Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AVOIDING INFINITE LOOPS IN RULE-BASED SYSTEMS WITH BACKWARD CHAINING Nikola Bogunovic

A subset of rule-based expert systems may be viewed as a logic program, consisting of a finite set of normalized logic clauses. Query evaluation, or backward chaining strategy of such programs, is a procedure that searches for a path from a given node to some arbitrary node in the corresponding graph. Hence, there may be some paths that are infinite in length. The paper compares two methods that avoid infinite loops in logic programs. Based on the notion of tabling in deterministic languages, the paper examines a similar method in a nondeterministic computational environment of logic programming. The tabling algorithm is then compared to the Magic transformation method, based on source program transformation. Two methods are analysed with respect to time and space complexity.
Formalized answer extraction technology based on pattern learning

Open-domain Question Answering System is an interesting and challenging subject to research in the current field of natural language processing. The difference between QA system and the traditional text retrieval lies in the answer extraction module, which realizes the accurate answer extraction. The answer extraction on the basis of pattern matching is an efficient strategy, which focuses on displaying answers through formalized pattern. The most significant goal of the formalized answer extraction on basis of pattern matching strategy is to establish a complete pattern knowledge database. The automatic construction of formalized pattern for answer extraction is the future tendency of formalized extraction. Unfortunately, formalized answer extraction is still less effective than the extraction method based on statistical learning. This paper analyzes the following subjects: 1. Low coverage of questions. 2. Unreliability of pattern tag. 3. Difficulty in the assessment of pattern confidence. 4. Low level of pattern generalization. Based on the above four subjects, this thesis attempts to automatically construct pattern knowledge database through pattern learning and question sorting architecture based on answer types, use reliable pattern tag to process the formalization of pattern and dramatically increase coverage and accuracy. Furthermore, assess the pattern confidence in terms of coverage and accuracy. Finally, it will put forward pattern generalization technology based on the principle of unchanged pattern major elements, which observably enhances the pattern generalizing performance. Experimental results show that the average coverage of this paper reaches 57.2%, the average accuracy reaches 46.2%; major question accuracy is 80.8% and generalization technology increases accuracy nearly 6%. In sum, this paper realizes high extraction accuracy with simple methods. Especially in the issue of pattern matching on the case, can achieve high extraction accuracy.
3D image analysis of the lung area using thin section CT images and its application to differential diagnosis

The lung area has a very complicated structure which consists of the bronchus, the pulmonary artery, and the pulmonary vein. So it is difficult for even medical specialists to understand the spatial relationships between the tumor, the bronchus, and the blood vessels. Here we present a 3D image analysis method of the lung area using thin section CT images, and we apply this system to the differential diagnosis of abnormal tissue to determine if it is of malignant or benign nature. This system consists of two steps. The first step is the analysis and classification of the structure of the lung area, and the second step is the 3D visualization and their quantitative analysis of pre-classified pulmonary organs for quantitative analysis.
Evaluating earthquake-induced rockfall hazard near the Dead Sea Transform

Abstract. We address an approach for rockfall hazard evaluation where the study area resides below a cliff in an a priori exposure to rockfall hazard, but no historical documentation of rockfall events is available and hence important rockfall hazard parameters like triggering mechanism and recurrence interval are unknown. We study the rockfall hazard for the town of Qiryat Shemona, northern Israel, situated alongside the Dead Sea Transform, at the foot of the Ramim escarpment. Numerous boulders are scattered on the slopes above the town, while pre-town historical aerial photos reveal that boulders had reached the location that is now within town limits. We use field observations and optically stimulated luminescence dating of past rockfall events combined with computer modeling to evaluate the rockfall hazard. For the analysis, we first mapped the rockfall source and final downslope stop sites and compiled the boulder size distribution. We then simulated the possible rockfall trajectories using the field observed data to calibrate the simulation software by comparing simulated and mapped boulder stop sites along selected slopes, while adjusting model input parameters for best fit. The analysis reveals areas of high rockfall hazard at the southwestern quarters of the town and also indicates that in the studied slopes falling blocks would stop where the slope angle decreases below 5–10∘. Age determination suggests that the rockfalls were triggered by large (M>6) historical earthquakes. Nevertheless, not all large historical earthquakes triggered rockfalls. Considering the size distribution of the past rockfalls in the study area and the recurrence time of large earthquakes in the region, we estimate a probability of less than 5 % to be affected by a destructive rockfall within a 50-year time window. Here we suggest a comprehensive method to evaluate rockfall hazard where only past rockfall evidence exists in the field. We show the importance of integrating spatial and temporal field observations to assess the extent of rockfall hazard, the potential block size distribution and the rockfall recurrence interval.
Validation of a postresection pancreatic adenocarcinoma nomogram for disease-specific survival.

