Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Effective Technique for Clustering Incremental Gene Expression data

This paper presents a clustering technique (GenClus) for gene expression data which can also handle incremental data. It is designed based on density based approach. It retains the regulation information which is also the main advantage of the clustering. It uses no proximity measures and is therefore free of the restrictions offered by them. GenClus is capable of handling datasets which are updated incrementally. Experimental results show the efficiency of GenClus in detecting quality clusters over gene expression data. Our approach improves the cluster quality by identifying sub-clusters within big clusters. It was compared with some well-known clustering algorithms and found to perform well in terms of the z-score cluster validity measure.
Incorporating psychological influences in probabilistic cost analysis

Today's typical probabilistic cost analysis assumes an “ideal” project that is devoid of the human and organizational considerations that heavily influence the success and cost of real‐world projects. In the real world “Money Allocated Is Money Spent” (MAIMS principle); cost underruns are rarely available to protect against cost overruns while task overruns are passed on to the total project cost. Realistic cost estimates therefore require a modified probabilistic cost analysis that simultaneously models the cost management strategy including budget allocation. Psychological influences such as overconfidence in assessing uncertainties, dependencies among cost elements, and risk are other important considerations that are generally not addressed. It should then be no surprise that actual project costs often exceed the initial estimates and are delivered late and/or with a reduced scope. This paper presents a practical probabilistic cost analysis model that incorporates recent findings in human behavior and judgment under uncertainty, dependencies among cost elements, the MAIMS principle, and project management practices. Uncertain cost elements are elicited from experts using the direct fractile assessment method and fitted with three‐parameter Weibull distributions. The full correlation matrix is specified in terms of two parameters that characterize correlations among cost elements in the same and in different subsystems. The analysis is readily implemented using standard Monte Carlo simulation tools such as @Risk and Crystal Ball®. The analysis of a representative design and engineering project substantiates that today's typical probabilistic cost analysis is likely to severely underestimate project cost for probability of success values of importance to contractors and procuring activities. The proposed approach provides a framework for developing a viable cost management strategy for allocating baseline budgets and contingencies. Given the scope and magnitude of the cost‐overrun problem, the benefits are likely to be significant. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 7: 000–000, 2004
Feeling without Seeing? Engagement of Ventral, but Not Dorsal, Amygdala during Unaware Exposure to Emotional Faces

The ability to selectively perceive items in the environment may be modulated by the emotional content of those items. The neural mechanism that underlies the privileged processing of emotionally salient content is poorly understood. Here, using fMRI, we investigated this issue via a binocular rivalry procedure when face stimuli depicting fearful or neutral expressions competed for awareness with a house. Results revealed an interesting dissociation in the amygdala during rivalry condition: Whereas its dorsal component exhibited dominant activation to aware fearful faces, a ventral component was more active during the suppression of fearful faces. Moreover, during rivalry, the dorsal and ventral components of the amygdala were coupled with segregated cortical activations in the brainstem and medial PFC, respectively. In summary, this study points to a differential involvement of two clusters within the amygdala and their connected networks in naturally occurring perceptual biases of emotional content in faces.
Regional variations in vascular density correlate with resting‐state and task‐evoked blood oxygen level‐dependent signal amplitude

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become one of the primary tools used for noninvasively measuring brain activity in humans. For the most part, the blood oxygen level‐dependent (BOLD) contrast is used, which reflects the changes in hemodynamics associated with active brain tissue. The main advantage of the BOLD signal is that it is relatively easy to measure and thus is often used as a proxy for comparing brain function across population groups (i.e., control vs. patient). However, it is particularly weighted toward veins whose structural architecture is known to vary considerably across the brain. This makes it difficult to interpret whether differences in BOLD between cortical areas reflect true differences in neural activity or vascular structure. We therefore investigated how regional variations of vascular density (VAD) relate to the amplitude of resting‐state and task‐evoked BOLD signals. To address this issue, we first developed an automated method for segmenting veins in images acquired with susceptibility‐weighted imaging, allowing us to visualize the venous vascular tree across the brain. In 19 healthy subjects, we then applied voxel‐based morphometry (VBM) to T1‐weighted images and computed regional measures of gray matter density (GMD). We found that, independent of spatial scale, regional variations in resting‐state and task‐evoked fMRI amplitudes were better correlated to VAD compared to GMD. Using a general linear model (GLM), it was observed that the bulk of regional variance in resting‐state activity could be modeled by VAD. Cortical areas whose resting‐state activity was most suppressed by VAD correction included Cuneus, Precuneus, Culmen, and BA 9, 10, and 47. Taken together, our results suggest that resting‐state BOLD signals are significantly related to the underlying structure of the brain vascular system. Calibrating resting BOLD activity by venous structure may result in a more accurate interpretation of differences observed between cortical areas and/or individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 35:1906–1920, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The effect of oxygen starvation on ignition phenomena in a reactive solid containing a hot-spot

