Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Property testing: theory and applications

Property testers are algorithms that distinguish inputs with a given property from those that are far from satisfying the property. Far means that many characters of the input must be changed before the property arises in it. Property testing was introduced by Rubinfeld and Sudan in the context of linearity testing and first studied in a variety of other contexts by Goldreich, Goldwasser and Ron. The query complexity of a property tester is the number of input characters it reads. This thesis is a detailed investigation of properties that are and are not testable with sublinear query complexity. We begin by characterizing properties of strings over the binary alphabet in terms of their formula complexity. Every such property can be represented by a CNF formula. We show that properties of n-bit strings defined by 2CNF formulas are testable with O( n ) queries, whereas there are 3CNF formulas for which the corresponding properties require Ω(n) queries, even for adaptive tests. We show that testing properties defined by 2CNF formulas is equivalent, with respect to the number of required queries, to several other function and graph testing problems. These problems include: testing whether Boolean functions over general partial orders are close to monotone, testing whether a set of vertices is close to one that is a vertex cover of a specific graph, and testing whether a set of vertices is close to a clique. Testing properties that are defined in terms of monotonicity has been extensively investigated in the context of the monotonicity of a sequence of integers and the monotonicity of a function over the m-dimensional hypercube {1,…,a}m. We study the query complexity of monotonicity testing of both Boolean and integer functions over general partial orders. We show upper and lower bounds for the general problem and for specific partial orders. A few of our intermediate results are of independent interest. (1) If strings with a property form a vector space, adaptive 2-sided error tests for the property have no more power than non-adaptive 1-sided error tests. (2) Random LDPC codes with linear distance and constant rate are not locally testable. (3) There exist graphs with many edge-disjoint induced matchings of linear size. In the final part of the thesis, we initiate an investigation of property testing as applied to images. We study visual properties of discretized images represented by n x n matrices of binary pixel values. We obtain algorithms with the number of queries independent of n for several basic properties: being a half-plane, connectedness and convexity. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Forecasting of Lower Colorado River Basin Streamflow using Pacific Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures and ENSO

The lower Colorado River basin is located in an area of known El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence. A streamflow forecast is developed using Pacific Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) as predictors in addition to a traditional ENSO predictor, such as the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). Significant regions of SST influence on streamflow were determined using linear correlations (LC). These significant SST regions are then used as predictors in a statistically based exceedance probability model previously applied to streamflow stations in Australia and the U.S. Long lead-time (3 and 6 month) streamflow forecasts were developed for El Niño, La Niña and non-ENSO years for the winter-spring (January-February-March – JFM) season. The use of the SSTs resulted in improved forecasts, based on cross-validated skill scores, when compared to forecasts using the SOI. Additionally, forecast leadtimes were increased when using the SSTs as predictors due to the inability of the SOI to provide an acceptable forecast. Also, the use of SSTs provided an improved forecast for all lead times for non-ENSO seasons when compared to the SOI forecasts. Following the methodology presented, water resource planners in ENSO influenced areas are provided a useful tool for forecasting streamflow. Introduction One of the most well understood atmospheric/oceanic patterns relevant to climate variability in the western United States is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). ENSO refers to the interaction of El Niño, defined as the periodic large scale warming of the central-eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, with the Southern Oscillation, the large scale climate variations existing in the tropical Pacific (Philander, 1990). ENSO phenomenon causes, simultaneously, droughts in Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Africa and devastating floods in North America, Peru, and Ecuador (Ropelewski and Halpert 1987). In the western United States, El Niño events are associated with below-normal streamflow in the Pacific Northwest, while at the same time there is above-normal streamflow in the southwest (e.g., Cayan and Peterson, 1989; Redmond and Koch,
Purification and characterization of Clostridium perfringens 120-kilodalton collagenase and nucleotide sequence of the corresponding gene

Clostridium perfringens type C NCIB 10662 produced various gelatinolytic enzymes with molecular masses ranging from approximately 120 to approximately 80 kDa. A 120-kDa gelatinolytic enzyme was present in the largest quantity in the culture supernatant, and this enzyme was purified to homogeneity on the basis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme was identified as the major collagenase of the organism, and it cleaved typical collagenase substrates such as azocoll, a synthetic substrate (4-phenylazobenzyloxy-carbonyl-Pro-Leu-Gly-Pro-D-Arg [Pz peptide]), and a type I collagen fibril. In addition, a gene (colA) encoding a 120-kDa collagenase was cloned in Escherichia coli. Nested deletions were used to define the coding region of colA, and this region was sequenced; from the nucleotide sequence, this gene encodes a protein of 1,104 amino acids (M(r), 125,966). Furthermore, from the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme which was found in this reading frame, the molecular mass of the mature enzyme was calculated to be 116,339 Da. Analysis of the primary structure of the gene product showed that the enzyme was produced with a stretch of 86 amino acids containing a putative signal sequence. Within this stretch was found PLGP, the amino acid sequence constituting the Pz peptide. This sequence may be implicated in self-processing of the collagenase. A consensus zinc-binding sequence (HEXXH) suggested for vertebrate Zn collagenases is present in this bacterial collagenase. Vibrio alginolyticus collagenase and Achromobacter lyticus protease I showed significant homology with the 120-kDa collagenase of C. perfringens, suggesting that these three enzymes are evolutionarily related.
The effects of a focal firm's internal and external boundary conditions on the performance implication of R&D alliance participation

