Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design of Virtual Topologies using the Elitist Team of Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithms

Designing virtual topologies is necessary to obtain maximum performance of optical networks. In this paper the routing and wavelength assignation (RWA) is computed using an elitist team of multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, which proposes converting the original RWA problem into a problem of traditional routing, thereby modifying the graph that represents the optical network. The Elitist Team Algorithm simultaneously minimizes the total hop count and the total number of wavelengths for a set of given unicast demands. In this way, a set of optimal solutions, known as a Pareto set, is calculated in only one run of the algorithms without a priori restrictions.
Postexercise protein-carbohydrate and carbohydrate supplements increase muscle glycogen in men and women.

We have previously demonstrated that women did not increase intramuscular glycogen in response to an increased percent of dietary carbohydrate (CHO) (from 60 to 75% of energy intake) (M. A. Tarnopolsky, S. A. Atkinson, S. M. Phillips, and J. D. MacDougall. J. Appl. Physiol. 78: 1360-1368, 1995). CHO and CHO-protein (Pro) supplementation postexercise can potentiate glycogen resynthesis compared with placebo (K. M. Zawadzki, B. B. Yaspelkis, and J. L. Ivy. J. Appl. Physiol. 72: 1854-1859, 1992). We studied the effect of isoenergetic CHO and CHO-Pro-Fat supplements on muscle glycogen resynthesis in the first 4 h after endurance exercise (90 min at 65% peak O2 consumption) in trained endurance athletes (men, n = 8; women, tested in midfollicular phase, n = 8). Each subject completed three sequential trials separated by 3 wk; a supplement was provided immediately and 1-h postexercise: 1) CHO (0.75 g/kg) + Pro (0.1 g/kg) + Fat (0.02 g/kg), 2) CHO (1 g/kg), and 3) placebo (Pl; artificial sweetener). Subjects were given prepackaged, isoenergetic, isonitrogenous diets, individualized to their habitual diet, for the day before and during the exercise trial. During exercise, women oxidized more lipid than did men (P < 0.05). Both of the supplement trials resulted in greater postexercise glucose and insulin compared with Pl (P < 0.01), with no gender differences. Similarly, both of these trials resulted in increased glycogen resynthesis (37.2 vs. 24. 6 mmol . kg dry muscle-1 . h-1, CHO vs. CHO-Pro-Fat, respectively) compared with Pl (7.5 mmol . kg dry muscle-1 . h-1; P < 0.001) with no gender differences. We conclude that postexercise CHO and CHO-Pro-Fat nutritional supplements can increase glycogen resynthesis to a greater extent than Pl for both men and women.
A survival study of intestinal and diffuse types of gastric carcinoma

Histologic classification of gastric carcinoma in Hawaii Japanese by the Lauren System confirms the observations of others that the intestinal type is associated with better survival experience and is more common in men and older people than is diffuse carcinoma. This study also indicates that women with diffuse carcinoma exhibit better long‐term survival rates than men with diffuse carcinoma. This difference can be explained by less frequent lymph node metastases in women with diffuse tumors. The known differences in the sex distribution of stomach cancer survival and mortality rates in Japanese as compared with Caucasians; the predilection of diffuse carcinomas to occur in young women; and the differences in survival of men and women with diffuse carcinoma suggest that inherited hormonal and immunologic factors might influence the growth of this tumor.
FGF-1 and FGF-2 modulate the E-cadherin/catenin system in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) have been increasingly recognized to play an important role in the pathobiology of pancreatic malignancy. We have investigated the effects of FGF-1 and FGF-2 on the behaviour and adhesion properties of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines (BxPc3, T3M4 and HPAF) that were previously characterised for the expression of FGFRs. Here we show that exposure to FGF-1 and FGF-2 leads to significant and dose-dependent increase in E-cadherin-dependent cell-cell adhesion, tubular differentiation, and a reduced capacity to invade collagen gels. FGF stimulation produces phosphorylation of E-cadherin and β-catenin on tyrosine residues, as well as increased E-cadherin localisation to the cytoplasmic membrane and association with FGFR1 demonstrable by coimmunoprecipitation. These results demonstrate that FGF-1 and FGF-2 may be involved in the regulation of cell adhesion, differentiation and invasion of pancreatic cancer. © Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer. com
Orientation Tuning Properties of Simple Cells in Area V1 Derived from an Approximate Analysis of Nonlinear Neural Field Models

