Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-Scale Election Campaigns: Combinatorial Shift Bribery

We study the complexity of a combinatorial variant of the Shift Bribery problem in elections. In the standard Shift Bribery problem, we are given an election where each voter has a preference order over the candidate set and where an outside agent, the briber, can pay each voter to rank the briber's favorite candidate a given number of positions higher. The goal is to ensure the victory of the briber's preferred candidate. The combinatorial variant of the problem, introduced in this paper, models settings where it is possible to affect the position of the preferred candidate in multiple votes, either positively or negatively, with a single bribery action. This variant of the problem is particularly interesting in the context of large-scale campaign management problems (which, from the technical side, are modeled as bribery problems). We show that, in general, the combinatorial variant of the problem is highly intractable (NP-hard, hard in the parameterized sense, and hard to approximate), but we provide some (approximation) algorithms for natural restricted cases.
Automatic Speech Codec Identification with Applications to Tampering Detection of Speech Recordings

In this paper we explored many versions of CELP codecs and studied different codebooks they use to encode noisy part of residual. Taking advantage of noise patterns they generated, an algorithm was proposed to detect GSM-AMR,EFR,HR and SILK codecs. Then it’s extended to identify subframe offset to do tampering detection of cellphone speech recordings.
Why Do Hubs Tend to Be Essential in Protein Networks?

The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network has a small number of highly connected protein nodes (known as hubs) and many poorly connected nodes. Genome-wide studies show that deletion of a hub protein is more likely to be lethal than deletion of a non-hub protein, a phenomenon known as the centrality-lethality rule. This rule is widely believed to reflect the special importance of hubs in organizing the network, which in turn suggests the biological significance of network architectures, a key notion of systems biology. Despite the popularity of this explanation, the underlying cause of the centrality-lethality rule has never been critically examined. We here propose the concept of essential PPIs, which are PPIs that are indispensable for the survival or reproduction of an organism. Our network analysis suggests that the centrality-lethality rule is unrelated to the network architecture, but is explained by the simple fact that hubs have large numbers of PPIs, therefore high probabilities of engaging in essential PPIs. We estimate that ~ 3% of PPIs are essential in the yeast, accounting for ~ 43% of essential genes. As expected, essential PPIs are evolutionarily more conserved than nonessential PPIs. Considering the role of essential PPIs in determining gene essentiality, we find the yeast PPI network functionally more robust than random networks, yet far less robust than the potential optimum. These and other findings provide new perspectives on the biological relevance of network structure and robustness.
Symptoms of Exercise-Induced Bronchospasm Common Subtle Dyspnea Fatigue Wheezing Symptoms in specific environments Chest tightness Avoidance of physical activity Cough Poor performance for level of conditioning

Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is acute and reversible airway narrowing that occurs during, and also frequently after, exercise. Because the presenting symptoms of EIB are nonspecific, objective evidence of bronchospasm should be documented to confirm a diagnosis. A 10% or greater decrease in the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) from baseline after an adequate exercise challenge is accepted as diagnostic for EIB [1]. Adequate exercise challenges stimulate a significant increase in the ventilatory rate from baseline, which is necessary to trigger EIB in most patients. EIB occurs commonly in people with and without asthma. In people with a known history of asthma, exercise is one of the most common triggers of bronchospasm and affects 50% to 80% of asthmatics [2]. EIB occurs somewhat less commonly in those with allergic rhinitis or atopic disease but is still found in up to 40% of this cohort [3]. In the general population without asthma or atopy, the prevalence of EIB is approximately 10% [4]. The prevalence of EIB is even higher in elite athletes; reported prevalence rates in this group are as high as 50% [2]. Exercise-induced asthma and exercise-induced bronchospasm are 2 terms that are often used interchangeably This article has a companion CME exam that follows the article. To earn credit, read the article and complete the CME evaluation on pages 220 and 221. Estimated time to complete this activity is 1 hour. Faculty disclosure information appears on page 217.
ADOM: arabic dataset for evaluating arabic and cross-lingual ontology alignment systems

