Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of an Efficient Genetic Algorithm for the Time Dependent Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

This research considers the time-dependent vehicle routing problem (TDVRP). The time-dependent VRP does not assume constant speeds of the vehicles. The speeds of the vehicles vary during the various times of the day, based on the traffic conditions. During the periods of peak traffic hours, the vehicles travel at low speeds and during non-peak hours, the vehicles travel at higher speeds. A survey by TCI and IIM-C (2014) found that stoppage delay as percentage of journey time varied between five percent and 25 percent, and was very much dependent on the characteristics of routes. Costs of delay were also estimated and found not to affect margins by significant amounts. This study aims to overcome such problems arising out of traffic congestions that lead to unnecessary delays and hence, loss in customers and thereby valuable revenues to a company. This study suggests alternative routes to minimize travel times and travel distance, assuming a congestion in traffic situation. In this study, an efficient GA-based algorithm has been developed for the TDVRP, to minimize the total distance travelled, minimize the total number of vehicles utilized and also suggest alternative routes for congestion avoidance. This study will help to overcome and minimize the negative effects due to heavy traffic congestions and delays in customer service. The proposed algorithm has been shown to be superior to another existing algorithm in terms of the total distance travelled and also the number of vehicles utilized. Also the performance of the proposed algorithm is as good as the mathematical model for small size problems.
Pagamento por Serviços Ambientais em Assentamentos Rurais: lições da Zona da Mata de Pernambuco, Brasil

Este artigo investiga o potencial de implantacao de um programa estadual de pagamento por servicos ambientais em assentamentos rurais no estado de Pernambuco. Baseados nas informacoes de dois assentamentos rurais, foram realizadas analise de uso e ocupacao do solo e valoracao de servicos ambientais hidricos. A partir das estimativas de beneficios economicos por meio do metodo de valoracao contingente (MVC), foi desenvolvida uma analise custo beneficio (ACB) da restauracao das areas degradadas. Os resultados indicam que devido ao alto nivel de degradacao ambiental das Areas de Preservacao Permanentes (APP) e a condicao socioeconomica dos assentados, seria necessario um programa de pagamento por servicos ambientais (PSA) para compensar as perdas de areas produtivas por parte dos assentados para restauracao. Nos dois cenarios analisados a disposicao a aceitar dos agricultores foi baseada no nivel de subsistencia, sendo o cenario com plantio agroflorestal mais bem aceito. Por fim conclui-se que a extrapolacao de um programa de PSA para todos os assentamentos do estado poderia gerar um impacto ambiental extremamente positivo com um potencial de restauracao de mais de 27 mil hectares. Este programa contribuiria de maneira consideravel no estado para atingir as metas brasileiras no acordo de Paris.
ARF functions as a melanoma tumor suppressor by inducing p53-independent senescence

Inactivation of the p53 pathway represents the most common molecular defect of human cancer. But in the setting of melanoma, a highly aggressive and invariably fatal malignancy in its advanced disseminated form, mutation/deletion of p53 is relatively rare, whereas its positive regulator ARF is often lost. Here, we show that genetic deficiency in Arf but not p53 facilitates rapid development of melanoma in a genetically engineered mouse model. This difference is accounted for, at least in part, by the unanticipated observation that, unlike fibroblasts, senescence control in melanocytes is strongly regulated by Arf and not p53. Moreover, oncogenic NRAS collaborates with deficiency in Arf, but not p53, to fully transform melanocytes. Our data demonstrate that ARF and p53, although linked in a common pathway, suppress tumorigenesis through distinct, lineage-dependent mechanisms and suggest that ARF helps restrict melanoma progression by executing the oncogene-induced senescence program in benign nevi. Thus, therapeutics designed to restore wild-type p53 function may be insufficient to counter melanoma and other malignancies in which ARF holds p53-independent tumor suppressor activity.
Robustness of Lambda-Tracking in the Gap Metric