PURPOSE Nomograms are statistically based tools that provide the overall probability of a specific outcome. They have shown better individual discrimination than the current TNM staging system in numerous patient tumor models. The pancreatic nomogram combines individual clinicopathologic and operative data to predict disease-specific survival at 1, 2, and 3 years from initial resection. A single US institution database was used to test the validity of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma nomogram established at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. PATIENTS AND METHODS The nomogram was created from a prospective pancreatic adenocarcinoma database that included 555 consecutive patients between October 1983 and April 2000. The nomogram was validated by an external patient cohort from a retrospective pancreatic adenocarcinoma database at Massachusetts General Hospital that included 424 consecutive patients between January 1985 and December 2003. RESULTS Of the 424 patients, 375 had all variables documented. At last follow-up, 99 patients were alive, with a median follow-up time of 27 months (range, 2 to 151 months). The 1-, 2-, and 3-year disease-specific survival rates were 68% (95% CI, 63% to 72%), 39% (95% CI, 34% to 44%), and 27% (95% CI, 23% to 32%), respectively. The nomogram concordance index was 0.62 compared with 0.59 with the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage (P = .004). This suggests that the nomogram discriminates disease-specific survival better than the AJCC staging system. CONCLUSION The pancreatic cancer nomogram provides more accurate survival predictions than the AJCC staging system when applied to an external patient cohort. The nomogram may aid in more accurately counseling patients and in better stratifying patients for clinical trials and molecular tumor analysis.
Moment estimation methods for stationary spatial Cox processes - a comparison

In the present paper we consider the problem of fitting parametric spatial Cox point process models. We concentrate on the moment estimation methods based on the second order characteristics of the point process in question. These methods represent a simulation-free faster-to-compute alternative to the computationally intense maximum likelihood estimation. We give an overview of the available methods, discuss their properties and applicability. Further we present results of a simulation study in which performance of these estimating methods was compared for planar point processes with different types and strength of clustering and inter-point interactions.
Long-Term Effects Between Perceived Justice in the Division of Domestic Work and Women's Relationship Satisfaction Testing for Moderation Effects

This study investigates the nature of the long-term effects among perceived justice in the division of domestic work, change in the division of domestic work, and relationship satisfaction in a two-wave, 3-year longitudinal study of 389 women from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Results suggest that long-term effects between perceived justice and relationship satisfaction are bidirectional. Initial relationship satisfaction predicted perceived justice 3 years later and initial perceived justice predicted relationship satisfaction 3 years later. But the effect of perceived justice on relationship satisfaction depended on how the division of work had changed over time. If women's share of work increased over time, perceived justice at Time 1 predicted greater relationship dissatisfaction at Time 2, whereas if women's share of work decreased over time, perceived justice at Time 1 predicted greater relationship satisfaction at Time 2.
Global Warming Damages and Canada's Oil Sands

