Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Personalized Travel Package With Multi-Point-of-Interest Recommendation Based on Crowdsourced User Footprints

Location-based social networks (LBSNs) provide people with an interface to share their locations and write reviews about interesting places of attraction. The shared locations form the crowdsourced digital footprints, in which each user has many connections to many locations, indicating user preference to locations. In this paper, we propose an approach for personalized travel package recommendation to help users make travel plans. The approach utilizes data collected from LBSNs to model users and locations, and it determines users' preferred destinations using collaborative filtering approaches. Recommendations are generated by jointly considering user preference and spatiotemporal constraints. A heuristic search-based travel route planning algorithm was designed to generate travel packages. We developed a prototype system, which obtains users' travel demands from mobile client and generates travel packages containing multiple points of interest and their visiting sequence. Experimental results suggest that the proposed approach shows promise with respect to improving recommendation accuracy and diversity.
Modulation of surface electrical properties of epoxy resin insulator by changing fluorination temperature and time

In order to systematically investigate the modulating role of fluorination temperature and time on surface electrical properties of the epoxy resin insulator, epoxy resin sheets were surface fluorinated in a laboratory vessel using a F2/N2 mixture with 12.5% F2 by volume at 0.1 MPa and different temperatures of 25-95 °C for different times of 5-120 min. Conductivity measurements have shown that the intrinsic surface conductivity of the epoxy resin insulator could be modulated from an even lower value to a nearly four orders of magnitude higher value than the value prior to fluorination by changing the fluorination temperature and time. Surface conductivity increased with increasing fluorination temperature at the same fluorination time, while decreased to some extent with increasing fluorination time at a given fluorination temperature. Surface potential decay measurements showed consistent results with the surface conductivity measurements. ATR-IR analyses revealed substantial changes in surface chemical composition and structure, depending on the fluorination temperature and time. SEM images clearly showed an increase of the fluorinated layer thickness with increasing fluorination temperature and time. Surface cracks appeared only at elevated fluorination temperatures and increased with fluorination temperature, while the surface became compact with the duration of the fluorination. These results, compared with the previous results on an epoxy resin insulator made of DGEBA epoxy resin with a lower epoxy value, also indicated a significant influence of the epoxy resin insulator itself or the epoxy resin raw material on surface electrical properties and surface physicochemical characteristics after fluorination.
The Emergence of Resistance to the Benzimidazole Anthlemintics in Parasitic Nematodes of Livestock Is Characterised by Multiple Independent Hard and Soft Selective Sweeps

Anthelmintic resistance is a major problem for the control of parasitic nematodes of livestock and of growing concern for human parasite control. However, there is little understanding of how resistance arises and spreads or of the “genetic signature” of selection for this group of important pathogens. We have investigated these questions in the system for which anthelmintic resistance is most advanced; benzimidazole resistance in the sheep parasites Haemonchus contortus and Teladorsagia circumcincta. Population genetic analysis with neutral microsatellite markers reveals that T. circumcincta has higher genetic diversity but lower genetic differentiation between farms than H. contortus in the UK. We propose that this is due to epidemiological differences between the two parasites resulting in greater seasonal bottlenecking of H. contortus. There is a remarkably high level of resistance haplotype diversity in both parasites compared with drug resistance studies in other eukaryotic systems. Our analysis suggests a minimum of four independent origins of resistance mutations on just seven farms for H. contortus, and even more for T. circumincta. Both hard and soft selective sweeps have occurred with striking differences between individual farms. The sweeps are generally softer for T. circumcincta than H. contortus, consistent with its higher level of genetic diversity and consequent greater availability of new mutations. We propose a model in which multiple independent resistance mutations recurrently arise and spread by migration to explain the widespread occurrence of resistance in these parasites. Finally, in spite of the complex haplotypic diversity, we show that selection can be detected at the target locus using simple measures of genetic diversity and departures from neutrality. This work has important implications for the application of genome-wide approaches to identify new anthelmintic resistance loci and the likelihood of anthelmintic resistance emerging as selection pressure is increased in human soil-transmitted nematodes by community wide treatment programs.
Aerobic capacity in adults with tetralogy of Fallot

