Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Short-term trends in China’s income inequality and poverty: evidence from a longitudinal household survey

In the past three decades, income inequality in China has increased rapidly relative to both China’s own past and other countries at similar levels of economic development. Using recent longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this article examines changes in income inequality and poverty prevalence between 2010 and 2012. Surprisingly, we find a modest decline in income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficients in the CFPS data. The urban–rural gap narrowed, with rural families enjoying faster income growth than urban families enjoyed. Income growth was greater for middle-income families than for families with either high or low incomes in 2010. By all measures, poverty was greatly reduced between 2010 and 2012. Two-thirds of families that had been poor in 2010 escaped poverty by 2012.
Blockchain in Logistics and Supply Chain: A Lean Approach for Designing Real-World Use Cases

The Blockchain technology can be defined as a distributed ledger database for recording transactions between parties verifiably and permanently. Blockchain emerged as a leading technology layer for financial applications. Nevertheless, in the past years, the attention of researchers and practitioners moved to the application of the Blockchain technologies to other domains. Recently, it represents the backbone of a new digital supply chain. Thanks to its capability of ensuring data immutability and public accessibility of data streams, Blockchain can increase the efficiency, reliability, and transparency of the overall supply chain, and optimize the inbound processes. The literature concerning Blockchain in non-financial applications mainly focused on the technological part and the Business Process Modeling, lacking in terms of standard methodology for designing a strategy to develop and validate the overall Blockchain solution and integrate it in the Business Strategy. Thus, this paper aims to overcome this lack. First, we integrate the current literature filling the lack concerning the digital strategy, creating a standard methodology to design Blockchain technology use cases, which are not related to finance applications. Second, we present the results of a use case in the fresh food delivery, showing the critical aspects of implementing a Blockchain solution. Moreover, the paper discusses how the Blockchain will help in reducing the logistics costs and in optimizing the operations and the research challenges.
NLP2API: Query Reformulation for Code Search Using Crowdsourced Knowledge and Extra-Large Data Analytics

Software developers frequently issue generic natural language (NL) queries for code search. Unfortunately, such queries often do not lead to any relevant results with contemporary code (or web) search engines due to vocabulary mismatch problems. In our technical research paper (accepted at ICSME 2018), we propose a technique–NLP2API–that reformulates such NL queries using crowdsourced knowledge and extra-large data analytics derived from Stack Overflow Q & A site. In this paper, we discuss all the artifacts produced by our work, and provide necessary details for downloading and verifying them.
Developmental stress and telomere dynamics in a genetically polymorphic species

A central objective of evolutionary biology is understanding variation in life‐history trajectories and the rate of aging, or senescence. Senescence can be affected by trade‐offs and behavioural strategies in adults but may also be affected by developmental stress. Developmental stress can accelerate telomere degradation, with long‐term longevity and fitness consequences. Little is known regarding whether variation in developmental stress and telomere dynamics contributes to patterns of senescence during adulthood. We investigated this question in the dimorphic white‐throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), a species in which adults of the two morphs exhibit established differences in behavioural strategy and patterns of senescence, and also evaluated the relationship between oxidative stress and telomere length. Tan morph females, which exhibit high levels of unassisted parental care, display faster reproductive senescence than white females, and faster actuarial senescence than all of the other morph–sex classes. We hypothesized that high oxidative stress and telomere attrition in tan female nestlings could contribute to this pattern, since tan females are small and potentially at a competitive disadvantage even as nestlings. Nestlings that were smaller than nest mates had higher oxidative stress, and nestlings with high oxidative stress and fast growth rates displayed shorter telomeres. However, we found no consistent morph–sex differences in oxidative stress or telomere length. Results suggest that oxidative stress and fast growth contribute to developmental telomere attrition, with potential ramifications for adults, but that developmental oxidative stress and telomere dynamics do not account for morph–sex differences in senescence during adulthood.
Stress Recognition Using Sparse Representation of Speech Signal for Deception Detection Applications in Indian Context

This work aims at stress recognition of a person using sparse representation of speech samples for a real time application of deception detection. A learned dictionary using K-Singular Value Decomposition (K-SVD) is considered for sparse signal representation. The work incorporates parameterization of nonlinear Teagor Energy Operated Critical Band Autocorrelation Envelop (TEO-CB-Auto-Env) feature extraction of speech samples. The database developed by IIT Guwahati with five stress categories includes Angry, Happy, Lombard, Neutral and Sad. The corpus has speech samples in Hindi language and hence the proposed stress classification system is applicable for Indian context. Weka, Neural Network and Autoencoder Neural Network are used for classification. A better recognition accuracy around 5% higher is gained in this work compared with earlier work on speech based stress recognition on the same database. The comparative performance shows that Random Forest classifier from Weka performs better than Neural Network and Autoencoder Neural Network.
MicroRNA-374b inhibits the tumor growth and promotes apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer tissue through the p38/ERK signaling pathway by targeting JAM-2.

