elective colorectal surgery and compare the marks between reoperated and non-reoperated patients and to establish a cutoff value to predict or avoid surgical reoperations. Methods: Retrospective study based on the analysis of electronic charts of over 18-year-old patients who underwent an elective colorectal surgery with primary anastomoses during the period from January 2019 to May 2021 by the proctology team of Santa Marcelina Hospital Department of General Surgery with C-reactive protein (CRP) dosage taken on the third postoperative day. Results: We assessed 128 patients with a mean age of 59.22 years old and need of reoperation of 20.3% of patients, half of these due to dehiscence of colorectal anastomosis. Comparing CRP rates on the third postoperative day between non-reoperated and reoperated patients, it was noted that in the former group the average was of 153.8±76.2 mg/dL, whereas in reoperated patients it was 198.7±77.4 mg/dL (P

As the ocean warms, the thermal tolerance of marine invertebrates is key to determining their distributional change, where acclimation to low pH may impact the thermal range of optimal development. We compared thermal tolerance of progeny from a low pH-acclimated sea urchin (Arbacia lixula) population from the CO(2) vents of Ischia (Italy) and a nearby population living at ambient pH. The percentages of normally developing gastrulae and two-armed larvae were determined across 10 temperatures representing present and future temperature conditions (16–34°C). Vent-acclimated sea urchins showed a greater percentage of normal development at 24 h, with a larger optimal developmental temperature range than control sea urchins (12.3°C versus 5.4°C range, respectively). At 48 h, upper lethal temperatures for 50% survival with respect to ambient temperatures were similar between control (+6.8°C) and vent (+6.2°C) populations. Thus, acclimation to low pH did not impact the broad thermal tolerance of A. lixula progeny. With A. lixula's barrens-forming abilities, its wide thermotolerance and its capacity to acclimate to low pH, this species will continue to be an important ecological engineer in Mediterranean macroalgal ecosystems in a changing ocean.

Introduction Chronic constipation (CC) is a highly prevalent disease in Western society. Chronic constipation can have a different etiology in patients who underwent a cesarean section and result from postoperative stress and metabolic response to trauma, analgesic agents, immobilization, and dietary restrictions. Chronic constipation may also occur due to puerperium-related psychological changes and to the stretching and weakening of the perineal and abdominal muscles after childbirth. Objectives The present study analyzes intestinal transit restoration after a cesarean section and the influence of osmotic laxative agents. Methods The present prospective, nonrandomized sample study used the ROME III questionnaire and the Bristol stool scale in adult women who underwent a cesarean section. We divided the subjects into 2 groups, each with 30 patients, to compare the effect of the prophylactic administration of an osmotic laxative. Results We evaluated 60 randomly-chosen pregnant women from the Obstetrics ward of Hospital Santa Marcelina, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, from October 2019 to March 2020. Their mean age was 26.8 years old, and the mean gestation time was 37.95 weeks. Ten patients (16.7%) presented with constipation before the cesarean section, and 38 (63.3%) had a bowel movement after the procedure. However, in 84.2% of these patients, the usual stool consistency worsened. After the cesarean section, 46.7% of the women who did not receive laxative agents had a bowel movement, compared with 80% of those who did (p = 0.0074). Conclusion Some factors, including those related to the procedure, may hamper intestinal transit restoration after a cesarean section. Osmotic laxative agents can facilitate transit restoration with no negative effects in this group of patients.

"This study aimed to find out the extent of teachers’ use of strategies in teaching reading skills. The respondents in this study were the 49 Grade 5 teachers teaching English in the 48 schools of North and South districts of Sibalom, Antique, Philippines. The data on the extent of teachers’ use of strategies in teaching reading skills was determined using a jury validated researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire was subjected to pilot testing to ascertain face and content validity and reliability. Frequency, percentage, mean, rank, and standard deviation was used for descriptive statistics while t-test for Independent Samples, One –way ANOVA, Scheffe, and Pearson’s –r for inferential statistics. The findings of the study revealed that when teachers are taken as an entire group and when they were classified according to educational qualifications, length of service, level of language enhancement experiences, and type of school, the extent of their use of strategies in teaching vocabulary, comprehension, and study skills was “to a slight extent”. Results further showed that there was no significant difference in the extent of teachers’ use of strategies in teaching vocabulary, comprehension, and study skills when the teachers were grouped according variables. Highly significant differences also existed in the vocabulary and study skills when respondents were grouped according to length of service in favor of those who are “long” in service. "

Anthropogenic stressors are predicted to alter biodiversity and ecosystem functioning worldwide. However, scaling up from species to ecosystem responses poses a challenge, as species and functional groups can exhibit different capacities to adapt, acclimate, and compensate under changing environments. We used a naturally acidified seagrass ecosystem (the endemic Mediterranean Posidonia oceanica) as a model system to examine how ocean acidification (OA) modifies the community structure and functioning of plant detritivores, which play vital roles in the coastal nutrient cycling and food web dynamics. In seagrass beds associated with volcanic CO

