Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein and cognitive decline: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Abstract Background High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) has been suggested to be involved in the process of cognitive decline. However, the results from previous studies exploring the relationship between hs-CRP concentration and cognitive decline are inconsistent. Method We employed data from wave 2 (2004–2005) to wave 7 (2014–2015) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline (wave 2) and reassessed biennially at waves 3–7. Results A total of 5257 participants (54.9% women, mean age 65.4 ± 9.4 years) with baseline hs-CRP levels ranged from 0.2 to 210.0 mg/L (median: 2.0 mg/L, interquartile range: 0.9–4.1 mg/L) were studied. The mean follow-up duration was 8.1 ± 2.8 years, and the mean number of cognitive assessment was 4.9 ± 1.5. Linear mixed models show that a one-unit increment in natural log-transformed hs-CRP was associated with faster declines in global cognitive scores [−0.048 points/year, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.072 to −0.023], memory scores (−0.022 points/year, 95% CI −0.031 to −0.013), and executive function scores (−0.025 points/year, 95% CI −0.043 to −0.006), after multivariable adjustment. Compared with the lowest quartile of hs-CRP, the multivariable-adjusted rate of global cognitive decline associated with the second, third, and highest quartile was faster by −0.043 points/year (95% CI −0.116 to 0.029), −0.090 points/year (95% CI −0.166 to −0.015), −0.145 (95% CI −0.221 to −0.069), respectively (p for trend <0.001). Similarly, memory and executive function also declined faster with increasing quartiles of hs-CRP. Conclusions A significant association between hs-CRP concentration and long-term cognitive decline was observed in this study. Hs-CRP might serve as a biomarker for cognitive decline.
Detection of shilling attacks in recommender systems via spectral clustering

Collaborative filtering has been widely used in recommender systems as a method to recommend items to users. However, recommender systems utilizing collaborative filtering as their key algorithms are vulnerable to shilling attacks which can generate fake profiles to increase or decrease the popularity of a targeted set of items. In this paper, we present a spectral clustering method to make recommender systems resistant to these attacks in the case that the attack profiles are highly correlated with each other. We formulate the problem as finding a maximum submatrix in the user-user similarity matrix. To search for the maximum submatrix, we translate the matrix into a graph and apply a spectral clustering algorithm to find the min-cut solution to estimate the highly correlated group. The graph is created based on the edge density in order to allow dealing with an unbalanced clustering. The detection is refined through an iterative process to obtain a better estimate of attack profiles. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can improve detection precision compared to existing methods.
QBETS: queue bounds estimation from time series

Most space-sharing parallel computers presently operated by high-performance computing centers use batch-queuing systems to manage processor allocation. Because these machines are typically “space-shared,” each job must wait in a queue until sufficient processor resources become available to service it. In production computing settings, the queuing delay (experienced by users as the time between when the job is submitted and when it begins execution) is highly variable. Users often find this variability a drag on productivity as it makes planning difficult and intellectual continuity hard to maintain.
Compressed sensing with rank deficient dictionaries

In compressed sensing it is generally assumed that the dictionary matrix constitutes a (possibly overcomplete) basis of the signal space. In this paper we consider dictionaries that do not span the signal space, i.e. rank deficient dictionaries. We show that in this case the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the compressed samples can be increased by selecting the rows of the measurement matrix from the column space of the dictionary. As an example application of compressed sensing with a rank deficient dictionary, we present a case study of compressed sensing applied to the Coarse Acquisition (C/A) step in a GPS receiver. Simulations show that for this application the proposed choice of measurement matrix yields an increase in SNR performance of up to 5 – 10 dB, compared to the conventional choice of a fully random measurement matrix. Furthermore, the compressed sensing based C/A step is compared to a conventional method for GPS C/A.
In Vivo Analysis of Disease-Associated Point Mutations Unveils Profound Differences in mRNA Splicing of Peripherin-2 in Rod and Cone Photoreceptors