For $m$-input, $m$-output, finite-dimensional, linear systems satisfying the classical assumptions of adaptive control (i.e., (i) minimum phase, (ii) relative degree one, and (iii) “positive” high-frequency gain), it is well known that the adaptive $\lambda$-tracker “$u=-k\,e$, $\dot k=\max\{0,|e|-\lambda\}|e|$” achieves $\lambda$-tracking of the tracking error $e$ if applied to such a system: all states of the closed-loop system are bounded, and $|e|$ is ultimately bounded by $\lambda$, where $\lambda>0$ is prespecified and may be arbitrarily small. Invoking the conceptual framework of the nonlinear gap metric, we show that the $\lambda$-tracker is robust. In the present setup this means in particular that the $\lambda$-tracker copes with bounded input and output disturbances, and, more importantly, it may even be applied to a system not satisfying any of the classical conditions (i)-(iii) as long as the initial conditions and the disturbances are “small” and the system is “close” (in terms of “small” gap) to a system satisfying (i)-(iii).
Bicarbonate Enhances the Peroxidase Activity of Cu,Zn-Superoxide Dismutase

We examined the effect of bicarbonate on the peroxidase activity of copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), using the nitrite anion as a peroxidase probe. Oxidation of nitrite by the enzyme-bound oxidant results in the formation of the nitrogen dioxide radical, which was measured by monitoring 5-nitro-γ-tocopherol formation. Results indicate that the presence of bicarbonate is not required for the peroxidase activity of SOD1, as monitored by the SOD1/H2O2-mediated nitration of γ-tocopherol in the presence of nitrite. However, bicarbonate enhanced SOD1/H2O2-dependent oxidation of tocopherols in the presence and absence of nitrite and dramatically enhanced SOD1/H2O2-mediated oxidation of unsaturated lipid in the presence of nitrite. These results, coupled with the finding that bicarbonate protects against inactivation of SOD1 by H2O2, suggest that SOD1/H2O2 oxidizes the bicarbonate anion to the carbonate radical anion. Thus, the amplification of peroxidase activity of SOD1/H2O2 by bicarbonate is attributed to the intermediary role of the diffusible oxidant, the carbonate radical anion. We conclude that, contrary to a previous report (Sankarapandi, S., and Zweier, J. L. (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 1226–1232), bicarbonate is not required for peroxidase activity mediated by SOD1 and H2O2. However, bicarbonate enhanced the peroxidase activity of SOD1 via formation of a putative carbonate radical anion. Biological implications of the carbonate radical anion in free radical biology are discussed.
Speech enhancement via ensemble modeling NMF adaptation

Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF)-based speech enhancement algorithm has been proven to provide satisfactory performance when the prior information about speaker and noise types are given. In most real-world scenarios, however, such prior information may not always be accessible. Therefore, an adaptation technique is favorable to adapt the NMF matrices to match the testing condition for a better enhancement performance. In this study, we proposed a novel ensemble modeling (ESM) algorithm for NMF adaptation. The algorithm effectively uses the local information of the entire training data to facilitate an effective and efficient online NMF adaptation. The adapted NMF matrices were used to perform speech enhancement. Experimental results on the perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) confirmed the effectiveness of the ESM algorithm in various signal-to-noise ratio conditions.
Optimization of a micro-organisms culture in a fedbatch bioreactor using an intracellular model

The production of biomass by micro-organisms is of great interest in more and more industrial fields. Their culture in fedbatch bioreactors is largely used and the optimization of the influent flow rate is a major challenge to set the microorganisms in the highest performance conditions. Usually, sets of experiments are achieved to compute macroscopic models expressing the observed growth as a function of the concentrations of glucose, cell density, and any kind of external parameters (pH, temperature, etc.). In contrast, this paper relies on an intracellular model of a bacteria, which is used to determine the optimal profile of influent flow rate in a fedbatch bioreactor to produce as much biomass as possible. Compared to macroscopic models, the additional elements of this model better describe biological phenomena. The intracellular part of the model also provides a clear interpretation of the obtained optimal influent profile.
Modelling the radiative electromagnetic field

The radiative electromagnetic field is generated during the experiments with a radiation and is of importance for spacecrafts under sun radiation and for the radio-electronic equipment of the nuclear reactor control systems. The paper presents the developed methods of modelling the multistage process of the radiative electromagnetic field excitation. The methods are based on both deterministic technique of solving the time-dependent self-consistent problems for the Maxwell equations and statistical algorithms for modelling the ionising radiation transport in dense materials.
Isolation and culture of Sertoli cells from the testes of adult Siberian hamsters: analysis of proteins synthesized and secreted by Sertoli cells cultured from hamsters raised in a long or a short photoperiod.

