Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of domain information to improve the performance of an evolutionary algorithm

The main goal of this thesis work is to explore the capacities of cultural algorithms to add domain knowledge in evolutionary computation. Within our objectives is to develop a cultural algorithm for constrained optimization, and other for multiobjective optimization. With a proper desing of the belief space we expect to obtain competitive results compared with other state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithms, but reducing the number of fitness function evaluations needed. In this paper we focus in the algorithm for constrained optimization, because the development of the algorithm for multiobjective optimzation is an early stage.
Empirically Analyzing Mean-Variance Efficiency and Diversification Contradiction by Chinese Stock Markets

Based on the computational extension of portfolio optimization, we take a closer look at mean-variance efficiency and diversification contradiction, that is, high concentration in a few securities by Markowitz's portfolio selection. Traditional treatments typically include imposing constraints. Unfortunately, the studies basically hinge on simplified portfolio selection models, focus on a few points of an efficient frontier for example global minimum variance portfolio, or proceed in small scale portfolio optimization. We set up portfolio constraints of upper bound, market value, P/E ratio, turnover ratio, and industry and find that basically the installation of portfolio constraints of upper bound has substantial effect to alleviate the mean-variance efficiency and diversification contradiction, while the effect based on portfolio constraints of market value, P/E ratio, turnover ratio, and industry is quite limited. Keywords-Portfolio optimization; efficient hyperbolic segments; corner portfoli; diversification
Methodology for the damage assessment of vehicles exposed to flooding in urban areas

Within urban areas, humans carry out a great diversity of activities, and some of them require the use of vehicles. Floods, especially in urban areas, can generate significant tangible direct damages to vehicles themselves and to the urban elements in case of loss of stability and collision, which cannot be dismissed. In this paper, after a state‐of‐the‐art review on damage curves for vehicles, a methodology to assess the direct economic impact for vehicles exposed to flooding has been described, and applied within a study carried out in the framework of the BINGO H2020 EU Project. Only three different studies focused on damages to vehicles in contact with floodwater have been found. Contrasting damage curves for vehicles are found when comparing the three approaches, however, the ones proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) offer a high level of completeness and accuracy. Moreover, USACE's development is the most current research and all the steps for the development of the damage curves are comprehensively described. Finally, after the description of a detailed methodology for flood damage mapping for vehicles, a procedure to evaluate the Expected Annual Damage for vehicles is offered.
Eye tracking as a measure of noticing: A study of explicit recasts in SCMC

This study investigated whether eye-tracking technology could be employed as a measure of noticing of corrective feedback (in the form of explicit recasts) during NS-NNS taskbased synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC). Pairs of university-level learners of English (n = 18) engaged in a short chat interaction task with a native speaker, who provided intensive and explicit corrective recasts. Participants‘ eye gaze record was compared to that from a stimulated recall. Noticing events (increased visual attention) were compiled and compared from each technique to determine whether these two techniques yielded similar data. Noticing events from each technique were also compared to results of immediate and delayed post tests of the targeted items. Results confirm the strength of both measures as methods for measuring what learners notice in the corrective feedback during SCMC. Further, the eye tracking and stimulated recall data also suggest that although learners engage in similar amounts of viewing activity across recasts targeting various linguistic categories, they are able to notice semantic and syntactic targets more easily than morphological targets. Results are discussed in terms of eye tracking as a potentially valuable tool in exploring the nature of noticing in instructed SLA and also in terms of argued benefits of CMC for language learning.
[Malarial infection of the placenta. Parasitologic, clinical and immunologic aspects].

Among 1,206 pregnant women tested in Franceville (Gabon), 36.4% showed a positive parasitemia as compared to 21.9% of 154 non pregnant (p less than 0.001). Increase in the incidence of parasitemia appeared at the 4th month of pregnancy with two peaks at the 5th (44.4%) and 9th months (43.6%). Of 741 placenta studied, 33% showed plasmodial pathological changes; placental lesions were associated with a decrease in mean placental weight (26 g; p less than 0.001) and birth weight (220 g; p less than 0.001). Parasitemia during pregnancy and placental changes were more frequent in 1st or 2nd parous women and were associated with a decrease of inhibitory antibody titres in mothers at delivery, and with a synthesis of specific antibodies by the foetus i.e. with a transplacental transmission of plasmodial antigens to the foetus. Maternal inhibitory antibodies were constantly detected in cord blood and this could account for the absence of plasmodium in the 1,128 cord blood samples which have been examined.
A Systematic Review of the Role of Implant Design in the Rehabilitation of the Edentulous Maxilla.