The social net benefit of energy investments differs from private profitability by the value of environmental damages, among other things. Estimates of damages associated with greenhouse gas emissions are obtained from the literature, ranging from $15 to $64 (C$ 2004) per tonne of carbon. These values are shown to be equivalent to $2 to $8 per barrel of crude oil obtained from Canada's oil sands, based on emissions intensities of Suncor Energy Inc. It is estimated that taking these costs into account would lower the social net benefit of Suncor's oil sands production for 2004­2005 by a central value of 18 percent.
Apotransferrin-induced recovery after hypoxic/ischaemic injury on myelination

We have previously demonstrated that aTf (apotransferrin) accelerates maturation of OLs (oligodendrocytes) in vitro as well as in vivo. The purpose of this study is to determine whether aTf plays a functional role in a model of H/I (hypoxia/ischaemia) in the neonatal brain. Twenty-four hours after H/I insult, neonatal rats were intracranially injected with aTf and the effects of this treatment were evaluated in the CC (corpus callosum) as well as the SVZ (subventricular zone) at different time points. Similar to previous studies, the H/I event produced severe demyelination in the CC. Demyelination was accompanied by microglial activation, astrogliosis and iron deposition. Ferritin levels increased together with lipid peroxidation and apoptotic cell death. Histological examination after the H/I event in brain tissue of aTf-treated animals (H/I aTF) revealed a great number of mature OLs repopulating the CC compared with saline-treated animals (H/I S). ApoTf treatment induced a gradual increase in MBP (myelin basic protein) and myelin lipid staining in the CC reaching normal levels after 15 days. Furthermore, significant increase in the number of OPCs (oligodendroglial progenitor cells) was found in the SVZ of aTf-treated brains compared with H/I S. Specifically, there was a rise in cells positive for OPC markers, i.e. PDGFRα and SHH+ cells, with a decrease in cleaved-caspase-3+ cells compared with H/I S. Additionally, neurospheres from aTf-treated rats were bigger in size and produced more O4/MBP+ cells. Our findings indicate a role for aTf as a potential inducer of OLs in neonatal rat brain in acute demyelination caused by H/I and a contribution to the differentiation/maturation of OLs and survival/migration of SVZ progenitors after demyelination in vivo.
Atypical Protein Kinase Cι Plays a Critical Role in Human Lung Cancer Cell Growth and Tumorigenicity*

Atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) isozymes function in epithelial cell polarity, proliferation, and survival and have been implicated in cellular transformation. However, the role of these enzymes in human cancer is largely unexplored. Here, we report that aPKCι is highly expressed in human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines, whereas the closely related aPKC isozyme PKCζ is undetectable in these cells. Disruption of PKCι signaling reveals that PKCι is dispensable for adherent growth of non-small cell lung cancer cells but is required for transformed growth in soft agar in vitro and for tumorigenicity in vivo. Molecular dissection of signaling down-stream of PKCι demonstrates that Rac1 is a critical molecular target for PKCι-dependent transformation, whereas PKCι is not necessary for NFκB activation in vitro or in vivo. Expression of the PB1 domain of PKCι (PKCι-(1-113)) blocks PKCι-dependent Rac1 activity and inhibits cellular transformation indicating a role for this domain in the transforming activity of PKCι. Taken together, our data demonstrate that PKCι is a critical lung cancer gene that activates a Rac1→Pak→Mek1,2→Erk1,2 signaling pathway required for transformed growth. Our data indicate that PKCι may be an attractive molecular target for mechanism-based therapies for treatment of lung cancer.
S-allylcysteine Improves Streptozotocin-Induced Alterations of Blood Glucose, Liver Cytochrome P450 2E1, Plasma Antioxidant System, and Adipocytes Hormones in Diabetic Rats

