Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identifying Influential Bloggers: Time Does Matter

Blogs have recently become one of the most favored services on the Web. Many users maintain a blog and write posts to express their opinion, experience and knowledge about a product, an event and every subject of general or specific interest. More users visit blogs to read these posts and comment them. This “participatory journalism” of blogs has such an impact upon the masses that Keller and Berry argued that through blogging “one American in tens tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat and what to buy” [9]. Therefore, a significant issue is how to identify such influential bloggers. This problem is very new and the relevant literature lacks sophisticated solutions, but most importantly these solutions have not taken into account temporal aspects for identifying influential bloggers, even though the time is the most critical aspect of the Blogosphere. This article investigates the issue of identifying influential bloggers by proposing two easily computed blogger ranking methods, which incorporate temporal aspects of the blogging activity. Each method is based on a specific metric to score the blogger’s posts. The first metric, termed MEIBI, takes into consideration the number of the blog post’s inlinks and its comments, along with the publication date of the post. The second metric, MEIBIX, is used to score a blog post according to the number and age of the blog post’s inlinks and its comments. These methods are evaluated against the state-of-the-art influential blogger identification method utilizing data collected from a real-world community blog site. The obtained results attest that the new methods are able to better identify significant temporal patterns in the blogging behaviour
jMocha: a model checking tool that exploits design structure

Model checking is a practical tool for automated debugging of embedded software. In model checking, a high-level description of a system is compared against a logical correctness requirement to discover inconsistencies. Since model checking is based on exhaustive state-space exploration and the size of the state space of a design grows exponentially with the size of the description, scalability remains a challenge. We have thus developed techniques for exploiting modular design structure during model checking, and the model checker jMocha (Java MOdel-CHecking Algorithm) is based on this theme. Instead of manipulating unstructured state-transition graphs, it supports the hierarchical modeling framework of reactive modules. jMocha is a growing interactive software environment for specification, simulation and verification, and is intended as a vehicle for the development of new verification algorithms and approaches. It is written in Java and uses native C-code BDD libraries from VIS. jMocha offers: (1) a GUI that looks familiar to Windows/Java users; (2) a simulator that displays traces in a message sequence chart fashion; (3) requirements verification both by symbolic and enumerative model checking; (4) implementation verification by checking trace containment; (5) a proof manager that aids compositional and assume-guarantee reasoning; and (6) SLANG (Scripting LANGuage) for the rapid and structured development of new verification algorithms. jMocha is available publicly at ; it is a successor and extension of the original Mocha tool that was entirely written in C.
A Divide-and-Conquer Approach to 3D Object Reconstruction from Line Drawings

3D object reconstruction from a single 2D line drawing is an important problem in both computer vision and graphics. Many methods have been put forward to solve this problem, but they usually fail when the geometric structure of a 3D object becomes complex. In this paper, a novel approach based on a divide-and-conquer strategy is proposed to handle 3D reconstruction of complex manifold objects from single 2D line drawings. The approach consists of three steps: 1) dividing a complex line drawing into multiple simpler line drawings based on the result efface identification; 2) reconstructing the 3D shapes from these simpler line drawings; and 3) merging the 3D shapes into one complete object represented by the original line drawing. A number of examples are given to show that our approach can handle 3D reconstruction of more complex objects than previous methods.
Periodicity in Attachment Organelle Revealed by Electron Cryotomography Suggests Conformational Changes in Gliding Mechanism of Mycoplasma pneumoniae

