Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using adapted Levenshtein distance for on-line signature authentication

A new method for on-line signature authentication is presented, which is based on a event-string modelling of features derived from pen-position and pressure signals of digitizer tablets. A distance measure well known from textual pattern recognition, the Levenshtein distance, is used for comparison of signatures and classification is carried out applying a nearest neighbor classifier. Results from a test set of 1376 signatures from 41 persons are presented, which have been conducted for four different feature sets. The results are rather encouraging, with correct identification rates of 96% at zero false classifications.
Factors Related to Pleural Effusions After Fontan Procedure in the Era of Fenestration

Background—Significant pleural effusions after the Fontan operation prolong hospital stay, may increase the risk of infection, and may necessitate a pleurodesis procedure. Methods and Results—From February 1991 to April 2000, 98 consecutive patients under the age of 18 years underwent the fenestrated Fontan procedure at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Ninety-four patients who survived at least 30 days after surgery were retrospectively evaluated for the following factors: age, ventricular morphology (right single ventricle, left single ventricle [RV/LV]), fenestration open (FO) or closed (FC) at end of operation, intracardiac Fontan (IF) or extracardiac Fontan (EF), days with chest tube output per day >5, 10, and/or 20 mL · kg−1 · d−1 (CTO5, CTO10, and CTO20, respectively), need for pleurodesis, length of hospital stay (LOS), operation during winter respiratory viral season of November through March (ReVS+, ReVS−), and pre-Fontan mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). In univariate analysis, the ReVS+ patients had prolonged LOS, greater chest tube output, and more pleurodesis (P <0.05), and PAP was related to CTO5 and CTO10 but not to CTO20 or LOS. No significant differences were found in LOS, CTO5, CTO10, CTO20, and need for pleurodesis between patients in RV/LV, FO/FC, IF/EF, or PVR groups. Patients <4 years of age had more instances of CTO20 (P <0.05). When we used ordinary least squares regression analysis with age, FO or FC, RV or LV, PAP, and ReVS+ or ReVS− to predict each of CTO5, CTO10, CTO20, and LOS, only ReVS+ or ReVS− and age were statistically significant in all models. Conclusions—Use of the Fontan procedure during the respiratory viral season appeared to be related to significant, prolonged pleural effusions and longer hospitalizations.
Familial risk moderates the association between sleep and zBMI in children.

OBJECTIVE A cumulative risk approach was used to examine the moderating effect of familial risk factors on relations between actigraphy-based sleep quantity (minutes) and quality (efficiency) and sex- and age-standardized body mass index (zBMI). METHODS The sample included 124 boys and 104 girls with a mean age of 10.41 years (SD = 0.67). Children wore actigraphs for 1 week, and their height and weight were assessed in the lab. RESULTS After controlling for potential confounds, multiple regression analyses indicated that sleep minutes predicted children's zBMI and that both sleep minutes and efficiency interacted with family risk in the prediction of zBMI. The association between poor sleep and zBMI was especially evident for children exposed to higher levels of family risk. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that not all children who exhibit poor sleep are at equal risk for higher zBMI and that familial and contextual conditions need to be considered in this link.
Feeding Patterns in a Small-Bodied Nocturnal Folivore (Avahi laniger) and the Influence of Leaf Chemistry: A Preliminary Study

We present data on feeding patterns in Avahi laniger and compare these data to temporal variations in leaf chemistry. Because A. laniger is one of the smallest folivorous primates and has a monogastric stomach, we hypothesized that this lemur would display behavioural adaptations to a leaf-based diet by scheduling feeding times when leaves were of highest quality. Data were collected from May to August 2004 at the Vatoharanana site in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. A. laniger fed during different time periods despite leaf carbohydrate and protein concentrations exhibiting little variation throughout the night. Although tannin concentrations exhibited temporal fluctuations, they did not covary with A. laniger feeding times. We suggest that A. laniger feeding times cannot be explained entirely by variations in leaf chemistry.
Counting perfect matchings in graphs that exclude a single-crossing minor