PURPOSE To identify and critically appraise scientific publications evaluating the possible effect of implant design on treatment outcomes in the rehabilitation of patients with a fully edentulous maxilla. MATERIALS AND METHODS Scientific reports were sought in three electronic bibliographic databases, combined with searches for meeting abstracts, and in the grey literature. English, German, or Scandinavian scientific publications on prospective or retrospective longitudinal studies with effects of an implant design or feature on the treatment outcomes were eligible. Minimum requirement for inclusion was at least 10 study participants who were followed up for at least 2 years after implant loading. The PRISMA guidelines were followed for selecting data to extract from the individual studies. These were characteristics of the individual studies, risk of bias within individual studies, and the results of individual studies. Three editorial teams independently identified and extracted the data. RESULTS The search resulted in 998 primary studies, of which 525 met the inclusion criteria and were read in full text. Of these, 105 studies were included in qualitative syntheses. Seventeen studies were designed with an objective to assess effects of implant design or feature on outcomes, 23 studies described tilted implants to enable placement of longer implants, 30 studies reported effects of implants placed in zygomatic bone with or without additional alveolar implants, and 9 studies reported effects of implants placed in pterygoid bone or other bony buttresses with or without additional alveolar implants. Sixteen articles reported bone augmentation with simultaneous or delayed implant placement in patients with a predominantly Cawood-Howell bone class V and VI maxilla. Ten papers reported effects of implant design on outcomes, despite the lack of an a priori stated objective to assess a particular implant design or feature. There is a lack of compelling data to state that one particular implant system or design feature stands out amidst others, when applied to restoring the fully edentulous maxilla with implant-retained prostheses. CONCLUSION This systematic review failed to identify compelling evidence to conclude that any particular implant or feature affects the treatment outcome in patients with a fully edentulous maxilla.
Mutations in conserved domains IV and VI of the large (L) subunit of the sendai virus RNA polymerase give a spectrum of defective RNA synthesis phenotypes.

The Sendai virus RNA polymerase is a complex of two virus-encoded proteins, the phosphoprotein (P) and the large (L) protein. When aligned with amino acid sequences of L proteins from other negative-sense RNA viruses, the Sendai L protein contains six regions of good conservation, designated domains I-VI, which have been postulated to be important for the various enzymatic activities of the polymerase. To directly address the roles of domains IV and VI, 14 site-directed mutations were constructed either by changing clustered charged amino acids to ala or by substituting selected Sendai L amino acids with the corresponding sequence from measles virus L. Each mutant L protein was tested for its ability to transcribe and replicate the Sendai genome. The series of mutations created a spectrum of phenotypes, from those with significant, near wild-type, activity to those being completely defective for all RNA synthesis. The inactive L proteins, however, were still able to bind P protein and form a polymerase capable of binding the nucleocapsid template. The remainder of the mutations reduced, but did not abolish, enzymatic activity and included one mutant with a specific defect in the synthesis of the leader RNA compared with mRNA, and three mutants that replicated genome RNA much more efficiently in vivo than in vitro. Together, these data suggest that even within a domain, the function of the Sendai L protein is likely to be very complex. In addition, SS3 and SS10 L in domain IV and SS13 L in domain VI were shown to be temperature-sensitive. Both SS3 and SS10 gave significant, although not wild-type, activity at 32 degrees C; however, each was completely inactivated for all RNA synthesis at 37 and 39.6 degrees C. SS13 was completely inactive only when synthesized at the higher temperature. Each polymerase synthesized at 32 degrees C could only be partially heat inactivated in vitro at 39.6 degrees C, suggesting that inactivation involves both thermal lability of the protein and temperature sensitivity for its synthesis.
Branched projective structures with Fuchsian holonomy

We prove that if S is a closed compact surface of genus g 2, and if W 1.S/! PSL.2;C/ is a quasi-Fuchsian representation, then the space Mk; of branched projective structures on S with total branching order k and holonomy is connected, for k > 0. Equivalently, two branched projective structures with the same quasiFuchsian holonomy and the same number of branch points are related by a movement of branch points. In particular grafting annuli are obtained by moving branch points. In the appendix we give an explicit atlas for Mk; for non-elementary representations . It is shown to be a smooth complex manifold modeled on Hurwitz spaces. 30F35, 57M20; 53A30, 14H15
Order of Magnitude Markers: An Empirical Study on Large Magnitude Number Detection

In this paper we introduce Order of Magnitude Markers (OOMMs) as a new technique for number representation. The motivation for this work is that many data sets require the depiction and comparison of numbers that have varying orders of magnitude. Existing techniques for representation use bar charts, plots and colour on linear or logarithmic scales. These all suffer from related problems. There is a limit to the dynamic range available for plotting numbers, and so the required dynamic range of the plot can exceed that of the depiction method. When that occurs, resolving, comparing and relating values across the display becomes problematical or even impossible for the user. With this in mind, we present an empirical study in which we compare logarithmic, linear, scale-stack bars and our new markers for 11 different stimuli grouped into 4 different tasks across all 8 marker types.
Factors Influencing Body Image in Women with Breast Cancer: A Comprehensive Literature Review

