Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new constraint qualification for the formula of the subdifferential of composed convex functions in infinite dimensional spaces

In this paper we work in separated locally convex spaces where we give equivalent statements for the formulae of the conjugate function of the sum of a convex lower‐semicontinuous function and the precomposition of another convex lower‐semicontinuous function which is also K ‐increasing with a K ‐convex K ‐epi‐closed function, where K is a nonempty closed convex cone. These statements prove to be the weakest constraint qualifications given so far under which the formulae for the subdifferential of the mentioned sum of functions are valid. Then we deliver constraint qualifications inspired from them that guarantee some conjugate duality assertions. Two interesting special cases taken from the literature conclude the paper. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Modelling HIV/AIDS epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa using seroprevalence data from antenatal clinics.

OBJECTIVE To improve the methodological basis for modelling the HIV/AIDS epidemics in adults in sub-Saharan Africa, with examples from Botswana, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. Understanding the magnitude and trajectory of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is essential for planning and evaluating control strategies. METHODS Previous mathematical models were developed to estimate epidemic trends based on sentinel surveillance data from pregnant women. In this project, we have extended these models in order to take full advantage of the available data. We developed a maximum likelihood approach for the estimation of model parameters and used numerical simulation methods to compute uncertainty intervals around the estimates. FINDINGS In the four countries analysed, there were an estimated half a million new adult HIV infections in 1999 (range: 260 to 960 thousand), 4.7 million prevalent infections (range: 3.0 to 6.6 million), and 370 thousand adult deaths from AIDS (range: 266 to 492 thousand). CONCLUSION While this project addresses some of the limitations of previous modelling efforts, an important research agenda remains, including the need to clarify the relationship between sentinel data from pregnant women and the epidemiology of HIV and AIDS in the general population.
Precision Teaching and Direct Instruction: Measurably Superior Instructional Technology in Schools

Although educators, policy-makers, business leaders, and the general public have become increasingly concerned about the “basic skills” crisis in American schools, research-based solutions have existed for over two decades in the form of measurably superior teaching methodologies: Precision Teaching and Direct Instruction. In federally validated research, each of these instructional technologies has been shown to produce far greater achievement and self-esteem among students than more traditional teaching practices, with favorable cost-benefit ratios when implemented in schools. These results have been obtained despite adverse socio-economic influences on students so often blamed for failure in the classroom. These methods have not been widely adopted, partly due to political and philosophical resistance to measurably superior instructional technology among educators. This article provides overviews of Precision Teaching and Direct Instruction, discusses their origins and research backgrounds, cites effectiveness data, and describes how they can complement one another when used together. It provides sufficient references to the literature and pointers to existing programs to enable interested readers to learn more about each of these measurably superior educational solutions.
The Growth and Aggressive Behavior of Human Osteosarcoma Is Regulated by a CaMKII-Controlled Autocrine VEGF Signaling Mechanism

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a hyperproliferative malignant tumor that requires a high vascular density to maintain its large volume. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) plays a crucial role in angiogenesis and acts as a paracrine and autocrine agent affecting both endothelial and tumor cells. The alpha-Ca2+/Calmodulin kinase two (α-CaMKII) protein is an important regulator of OS growth. Here, we investigate the role of α-CaMKII-induced VEGF in the growth and tumorigenicity of OS. We show that the pharmacologic and genetic inhibition of α-CaMKII results in decreases in VEGF gene expression (50%) and protein secretion (55%), while α- CaMKII overexpression increases VEGF gene expression (250%) and protein secretion (1,200%). We show that aggressive OS cells (143B) express high levels of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) and respond to exogenous VEGF (100nm) by increasing intracellular calcium (30%). This response is ameliorated by the VEGFR inhibitor CBO-P11, suggesting that secreted VEGF results in autocrine stimulated α-CaMKII activation. Furthermore, we show that VEGF and α-CaMKII inhibition decreases the transactivation of the HIF-1α and AP-1 reporter constructs. Additionally, chromatin immunoprecipitation assay shows significantly decreased binding of HIF-1α and AP-1 to their responsive elements in the VEGF promoter. These data suggest that α-CaMKII regulates VEGF transcription by controlling HIF-1α and AP-1 transcriptional activities. Finally, CBO-P11, KN-93 (CaMKII inhibitor) and combination therapy significantly reduced tumor burden in vivo. Our results suggest that VEGF-induced OS tumor growth is controlled by CaMKII and dual therapy by CaMKII and VEGF inhibitors could be a promising therapy against this devastating adolescent disease.
Stem cell biology meets systems biology