Point mutations in peripherin-2 (PRPH2) are associated with severe retinal degenerative disorders affecting rod and/or cone photoreceptors. Various disease-causing mutations have been identified, but the exact contribution of a given mutation to the clinical phenotype remains unclear. Exonic point mutations are usually assumed to alter single amino acids, thereby influencing specific protein characteristics; however, they can also affect mRNA splicing. To examine the effects of distinct PRPH2 point mutations on mRNA splicing and protein expression in vivo, we designed PRPH2 minigenes containing the three coding exons and relevant intronic regions of human PRPH2. Minigenes carrying wild type PRPH2 or PRPH2 exon 2 mutations associated with rod or cone disorders were expressed in murine photoreceptors using recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors. We detect three PRPH2 splice isoforms in rods and cones: correctly spliced, intron 1 retention, and unspliced. In addition, we show that only the correctly spliced isoform results in detectable protein expression. Surprisingly, compared to rods, differential splicing leads to lower expression of correctly spliced and higher expression of unspliced PRPH2 in cones. These results were confirmed in qRT-PCR experiments from FAC-sorted murine rods and cones. Strikingly, three out of five cone disease-causing PRPH2 mutations profoundly enhanced correct splicing of PRPH2, which correlated with strong upregulation of mutant PRPH2 protein expression in cones. By contrast, four out of six PRPH2 mutants associated with rod disorders gave rise to a reduced PRPH2 protein expression via different mechanisms. These mechanisms include aberrant mRNA splicing, protein mislocalization, and protein degradation. Our data suggest that upregulation of PRPH2 levels in combination with defects in the PRPH2 function caused by the mutation might be an important mechanism leading to cone degeneration. By contrast, the pathology of rod-specific PRPH2 mutations is rather characterized by PRPH2 downregulation and impaired protein localization.
Accommodation-vergence performance after low levels of oculomotor load

Objectives This experimental pilot study assessed the effects of sustained low-level accommodative vergence loads on oculomotor performance, eyestrain, and musculoskeletal functioning. Methods A high-contrast fixation-point stimulus [light-emitting diode (LED)] was introduced into the optical axis of the viewing eye or into the midline in case of binocular viewing. The participants (N=6) were asked to compensate for the blur incurred by adjusting the strength of their eye lens. The participants performed in the following three standardized sequential viewing tasks: (i) resting with eyes open in darkness, (ii) accommodating alternately on a near versus a far LED illuminated sequentially (near-far response), and (iii) sustained fixation upon a LED at near. After the third task, the first and second tasks were repeated once. Results The main effects of the third task were to decrease the overall rate of binocular accommodative relaxation time (diopters/s) in the repetition of the second task trial. The baseline shifts in individual response times also correlated with changes in the response amplitudes under the binocular stimulus conditions, which required contraction of the ciliary muscle. Conclusions The results taken as a whole validate a technique of essential interest to applied vision research.
A Source Router Approach to DDoS Defense

Distributed denial-of-service attacks present a great threat to the Internet, and existing security mechanisms cannot detect or stop them successfully. The problem lies in the distributed nature of the attacks, which engages the power of a vast number of coordinated hosts. The response to the attack needs to be distributed also, but cooperation between administrative domains is hard to achieve, and security and authentication of participants incur high cost. We propose a DDoS defense system deployed at source-end networks that autonomously detects and stops the attacks originating from those networks. Attacks are detected by monitoring two-way traffic flows between the network and the rest of the Internet. Monitored flows are periodically compared with predefined models of normal traffic, and those flows classified as part of DDoS attack are rate-limited. We evaluate the performance of our system in a realistic testbed.
Waist‐to‐height ratio is an appropriate index for identifying cardiometabolic risk in Chinese individuals with normal body mass index and waist circumference 腰臀比是鉴别体重指数和腰围正常的中国人群的心血管代谢风险的适宜指标

The waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR), a novel index that has been reported to correlate more strongly than body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with cardiometabolic risk factors, has not been studied in Chinese individuals with normal body mass index and waist circumference. The present study compared the predictive power of WHtR with those of BMI and WC for such factors in non‐obese Chinese, and to define optimal cutoffs of WHtR in this population.
A Large Power, Low-Switching-Frequency Voltage Source Converter for FACTS Applications With Low Effects on the Transmission Line

This paper presents a novel large power voltage source converter for flexible ac transmission systems' applications that employs four three-level, three-phase neutral-point-clamped inverters, combined by means of low volt-ampere rating intermediate magnetic elements. The 12 resulting inverter poles are paralleled up in pairs by using six interphase transformers (IPTs), and their outputs are connected in series by using a simple open-wye/delta transformer, rated to 50% of the power throughput. Due to the inherent harmonic cancelation provided by the transformer and the further harmonic mitigation allowed by the IPT connection, the converter is suited for the use of various low-switching-frequency modulation strategies that obtain a clean output waveform, in some cases comparable to that of a 48-pulse converter. Moreover, the output voltage is doubled by means of the intermediate magnetic elements, which also ensure an equal power sharing between the four inverters. In this paper, the converter components and its operation are explained, and experimental results are provided.
Selection of a Visible-Light vs. Thermal Infrared Sensor in Dynamic Environments Based on Confidence Measures

This paper introduces a confidence measure scheme in a bimodal camera setup for automatically selecting visible-light or a thermal infrared in response to natural environmental changes. The purpose of the setup is to robustly detect people in dynamic outdoor scenarios under very different conditions. For this purpose, two efficient segmentation algorithms, one dedicated to the visible-light spectrum and another one to the thermal infrared spectrum, are implemented. The segmentation algorithms are applied to five different video sequences recorded under very different environmental conditions. The results of the segmentation in both spectra allow one to establish the best-suited confidence interval thresholds and to validate the overall approach. Indeed, the confidence measures take linguistic values LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH, depending on the reliability of the results obtained in visible-light, as well as in thermal infrared video.
Word Sense Disambiguation in Hindi Language Using Hyperspace Analogue to Language and Fuzzy C-Means Clustering

The problem of Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) can be defined as the task of assigning the most appropriate sense to the polysemous word within a given context. Many supervised, unsupervised and semi-supervised approaches have been devised to deal with this problem, particularly, for the English language. However, this is not the case for Hindi language, where not much work has been done. In this paper, a new approach has been developed to perform disambiguation in Hindi language. For training the system, the text in Hindi language is converted into Hyperspace Analogue to Language (HAL) vectors, thereby, mapping each word into a high-dimensional space. We also deal with the fuzziness involved in disambiguation of words. We apply Fuzzy C-Means Clustering algorithm to form clusters denoting the various contexts in which the polysemous word may occur. The test data is then mapped into the high dimensional space created during the training phase. We test our approach on the corpus created using Hindi news articles and Wikipedia. We compare our approach with other significant approaches available in the literature and the experimental results indicate that our approach outperforms all the previous works done for Hindi Language.
A proposal of an upfront requirements modeling & design practice for e-commerce projects

This paper examines the nature of e-commerce systems development and finds that e-commerce is different requiring a high degree of business innovation and responsiveness. A study undertaken on a B-B e-marketplace in Egypt illustrates the problems with the use of traditional analysis and design techniques. They reduce imagination and the ability to respond to change, as they are systematic, comprehensive and plan-driven. The study focuses attention on the importance of modeling value-added services beside businesses processes for e-commerce applications, as well as the need for self-organizing, non-prescriptive activities, which we call the 'practice', that enhances creative thinking and self-reflection on the problem situation. As a response to these findings an 'upfront requirements modeling and design practice' is identified, outlined, and experimented with. It is based on brainstorming sessions guided by the use of a 'non-prescriptive' requirements modeling tool that provides a classification of the possible different e-commerce issues. The introduced tool (the e-business issues roadmap) helps to trigger issues and design ideas. The results found a number of business innovative ideas that were unlikely to have been generated by traditional analysis models.
Competitive PCR for Quantification of BM5d Proviral DNA in Mice with AIDS