Background: We investigated the aerobic capacity of 168 adult patients who had undergone successful surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot at the University of Toronto Congenital Cardiac Centre for Adults. Methods: We compared values of peak uptake of oxygen, peak heart rate, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume in 1 second to predicted values for their age groups. Results: The patients who had undergone surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot demonstrated an overall diminished peak uptake of oxygen, at 51%, and peak heart rate, at 79%, compared to predicted values. No difference in peak aerobic capacity was found according to the initial surgical strategy of palliation or repair. Conclusions: Adult patients who have undergone surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot have lower peak uptake of oxygen, and peak heart rate, compared to predicted values. The reduction in the peak heart rate may affect their exercise capacity. The peak uptake of oxygen also decreased with increasing age at the time of testing, and the age at surgical repair.
Mobile Re-Finding of Web Information Using a Voice Interface

Mobile access to information is a considerable problem for many users, especially to information found on the Web. In this paper, we explore how a voice-controlled service, accessible by telephone, could support mobile users' needs for refinding specific information previously found on the Web. We outline challenges in creating such a service and describe architectural and user interfaces issues discovered in an exploratory prototype we built called WebContext. We also present the results of a study, motivated by our experience with WebContext, to explore what people remember about information that they are trying to refind and how they express information refinding requests in a collaborative conversation. As part of the study, we examine how end-usercreated Web page annotations can be used to help support mobile information re-finding. We observed the use of URLs, page titles, and descriptions of page contents to help identify waypoints in the search process. Furthermore, we observed that the annotations were utilized extensively, indicating that explicitly added context by the user can play an important role in re-finding.
Adverse effects of transdermal opiates treating moderate-severe cancer pain in comparison to long-acting morphine: a meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND To assess the adverse effects of transdermal opiates treating moderate-severe cancer pain in comparison with slow release oral morphine. METHODS A systematic review of the literature in the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from 1966 to June 2007 was independently performed by two authors. All phase 3 randomized trials comparing transdermal opiates and slow-release oral morphine in the treatment of moderate-severe cancer pain were considered eligible and included in the analysis. The primary end point was the overall adverse effects odds ratio (OR); secondary end points were the overall gastrointestinal adverse effects, constipation, nausea, somnolence, patients' preference, and trial withdrawal. Heterogeneity was analyzed using the Mantel-Haenszel test, and outcome analysis was performed using a random effect model; an alpha error lower than 5% was assumed as statistically significant. RESULTS Four trials met the selection criteria. The safety of transdermal opiates (fentanyl and buprenorphine) and slow-release oral morphine was analyzed in 425 patients. A significant difference in favor of transdermal opiates was observed for constipation (OR=0.38, p<0.001), and patients' preference (OR=0.43, p=0.014, in the three trials investigating transdermal fentanyl). No significant differences were observed for overall adverse effects, overall gastrointestinal adverse effects, overall neurologic adverse effects, nausea, somnolence, hypoventilation, trial withdrawal, and changes in opiate treatments. CONCLUSION Although no difference in the overall adverse effect profile exists between transdermal opiates and slow release oral morphine, the difference in some adverse effects (mainly constipation) seems to favor transdermal opiates in the preference of patients with moderate-severe cancer pain.
Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery Hypointensity of the Pulvinar Nucleus of Patients with Alzheimer Disease: Its Possible Association with Iron Accumulation as Evidenced by the T2* Map

