Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disinfectant test results : How to average across laboratories

A comprehensive assessment of a disinfectant product often entails multi-laboratory testing, in which case the individual test outcomes may be averaged across the laboratories. The article KSA-SM-13 (2013) showed how to average across laboratories for a study with balanced data. The term " balanced data " indicates that each laboratory conducted the same number of tests, whereas " unbalanced data " indicates that the number of replicate tests was not the same for all laboratories and may in fact be quite different (Searle et al. 1992). Most multi-laboratory disinfectant efficacy studies are purposely designed to produce balanced data, but even the best plan can go awry, such as when it belatedly is discovered that some tests were flawed, leaving the investigators with an unbalanced data set. Some studies are conducted with prior knowledge that the data will be unbalanced, e.g., a study based on aggregated test results from the data archives of several laboratories. For unbalanced data, several different averaging techniques have been proposed by statisticians (Cochran 1954; Iyer et al. 2004). This article is a review of techniques for averaging across laboratories. We describe and compare popular averaging techniques, and recommend the one that seems most appropriate in the context of disinfectant testing. The recommendation is based on the statistical literature and our many years of experience in analyzing data from multi-laboratory studies. We assume that all disinfectant tests conducted by all laboratories were judged by the study director to follow the pre-specified test protocol closely enough to justify calculation of an overall average. To illustrate the issues, we use two unbalanced data sets from multi-laboratory studies. The first is from a historical study of Use Dilution Method (UDM) test results, gathered from the archives of four laboratories (Tomasino et al. 2012). The UDM is a dried surface carrier test. The study was conducted to investigate the response quantity TestLD, the mean log density of viable cells for six untreated carriers (KSA SM-10 2012; Hamilton et al. 2013). The data pertain to tests conducted on Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria in the presence of an organic soil load. Table 1 shows the mean and the standard deviation (SD) of the TestLD values in each laboratory. In all, 185 UDM tests were conducted, with the number of tests per laboratory ranging from 36 to 62. The second data set is from a designed collaborative study of the Quantitative Carrier Test (QCT-1) in …
Finding surprising patterns in textual data streams

We address the task of detecting surprising patterns in large textual data streams. These can reveal events in the real world when the data streams are generated by online news media, emails, Twitter feeds, movie subtitles, scientific publications, and more. The volume of interest in such text streams often exceeds human capacity for analysis, such that automatic pattern recognition tools are indispensable. In particular, we are interested in surprising changes in the frequency of n-grams of words, or more generally of symbols from an unlimited alphabet size. Despite the exponentially large number of possible n-grams in the size of the alphabet (which is itself unbounded), we show how these can be detected efficiently. To this end, we rely on a data structure known as a generalised suffix tree, which is additionally annotated with a limited amount of statistical information. Crucially, we show how the generalised suffix tree as well as these statistical annotations can efficiently be updated in an on-line fashion.
DISCOVERING STRUCTURE IN GEOGRAPHICAL METADATA

Metadata are data about data. Geographical metadata describe geospatial data: maps, satellite images or other geographically referenced material. The two characteristics of geographical metadata, high dimensionality and diversity of attribute data types, present a problem for automatic data mining. We present an approach for exploration of geographical metadata which is based on an integration of visual data mining and an automatic data mining method, clustering. Clustering discovers hierarchical structure in the metadata in order to help the user with the exploration. A special visualisation of the structure is integrated in the visual data mining concept.
Position control of linear induction motor using an adaptive fuzzy integral: Back stepping controller

In this paper the position control of a linear induction motor using adaptive fuzzy back stepping design with integral action is proposed. First, the indirect field oriented control for LIM is derived. Then, an integral back stepping design for indirect field oriented control of LIM is proposed to compensate the uncertainties which occur in the control. Finally, the fuzzy integral-back stepping controller is investigated, where a simple fuzzy inference mechanism is used to achieve a position tracking objective under the mechanical parameters uncertainties. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by numerical simulation. The numerical validation results of the proposed scheme have presented good performances compared to the conventional integral back stepping control.
Stereo matching as a multistage grouping process