A graph $H$ is single-crossing if it can be drawn in the plane with at most one crossing. For any single-crossing graph $H$, we give an $O(n^4)$ time algorithm for counting perfect matchings in graphs excluding $H$ as a minor. The runtime can be lowered to $O(n^{1.5})$ when $G$ excludes $K_5$ or $K_{3,3}$ as a minor. This is the first generalization of an algorithm for counting perfect matchings in $K_{3,3}$-free graphs (Little 1974, Vazirani 1989). Our algorithm uses black-boxes for counting perfect matchings in planar graphs and for computing certain graph decompositions. Together with an independent recent result (Straub et al. 2014) for graphs excluding $K_5$, it is one of the first nontrivial algorithms to not inherently rely on Pfaffian orientations.
Modeling Causal Learning Using Bayesian Generic Priors on Generative and Preventive Powers

We present a Bayesian model of causal learning that incorporates generic priors on distributions of weights representing potential powers to either produce or prevent an effect. These generic priors favor necessary and sufficient causes. Across three experiments, the model explains the systematic pattern of human judgments observed for questions regarding support for a causal link, for both generative and preventive causes.
Inhibition of Methylglyoxal-Mediated Protein Modification in Glyoxalase I Overexpressing Mouse Lenses

Objective. Here we tested the role of Glo I in the prevention of advanced glycation end product (AGE) formation in transgenic mouse lenses. Methods. A transgenic animal line that expressed high levels of human Glo I in the lens was developed from the C57B6 mouse strain. The role of Glo I in the inhibition of MGO-AGE formation was tested in organ-cultured lenses. Results. Organ culture of Wt and Glo I lenses with 5 mM D, L-glyceraldehyde (GLD) enhanced MGO by 29-fold and 17-fold in Wt lenses and Glo I lenses, respectively. Argpyrimidine levels were 192 ± 73 pmoles/mg protein, and hydroimidazolone levels were 22 ± 0.7 units/μg protein in GLD-incubated Wt lenses. In Glo I lenses, formation of AGEs was significantly inhibited; the argpyrimidine levels were 82 ± 18 pmoles/mg protein, and the HI levels were 2.6 ± 2.3 units/μg protein. Incubation of Wt lens proteins with 5 mM ribose for 7 days resulted in the formation of pentosidine. However, the levels were substantially higher in Glo I lens proteins incubated with ribose. Conclusion. Our study provides direct evidence that Glo I activity plays an important role in the regulation of AGE synthesis in the lens; while Glo I activity blocks the formation of MGO-AGEs, it might promote the formation of sugar-derived AGEs.
Goal-Driven Optimization

We develop a goal-driven stochastic optimization model that considers a random objective function in achieving an aspiration level, target, or goal. Our model maximizes the shortfall-aware aspiration-level criterion, which encompasses the probability of success in achieving the aspiration level and an expected level of underperformance or shortfall. The key advantage of the proposed model is its tractability. We can obtain its solution by solving a small collection of stochastic linear optimization problems with objectives evaluated under the popular conditional-value-at-risk (CVaR) measure. Using techniques in robust optimization, we propose a decision-rule-based deterministic approximation of the goal-driven optimization problem by solving subproblems whose number is a polynomial with respect to the accuracy, with each subproblem being a second-order cone optimization problem (SOCP). We compare the numerical performance of the deterministic approximation with sampling-based approximation and report the computational insights on a multiproduct newsvendor problem.
First-order queries on classes of structures with bounded expansion

We consider the evaluation of first-order queries over classes of databases with bounded expansion. The notion of bounded expansion is fairly broad and generalizes bounded degree, bounded treewidth and exclusion of at least one minor. It was known that over a class of databases with bounded expansion, first-order sentences could be evaluated in time linear in the size of the database. We give a different proof of this result. Moreover, we show that answers to first-order queries can be enumerated with constant delay after a linear time preprocessing. We also show that counting the number of answers to a query can be done in time linear in the size of the database.
The Complexity of Quantum States and Transformations: From Quantum Money to Black Holes

