Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combinatorial structures in nonlinear programming

Non-smoothness and non-convexity in optimization problems often arise because a combinatorial structure is imposed on smooth or convex data. The combinatorial aspect can be explicit, e.g. through the use of ”max”, ”min”, or ”if” statements in a model, or implicit as in the case of bilevel optimization where the combinatorial structure arises from the possible choices of active constraints in the lower level problem. In analyzing such problems, it is desirable to decouple the combinatorial from the nonlinear aspect and deal with them separately. This paper suggests a problem formulation which explicitly decouples the two aspects. We show that such combinatorial nonlinear programs, despite their inherent non-convexity, allow for a convex first order local optimality condition which is generic and tight. The stationarity condition can be phrased in terms of Lagrange multipliers which allows an extension of the popular sequential quadratic programming (SQP) approach to solve these problems. We show that the favorable local convergence properties of SQP are retained in this setting. The computational effectiveness of the method depends on our ability to solve the subproblems efficiently which, in turn, depends on the representation of the governing combinatorial structure. We illustrate the potential of the approach by applying it to optimization problems with max-min constraints which arise, for example, in robust optimization.
Association of MMP1-1607 1G/2G and TIMP1 372 T/C gene polymorphisms with risk of primary open angle glaucoma in a Polish population

Summary Background Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is considered to be a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors (TIMPs) have been extensively studied as POAG risk factors. Recently, several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for MMPs and TIMPs encoding genes have been reported in POAG patients. The aim of this study was to investigate association of the −1607 1G/2G MMP1 and 372 T/C TIMP1 gene polymorphisms with risk of POAG in a Polish population. Material/Methods In the present case-control study we examined a group of 449 unrelated Caucasian subjects consisting of 196 POAG patients (66 males and 130 females; mean age 70±14) and 253 controls (72 males and 181 females; mean age 67±16). The MMP1-1607 1G/2G and TIMP1 372 T/C gene polymorphisms were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each genotype and allele were calculated. Results We found a statistically significant increase of the 2G/2G genotype (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.05–2.86; p=0.019) as well as the 2G allele frequency (OR 1.34; 95% CI 1.03–1.75; p=0.017) of MMP1 in POAG patients in comparison to healthy controls. There were no differences in the genotype and allele distributions and odds ratios of the TIMP1 polymorphism between patients and controls group. We also did not find any association of TIMP1 with MMP1 gene-gene interaction and risk of POAG occurrence. Conclusions In conclusion, we suggest that the −1607 1G/2G polymorphism of MMP1 gene may be considered as an important risk factor associated with primary open angle glaucoma in a Polish population. However, further in vivo study is needed to evaluate biological importance of MMPs polymorphisms as a risk factor of POAG.
Fees-for-services, cost recovery, and equity in a district of Burkina Faso operating the Bamako Initiative.

OBJECTIVE To gauge the effects of operating the Bamako Initiative in Kongoussi district, Burkina Faso. METHODS Qualitative and quasi-experimental quantitative methodologies were used. FINDINGS Following the introduction of fees-for-services in July 1997, the number of consultations for curative care fell over a period of three years by an average of 15.4% at "case" health centres but increased by 30.5% at "control" health centres. Moreover, although the operational results for essential drugs depots were not known, expenditure increased on average 2.7 times more than income and did not keep pace with the decline in the utilization of services. Persons in charge of the management committees had difficulties in releasing funds to ensure access to care for the poor. CONCLUSION The introduction of fees-for-services had an adverse effect on service utilization. The study district is in a position to bear the financial cost of taking care of the poor and the community is able to identify such people. Incentives must be introduced by the state and be swiftly applied so that the communities agree to a more equitable system and thereby allow access to care for those excluded from services because they are unable to pay.
Enhanced contextual fear memory in central serotonin-deficient mice

Central serotonin (5-HT) dysregulation contributes to the susceptibility for mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, and learning and memory deficits. We report that the formation of hippocampus-dependent spatial memory is compromised, but the acquisition and retrieval of contextual fear memory are enhanced, in central 5-HT-deficient mice. Genetic deletion of serotonin in the brain was achieved by inactivating Lmx1b selectively in the raphe nuclei of the brainstem, resulting in a near-complete loss of 5-HT throughout the brain. These 5-HT-deficient mice exhibited no gross abnormality in brain structures and had normal locomotor activity. Spatial learning in the Morris water maze was unaffected, but the retrieval of spatial memory was impaired. In contrast, contextual fear learning and memory induced by foot-shock conditioning was markedly enhanced, but this enhancement could be prevented by intracerebroventricular administration of 5-HT. Foot shock impaired long-term potentiation and facilitated long-term depression in hippocampal slices in WT mice but had no effect in 5-HT-deficient mice. Furthermore, bath application of 5-HT in 5-HT-deficient mice restored foot shock-induced alterations of hippocampal synaptic plasticity. Thus, central 5-HT regulates hippocampus-dependent contextual fear memory, and 5-HT modulation of hippocampal synaptic plasticity may be the underlying mechanism. The enhanced fear memory in 5-HT-deficient mice supports the notion that 5-HT deficiency confers susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder in humans.
Rapid Environmental Change over the Past Decade Revealed by Isotopic Analysis of the California Mussel in the Northeast Pacific