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are reportedly involved in various cancers. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miRNA-374b in cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor formation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in humans. Methods The expression level of miRNA-374b in blood and tumor tissues from NSCLC patients was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). A 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was performed to assess the viability of NSCLC cells after transfection with miRNA-374b. Colony formation assay was performed to assess the proliferation of cells pretreated with miRNA-374b. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to determine the role of miRNA-374b in apoptosis in NSCLC cells. A tumor formation assay was performed to assess the effects of miRNA-374b on tumorigenesis in NSCLC. Results miRNA-374b was markedly downregulated in the blood and tumor tissues from NSCLC patients. Furthermore, overexpression of miRNA-374b markedly reduced the viability of NSCLC cells, but miRNA-374b inhibitor increased the viability of NSCLC cells compared with that in negative controls. Moreover, miRNA-374b decreased the number of colonies; however, its corresponding anti-miRNA oligonucleotide (AMO) markedly increased colony formation by NSCLC cells. Also, miRNA-374b promoted the apoptosis and inhibited tumor formation in NSCLC; however, this inhibition was reversed upon treatment with the AMO. Western blot analysis revealed that miRNA-374b regulates tumor progression through the p38/ERK signaling pathway by inhibiting JAM-2 in NSCLC. Conclusions The present results indicate that miRNA-374b inhibits tumor growth and promotes apoptosis in NSCLC through the p38/ERK signaling pathway by targeting JAM-2.
Comparing the determinants of non-MOOC and MOOC continuance intention in Taiwan: Effects of interactivity and openness

Purpose Massive open online courses (MOOCs) differ from non-MOOC e-learning platforms mainly in terms of degree of openness, with MOOCs designed to maximize learner access and interaction. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new research model to explore intention to continue to use MOOCs from the perspectives of openness and interactivity, based on related theories and dimensions from previous research. Design/methodology/approach In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the MOOC platform, two online survey questionnaires were developed and e-mailed to the all of the university students in Taichung, Taiwan. The first one and second one are the same except the construct openness. The first one was delivered in late 2015 while the second one was delivered in the middle 2016. After the authors eliminated incomplete responses and duplicates, 995 and 854 usable responses from platform users remained, respectively, and were used to test the relationships in the model. Findings The model can account for more than 75 percent of the variance in continuance intention. The research results affirm prior findings that satisfaction has a strong direct influence on intention. Among the three interaction factors, human-message interaction on the platform has the strongest effect on satisfaction. This study found that the effects of interactions and motivation on MOOC and non-MOOC platforms were consistent and similar. Moreover, perceived openness was found to influence usage intention but its effects were relative low. Originality/value The model demonstrated good explanatory power for continued intention in the context of MOOCs. This study provides a better understanding of the relationships among interactions, motivations, perceived openness, and continuance intention.
Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) over prefrontal cortex does not influence the evaluation of facial emotions

ABSTRACT Cerebral asymmetries for emotion processing are controversial, the right hemisphere being considered either superior in the recognition of all emotions, or superior in the recognition of negative emotions (together with the left-hemispheric superiority for positive emotions). In a number of previous studies, tDCS was applied on the left/right prefrontal cortex (PFC) in order to disentangle this issue, but the results remain controversial. We applied hf-tRNS/sham stimulation over the left/right PFC, during the presentation of neutral, angry and happy faces presented as broadband images (supraliminal condition), and as “hybrid” stimuli in which an emotional face in low spatial frequency is superimposed to the neutral expression of the same individual in high spatial frequency (subliminal condition), during a friendliness evaluation task. The results showed that angry and happy unfiltered stimuli were judged as the most unfriendly and friendly, respectively. Importantly, we found that hf-tRNS applied over the left/right PFC did not influence friendliness evaluations for emotional faces.
Upregulation of mtSSB by interleukin‐6 promotes cell growth through mitochondrial biogenesis‐mediated telomerase activation in colorectal cancer