In this paper, we explore the effect of oxygen supply on the conditions necessary to sustain a self-propagating front from a spherical source of heat embedded in a much larger volume of solid. The ignition characteristics for a spherical hot-spot are investigated, where the reaction is limited by oxygen, that is, reactant + oxygen → product. It is found that over a wide range of realistic oxygen supply levels, constant heating of the solid by the hot-spot results in a self-propagating combustion front above a certain critical hot-spot power; this is clearly an important issue for industries in which hazard prevention is important. The ignition event leading to the formation of this combustion wave involves an extremely sensitive balance between the heat generated by the chemical reaction and the depletion of the reactant. As a result, for small hot-spot radii and infinite oxygen supply, not only is there a critical power above which a self-sustained combustion front is initiated there also exists a power beyond which no front is formed, before a second higher critical power is found. The plot of critical power against hot-spot radius thus takes on a Z-shape appearance. The corresponding shape for the oxygen-limited reaction is qualitatively the same when the ratio of solid thermal diffusion to oxygen mass diffusion (N) is small and we establish critical conditions for the initiation of a self-sustained combustion front in that case. As N gets larger, while still below unity, we show that the Z-shape flattens out. At still larger values of N, the supercritical behaviour becomes increasingly difficult to define and is supplanted by burning that depends more uniformly on power. In other words, the transition from slow burning to complete combustion seen at small values of N for some critical power disappears. Even higher values of N lead to less solid burning at fixed values of power.
Plasma CXCL10, sCD163 and sCD14 Levels Have Distinct Associations with Antiretroviral Treatment and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

We investigate the associations of three established plasma biomarkers in the context of HIV and treatment-related variables including a comprehensive cardiovascular disease risk assessment, within a large ambulatory HIV cohort. Patients were recruited in 2010 to form the Royal Perth Hospital HIV/CVD risk cohort. Plasma sCD14, sCD163 and CXCL10 levels were measured in 475 consecutive patients with documented CVD risk (age, ethnicity, gender, smoking, blood pressure, BMI, fasting metabolic profile) and HIV treatment history including immunological/virological outcomes. The biomarkers assessed showed distinct associations with virological response: CXCL10 strongly correlated with HIV-1 RNA (p<0.001), sCD163 was significantly reduced among ‘aviraemic’ patients only (p = 0.02), while sCD14 was unaffected by virological status under 10,000 copies/mL (p>0.2). Associations between higher sCD163 and protease inhibitor therapy (p = 0.05) and lower sCD14 with integrase inhibitor therapy (p = 0.02) were observed. Levels of sCD163 were also associated with CVD risk factors (age, ethnicity, HDL, BMI), with a favourable influence of Framingham score <10% (p = 0.04). Soluble CD14 levels were higher among smokers (p = 0.002), with no effect of other CVD risk factors, except age (p = 0.045). Our findings confirm CXCL10, sCD163 and sCD14 have distinct associations with different aspects of HIV infection and treatment. Levels of CXCL10 correlated with routinely monitored variables, sCD163 levels reflect a deeper level of virological suppression and influence of CVD risk factors, while sCD14 levels were not associated with routinely monitored variables, with evidence of specific effects of smoking and integrase inhibitor therapy warranting further investigation.
Foreign Voices, Party Cues, and U.S. Public Opinion about Military Action

A growing body of work suggests that international institutions and foreign elites can shape U.S. public opinion. But little work examines whether foreign influence persists when citizens are also exposed to domestic party cues, and the design of most studies makes it difficult to identify causal effects. We report the results of two survey-experiments about proposed military action against Iran that expand our theoretical and empirical understanding of the influence of foreign voices. We find that although party cues are powerful, many people resist signals from party leaders in favor of messages from United Nations officials that are consistent with their underlying predispositions. Our design allows us to draw a causal link between foreign voices and U.S. public opinion, even when citizens are exposed to messages from party leaders. The results highlight factors that limit the influence of party cues and suggest implications for media coverage of political debates.
Engraftment of sorted/expanded human central nervous system stem cells from fetal brain

