Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Customizing the Interaction with the User in On-Line Configuration Systems

The provision of services on the Web is challenged by its heterogeneous customer base: Web catalogs are accessed by users differing in interests and knowledge about the products and services they search for. Moreover, in the companies selling complex configurable products and services, configuration systems are used by employees playing different roles: e.g., technical engineers and managers. For some of these people, the configuration task is problematic, as it exposes them to a large number of technical details to be specified. Effective personalisation strategies are thus critical to the development of successful Web-based configuration systems. This paper presents the personalisation techniques applied in CAWICOMS, a prototype toolkit for the development of Web-based configuration systems that personalise the interaction with their users, supporting individual needs during the configuration task and the presentation of the solutions. The overall goal is that of assisting the user during the configuration process by suggesting suitable choices and providing her4 with the information she needs for making informed decisions. To this purpose, our framework integrates user modelling and personalisation techniques with constraint-based configuration techniques.
Recognition of Morphometric Vertebral Fractures by Artificial Neural Networks: Analysis from GISMO Lombardia Database

Background It is known that bone mineral density (BMD) predicts the fracture's risk only partially and the severity and number of vertebral fractures are predictive of subsequent osteoporotic fractures (OF). Spinal deformity index (SDI) integrates the severity and number of morphometric vertebral fractures. Nowadays, there is interest in developing algorithms that use traditional statistics for predicting OF. Some studies suggest their poor sensitivity. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) could represent an alternative. So far, no study investigated ANNs ability in predicting OF and SDI. The aim of the present study is to compare ANNs and Logistic Regression (LR) in recognising, on the basis of osteoporotic risk-factors and other clinical information, patients with SDI≥1 and SDI≥5 from those with SDI = 0. Methodology We compared ANNs prognostic performance with that of LR in identifying SDI≥1/SDI≥5 in 372 women with postmenopausal-osteoporosis (SDI≥1, n = 176; SDI = 0, n = 196; SDI≥5, n = 51), using 45 variables (44 clinical parameters plus BMD). ANNs were allowed to choose relevant input data automatically (TWIST-system-Semeion). Among 45 variables, 17 and 25 were selected by TWIST-system-Semeion, in SDI≥1 vs SDI = 0 (first) and SDI≥5 vs SDI = 0 (second) analysis. In the first analysis sensitivity of LR and ANNs was 35.8% and 72.5%, specificity 76.5% and 78.5% and accuracy 56.2% and 75.5%, respectively. In the second analysis, sensitivity of LR and ANNs was 37.3% and 74.8%, specificity 90.3% and 87.8%, and accuracy 63.8% and 81.3%, respectively. Conclusions ANNs showed a better performance in identifying both SDI≥1 and SDI≥5, with a higher sensitivity, suggesting its promising role in the development of algorithm for predicting OF.
Knowledge-Based Trust: Estimating the Trustworthiness of Web Sources

The quality of web sources has been traditionally evaluated using exogenous signals such as the hyperlink structure of the graph. We propose a new approach that relies on endogenous signals, namely, the correctness of factual information provided by the source. A source that has few false facts is considered to be trustworthy. The facts are automatically extracted from each source by information extraction methods commonly used to construct knowledge bases. We propose a way to distinguish errors made in the extraction process from factual errors in the web source per se, by using joint inference in a novel multi-layer probabilistic model. We call the trustworthiness score we computed Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT) . On synthetic data, we show that our method can reliably compute the true trustworthiness levels of the sources. We then apply it to a database of 2.8B facts extracted from the web, and thereby estimate the trustworthiness of 119M webpages. Manual evaluation of a subset of the results confirms the effectiveness of the method.
Dendrosomal nanocurcumin and p53 overexpression synergistically trigger apoptosis in glioblastoma cells

Objective(s): Glioblastoma is the most lethal tumor of the central nervous system. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of exogenous delivery of p53 and a nanoformulation of curcumin called dendrosomal curcumin (DNC), alone and in combination, on glioblastoma tumor cells. Materials and Methods: MTT assay was exploited to measure the viability of U87-MG cells against DNC treatment. Cells were separately subjected to DNC treatment and transfected with p53-containing vector and then were co-exposed to DNC and p53 overexpression[A GA1][B2]. Annexin-V-FLUOS staining followed by flow cytometry and real-time PCR were applied to examine apoptosis and analyze the expression levels of the genes involved in cell cycle and oncogenesis, respectively. Results: The results of cell viability assay through MTT indicated that DNC inhibits the proliferation of U87-MG cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Apoptosis evaluation revealed that p53 overexpression accompanied by DNC treatment can act in a synergistic manner to significantly enhance the number of apoptotic cells (90%) compared with their application alone (15% and 38% for p53 overexpression and DNC, respectively). Also, real-time PCR data showed that the concomitant exposure of cells to both DNC and p53 overexpression leads to an enhanced expression of GADD45 and a reduced expression of NF-κB and c-Myc. Conclusion: The findings of the current study suggest that our combination strategy, which merges two detached gene (p53) and drug (curcumin) delivery systems into an integrated platform, may represent huge potential as a novel and efficient modality for glioblastoma treatment.
Real-time intensity-based rigid 2d-3d medical image registration using RapidMind Multi-core Development Platform