In this paper, we present ADOM, a dataset in Arabic language describing the conference domain. This dataset was created for two purposes (1) analysis of the behavior of matchers specially designed for Arabic language, (2) integration with the multifarm dataset of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative (OAEI). The multifarm track evaluates the ability of matching systems to deal with ontologies described in different natural languages. We have tested the ADOM dataset with the LogMap ontology matching system. The experiment shows that the ADOM dataset works correctly for the task of evaluating cross multilingual ontology alignment systems.
A context aware self-adapting algorithm for managing the energy efficiency of IT service centres

This paper addresses the problem of run-time management of a service centre energy efficiency by using a context aware self-adapting algorithm. The algorithm considers the service centre current context situation and predefined Green/Key Performance Indicators (GPI/KPI) to adapt and optimize the service centre energy consumption to the incoming workload. The service centre energy performance context situation is obtained by collecting service centre current context data related to the business applications scheduled to run on service centre resources, service centre IT computing resources and the service centre facilities. A reinforcement learning approach is used to decide the best sequence of actions to be executed to bring the service centre resources as close as possible to a GPI and KPI compliant state while minimizing the energy consumption.
Essential Role of Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 8 for Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Stability and Endocytic Trafficking In Vivo

ABSTRACT Posttranslational modification by ubiquitin controls multiple cellular functions and is counteracted by the activities of deubiquitinating enzymes. UBPy (USP8) is a growth-regulated ubiquitin isopeptidase that interacts with the HRS-STAM complex. Using Cre-loxP-mediated gene targeting in mice, we show that lack of UBPy results in embryonic lethality, whereas its conditional inactivation in adults causes fatal liver failure. The defect is accompanied by a strong reduction or absence of several growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), like epidermal growth factor receptor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-met), and ERBB3. UBPy-deficient cells exhibit aberrantly enlarged early endosomes colocalizing with enhanced ubiquitination and have reduced levels of HRS and STAM2. Congruently immortalized cells gradually stop proliferation upon induced deletion of UBPy. These results unveil a central and nonredundant role of UBPy in growth regulation, endosomal sorting, and the control of RTKs in vivo.
Annotating Large Email Datasets for Named Entity Recognition with Mechanical Turk

Amazon's Mechanical Turk service has been successfully applied to many natural language processing tasks. However, the task of named entity recognition presents unique challenges. In a large annotation task involving over 20,000 emails, we demonstrate that a competitive bonus system and inter-annotator agreement can be used to improve the quality of named entity annotations from Mechanical Turk. We also build several statistical named entity recognition models trained with these annotations, which compare favorably to similar models trained on expert annotations.
Autotomy of the Visceral Mass in the Feather Star Himerometra robustipinna (Crinoidea, Comatulida)

The microanatomy of the attachment sites of the visceral mass to the calyx before and after visceral mass autotomy in the feather star Himerometra robustipinna was investigated. At the aboral site, the visceral mass is linked to the calyx by septa of the aboral coelom and is attached to the tegmen at the peripheral site. The connective tissue of the septa and tegmen contains cells resembling typical juxtaligamental cells of echinoderms, nerve cells, and bundles of axons. Visceral mass autotomy in H. robustipinna can be provoked by mechanical action and occurs relatively rapidly. Immediately after the visceral mass is gripped with forceps, the proximal pinnules are lowered and form a dense cluster covering the calyx. If the visceral mass is held for 20–30 s, the proximal pinnules are raised. At this time, the visceral mass has separated from the calyx and can be easily removed. During autotomy, the aboral coelomic septa are broken under the aboral wall of the subintestinal coelom, and the tegmen is ruptured at the interradii along the periphery of the calyx and at the base of the arms. The juxtaligamental cells probably participate in the alteration of the connective tissue and the breakage of the septa and tegmen. The granules of juxtaligamental cells swell, develop an electron-transparent halo, and are released into the extracellular matrix. In general, our results suggest that separation of the visceral mass in H. robustipinna is characterized by all the features of autotomy.
Complex Adaptive Leadership: Embracing Paradox and Uncertainty