ABSTRACT Murine AIDS in C57BL/6 mice is caused by a unique mixture of murine leukemia viruses. We report the use of a competitive PCR to detect and quantitate BM5d proviral DNA. This assay allowed discrimination among endogenous wild-type murine retroviruses and BM5d sequences. Furthermore, the method was subsequently used to evaluate the amount of BM5d in infected mice and in infected AZT (zidovudine)-treated mice, providing an effective way to quantitatively evaluate drug efficacy in the murine AIDS model.
Fluoropolymer Nanosheet as a Wrapping Mount for High‐Quality Tissue Imaging

In the field of biological microscopy technology, it is still a practical challenge to obtain high‐quality tissue images, due to the tissue desiccation that occurs during observations without an effective sample mounting. Inspired by the use of plastic food wrap, this study proposes the use of polymer thin films (also known as nanosheets) to fix the tissue samples. Water‐repellent nanosheets composed of the amorphous fluoropolymer CYTOP are prepared with adjustable thicknesses and their hydrophobicity, transparency, and adhesion strength are evaluated. They show excellent water‐retention effect and work well for sample fixation. By wrapping cleared mouse brain slices with a 133 nm thick CYTOP nanosheet, this study achieves high spatial resolution neuron images while scanning over a large area for a long period of time. No visible artifacts arising from sample shrinkage can be detected. This study also expects that nanosheet wrapping could be effective over a longer time span by combination with conventional agarose embedding.
A Hierarchical Probabilistic Framework for Recognizing Learners' Interaction Experience Trends and Emotions

We seek to model the users' experience within an interactive learning environment. More precisely, we are interested in assessing the relationship between learners' emotional reactions and three trends in the interaction experience, namely, flow: the optimal interaction (a perfect immersion within the task), stuck: the nonoptimal interaction (a difficulty to maintain focused attention), and off-task: the noninteraction (a dropout from the task). We propose a hierarchical probabilistic framework using a dynamic Bayesian network to model this relationship and to simultaneously recognize the probability of experiencing each trend as well as the emotional responses occurring subsequently. The framework combines three modality diagnostic variables that sense the learner's experience including physiology, behavior, and performance, predictive variables that represent the current context and the learner's profile, and a dynamic structure that tracks the evolution of the learner's experience. An experimental study, with a specifically designed protocol for eliciting the targeted experiences, was conducted to validate our approach. Results revealed that multiple concurrent emotions can be associated with the experiences of flow, stuck, and off-task and that the same trend can be expressed differently from one individual to another. The evaluation of the framework showed promising results in predicting learners' experience trends and emotional responses.
Hermite Spectral Method to 1-D Forward Kolmogorov Equation and Its Application to Nonlinear Filtering Problems

In this paper, we investigate the Hermite spectral method (HSM) to numerically solve the forward Kolmogorov equation (FKE). A useful guideline of choosing the scaling factor of the generalized Hermite functions is given in this paper. It greatly improves the resolution of HSM. The convergence rate of HSM to FKE is analyzed in the suitable function space and has been verified by the numerical simulation. As an important application and our primary motivation to study the HSM to FKE, we work on the implementation of the nonlinear filtering (NLF) problems with a real-time algorithm developed by S. -T. Yau and the second author in 2008. The HSM to FKE is served as the off-line computation in this algorithm. The translating factor of the generalized Hermite functions and the moving-window technique are introduced to deal with the drifting of the posterior conditional density function of the states in the on-line experiments. Two numerical experiments of NLF problems are carried out to illustrate the feasibility of our algorithm. Moreover, our algorithm surpasses the particle filters as a real-time solver to NLF.
Overexpression of ICAT highlights a rolefor catenin‐mediated canonical Wnt signalling in early T cell development