We present a general approximation method for the mathematical analysis of spatially localized steady-state solutions in nonlinear neural field models. These models comprise several layers of excitatory and inhibitory cells. Coupling kernels between and inside layers are assumed to be gaussian shaped. In response to spatially localized (i.e., tuned) inputs, such networks typically reveal stationary localized activity profiles in the different layers. Qualitative properties of these solutions, like response amplitudes and tuning widths, are approximated for a whole class of nonlinear rate functions that obey a power law above some threshold and that are zero below. A special case of these functions is the semilinear function, which is commonly used in neural field models. The method is then applied to models for orientation tuning in cortical simple cells: first, to the one-layer model with difference of gaussians connectivity kernel developed by Carandini and Ringach (1997) as an abstraction of the biologically detailed simulations of Somers, Nelson, and Sur (1995); second, to a two-field model comprising excitatory and inhibitory cells in two separate layers. Under certain conditions, both models have the same steady states. Comparing simulations of the field models and results derived from the approximation method, we find that the approximation well predicts the tuning behavior of the full model. Moreover, explicit formulas for approximate amplitudes and tuning widths in response to changing input strength are given and checked numerically. Comparing the network behavior for different nonlinearities, we find that the only rate function (from the class of functions under study) that leads to constant tuning widths and a linear increase of firing rates in response to increasing input is the semilinear function. For other nonlinearities, the qualitative network response depends on whether the model neurons operate in a convex (e.g., x2) or concave (e.g., sqrt (x)) regime of their rate function. In the first case, tuning gradually changes from input driven at low input strength (broad tuning strongly depending on the input and roughly linear amplitudes in response to input strength) to recurrently driven at moderate input strength (sharp tuning, supra-linear increase of amplitudes in response to input strength). For concave rate functions, the network reveals stable hysteresis between a state at low firing rates and a tuned state at high rates. This means that the network can memorize tuning properties of a previously shown stimulus. Sigmoid rate functions can combine both effects. In contrast to the Carandini-Ringach model, the two-field model further reveals oscillations with typical frequencies in the beta and gamma range, when the excitatory and inhibitory connections are relatively strong. This suggests a rhythmic modulation of tuning properties during cortical oscillations.
Optimal Pre-order Discount and Information Release

In this paper, we investigate the information release and pricing strategies for a seller who can take customer pre-orders before the release of a product. The pre-order option enables the seller to sell a product at an early date when consumers’ valuations are relatively homogeneous. We find that the optimal pricing strategy is discontinuous with respect to the amount of information available at pre-order, and a small change in the amount of information may cause a dramatic change in the proportion of consumers who pre-order under the optimal pricing strategy. Furthermore, the seller’s optimal information release strategy depends on a key measure, the normalized margin, which is the ratio between the expected margin and the standard deviation of consumer valuations. While the seller may want to release some (or zero) amount of information, depending on the normalized margin, the seller should never release all information. Finally, under the optimal information release strategy and pricing strategy, the benefit of pre-order is most pronounced when the seller can successfully position the product as a “mass-market” product by withholding information.
A compact dual-polarized wideband patch antenna array for the unlicensed 60 GHz band

The unlicensed 60 GHz industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band provides a wide bandwidth for wireless high data rate communication systems. To optimally utilize these millimeter wave data transmission channels, exploiting orthogonal polarizations is a crucial enhancement. Along with the increase in data rate, improvements of the robustness of communication links in wireless local/personal area networks (WLANs/WPANs) can be achieved adopting the dual-polarization approach. Adjustment of the proper antenna gain is essential for meeting a specific link budget. We have designed, fabricated, and characterized a patch antenna array utilizing orthogonal polarizations in planar multilayer technology.
Football Result Prediction with Bayesian Network in Spanish League-Barcelona Team

The problem of modeling football data has become increasingly popular in the last few years and many different models have been proposed with the aim of estimating the characteristics that bring a team to lose or win a game, or to predict the score of a particular match. We propose a Bayesian Network (BN) to predict results of football matches. During the last decade, Bayesian networks (and probabilistic graphical models in general) have become very popular in artificial intelligence. In this paper, we look at the performance of a BN in the area of predicting the result of football matches involving Barcelona FC. The period under study was the 2008-2009 season in Spanish football league and we test its performance. We get necessary information about football states from valid websites. This BN is used for prediction of football results in future matches.
/l/ production in English-Arabic bilingual speakers