Although the influence of the technological diversity of R&D alliance partners on a focal firm's performance has been discussed for several years, there are no sufficient consistent evidences to support the notion that technological diversity of partners has specific effect on the focal firm's performance. This study therefore tests hypotheses with multi-industry data on 1416 R&D alliances formed by US firms between 1990 and 2006. The findings of the present study indicate that (1) technological diversity of R&D partners has negative effect on the focal firm's performance; (2) the external (environmental dynamism) and internal (the focal firm's exploratory orientation) boundary conditions positively moderate, respectively, the impact of technological diversity of R&D partners on a focal firm's performance; (3) the cofigurational effect of external and internal boundary conditions further highlights significance of exploratory learning and inter-organizational learning opportunities in dynamic environment.
Lkb1/Stk11 regulation of mTOR signaling controls the transition of chondrocyte fates and suppresses skeletal tumor formation

Significance The transition from a mitotic to a postmitotic, hypertrophic chondrocyte is a key regulatory event in the growing vertebrate skeleton. By using genetic approaches, cell culture, and cell transplantation models, we provide compelling evidence that attenuating the energy-sensing mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway is critical for switching chondrocyte states. A failure of mTORC1 suppression in Lkb1 mutants leads to a dramatic disruption of the skeletal growth plate and the formation of cartilage tumors comprising undifferentiated chondrocytes that display differential sensitivity to two key cartilage growth regulators, Indian hedgehog and Igf. The study highlights the interconnection between energy sensing pathways, normal growth control, and tumorigenesis in the skeletal program. Liver kinase b1 (Lkb1) protein kinase activity regulates cell growth and cell polarity. Here, we show Lkb1 is essential for maintaining a balance between mitotic and postmitotic cell fates in development of the mammalian skeleton. In this process, Lkb1 activity controls the progression of mitotic chondrocytes to a mature, postmitotic hypertrophic fate. Loss of this Lkb1-dependent switch leads to a dramatic expansion of immature chondrocytes and formation of enchondroma-like tumors. Pathway analysis points to a mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1-dependent mechanism that can be partially suppressed by rapamycin treatment. These findings highlight a critical requirement for integration of mammalian target of rapamycin activity into developmental decision-making during mammalian skeletogenesis.
The retinaldehyde reductase DHRS3 is essential for preventing the formation of excess retinoic acid during embryonic development

Oxidation of retinol via retinaldehyde results in the formation of the essential morphogen all‐trans‐retinoic acid (ATRA). Previous studies have identified critical roles in the regulation of embryonic ATRA levels for retinol, retinaldehyde, and ATRA‐oxidizing enzymes; however, the contribution of retinaldehyde reductases to ATRA metabolism is not completely understood. Herein, we investigate the role of the retinaldehyde reductase Dhrs3 in embryonic retinoid metabolism using a Dhrs3‐deficient mouse. Lack of DHRS3 leads to a 40% increase in the levels of ATRA and a 60% and 55% decrease in the levels of retinol and retinyl esters, respectively, in Dhrs3–/– embryos compared to wild‐type littermates. Furthermore, accumulation of excess ATRA is accompanied by a compensatory 30–50% reduction in the expression of ATRA synthetic genes and a 120% increase in the expression of the ATRA catabolic enzyme Cyp26a1 in Dhrs3–/– embryos vs. controls. Excess ATRA also leads to alterations (40–80%) in the expression of several developmentally important ATRA target genes. Consequently, Dhrs3–/– embryos die late in gestation and display defects in cardiac outflow tract formation, atrial and ventricular septation, skeletal development, and palatogenesis. These data demonstrate that the reduction of retinaldehyde by DHRS3 is critical for preventing formation of excess ATRA during embryonic development. —Billings, S. E. , Pierzchalski, K. , Butler Tjaden, N. E. , Pang, X. ‐Y. , Trainor, P. A. , Kane, M. A. , Moise, A. R. , The retinaldehyde reductase DHRS3 is essential for preventing the formation of excess retinoic acid during embryonic development. FASEB J. 27, 4877–4889 (2013). www.fasebj. org
Epidemics and Indian middlemen: rethinking The Wars of the Iroquois, 1609-1653.