These are lecture notes from a weeklong course in quantum complexity theory taught at the Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, February 21-25, 2016. The focus is quantum circuit complexity---i.e., the minimum number of gates needed to prepare a given quantum state or apply a given unitary transformation---as a unifying theme tying together several topics of recent interest in the field. Those topics include the power of quantum proofs and advice states; how to construct quantum money schemes secure against counterfeiting; and the role of complexity in the black-hole information paradox and the AdS/CFT correspondence (through connections made by Harlow-Hayden, Susskind, and others). The course was taught to a mixed audience of theoretical computer scientists and quantum gravity / string theorists, and starts out with a crash course on quantum information and computation in general.
Fluid shear stress‐induced osteoarthritis: roles of cyclooxygenase‐2 and its metabolic products in inducing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases

The mechanical overloading of cartilage is involved in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis (OA) by both biochemical and mechanical pathways. The application of fluid shear stress to chondrocytes recapitulates the earmarks of OA, as evidenced by the release of proinflammatory cytokines (PICs), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and apoptotic factors. Dysregulations or mutations in these genes might directly cause OA in addition to determining the stage at which OA becomes apparent, the joint sites involved, and the severity of the disease and how rapidly it progresses. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this review, we propose that the dysregulation of cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) is associated with fluid shear stress‐induced OA via its metabolic products at different stages of the disease. Indeed, high fluid shear stress rapidly induces the production of PICs and MMPs via COX‐2‐derived prostaglandin (PG)E2 at the early stage of OA. In contrast, prolonged shear exposure (> 12 h) aggravates the condition by concurrently up‐regulating the expression of proapoptotic genes and down‐regulating the expression of antiapoptotic genes in a 15‐deoxy‐Δ(12,14)‐prostaglandin J2 (15d‐PGJ2)‐dependent manner at the late stage of disease. These observations may help to resolve long‐standing questions in OA progression and provide insight for development of strategies to treat and combat OA. —Wang, P., Guan, P.‐P., Guo, C. , Zhu, F. , Konstantopoulos, K. , Wang, Z. ‐W. Fluid shear stress‐induced osteoarthritis: roles of cyclooxygenase‐2 and its metabolic products in inducing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases. FASEB J. 27, 4664–4677 (2013). www.fasebj. org
Lingmao Formula Combined with Entecavir for HBeAg-Positive Chronic Hepatitis B Patients with Mildly Elevated Alanine Aminotransferase: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective. To determine the efficacy and safety of Lingmao Formula combined with entecavir for HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with mildly elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Methods. 301 patients were randomly assigned to receive Lingmao Formula combined with entecavir (treatment group) or placebo combined with entecavir (control group) for 52 weeks. The outcomes of interest included the reduction of serum HBV DNA level, HBeAg loss, HBeAg seroconversion, ALT normalization, and histological improvement. Results. The mean decrease of serum HBV DNA level from baseline and the percentage of patients who had reduction in serum HBV DNA level ≥2 lg copies/mL in treatment group were significantly greater than that in control group (5.5 versus 5.4 lg copies/mL, P = 0.010; 98.5% versus 92.6%, P = 0.019). The percentage of HBeAg loss in treatment group was 22.8%, which was much higher than a percentage of 12.6% in control group (P = 0.038). There was no significant difference between the two groups in histological improvement. Safety was similar in the two groups. Conclusions. The combination of Lingmao Formula with entecavir could result in significant decrease of serum HBV DNA and increase of HBeAg loss for HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with mildly elevated ALT without any serious adverse events. Clinical trial registration number is ChiCTR-TRC-09000594.
Short-and long-term effects of tactile massage on salivary cortisol concentrations in Parkinsons disease : a randomised controlled pilot study