In this paper, we propose a grouping-based method to solve the stereo matching problem. We employ intensity segments on scan lines of stereo images as primitives for matching, and formulate the problem by introducing a multistage grouping process of the intensity segments. A relation between a matching pair of intensity segments and some constraints are established.
An integrated modular approach for Visual Analytic Systems in Electronic Health Records

Latest visual analytic tools help physicians to visualize temporal data in regards to medical health records. Existing systems lack vast support in the generalized collaboration, a single user-centered and task based design for Electronic Health Records (EHR). Already existing frameworks are unable to mentor the interface gaps due to problems like complexity of data sets, increased temporal information density and no support to live databases. These are significant reasons for a single model to comply the end user requirements. We propose an integrated model termed as CARE 1.0 as a future Visual analytic process model for resolving these kinds of issues based on mix method studies. This will base on different disciplines of HCI, Statistics as well as Computer Sciences. This proposed model encompasses the cognitive behavioral requirements of its stake holder's i.e. physicians, database administrators and visualization designers. It helps in presenting a more generalized and detailed visualization for desired medical data sets.
Precipitation dynamics and chemical properties in tropical mountain forests of Ecuador

Abstract. Terrestrial ecosystems in southern Ecuador are strongly affected by interannual climate variations. This holds especially true for the episodic El Nino events, which cause above-normal precipitation in the coastal region of Ecuador and below normal values in the eastern provinces of the Amazon basin (Bendix, 1999). For the transitional zone between these two extremes, which consists mainly of the andean slopes and larger interandean basins the effect on interannual climate variability is not well known. The PREDICT project monitors regional climate in the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe (4° S/79° W), where a strong gradients of precipitation are observed. Between the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Real and the dry valley of Catamayo, which are only 70km apart, rain totals drop from over 4000 mm to only 300 mm per year. These two extremes represent the both sides of the Andean mountain chain and are completely covered by the study area, which is 120 km in diameter. Methods used are a combination of point measurements (climate stations) and remote sensing devices (weather radar, satellite imagery), which enable a high-resolution real-time observation of rain distribution and underlying processes. By this, ideal conditions are given to monitor a potential shift of the transition zone between below-average and above-average rainfall situated in this region, if another ENSO-anomaly occurs. Furthermore variability of atmospheric nutrient inputs is analysed within the scope of the project, to assess further impacts on this ecosystem.
A review of bioinformatics education in Germany

We describe the establishment of bioinformatics in Germany and give an overview of current bioinformatics education in this country, from the perspective of the practitioner. The aim of this study is to demonstrate development of a strong bioinformatics education at German universities and research institutes during the last years. Beginning with a definition of the multi-disciplinary field bioinformatics, we give a survey of government initiatives in Germany in support of this field, which resulted in a wide spectrum of courses. To the best of our knowledge, we compile all ongoing courses at universities and research institutes. Five case studies featuring university courses with different educational focus illustrate the variety of efforts. In this context we also discuss the main components of German bioinformatics curricula. These components can be considered as the basic knowledge of German bioinformaticians. We conclude by giving perspectives for further development of bioinformatics education.
Comparative gene expression profile analysis of neurofibromatosis 1-associated and sporadic pilocytic astrocytomas.