Preface - what's this all about? Part 1 The Context: A journey of discovery The world wide context - a flow towards polyarchy The organisational context - evolve or die Finita la comedia - stop playing charades A quick breather between Parts 1 and 2. Part 2 Chaos and Complexity: Order in chaos, simplicity in complexity - the deeper the paradox Getting to grips with chaos and complexity Getting chaos and complexity to work A quick breather between Parts 2 and 3. Part 3 The Leadership Angle: What is leadership anyway? What about the followers? Complex adaptive leadership in action A final breather between Parts 3 and 4. Part 4 Looking Forward and Other Interests: Beyond this book - the choices you have Appendices Bibliography Footnotes and References Index.
Anthrax toxin-neutralizing antibody reconfigures the protective antigen heptamer into a supercomplex

The tripartite protein exotoxin secreted by Bacillus anthracis, a major contributor to its virulence and anthrax pathogenesis, consists of binary complexes of the protective antigen (PA) heptamer (PA63h), produced by proteolytic cleavage of PA, together with either lethal factor or edema factor. The mouse monoclonal anti-PA antibody 1G3 was previously shown to be a potent antidote that shares FC domain dependency with the human monoclonal antibody MDX-1303 currently under clinical development. Here we demonstrate that 1G3 instigates severe perturbation of the PA63h structure and creates a PA supercomplex as visualized by electron microscopy. This phenotype, produced by the unconventional mode of antibody action, highlights the feasibility for optimization of vaccines based on analogous structural modification of PA63h as an additional strategy for future remedies against anthrax.
Statistical characterization of channel polarization for RFID backscattering channels

This work investigates the phase difference between co- and cross-polarized multipath components (MPC), in the context of the radio channel modeling of a backscattering based RFID system. The analysis is based on a measurement campaign carried out in a variety of indoor environments over the 2-6 GHz band. The phase difference between the polarization components follows approximately a uniform distribution over ]-180,180[. The agreement between the theoretical and the experimental distribution is confirmed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test at 0.02 significance level.
Exploring Community Based Responses and the Natural History of a Drug Market

Previous studies portray open drug market neighborhoods as uniformly poor, urban, socially disorganized, with weak informal social control. Further, open drug market neighborhoods appear sui genesis . Based on field data collected over a multiyear study of a neighborhood with an open drug market area we question the universality of these previous characterizations of drug market neighborhoods. We examined a community that became a drug market place not because of breakdown in social control, but as a product of strong informal social control tied with traditional family values. The strong informal social control did not diminish the progression to an open drug market areas but propelled the movement and ultimately instigated the return to a non-criminal location. Our research suggests that not all neighborhood drug markets are necessarily the product of linear progression from organized to disorganized neighborhoods. While the generalizability of these findings are not established, we suggest it may support the possibility that the formation of some open drug markets may be a multi-linear process with diverse manifestations. We suggest such phenomena may support both Community Policing and Community Social Work paradigms. As such, this study could identify future directions for some research addressing alternative origins, maintenance and control of some neighborhood hosted drug markets.
OBDD-Based Universal Planning for Multiple Synchronized Agents in Non-Deterministic Domains

