Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bound Consistency for Binary Length-Lex Set Constraints

The length-lex representation has been recently proposed for representing sets in Constraint Satisfaction Problems. The length-lex representation directly captures cardinality information, provides a total ordering for sets, and allows bound consistency on unary constraints to be enforced in time O(c), where c is the cardinality of the set. However, no algorithms were given to enforce bound consistency on binary constraints. This paper addresses this open issue. It presents algorithms to enforce bound consistency on disjointness and cardinality constraints in time O(c3). Moreover, it presents a generic bound-consistency algorithm for any binary constraint S which requires O(c2) calls to a feasibility subroutine for S.
The role of grammar factors and visual context in Norwegian children's pronoun resolution

Most personal pronouns have one entry in the mental lexicon, but they can have different referents depending on the context they appear in. They are sometimes fairly ambiguous. There is also evidence that pronoun resolution is impaired in many developmental deficits. Children have to learn how to find the intended referent, but we do not know much about how resolution strategies are acquired. How do visual context and syntactic context influence children’s pronoun processing? Using eye-tracking, we investigate for the first time the development of Norwegian children’s pronoun resolution competencies in their L1.
Measuring TCP connection establishment times of dual-stacked web services

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed protocols that promote a healthy IPv4 and IPv6 co-existence. The happy eyeballs algorithm for instance, provides recommendations to application developers to help prevent bad user experience in situations where IPv6 connectivity is broken. In this paper, we compare the IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity of a dual-stacked host using a metric that measures the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection establishment time to a number of popular web services. We witnessed several cases where the connection establishment times and their variations over IPv6 are higher.
A Randomized Double-Blind Trial of Enalapril in Older Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction: Effects on Exercise Tolerance and Arterial Distensibility

Background—Exercise intolerance is the primary symptom in older patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF); however, little is known regarding its mechanisms and therapy. Methods and Results—Seventy-one stable elderly (70±1 years) patients (80% women) with compensated HFPEF and controlled blood pressure were randomized into a 12-month follow-up double-blind trial of enalapril 20 mg/d versus placebo. Assessments were peak exercise oxygen consumption; 6-minute walk test; Minnesota Living with HF Questionnaire; MRI; Doppler echocardiography; and vascular ultrasound. Compliance by pill count was excellent (94%). Twenty-five patients in the enalapril group versus 34 in the placebo group completed the 12-month follow-up. During follow-up, there was no difference in the primary outcome of peak exercise oxygen consumption (enalapril, 14.5±3.2 mL/kg/min; placebo, 14.3±3.4 mL/kg/min; P=0.99), or in 6-minute walk distance, aortic distensibility (the primary mechanistic outcome), left ventricle mass, or neurohormonal profile. The effect size of enalapril on peak exercise oxygen consumption was small (0.7%; 95% CI, 4.2% to 5.6%). There was a trend toward improved Minnesota Living with HF Questionnaire total score (P=0.07), a modest reduction in systolic blood pressure at peak exercise (P=0.02), and a marginal improvement in carotid arterial distensibility (P=0.04). Conclusions—In stable, older patients with compensated HFPEF and controlled blood pressure, 12 months of enalapril did not improve exercise capacity or aortic distensibility. These data, combined with those from large clinical event trials, suggest that angiotensin inhibition does not substantially improve key long-term clinical outcomes in this group of patients. This finding contrasts sharply with observations in HF with reduced EF and highlights our incomplete understanding of this important and common disorder.
Excess cholesterol induces mouse egg activation and may cause female infertility