In the present study, we describe two procedures for isolation and culture of Sertoli cells from the testes of adult Siberian hamsters. In procedure I, collagenase and pancreatin were used for differential enzymatic digestion of the tissue at 32 degrees C, and effects of several attachment factors were examined. Sertoli cells isolated from adult hamsters were not affected by addition of Na selenite, epidermal growth factor, insulin, and transferrin, with or without 5% fetal bovine serum, to Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium + Ham's F-12. Significant increase in the yield and plating efficiency of Sertoli cells was achieved by developing a novel procedure (procedure II) for Sertoli cell isolation. In this procedure, testicular tissue was exposed to only one enzyme (collagenase I) for two consecutive digestions at 37 degrees C, and the total period of enzymatic exposure was reduced relative to that of procedure I. Another objective of this study was to compare the functions of Sertoli cells isolated from spermatogenetically active and inactive adult testes. Isolated Sertoli cells from 60 +/- 5-day-old hamsters raised in long day conditions (LD, 16L:8D) or in short day conditions (SD, 6L:18D) were stimulated with FSH and testosterone in the presence of 35S-methionine for 24 h on Day 4 of culture. The medium was concentrated, and equal amounts of radioactive proteins from LD and SD hamster Sertoli cell cultures were analyzed by two-dimensional PAGE. Compared to Sertoli cells derived from SD hamsters, Sertoli cells from LD animals produced greater amounts of two secretory proteins and a smaller amount of one. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Clinical usefulness of new noninvasive serum biomarkers for the assessment of liver fibrosis and steatosis in children with chronic hepatitis C

Aim of the study Recently, novel serum markers modified by the body mass index z-score (BMI z-score) were proposed as a reliable noninvasive alternative for the detection of significant fibrosis and steatosis in children with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of these biomarkers. Material and methods Thirty children aged 9.4 ± 3.7 years (14 males, 16 females) with CHC were included in this study. In all patients, histopathological evaluation of the liver fibrosis was performed using a 5-point METAVIR scoring system (≥ 2 points = significant fibrosis). Significant steatosis was diagnosed with > 33% of hepatocytes affected. The following noninvasive markers of liver disease were calculated: the modified aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (M-APRI: BMI z-score × APRI), the modified Fibrosis-4 index (M-FIB-4: BMI z-score × FIB-4), and a novel marker, B-AST (BMI z-score × AST). The clinically useful cut-offs for each marker were selected as simple round numbers, indicating significant fibrosis and steatosis. Results Significant fibrosis was detected in 7/30 (23%) cases, and significant steatosis was observed in 4 (13%) patients. Comparison with the histopathological evaluation revealed that B-AST < 0 excluded significant fibrosis, and < 100 excluded all patients with significant steatosis. For the M-APRI, < 0 excluded significant fibrosis, and < 0.5 excluded significant steatosis. For the M-FIB-4, < 0 excluded significant fibrosis and < 0.2 excluded significant steatosis. Conclusions Negative values of all three markers that included the BMI z-score excluded all patients with both significant fibrosis and significant steatosis.
Pharmacodynamic effects of sub-MICs of benzylpenicillin against Streptococcus pyogenes in a newly developed in vitro kinetic model