ABSTRACT Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a pathogenic bacterium, glides on host surfaces using a unique mechanism. It forms an attachment organelle at a cell pole as a protrusion comprised of knoblike surface structures and an internal core. Here, we analyzed the three-dimensional structure of the organelle in detail by electron cryotomography. On the surface, knoblike particles formed a two-dimensional array, albeit with limited regularity. Analyses using a nonbinding mutant and an antibody showed that the knoblike particles correspond to a naplike structure that has been observed by negative-staining electron microscopy and is likely to be formed as a complex of P1 adhesin, the key protein for binding and gliding. The paired thin and thick plates feature a rigid hexagonal lattice and striations with highly variable repeat distances, respectively. The combination of variable and invariant structures in the internal core and the P1 adhesin array on the surface suggest a model in which axial extension and compression of the thick plate along a rigid thin plate is coupled with attachment to and detachment from the substrate during gliding. IMPORTANCE Human mycoplasma pneumonia, epidemic all over the world in recent years, is caused by a pathogenic bacterium, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. This tiny bacterium, about 2 µm in cell body length, glides on the surface of the human trachea to infect the host by binding to sialylated oligosaccharides, which are also the binding targets of influenza viruses. The mechanism of mycoplasmal gliding motility is not related to any other well-studied motility systems, such as bacterial flagella and cytoplasmic motor proteins. Here, we visualized the attachment organelle, a cellular architecture for gliding, three dimensionally by using electron cryotomography and other conventional methods. A possible gliding mechanism has been suggested based on the architectural images. Human mycoplasma pneumonia, epidemic all over the world in recent years, is caused by a pathogenic bacterium, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. This tiny bacterium, about 2 µm in cell body length, glides on the surface of the human trachea to infect the host by binding to sialylated oligosaccharides, which are also the binding targets of influenza viruses. The mechanism of mycoplasmal gliding motility is not related to any other well-studied motility systems, such as bacterial flagella and cytoplasmic motor proteins. Here, we visualized the attachment organelle, a cellular architecture for gliding, three dimensionally by using electron cryotomography and other conventional methods. A possible gliding mechanism has been suggested based on the architectural images.
Policies and events affecting prescription opioid use for non-cancer pain among an insured patient population.

BACKGROUND Rising prescription opioid use and abuse have prompted widespread concern. However, to date there have been few rigorous investigations into the policies and events which may have contributed to these trends. OBJECTIVE This study investigates trends in opioid use and related adverse events among individuals with non-cancer pain before and after implementation of major national policies. STUDY DESIGN The study used a longitudinal prospective study design. The analysis was limited to adults (age = 18 years) without a recorded cancer diagnosis. Pharmacy claims were used to assess rates of prescription opioid use, the strength of opioids dispensed, the proportion using opioids chronically, and related adverse events. Time trend analysis was used to identify changes in these rates over time. The study was Institutional Review Board approved. SETTING Study patients were members of a large, health maintenance organization in southeast Michigan, with longitudinal records of prescription opioid use. RESULTS The analysis comprised 523,623 individuals and 1,066,700 opioid pharmacy fills from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2011. Contemporaneous with the implementation of health organization accreditation criteria requiring assessment and treatment of pain in all patients beginning January 2001, we observed a consistent and unabated increase in the rate of opioid fills and the proportion of chronic use. A parallel increase in the annual rate of adverse events was also observed. Similarly, we observed a continuous rise in the average strength of opioid fills following January 2001 with the exception of a single drop in December 2010, which was attributable to the withdrawal of propoxyphene from the U.S. market. LIMITATIONS This was an observational study and not a trial. Other long-term opioid-related benefits or harms, including functional status, quality of life, and substance use disorder, were not assessed. CONCLUSIONS This study provides temporal evidence for a rise in prescription opioid use after implementation of health organization accreditation criteria requiring standardized management of all individuals with pain.
The human natural anti-Gal IgG. III. The subtlety of immune tolerance in man as demonstrated by crossreactivity between natural anti-Gal and anti-B antibodies

A well-defined antigen/antibody system was used to evaluate the effect of immune tolerance on the spectrum of specificities of natural antibodies. The antibody used in this study, anti-Gal, is a naturally occurring, polyclonal IgG that constitutes 1% of the circulating IgG in humans. We have previously shown that anti-Gal, purified from AB sera, specifically interacts with glycosphingolipids bearing a Gal alpha 1---- 3Gal epitope, but not with the closely related B antigen in which the penultimate galactose of the Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitope is fucosylated Gal alpha 1----3(Fuc alpha 1----2)Gal. This narrow specificity was assumed to be the result of an effective immune tolerance mechanism that prevents the expression of antibody clones that can recognize both the Gal alpha 1----3Gal and the self B epitopes. If the assumption that immune tolerance determines the range of anti-Gal specificity is correct, then anti-Gal from individuals lacking the B antigen (A and O blood types) would be expected to interact with both Gal alpha 1---- 3Gal and Gal alpha 1----3(Fuc alpha 1----2)Gal epitopes. In this study, anti-Gal from the serum of individuals of various blood types was purified by affinity chromatography on Gal alpha 1----3Gal adsorbent and tested for its reaction with the B antigen. Whereas anti-Gal from AB and B individuals only reacted with Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitopes, anti-Gal from A and O individuals reacted with both Gal alpha 1----3Gal and B epitopes. Furthermore, it was determined that the majority of anti-B reactivity in A and O individuals is in fact anti-Gal antibodies capable of recognizing both Gal alpha 1----3Gal and B epitopes. It can be concluded from these results that immune tolerance accurately controls the spectrum of natural antibody specificities by preventing the production of antibody clones that can interact with self antigens.
Room‐Temperature Formation of Hollow Cu2O Nanoparticles