The anthropogenic input of fossil fuel carbon into the atmosphere results in increased carbon dioxide (CO2) into the oceans, a process that lowers seawater pH, decreases alkalinity and can inhibit the production of shell material. Corrosive water has recently been documented in the northeast Pacific, along with a rapid decline in seawater pH over the past decade. A lack of instrumentation prior to the 1990s means that we have no indication whether these carbon cycle changes have precedence or are a response to recent anthropogenic CO2 inputs. We analyzed stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ13C, δ18O) of decade-old California mussel shells (Mytilus californianus) in the context of an instrumental seawater record of the same length. We further compared modern shells to shells from 1000 to 1340 years BP and from the 1960s to the present and show declines in the δ13C of modern shells that have no historical precedent. Our finding of decline in another shelled mollusk (limpet) and our extensive environmental data show that these δ13C declines are unexplained by changes to the coastal food web, upwelling regime, or local circulation. Our observed decline in shell δ13C parallels other signs of rapid changes to the nearshore carbon cycle in the Pacific, including a decline in pH that is an order of magnitude greater than predicted by an equilibrium response to rising atmospheric CO2, the presence of low pH water throughout the region, and a record of a similarly steep decline in δ13C in algae in the Gulf of Alaska. These unprecedented changes and the lack of a clear causal variable underscores the need for better quantifying carbon dynamics in nearshore environments.
An Overview of Programs for Promoting the Rural Nonfarm Economy

Over the past five decades, the world has unleashed enormous energy and creativity into improving the lot of the rural poor. Outside India and China, efforts have often drawn inspiration from these two leaders, initially from India and more recently from China. Following the early India model, much of this effort has targeted small rural nonfarm enterprises, on which the landless poor of the developing world often depend. Featuring a cast of literally thousands, these efforts have involved a wide array of professionals—including civil servants, agronomists, economists, geographers, regional planners, engineers, managers, bankers, businessmen, farmers, and craftsmen—experimenting with virtually every imaginable combination of technical, financial, and policy support for rural nonfarm enterprises. Indeed, because opportunities and constraints vary widely across countries and settings, this considerable programming diversity is highly appropriate. Would-be promoters of the rural nonfarm economy (RNFE) must navigate a highly variegated landscape populated by a spectrum of nonfarm activities ranging from painfully poor, labor-intensive “survivalist” activities to highly sophisticated, large-scale agribusinesses. Agronomic potential, policy environments, human endowments, and even weather all vary across locations—and frequently over time—generating rapid turnover and mutation of firms (Chapter 5). The resulting heterogeneity of enterprise sizes, activities, and economic environments leads to widely varying prospects for growth, further complicating the task of those who wish to stimulate rural nonfarm activity. Not surprisingly, the diversity of situations and opportunities leads to a potentially bewildering array of programming options and experiences. This chapter attempts to summarize and categorize the principal approaches adopted to date in developing countries outside of India and China. Because of their scale and contrasting experiences, these two goliaths are treated separately, in Chapter 13. The discussion here traces the broad history of promotional efforts elsewhere, identifying key players, contrasting the premises on which they have based their work, and summarizing available evidence on impact and cost.
Generalists , polymorphists and specialists in the UK motorcycle industry from 1895 to 1993 *

A central issue in the study of organizations relates to the explanation of the genesis of organizational diversity. In this context, niche-width theory deals with the consequences for organizational form survival of intertemporal selection processes in industries that feature environmental variation over time. Drawing from evolutionary biology, the theory links environmental change patterns to fitting organizational forms, distinguishing three major types: generalists, polymorphists and specialists. To date, empirical work on niche-width theory has been very scarce, particularly in as far as the polymorphist form is concerned. This paper offers an in-depth test of niche-width theory in the UK motorcycle industry from 1895 to 1993. Theoretically, we extend niche-width theory by developing a fine-grained typology of the polymorphist form, adding beachhead and bridge polymorphist strategies next to the overall polymorphist form. Additionally, we argue that the ecological niche-width study of organizational forms is incomplete without a fine-grained theory of the consequences of different cost structures. Adding such a cost theory nicely links niche-width theory to the resource-partitioning argument. Finally, as high-calibre longitudinal cost data are rarely available, we suggest the empirical tool of the so-called revealed cost structure methodology. By and large, the empirical analyses provide support for our extended niche-width theory argument.
BRAF Activation Initiates but Does Not Maintain Invasive Prostate Adenocarcinoma