In this paper, we present an efficient intensity-based rigid 2D-3D image registration method. We implement the algorithm using the RapidMind Multi-core Development Platform1 to exploit the highly parallel multi-core architecture of graphics processing units (GPUs). We use a ray casting algorithm to generate the digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) on GPUs and efficiently reduce the complexity of DRR construction. The registration optimization problem is solved by the Gauss-Newton method. To fully exploit the multi-core parallelism, we implement almost the entire registration process in parallel by RapidMind. We also discuss the RapidMind implementation of the major computation steps. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency of our method.
Knowledge Management of Software Productivity and Development Time

In this paper, we identify a set of factors that may be used to forecast software productivity and software development time. Software productivity was measured in function points per person hours, and software development time was measured in number of elapsed days. Using field data on over 130 field software projects from various industries, we empirically test the impact of team size, integrated computer aided software engineering (ICASE) tools, software development type, software development platform, and programming language type on the software development productivity and development time. Our results indicate that team size, software development type, software development platform, and programming language type significantly impact software development productivity. However, only team size significantly impacts software development time. Our results indicate that effective management of software development teams, and using different management strategies for different software development type environments may improve software development productivity.
Hypoinsulinemia Regulates Amphetamine-Induced Reverse Transport of Dopamine

The behavioral effects of psychomotor stimulants such as amphetamine (AMPH) arise from their ability to elicit increases in extracellular dopamine (DA). These AMPH-induced increases are achieved by DA transporter (DAT)-mediated transmitter efflux. Recently, we have shown that AMPH self-administration is reduced in rats that have been depleted of insulin with the diabetogenic agent streptozotocin (STZ). In vitro studies suggest that hypoinsulinemia may regulate the actions of AMPH by inhibiting the insulin downstream effectors phosphotidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (PKB, or Akt), which we have previously shown are able to fine-tune DAT cell-surface expression. Here, we demonstrate that striatal Akt function, as well as DAT cell-surface expression, are significantly reduced by STZ. In addition, our data show that the release of DA, determined by high-speed chronoamperometry (HSCA) in the striatum, in response to AMPH, is severely impaired in these insulin-deficient rats. Importantly, selective inhibition of PI3K with LY294002 within the striatum results in a profound reduction in the subsequent potential for AMPH to evoke DA efflux. Consistent with our biochemical and in vivo electrochemical data, findings from functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments reveal that the ability of AMPH to elicit positive blood oxygen level–dependent signal changes in the striatum is significantly blunted in STZ-treated rats. Finally, local infusion of insulin into the striatum of STZ-treated animals significantly recovers the ability of AMPH to stimulate DA release as measured by high-speed chronoamperometry. The present studies establish that PI3K signaling regulates the neurochemical actions of AMPH-like psychomotor stimulants. These data suggest that insulin signaling pathways may represent a novel mechanism for regulating DA transmission, one which may be targeted for the treatment of AMPH abuse and potentially other dopaminergic disorders.
Evidence That Primary Visual Cortex Is Required for Image, Orientation, and Motion Discrimination by Rats

The pigmented Long-Evans rat has proven to be an excellent subject for studying visually guided behavior including quantitative visual psychophysics. This observation, together with its experimental accessibility and its close homology to the mouse, has made it an attractive model system in which to dissect the thalamic and cortical circuits underlying visual perception. Given that visually guided behavior in the absence of primary visual cortex has been described in the literature, however, it is an empirical question whether specific visual behaviors will depend on primary visual cortex in the rat. Here we tested the effects of cortical lesions on performance of two-alternative forced-choice visual discriminations by Long-Evans rats. We present data from one highly informative subject that learned several visual tasks and then received a bilateral lesion ablating >90% of primary visual cortex. After the lesion, this subject had a profound and persistent deficit in complex image discrimination, orientation discrimination, and full-field optic flow motion discrimination, compared with both pre-lesion performance and sham-lesion controls. Performance was intact, however, on another visual two-alternative forced-choice task that required approaching a salient visual target. A second highly informative subject learned several visual tasks prior to receiving a lesion ablating >90% of medial extrastriate cortex. This subject showed no impairment on any of the four task categories. Taken together, our data provide evidence that these image, orientation, and motion discrimination tasks require primary visual cortex in the Long-Evans rat, whereas approaching a salient visual target does not.
Hydrolysis of Peptide Hormones by Endothelin-converting Enzyme-1