Model checking representation and search techniques were recently shown to be efficiently applicable to planning, in particular to non-deterministic planning. Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams (OBDDs) encode a planning domain as a non-deterministic finite automaton (NFA) and fast algorithms from model checking search for a solution plan. With proper encodings. OBDDs can effectively scale and can provide universal plans for complex planning domains. We are particularly interested in addressing the complexities arising in non-deterministic, multi-agent domains. In this paper, we present UMOP, a new universal OBDD-based planning framework applicable to non-deterministic and multi-agent domains. We introduce a new planning domain description language, NADL, to include the specification or such non-deterministic, multi-agent domains. The language contributes the explicit definition of controllable agents and uncontrollable environment agents. We describe the syntax and semantics of NADL and show how to build an efficient OBDD-based representation of an NADL description. The UMOP planning systems uses NADL and it includes the previously developed strong and strong cyclic planning algorithms (Cimatti et al., 1998a, 1998b). In addition, we introduce a new optimistic planning algorithm, which relaxes optimality guarantees and generates plausible universal plans in some domains where no strong or strong cyclic solution exists. We present empirical results in a previously tested non-deterministic domains. We also introduce three new multi-agent domains with complex environment actions. UMOP is shown to be a rich and efficient planning system.
Insulin‐like growth factor binding protein‐4 inhibits cell growth, migration and invasion, and downregulates COX‐2 expression in A549 lung cancer cells

Insulin‐like growth factor binding protein 4 (IGFBP‐4) and cyclooxygenase2 (COX‐2) are associated with tumor inflammatory microenvironment which is involved in the progression of tumor. However, it is unclear that the roles of IGFBP‐4 in lung cancer and the effects of IGFBP‐4 on COX‐2 expression. In this study, we showed that IGFBP‐4 could decrease COX‐2 production in lung cancer A549 cells. IGFBP‐4 expression was significantly lower but COX‐2 expression was higher in lung cancer tissues compared to matched adjacent normal tissues. In addition, IGFBP‐4 could inhibit lung cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and suppress the phosphorylation of PI3 K/AKT, ERK, and CREB. These results indicate that IGFBP‐4 has potent antitumor effects in non‐small cell lung cancer cells.
Symbolic reachability analysis of large finite state machines using don't cares

Reachability analysis of finite state machines is essential to many computer-aided design applications. We present new techniques to improve both approximate and exact reachability analysis using don't cares. First, we propose an iterative approximate reachability analysis technique in which don't care sets derived from previous iterations are used in subsequent iterations for better approximation. Second, we propose new techniques to use the final approximation to enhance the capability and efficiency of exact reachability analysis. Experimental results show that the new techniques can improve reachability analysis significantly.
Human aging magnifi es genetic effects on executive functioning and working memory

We demonstrate that common genetic polymorphisms contribute to the increasing heterogeneity of cognitive functioning in old age. We assess two common Val/Met polymorphisms, one affecting the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme, which degrades dopamine (DA) in prefrontal cortex (PFC), and the other infl uencing the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein. In two tasks (Wisconsin Card Sorting and spatial working memory), we fi nd that effects of COMT genotype on cognitive performance are magnifi ed in old age and modulated by BDNF genotype. Older COMT Val homozygotes showed particularly low levels of performance if they were also BDNF Met carriers. The age-associated magnifi cation of COMT gene effects provides novel information on the inverted U-shaped relation linking dopaminergic neuromodulation in PFC to cognitive performance. The modulation of COMT effects by BDNF extends recent evidence of close interactions between frontal and medial-temporal circuitries in executive functioning and working memory.
Achievable Rate Regions Using Novel Location Assisted Coding (LAC)

The recent increase in number of wireless devices has been driven by the growing markets of smart homes and the Internet of Things (IoT). As a result, expanding and/or efficient utilization of the radio frequency (RF) spectrum is critical to accommodate such an increase in wireless bandwidth. Alternatively, recent free-space optical (FSO) communication technologies have demonstrated the feasibility of building WiFO, a high capacity indoor wireless network using the femtocell architecture. Since FSO transmission does not interfere with the RF signals, such a system can be integrated with the current WiFi systems to provide orders of magnitude improvement in bandwidth. A novel component of WiFO is its ability to jointly encode bits from different flows for optimal transmissions. In this paper, we introduce the WiFO architecture and a novel cooperative transmission framework using location assisted coding (LAC) technique to increase the overall wireless capacity. Specifically, achievable rate regions for WiFO using LAC will be characterized. Both numerical and theoretical analyses are given to validate the proposed coding schemes.
Long‐term depression and long‐term potentiation in horizontal connections of the barrel cortex