Background: S-allylcysteine, a garlic derivative, could have a protective effect against pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. Objectives: Sustained free radical generation and oxidative damage to system leads to the final conclusion phase of diabetes and also it coexists with a constant diminution in the antioxidant status.The present study aims to evaluate the therapeutic effects of S-allylcysteine (SAC) against adipocytes hormones and antioxidant defense systems of plasma and erythrocytes of treptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes in rats. Materials and Methods: Diabetic rats were administered SAC (150 mg/kg b.w) orally for 45 days. At 46th day, the rats were anesthetized, and blood and liver sample were collected for analyzing glucose, plasma insulin, CYP2E1 activity, Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), hydroperoxide, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, reduced glutathione (GSH), ceruloplasmin, plasma leptin, and adiponectin. Results; The levels of glucose, CYP2E1 activity, Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), hydroperoxide, and ceruloplasmin were increased significantly; whereas, the levels of plasma insulin, reduced glutathione, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants, leptin and adiponectin were decreased in experimental diabetic rats. Administration of SAC to diabetic rats led to a decrease in the levels of glucose, CYP2E1 activity, TBARS, and ceruloplasmin. In addition, the levels of plasma insulin, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants leptin and adiponectin were increased in SAC treated diabetic rats. Gliclazide, a standard drug for diabetes, was used for the comparative purpose. Conclusions: The results of the present investigation suggest that SAC could be used as a food supplement in the treatment of diabetes characterized by provoked antioxidant status, altered blood glucose, and hormones level.
Do Upper Echelons Faultlines Affect Strategic Decision-making: The Moderating Role of Managerial Identification

The paper empirically analyzes the relationship between firm strategic decision-making and two kinds of upper echelons’ faultlines which are demographic faultlines and personality faultlines, and the moderating effect of team identification as well. It found that the personality faultlines are significantly related to decision quality and efficiency and moderated by team identification. The relationship between demographic faultlines and team identification are weakly significant, but the moderating effect of team identification is not significant. Keywords-Upper Echelons; Top Management Team; Team Faultlines; Strategic Decision-Making; Team Identification
Oxidative Stress–Mediated Cardiac Cell Death Is a Major Determinant of Ventricular Dysfunction and Failure in Dog Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Abstract— Cell death has been questioned as a mechanism of ventricular failure. In this report, we tested the hypothesis that apoptotic death of myocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts is implicated in the development of the dilated myopathy induced by ventricular pacing. Accumulation of reactive oxygen products such as nitrotyrosine, potentiation of the oxidative stress response by p66shc expression, formation of p53 fragments, release of cytochrome c, and caspase activation were examined to establish whether these events were coupled with apoptotic cell death in the paced dog heart. Myocyte, endothelial cell, and fibroblast apoptosis was detected before indices of severe impairment of cardiac function became apparent. Cell death increased with the duration of pacing, and myocyte death exceeded endothelial cell and fibroblast death throughout. Nitrotyrosine formation and p66shc levels progressively increased with pacing and were associated with cell apoptosis. Similarly, p50 (&Dgr;N) fragments augmented paralleling the degree of cell death in the failing heart. Moreover, cytochrome c release and activation of caspase-9 and -3 increased from 1 to 4 weeks of pacing. In conclusion, cardiac cell death precedes ventricular decompensation and correlates with the time-dependent deterioration of function in this model. Oxidative stress may be critical for activation of apoptosis in the overloaded heart.
Designing Contests between Heterogeneous Contestants: An Experimental Study of Tie-Breaks and Bid-Caps in All-Pay Auctions

We revisit the two bidder complete information all-pay auction with bid-caps introduced by Che and Gale (1998), dropping their assumption that tie-breaking must be symmetric. Any choice of tie-breaking rule leads to a different set of Nash equilibria. Compared to the optimal bid-cap of Che and Gale we obtain that in order to maximize the sum of bids, the designer prefers to set a less restrictive bid-cap combined with a tie-breaking rule which slightly favors the weaker bidder. Moreover, the designer is better off breaking ties deterministically in favor of the weak bidder than symmetrically.
PRIVACY PRESERVING BACK-PROPAGATION NEURAL NETWORK IN CLOUD COMPUTING