Context Many psycho-socioeconomic and other types factors associated with cancer, the treatment process, and changes in patients’ physical appearance and sexual function influence the body image of women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors influence the body image of women with breast cancer. Data Collection A narrative literature review was conducted. Electronic databases, including Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, IranDoc, Barekat, Web of Science, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, ProQuest, Scopus, and PubMed, including Medline, were searched to retrieve articles published from 1993 to 2016 using the keywords breast cancer, treatment, body image, and related factors. The quality of selected studies was appraised using a checklist adapted from Samadaee-Gelehkolaee (2016). Results Of 690 articles retrieved in the search, 190 articles were selected for full text appraisal. Finally, 44 articles were selected for data analysis. The results were classified under three headings: bio-psycho-socioeconomic factors, factors associated with the disease and treatment processes, and physical appearance and sexual function. Conclusions The findings of this review showed that many factors can influence the body image of women suffering from breast cancer. These factors were predictors of patients’ inter-personal and intra-personal relationships with their partners and others who influenced various other aspects of their lives, possibly leading to many life’s issues. These factors must be identified and considered to make the most appropriate decisions for patients. The strength of this study lies in the exploration of factors influencing the body image of women with breast cancer which earlier studies did not consider. Moreover, the authors believe that this research has addressed nearly all the factors that are real concerns in the body image of women with breast cancer.
Adding or switching antipsychotic medications in treatment-refractory schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE This study compared patients with schizophrenia whose antipsychotic medications were switched to manage treatment-resistant positive psychotic symptoms with those for whom another antipsychotic was added. Psychiatrists' characteristics and perceptions of effectiveness of the medication change on clinical outcomes were also reported. METHODS Psychiatrists participating in a nationally representative mailed survey (N=209) reported on the clinical features, management, and response to the change in antipsychotic medication (added versus switched) of one adult patient with treatment-refractory schizophrenia under their care for at least one year. RESULTS Thirty-three percent of patients were treated with an added antipsychotic medication. Compared with patients whose antipsychotic medications were switched, those with an added antipsychotic medication were more likely to be female, to have received care from the same psychiatrist for more than two years, and to have been recently prescribed an antidepressant. Compared with psychiatrists who switched antipsychotic prescriptions, those who added an antipsychotic reported that the change was less likely to reduce positive symptoms, improve functioning, and prevent hospitalization. Psychiatrists who added rather than switched antipsychotics reported more frequent attendance at educational programs sponsored by a pharmaceutical company. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with other lines of research and practice guideline recommendations, psychiatrists perceive antipsychotic polypharmacy to be a generally ineffective strategy for treatment-resistant positive psychotic symptoms. In light of these findings, efforts to identify and implement more effective evidence-based pharmacologic approaches should be undertaken.
Performance of Flow-based Anomaly Detection in Sampled Traffic

In recent years, flow-based anomaly detection has attracted considerable attention from many researchers and some methods have been proposed to improve its accuracy. However, only a few studies have considered anomaly detection with sampled flow traffic, which is widely used for the management of high-speed networks. This gap is addressed in this study. First, we optimize an artificial neural network (ANN)-based classifier to detect anomalies in flow traffic. The results show that although it has a high degree of accuracy, the classifier loses significant information in the process of sampling. In this regard, we propose a sampling method to improve the performance of flow-based anomaly detection in sampled traffic. While existing sampling methods for anomaly detection preserve only small malicious flows, the proposed algorithm samples both small and large malicious flows. Therefore, the detection rate of the flow-based anomaly detector is improved by about 5% using our algorithm. To evaluate the proposed sampling method, three flow-based datasets are generated in this study
Complement Protein C1q Interacts with DC-SIGN via Its Globular Domain and Thus May Interfere with HIV-1 Transmission