Synaptic plasticity of horizontally orientated connections between barrels, in the barrel cortex of adult mice, was studied in slice preparations cut across rows of barrels. Field potentials were evoked in the middle of one barrel column (in layer IV or V) and recorded in the neighbouring barrel (in layer IV and V). In layer IV, long‐term depression (LTD) by 26.5 ± 5% was first induced by a low‐frequency stimulation (2 Hz) applied for 10 min. After 30 min, theta‐burst stimulation was delivered to previously depressed connections, resulting in long‐term potentiation (LTP) by 28.8 ± 11.8%. When theta‐burst stimulation was delivered without an earlier low‐frequency stimulation, no LTP was induced. Similar results were obtained in layer V connections (LTD: 40.6 ± 12.5%; LTP: 26.9 ± 12.5%). In layer IV, the application of 100 µm d,l‐2‐amino‐5‐phosphonovaleric acid (APV), an antagonist of NMDA receptors, blocked the induction of both LTD and LTP. These experiments show that a potential for synaptic plasticity is retained in granular and infragranular layers of adult mice.
Modern floorplanning based on fast simulated annealing

Unlike classical floorplanning that usually handles only block packing to minimize silicon area, modern VLSI floorplanning typically needs to pack blocks within a fixed die (outline) and additionally considers the packing with block positions and interconnect constraints. Floorplanning with bus planning is one of the most challenging modern floorplanning problems because it needs to consider the constraints with interconnect and block positions simultaneously. We study in this paper two types of modern floorplanning problems: (1) fixed-outline floorplanning and (2) bus-driven floorplanning. Our floorplanner uses the B*-tree floorplan representation and is based on a fast three-stage simulated annealing scheme, called Fast-SA. For fixed-outline floorplanning, we present an adaptive Fast-SA that can dynamically change the weights in the cost function to optimize wirelength under the outline constraint. Experimental results show that our floorplanner can achieve almost 100% success rates efficiently for fixed-outline floorplanning with various aspect ratios, compared to 10%--90% success rates obtained by the most recent works. For the bus-driven floorplanning, we explore the feasibility conditions of the B*-tree with the bus constraints and develop a bus-driven floorplanning algorithm based on the conditions and Fast-SA. Experimental results show that our floorplanner on the average reduces 20% (55%) dead space for the floorplanning with hard (soft) macro blocks, compared with the most recent work. In particular, our floorplanner is more efficient than the previous works.
The molecular basis of human complex I deficiency

Disorders of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) have a birth prevalence of ∼1/5,000 and are the most common inborn errors of metabolism. The most common OXPHOS disorder is complex I deficiency. Patients with complex I deficiency present with variable symptoms, such as muscle weakness, cardiomyopathy, developmental delay or regression, blindness, seizures, failure to thrive, liver dysfunction or ataxia. Molecular diagnosis of patients with complex I deficiency is a challenging task due to the clinical heterogeneity of patients and the large number of candidate disease genes, both nuclear‐encoded and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)‐encoded. In this review, we have thoroughly surveyed the literature to identify 149 patients described with both isolated complex I deficiency and pathogenic mutations within nuclear genes. In total, 115 different pathogenic mutations have been reported in 22 different nuclear genes encoding complex I subunits or assembly factors, highlighting the allelic and locus heterogeneity of this disorder. Missense mutations predominate in genes encoding core subunits and some assembly factors while null‐type mutations are common in the genes encoding supernumerary subunits and other assembly factors. Despite developments in molecular technology, many patients do not receive molecular diagnosis and no gene has yet been identified that accounts for more than 5% of cases, suggesting that there are likely many disease genes that await discovery. © 2011 IUBMB Life, 63(9): 669–677, 2011