Monodisperse Cu and Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized using tetradecylphosphonic acid as a capping agent. Dispersing the NPs in chloroform and hexane at room temperature results in the formation of hollow Cu2O NPs and Cu@Cu2O core/shell NPs, respectively. The monodisperse Cu2O NPs are used to fabricate hybrid solar cells with efficiency of 0.14percent under AM 1.5 and 1 Sun illumination.
Rivastigmine in subcortical vascular dementia: A randomized, controlled, open 12-month study in 208 patients

Subcortical vascular dementia (VaD) is characterized by executive dysfunction and behavioral problems, reflecting deterioration of the frontal lobe. This study aimed to determine whether rivastigmine, a dual inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), has any effects on the typical symptoms of subcortical VaD. Patients receiving rivastigmine showed a slight improvement in executive functions and in behavior. Side effects in both groups were tolerable and there were no study withdrawals. Moreover, there are no drug interactions with other therapies previously and concomitantly assumed. Improvements in domains that characterize subcortical VaD were observed, indicating that rivastigmine may have provided targeted treatment in areas of the brain that are particularly affected in this patient population.
On Enhancing Recent Multi-player Game Playing Strategies Using a Spectrum of Adaptive Data Structures

Multi-Player Game Playing (MPGP) strategies have predominantly been built on the basis of utilizing Two-Player Game Playing (TPGP) strategies that were designed for games such as Chess and Go. However, a few strategies, such as the Best-Reply Search (BRS), that have been specifically tuned for the multi-player setting, have been introduced in the literature. Recently, these strategies have been further optimized by incorporating into them techniques from the field of Adaptive Data Structures (ADS) [1]. In this paper, we extend this area of research by demonstrating the efficacy of a broader spectrum of techniques from the field of ADS. The results presented in [1] have been enhanced in two directions, namely by considering a set of list-based ADSs capable of "ranking" the relative strengths of the perspective player's opponents, and by also considering the ply-depth to which the ADSs can be invoked. The results that we present conclusively prove that the incorporation of ADSs positively enhances the BRS, that the semantics of the ADS scheme used question can influence its performance, and that the advantage gleaned remains at deeper search depths.
Underlying Misinformation Effects in Child Witnesses

In this article, we review empirical findings that misinformation effects in children are the joint product of automatic or unconscious and intentional or conscious processes. First, we outline the extant literature on multiple systems and process models of memory. Second, we examine how dual memory processes (e.g., recollection and automaticity, verbatim-based identity, and gist-based similarity) contribute to children’s acceptance of misinformation. In this regard we outline findings that show developmental change in the cognitive processes underlying acceptance of misinformation in the absence of overall changes with age in the probability of reporting a suggestion. Competing models of the misinformation effect in children are then evaluated in light of this new evidence.  2002 Elsevier Science (USA)
The Agricultural Productivity Gap

According to national accounts data for developing countries, value added per worker is on average four times higher in the non-agriculture sector than in agriculture. Taken at face value this ``agricultural productivity gap'' suggests that labor is greatly misallocated across sectors in the developing world. In this paper we draw on new micro evidence to ask to what extent the gap is still present when better measures of inputs and outputs are taken into consideration. We find that even after considering sector differences in hours worked and human capital per worker, urban-rural cost-of-living differences, and alternative measures of sector income from household survey data, a puzzlingly large agricultural productivity gap remains.
Phase II trial of Loubo® (Lobaplatin) and pemetrexed for patients with metastatic breast cancer not responding to anthracycline or taxanes.