Objective We hypothesized that prominent pulvinar hypointensity in brain MRI represents the disease process due to iron accumulation in Alzheimer disease (AD). We aimed to determine whether or not the pulvinar signal intensity (SI) on the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences at 3.0T MRI differs between AD patients and normal subjects, and also whether the pulvinar SI is correlated with the T2* map, an imaging marker for tissue iron, and a cognitive scale. Materials and Methods Twenty one consecutive patients with AD and 21 age-matched control subjects were prospectively included in this study. The pulvinar SI was assessed on the FLAIR image. We measured the relative SI ratio of the pulvinar to the corpus callosum. The T2* values were calculated from the T2* relaxometry map. The differences between the two groups were analyzed, by using a Student t test. The correlation between the measurements was assessed by the Pearson's correlation test. Results As compared to the normal white matter, the FLAIR signal intensity of the pulvinar nucleus was significantly more hypointense in the AD patients than in the control subjects (p < 0.01). The pulvinar T2* was shorter in the AD patients than in the control subjects (51.5 ± 4.95 ms vs. 56.5 ± 5.49 ms, respectively, p = 0.003). The pulvinar SI ratio was strongly correlated with the pulvinar T2* (r = 0.745, p < 0.001). When controlling for age, only the pulvinar-to-CC SI ratio was positively correlated with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score (r = 0.303, p < 0.050). Conversely, the pulvinar T2* was not correlated with the MMSE score (r = 0.277, p = 0.080). Conclusion The FLAIR hypointensity of the pulvinar nucleus represents an abnormal iron accumulation in AD and may be used as an adjunctive finding for evaluating AD.
Efficient symmetry breaking for Boolean satisfiability

Identifying and breaking the symmetries of conjunctive normal form (CNF) formulae has been shown to lead to significant reductions in search times. Symmetries in the search space are broken by adding appropriate symmetry-breaking predicates (SBPs) to an SAT instance in CNF. The SBPs prune the search space by acting as a filter that confines the search to nonsymmetric regions of the space without affecting the satisfiability of the CNF formula. For symmetry breaking to be effective in practice, the computational overhead of generating and manipulating SBPs must be significantly less than the runtime savings they yield due to search space pruning. In this paper, we describe a more systematic and efficient construction of SBPs. In particular, we use the cycle structure of symmetry generators, which typically involve very few variables, to drastically reduce the size of SBPs. Furthermore, our new SBP construction grows linearly with the number of relevant variables as opposed to the previous quadratic constructions. Our empirical data suggest that these improvements reduce search runtimes by one to two orders of magnitude on a wide variety of benchmarks with symmetries.
Dampak perubahan iklim pada produksi apel di Batu Malang Impacts of climate change on production of apple in Batu Malang

Perubahan iklim telah menjadi isu penting yang mengakibatkan kenaikan suhu global, perubahan pola curah hujan, kenaikan muka air laut, dan peningkatan frekwensi dan intensitas cuaca ekstrim. Perubahan iklim mempunyai pengaruh signifikan pada bidang pertanian, karena pertanian mempunyai ketergantungan yang kuat terhadap unsur iklim. Terkait dengan hal itu telah dilakukan penelitian dampak perubahan iklim terhadap produksi tanaman apel di wilayah Batu Malang Jawa Timur. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui dampak perubahan unsur iklim yaitu temperatur dan curah hujan terhadap produksi apel dan mengidentifikasi usaha adaptasi yang harus dilakukan oleh para petani. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa wilayah Batu Malang telah mengalami perubahan iklim. Dampak perubahan iklim tersebut terhadap penurunan produksi apel tidak signifikan. Penurunan produksi apel di Batu Malang lebih disebabkan oleh faktor non iklim seperti: tanaman apel sudah berumur tua; budidaya apel kurang intensif; konversi lahan tanaman apel; dan harga apel yang semakin turun. Adaptasi terpenting yang harus dilakukan oleh petani adalah rehabilitasi tanaman apel; menanam bibit apel yang unggul yang mampu beradaptasi dengan perubahan iklim; dan mengintensifkan teknik budidaya apel. Kata k unci : Apel ∙ Dampak ∙ Perubahan iklim
Effects of in vitro copper sulphate supplementation on the ejaculated sperm characteristics in water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