The pharmacodynamic effects of benzylpenicillin against Streptococcus pyogenes were studied in a new in vitro kinetic model in which bacterial outflow was prevented by a filter membrane. Following the administration of an initial dose of antibiotic, decreasing concentrations were produced by dilution of the medium. A magnetic stirrer was placed above the filter to avoid blockage of the membrane and to ensure homogeneous mixing of the culture. Repeated samplings were easily provided through a silicon diaphragm. Streptococci were exposed to a single dose corresponding to 1.5, 10, 100, or 500 x the MIC of benzylpenicillin and also to an initial concentration of 10 x the MIC of benzylpenicillin, followed by exposure to a repeated dose after 8 h yielding 10 or 1.5 x the MIC. Experiments were also performed with 10 x the MIC of benzylpenicillin with a half-life of 3 h or an initial half-life of 1.1 h that was altered to 3 h at the time point at which the antibiotic concentrations and MIC intersected. Bacterial killing and regrowth were followed by determining viable counts. The post-MIC effect (PME) was defined as the difference in time for the numbers of CFU in the culture vessel to increase 1 log10 CFU/ml, calculated from the numbers obtained at the time when the antibiotic concentration had declined to the MIC, and the corresponding time for a control culture, grown in a glass tube without antibiotic, to increase 1 log10 CFU/ml. To determine how much of the PME was attributable to subinhibitory concentrations, penicillinase was added to a part of the culture drawn from the flask at the time when the antibiotic concentration had fallen to the MIC. The longest PME was found in the experiments in which the half-life was extended from 1.1 to 3 h at the MIC. This illustrated that sub-MICs are sufficient to prevent regrowth. However, when the half-life was 3 h during the whole experiment, the PME was shorter, indicating that when concentrations decline slowly penicillin-binding proteins will already be present in amounts sufficient for regrowth at the time when the MIC is reached. The PME may prove to be a more reliable factor than the in vitro postantibiotic effect or postantibiotic sub-MIC effect for the design of optimal dosing schedules, since the PME, like the in vivo postantibiotic effect, includes the effects of subinhibitory concentrations and therefore better reflects the clinical situation with fluctuating antibiotic concentrations.
FORMULATION AND PHARMACEUTICAL EVALUATION OF THREE W/O EMULSIONS WITH MYTILUS GALLOPROVINCIALIS LMK. AND RAPANA VENOSA LIPID EXTRACTS

The present paper presents new formulations of three lipid extracts of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. , Rapana venosa molluscs and those mixed (1:1, v/v) through their incorporation in W/O emulsions. These consisted of 4% lipid extracts (active ingredients), 60% liquid paraffin as the oil phase, 3% glycerin, 25.96% water as the water phase, 6% Span 60 as the surfactant and 0.04% nypagin as preservative. The smell was adjusted with 1% Oleum lavandulae. The scope of this study regards the formulation and pharmaceutical evaluation of the three W/O emulsions. Their evaluation consisted of: aspect, colour, smell, type of emulsion by dilution, electric conductibility and total dissolved salts (TDS) methods, dynamic viscosity, stability by heating at 70 0 C and centrifugation at 3000 rpm, pH and tension determinations. The results showed a good stability over 90 days of observation period of the three emulsions evaluated through the pharmaceutical parameters.
The OCCURRENCE , DEVELOPMENT , STABILITY , and REGRESSION of HOUSE FLY ( DIPTERA : MUSCIDAE ) RESISTANCE to INSECTICIDES in SLOVAKIA

The resistance of the house fly to insecticides is a limiting factor for its control even in Slovakia, where more than 70% of flies are highly resistant to synthetic pyrethroids (permethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and lambdacyhalothrin), 66% of fly populations are highly resistant to bendiocarb, 40% to azamethiphos, 32% to dimethoate, and 25% to chlorpyriphos. On the other hand, no resistance to diflubenzuron and cyromazin has been detected. The stability of resistance to azamethiphos, bendiocarb ,and deltamethrin was investigated during 4 years (60 laboratory generations) under laboratory conditions in flies not exposed to the selection pressure by insecticides. The highest stability of resistance was observed for bendiocarb, which decreased considerably starting with the 35 laboratory generation. The decrease in resistance to deltamethrin occurred in four stages, characterized by alternative decrease and increase in resistance factor values. In the case of azamethiphos, a marked decrease in resistance was recorded starting from the fourth laboratory generation. The results obtained in laboratory tests were compared with those obtained under practical conditions in pig houses. An intensive use of insecticides induced resistance in the course of 2 to 3 seasons in dependence on the number of residual spray applications during the season, i.e., from May to September. After cessation of selection pressure, resistance to bendiocarb during 7 years and deltamethrin during 4 years remained at a high level. However, the decrease of resistance to moderate or low level did not solve the problem because a repeated use of insecticides resulted in development of high resistance in about one season.
Wideband analysis of scattering problems using an eigenmode projection technique