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder with limited knowledge about the normal function and effects of non-pharmacological therapies on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The aim of the study was to analyse the basal diurnal and total secretion of salivary cortisol in shortand long-term aspects of tactile massage (TM). Methods: Design: Prospective, Controlled and Randomised Multicentre Trial. Setting and interventions: Forty-five women and men, aged 50–79 years, were recruited. Twenty-nine of them were blindly randomised to tactile massage (TM) and 16 of them to the control group, rest to music (RTM). Ten interventions were given during 8 weeks followed by a 26 weeks of follow up. Salivary cortisol was collected at 8 am, 1 pm, 8 pm, and 8 am the next day, on five occasions. With the first and eighth interventions, it was collected immediately before and after intervention. Main outcome measures: The primary aim was to assess and compare cortisol concentrations before and immediately after intervention and also during the follow-up period. The secondary aim was to assess the impact of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), duration and severity of PD, effects of interventional time-point of the day, and levodopa doses on cortisol concentration. Results: The median cortisol concentrations for all participants were 16.0, 5.8, 2.8, and 14.0 nmol/L at baseline, later reproduced four times without significant differences. Cortisol concentrations decreased significantly after TM intervention but no change in diurnal salivary cortisol pattern was found. The findings of reduced salivary cortisol concentrations immediately after the interventions are in agreement with previous studies. However, there was no significant difference between the TM and control groups. There were no significant correlations between cortisol concentrations and age, gender, BMI, time-point for intervention, time interval between anti-parkinson pharmacy intake and sampling, levodopa doses, duration, or severity of PD. Conclusions: Diurnal salivary cortisol rhythm was normal. Salivary cortisol concentrations were significantly reduced after the TM intervention and after RTM, but there were no significant differences between the groups and no sustained long-term effect. No associations were seen between salivary cortisol concentration and clinical and/or pharmacological characteristics. Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT01734876 and FoU Sweden 108881.
Production and action of ethylene in senescing leaf discs: effect of indoleacetic Acid, kinetin, silver ion, and carbon dioxide.

Supraoptimal concentrations of indoleacetic acid (IAA) stimulated ethylene production, which in turn appeared to oppose the senescence-retarding effect of IAA in tobacco leaf discs. Kinetin acted synergistically with IAA in stimulating ethylene production, but it inhibited senescence. Silver ion and CO(2), which are believed to block ethylene binding to its receptor sites, delayed senescence in terms of chlorophyll loss and stimulated ethylene production. Both effects of Ag(+) were considerably greater than those of CO(2). IAA, kinetin, CO(2), and Ag(+), combined, acted to increase ethylene production further. Although this combination increased ethylene production about 160-fold over that of the control, it inhibited senescence. Treatment with 25 mul/l of ethylene in the presence of IAA enhanced chlorophyll loss in leaf discs and inhibited by about 90% the conversion of l-[3,4-(14)C] methionine to (14)C(2)H(4) suggesting autoinhibition of ethylene production.The results suggest that ethylene biosynthesis in leaves is controlled by hormones, especially auxin, and possibly the rate of ethylene production depends, via a feedback control system, on the rates of ethylene binding at its receptor sites.
High-affinity folate binding in human choroid plexus. Characterization of radioligand binding, immunoreactivity, molecular heterogeneity and hydrophobic domain of the binding protein.

High-affinity [3H]folate binding in solubilized human choroid plexus homogenate displayed characteristics, e.g. apparent positive co-operativity, which are typical of specific folate binding. The highest folate-binding activity per g of protein was associated with the 27000 g membrane pellet where the membrane-marker enzyme gamma-glutamyltransferase had its main localization. Ultrogel AcA 44 chromatography revealed two major folate-binding proteins (molecular masses greater than 110 kDa and approx. 100 kDa) and one minor one (molecular mass approx. 25 kDa) and approx. 100 kDa) and one minor one (molecular mass approx. 25 kDa) in the Triton X-100-solubilized membrane pellet. After exposure of the membrane pellet to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C there was only one large 25 kDa peak of folate binding. This could suggest that the folate-binding protein is anchored to the membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol moiety, which can be inserted into Triton X-100 micelles and thus can give rise to forms of large molecular size on gel filtration. This notion was supported by the identical molecular masses of the greater than 110 kDa and 25 kDa folate-binding peaks determined by SDS/PAGE and immunoblotting. The folate-binding protein in choroid plexus cross-reacted with rabbit antibodies against the 25 kDa human milk folate-binding protein, and paraffin-embedded sections of choroid plexus showed immunostaining after exposure to rabbit anti-(human milk folate-binding protein) serum (1:8000 dilution).
Chronic exposure to low-dose radiation at Chernobyl favours adaptation to oxidative stress in birds