Significance Production of functional sperm and eggs requires a complex process called meiosis. Meiosis in mouse and human eggs pauses at a stage called metaphase II (MII) arrest until fertilization by sperm. After fertilization, eggs released from MII arrest complete meiosis and develop into new individuals. In analyzing the female infertility of genetically altered mice, we discovered that excess cholesterol can trick mouse eggs into behaving as though they were fertilized (released from arrest), thus disrupting the normal synchrony between fertilization and completion of meiosis and rendering them dysfunctional. These findings suggest that abnormal cholesterol metabolism may contribute to some forms of human female infertility. The HDL receptor scavenger receptor, class B type I (SR-BI) controls the structure and fate of plasma HDL. Female SR-BI KO mice are infertile, apparently because of their abnormal cholesterol-enriched HDL particles. We examined the growth and meiotic progression of SR-BI KO oocytes and found that they underwent normal germinal vesicle breakdown; however, SR-BI KO eggs, which had accumulated excess cholesterol in vivo, spontaneously activated, and they escaped metaphase II (MII) arrest and progressed to pronuclear, MIII, and anaphase/telophase III stages. Eggs from fertile WT mice were activated when loaded in vitro with excess cholesterol by a cholesterol/methyl-β-cyclodextrin complex, phenocopying SR-BI KO oocytes. In vitro cholesterol loading of eggs induced reduction in maturation promoting factor and MAPK activities, elevation of intracellular calcium, extrusion of a second polar body, and progression to meiotic stages beyond MII. These results suggest that the infertility of SR-BI KO females is caused, at least in part, by excess cholesterol in eggs inducing premature activation and that cholesterol can activate WT mouse eggs to escape from MII arrest. Analysis of SR-BI KO female infertility raises the possibility that abnormalities in cholesterol metabolism might underlie some cases of human female infertility of unknown etiology.
A bioluminescent microbial biosensor for in vitro pretreatment assessment of cytarabine efficacy in leukemia.

BACKGROUND The nucleoside analog cytarabine (Ara-C [cytosine arabinoside]) is the key agent for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, up to 30% of patients fail to respond to treatment. Screening of patient blood samples to determine drug response before commencement of treatment is needed. This project aimed to construct and evaluate a self-bioluminescent reporter strain of Escherichia coli for use as an Ara-C biosensor and to design an in vitro assay to predict Ara-C response in clinical samples. METHODS We used transposition mutagenesis to create a cytidine deaminase (cdd)-deficient mutant of E. coli MG1655 that responded to Ara-C. The strain was transformed with the luxCDABE operon and used as a whole-cell biosensor for development an 8-h assay to determine Ara-C uptake and phosphorylation by leukemic cells. RESULTS Intracellular concentrations of 0.025 μmol/L phosphorylated Ara-C were detected by significantly increased light output (P < 0.05) from the bacterial biosensor. Results using AML cell lines with known response to Ara-C showed close correlation between the 8-h assay and a 3-day cytotoxicity test for Ara-C cell killing. In retrospective tests with 24 clinical samples of bone marrow or peripheral blood, the biosensor-based assay predicted leukemic cell response to Ara-C within 8 h. CONCLUSIONS The biosensor-based assay may offer a predictor for evaluating the sensitivity of leukemic cells to Ara-C before patients undergo chemotherapy and allow customized treatment of drug-sensitive patients with reduced Ara-C dose levels. The 8-h assay monitors intracellular Ara-CTP (cytosine arabinoside triphosphate) levels and, if fully validated, may be suitable for use in clinical settings.
Short Communication Characterization of the Salehabad virus species complex of the genus Phlebovirus (Bunyaviridae)

Genomic and antigenic characterization of the Salehabad virus, a species of the genus Phlebovirus, and four other unclassified phleboviruses (Arbia, Adria, Arumowot and Odrenisrou) demonstrate a serological and genetic relation to one another and are distinct from the eight other recognized species within the genus Phlebovirus. We propose to incorporate these four unclassified viruses as part of the Salehabad species complex within the genus. The known geographical distribution for the members of this species group includes southern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
Discrete Lossy Gray–Wyner Revisited: Second-Order Asymptotics, Large and Moderate Deviations