O Conselho de Desenvolvimento Econômico Social (CDES) foi criado no Brasil em 2003. Esse arranjo promotor da participação social nas decisões governamentais pode ser visto como uma novidade institucional no país, entretanto, conselhos como esse já haviam sido criados em outros países e influenciaram a estruturação da instituição brasileira. Para melhor compreender sua origem e atuação, este artigo reconstitui os contextos de criação dos Conselhos Econômicos e Sociais da Espanha e de Portugal e os compara ao da criação do CDES brasileiro. A perspectiva histórica permite enxergar nas experiências dos países ibéricos uma tentativa de resgatar o diálogo social depois de longevas ditaduras, todavia, serviram também para reiterar reformas econômicas liberais no contexto da integração europeia. A experiência brasileira resultou da proposta de um novo pacto social, em tese crítico da política econômica neoliberal implantada na América Latina nos anos 1990, mas também acabou por conferir-lhe institucionalmente maior legitimidade social. Em síntese, em que pesem as diferenças em cada caso, a reconstituição da origem dos conselhos acima referidos revela a tentativa comum de estabelecer um diálogo social, mas também a necessidade, por parte dos governos responsáveis por sua implantação, de legitimar a adoção de políticas econômicas neoliberais.

Resumo Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de um estudo sobre a Caixa Econômica Particular de Ouro Preto desde sua fundação, em 1838, até sua liquidação, em 1901. Acompanharemos a origem e o desenvolvimento dessa instituição por meio de seus estatutos e da legislação bancária do século XIX. A seguir, tentaremos mostrar, a partir de dados primários, duas de suas características mais marcantes: sua relação com o Estado e a diversificação da aplicação de seus fundos, especialmente entre 1880 e 1892. Consideraremos também a concorrência com a “Caixa Econômica pública”. Finalmente, trataremos a crise bancária da década de 1890 e, de maneira mais específica, o ocaso da Caixa Econômica Particular em 1901.

PurposeThere is increasing interest in the connection between Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and operational excellence approaches; however, studies on the integration between Six Sigma (SS) and I4.0 have been absent from the literature. Integration with I4.0 technologies can maximize the positive effects of SS. The purpose of this study is to understand what types of relationships exist between SS and I4.0 and with I4.0's technologies, as well as the benefits derived from this integration and future directions for this field of study.Design/methodology/approachA Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was carried out to analyze studies about connections between I4.0 technologies and SS. SLR analyzed 59 articles from 2013 to 2021 extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, including documents from journals and conferences.FindingsThe SLR identified relationships between SS and several I4.0 technologies, the most cited and with the greatest possibilities of relationships being Big Data/Big Data Analytics (BDA) and Internet of Things (IoT). Three main types of relationships were identified: (1) support of I4.0 technologies to SS; (2) assistance from the SS to the introduction of I4.0 technologies, and, to a lesser extent; (3) incompatibilities between SS and I4.0 technologies. The benefits are mainly related to availability of large data sets and real-time information, enabling better decision-making in less time.Practical implicationsIn addition, the study can help managers to understand the integration relationships, which may encourage companies to adopt SS/Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in conjunction with I4.0 technologies. The results also drew attention to the incompatibilities between SS and I4.0 to anticipate potential barriers to implementation.Originality/valueThe study focuses on three previously unexplored subjects: the connection between SS and I4.0, the existing relationships with different technologies and the benefits resulting from the relationships. In addition, the study compiled and structured different types of relationships for SS and I4.0 and I4.0's technologies, identifying patterns and presenting evidence on how these relationships occur. Finally, exposes current trends and possible research directions.

LENOX regulates melanoma cell proliferation and survival

LENOX and RAP2C knockdown induce mitochondrial dysfunction, release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage and cell cycle block

Primer pairs used in qRT-PCR and ChIP-PCR assays

Legends to Supplementary Figures and Dataset

Data reproduce the effect of Sin3A deletion with a second shRNA

Ectopic LENOX expression increases oxidative phosphorylation in HEKT cells

List of genes and primers used

Tumor heterogeneity is a key feature of melanomas that hinders development of effective treatments. Aiming to overcome this, we identified LINC00518 (LENOX; lincRNA-enhancer of oxidative phosphorylation) as a melanoma-specific lncRNA expressed in all known melanoma cell states and essential for melanoma survival in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, LENOX promoted association of the RAP2C GTPase with mitochondrial fission regulator DRP1, increasing DRP1 S637 phosphorylation, mitochondrial fusion, and oxidative phosphorylation. LENOX expression was upregulated following treatment with MAPK inhibitors, facilitating a metabolic switch from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation and conferring resistance to MAPK inhibition. Consequently, combined silencing of LENOX and RAP2C synergized with MAPK inhibitors to eradicate melanoma cells. Melanomas are thus addicted to the lncRNA LENOX, which acts to optimize mitochondrial function during melanoma development and progression.Significance:The lncRNA LENOX is a novel regulator of melanoma metabolism, which can be targeted in conjunction with MAPK inhibitors to eradicate melanoma cells.

