Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exhaustion, automation, theory, and confounding.

Behind every analysis of observational data lurks the specter of inadequate control of confounding. Inadequate control can result from inadequate measurement of confounding variables, from errors in measurement or classification of those variables, from incorrect assumptions about the nature of relationships among variables, and from laziness and exhaustion. Analysts faced with hundreds or thousands of measured covariates that potentially confound the association of the study treatment or exposure with the outcome may throw up their hands in desperation; one who tries to use the usual advice for building and checking models will quickly get exhausted. Automating the process of model building thus becomes an appealing option. But how can one automate model building in a way to do a good job of controlling confounding? The problem becomes particularly acute when one is using propensity scores to control confounding; here, modeling the treatment process accurately is not an end in itself, and, in terms of efficiency and even bias, it can be harmful to control for covariates that predict the treatment but not the outcome. Automated algorithms have been developed for several purposes: to discover causal structure, to build well-fitting predictive models, and to control for confounding. Algorithms to discover causal structure can, in principle, sometimes determine whether a covariate is affected by treatment and so should not be controlled, or a pretreatment covariate that may need to be controlled. Unfortunately, these algorithms may be of limited use in observational epidemiology. There is a large literature on automated algorithms for predictive models, both in statistics and machine learning. Criteria for evaluating models may relate to measures of predictive ability (eg, R), or to calibration or discrimination. Many algorithms are designed to try to optimize these measures, and use these measures explicitly in model building and selection. These criteria are based on functions of observable quantities; thus, cross-validation plays a key role, as random subsets of the observed data may be used to evaluate rules derived from other random subsets. Controlling confounding presents a harder problem, because the purpose of the modeling relates to unobservable or counterfactual outcomes. Thus, evaluation of the performance of a modeling strategy using empirical data will rely on assumptions external to the data; in this way, it is similar to controlling confounding using observational data. The assumptions can relate to the internal data at hand or to external data. Internal assumptions might be that identified measured covariates are sufficient for controlling confounding; this assumption seems implicit in the process used for model and variable selection by Schneeweiss et al in this issue of EPIDEMIOLOGY. External assumptions might include an assumption that other studies, especially randomized trials, provide less biased estimates of the same quantities; this also seems to be assumed by Schneeweiss et al. Although there are reasons this might not be true, including differences between the
Asthma management in New York City schools: A classroom teacher perspective

Abstract Objective: Classroom teachers play an important role in facilitating asthma management in school but little is known about their perspectives around asthma management. We examined the perspectives of classroom teachers around barriers to school asthma management. Methods: We conducted key informant interviews with 21 inner-city classroom teachers from 3rd to 5th grades in 10 Bronx, New York elementary schools. Sampling continued until thematic saturation was reached. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and independently coded for common themes. We used thematic and content review to analyze interview data. Results: Seven themes representing teachers’ perspectives on in-school asthma management emerged: (1) the problematic process of identifying students with asthma; (2) poor familiarity with the city health department's asthma initiative and poor general knowledge of school policies on asthma management; (3) lack of competency in managing an acute asthma attack in the classroom and poor recognition of symptoms of an asthma attack; (4) lack of confidence in dealing with a hypothetical asthma attack in the classroom; (5) lack of quick access to asthma medication in school; (6) limited communication between school staff; and (7) enthusiasm about learning more about asthma management. Conclusions: Our results revealed several barriers contributing to suboptimal in-school asthma management: ineffective ways of identifying students with asthma, lack of teacher knowledge of guidelines on asthma management, lack of comfort in managing students’ asthma, inadequate access to asthma medication in school, and limited communication between school staff. These issues should be considered in the design of interventions to improve in-school asthma management.
Characterization of apoptosis signal transduction pathways in HL‐5 cardiomyocytes exposed to ischemia/reperfusion oxidative stress model

During ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), cardiomyocytes are exposed to sudden lack of nutrients and successively to radical oxygen species (ROS). In the present study, we used the HL‐5 cardiac atrial myocyte cell line exposed to serum/glucose depletion added or not in H2O2 to mimic ROS during ischemia, then replaced in their standard culture medium to simulate reperfusion. We investigated the effects of serum/glucose depletion combined or not to ROS exposure on AKT and MAP kinases activation to address the role of each event with respect to apoptosis. We demonstrate that serum/glucose depletion per se did not induce apoptosis when compared to ROS exposure. In particular, ROS recruited p38MAPK and JNK pathways. SB202190 preventing p38MAPK activity, partially protected HL‐5 from apoptosis while blocking JNK, thanks to JNKI, further enhanced apoptosis. Blocking phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3‐kinase with LY294002 or ERKs with U0126 was without consequence on apoptosis. Finally, BCL‐2 and BCL‐XL/S expression levels were analyzed in cells exposed to 1 h ischemia followed by 12‐h reperfusion in the presence or not of SB202190; BCL‐2, but not BCL‐XL/S, expression was decreased in ROS treated cells but SB202190 failed to restore BCL‐2 level. Our data suggest that p38MAPK activation primarily mediates ROS‐induced apoptosis while concomitant JNK activation would represent a scavenger pathway for cells trying to escape apoptosis. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Defining Software Faults Why It Matters