In this paper, we revisit the discrete lossy Gray-Wyner problem. In particular, we derive its optimal second-order coding rate region, its error exponent (reliability function), and its moderate deviations constant under mild conditions on the source. To obtain the second-order asymptotics, we extend some ideas from Watanabe’s work. In particular, we leverage the properties of an appropriate generalization of the conditional distortion-tilted information density, which was first introduced by Kostina and Verdú. The converse part uses a perturbation argument by Gu and Effros in their strong converse proof of the discrete Gray–Wyner problem. The achievability part uses two novel elements: 1) a generalization of various type covering lemmas and 2) the uniform continuity of the conditional rate-distortion function in both the source (joint) distribution and the distortion level. To obtain the error exponent, for the achievability part, we use the same generalized type covering lemma, and for the converse, we use the strong converse together with a change-of-measure technique. Finally, to obtain the moderate deviations constant, we apply the moderate deviations theorem to probabilities defined in terms of information spectrum quantities.
Localized micro‐scale disruption of cells using laser‐generated focused ultrasound

We utilize laser‐generated focused ultrasound (LGFU) to create targeted mechanical disturbance on a few cells. The LGFU is transmitted through an optoacoustic lens that converts laser pulses into focused ultrasound. The tight focusing (<100 µm) and high peak pressure of the LGFU produces cavitational disturbances at a localized spot with micro‐jetting and secondary shock‐waves arising from micro‐bubble collapse. We demonstrate that LGFU can be used as a non‐contact, non‐ionizing, high‐precision tool to selectively detach a single cell from its culture substrate. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of biomolecule delivery in a small population of cells targeted by LGFU at pressure amplitudes below and above the cavitation threshold. We experimentally confirm that cavitational disruption is required for delivery of propidium iodide, a membrane‐impermeable nucleic acid‐binding dye, into cells. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A Pseudolite-Based Positioning System for Legacy GNSS Receivers

The ephemeris data format of legacy GPS receivers is improper for positioning stationary pseudolites on the ground. Therefore, to utilize pseudolites for navigation, GPS receivers must be modified so that they can handle the modified data formats of the pseudolites. Because of this problem, the practical use of pseudolites has so far been limited. This paper proposes a pseudolite-based positioning system that can be used with unmodified legacy GPS receivers. In the proposed system, pseudolites transmit simulated GPS signals. The signals use standard GPS ephemeris data format and contain ephemeris data of simulated GPS satellites, not those of pseudolites. The use of the standard format enables the GPS receiver to process pseudolite signals without any modification. However, the position output of the GPS receiver is not the correct position in this system, because there are additional signal delays from each pseudolite to the receiver. A post-calculation process was added to obtain the correct receiver position using GPS receiver output. This re-estimation is possible because it is based on known information about the simulated signals, pseudolites, and positioning process of the GPS receiver. Simulations using generated data and live GPS data are conducted for various geometries to verify the proposed system. The test results show that the proposed system provides the desired user position using pseudolite signals without requiring any modifications to the legacy GPS receiver. In this initial study, a pseudolite-only indoor system was assumed. However, it can be expanded to a GPS-pseudolite system outdoors.
Dichlorido{N′-[(pyridin-2-yl)methylidene-κN]acetohydrazide-κ2 N′,O}copper(II)

In the title compound, [CuCl2(C8H9N3O)], the CuII atom has a distorted square-pyramidal CuCl2N2O coordination geometry. The tridentate acetohydrazide ligand occupies three basal positions, the fourth basal position being defined by a chloride anion at a distance of 2.2116 (6) Å. The second chloride anion is in the apical position and forms a longer Cu—Cl distance of 2.4655 (7) Å. Intermolecular N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds are present in the crystal, leading to the formation of chains along [10].
Using Pictorial Structures to Identify Proteins in X-ray Crystallographic Electron Density Maps

One of the most time-consuming steps in determining a protein's structure via x-ray crystallography is interpretation of the electron density map. This can be viewed as a computer-vision problem, since a density map is simply a three-dimensional image of a protein. However, due to the intractably large space of conformations the protein can adopt, building a protein model to match in the density map is extremely difficult. This paper describes the use of pictorial structures to build a flexible protein model from the protein's amino acid sequence. A pictorial structure is a way of representing an object as a collection of parts connected, pairwise, by deformable springs. Model parameters are learned from training data. Using an efficient algorithm to match the model to the density map, the most probable arrangement of the protein's atoms can be found in a reasonable running time. We test the algorithm is on two different tasks. The first is an amino-acid sidechain-refinement task, in which the location of the protein's backbone is approximately known. The algorithm places the remaining atoms into the region of density quite accurately, placing 72% of atoms within 1.0 A of their actual location (as determined by a crystallographer). In the second task, a classification task, the algorithm is used to predict the type of amino acid contained in an unknown region of density. In this task, the algorithm is 61% accurate in discriminating between four different amino acids.
Automatically Tuned Linear Algebra Software

This paper describes an approach for the automatic generation and optimization of numerical software for processors with deep memory hierarchies and pipelined functional units. The production of such software for machines ranging from desktop workstations to embedded processors can be a tedious and time consuming process. The work described here can help in automating much of this process. We will concentrate our efforts on the widely used linear algebra kernels called the Basic Linear Algebra Subroutines (BLAS). In particular, the work presented here is for general matrix multiply, DGEMM. However much of the technology and approach developed here can be applied to the other Level 3 BLAS and the general strategy can have an impact on basic linear algebra operations in general and may be extended to other important kernel operations.
Why climate sensitivity may not be so unpredictable

Different explanations have been proposed as to why the range of climate sensitivity predicted by GCMs has not lessened substantially in the last decades, and subsequently if it can be reduced. One such study (Why is climate sensitivity so unpredictable? ) addressed these questions using rather simple theoretical considerations and reached the conclusion that reducing uncertainties on climate feedbacks and underlying climate processes will not yield a large reduction in the envelope of climate sensitivity. In this letter, we revisit the premises of this conclusion. We show that it results from a mathematical artifact caused by a peculiar definition of uncertainty used by these authors. Applying standard concepts and definitions of descriptive statistics to the exact same framework of analysis as Roe and Baker, we show that within this simple framework, reducing inter‐model spread on feedbacks does in fact induce a reduction of uncertainty on climate sensitivity, almost proportionally. Therefore, following Roe and Baker assumptions, climate sensitivity is actually not so unpredictable.
The real-world effectiveness and safety of fingolimod in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients: An observational study

Fingolimod approval was based mainly on two clinical trials, FREEDOMS and TRANSFORMS, which demonstrated the efficacy and safety of fingolimod in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We present an observational study that validates these trials findings in a real-world setting, whereby the effectiveness and safety of fingolimod was assessed in Seville’s’ (Spain) clinical practice. This retrospective study in MS patients assessed effectiveness (relapses, EDSS, gadolinium-enhancing T1 and new/enlarged T2-weighted lesions): total cohort (n = 249) and stratified according to prior treatment (glatiramer acetate/interferon beta-1 [immunomodulator], natalizumab, naïve), gender, basal EDSS score, basal Gd+ lesions, ARR prior to treatment, age at treatment initiation and number of prior treatments. A multivariante model was used to assess the ARR with baseline characteristics. The safety profile (adverse events [AEs]) was also described. Fingolimod reduced the annualized relapse rate (ARR) by 75%, 67% and 85% in the total cohort, patients previously treated with immunomodulatory and naïve patients (p<0.0001 all cases). However, patients previously treated with natalizumab kept a constant ARR. The ARR results and the consequent increase in the proportion of relapse-free patients were independent of the age at treatment initiation, number of prior treatments, gender and basal Gd+ lesions. Although fingolimod was effective regardless the basal EDSS score and ARR prior to fingolimod treatment, better outcomes were observed in patients with basal EDSS score <3 (0.2 vs. 0.4; p = 0.0244) and ARR ≥ 2 prior to fingolimod treatment (p = 0.0338). Only the basal EDSS score was association with ARR in the first 24 months of fingolimod treatment in the multivariante model (p = 0.0439). The cumulative probability of disability progression was 20% (month-24) in the total cohort, and was independent from prior treatment, age at treatment initiation, number of prior treatments, gender, basal EDSS score, basal Gd+ lesions and ARR prior to treatment. The real-world fingolimod benefits observed in this study seem to be similar than those observed in previous clinical trials.
A novel multiple batch extraction test to assess contaminant mobilization from porous waste materials

Figure 1 Illustration of parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis for the mobilization of copper from the demolition waste material. 1) Measured and fitted concentrations as function of the L/S. 2) Corresponding amounts of substance. 3) 5) Samples drawn from posterior parameter distribution of the model parameters. 6) Estimated desorption isotherm with 95% uncertainty interval. 7) – 8) Histograms illustrating the posterior predictive distribution at the L/S 0.25 and 0.5, respectively and the corresponding measurements. Iden, S.C. , M. Delay, F.H. Frimmel & W. Durner, 2008. Assessing contaminant mobilization from waste materials: application of Bayesian parameter estimation to batch extraction tests at varying liquid-to-solid ratios, Environmental Science & Technology, 42 (10), 3717-3723.
Post‐natal development of the median eminence of the guinea pig

The ultrastructure of the median eminence of neonatal (newborn, 1‐, 3‐, 5‐, and 10‐day old) and adult guinea pigs was studied to determine the dynamic changes occurring in this structure during early life. At birth the portal vasculature consists of the Mantelplexus and a few, non‐fenestrated capillary loops. The number of ansae and the degree of fenestration increase rapidly after birth. The abundance of cytoplasmic and ciliary projections into the ventricular recess and the large numbers of organelles indicate that the ependymal cells are more active in the neonatal period than in the adult male. Moreover, the ependymal endfeet cover most of the surface area of the primary portal plexus during this time. The neuronal layers of the median eminence are difficult to distinguish at birth due to the lack of myelinated fibers in the zona interna. Significant myelination appears on day 3 but is not complete until day 10. There is a progressive increase in the numbers of Herring bodies and large neurosecretory granules (1,500‐1,700 Å) during this same time period. In the zona externa, few nerve terminals abut on the perivascular space until day 3. Increases in numbers of granules per axon profile were noted for each day after birth. Despite the relatively long gestation period of the guinea pig (68‐72 days), the morphologic appearance of the median eminence at birth suggests that the neurovascular link controlling anterior pituitary function is not yet complete.
Learning Bayesia Networks from Incorn

Much of the current research in learning Bayesian Networks fails to effectively deal with missing data. Most of the methods assume that the data is complete, or make the data complete using fairly ad-hoc methods; other methods do deal with missing data but learn only the conditional probabilities, assuming that the structure is known. We present a principled approach to learn both the Bayesian network structure as well as the conditional probabilities from incomplete data. The proposed algorithm is an iterative method that uses a combination of Expectation-Maximization (EM) and Imputation techniques. Results are presented on synthetic data sets which show that the performance of the new algorithm is much better than ad-hoc methods for handling missing data.
Working Papers Department of Economics University of Vienna Nonlinearities in Cross-country Growth Regressions: a Bayesian Averaging of Thresholds (bat) Approach *

We propose a framework for assessing the existence and quantifying the effect of threshold effects in crosscountry growth regressions in the presence of model uncertainty. The method is based on Bayesian model averaging techniques and generalizes the Bayesian Averaging of Classical Estimates (BACE) method put forward by Sala-i-Martin, Doppelhofer, and Miller (2004). We apply the method presented in this paper to a set of 21 variables that have been found to be robustly related to economic growth in a cross-section of 88 countries. We find no evidence of robust threshold effects generated by the initial level of GDP per capita. However, we find that the proportion of years a country has been open to trade is an important source of nonlinear effects on economic growth.