Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feature subset selection for support vector machines using confident margin

The aim of this study is to develop a feature subset selection (FSS) method based on the margin of support vector machines (SVM). The problem of directly using the SVM margin is that it does not always provide clear relationship between its value and the performance of SVM, and the best obtained subset is not guaranteed to be the best possible one. In this paper, a new solution is describe by the introduction of the confident margin (CM) in the subset criterion, which permits to get near the best recognition rate by monitoring the peak of CM curve without directly calculating the recognition rate, in order to save computational time. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated in artificial and real-world data experiments.
The protective effect of longer duration of breastfeeding against pregnancy-associated triple negative breast cancer

Parity associated breast cancer (PABC) often diagnosed within the 2-5 years after a full term pregnancy. PABC is usually present with more advanced, poorly differentiated, high-grade cancers that show shorter time to progression and often of the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype. Data from around the world show that pregnancy-associated TNBC is independently associated with poor survival, underscoring the impact of the pregnant breast microenvironment on the biology and consequently the prognosis of these tumors. Although it is not yet clear, a link between pregnancy-associated TNBCs and lack or shorter duration of breastfeeding (not pregnancy per se) has been proposed. Here, we present epidemiological and experimental evidence for the protective effect of longer duration of lactation against pregnancy-associated TNBCs, and propose a putative molecular mechanism for this protective effect and its effect in eliminating any potential TNBC precursors from the breast by the end of the natural breast involution.
The diagnostic accuracy and utility of a B-type natriuretic peptide test in a community population of patients with suspected heart failure.

BACKGROUND National guidelines suggest the use of natriuretic peptides in suspected heart failure but there have been no studies comparing assays in primary care. AIM To test and compare the diagnostic accuracy and utility of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT proBNP) in diagnosing heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction in patients with suspected heart failure referred by GPs to one-stop diagnostic clinics. DESIGN OF STUDY Community cohort, prospective, diagnostic accuracy study. SETTING One-stop diagnostic clinics in Darlington Memorial and Bishop Auckland General Hospitals and general practices in South Durham. SUBJECTS Two hundred and ninety-seven consecutive patients with symptoms and signs suggestive of heart failure referred from general practice. METHOD The study measured sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV), and area under receiver operating characteristic curve for BNP (near patient assay) and NT proBNP (laboratory assay) in diagnosis of heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The NPV of both assays was determined as a potential method of reducing the number of referrals for echocardiography. RESULTS One hundred and fourteen of the 297 patients had left ventricular systolic dysfunction (38%). At the manufacturer's recommended cut-off of 100 pg/ml BNP gave a NPV of 82%. BNP performed better at a cut-off of 40 pg/ml with a NPV of 88%. At a cut-off of 150 pg/ml, NT proBNP gave a NPV of 92%. Using cut-offs of 40 pg/ml and 150 pg/ml for BNP and NT pro-BNP, respectively, could have prevented 24% and 25% of referrals to the clinic, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In this setting, NT pro-BNP performed marginally better than BNP, and would be easier to use practically in primary care. A satisfactory cut-off has been identified, which needs validating in general practice. NT pro-BNP could be used to select referrals to a heart failure clinic or for echocardiography. This process needs testing in real-life general practice.
Self-similarity analysis of the fields diffracted from zone plates with complex geometry

We extend the results obtained for different cases of the product superposition of periodic functions, and the determination of the scattered fields, for the case of circular symmetry. The characteristics of focalization for such cases are studied. We name Cantor-Fresnel zone plate the structures obtained with this method. Also, in this study can be included the focalization by periodic, Cantor, incomplete structures and randomization. The self-similarity in the field, along the propagation, is finally studied, comparing with the Cantor-Ronchi linear grating associated to the zone plate. Key-Words: numerical analysis, theoretical design, optics and image processing, zone plates, Cantor set, periodic functions
Protective Effects of Let-7a and Let-7b on Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Induced Endothelial Cell Injuries