Pilocytic astrocytomas (PAs) are WHO grade I brain tumors that do not typically progress to more malignant grades of astrocytoma. Whereas there have been significant advances in the molecular genetics of high-grade astrocytomas, relatively little is known about the genetic changes associated with PA formation. In an effort to better characterize these low-grade neoplasms, we compared the gene expression profiles of six sporadic and two neurofibromatosis 1-associated PAs with other tissues and cell lines of both astrocytic and oligodendroglial origin. Hierarchical cluster analysis of gene expression data clearly delineated PAs from low-grade oligodendrogliomas and normal white matter. The two NF1-associated tumors and one of the sporadic PAs displayed expression profiles that were more closely related to those of cultured normal human fetal astrocytes. However, PAs also expressed individual genes typically associated with oligodendroglial lineage (e.g., proteolipid protein and PMP-22). The expression patterns of specific genes (e.g., ApoD) were unique to PA tumors, whereas genetic changes characteristic of high-grade astrocytomas were not encountered. Differential expression of two transcripts, neural cellular adhesion molecule and connexin-43, was confirmed at the protein level, suggesting that these cell adhesion molecules might be particularly important in the molecular pathogenesis of these tumors. We conclude that PAs are genetically unique gliomas with gene expression profiles that resemble those of fetal astrocytes and, to a lesser extent, oligodendroglial precursors.
Human STAGA Complex Is a Chromatin-Acetylating Transcription Coactivator That Interacts with Pre-mRNA Splicing and DNA Damage-Binding Factors In Vivo

ABSTRACT GCN5 is a histone acetyltransferase (HAT) originally identified inSaccharomyces cerevisiae and required for transcription of specific genes within chromatin as part of the SAGA (SPT-ADA-GCN5 acetylase) coactivator complex. Mammalian cells have two distinct GCN5 homologs (PCAF and GCN5L) that have been found in three different SAGA-like complexes (PCAF complex, TFTC [TATA-binding-protein-free TAFII-containing complex], and STAGA [SPT3-TAFII31-GCN5L acetylase]). The composition and roles of these mammalian HAT complexes are still poorly characterized. Here, we present the purification and characterization of the human STAGA complex. We show that STAGA contains homologs of most yeast SAGA components, including two novel human proteins with histone-like folds and sequence relationships to yeast SPT7 and ADA1. Furthermore, we demonstrate that STAGA has acetyl coenzyme A-dependent transcriptional coactivator functions from a chromatin-assembled template in vitro and associates in HeLa cells with spliceosome-associated protein 130 (SAP130) and DDB1, two structurally related proteins. SAP130 is a component of the splicing factor SF3b that associates with U2 snRNP and is recruited to prespliceosomal complexes. DDB1 (p127) is a UV-damaged-DNA-binding protein that is involved, as part of a complex with DDB2 (p48), in nucleotide excision repair and the hereditary disease xeroderma pigmentosum. Our results thus suggest cellular roles of STAGA in chromatin modification, transcription, and transcription-coupled processes through direct physical interactions with sequence-specific transcription activators and with components of the splicing and DNA repair machineries.
IP Prefix Hijack Detection Using BGP Attack Signatures and Connectivity Tracking

In spite of significant on-going research, the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) still suffers vulnerability issues specially regarding impersonating the ownership of IP prefixes of ASes (Autonomous Systems). In this context, a number of research studies focused on securing the BGP through historical-based and statistical-based behavioural models. This paper proposes a novel method aiming to detect IP prefix hijacking incidents based on tracking the behaviour of suspicious ASes. The detection method uses signaturebased technique as a pre- process phase to separate suspicious announces (BGP updates) from benign announces. From a processing perspective, the outputs of signature-based algorithm are used as inputs for the detection method. Nine feature will be extracted from the ASpath attributes of potentially suspicious ASes. The features are considered a combination of the behavioral characteristics of the routers in relation to their connectivity. Based on these features and the best five supervised learning classifiers, we identify the hijacks. Under different learning algorithms, the detection method is able to detect the hijacks with a high accuracy especially with J48, which can detect the hijacks with 96%.
Twitter Makes It Worse: Political Journalists, Gendered Echo Chambers, and the Amplification of Gender Bias