Direct isolation of human central nervous system stem cells (CNS‐SC) based on cell surface markers yields a highly purified stem cell population that can extensively expand in vitro and exhibit multilineage differentiation potential both in vitro and in vivo. The CNS‐SC were isolated from fetal brain tissue using the cell surface markers CD133+, CD34–, CD45–, and CD24–/lo (CD133+ cells). Fluorescence‐activated cell sorted (FACS) CD133+ cells continue to expand exponentially as neurospheres while retaining multipotential differentiation capacity for >10 passages. CD133–, CD34–, and CD45– sorted cells (∼95% of total fetal brain tissue) fail to initiate neurospheres. Neurosphere cells transplanted into neonatal immunodeficient NOD‐SCID mice proliferated, migrated, and differentiated in a site‐specific manner. However, it has been difficult to evaluate human cell engraftment, because many of the available monoclonal antibodies against neural cells (β‐tubulin III and glial fibrillary acidic protein) are not species specific. To trace the progeny of human cells after transplantation, CD133+‐derived neurosphere cells were transduced with lentiviral vectors containing enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) expressed downstream of the phosphoglycerate kinase promoter. After transduction, GFP+ cells were enriched by FACS, expanded, and transplanted into the lateral ventricular space of neonatal immunodeficient NOD‐SCID brain. The progeny of transplanted cells were detected by either GFP fluorescence or antibody against GFP. GFP+ cells were present in the subventricular zone‐rostral migrating stream, olfactory bulb, and hippocampus as well as nonneurogenic sites, such as cerebellum, cerebral cortex, and striatum. Antibody against GFP revealed that some of the cells displayed differentiating dendrites and processes with neurons or glia cells. Thus, marking human CNS‐SC with reporter genes introduced by lentiviral vectors is a useful tool with which to characterize migration and differentiation of human cells in this mouse transplantation model. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
GaitAssist: A wearable assistant for gait training and rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease

Many patients with Parkinson's disease suffer from short periods during which they cannot continue walking, the so-called freezing of gait. Patients can learn to use rhythmic auditory sounds as support during these episodes. We developed GaitAssist, a personalized wearable system for freezing of gait support, that enables training in unsupervised environments. GaitAssist detects freezing episodes from ankle-mounted motion sensors, which stream data via Bluetooth to an Android phone. In response, the system plays a rhythmic auditory sound that adapts to the patient's regular gait speed. While GaitAssist can be used as a daily-life assistant, it also provides support for three types of training and rehabilitation exercises. The user can create personalized training sessions by adjusting the exercise and feedback parameters.
From Wall Street to Main Street: The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Consumer Credit Supply

This paper studies how the collapse of the asset backed securities (ABS) market during the financial crisis of 2007-2009 affected the supply of credit to the broader economy using a new dataset that describes unique interbank relationships within the credit union industry. This industry is important for consumer finance, and we find that ABS related losses at correspondent credit unions are associated with a large contraction in the supply of consumer credit and a hoarding of cash among downstream credit unions. We also find that this contraction in credit supply was concentrated among downstream credit unions that began the crisis with lower capital asset ratios, and that it may have amplified the initial decline in house prices. These results suggest that capital regulation might shape the ability of financial institutions to transmit securities price volatility onto the real economy.
Sequence, structure and pathology of the fully annotated terminal 2 Mb of the short arm of human chromosome 16.

We have sequenced 1949 kb from the terminal Giemsa light band of human chromosome 16p, enabling us to fully annotate the region extending from the telomeric repeats to the previously published tuberous sclerosis disease 2 (TSC2) and polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1) genes. This region can be subdivided into two GC-rich, Alu-rich domains and one GC-rich, Alu-poor domain. The entire region is extremely gene rich, containing 100 confirmed genes and 20 predicted genes. Many of the genes encode widely expressed proteins orchestrating basic cellular processes (e.g. DNA recombination, repair, transcription, RNA processing, signal transduction, intracellular signalling and mRNA translation). Others, such as the alpha globin genes (HBA1 and HBA2), PDIP and BAIAP3, are specialized tissue-restricted genes. Some of the genes have been previously implicated in the pathophysiology of important human genetic diseases (e.g. asthma, cataracts and the ATR-16 syndrome). Others are known disease genes for alpha thalassaemia, adult polycystic kidney disease and tuberous sclerosis. There is also linkage evidence for bipolar affective disorder, epilepsy and autism in this region. Sixty-three chromosomal deletions reported here and elsewhere allow us to interpret the results of removing progressively larger numbers of genes from this well defined human telomeric region.
Hepatitis C Worldwide and in Brazil: Silent Epidemic—Data on Disease including Incidence, Transmission, Prevention, and Treatment

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is endemic worldwide and according to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 150 million chronic carriers worldwide. The infection is a leading cause of liver diseases like cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); thus, HCV infection constitutes a critical public health problem. There are increasing efforts worldwide in order to reduce the global impact of hepatitis C through the implementation of programmatic actions that may increase the awareness of viral hepatitis and also improve surveillance, prevention, and treatment. In Brazil, about 1,5 million people have been chronically infected with HCV. The country has a vast territory with uneven population density, and hepatitis C incidence rates are variable with the majority of cases concentrated in the most populated areas. Currently, the main priorities of Brazilian Ministry of Health's strategies for viral hepatitis management include the prevention and early diagnosis of viral hepatitis infections; strengthening of the healthcare network and lines of treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, viral hepatitis, and AIDS; improvement and development of surveillance, information, and research; and promotion of universal access to medication. This review aims to summarize the available data on hepatitis C epidemiology and current status of efforts in prevention and infection control around the world and in Brazil.
Lung Injury Induced by TiO2 Nanoparticles Depends on Their Structural Features: Size, Shape, Crystal Phases, and Surface Coating