PURPOSE This phase II study was undertaken to determine the efficacy and safety of Loubo® (Lobaplatin) in combination with pemetrexed in treating patients with metastatic breast cancer who failed to respond to anthracycline or taxanes. PATIENTS AND METHODS Metastatic breast cancer cases who had previously received an anthracycline and a taxane in either adjuvant or metastatic settings, were enrolled. All patients were recruited from Jiangsu Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, and were treated with Loubo® (Lobaplatin) 35 mg/m2 (intravenous; on day 1) and pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 (intravenous; on day 1) every 21 days. Efficacy and side effects were evaluated after at least two cycles of chemotherapy. RESULTS All eligible 19 patients completed at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy with pemetrexed and lobaplatin, and were evaluable. Overall, 3 (15.8%) patients achieved partial response, 11 (57.9%) stable disease, 5 (26.3%) progression of disease, with no complete remission. Response rate was 15.8%, disease control rate was 42.1%. The median survival time was 10.3 months. Neutrophil suppression occurred in 36.8% of patients who had grade 2 toxicity, and 26.3% had grade 3, 26.4% had grade 4. Thrombocytopenia was encountered as follows: 21.1% grade 2, 15.8% grade 3 and 5.5% grade 4. Incidences of anemia were 10.5% in grade 2, 5.3% grade 3 and 0% grade 4. Only 5.3% of patients required packed red blood cell transfusion. Grade 3 digestive tract toxicity occurred in 5.5% of patients. Other toxicities included elevated transaminase, oral mucositis and skin rashes. CONCLUSIONS The regimen of lobaplatin and pemetrexed is modestly active in metastatic breast cancer patients who failed anthracycline or taxanes, and the toxicity profile suggesting that the doses of chemotherapy should be further modified.
Occurrence of C15-C45 mineral paraffins in olives and olive oils

Different classes of olive oils and other olive samples (olives, olive paste and olive pomace) collected during their production were analysed for mineral paraffins in the range of C15–C45. None of the 22 extra virgin olive oils contained mineral paraffins above the detection limit of 1 mg kg−1. Also, lampante virgin olive oil from the olive mill showed no detectable amounts, but olive oil from the market contained 6–30 mg kg−1. This contamination cannot be attributed to the refining step, which, on the contrary, partially removes the more volatile hydrocarbons, but could result from transport. Olive-pomace oils obtained by second centrifugation contained 16–145 mg kg−1 mineral paraffins, presumably because of contamination during storage of the pomace. All olive-pomace oils from solvent extraction contained more than 100 mg kg−1 mineral paraffins, also mainly from storage. Deposition of particulate matter from the air, vehicle exhaust emissions and direct contamination from the bulldozers used to move the pomace were identified as potential sources.
Presynaptic Induction and Expression of Timing-Dependent Long-Term Depression Demonstrated by Compartment-Specific Photorelease of a Use-Dependent NMDA Receptor Antagonist

NMDA receptors are important for synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). To help investigate the precise location of the NMDA receptors that are required for different types of synaptic plasticity, we synthesized a caged form of the use-dependent NMDA receptor antagonist MK801, which we loaded into individual neurons in vitro, followed by compartment-specific uncaging. We used this method to investigate timing-dependent plasticity at layer 4-layer 2/3 synapses of mouse barrel cortex. Somatodendritic photorelease of MK801 in the postsynaptic neuron produced a use-dependent block of synaptic NMDA receptor-mediated currents and prevented the induction of LTP. Compartment-specific photorelease of MK801 in the presynaptic neuron showed that axonal, but not somatodendritic, presynaptic NMDA receptors are required for induction of LTD. The rate of use-dependent block of postsynaptic NMDA receptor current was slower following induction of LTD, consistent with a presynaptic locus of expression. Thus, this new caged compound has demonstrated the axonal location of NMDA receptors required for induction and the presynaptic locus of expression of LTD at layer 4-layer 2/3 synapses.
State laws on youth access to tobacco in the United States: measuring their extensiveness with a new rating system

OBJECTIVE To develop and implement a rating system evaluating the extensiveness of state laws restricting youth access to tobacco. DESIGN State laws on youth access to tobacco were analysed and assigned ratings on nine items. Six items addressed specific tobacco-control provisions, and three related to enforcement provisions. For each item, a target was specified reflecting public health objectives. Achieving the target resulted in a rating of +4 points; for three items, a rating of +5 was possible if the target was exceeded. Criteria for lower ratings were established for situations when the target was not met. SETTING United States. RESULTS State scores (sum of the ratings across all nine items) ranged from 0–18 in 1993, 2–21 in 1994, and 1–21 in 1995 and 1996, out of a possible total of 39. The average score across states was 7.2 in 1993, 7.9 in 1994, 8.2 in 1995, and 9.0 in 1996. The overall mean rating (per item) was 0.80 in 1993, 0.88 in 1994, 0.91 in 1995, and 1.00 in 1996, on a scale where 4.0 indicates that the target goals (per item) were met. From 1993 to 1996, scores increased for 20 states, decreased for one state, and remained unchanged for the others. The number of states for which state preemption of local tobacco regulation was a factor doubled from 10 states in 1993 to 20 states in 1996. CONCLUSIONS Although all states have laws addressing youth access to tobacco, this analysis reveals that, as of the end of 1996, the progress towards meeting health policy targets is slow, and state legislation that preempts local tobacco regulation is becoming more common.