This paper reports an analysis of /l/ production by English-Arabic bilingual children. It addresses the question of whether the bilingual develops one phonological system or two by calling for a refinement of the notion of a system using insights from recent phonetic and sociolinguistic work on variability in speech. The bilingual subjects that were chosen for the study are three Lebanese children aged 5, 7, and 10, all born and raised in Yorkshire, England. Monolingual friends of the same age were chosen as controls, and the parents of all bilingual and monolingual children were also taped to obtain a detailed assessment of the sound patterns available in the subjects' environment. The bilinguals were taped in different language sessions with different interviewers. /l/ was chosen due to the existence of different patterns for clear and dark variants in its production in English and Arabic that vary according to contextual and dialectal factors. Results show that bilinguals have developed separate/l/ production patterns for each of their languages that are similar to those of monolinguals, and that the interaction between their two languages is restricted to the bilingual mode and is a sign of their sociolinguistic competence.
Counting and Recounting: Assessment and the Quest for Accountability

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The development of a semi-structured home interview (CHIF) to directly assess function in cognitively impaired elderly people in two cultures

Background: Assessing function is a crucial element in the diagnosis of dementia. This information is usually obtained from key informants. However, reliable informants are not always available. Methods: A 10-item semi-structured home interview (the CHIF, or Clinician Home-based Interview to assess Function) to assess function primarily by measuring instrumental activities of daily living directly was developed and tested for inter-rater reliability and validity as part of the Indianapolis–Ibadan dementia project. The primary validity measurements were correlations between scores on the CHIF and independently gathered scores on the Blessed Dementia Scale (from informants) and the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE). Sensitivities and specificities of scores on the CHIF and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed with dementia as the dependent variable. Results: Inter-rater reliability for the CHIF was high (Pearson's correlation coefficient 0.99 in Indianapolis and 0.87 in Ibadan). Internal consistency, in both samples, was good (Cronbach's α 0.95 in Indianapolis and 0.83 in Ibadan). Scores on the CHIF correlated well with the Blessed Dementia scores at both sites (−0.71, p < 0.0001 for Indianapolis and −0.56, p < 0.0001 for Ibadan) and with the MMSE (0.75, p < 0.0001 for Indianapolis and 0.44, p < 0.0001 for Ibadan). For all items at both sites, the subjects without dementia performed significantly better than those with dementia. The area under the ROC curve for dementia diagnosis was 0.965 for Indianapolis and 0.925 for Ibadan. Conclusion: The CHIF is a useful instrument to assess function directly in elderly participants in international studies, particularly in the absence of reliable informants.
Selected Cytokines Serve as Potential Biomarkers for Predicting Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With Normal to Mildly Elevated Aminotransferases

AbstractPrevious studies of small cohorts have implicated several circulating cytokines with progression of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, to date there have been no reliable biomarkers for assessing histological liver damage in CHB patients with normal or mildly elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between circulating cytokines and histological liver damage in a large cohort. Also, this study was designed to assess the utility of circulating cytokines in diagnosing liver inflammation and fibrosis in CHB patients with ALT less than 2 times the upper limit of normal range (ULN). A total of 227 CHB patients were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent liver biopsy and staging by Ishak system. Patients with at least moderate inflammation showed significantly higher levels of CXCL-11, CXCL-10, and interleukin (IL)-2 receptor (R) than patients with less than moderate inflammation (P < 0.001). Patients with significant fibrosis had higher levels of IL-8 (P = 0.027), transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-&agr;) (P = 0.011), IL-2R (P = 0.002), and CXCL-11 (P = 0.032) than the group without significant fibrosis. In addition, 31.8% and 29.1% of 151 patients with ALT < 2 × ULN had at least moderate inflammation and significant fibrosis, respectively. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that CXCL-11 was independently associated with at least moderate inflammation, and TGF-&agr; and IL-2R independently correlated with significant fibrosis in patients with ALT < 2 × ULN. Based on certain cytokines and clinical parameters, an inflammation-index and fib-index were developed, which showed areas under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) of 0.75 (95% CI 0.66–0.84) for at least moderate inflammation and 0.82 (95% CI 0.75–0.90) for significant fibrosis, correspondingly. Compared to existing scores, fib-index was significantly superior to aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI) and FIB-4 score for significant fibrosis.In conclusion, CXCL-11 was independently associated with at least moderate inflammation, whereas IL-2R and TGF-&agr; were independent indicators of significant fibrosis in both, total CHB patients and patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT. An IL-2R and TGF-&agr; based score (fib-index) was superior to APRI and FIB-4 for the diagnosis of significant fibrosis in patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT.
Generation and Relation of Quaternary and Binary Linearly Independent Transforms

New classes of quaternary linearly independent transforms related to the bases of linearly independent transforms over Galois Field (2) are introduced here. Recursive equations defining the quaternary matrices and the corresponding butterfly diagrams are shown. Various properties and relations between introduced classes of new transforms are discussed. Experimental results for presented transforms are also shown and compared with quaternary Reed-Muller transform.
Racial Segregation in American Sport