A partir d'une critique de l'analyse de G. T. Hunt des causes des guerres iroquoises de 1609-1653 dans son ouvrage: The Wars of the Iroquois, l'A. reexamine les motifs qui ont pousse ceux-ci a combattre les Francais et les tribus dominees par les Francais. Les motifs economiques ne sont pas plus importants, ni le commerce des fourrures| par contre l'extension de la variole constitue l'une des causes de la destruction des tribus indiennes, du Quebec au Wisconsin, a cette epoque.
Complications Associated with Nrti Therapy: Update on Clinical Features and Possible Pathogenic Mechanisms

The availability of durable, effective antiretroviral therapy for HIV-infected patients has fundamentally altered the prognosis of this disease and has also increased awareness that long-term drug toxicities have the potential to cause significant morbidity and even mortality in this patient population. The long-term use of nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) drugs has been associated with a number of clinically relevant toxicities including hyperlactataemia and lactic acidosis, neuropathy, pancreatitis and, more recently, a syndrome of pathological loss of subcutaneous fat tissue (lipoatrophy). Importantly, the toxicity profile of each NRTI drug within this class is unique in terms of the overall risk of long-term complications, as well as the tissue specificity of its toxic effects. In this review, the clinical manifestations, risk factors and pathological basis for NRTI-associated toxicity syndromes are explored, with an emphasis on clinical assessment and management.
Plant-based vaccines for Alzheimer's disease: an overview

Plants are considered advantageous platforms for biomanufacturing recombinant vaccines. This constitutes a field of intensive research and some plant-derived vaccines are expected to be marketed in the near future. In particular, plant-based production of immunogens targeting molecules with implications on the pathology of Alzheimer's has been explored over the last decade. These efforts involve targeting amyloid beta and β-secretase with several immunogen configurations that have been evaluated in test animals. The results of these developments are analyzed in this review. Perspectives on the topic are identified, such as exploring additional antigen configurations and adjuvants in order to improve immunization schemes, characterizing in detail the elicited immune responses, and immunological considerations in the achievement of therapeutic humoral responses via mucosal immunization. Safety concerns related to these therapies will also be discussed.
Detection of distress in speech

A distress situation is reflected in a person's speech e.g., fear, or in the speech of those around him e.g., anger. For many real-life situations, it may be desired to detect distress by remote monitoring. This paper deals with such remote monitoring using a microphone. Namely, we propose a technique for speaker-independent detection of distress in speech. Different temporal and spectral acoustic features such as the Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and the Teager energy operator (TEO) are investigated and the most relevant ones for the task are selected using the ReliefF feature selection algorithm. We use these features to train an SVM classifier in order to differentiate between speech in a distress situation and speech in which no distress is presented. On the Berlin Database of Emotional Speech, the proposed technique achieves classification accuracies of 91% per utterance and 87.8% per time window.
Elucidation of the Cardiac Myogenesis Regulatory Network

11 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 13 Network Elucidation.13 Microarray Analysis . 14 Interactome Networks . 15 Network Analysis . 19 Topology Analysis . 19 Mathematical Modeling.20 Robustness.22 Robustness in Development . 22 Evolution of Robust Networks . 23 Evolution of Robustness as a Guide for Network Elucidation . 27 Searching for a Better Network . 27 Bridging the Scale Gap . 28 Elucidation of the Cardiac Myogenesis Regulatory Network . 31 Overview of Cardiac Myogenesis.32 Early Cardiac Myogenesis Signals . 33 Cardiac Myogenesis Gene Regulatory Network . 41 Signaling Contributions to Regulatory Elements.40 Summary of Approach . 43 Explanation of Dissertation Format . 45 6
An Analytic Model for Fault Diagnosis in Power Systems Considering Malfunctions of Protective Relays and Circuit Breakers

When a fault occurs on a section or a component in a given power system, if one or more protective relays (PRs) and/or circuit breakers (CBs) associated do not work properly, or in other words, a malfunction or malfunctions happen with these PRs and/or CBs, the outage area could be extended. As a result, the complexity of the fault diagnosis could be greatly increased. The existing analytic models for power system fault diagnosis do not systematically address the possible malfunctions of PRs and/or CBs, and hence may lead to incorrect diagnosis results if such malfunctions do occur. Given this background, based on the existing analytic models, an effort is made to develop a new analytic model to well take into account of the possible malfunctions of PRs and/or CBs, and further to improve the accuracy of fault diagnosis results. The developed model does not only estimate the faulted section(s), but also identify the malfunctioned PRs and/or CBs as well as the missing and/or false alarms. A software system is developed for practical applications, and realistic fault scenarios from an actual power system are served for demonstrating the correctness of the presented model and the efficiency of the developed software system.
Testing the Core‐Competency Model of Multi‐Product Exporters

We review the implications of the "core competence" model of multi-product firms, including the "market-size paradox": for most countries, the world market is much larger than the home market, while the costs of accessing foreign markets are relatively low; hence the model predicts that most domestic firms should export more of their core products than they sell domestically; yet, in practice, we do not observe this. Extending the model to allow for investment in export market penetration resolves the puzzle, and Mexican data confirm its predictions: in particular, only the largest firms exhibit the dominance of exports over home sales.
Practice Guidelines: How Good are Medicine's New Recipes?