Lectin-like low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1) is a receptor for oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) in endothelial cells. The activation of LOX-1 by oxLDL stimulates the apoptosis and dysfunction of endothelial cells, and contributes to atherogenesis. However, the regulatory factors for LOX-1 are still unclear. MicroRNAs are small, endogenous, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expressions at a post-transcriptional level. The let-7 family is the second microRNA been discovered, which plays important roles in cardiovascular diseases. Let-7a and let-7b were predicted to target LOX-1 3′-UTR and be highly expressed in endothelial cells. The present study demonstrated that LOX-1 was a target of let-7a and let-7b. They inhibited the expression of LOX-1 by targeting the positions of 310-316 in LOX-1 3′-UTR. Over-expression of let-7a and let-7b inhibited the oxLDL-induced endothelial cell apoptosis, NO deficiency, ROS over-production, LOX-1 upregulation and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) downregulation. Moreover, we found that oxLDL treatment induced p38MAPK phosphorylation, NF-κB nuclear translocation, IκB degradation and PKB dephosphorylation. Let-7a or let-7b over-expression attenuated these alterations significantly. The present study may provide a new insight into the protective properties of let-7a and let-7b in preventing the endothelial dysfunction associated with cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis.
Efficacy of Topical Liposomal Amphotericin B versus Intralesional Meglumine Antimoniate (Glucantime) in the Treatment of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Background. Topical treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis is an attractive alternative avoiding toxicities of parenteral therapy while being administered through a simple painless route. Recently liposomal formulations of amphotericin B have been increasingly used in the treatment of several types of leishmaniasis. Aims. The efficacy of a topical liposomal amphotericin B formulation was compared with intralesional glucantime in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Methods. From 110 patients, the randomly selected 50 received a topical liposomal formulation of amphotericin B into each lesion, 3–7 drops twice daily, according to the lesion's size and for 8 weeks. The other group of 60 patients received intralesional glucantime injection of 1-2 mL once a week for the same period. The clinical responses and side effects of both groups were evaluated weekly during the treatment course. Results. Per-protocol analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.317, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.610 (0.632–4.101)). Moreover, after intention-to-treat analysis, the same results were seen (P = 0.650, 95% CI = 0.1.91 (0.560–2.530)). Serious post treatment side effects were not observed in either group. Conclusions. Topical liposomal amphotericin B has the same efficacy as intralesional glucantime in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Multilingualism and multiliteracy in primary education in India: A discussion of some methodological challenges of an interdisciplinary research project

In the Indian context, concerns have been raised for many years about the learning outcomes of primary school children. The complexity of the issue makes it difficult to advise stakeholders on what needs to be done to improve learning in primary schools in India. As it has been shown that low socio-economic status is one of the key factors that negatively affect learning outcomes, the focus of the Multilila project (‘Multilingualism and multiliteracy: Raising learning outcomes in challenging contexts in primary schools across India’) is on educational achievement among children of low socio-economic status. In following the development of language, literacy, maths and cognitive abilities of primary school children over two years we hope to throw new light on why multilingual children in India do not always experience the cognitive advantages associated with multilingualism in other contexts. This paper focuses on some of the methodological challenges faced by this project. After explaining the rationale for the study, we sketch the contribution this project can make to the discussion about cognitive advantages of bilingualism. We then focus on the Indian context before presenting the methodology of the project (design, participants, instruments and procedure). Finally, we summarize the key challenges for the project and possible solutions to those challenges, and present an outlook towards the future.
Disentangling the effects of alternation rate and maximum run length on judgments of randomness

Binary sequences are characterized by various features. Two of these characteristics—alternation rate and run length—have repeatedly been shown to influence judgments of randomness. The two characteristics, however, have usually been investigated separately, without controlling for the other feature. Because the two features are correlated but not identical, it seems critical to analyze their unique impact, as well as their interaction, so as to understand more clearly what influences judgments of randomness. To this end, two experiments on the perception of binary sequences orthogonally manipulated alternation rate and maximum run length (i.e., length of the longest run within the sequence). Results show that alternation rate consistently exerts a unique effect on judgments of randomness, but that the effect of alternation rate is contingent on the length of the longest run within the sequence. The effect of maximum run length was found to be small and less consistent. Together, these findings extend prior randomness research by integrating literature from the realms of perception, categorization, and prediction, as well as by showing the unique and joint effects of alternation rate and maximum run length on judgments of randomness.
Caprine pancreatic islet xenotransplantation into diabetic immunosuppressed BALB/c mice

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a devastating disease for which there is currently no cure, but only lifetime management. Islet xenotransplantation is a promising technique for the restoration of blood glucose control in patients with diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential use of caprine (goat) islet cells as xenogeneic grafts in the treatment for diabetes in a mouse model.
Cocaine Potentiates Astrocyte Toxicity Mediated by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1) Protein gp120