Comparison of gene expression in tumours 1 and 2

LENOX regulates RAP2 mitochondrial localisation

Data support the role of ALK and STAT3 in TSG silencing in ALK+ ALCL

Epigenetic silencing of promoter and enhancer regions is a common phenomenon in malignant cells. The transcription factor STAT3 is aberrantly activated in several tumors, where its constitutive acetylation accounts for the transcriptional repression of a number of tumor suppressor genes (TSG) via molecular mechanisms that remain to be understood. Using nucleophosmin-anaplastic lymphoma kinase–positive (NPM-ALK+) anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) as model system, we found in cells and patient-derived tumor xenografts that STAT3 is constitutively acetylated as a result of ALK activity. STAT3 acetylation relied on intact ALK-induced PI3K- and mTORC1-dependent signaling and was sensitive to resveratrol. Resveratrol lowered STAT3 acetylation, rescued TSG expression, and induced ALCL apoptotic cell death. STAT3 constitutively bound the Sin3A transcriptional repressor complex, and both STAT3 and Sin3A bound the promoter region of silenced TSG via a resveratrol-sensitive mechanism. Silencing SIN3A caused reexpression of TSG, induced ALCL apoptotic cell death in vitro, and hindered ALCL tumorigenic potential in vivo. A constitutive STAT3–Sin3A interaction was also found in breast adenocarcinoma cells and proved critical for TSG silencing and cell survival. Collectively, these results suggest that oncogene-driven STAT3 acetylation and its constitutive association with Sin3A represent novel and concomitant events contributing to STAT3 oncogenic potential.Significance:This study delineates the transcriptional regulatory complex Sin3A as a mediator of STAT3 transcriptional repressor activity and identifies the STAT3/Sin3A axis as a druggable target to antagonize STAT3-addicted tumors.

Data depict STAT3 phosphorylation and acetylation in NPM-ALK+ ALCL

RAP2 paralog expression in melanoma cells

LENOX is required for xenograft growth

Legends to Supplementary Figures and Tables

Data describe the effect of Resveratrol inhibits STAT3 acetylation and binding to Sin3A in LIF-stimulated cells.

Differential expression of MITF-high and MITF-low signature genes in cultured melanoma cells

RNAscope on cultured MITF-high and MITF low cells

LENOX regulates mitochondrial morphology

Purpose: Understanding tumor heterogeneity is an important challenge in current cancer research. Transcription and epigenetic profiling of cultured melanoma cells have defined at least two distinct cell phenotypes characterized by distinctive gene expression signatures associated with high or low/absent expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF). Nevertheless, heterogeneity of cell populations and gene expression in primary human tumors is much less well characterized.Experimental Design: We performed single-cell gene expression analyses on 472 cells isolated from needle biopsies of 5 primary human melanomas, 4 superficial spreading, and one acral melanoma. The expression of MITF-high and MITF-low signature genes was assessed and compared to investigate intra- and intertumoral heterogeneity and correlated gene expression profiles.Results: Single-cell gene expression analyses revealed varying degrees of intra- and intertumor heterogeneity conferred by the variable expression of distinct sets of genes in different tumors. Expression of MITF partially correlated with that of its known target genes, while SOX10 expression correlated best with PAX3 and ZEB2. Nevertheless, cells simultaneously expressing MITF-high and MITF-low signature genes were observed both by single-cell analyses and RNAscope.Conclusions: Single-cell analyses can be performed on limiting numbers of cells from primary human melanomas revealing their heterogeneity. Although tumors comprised variable proportions of cells with the MITF-high and MITF-low gene expression signatures characteristic of melanoma cultures, primary tumors also comprised cells expressing markers of both signatures defining a novel cell state in tumors in vivo. Clin Cancer Res; 23(22); 7097–107. ©2017 AACR.

SOX9 and SOX10 expression in sweat glands

LENOX overexpression promotes resistance to BRAF and glycolysis inhibition.

LENOX is associated with melanoma clinical features and regulated by TFAP2A.

Heatmaps of gene expression in tumours 3-5

Data depict Sin3A-STAT3 interaction in breast cancer cells

Data show the effects of resveratrol on TSGs expression and ALK+ cell survival

RNAscope on sections from cutaneous metastasis

Data depict the role of Sirtuin 1 and DNMT, HDAC and PI3K inhibition on Stat3 acetylation and TSG expression.

Gain of LENOX function stimulates melanoma cell proliferation

In the present study, the occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli VTEC was investigated in two batches of artisanal Italian salami tested in winter and summer. Moreover, enumerations of total bacterial count, lactic acid bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae were performed as well as monitoring of water activity and pH. Samples were taken from raw materials, production process environment, semi-finished product and finished products. The results revealed an overall increase of total bacterial count and lactic acid bacteria during the ripening period, along with a decrease of Enterobacteriaceae, pH and water activity. No significant difference was observed between the two batches. The enterobacterial load appeared to decrease during the maturation period mainly due to a decrease in pH and water activity below the limits that allow the growth of these bacteria. E. coli VTEC, Salmonella spp. or L. monocytogenes were not detected in both winter and summer batches. However, Klebsiella pneumoniae was detected in both summer and winter product. Except for one isolate, no biological hazards were detected in the finished salami, proving the efficacy of the ripening period in controlling the occurrence of microbiological hazard in ripened salami. Further studies are required to assess the virulence potential of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates.