Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A competence theory approach to problem solving method construction

This paper presents a theory of the construction process of problem-solving methods (PSMs) on the basis of the competence theory approach. This approach describes the refinement process of an initial, abstract formalization of the required competence of a PSM, towards an operational version of the PSM. Three major steps in this process are identified: specification of the required competence theory, refinement of the theory into a form that fits a PSM paradigm and the operationalization of the theory into a form that is close to an executable specification. As an example, the ontological commitments and assumptions underlying some problem-solving methods for classification problems are investigated and their operational forms are presented.
Physiological role of TAFI Attenuation of fibrinolysis

Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) was discovered two decades ago as a consequence of the identification of an unstable carboxypeptidase (CPU), which was formed upon thrombin activation of the respective pro-enzyme (proCPU). The antifibrinolytic function of the activated form (TAFIa, CPU) is directly linked to its capacity to remove C-terminal lysines from the surface of the fibrin clot. No endogenous inhibitors have been identified, but TAFIa activity is regulated by its intrinsic temperature-dependent instability with a half-life of 8 to 15 min at 37 °C. A variety of studies have demonstrated a role for TAFI/TAFIa in venous and arterial diseases. In addition, a role in inflammation and cell migration has been shown. Since an elevated level of TAFIa it is a potential risk factor for thrombotic disorders, many inhibitors, both at the level of activation or at the level of activity, have been developed and were proven to exhibit a profibrinolytic effect in animal models. Pharmacologically active inhibitors of the TAFI/TAFIa system may open new ways for the prevention of thrombotic diseases or for the establishment of adjunctive treatments during thrombolytic therapy.
Change in aquatic insect abundance: Evidence of climate and land-use change within the Pawmpawm River in Southern Ghana

Abstract Insects are key indicators of change in the landscape. They are known to be sensitive to the environment and climate in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. A systemic way of monitoring river ecosystems response to land-use and climate change is critical although lacking in most West African countries. This study explored the taxonomic composition of insect assemblages within the Pawmpawm River to quantify the level of change (if any) in biodiversity of aquatic insects as evidence of a land-use and climate change in a 40-year interval. We collected insect larvae from river shores, edges, and riffles and compared diversity indices of collected samples with that of previous study conducted within the same study area 40 years earlier prior to the current study. Our results show that there were no significant differences in taxonomic diversity of aquatic insects between the two studies. This indicates that diversity of insects in the Pawmpawm River and its environment has not changed significantly in the past 40 years. However, there were significant reductions of individual insect numbers or abundances within the river and its environment giving an indication of a possible climate and land-use change in the study area. We recommend using change in aquatic insect diversity and abundance as monitoring tools for change in environment and land-use within the Pawmpawm River and other such rivers in Ghana.
Darsim: A Parallel Cycle-Level NoC Simulator

We present DARSIM, a parallel, highly configurable, cycle-level network-on-chip simulator based on an ingress-queued wormhole router architecture. The parallel simulation engine offers cycle-accurate as well as periodic synchronization, permitting tradeoffs between perfect accuracy and high speed with very good accuracy. When run on four separate physical cores, speedups can exceed a factor of 3.5, while when eight threads are mapped to the same cores via hyperthreading, simulation speeds up as much as five-fold. Most hardware parameters are configurable, including geometry, bandwidth, crossbar dimensions, and pipeline depths. A highly parametrized table-based design allows a variety of routing and virtual channel allocation algorithms out of the box, ranging from simple DOR routing to complex Valiant, ROMM, or PROM schemes, BSOR, and adaptive routing. DARSIM can run in network-only mode using traces or directly emulate a MIPS-based multicore. Sources are freely available under the open-source MIT license.
Initialisation and Estimation Methods for Batch Optimisation of Inertial / Visual SLAM

Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) denotes the problem of jointly localizing a moving platform and mapping the environment. This work studies the SLAM problem using a combination of inertial sensors, measuring the platform’s accelerations and angular velocities, and a monocular camera observing the environment. We formulate the SLAM problem on a nonlinear least squares (NLS) batch form, whose solution provides a smoothed estimate of the motion and map. The NLS problem is highly nonconvex in practice, so a good initial estimate is required. We propose a multi-stage iterative procedure, that utilises the fact that the SLAM problem is linear if the platform’s rotations are known. The map is initialised with camera feature detections only, by utilising feature tracking and clustering of feature tracks. In this way, loop closures are automatically detected. The initialization method and subsequent NLS refinement is demonstrated on both simulated and real data.
Analysis of the effects of cannabinoids on identified synaptic connections in the caudate‐putamen by paired recordings in transgenic mice

CB1 cannabinoid receptors are expressed in many neurons in the caudate‐putamen. However, it is not known how the activation of these receptors influences synaptic transmission between different neuron classes. The aim was to establish a method for studying identified synaptic connections in the caudate‐putamen, and to determine the effects of cannabinoids on these connections. Brain slices were prepared from transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in parvalbumin‐positive fast spiking interneurons (PV‐FSNs). PV‐FSNs were identified based on their fluorescence. Non‐fluorescent medium‐sized neurons were considered to be medium spiny neurons (MSNs). Synaptic transmission was studied by simultaneous patch‐clamp recording from identified neuron pairs. In the case of PV‐FSN → MSN neurotransmission, the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55212‐2 lowered the success rate of transmission and the amplitude of successful postsynaptic events. Analysis of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents indicated that WIN55212‐2 inhibited synaptic transmission presynaptically. WIN55212‐2 did not elicit somatodendritic effects in PV‐FSNs: membrane potential, membrane current and evoked firing were not changed. WIN55212‐2 also depressed the MSN → MSN neurotransmission. The inhibitory synaptic input to MSNs was only weakly suppressed by endocannabinoids released by depolarized postsynaptic MSNs. The results show that the combined use of transgenic animals and paired‐recording techniques allows the study of synaptic connections between rare neurons. Using these techniques, we showed that activation of CB1 receptors on axon terminals of (i) PV‐FSNs and (ii) MSNs leads to presynaptic inhibition of GABAergic synaptic transmission between these axons and their postsynaptic targets, the MSNs. The cannabinoids acted preferentially on axon terminals without effects on the somatodendritic region of the neurons.
Optimal Cache Partition-Sharing

When a cache is shared by multiple cores, its space may be allocated either by sharing, partitioning, or both. We call the last case partition-sharing. This paper studies partition-sharing as a general solution, and presents a theory an technique for optimizing partition-sharing. We present a theory and a technique to optimize partition sharing. The theory shows that the problem of partition-sharing is reducible to the problem of partitioning. The technique uses dynamic programming to optimize partitioning for overall miss ratio, and for two different kinds of fairness. Finally, the paper evaluates the effect of optimal cache sharing and compares it with conventional solutions for thousands of 4-program co-run groups, with nearly 180 million different ways to share the cache by each co-run group. Optimal partition-sharing is on average 26% better than free-for-all sharing, and 98% better than equal partitioning. We also demonstrate the trade-off between optimal partitioning and fair partitioning.
Automated versioning and temporal navigation for model sketches on large interactive displays

The development of complex software systems requires the collaboration and mutual understanding of stakeholders from various backgrounds, which is usually facilitated by joint design of complex graphical models. To support this collaboration, we introduce the concept of a so-called "Augmented Interaction Room" that is equipped with large interactive wall displays, each dedicated to a particular modeling perspective. These models evolve significantly over the project life-cycle as uncertainties are resolved and design decisions are made. Our focus in this paper is to help stakeholders obtain a clearer view of the models' evolution and past design rationales, without incurring significant cognitive effort for navigating a potentially very long and detailed model revision history. For this purpose, we describe mechanisms for storing the history of the continuously evolving models, and methods for temporal navigation that semi-automatically identify particularly relevant past model versions.
Complications of intrauterine intravascular blood transfusion: lessons learned after 1678 procedures

Maternal alloimmunization to fetal red‐blood‐cell antigens is a major cause of fetal anemia, which can lead to hydrops and perinatal death if untreated. The cornerstone of management during pregnancy is intrauterine intravascular blood transfusion (IUT). Although this procedure is considered relatively safe, complications continue to occur. The aim of this study was to evaluate rates of procedure‐related complications and perinatal loss following IUT, and their change over time, in order to identify factors leading to improved outcome.
Implementation and adoption of nationwide electronic health records in secondary care in England: qualitative analysis of interim results from a prospective national evaluation

Objectives To describe and evaluate the implementation and adoption of detailed electronic health records in secondary care in England and thereby provide early feedback for the ongoing local and national rollout of the NHS Care Records Service. Design A mixed methods, longitudinal, multisite, socio-technical case study. Setting Five NHS acute hospital and mental health trusts that have been the focus of early implementation efforts and at which interim data collection and analysis are complete. Data sources and analysis Dataset for the evaluation consists of semi-structured interviews, documents and field notes, observations, and quantitative data. Qualitative data were analysed thematically with a socio-technical coding matrix, combined with additional themes that emerged from the data. Main results Hospital electronic health record applications are being developed and implemented far more slowly than was originally envisioned; the top-down, standardised approach has needed to evolve to admit more variation and greater local choice, which hospital trusts want in order to support local activity. Despite considerable delays and frustrations, support for electronic health records remains strong, including from NHS clinicians. Political and financial factors are now perceived to threaten nationwide implementation of electronic health records. Interviewees identified a range of consequences of long term, centrally negotiated contracts to deliver the NHS Care Records Service in secondary care, particularly as NHS trusts themselves are not party to these contracts. These include convoluted communication channels between different stakeholders, unrealistic deployment timelines, delays, and applications that could not quickly respond to changing national and local NHS priorities. Our data suggest support for a “middle-out” approach to implementing hospital electronic health records, combining government direction with increased local autonomy, and for restricting detailed electronic health record sharing to local health communities. Conclusions Experiences from the early implementation sites, which have received considerable attention, financial investment and support, indicate that delivering improved healthcare through nationwide electronic health records will be a long, complex, and iterative process requiring flexibility and local adaptability both with respect to the systems and the implementation strategy. The more tailored, responsive approach that is emerging is becoming better aligned with NHS organisations’ perceived needs and is, if pursued, likely to deliver clinically useful electronic health record systems.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis Optimization of Yak Whey Protein Concentrates and Bioactivity Evaluation of the Ultrafiltered Peptide Fractions

Yak whey protein concentrates (YWPCs) have good functional properties, but there is still a gap in the study of their peptides. In this study, peptides were obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis, and the bioactivity of each ultrafiltration fraction was evaluated using an optimal process. YWPCs were isolated and purified from yak milk as the raw material. Alkaline protease, trypsin, and papain were used to hydrolyze YWPCs. The protease with the highest degree of hydrolysis (DH) and peptide concentration was selected as the most suitable enzyme. The effects of pH, temperature, time, and the enzyme-to-substrate ratio (E/S) on the DH and peptide concentration were investigated, and response surface methodology was utilized to optimize the hydrolysis process. The hydrolysate was separated using ultrafiltration membranes with molecular weight cut-offs of 10 kDa, 5 kDa, 3 kDa, and 1 kDa. The bioactivity of each ultrafiltration component was analyzed, including the inhibition rates of α-amylase and xanthine oxidase (XOD) activities and the scavenging rates of 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) cation radicals. The results indicated that alkaline protease was the best enzyme for hydrolyzing YWPCs. The peptide concentration in the YWPC hydrolysate was the highest (17.21 mg/mL) at a pH of 8 and a concentration of 7500 U/g, after 2.5 h at 62 °C. The enzymatic hydrolysate was ultrafiltered to yield four peptide fractions, of which the <1 kDa peptides exhibited the highest α-amylase inhibitory activity (22.06%), XOD inhibitory activity (17.15%), and ABTS cationic free radical scavenging rate (69.55%). This demonstrates the potential of YWPC hydrolyzed peptides for hypoglycemic, uric acid-lowering, and antioxidant applications, providing a theoretical basis for the high-value utilization of YWPCs.
Distributed multiagent learning with a broadcast adaptive subgradient method

Many applications in multiagent learning are essentially convex optimization problems in which agents have only limited communication and partial information about the function being minimized (examples of such applications include, among others, coordinated source localization, distributed adaptive filtering, control, and coordination). Given this observation, we propose a new non-hierarchical decentralized algorithm for the asymptotic minimization of possibly time-varying convex functions. In our method each agent has knowledge of a time-varying local cost function, and the objective is to minimize asymptotically a global cost function defined by the sum of the local functions. At each iteration of our algorithm, agents improve their estimates of a minimizer of the global function by applying a particular version of the adaptive projected subgradient method to their local functions. Then the agents exchange and mix their improved estimates using a probabilistic model based on recent results in weighted average consensus algorithms. The resulting algorithm is provably optimal and reproduces as particular cases many existing algorithms (such as consensus algorithms and recent methods based on the adaptive projected subgradient method). To illustrate one possible application, we show how our algorithm can be applied to coordinated acoustic source localization in sensor networks.
Enhanced transformation by a simian virus 40 recombinant virus containing a Harvey murine sarcoma virus long terminal repeat

We have constructed a recombinant simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA containing a copy of the Harvey murine sarcoma virus long terminal repeat (LTR). This recombinant viral DNA was converted into an infectious SV40 virus particle and subsequently infected into NIH 3T3 cells (either uninfected or previously infected with Moloney leukemia virus). We found that this hybrid virus, SVLTR1, transforms cells with 10 to 20 times the efficiency of SV40 wild type. Southern blot analysis of these transformed cell genomic DNAs revealed that simple integration of the viral DNA within the retrovirus LTR cannot account for the enhanced transformation of the recombinant virus. A restriction fragment derived from the SVLTR-1 virus which contains an intact LTR was readily identified in a majority of the transformed cell DNAs. These results suggest that the LTR fragment which contains the attachment sites and flanking sequences for the proviral DNA duplex may be insufficient by itself to facilitate correct retrovirus integration and that some other functional element of the LTR is responsible for the increased transformation potential of this virus. We have found that a complete copy of the Harvey murine sarcoma virus LTR linked to well-defined structural genes lacking their own promoters (SV40 early region, thymidine kinase, and G418 resistance) can be effectively used to promote marker gene expression. To determine which element of the LTR served to enhance the biological activity of the recombinant virus described above, we deleted DNA sequences essential for promoter activity within the LTR. SV40 virus stocks reconstructed with this mutated copy of the Harvey murine sarcoma virus LTR still transform mouse cells at an enhanced frequency. We speculate that when the LTR is placed more than 1.5 kilobases from the SV40 early promoter, the cis-acting enhancer element within the LTR can increase the ability of the SV40 promoter to effectively operate when integrated in a murine chromosome. These data are discussed in terms of the apparent cell specificity of viral enhancer elements.
Algorithms for Composing Pervasive Applications

Pervasive computing environments enable the composition of applications from components allocated across different devices. The applications have to be composed at run-time, to cope with changes in context and resource availability in the environment. In addition, this functionality has to be automated in order to minimize user involvement in application management. We propose two new algorithms which are capable of dynamic allocation of application components to multiple networking devices. These algorithms optimize the selection of the networking devices and the structure of composite applications according to a given criteria, such as minimizing hardware requirements, maximizing the application QoS or other criteria specified by the user. The algorithms are based on generic models. This allows the approach to be used in multiple application domains. We analyze the performance of these algorithms in a simulated environment and suggest a system that utilizes our algorithms for pervasive application composition.
Investigation of dopamine system genes in obsessive‐compulsive disorder

Evidence from anatomical, pharmacological, and animal studies on the involvement of the dopamine system in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is mounting. This, along with evidence for a genetic diathesis provided by family and twin studies, prompted us to conduct genetic association studies of dopamine system genes in OCD. We genotyped OCD patients (n > 100) and matched controls for four loci: (1) a 40-base-pair repeat in the dopamine transporter gene; (2) the Taq1A polymorphism and the serine/cysteine variation in the D2 dopamine receptor gene; (3) an MscI polymorphism in the D3 dopamine receptor gene; and (4) a 48-base-pair repeat in the D4 dopamine receptor gene. Significant differences in allele frequencies were found between patients and controls for the D4 receptor gene, although replication is required with family-based controls before any conclusions can be entertained. This study represents the first comprehensive assessment of the roles of dopamine system genes in OCD.
Distribution and species composition of planktonic cnidarians in the Algerian coastal waters (SW Mediterranean Sea)

This study presents an inventory of planktonic cnidarian species collected in Algerian coastal waters (1°10’00” W - 6°52’37” E and 35°37’42” N - 37°01’16” N) from May 2012 to February 2017. The aim was to analyse the qualitative distribution and identify the main components of this gelatinous fauna in different coastal ecosystems in western, central and eastern regions. A total of 60 taxa of planktonic cnidarians were identified, including 57 hydrozoans and three scyphozoans. The class Hydrozoa were represented by 34 hydromedusae, primarily belonging to orders Anthoathecata (15 taxa) and Siphonophorae (23 taxa). Several reported hydrozoan species were recorded for the first time in the southwestern Mediterranean Sea. These new regional records include the hydromedusae Kantiella enigmatica, Leuckartiara octona, Proboscidactylaornata, Cunina globosa, Lovenella cirrata, Cirrholovenia tetranema, Phialella quadrata, Homoeonema platygonon and the siphonophore Forskalia contorta. Seasonal fluctuations were observed in biodiversity, with the highest species richness in spring and summer. The most common species are the calycophorous siphonophores Abylopsis tetragona, Muggiaea atlantica, Lensia subtilis Muggiaea kochii and the holoplanktonic medusae Aglaura hemistoma, Rhopalonema velatum, Solmundella bitentaculata, Liriope tetraphylla and Pelagia noctiluca. The species’ occurrence frequency exhibited seasonal and spatial variability. These distribution patterns were primarily determined by meroplanktonic hydrozoans (Anthoathecata and Leptothecata).
Bluetooth scatternet formation for single-hop ad hoc networks based on virtual positions

This work addresses the problem of scattemet formation for single-hop Bluetooth based personal area and ad hoc networks, with minimal communication overhead. Recent scatternet formation schemes by Li, Stojmenovic and Wang [Ref. 1] are position based and were applied for multihop networks. These schemes are localized and can construct degree limited and connected piconets, without parking any node. In this article we apply their methods to single-hop networks, by showing that position information is then not needed. Each node can simply select a virtual position, and communicate it to all neighbors in the neighbor discovery phase. Nodes then act according to the scheme in [X.Y. Li et al., 2004] using such virtual positions instead of real ones. In addition, we use Delaunay triangulation instead of partial Delauliay triangulation proposed in [X.Y. Li et al., 2004], since each node has all the information needed. Finally, we design experiments to study both the properties of formatted scatternets (such as number of piconets) and the performances of different localized routing methods on them. The experiments confirm good functionality of created Bluetooth networks in addition to their fast creation and straightforward maintenance.