Stem cells and their descendents are the building blocks of life. How stem cell populations guarantee their maintenance and/or self-renewal, and how individual stem cells decide to transit from one cell stage to another to generate different cell types are long-standing and fascinating questions in the field. Here, we review the discussions that took place at a recent EMBO conference in Cambridge, UK, in which these questions were placed in the context of the latest advances in stem cell biology in presentations that covered stem cell heterogeneity, cell fate decision-making, induced pluripotency, as well as the mathematical modelling of these phenomena.
Comparative Study of Classification Methods for Surficial Materials in the Umiujalik Lake Region Using RADARSAT-2 Polarimetric, Landsat-7 Imagery and DEM Data

Abstract. A study focusing on the classification of surficial materials in the Umiujalik Lake area using multisource data including polarimetric SAR data, Landsat optical data, and a digital elevation model (DEM) has been conducted. The purpose of this study is to explore the classification performance by comparing different feature combinations and different classifiers. First, 4 classification methods were compared on different combinations of features of intensity and texture. Second, the effects of dimension reduction algorithms for classification were investigated. Finally, 6 different dimension reduction methods were used to see if classification performance can be improved or remain stable by using fewer dimensions. Results show that adding texture features can help improve classification accuracy; the best classification accuracy is achieved by the rotation forest classification method using the combination of intensity and texture features; the classification performance remains stable using fewer features. Résumé. Une étude portant sur la classification des matériaux de surface dans la région du lac Umiujalik a été menée en utilisant des données multisources incluant des données RSO «synthetic aperture radar (SAR)» polarimétriques, des données optiques Landsat, et un modèle altimétrique numérique (MAN) « digital elevation model (DEM)». Le but de cette étude est d’explorer la performance de classification en comparant différentes combinaisons de caractéristiques et différents classificateurs. Tout d’abord, 4 méthodes de classification ont été comparées sur différentes combinaisons de caractéristiques d’intensité et de texture. Deuxièmement, l’effet des algorithmes de réduction de dimension sur la classification a été étudié. Enfin, 6 méthodes de réduction de dimension différentes ont été utilisées pour voir si elles peuvent améliorer ou maintenir la performance de la classification en utilisant moins de dimensions. Les résultats montrent que l’ajout de caractéristiques de texture peut aider à améliorer la précision de la classification. La meilleure précision de classification est obtenue par la méthode de classification par rotation de forêts «Rotation Forest (RF)» en utilisant la combinaison des caractéristiques d’intensité et de texture; la performance de classification reste stable en utilisant moins de caractéristiques.
Performance Enhancement of Computer Systems Through Revolutional Approaches

Computer modeling and simulation of scientific applications require faster computer systems than ever. The fact that the improvement of the computer system performance through evolutional approaches has almost reached its physical limitation and researchers started to seek the required enhancement of the system performance through revolutional approaches such as pipelining and parallel processing, using advanced processor architectures such as that of the Niagara family of processors that has been pioneered by Oracle®. In this paper, we will present an overview of some of the important aspects of such architectures while emphasizing on the pipelining techniques that lead to the performance enhancement of such systems.
IMPACT OF JIGSAW I LEARNING STRATEGY ON ATTITUDE AND PERFORMANCE IN ALGEBRA AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS, ZARIA, NIGERIA.

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS DEGREE IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION, FACULTY OF EDUCATION, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA-KADUNA, NIGERIA
An FPGA run-time system for dynamical on-demand reconfiguration

Summary form only given. The handling of an increasing number of automotive comfort functionalities has become a significant problem for the most automobile manufacturers since communication, power consumption, available space and cost become important issues for a growing number of engine control units. Our contribution presents a first approach for a flexible versatile FPGA-based run-time system supporting a resource saving function multiplex.
Bmc Evolutionary Biology the Evolution of Tep1, an Exceptionally Polymorphic Immunity Gene in Anopheles Gambiae

Background: Host-parasite coevolution can result in balancing selection, which maintains genetic variation in the susceptibility of hosts to parasites. It has been suggested that variation in a thioester-containing protein called TEP1 (AGAP010815) may alter the ability of Anopheles mosquitoes to transmit Plasmodium parasites, and high divergence between alleles of this gene suggests the possible action of long-term balancing selection. We studied whether TEP1 is a case of an ancient balanced polymorphism in an animal immune system.
1 MANAGEMENT CONTROL OF INTERFIRM TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS : THE CASE OF INDUSTRIAL RENOVATION AND MAINTENANCE 1

This paper is focused on the way in which interfirm relations can be drawn up and controlled. Drawing on contracting theories a model is built of the management control structure of interfirm relationships. The model consists of three control patterns and of contingency factors that influence the choices between the patterns. Particular attention is paid to the role of trust. In building our model we take the perspective of the outsourcer. We try to refine our model by conducting case research in the field of industrial renovation and industrial maintenance. In this field we observed changes in the way outsourcing relationships are controlled. Case research can be very helpful for gaining insights into factors that influence the establishment of control structures of interfirm relationships. By comparing the results of our case research we found institutional, strategic, cultural and historical factors to be of great importance for these control structures.
‘Grandpa, Do you like Roller Coasters?’: Identifying Age–Appropriate Personality Indicators