This study was carried out to investigate effects of copper sulphate (CuSO4) additive to semen extenders on sperm parameters: progressive motility, viability, membrane integrity and DNA damage, after semen dilution and cryopreservation. Semen samples of 5 buffalo bulls of 3-5 years old were collected at 5 different occasions during the autumn 2011. A total number of 25 samples were used in each examination. Sperm progressive motility and viability were measured at 0 (T0), 60 (T1) and 120 (T2) min after diluting semen in tris-citric acid extender containing 0 (control), 0.004, 0.008, 0.016, 0.032 and 0.064 mg L-1 CuSO4. Later, semen was diluted in a tris-citric acid-egg yolk-glycerol extender containing the same amounts of CuSO4, cooled to 4 ˚C and kept refrigerated for 4 hr to equilibrate, sperm progressive motility, viability, membrane integrity and DNA damage were estimated. Then, semen was packed in 0.5 mL French straws and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Later, the frozen semen was thawed in 37 ˚C water bath for 30 sec, and the same parameters as well as total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the frozen-thawed semen were estimated. The results showed that copper additive at the rate of 0.032 mg L-1 gives a better protection of sperms through the process of dilution, equilibration and freeze-thawing than that in control and other Cu concentrations, while 0.064 mg L-1 CuSO4 had deleterious effect on the sperm.
Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein A and Its Endogenous Inhibitor, the Proform of Eosinophil Major Basic Protein (proMBP), Are Related to Complex Stenosis Morphology in Patients With Stable Angina Pectoris

Background—The metalloproteinase pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) has been implicated in coronary plaque disruption. Its endogenous inhibitor, the proform of eosinophil major basic protein (proMBP), may also play a role in this process. Atheromatous plaque disruption often presents as complex angiographic lesions. We sought to assess whether PAPP-A, proMBP, and PAPP-A/ProMBP ratio are markers of angiographic plaque complexity in patients with chronic stable angina. Methods and Results—We studied 396 stable angina patients (age 63±10 years, 230 men) of whom 289 had angiographically documented coronary artery disease (≥75% stenosis). All coronary stenoses ≥30% diameter reduction (n =531 in 322 patients) were assessed and classified as complex (n =228) or smooth (n =303) by previously validated criteria. PAPP-A, proMBP, and C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) serum levels were measured by ELISA. Patients with complex coronary stenoses had a significantly (P <0.001) higher PAPP-A/proMBP ratio (3.1±1.2 versus 2.7±0.8×10−3) and PAPP-A levels (5.9±1.6 versus 5.1±1.4 mIU/L) than those without. On univariate analysis, male gender (P <0.001), age (P <0.001), previous history of myocardial infarction (P <0.013), reduced ejection fraction (P <0.001), severe coronary artery disease (P <0.001), aspirin treatment (P <0.001), PAPP-A levels (P <0.001), and PAPP-A/proMBP ratio (P <0.001) were correlated with the number of complex stenoses. Multiple regression analysis showed that male gender, age, severe coronary artery disease, and PAPP-A/proMBP ratio were independent predictors of the number of angiographically complex stenoses. Conclusions—In patients with stable angina, PAPP-A and PAPP-A/proMBP ratio are associated with angiographic plaque complexity.
Binding of epidermal growth factor‐dextran conjugates to cultured glioma cells

Some gliomas, melanomas and squamous carcinomas have large numbers of EGF receptors which could, in these cases, be used for targeting with toxic agents. We investigated whether EGF could be conjugated to dextran, which is a suitable carrier for toxic agents, without losing its ability to bind to the receptor. Dextran of 20 kDa molecular weight was activated with l‐cyano‐4‐dimethylamino pyridinium tetrafluoroborate (CDAP) yielding highly active pyridinium‐isourea derivatives. EGF was coupled to the activated dextran through the amino terminus and glycine was added to block residual activity. The EGF‐dextran conjugate was, after purification on Sephadex G25 and Sephacryl 200 columns, tested for its receptor binding properties on human malignant glioma, U343MgaC12:6, cells. The conjugate inhibited binding of l25I‐EGF in a competitive assay, showing that the binding was receptor‐specific. Dextran conjugated with glycine, without EGF, had no inhibitory effect. The conjugate was radio‐labelled either on the EGF part with 125I or on the dextran part with 3H‐glycine, and the internalization patterns were compared to the internalization of 125I‐EGF. The radioactivity of the conjugates remained cell‐associated for more than 20 hr, regardless of whether the radioactivity was on the EGF or on the dextran part, while the radioactivity of unconjugated EGF rapidly disappeared from the cells. Most of the cell‐associated radioactivity was, at all analysed time intervals, located intracellularly. Thus, it seems promising to use dextran, conjugated with EGF, as a carrier of, for example, toxic radioactive nuclides.
Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for subthreshold depression in people over 50 years old: a randomized controlled clinical trial