It is becoming widely accepted that psychoactive drugs, often abused by HIV-I infected individuals, can significantly alter the progression of neuropathological changes observed in HIV-associated neurodegenerative diseases (HAND). The underlying mechanisms mediating these effects however, remain poorly understood. In the current study, we explored whether the psychostimulant drug cocaine could exacerbate toxicity mediated by gp120 in rat primary astrocytes. Exposure to both cocaine and gp120 resulted in increased cell toxicity compared to cells treated with either factor alone. The combinatorial toxicity of cocaine and gp120 was accompanied by an increase in caspase-3 activation. In addition, increased apoptosis of astrocytes in the presence of both the agents was associated with a concomitant increase in the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Signaling pathways including c-jun N-teminal kinase (JNK), p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), and nuclear factor (NF-κB) were identified to be major players in cocaine and gp120-mediated apoptosis of astrocytes. Our results demonstrated that cocaine-mediated potentiation of gp120 toxicity involved regulation of oxidative stress, mitochondrial membrane potential and MAPK signaling pathways.
More Efficient Topic Modelling Through a Noun Only Approach

This study compared three topic models trained on three versions of a news corpus. The ﬁrst model was generated from the raw news corpus, the second was generated from the lemmatised version of the news corpus, and the third model was generated from the lemmatised news corpus reduced to nouns only. We found that the removing all words except nouns improved the topics’ semantic coherence. Using the measures developed by Lau et al (2014), the average observed topic coherence improved 6% and the average word intrusion detection improved 8% for the noun only corpus, compared to modelling the raw corpus. Similar improvements on these measures were obtained by simply lemmatising the news corpus, however, the model training times are faster when reducing the articles to the nouns only.
Prevalence and risk factors of periodontitis among adults with or without diabetes mellitus

Background/Aims: This study examined prevalence and risk factors of periodontitis in representative samples of Korean adults, with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Data from the 2012 Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey were analyzed. A total of 4,477 adults (≥ 30 years old) were selected from 8,057 individuals who completed a nutrition survey, a self-reported general health behavior questionnaire, an oral examination, an oral hygiene behaviors survey, and laboratory tests. DM was defined as a fasting plasma glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL, or self-reported diagnosed diabetes, or current use of oral hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin. The community periodontal index was used to assess periodontitis status and comparisons between the periodontitis and the non-periodontitis group, were performed, according to the presence of DM. Risk factors for periodontitis in adults with DM and without DM were evaluated by multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The prevalence of periodontitis was significantly higher in adults with DM (43.7%) than in those without DM (25%, p < 0.001). In adults without DM, risk factors for periodontitis were older age, male, urban habitation, waist circumference, smoking, oral pain, and less frequent tooth brushing. Significant risk factors for periodontitis in adults with DM were the smoking, oral pain, and not-using an oral hygiene product. Conclusions: Adults with DM have an increased risk of periodontitis than those without DM. Current smoking and oral pain increase this risk. Using an oral hygiene product can reduce risk of periodontal disease in adults with DM.
PEPA models of Epidemiology

Increasingly, theoretical computer science techniques are being used to tackle biological problems. The question arises: which technique is best suited to the current problem? A related question is: which language features are required for describing biological problems? Our study specifically addresses the use of process algebra applied to epidemiology. Having previously developed models of disease [1, 2] using WSCCS [3], we begin our investigations by considering the use of PEPA [4] for epidemiology. PEPA and WSCCS share the principle that systems are described in terms of actions and the processes that carry out those actions. Each has a relatively simple set of operations, including ordering of actions and choice between actions. Processes can be combined using parallelism, facilitating interaction. WSCCS is a synchronous calculus, meaning that actions occur in every process at the same moment, in lockstep. The implication of this for modelling is that all processes must have some action available to them at each step, even if it is only the “tick” action, indicating a process which is idling. Time proceeds discretely, and there is no notion of the relation between each time step and real time. Choice between processes in WSCCS is influenced by weighted actions. For our epidemiological models it is convenient to represent the weights of choices as probabilities between 0 and 1. Communication between processes is essentially two-way, with a synchronisation occurring between an action and its co-action. PEPA was chosen as a continuous time contrast to WSCCS. Actions occur at some rate, indicating length of time to perform the action, and yielding probabilistic choice between actions. Synchronisation in PEPA can be multi-way, although we have not yet exploited this in the models in this study. Comparisons are made with WSCCS on the process algebra, and via system dynamics expressed using differential equations. This allows further comparison with traditional models of disease [5]. Long term, other process algebras such as stochastic π-calculus [6] should be considered, as should other approaches to modelling, such as cellular automata and logic.
Principal Preferences and the Unequal Distribution of Principals across Schools. Working Paper 36.