Personality development research heavily relies on the comparison of scale means across age. This approach implicitly assumes that the scales are strictly measurement invariant across age. We questioned this assumption by examining whether appropriate personality indicators change over the lifespan. Moreover, we identified which types of items (e.g. dispositions, behaviours, and interests) are particularly prone to age effects. We reanalyzed the German Revised NEO Personality Inventory normative sample (N = 11,724) and applied a genetic algorithm to select short scales that yield acceptable model fit and reliability across locally weighted samples ranging from 16 to 66 years of age. We then examined how the item selection changes across age points and item types. Emotion–type items seemed to be interchangeable and generally applicable to people of all ages. Specific interests, attitudes, and social effect items—most prevalent within the domains of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness—seemed to be more prone to measurement variations over age. A large proportion of items were systematically discarded by the item–selection procedure, indicating that, independent of age, many items are problematic measures of the underlying traits. The implications for personality assessment and personality development research are discussed. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology
ESSAYS ON DECISION MAKING

OF THE DISSERTATION Essays on Decision Making By George Joseph Dissertation Director: Prof. Barry Sopher The three essays in this dissertation examine individual decision making from a behavioral economics perspective. The first two essays report the results of an experiment that examine bidding behavior and belief formation in market-like environments with common values. In the first essay, using elicited beliefs of bidders on the value of the object at different stages of bidding, I examine whether information cascades and rational herding can be credited for the occurrence of the ‘winners’ curse’ I find that the role of information cascades in the occurrence of the winner’s curse is marginal and bidders tend to give more weight to private information in making the bidding decisions. The winner’s curse is caused primarily by herding due to disconfirmation bias and conservatism in updating beliefs. In the second essay, I extend the analysis to understand heuristics and biases like confirmation bias, disconfirmation bias, conservatism and overreaction exhibited by decision makers in the formation of subjective beliefs. The results show hardly any evidence for Bayesian updating by the bidders. Confirmation bias, disconfirmation bias and heuristics like conservatism and are observed in the formation of beliefs but are sensitive to treatment conditions. Non-optimal belief formation due to upwardly biased prior beliefs and conservatism in updating beliefs are responsible for overbidding in markets with sequential bids and common values. Another important finding is that
Prognostic implications of FGFR1 and MYC status in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

AIM To investigate the clinicopathological features and prognostic implications of combined MYC and fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) status in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCCs). METHODS All patients with ESCC (n = 180) underwent surgical resection at Seoul National University Hospital sometime between 2000 and 2013. A tissue microarray was constructed using cores obtained from representative tumor areas of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. FGFR1 and MYC copy numbers were quantified using fluorescence in situ hybridization. The level of MYC expression was determined using immunohistochemistry. FGFR1 and MYC amplification status was compared between primary and metastatic lymph nodes. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed according to adjuvant therapy status. RESULTS FGFR1 and MYC amplifications were observed in 21.4% (37/173) and 54.2% (91/168) of patients, respectively, while MYC expression was observed in 58.9% (106/180) of patients. There was a positive correlation between MYC amplification and overexpression (P = 0.002). Although FGFR1 amplification was not associated with MYC amplification or expression, 12.3% (20/163) of patients exhibited both FGFR1 amplification and MYC expression. There was also a correlation in FGFR1 amplification status between matched primary tumors and metastatic lymph nodes (P < 0.001). MYC expression was higher in ESCCs with pT1 (P < 0.001) and in those with no lymph node metastasis (P = 0.023). MYC expression was associated with prolonged disease-free survival (P = 0.036) and overall survival (OS) (P = 0.017) but was not an independent prognostic factor. FGFR1 amplification was an independent predictor for prolonged OS in all patients (P = 0.029) and in those who did not receive adjuvant therapy (P = 0.013). Combined FGFR1 amplification and MYC expression predicted better OS in patients who did not receive adjuvant therapy (P = 0.034) but not in those who did receive adjuvant therapy. CONCLUSION FGFR1 amplification and MYC expression have prognostic implications in resected ESCCs with respect to adjuvant therapy. The role of FGFR1-targeted therapy in ESCC remains to be explored.
Labor supply as a choice among latent job opportunities : a practical empirical approach