 Abstract— we find the problem of Privacy Preserving Back Propagation Algorithm for a Vertically Partitioned Dataset. To improve the learning, Enhanced data is more important to find the exact privacy concern of each data holder by extending the privacy preservation suggested to original learning algorithms. In this paper, we try to improve preserving the privacy in an important multilayer neural networks and learning model. We present a privacy preserving multiparty distributed algorithm of back propagation which allows a neural network to be trained without requiring either party to reveal her data to the others. We gave more correctness and security analysis of our algorithms. The effectiveness of our algorithms is checked and verified by experiments on various real world data sets. We address this open problem by incorporating the computing power of the cloud computing. The main idea of our paper can be summarized as follows: each participant first encrypts her/his private data with the system public key and then uploads the cipher texts to the cloud; cloud servers then execute most of the operations pertaining to the learning process over the cipher texts and return the encrypted results to the participants.
Mitigating Effects of Recording Condition Mismatch in Speaker Recognition Using Partial Least Squares

Speaker recognition systems have been shown to work well when recordings are collected in conditions with relatively limited mismatch. Thus, a significant focus of the current research is techniques for robust system performance when greater variability is present. This study considers a diverse data set with recordings collected in multiple different rooms with different types of microphones. A technique recently introduced to the speaker recognition community, called partial least squares (PLS), is considered for decomposing the features and mitigating the degradation in performance due to room and/or microphone mismatch. Results of this study suggest that PLS decomposition can provide substantial improvements in performance in the presence of mismatched recording conditions. The outcomes of this study provide further validation for the partial least squares decomposition and encourage further consideration of PLS for reducing session and environment variability in speaker recognition tasks.
Evolutionary biology Does inbreeding affect gene expression in birds ?

Inbreeding increases homozygosity, exposes genome-wide recessive deleterious alleles and often reduces fitness. The physiological and reproductive consequences of inbreeding may be manifested already during gene regulation, but the degree to which inbreeding influences gene expression is unknown in most organisms, including in birds. To evaluate the pattern of inbreeding-affected gene expression over the genome and in relation to sex, we performed a transcriptome-wide gene expression (10 695 genes) study of brain tissue of 10-day-old inbred and outbred, male and female zebra finches. We found significantly lower gene expression in females compared with males at Z-linked genes, confirming that dosage compensation is incomplete in female birds. However, inbreeding did not affect gene expression at autosomal or sex-linked genes, neither in males nor in females. Analyses of single genes again found a clear sex-biased expression at Z-linked genes, whereas only a single gene was significantly affected by inbreeding. The weak effect of inbreeding on gene expression in zebra finches contrasts to the situation, for example, in Drosophila where inbreeding has been found to influence gene expression more generally and at stress-related genes in particular.
Clinical evaluation of a low-cost alternative for stroke rehabilitation

Stroke is the main cause of disabilities in the world and is typically treated with intensive, hands-on physical and occupational therapy for several weeks after the initial injury. However, due to economic pressures, stroke patients are receiving less therapy and going home sooner, so the potential benefit of the therapy is not completely realized. Thus, it is important to develop rehabilitation technology that allows individuals who had suffered a stroke to practice intensive movement training without the expense of an always-present therapist. Although several robotic devices have been developed for stroke rehabilitation, these are too expensive for use at home or in small clinics.We have developed a low-cost alternative that allows stroke survivors to practice arm movement exercises at home or at the clinic, with periodic interactions with a therapist. The system integrates a virtual environment for facilitating repetitive movement training, with computer vision algorithms that track the hand of a patient, using an inexpensive camera and a conventional personal computer. This system, called Gesture Therapy, has been evaluated in a controlled clinical trial at a hospital in Mexico City, comparing it with conventional occupational therapy. The results show that both treatments improve the functionality of the affected upper extremity, with not significant difference between them. However, the patients that used the virtual environment have a greater motivation and attachment to the treatment, which in the long term are decisive for maximal recovery.