Endothelins are peptide hormones with a potent vasoconstrictor activity that are also known to function as intercellular signaling molecules. The final step in the biosynthesis of endothelins is the proteolytic processing of precursor peptides by endothelin-converting enzymes (ECEs). ECE-1 is a zinc metalloendopeptidase related in amino acid sequence to neprilysin, a mammalian cell-surface peptidase involved in the metabolism of numerous biologically active peptides. Despite apparent structural similarities, ECE-1 and neprilysin have been considered to differ significantly in substrate specificity. In this study we have examined the activity of recombinant ECE-1 against a collection of biologically active peptides. ECE-1, unlike neprilysin, was found to have minimal activity against substrates smaller than hexapeptides, such as Leu-enkephalin. Larger peptides such as neurotensin, substance P, bradykinin, and the oxidized insulin B chain were hydrolyzed by ECE-1 as efficiently as big endothelin-1, a known in vivo substrate. Identification of the products of hydrolysis of six peptides indicates that ECE-1 has a substrate specificity similar to that of neprilysin, preferring to cleave substrates at the amino side of hydrophobic residues. The data indicate that ECE-1 possesses a surprisingly broad substrate specificity and is potentially involved in the metabolism of biologically active peptides distinct from the endothelins.
Intraduodenal vaccination of brushtail possums with bacille Calmette-Guérin enhances immune responses and protection against Mycobacterium bovis infection.

SETTING An effective oral bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine would have advantages for use in humans and as an oral bait vaccine for protecting wild-life against bovine tuberculosis. OBJECTIVE To compare the level of protection against tuberculosis in intraduodenally BCG-vaccinated possums with those vaccinated intragastrically in order to determine whether degradation of BCG in the stomach lowers vaccine efficacy. DESIGN Three groups of five possums were vaccinated with BCG by the intraduodenal, intragastric or subcutaneous routes, with a fourth group serving as unvaccinated controls. The animals were later challenged intratracheally with a low dose of virulent Mycobacterium bovis. RESULTS Possums vaccinated intraduodenally with BCG had significantly greater lymphocyte blastogenic responses to bovine purified protein derivative (PPD) and lower lung bacterial counts in comparison with intragastrically vaccinated animals. In comparison with unvaccinated animals, all of the BCG-vaccinated groups had significant protection against M. bovis infection as assessed by changes in body weight, lung weight and reduction in numbers of mycobacteria and granulomas in the spleen. CONCLUSION The enhanced immune responses and protection against bovine tuberculosis observed in the intraduodenally BCG-vaccinated possums indicated that if BCG vaccine is protected from degradation in the stomach its efficacy should improve.
Urban landscape design exercises in urban metabolism: reconnecting with Central Limburg's regenerative resource landscape

Abstract The design research presented here uses urban landscape design to attempt to reframe sustainable resource management. Urban metabolism projects generally originate in industrial ecology, emphasizing performance-oriented technical and entrepreneurial approaches.1 However, industrial ecology approaches experience difficulties in making meaningful connections to social, economic and spatial contexts. Building on landscape architecture analysis and design methods such as mapping and systemic design, this article will highlight urban landscape design's capacity to reframe questions stemming from the urban metabolism model through the production of future imaginaries. Using the Belgian Central Limburg region's transition into a circular economy as a design exercise, this paper suggests that urban landscape design's constructivist approach2 has the potential to embed social and economic dimensions in applying urban metabolism. Operating ‘from within’ its intervention field, urban landscape design potentially facilitates transdisciplinary dialogues in urban metabolism design research.
Numerical solution of large‐scale Lyapunov equations, Riccati equations, and linear‐quadratic optimal control problems