In this paper, we discuss aspects of a particular framework for modeling labor supply and the application of this approach in practical policy simulation experiments. This modeling framework differs from the standard models of labor supply in that the notion of job choice is fundamental. Specifically, the worker is assumed to have preferences over a latent worker-specific choice set of jobs from which he or she chooses his or her preferred job. A job is characterized with fixed (job-specific) working hours and other non-pecuniary attributes. As a result, observed hours of work are interpreted as the job-specific (fixed) hours of work that is associated with the chosen job. We then show that our framework is practical with respect to applications in empirical analysis and simulation experiments, and is able to produce satisfactory out-of-sample predictions by estimating the model on Norwegian microdata from 1997 and predicting the corresponding microdata from 2003.
Parametric versus non-parametric modelling? Statistical evidence based on P-value curves

In astrophysical (inverse) regression problems it is an important task to decide whether a given parametric model describes the observational data sufficiently well or whether non-parametric modelling becomes necessary. However, in contrast to common practice this cannot be decided solely by comparing the quality of fit owing to possible overfitting by the non-parametric method. Therefore, in this paper we present a resampling algorithm that allows one to decide whether deviations between a parametric and a non-parametric model are systematic or caused by noise. The algorithm is based on a statistical comparison of the corresponding residuals, under the assumption of the parametric model and under violation of this assumption. This yields a graphical tool for a robust decision making of parametric versus non-parametric modelling. Moreover, our approach can be used for the selection of the most appropriate model among several possibilities (model selection). The methods are illustrated by the problem of recovering the luminosity density in the Milky Way (MW) from near-infrared (NIR) surface brightness data of the DIRBE experiment on-board the COBE satellite. Among the parametric models investigated one with a four-armed spiral structure performs best. In this model the Sagittarius–Carina arm and its counter-arm are significantly weaker than the other pair of arms. Furthermore, we find statistical evidence for an improvement over a range of parametric models with different spiral structure morphologies using a non-parametric model by Bissantz & Gerhard.
Defending against energy efficient link layer jamming denial of service attack in wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to attacks due to their limited software and hardware capabilities. Energy efficient link layer jamming attacks have proven to be a real threat to wireless sensor networks. This type of attacks is able to prevent network communication for relatively long periods as it does not spend a lot of power while jamming. This paper proposes and evaluates two modifications to the Lightweight Medium Access Control (LMAC) [3] protocol. The first is Data Packet Separation Slot Size Randomization (DS-SSR); the second is Round Robin (RR) slot size assignment. The paper shows that (DS-SSR) can increase the WSN resistance against the Energy efficient denial of service link layer jamming attacks. The paper also shows that employing RR slightly eliminates the negative impact on the network throughput when using countermeasures against energy efficient jamming. Two measures are used to evaluate the resistance of the proposed protocol against the attack: lifetime advantage and censorship rate. Experimental results show that about 8 % reduction of the attacker lifetime advantage can be achieved with DS-SSR LMAC compared to other countermeasure. Furthermore, results show that the censorship rate of our proposed protocol was similar to the other countermeasures.
Poor Trail Making Test Performance Is Directly Associated with Altered Dual Task Prioritization in the Elderly – Baseline Results from the TREND Study

Background Deterioration of executive functions in the elderly has been associated with impairments in walking performance. This may be caused by limited cognitive flexibility and working memory, but could also be caused by altered prioritization of simultaneously performed tasks. To disentangle these options we investigated the associations between Trail Making Test performance—which specifically measures cognitive flexibility and working memory—and dual task costs, a measure of prioritization. Methodology and Principal Findings Out of the TREND study (Tuebinger evaluation of Risk factors for Early detection of Neurodegenerative Disorders), 686 neurodegeneratively healthy, non-demented elderly aged 50 to 80 years were classified according to their Trail Making Test performance (delta TMT; TMT-B minus TMT-A). The subjects performed 20 m walks with habitual and maximum speed. Dual tasking performance was tested with walking at maximum speed, in combination with checking boxes on a clipboard, and subtracting serial 7 s at maximum speeds. As expected, the poor TMT group performed worse when subtracting serial 7 s under single and dual task conditions, and they walked more slowly when simultaneously subtracting serial 7 s, compared to the good TMT performers. In the walking when subtracting serial 7 s condition but not in the other 3 conditions, dual task costs were higher in the poor TMT performers (median 20%; range −6 to 58%) compared to the good performers (17%; −16 to 43%; p<0.001). To the contrary, the proportion of the poor TMT performance group that made calculation errors under the dual tasking situation was lower than under the single task situation, but higher in the good TMT performance group (poor performers, −1.6%; good performers, +3%; p = 0.035). Conclusion Under most challenging conditions, the elderly with poor TMT performance prioritize the cognitive task at the expense of walking velocity. This indicates that poor cognitive flexibility and working memory are directly associated with altered prioritization.