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, a variety of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) are being produced. Nanotoxicology has become a hot topic in many fields, as researchers attempt to elucidate the potential adverse health effects of NPs. The biological activity of NPs strongly depends on physicochemical parameters but these are not routinely considered in toxicity screening, such as dose metrics. In this work, nanoscale titanium dioxide (TiO2), one of the most commonly produced and widely used NPs, is put forth as a representative. The correlation between the lung toxicity and pulmonary cell impairment related to TiO2 NPs and its unusual structural features, including size, shape, crystal phases, and surface coating, is reviewed in detail. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in pulmonary inflammation in response to the properties of TiO2 NPs is also briefly described. To fully understand the potential biological effects of NPs in toxicity screening, we highly recommend that the size, crystal phase, dispersion and agglomeration status, surface coating, and chemical composition should be most appropriately characterized.
Local linear estimators for the bioelectromagnetic inverse problem

Linear estimators have been used widely in the bioelectromagnetic inverse problem, but their properties and relationships have not been fully characterized. Here, we show that the most widely used linear estimators may be characterized by a choice of norms on signal space and on source space. These norms depend, in part, on assumptions about the signal space and source space covariances. We demonstrate that two estimator classes (standardized and weight vector normalized) yield unbiased estimators of source location for simple source models (including only the noise-free case) but biased estimators of source magnitude. In the presence of instrumental (white) noise, we show that the nonadaptive standardized estimator is a biased estimator of source location, while the adaptive weight vector normalized estimator remains unbiased. A third class (distortionless) is an unbiased estimator of source magnitude but a biased estimator of source location.
Peran Perceived Value Memediasi Pengaruh Kualitas Pelayanan terhadap Kepuasan Konsumen

ABSTRAK Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk mengetahui peran perceived value memediasi pengaruh kualitas pelayanan terhadap kepuasan konsumen (studi konsumen pada Kedai Cafeetory di Kota Denpasar). Jumlah sampel yang digunakan sebanyak 100 orang dengan metode non probability sampling , khususnya purposive sampling. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menyebarkan kuesioner dan menggunakan skala likert. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah analisis path dan uji sobel untuk mengetahui pengaruh mediasi . Hasil analisis menemukan kualitas pelayanan berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap perceived value dan kepuasan konsumen. Perceived value berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap kepuasan konsumen. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa perceived value memediasi pengaruh kualitas pelayanan terhadap kepuasan konsumen. Kata Kunci: kualitas pelayanan , perceived value, kepuasan konsumen ABSTRACT This paper aims to know the role of perceived value in mediating the effect of service quality costumer satisfaction (consumer study in Kedai Cafeetory at Denpasar City). The sample used in this study were 100 people by using non probability sampling, especially purposive sampling method. Data collected by giving questioner with the likert scale. Data analysis technique is done by using path analysis and sobel test to know the mediating effect. The result shows that service quality has positive and significant effect on perceived value and costumer satisfaction. Perceived value has positive and significant effect on costumer satisfaction. This study also proof that perceived value can significantly mediate the effect of service quality on costumer satisfaction. Keywords: service quality, perceived value, costumer satisfaction
Robust hippocampal responsivity during retrieval of consolidated associative memory

A contentious point in memory research is whether or not the hippocampus plays a time‐limited role in the consolidation of declarative memories. A widely held view is that declarative memories are initially encoded in the hippocampus, then transferred to the neocortex for long‐term storage. Alternate views argue instead that the hippocampus continues to play a role in remote memory recall. These competing theories are largely based on human amnesic and animal lesion/inactivation studies. However, in vivo electrophysiological evidence supporting these views is scarce. Given that other studies examining the role of the hippocampus in remote memory retrieval using lesion and imaging techniques in human and animal models have provided mixed results, it would be particularly useful to gain insight at the in vivo electrophysiological level. Here we report hippocampal single‐neuron and theta activity recorded longitudinally during acquisition and remote retrieval of trace eyeblink conditioning. Results from conditioned rabbits were compared to those obtained from yoked pseudo‐conditioned control rabbits. Results reveal continued learning‐specific hippocampal activity one month after initial acquisition of the task. Our findings yield insight into the normal physiological responses of the hippocampus during memory processes and provide compelling in vivo electrophysiological evidence that the hippocampus is involved in both acquisition and retrieval of consolidated memories. © 2014 The Authors Hippocampus Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.