We study large‐scale, continuous‐time linear time‐invariant control systems with a sparse or structured state matrix and a relatively small number of inputs and outputs. The main contributions of this paper are numerical algorithms for the solution of large algebraic Lyapunov and Riccati equations and linear‐quadratic optimal control problems, which arise from such systems. First, we review an alternating direction implicit iteration‐based method to compute approximate low‐rank Cholesky factors of the solution matrix of large‐scale Lyapunov equations, and we propose a refined version of this algorithm. Second, a combination of this method with a variant of Newton's method (in this context also called Kleinman iteration) results in an algorithm for the solution of large‐scale Riccati equations. Third, we describe an implicit version of this algorithm for the solution of linear‐quadratic optimal control problems, which computes the feedback directly without solving the underlying algebraic Riccati equation explicitly. Our algorithms are efficient with respect to both memory and computation. In particular, they can be applied to problems of very large scale, where square, dense matrices of the system order cannot be stored in the computer memory. We study the performance of our algorithms in numerical experiments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stock assessment of Australian east coast Spanish mackerel : Predictions of stock status and reference points

The stock assessment describes Australia’s east coast Spanish mackerel fishery operating in ocean waters between Cape York Peninsula and northern New South Wales. The species are a large offshore pelagic fish that can live for up to 26 years and weigh in excess of 30 kg. Spanish mackerel reach maturity above the minimum legal size of 75 cm at between two and four years of age. The stock assessment was conducted at the whole stock level and included commercial, charter, recreational and research data from both New South Wales and Queensland. The data included estimates of Spanish mackerel harvest from logbook systems and recreational fishing surveys, catch rates from commercial logbooks and historical surveys of long term commercial fishers, and annual fish age-length compositions. The fishery for east coast Spanish mackerel commenced in the early 1900s. Annual east coast harvests taken by commercial, charter and recreational fishing steadily built to peak at 1000–1300 tonnes (t) per year during the 1970s and 1000–1150 t per year between 1998 and 2003. The estimated annual Spanish mackerel harvest since 2005 reduced to 500–760 t per year. Most fishers harvest Spanish mackerel using line-fishing techniques. Net fishing for Spanish mackerel is illegal. In recent years about 47 per cent, 6 per cent and 47 per cent of annual Spanish mackerel harvests were taken respectively by commercial, charter and recreational fishing across all east coast waters. Population modelling of the data estimated that Spanish mackerel population size in 2016 was between 30–50 per cent of original biomass estimated at the start of the fishery in 1911 (best estimate around 40 per cent biomass). Estimates of recommended sustainable annual harvest of Spanish mackerel for all fishing sectors and east-coast waters ranged between 400 and 800 t. There is presently substantial unfished commercial quota. The current Queensland total allowable commercial catch quota is 574.6 t. If this were to be largely utilised, together with current or increased charter, recreational and New South Wales commercial harvests, then the biomass of the Spanish mackerel population may decline. Such high harvests would result in overfishing and reduce average catch rates longer-term. The results suggested annual harvests of around 550 t (across all sectors) will build the biomass towards the 60 per cent level, consistent with the 2027 biomass targets set in the Queensland Government’s Sustainable Fisheries Strategy. If there is a desire to operate the fishery closer towards 60 per cent biomass for better economic yield and quality of fishing (higher catch rates), then fishing pressure will need to reduce for a period of time to build the fish population to a higher biomass.
Urinary Tract Infections and Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Renal Transplant Recipients

Asymptomatic bacteriuria and urinary tract infection are common complications after kidney transplantation. In this population, if urinary tract infection occurred in the first six months post procedure, it carries a grave impact on both graft and patient survival. Renal transplant recipients with urinary tract infection are often clinically asymptomatic as a consequence of immunosuppression. Urinary tract infection, however, may progress to acute pyelonephritis, bacteremia and the full blown picture of urosepsis. PubMed and Cochrane databases were searched. The purpose of this review is to discuss the screening and treatment of urinary tract infection and asymptomatic bacteriuria in renal transplant recipients and to evaluate the guidelines on the basis of a review of published evidence.
CArG-driven GADD45α activated by resveratrol inhibits lung cancer cells

We report anticarcinogenic effects of suicide gene therapy that relies on the use of resveratrol-responsive CArG elements from the Egr-1 promoter to induce GADD45α. In A549 lung cancer cells, endogenous GADD45α was not induced upon resveratrol treatment. Therefore, induction of exogenous GADD45α resulted in growth inhibition. Resveratrol transiently induced Egr-1 through ERK/JNK-ElK-1. Hence, we cloned natural or synthetic Egr-1 promoter upstream of GADD45α cDNA to create a suicide gene therapy vector. Since natural promoter may have antagonized effects, we tested synthetic promoter that contains either five, six or nine repeats of CArG elements essential in the Egr-1 promoter to drive the expression of GADD45α upon resveratrol treatment. Further analysis confirmed that both synthetic promoter and natural Egr-1 promoter were able to “turn on” the expression of GADD45α when combined with resveratrol, and subsequently led to suppression of cell proliferation and apoptosis.