Over the last decade, standards for when and how to undertake a wide range of medical interventions have poured forth from medical specialty groups, commercial and nonprofit organizations, and state and federal panels. Known by a variety of names—from practice parameters to clinical guidelines—and intended for a range of purposes—from diminishing the incidence of maloccurences in hospitals to cutting the costs of health care—these guidelines share one important feature: the intention of decreasing the range of variation in medical practice. Such standardization immediately appeals to anyone interested in improving the quality of health care and, in particular, reducing inappropriate medical interventions, in light of the difficulties for a conscientious physician today in adhering to the best standard of practice when faced with ever increasing medical knowledge and the growing number and complexity of diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic interventions.
Medical and Nursing Staff Perspectives on an Electronic Health Record Implementation in Hospital Outpatient Departments - A Qualitative Study in Four English Hospital Trusts

Objective: The authors sought to investigate the attitude of the staff using computers in outpatient departments and whether their perceptions altered as a result of the NHS Care Record Service (CRS) implementation. Design: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and observations. Participants: A total of 70 interviews were undertaken representing a broad range of staff involved in the outpatient department including doctors, nurses, managers, medical records staff, clerks and IT staff. In addition, 361 hours of observations were carried out in the outpatient departments over a six week period. Setting: UK Results: This study highlighted the dependence that outpatient department staff placed on IT and the complexity of issues surrounding their use of computer systems. All outpatient staff used a computer to some degree in their work and were relatively computer literate but recognised that there were problems with the technology such as the length of time it took to get information from the system, the number of times it crashed and the lack of interoperability between different systems. The implementation of the NHS in one trust created additional problems for the outpatient staff, especially during the rather protracted bedding-in time. As the software was more complex than the previous system, it required a greater number of clicks to find the information needed. The added scale and complexity of the NHS CRS was perceived to have resulted in an overall slower system, with problems finding relevant patient information on the screen. The clinic booking system configuration created difficulties with double or triple booking of clinics or clinics cancelled. During this process, staff did not feel that senior managers were listening to their concerns. Conclusions: The outpatient department has different and unique requirements which must be considered during the development stage of any new electronic health record system. IT development processes must acknowledge that new software systems require a degree of maturity and undergo testing in the different departments prior to the implementation process. Staff need to feel part of the software implementation process and their problems addressed to reduce stress and anxiety. The software design flaws described decreased the acceptance of the NHS CRS by staff but it is important to recognise that staff opinions and views may change over time as the system becomes embedded and matures.
Measurement of Radiation Exposure in Relatives of Thyroid Cancer Patients Treated With 131I

Abstract This work evaluates the radiological risk that patients treated with 131I for differentiated thyroid cancer could present to relatives and occupationally exposed workers. Recently, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued document K9010241, which recommends that patient discharge from the hospital must be based on the particular status of each patient. This work measures effective dose received by caregivers of patients treated with 131I at the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, Mexico City. Thermoluminescent dosimeters were carried during a 15‐d period by 40 family caregivers after patient release from hospital. Relatives were classified into two groups, ambulatory and hospitalized, according to the release mode of the patient, and three categories according to the individual patient home and transport facilities. Categories A, B, and C were defined going from most to least adequate concerning public exposure risk. Measurements were performed for 20 family caregivers in each group. The effective dose received by all caregivers participating in this study was found to be less than 5 mSv, the recommended limit per event for caregivers suggested by ICRP 103. In addition, 70 and 90% of ambulatory and hospitalized groups, respectively, received doses lower than 1 mSv. Caregivers belonging to category C, with home situations that are not appropriate for immediate release, received the highest average doses; i.e., 2.2 ± 1.3 and 3.1 ± 1.0 mSv for hospitalized and ambulatory patients, respectively. Results of this work have shown that the proper implementation of radiation protection instructions for relatives and patients can reduce significantly the risk that differentiated thyroid cancer patients treated with 131I can represent for surrounding individuals. The results also stress the relevance of the patient’s particular lifestyle and transport conditions as the prevailing factors related to the dose received by the caregiver. Therefore, the patient’s status should be the criterion used to decide his/her release modality. This work provides support to recommend the implementation of the “patient specific release criteria” in accordance with ICRP 94, IAEA Safety Report No. 63, and IAE document K9010241 A for patients treated with radiopharmaceuticals.