NUMEROUS journalists have commented on the social functions which sport fulfills for minority groups in American society. Boyle, for example, forcefully writes: Sport has often served minority groups as the first rung on the social ladder. As such, it has helped further their assimilation into American life. It would not be too far-fetched to say that it has done more in this regard than any other agency, including church and school (1963, p. 100). Recently, journalists have placed special emphasis on the many contributions sport has made for the Negro. As Olsen observes: Every morning the world of sport wakes up and congratulates itself on its contributions to race relations. The litany has been so often repeated that it is believed almost universally. It goes: &dquo;Look what sports has done for the Negro&dquo; (1968, p. 7). In view of the many journalistic accounts of the contributions of sport to the social success of minority groups, it is somewhat surprising that sociologists and physical educators have largely ignored the issue of mi-
Differential distribution of synaptic endings containing glutamate, glycine, and GABA in the rat dorsal cochlear nucleus

The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) integrates the synaptic information depending on the organization of the excitatory and inhibitory connections. This study provides, qualitatively and quantitatively, analyses of the organization and distribution of excitatory and inhibitory input on projection neurons (fusiform cells), and inhibitory interneurons (vertical and cartwheel cells) in the DCN, using a combination of high‐resolution ultrastructural techniques together with postembedding immunogold labeling. The combination of ultrastructural morphometry together with immunogold labeling enables the identification and quantification of four major synaptic inputs according to their neurotransmitter content. Only one category of synaptic ending was immunoreactive for glutamate and three for glycine and/or γ‐aminobutyric‐acid (GABA). Among those, nine subtypes of synaptic endings were identified. These differed in their ultrastructural characteristics and distribution in the nucleus and on three cell types analyzed. Four of the subtypes were immunoreactive for glutamate and contained round synaptic vesicles, whereas five were immunoreactive for glycine and/or GABA and contained flattened or pleomorphic synaptic vesicles. The analysis of the distribution of the nine synaptic endings on the cell types revealed that eight distributed on fusiform cells, six on vertical cells and five on cartwheel cells. In addition, postembedding immunogold labeling of the glycine receptor α1 subunit showed that it was present at postsynaptic membranes in apposition to synaptic endings containing flattened or pleomorphic synaptic vesicles and immunoreactive for glycine and/or GABA on the three cells analyzed. This information is valuable to our understanding of the response properties of DCN neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 477:253–272, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Sodium orthovanadate inhibits growth and triggers apoptosis of human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo

Vanadium and its compounds exhibit concentration- and time-dependent anticancer effects on various types of tumor; however, the effects of sodium orthovanadate (SOV) on anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) have not yet been reported. In the present study, the anticancer effects of SOV on ATC were evaluated. In vitro experiments, including cell viability assays, plate colony formation assays, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis analysis were used to study the role of SOV in ATC. Using in vivo experiments, the effects of SOV on the growth and apoptosis of an ATC-xenograft tumor were studied by comparing the SOV-treatment with the control group. The results revealed that treatment of the human ATC cell line 8505C with SOV inhibited cell viability, induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, stimulated apoptosis and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in a concentration-dependent manner. These findings were confirmed in vivo in a nude mouse ATC xenograft model. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that SOV inhibited human ATC by regulating proliferation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis, thus suggesting that SOV may be considered a novel option for the treatment of ATC.
Who talks to whom? Intra-and interdisciplinary communication of economics journals

Citation patterns between 42 journals in economics from 1995 to 1997 are examined, plus between economics and anthropology, political science, psychology, sociology and five business disciplines. Building on social network theory, we identify a hierarchical organization of journals in economics and seven journal clusters. Major citation flows are found from all areas of economics to the general interest and theory and method clusters, but not the other way around. Economics emerges as a significant source of interdisciplinary knowledge for the other social sciences and business. However, no area of economics appears to build substantially on insights from its sister disciplines.
Stretching the boundaries: Strategic perceptions of intragroup variability

We hypothesised that people would strategically alter their perceived intragroup variability on ingroup-threatening traits in order to maintain positive perceptions of their self and their ingroup. Specifically, we predicted that people would perceive (1) greater relative outgroup homogeneity and (2) greater general intragroup variability on ingroup negative and outgroup positive traits. We confirmed the outgroup homogeneity prediction in a minimal group experiment (N=80) and a gender group experiment (N = 164). In a second gender group experiment (N = 137), we found that ingroup size moderated this effect: only minority group members showed the predicted pattern of outgroup homogeneity. Evidence for the general intragroup variability prediction was less conclusive. We discuss the results in terms of variability strategies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.