Summary Ionizing radiation produces oxidative stress, but organisms can adapt to their exposure with physiological adaptive responses. However, the role of radioadaptive responses in wild populations remains poorly known. At Chernobyl, studies of birds and other taxa including humans show that chronic exposure to radiation depletes antioxidants and increases oxidative damage. Here, we present analyses of levels of the most important intracellular antioxidant (i.e. glutathione, GSH), its redox status, DNA damage and body condition in 16 species of birds exposed to radiation at Chernobyl. We use an approach that allows considering the individual bird as the sampling unit while controlling for phylogenetic effects, thus increasing the statistical power by avoiding the use of species means as done for most previous comparative studies. As a consequence, we found a pattern radically different from previous studies in wild populations, showing that GSH levels and body condition increased, and oxidative stress and DNA damage decreased, with increasing background radiation. Thus, when several species are considered, the overall pattern indicates that birds are not negatively affected by chronic exposure to radiation and may even obtain beneficial hormetic effects following an adaptive response. Analysis of the phylogenetic signal supports the existence of adaptation in the studied traits, particularly in GSH levels and DNA damage. We also show that, under equal levels of radiation, the birds that produce larger amounts of the pigment pheomelanin and lower amounts of eumelanin pay a cost in terms of decreased GSH levels, increased oxidative stress and DNA damage, and poorer body condition. Radiation, however, diminished another potential cost of pheomelanin, namely its tendency to produce free radicals when exposed to radiation, because it induced a change towards the production of less pro-oxidant forms of pheomelanin with higher benzothiazole-to-benzothiazine ratios, which may have facilitated the acclimation of birds to radiation exposure. Our findings represent the first evidence of adaptation to ionizing radiation in wild animals, and confirm that pheomelanin synthesis represents an evolutionary constraint under stressful environmental conditions because it requires GSH consumption.
SIGACT news online algorithms column 17

From the editor: Last summer I attended the 2nd NSF Workshop on Science of Power Management, organized by Kirk Pruhs. The workshop was held in conjunction with the 1st International Green Computing Conference. The participants were encouraged to attend the IGCC sessions, in order to identify research problems that might be of interest to the algorithms community and to present them at the workshop. Slides from these presentations are available at http://www.cs. pitt.edu/~kirk/SciPM2/. This quarter’s column has been inspired by several talks at IGCC, although most problems discussed in it were actually added later, when I surveyed the literature on power management.
Impact of the Reduced Folate Carrier on the Accumulation of Active Thiamin Metabolites in Murine Leukemia Cells*

The thiamin transporter encoded bySLC19A2 and the reduced folate carrier (RFC1) share 40% homology at the protein level, but the thiamin transporter does not mediate transport of folates. By using murine leukemia cell lines that express no, normal, or high levels of RFC1, we demonstrate that RFC1 does not mediate thiamin influx. However, high level RFC1 expression substantially reduced accumulation of the active thiamin coenzyme, thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP). This decreased level of TPP, synthesized intracellularly from imported thiamin, resulted from RFC1-mediated efflux of TPP. This conclusion was supported by the following observations. (i) Efflux of intracellular TPP was increased in cells with high expression of RFC1. (ii) Methotrexate inhibits TPP influx. (iii) TPP competitively inhibits methotrexate influx. (iv) Loading cells, which overexpress RFC1 to high levels of methotrexate to inhibit competitively RFC1-mediated TPP efflux, augment TPP accumulation. (v) There was an inverse correlation between thiamin accumulation and RFC1 activity in cells grown at a physiological concentration of thiamin. The modulation of thiamin accumulation by RFC1 in murine leukemia cells suggests that this carrier may play a role in thiamin homeostasis and could serve as a modifying factor in thiamin nutritional deficiency as well as when the high affinity thiamin transporter is mutated.