Given both the historical legacy and the contemporary awareness about gender inequity in journalism and politics as well as the increasing importance of Twitter in political communication, this article considers whether the platform makes some of the existing gender bias against women in political journalism even worse. Using a framework that characterizes journalists’ Twitter behavior in terms of the dimensions of their peer-to-peer relationships and a comprehensive sample of permanently credentialed journalists for the U.S. Congress, substantial evidence of gender bias beyond existing inequities emerges. Most alarming is that male journalists amplify and engage male peers almost exclusively, while female journalists tend to engage most with each other. The significant support for claims of gender asymmetry as well as evidence of gender silos are findings that not only underscore the importance of further research but also suggest overarching consequences for the structure of contemporary political communication.
Physical activity intervention program through walking routes in sedentary university students

Objective: Effect of a physical activity program on body composition and physical condition with university teacher students. Methods: 51 university students from the Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences, University of Vigo (Spain), participated in the study. Students performed a 6-week protocol, using the walking routes designed in the university's own facilities. Two cohorts, experimental group and control group were analysed, before and after the program. The 6-minute walking test, countermovement jump (CMJ), flexibility through active straight leg raise, rate of perceived exhaustion (RPE) and heart rate (HR) were evaluated, and a bioimpedance measurement was used to evaluate the basal and final metabolism. Results: On the 6-minutes walking test, CMJ, and flexibility of the right leg significant differences were found between the experimental and the control group. There were no significant differences in either group for any RPE. In the bioimpedance, there were significant differences in fat and lean mass in the left leg. Conclusion: The analysed data indicates an improvement in aerobic endurance, jumping and flexibility capacities at the end of the program. But for body composition, in general there were no significant variations.
Orientation and scale invariant binary descriptor based on Haar wavelet

In this paper, an orientation and scale invariant binary descriptor is proposed, which can be used in key-points matching systems. Conventionally, a binary descriptor is generated by comparing the intensities of pixels directly, such as those in Binary Robust Independent Elementary Features (BRIEF) and Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB). However, comparing intensities of pixels may lose the texture information in the region of interest, and lead to a high false match rate in a practical application. In our proposed method, the region of interest is segmented into grid cells and then the binary Haar wavelet responses are computed to store the texture information of the patch. Concretely, the texture information in each cell is expressed by the horizontal and vertical gradients and the polarity of intensity changes which are indicated by four components of Haar wavelet response. The binary descriptor is generated by comparing the Haar wavelet response in each pair of grid cells. Furthermore, to be scale and orientation invariant, the patch of key-points is rotated to the primary direction of the centroid vector in the image pyramid. Extensive experimental results show that our descriptor significantly outperforms other five state-of-the-art binary descriptors in key-point matching systems. The average percentage of correct matches of our method is 32.79% higher than that for FREAK and 5.31% higher than that for LDB.
Hiding from Big Brother

The present state of Internet surveillance and censorship has prompted the development of sophisticated anonymization and encryption protocols. The importance of anonymity and data encryption has already set foot in people’s minds. In this paper, we discuss why it is necessary to not only hide the contents and involved parties of communications, but also the communication itself. We present some of the techniques suitable for hiding communications eﬀectively and ﬁ-nally elaborate possible future implications the use of those technologies would have on Internet usage.
Colchicine inhibition of plasma protein release from rat hepatocytes

Colchicine, both in vitro and in vivo, inhibits secretion of albumin and other plasma proteins. In vitro, secretion by rat liver slices is inhibited at 10-minus 6 M with maximal effect at 10-minus 5 M. Inhibition of secretion is accompanied by a concomitant retention of nonsecreted proteins within the slices. Colchicine does not inhibit protein synthesis at these concentrations. Vinblastine also inhibits plasma protein secretion but lumicolchicine, griseofulvin, and cytochalasin B do not. Colchicine also acts in vivo at 10-25 mumol/100 g body weight. Inhibition of secretion is not due to changes in the intracellular nucleotide phosphate levels. Colchicine, administered intravenously, acts within 2 min and its inhibitory effect lasts for at least 3 h. Colchicine has no effect on transport of secretory proteins in the rough or smooth endoplasmic reticulum but it causes these proteins to accumulate in Golgi-derived secretory vesicles.
An Energy-efficient Distributed Data Collection Algorithm of the Clustering Technique Based on Location-independent Node in WSNs