iv Introduction 1 Background 2 Motivation 3 Data 5 Administrative Data 5 Survey Data 7 Methods 9 Distribution of Principals 9 What Drives the Unequal Distribution of Principals Across Schools? 11 Do Principals' Preferences Contribute to Sorting? Survey Responses 13 Results 14 Distribution of Principals 14 What Drives the Unequal Distribution of Principals Across Schools? 15 Principal Vacancies 21 Transfer Patterns 23 Do Principals' Preferences Contribute to Sorting? Survey Responses 23 Separating Preferences for Student Demographics from Working Conditions 26
Democracy, Consultation, and the Paneling of Disputes under GATT

Studies of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) stress the role of formal panels in adjudicating trade conflicts. Yet most cases are settled beforehand in informal consultations. This article tests two sets of hypotheses about the decision to escalate GATT cases, one concerning the significance of the right to a panel, the other concerning the effects of political regime type. Results show that the right to a panel did not inspire more early settlement, more escalation, or more resolution through concessions at the panel stage; however, highly democratic dyads are more likely to achieve concession, but only at the consultation stage. This suggests that a strategy of tying hands, rather than adherence to legal (and other) norms of conflict resolution, is likely to shed light on the way democracies use formal third-party adjudication at GATT.
Investigating the Effects of Agricultural Education on Student Achievement among Students in Tift County High School: A Quantitative Study

ii Acknowledgements . iii Table of Content . iv List of Tables . v List of Abbreviations . ix Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Chapter 2: Literary Review . 12 Chapter 3: Methods . 25 Chapter 4: Findings . 29 Chapter 5: Conclusion. 81 References . 88 Appendix A Instrument. 99 Appendix B IRB Approval Letter . 102
Model predictive pulse pattern control

Industrial applications of medium-voltage drives impose increasingly stringent performance requirements, particularly with regards to harmonic distortions of the phase currents of the controlled electrical machine. An established method to achieve very low current distortions during steady-state operation is to employ offline calculated optimized pulse patterns (OPP). Achieving high dynamic performance, however, proves to be very difficult in a system operated by OPPs. In this paper, we propose a method that combines the optimal steady-state performance of OPPs with the very fast dynamics of trajectory tracking control. A constrained optimal control problem with a receding horizon policy, i.e. model predictive control (MPC), is formulated and solved. Results show that the combination of MPC with OPPs satisfies both the strict steady-state as well as the dynamic performance requirements imposed by the most demanding industrial applications. This is achieved without resorting to complicated structures such as observers of the state variable fundamental components of the electrical machine, which are required by state-of-the-art methods. A further advantage of the MPC method is the use of a receding horizon policy to provide feedback and a high degree of robustness.
Analytical optimization of a DInSAR and GPS dataset for derivation of three-dimensional surface motion

A revised method for derivation of three-dimensional surface motions maps from sparse global positioning system (GPS) measurements and two differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) interferograms based on a random field theory and Gibbs-Markov random fields equivalency within Bayesian statistical framework is proposed. It is shown that the Gibbs energy function can be optimized analytically in the absence of a neighboring relationship between sites of a regular lattice. Because the problem is well posed, its solution is unique and stable, and additional regularization in the form of smoothness is not required. The proposed algorithm is simple in realization, does not require extensive computer power, and is very quick in execution. The results of inverse computer modeling are presented and show a drastic improvement of accuracy when both GPS and DInSAR data are used.
Performance comparison between IntServ-based and DiffServ-based networks

It is generally believed that IntServ architecture is more suitable for strict QoS guarantees than DiffServ architecture because the former has per-flow-base traffic handling mechanisms but the latter does not. This general belief, however, has not been fully verified yet. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically compare IntServ and DiffServ architectures in terms of x-percentile end-to-end queueing delay as well as the maximum end-to-end queueing delay. We find that, in some network topology, DiffServ architecture makes the maximum queueing delay smaller than IntServ architecture does. We also find that in most cases x-percentile queueing delay in DiffServ-based networks is much smaller than that in IntServ-based networks