It is now widely accepted that mitochondrial biogenesis is inhibited in most cancer cells. Interestingly, one of the possible exceptions is colorectal cancer (CRC), in which the content of mitochondria has been found to be higher than in normal colon mucosa. However, to date, the causes and effects of this phenomenon are still unclear. In the present study, we systematically investigated the functional role of mitochondrial single‐strand DNA binding protein (mtSSB), a key molecule in the regulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication, in the mitochondrial biogenesis and CRC cell growth. Our results demonstrated that mtSSB was frequently upregulated in CRC tissues and that upregulated mtSSB was associated with poor prognosis in CRC patients. Furthermore, overexpression of mtSSB promoted CRC cell growth in vitro by regulating cell proliferation. The in vivo assay confirmed these results, indicating that the forced expression of mtSSB significantly increases the growth capacity of xenograft tumors. Mechanistically, the survival advantage conferred by mtSSB was primarily caused by increased mitochondrial biogenesis and subsequent ROS production, which induced telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) expression and telomere elongation via Akt/mTOR pathway in CRC cells. In addition, FOXP1, a member of the forkhead box family, was identified as a new transcription factor for mtSSB. Moreover, our results also demonstrate that proinflammatory IL‐6/STAT3 signaling facilitates mtSSB expression and CRC cell proliferation via inducing FOXP1 expression. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that mtSSB induced by inflammation plays a critical role in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis, telomerase activation, and subsequent CRC proliferation, providing a strong evidence for mtSSB as drug target in CRC treatment.
Enriching Translation-Based Knowledge Graph Embeddings Through Continual Learning

This paper addresses an enrichment of translation-based knowledge graph embeddings. When new knowledge triples become available after a knowledge graph is embedded onto a vector space, the embedding should be enriched with the new triples, but without the triples used in training the embedding. The main challenge is that the enrichment of new triples should be accomplished without forgetting the knowledge of current embedding. This paper achieves the goal by minimizing a risk over the new triples penalized by rapid parameter change between old and new embedding models. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by learning a translation-based knowledge graph embedding trained incrementally using a series of knowledge triples. The experimental results from two tasks of knowledge graph embedding prove that the proposed method not only incorporates new knowledge of new triples into the existing embedding successfully but also preserves the knowledge of the current embedding.
Generation of 3D Functional Structures for High- Frequency Applications by Printing Technologies

Mechatronic Integrated Devices (MID) offer a high level of functional integration, miniaturization and allow a reduction of utilized components. Due to these benefits, the MID technology is constantly pushing forward into new application fields, e.g. for internet of things products. Most smart devices are equipped with sensors and have wireless capabilities to send and receive data. As the market requires faster transmission rates and higher frequencies, microwave technology is gaining more and more significance. One promising technology in order to enable highly integrated products is printed electronics. In this work, the suitability of a novel aerosol-based printing system is evaluated by generating microstrip lines. The created structures are characterized geometrically with a laser scan microscope and electrically with a network analyzer.
Estrus Detection Through Vaginal pH in Saanen Etawah Crossbreed Goats.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE In goats, weak estrus behavior is potentially caused by a decline in reproductive efficiency. In the present study, aim was to measure the vaginal pH to determine the accuracy of lust detection in Saanen Etawah crossbreed goats. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirteen Saanen Etawah crossbred does (Capra hircus) with body condition score of 2-3 were used. The dose were fed concentrate, provided forage and water ad libitum. The experiment was conducted during the natural estrous cycle. Vaginal smears were collected from each dose every day over a 60 days period to determine the time of each phase of the estrous cycle. The vaginal pH was measured using pH indicator paper; simultaneously, the blood was sampled from the caudal vein into anticoagulant-coated tubes following estrous cycle, covering estrus (E/day-0), metestrus (M/day-3), diestrus (D/day-12) and proestrus (P/day-15). The concentration of plasma estrogen and cortisol was determined by solid phase competitive enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay and the correlation between vaginal pH with each phase of estrous cycle and estrogen level was found. RESULTS The changes in vaginal pH were confirmed with estrogen and cortisol profile at each estrous phase. The highest vaginal pH and estrogen content were found during estrus, whereas, the lowest vaginal pH and estrogen content was found during diestrus. Furthermore, the cortisol level was significantly different in each phase of the estrous cycle; the highest level of cortisol was observed during proestrus. CONCLUSION The correlation between vaginal pH and estrous phase indicates that the vaginal pH can be a useful parameter for estrus detection.
Serenoa repens and N‐acetyl glucosamine/milk proteins complex differentially affect the paracrine communication between endothelial and follicle dermal papilla cells