Transcription factors of the T cell factor/lymphoid enhancing factor (Tcf/Lef) family are key regulators in the development of T cell precursors to the CD4+8+ stage. These factors are known targets of the canonical Wnt signalling pathway, and regulate transcription of Wnt target genes following interaction with the armadillo repeat‐containing protein β‐catenin. However, as recent studies show normal thymocyte maturation in the absence of either β‐catenin or its homologue γ‐catenin, the role of Wnt signalling in Tcf/Lef activation during T cell development is controversial. To directly investigate the importance of catenin‐mediated Wnt signalling in early thymocytes, we have compared the expression of β‐ and γ‐catenin and analysed distinct stages of T cell precursor maturation following overexpression of inhibitor of β‐catenin and Tcf (ICAT), which inhibits Wnt signalling by preventing binding of armadillo repeat‐containing proteins to Tcf/Lef. By direct retroviral gene targeting of CD4–8– and CD4+8+ precursors, we show that ICAT overexpression inhibits the CD4–8–‐to‐CD4+8+ transition, but not the CD4+8+‐to‐CD4+8– or ‐CD4–8+ transition. Collectively, our data support a model in which canonical Wnt signalling influences T cell development in the thymus by playing an essential role in the maturation of CD4–8– but not CD4+8+ thymocytes.
Design and performance of a W-band microstrip rat-race balanced mixer

The design and measured characteristics of a W-band microstrip rat-race balanced mixer are presented in this paper. The single balanced mixer is realized by using a configuration of a rat-race hybrid-ring with five ports and two DMK2790 GaAs Schottky diodes. The radio frequency (RF) signal and local oscillator (LO) signal pass through the antipodal finline waveguide-to-microstrip transitions to the microstrip circuit. In order to verify the design, the mixer is fabricated on 0.127mm thick Duroid RT 5880 substrate. Measurement result shows its conversion loss is less than 13.5dB from 90GHz to 97GHz.
PARAMETER IDENTIFICATION IN PINHOLE CAMERA VISION SYSTEM: AN ENHANCED APPROACH

Abstract The purpose of camera calibration is to reconstruct the world coordinate system using two-dimensional images. A good calibration result depends on identifying the camera parameters successfully. The use of single two-dimensional calibration boards or three-dimensional calibration boxes for camera calibration results in a camera model which is suitable for local operation only. The objective of the present study is to improve the calibration approach in order to identify the system parameters in a more effective and economical manner. The proposed approach improves the use of stereo images in three-dimensional measurement applications.
Mapping average annual runoff: a hierarchical approach applying a stochastic interpolation scheme

Abstract A novel approach for mapping river runoff is presented. It is based on a disaggregation of the mean annual streamflow measured at the outlet of a basin to estimate water depths on elements of an exact partition of this basin. The developed technique is based on geostatistical interpolation procedures to which a global constraint of water balance has been added. The methodology is illustrated by a case study from a tributary to the Rhône River, France. The results were compared to an established method-the nested approach, and a cross-validation was performed for each mapping technique. The disaggregation approach appears to give the most consistent results. Finally, two gridded maps were derived by applying the disaggregation twice to assess water depth on an increasingly finer grid mesh. The global constraint of water balance was applied to each element of the coarser mesh to give estimates for the finer one.
Single-Machine Scheduling Problems with Generalized Preemption

We address a class of single-machine, hard scheduling problems with the objective of minimizing the maximum tardiness. The jobs can be preempted, but whenever a job is started or resumed, there is a recovery interval affecting its progress. Such a feature is motivated by certain application environments and generalizes the usual preemption concept. For three different cases of this problem, we propose a heuristic algorithm, based on the partial enumeration of feasible schedules. A packing formulation solved by means of a column generation approach is used to certify the quality of the heuristic solution. An extensive computational experience shows the effectiveness of the approach on different classes of instances and shows that real-size problems can be solved to optimality in an acceptable amount of time.