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Activation of MAP kinase signaling pathway has been implicated in advanced and androgen-independent prostate cancers, although formal genetic proof has been lacking. In the course of modeling malignant melanoma in a tyrosinase promoter transgenic system, we developed a genetically-engineered mouse (GEM) model of invasive prostate cancers, whereby an activating mutation of BRAFV600E–a mutation found in ∼10% of human prostate tumors–was targeted to the epithelial compartment of the prostate gland on the background of Ink4a/Arf deficiency. These GEM mice developed prostate gland hyperplasia with progression to rapidly growing invasive adenocarcinoma without evidence of AKT activation, providing genetic proof that activation of MAP kinase signaling is sufficient to drive prostate tumorigenesis. Importantly, genetic extinction of BRAFV600E in established prostate tumors did not lead to tumor regression, indicating that while sufficient to initiate development of invasive prostate adenocarcinoma, BRAFV600E is not required for its maintenance.
The Evolution of a Mass-selected Sample of Early-Type Field Galaxies

We investigate the evolution of mass-selected early-type field galaxies using a sample of 28 gravitational lenses spanning the redshift range 0 ≲ z ≲ 1. Based on the redshift-dependent intercept of the fundamental plane in the rest-frame B band, we measure an evolution rate of d log(M/L)B/dz = -0.56 ± 0.04 (all errors are 1 σ unless noted) if we directly compare to the local intercept measured from the Coma Cluster. Refitting the local intercept helps minimize potential systematic errors and yields an evolution rate of d log(M/L)B/dz = -0.54 ± 0.09. An evolution analysis of properly corrected aperture mass-to-light ratios (defined by the lensed image separations) is closely related to the Faber-Jackson relation. In the rest-frame B band, we find an evolution rate of d log(M/L)B/dz = -0.41 ± 0.21, a present-day characteristic magnitude of M*0 = -19.70 + 5 log h ± 0.29 (assuming a characteristic velocity dispersion of σDM* = 225 km s-1), and a Faber-Jackson slope of γFJ = 3.29 ± 0.58. The measured evolution rates favor old stellar populations (mean formation redshift ⟨zf⟩ > 1.8 at 2 σ confidence for a Salpeter initial mass function and a flat Ωm = 0.3 cosmology) among early-type field galaxies and argue against significant episodes of star formation at z < 1.
Prioritizing solutions for overcoming knowledge transfer barriers in software development using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

An effective knowledge transfer (KT) process is a key factor in achieving the competitive advantage that is critical for software development companies seeking to maintain their existence and improve their performance. However, there do exist obstacles to the achievement of effective knowledge transfer. Companies often face difficulties in identifying those barriers that have the great impact on KT as well as the best solutions with which to address them. Through a systematic literature review and interviews conducted with 15 experts, we identified 21 KT barriers and 12 KT solutions. The barriers were classified into three categories: team, project, and technology. Then, using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, the identified KT barriers and solutions were ranked. The result of this research is a list of ranked KT barriers and solutions relevant to software development. Poor communication and interpersonal skills, lack of management direction, and challenges to transactive memory systems topped the list of team-, project-, and technology-related barriers, respectively. It was further found that an additional weekly meeting is the best solution with which to overcome the barriers to KT.
Music preference in degus (Octodon degus): Analysis with Chilean folk music

Most nonhuman animals do not show selective preference for types of music, but researchers have typically employed only Western classical music in such studies. Thus, there has been bias in music choice. Degus (Octodon degus), originally from the mountain areas of Chile, have highly developed vocal communication. Here, we examined music preference of degus using not only Western classical music (music composed by Bach and Stravinsky), but also South American folk music (Chilean and Peruvian). The degus preferred the South American music to the Western classical music but did not show selective preference between the two Western classical music choices. Furthermore, the degus preferred the Chilean to the Peruvian music to some extent. In the second experiment, we examined preference for music vs. silence. Degus overall showed a preference for Chilean music over silence, but preferred silence over Western music. The present results indicate that the previous negative data for musical preference in nonhuman animals may be due to biased music selection (Krause, 2012). Our results suggest the possibility that the soundscape of an environment influences folk music created by native peoples living there and the auditory preference of other resident animals there.
Design Probes for People with Dementia