Current treatments for hair follicle (HF) disruption are based on 5‐α reductase inhibitors and prostaglandin modulators. Botanicals and nutraceutical compounds interfere with hair loss or stimulate its partial regrowth. Here, we used in vitro cocultures to investigate the activity of Serenoa repens ( SR) and N‐acetyl glucosamine + milk proteins (NAG/Lac) on the paracrine interactions between human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) and HF dermal papilla cells (FDPC). Both SR and NAG/Lac‐induced endothelial tubulogenesis were enhanced by FDPC. SR promoted proliferation of both the cell types, while NAG/Lac was effective on endothelium. Vascular endothelial growth factor production, enhanced by SR, was further augmented by FDPC. In FDPC 5‐α reductase‐II and β‐catenin expressions were modified by SR and less by NAG/Lac, with no additional effect by HMVEC. SR and NAG/Lac prevented lipid peroxidation, whereas NAG/Lac was effective on interleukin 1β production. Finally, SR and NAG/Lac differentially affected HMVEC permeability and tight junction proteins content. These data provide a mechanistic background for the potential use of these compounds as promoters of HF vascularization.
Adaptive Packet Length and MCS Using Average or Instantaneous SNR

In this paper, we propose a new adaptive link layer protocol that consists in adapting packet length and Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) to Average Signal to Noise Ratio or instantaneous SNR (ISNR). Adaptive MCS and adaptive packet length offer higher throughput than adaptive MCS and fixed packet length as considered in previous studies. The best strategy is to adapt the MCS and packet length to ISNR. Adaptive MCS and adaptive packet length offer 1–2 dB gains with respect to adaptive MCS and fixed packet length. The proposed adaptive link layer protocol has been implemented by quantizing the SNR on the feedback channel over four bits and yielding close results to unquantized SNR.
Podoplanin expression is a prognostic biomarker but may be dispensable for the malignancy of glioblastoma

BACKGROUND Treatment options of glioblastoma, the most aggressive primary brain tumor with frequent relapses and high mortality, are still very limited, urgently calling for novel therapeutic targets. Expression of the glycoprotein podoplanin correlates with poor prognosis in various cancer entities, including glioblastoma. Furthermore, podoplanin has been associated with tumor cell migration and proliferation in vitro; however, experimental data on its function in gliomagenesis in vivo are still missing. Hence, we have functionally investigated the impact of podoplanin on glioblastoma in a preclinical mouse model to evaluate its potential as a therapeutic target. METHODS Fluorescence activated cell sorting, genome-wide expression analysis, and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9 (Cas9)-mediated deletion of podoplanin in patient-derived human glioblastoma cells were combined with organotypic brain slice cultures and intracranial injections into mice. RESULTS We defined a malignant gene signature in tumor cells with high podoplanin expression. The increase and/or maintenance of high podoplanin expression in serial transplantations and in podoplaninlow-sorted glioblastoma cells during outgrowth indicated the association of high podoplanin expression and poor outcome. Unexpectedly, similar rates of proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and invasion were observed in control and podoplanin-deleted tumors. Accordingly, neither tumor growth nor survival was affected upon podoplanin loss. CONCLUSION We report that tumor progression occurs independently of podoplanin. Thus, in contrast to previous suggestions, blocking of podoplanin does not represent a promising therapeutic approach. However, as podoplanin is associated with tumor aggressiveness and progression, we propose the cell surface protein as a biomarker for poor prognosis.
Metamorphic Testing of RESTful Web APIs

Web Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allow systems to interact with each other over the network. Modern Web APIs often adhere to the REST architectural style, being referred to as RESTful Web APIs. RESTful Web APIs are decomposed into multiple resources (e.g., a video in the YouTube API) that clients can manipulate through HTTP interactions. Testing Web APIs is critical but challenging due to the difficulty to assess the correctness of API responses, i.e., the oracle problem. Metamorphic testing alleviates the oracle problem by exploiting relations (so-called metamorphic relations) among multiple executions of the program under test. In this paper, we present a metamorphic testing approach for the detection of faults in RESTful Web APIs. We first propose six abstract relations that capture the shape of many of the metamorphic relations found in RESTful Web APIs, we call these Metamorphic Relation Output Patterns (MROPs). Each MROP can then be instantiated into one or more concrete metamorphic relations. The approach was evaluated using both automatically seeded and real faults in six subject Web APIs. Among other results, we identified 60 metamorphic relations (instances of the proposed MROPs) in the Web APIs of Spotify and YouTube. Each metamorphic relation was implemented using both random and manual test data, running over 4.7K automated tests. As a result, 11 issues were detected (3 in Spotify and 8 in YouTube), 10 of them confirmed by the API developers or reproduced by other users, supporting the effectiveness of the approach.