ABSTRACT Background Subthreshold depression is a highly prevalent condition and a risk factor for developing a major depressive episode. Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy may be a promising approach for the treatment of subthreshold depression. The current study had two aims: (1) to determine whether an internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy intervention and a group cognitive behaviour therapy intervention are more effective than a waiting-list control group; and (2) to determine whether the effect of the internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy differs from the group cognitive behaviour therapy intervention. Method A total of 191 women and 110 men with subthreshold depression were randomized into internet-based treatment, group cognitive behaviour therapy (Lewinsohn's Coping With Depression course), or a waiting-list control condition. The main outcome measure was treatment response after 10 weeks, defined as the difference in pre- and post-treatment scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Missing data, a major limitation of this study, were imputed using the Multiple Imputation (MI) procedure Data Augmentation. Results In the waiting-list control group, we found a pre- to post-improvement effect size of 0·45, which was 0·65 in the group cognitive behaviour therapy condition and 1·00 within the internet-based treatment condition. Helmert contrasts showed a significant difference between the waiting-list condition and the two treatment conditions (p=0·04) and no significant difference between both treatment conditions (p=0·62). Conclusions An internet-based intervention may be at least as effective as a commonly used group cognitive behaviour therapy intervention for subthreshold depression in people over 50 years of age.
Slowing of sodium channel opening kinetics in squid axon by extracellular zinc

The interaction of Zn ion on Na channels was studied in squid giant axons. At a concentration of 30 mM Zn2+ slows opening kinetics of Na channels with almost no alteration of closing kinetics. The effects of Zn2+ can be expressed as a "shift" of the gating parameters along the voltage axis, i.e., the amount of additional depolarization required to overcome the Zn2+ effect. In these terms the mean shifts caused by 30 mM Zn2+ were +29.5 mV for Na channel opening (on) kinetics (t1/2 on), +2 mV for closing (off) kinetics (tau off), and +8.4 mV for the gNa-V curve. Zn2+ does not change the shape of the instantaneous I-V curve for inward current, but reduces it in amplitude by a factor of or approximately 0.67. Outward current is unaffected. Effects of Zn2+ on gating current (measured in the absence of TTX) closely parallel its actions on gNa. On gating current kinetics are shifted by +27.5 mV, off kinetics by +6 mV, and the Q-V distribution by +6.5 mV. Kinetic modeling shows that Zn2+ slows the forward rate constants in activation without affecting backward rate constants. More than one of the several steps in activation must be affected. The results are not compatible with the usual simple theory of uniform fixed surface charge. They suggest instead that Zn2+ is attracted by a negatively charged element of the gating apparatus that is present at the outer membrane surface at rest, and migrates inward on activation.
Physical modeling for sound synthesis with particle-interaction Networks: Study of the percussion phenomena and conception of a generic module for percussion

We developed a first elementary model of percussion usingthe general formalism of particle-interaction physicalmodeling. We highlighted four perceptive/productivecategories. We also showed that this model allows anincursion in the field of granular synthesis, and allows anoriginal approach of vocal onomatopoeias. Lastly, wedeveloped a very general model of strike by adding to thisfirst model two new properties (non-linear elasticity inpower of X, and viscosity in series). With few controlparameters, our model takes into account dissipation andhysteresis and enables to reproduce the majority of thepercussion phenomena. These results extend the impact ofsound particle-interaction physical models.