Wideband analysis of dielectric objects illuminated by uniform plane waves is performed using an eigenmode projection technique. The frequency independent feature of the generated matrices of the eigenmode projection method will be exploited to solve electromagnetic scattering problems over a wide range of frequencies efficiently without the need of filling and inverting all the system of matrices and the encountered numerical integrations are only evaluated once, with their values used at all frequencies. Results are presented to validate the method and illustrating the speed up of the technique making use of the frequency independent feature of the proposed method.
Face recognition using local graph theory (LGT)

The problem associated with Illumination variation is one of the major problems in image processing, pattern recognition, medical image, etc; hence there is a need to handle and deal with such variations. This paper presents a novel, simple, fast and efficient algorithm for face recognition call Local Graph Theory (LGT). LGT features are derived from a general definition of texture of graph neighborhood. The experiments results on our face database images demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method. The new method can be stabilized more quickly and obtain higher correct rate. Finally, LGT can be easily applied in many real time fields, such as image processing, pattern recognition, medical image as preprocessing.
Expression of constitutive nitric oxide synthase in a primary neuronal culture

Nitric Oxide (NO), a short-lived, highly diffusible free radical, is a messenger molecule produced through the conversion of arginine to citrulline by NO synthase (NOS). In the CNS, NO functions as an important neuro- modulator. We now report that cerebellar granule cells in culture express the constitutive form of NOS (cNOS). The expression is demonstrated both at the level of RNA, by RNA-specific reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and of protein, by immunostaining and by enzymatic activity. Cerebellar granule cells can thus serve as a tool to study the regulation of expression and activity of cNOS in a defined environment.
The Ethical “Elephant” in the Death Penalty “Room”

The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that execution by a commonly used protocol of drug administration does not represent cruel or unusual punishment. Various medical journals have editorialized on this drug protocol, the death penalty in general and the role that physicians play. Many physicians, and societies of physicians, express the opinion that it is unethical for doctors to participate in executions. This Target Article explores the harm that occurs to murder victims' relatives when an execution is delayed or indefinitely postponed. By using established principles in psychiatry and the science of the brain, it is shown that victims' relatives can suffer brain damage when justice is not done. Conversely, adequate justice can reverse some of those changes in the brain. Thus, physician opposition to capital punishment may be contributing to significant harm. In this context, the ethics of physician involvement in lethal injection is complex.
Fault Detection via modified Principal Direction Divisive Partitioning and application to aerospace electro-mechanical actuators

In this paper, the use of the Principal Direction Divisive Partitioning (PDDP) method for unsupervised learning is discussed and analyzed with a focus on fault detection applications. Specifically, a geometric limit of the standard algorithm is highlighted by means of a simulation example and a modified version of PDDP is introduced. Such a method is shown to correctly perform data clustering also when the standard algorithm fails. The modified strategy is based on the use of a Chi-squared statistical test and offers more guarantees in terms of detection of a wrong functioning of the system. The proposed algorithm is finally experimentally tested on a fault detection application for aerospace electro-mechanical actuators, for which a comparison with k-means and fuzzy k-means approaches is also provided.
We Have to Be Discrete About This: A Non-Parametric Imputation Technique for Missing Categorical Data

Missing values are a frequent problem in empirical political science research. Surprisingly, the match between the measurement of the missing values and the correcting algorithms applied is seldom studied. While multiple imputation is a vast improvement over the deletion of cases with missing values, it is often unsuitable for imputing highly non-granular discrete data. We develop a simple technique for imputing missing values in such situations, which is a variant of hot deck imputation, drawing from the conditional distribution of the variable with missing values to preserve the discrete measure of the variable. This method is tested against existing techniques using Monte Carlo analysis and then applied to real data on democratization and modernization theory. Software for our imputation technique is provided in a free, easy-to-use package for the R statistical environment.