This paper presents an Energy-efficient distributed algorithm of the Clustering technique Based on Location-independent node for mobile wireless sensor networks. A network deployment strategy is adopted, which mobile nodes are random deployment and fixed nodes are grid deployment. Mobile nodes choose the closest fixed nodes to form a cluster, and choose the node which is closest to fixed node among mobile nodes with higher remaining energy as cluster head. The cluster head selection strategy is energy-efficient and avoids cluster head moving out a cluster. The cluster head is responsible for collecting sensory data from all cluster members and performing data integration, fixed nodes construct routing backbones for data forwarding, and finally deliver collected data to sink node. Clusters formed by this algorithm are with the same size and evenly distributed location, meanwhile, low reliability probably caused by choosing mobile nodes as backbone routing is reduced, the routing implementation is simple but energy-balancing. Copyright © 2013 IFSA.
Saturating light and not increased carbon dioxide under ocean acidification drives photosynthesis and growth in Ulva rigida (Chlorophyta)

Carbon physiology of a genetically identified Ulva rigida was investigated under different CO2(aq) and light levels. The study was designed to answer whether (1) light or exogenous inorganic carbon (Ci) pool is driving growth; and (2) elevated CO2(aq) concentration under ocean acidification (OA) will downregulate CAext-mediated dehydration and alter the stable carbon isotope (δ13C) signatures toward more CO2 use to support higher growth rate. At pHT 9.0 where CO2(aq) is <1 μmol L−1, inhibition of the known use mechanisms, that is, direct uptake through the AE port and CAext-mediated dehydration decreased net photosynthesis (NPS) by only 56–83%, leaving the carbon uptake mechanism for the remaining 17–44% of the NPS unaccounted. An in silico search for carbon-concentrating mechanism elements in expressed sequence tag libraries of Ulva found putative light-dependent transporters to which the remaining NPS can be attributed. The shift in δ13C signatures from –22‰ toward –10‰ under saturating light but not under elevated CO2(aq) suggest preference and substantial use to support photosynthesis and growth. U. rigida is Ci saturated, and growth was primarily controlled by light. Therefore, increased levels of CO2(aq) predicted for the future will not, in isolation, stimulate Ulva blooms.
Ten-year Survival by Race/Ethnicity and Sex Among Treated, HIV-infected Adults in the United States.

BACKGROUND Ensuring equal access to antiretroviral therapy (henceforth therapy) should alleviate disparities in health outcomes among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, evidence supporting the persistence of disparities in survival following therapy initiation is mixed. METHODS Patients initiating therapy in eight academic medical centers in the Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems between 1 January 1998 and 30 December 2011. Patients (n = 10 017) were followed from therapy initiation until death from any cause, administrative censoring at 10 years after therapy initiation or the end of follow-up on 31 December 2011. The 10-year risk of all-cause mortality was calculated from standardized Kaplan-Meier survival curves. RESULTS Patients were followed for a median of 4.7 years (interquartile range: 2.2, 8.2). During 51 121 person-years of follow-up, 1224 of the 10 017 patients died. The overall 10-year mortality risk was 20.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.2%, 21.3%). Black men and women experienced standardized 10-year all-cause mortality risks that were 7.2% (95% CI, 4.3%, 10.1%) and 7.9% (95% CI, 3.9%, 12.0%) larger (absolute difference) than white men. White women, Hispanic men, and Hispanic women all had lower 10-year mortality than white men. CONCLUSIONS These data serve as a call to action to identify modifiable mechanisms leading to these observed mortality disparities among HIV-infected black patients. Effective interventions are needed to ensure that the goal of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to overcome health disparities becomes a reality.