In order to include persons with dementia in the MinD project actively, design probes were developed to provide insight into their perspectives. We applied probes due to their exploratory character and participation through self-documentation. The aim of this paper is to reflect on the design of the probes in relation to the outcomes as a source of inspiration for designers. More specifically, we investigate the openness and tangibility of the probes, and their content relating to the past, the current or the future. The five participants completed the probes to a large extent. The openness of assignments influenced their completion and the resulting value for empathizing and inspiration for designers: More defined assignments led to more sharing of personal and sensitive information than very open ones. While crafty, tangible assignments were filled in more extensively than less tangible ones, the classical writing assignments resulted more often in more introspective and reflective information from participants. Furthermore, participants filled in assignments about past memories more extensively than those relating to future goals.
Differences in Adolescents’ Response Decision and Evaluation for Face-to-Face and Cyber Victimization

The current study was designed to assess early adolescents’ response evaluation and decision for hypothetical peer victimization vignettes. Participants were 336 (59% girls; X ¯ age = 12.55) seventh and eighth graders from one school in the Midwestern United States. Adolescents read a hypothetical online or offline social situation and answered questions designed to access internal congruence, response evaluation, response efficacy, emotional outcome expectancy, and social outcome expectancy. Girls were more likely to believe that aggressive responses online and offline would lead to positive social and emotional outcome expectancies when compared with boys. Adolescents were more likely to believe that offline and online aggressive responses were legitimate responses to face-to-face victimization, feel that aggressive responses online or offline were easier to execute in response to face-to-face victimization, and that aggressive responses online or offline would lead to positive emotions and better social outcomes.
Involvement of IL-9 in Th17-Associated Inflammation and Angiogenesis of Psoriasis

It is thought that a Th1/Th17-weighted immune response plays a predominant role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Our findings now indicate a link between IL-9, a Th2 and Th9 cytokine, and Th17 pathway in psoriasis. In K5.hTGF-β1 transgenic mice, exhibiting a psoriasis-like phenotype, we found increased IL-9R and IL-9 expression in the skin and intradermal IL-9 injection induced Th17-related inflammation. IL-9 also promoted angiogenesis and VEGF and CD31 overexpression in mice in vivo and increased tube formation of human endothelial cells in vitro. Injecting anti-IL-9 antibody into K5.hTGF-β1 transgenic mice not only diminished inflammation (including skin infiltration by T cells, monocytes/macrophages, and mast cells) and angiogenesis but also delayed the psoriasis-like skin phenotype. Notably, injection of anti-psoriatic acting anti-IL-17 antibody reduced skin IL-9 mRNA and serum IL-9 protein levels in K5.hTGF-β1 transgenic mice and prevented IL-9-induced epidermal hyperplasia and inflammation of the skin of wild type mice. In addition, we observed that IL-9R expression in lesional skin from psoriasis patients was markedly higher than in healthy skin from control subjects. Moreover, IL-9 significantly enhanced IL-17A production by cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells or CD4+ T cells, especially in psoriasis patients. Thus, IL-9 may play a role in the development of psoriatic lesions through Th17-associated inflammation and angiogenesis.
Individual Differences in the Encoding Processes of Egocentric and Allocentric Survey Knowledge

This study examined how different components of working memory are involved in the acquisition of egocentric and allocentric survey knowledge by people with a good and poor sense of direction (SOD). We employed a dual-task method and asked participants to learn routes from videos with verbal, visual, and spatial interference tasks and without any interference. Results showed that people with a good SOD encoded and integrated knowledge about landmarks and routes into egocentric survey knowledge in verbal and spatial working memory, which is then transformed into allocentric survey knowledge with the support of all three components, distances being processed in verbal and spatial working memory and directions in visual and spatial working memory. In contrast, people with a poor SOD relied on verbal working memory and lacked spatial processing, thus failing to acquire accurate survey knowledge. Based on the results, a possible model for explaining individual differences in spatial knowledge acquisition is proposed.
The Interplay of Cross-Linguistic Differences and Context in L2 Idiom Comprehension

Abstract The present study investigates to what extent the effect of cross-linguistic differences on L2 idiom comprehension is modulated by the presence of a context. Sixty students of German as a foreign language (L1 French) completed a comprehension test consisting of metaphorical idioms in the L2 that differed from their L1 equivalents conceptually and formally and were presented with or without context. The results show that an increasing degree of conceptual and formal distance as well as the absence of context are generally associated with lower performance in the idiom comprehension test. However, the analysis of interactions shows that the presence of the context was especially supportive for conceptually different items, whereas the facilitative effect of formal similarity considerably diminished with increasing conceptual distance.