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells capable of priming naïve T-cells. Its C-type lectin receptor, DC-SIGN, regulates a wide range of immune functions. Along with its role in HIV-1 pathogenesis through complement opsonization of the virus, DC-SIGN has recently emerged as an adaptor for complement protein C1q on the surface of immature DCs via a trimeric complex involving gC1qR, a receptor for the globular domain of C1q. Here, we have examined the nature of interaction between C1q and DC-SIGN in terms of domain localization, and implications of C1q–DC-SIGN-gC1qR complex formation on HIV-1 transmission. We first expressed and purified recombinant extracellular domains of DC-SIGN and its homologue DC-SIGNR as tetramers comprising of the entire extra cellular domain including the α-helical neck region and monomers comprising of the carbohydrate recognition domain only. Direct binding studies revealed that both DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR were able to bind independently to the recombinant globular head modules ghA, ghB, and ghC, with ghB being the preferential binder. C1q appeared to interact with DC-SIGN or DC-SIGNR in a manner similar to IgG. Mutational analysis using single amino acid substitutions within the globular head modules showed that TyrB175 and LysB136 were critical for the C1q–DC-SIGN/DC-SIGNR interaction. Competitive studies revealed that gC1qR and ghB shared overlapping binding sites on DC-SIGN, implying that HIV-1 transmission by DCs could be modulated due to the interplay of gC1qR-C1q with DC-SIGN. Since C1q, gC1qR, and DC-SIGN can individually bind HIV-1, we examined how C1q and gC1qR modulated HIV-1–DC-SIGN interaction in an infection assay. Here, we report, for the first time, that C1q suppressed DC-SIGN-mediated transfer of HIV-1 to activated pooled peripheral blood mononuclear cells, although the globular head modules did not. The protective effect of C1q was negated by the addition of gC1qR. In fact, gC1qR enhanced DC-SIGN-mediated HIV-1 transfer, suggesting its role in HIV-1 pathogenesis. Our results highlight the consequences of multiple innate immune pattern recognition molecules forming a complex that can modify their functions in a way, which may be advantageous for the pathogen.
Detection and application of influence rankings in small group meetings

We address the problem of automatically detecting participant's influence levels in meetings. The impact and social psychological background are discussed. The more influential a participant is, the more he or she influences the outcome of a meeting. Experiments on 40 meetings show that application of statistical (both dynamic and static) models while using simply obtainable features results in a best prediction performance of 70.59% when using a static model, a balanced training set, and three discrete classes: high, normal and low. Application of the detected levels are shown in various ways i.e. in a virtual meeting environment as well as in a meeting browser system.
Acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease as interconnected syndromes.

For more than 40 years, nephrologists have classified diminished kidney function as two distinct syndromes — acute and chronic kidney failure. Whereas chronic kidney disease was recognized in the 19th century, acute renal dysfunction became evident during the London Blitz of World War II, with the realization that crush injuries could cause dramatic but often reversible cessation of renal function. The disease states and stages of both acute and chronic renal syndromes are delineated according to the serum creatinine concentration or the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), functional markers that were identified in the early 20th century. 1 Advanced renal impairment in both syndromes is treated with dialysis. During the past decade, separate conceptual models for chronic kidney disease 2 and acute kidney injury 3 were developed to facilitate organized approaches to clinical research and trials. However, recent epidemiologic and mechanistic studies suggest that the two syndromes are not distinct entities but rather are closely interconnected — chronic kidney disease is a risk factor for acute kidney injury, acute kidney injury is a risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease, and both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease are risk factors for cardiovascular disease (Fig. 1). 4
Cloning of a metalloprotease gene involved in the virulence mechanism of Vibrio anguillarum

Genetic evidence has previously suggested that a zinc metalloprotease is involved in the invasive mechanism of the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum NB10. In this study, the metalloprotease gene was cloned and sequenced. The sequence encodes a polypeptide (611 amino acids) that contains a putative signal sequence followed by a large leader sequence and the mature protein (44.6 kDa). Since the purified protein has a molecular mass of 36 kDa instead of the predicted 44.6 kDa, the mature protein is most likely processed a third time. Comparative analyses of the protein sequence showed high homologies to other bacterial metalloproteases within the zinc-binding and active-site regions. The Vibrio cholerae hemagglutinin/protease and the Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase were exceptions in that the homology extended throughout the entire putative preproprotein. A chromosomal metalloprotease mutant was made via the integration of foreign DNA into the protease gene. This mutant did not secrete the metalloprotease, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide protein analysis and by growth on gelatin agar. Transcomplementation of the chromosomal mutation revived the secretion of the metalloprotease and its activity on gelatin agar. Interestingly, when supernatant proteins were analyzed by gelatin-SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis, two different proteases (75 and 30 kDa) were detected in the mutant strain but not in the transcomplemented strain or the wild-type strain. Moreover, fish infection studies were done, and implications for the role of the metalloprotease in the virulence mechanism of V. anguillarum are discussed.
Efficient Parsing of Highly Ambiguous Context-Free Grammars with Bit Vectors

An efficient bit-vector-based CKY-style parser for context-free parsing is presented. The parser computes a compact parse forest representation of the complete set of possible analyses for large treebank grammars and long input sentences. The parser uses bit-vector operations to parallelise the basic parsing operations. The parser is particularly useful when all analyses are needed rather than just the most probable one.