— Because faults are at the center of software quality concerns, they ought to be defined formally, by semantics-based criteria that enable us to reason about them. In this paper, we consider a semantics-based definition of a fault, which involves the program, the faulty feature (at the appropriate level of granularity) and the specification against which correctness and incorrectness are defined. We explore the implications of this definition for various aspects of software testing, software reliability, and software repair; and we argue that providing a formal, verifiable definition of faults is not a mere intellectual exercise, but has important practical applications.
Active disturbance rejection control of a MEMS gyroscope

A novel method is proposed for controlling the position of a vibrating proof mass in a z-axis MEMS gyroscope while simultaneously approximating its rotation rate in a third dimension independent of cross coupling terms. Designing the controller to require minimal model information and reject a broad range of disturbances, including the cross coupling terms, dramatically reduces controller complexity over a broader range of applications. A multi sensor solution is also presented for approximating the rotation rate. The proposed method is demonstrated in a simulation of a z-Axis MEMS gyroscope developed by the University of California-Berkeley.
Prediction models for ozone in metropolitan area of Mexico City based on artificial intelligence techniques

Ozone is one of the worst harmful pollutants nowadays which affects the public health, so it is necessary to predict ozone level accurately in order to prevent the public from exposing to the pollution when it exceeds the limits. This study aims to predict daily maximum ozone concentrations in the metropolitan area of Mexico City by using four individual artificial intelligence techniques: multiple linear regression, neural networks, support vector machine, random forest, and two ensemble techniques: linear ensemble and greedy ensemble. Results from the comparison among different artificial intelligence techniques clearly showed that ensemble models, especially linear ensemble model, outperformed the individual artificial intelligence techniques. Moreover, it is concluded that the performance of models is influenced by the time ahead factor for the predictors. The errors of prediction models related to the data of current day are only around 50% of ones corresponding to the data of the previous day. In addition, in order to select the input variables properly, analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on multiple linear regression models was performed. Best model prediction capability also depends on the ranges of input variables.
A microfabricated electrochemical actuator for large displacements

A large-displacement electrochemical actuator was designed, fabricated, and tested. The large displacement is obtained by using a corrugated membrane made by physical vapor deposition of Parylene sandwiched with an intermediate layer of sputtered platinum. The layered structure is approximately 8-/spl mu/m thick, with 26 grooves approximately 120-/spl mu/m deep, and with a radial period of 350 /spl mu/m. The electrochemical cell consists of platinum electrodes with a 1 M H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solution. Hydrogen and oxygen gas is generated to displace the membrane. Although the actuator can operate at a voltage as low as 1.23 V, the experimentally determined efficiency of converting electrical energy to mechanical work is only 0.37%. The governing equations for the conservation of mass, momentum (equilibrium), energy, and the entropy generation rate were formulated assuming that the gas bubbles either nucleate without growth or grow without nucleation. For the nucleation case, simulations were performed for constant pressure isothermal actuation, and the average experimental efficiency was bounded by simulations with gas bubble radii between 1/spl times/10/sup -6/ m and 1/spl times/10/sup -6/ m. The predicted ratio of the power dissipated to the electrical power supplied is 1.37 for isothermal actuation.
Compromising σ-1 Receptors at the Endoplasmic Reticulum Render Cytotoxicity to Physiologically Relevant Concentrations of Dopamine in a Nuclear Factor-κB/Bcl-2-Dependent Mechanism: Potential Relevance to Parkinson's Disease

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone σ-1 receptor (Sig-1R) is cytoprotective against ER stress-induced apoptosis. The level of Sig-1Rs in the brain was reported to be lower in early parkinsonian patients. Because dopamine (DA) toxicity is well known to be involved in the etiology of Parkinson's disease, we tested in this study whether a relationship might exist between Sig-1Rs and DA-induced cytotoxicity in a cellular model by using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. DA in physiological concentrations (e.g., lower than 10 μM) does not cause apoptosis. However, the same concentrations of DA cause apoptosis in Sig-1R knockdown CHO cells. In search of a mechanistic explanation, we found that unfolded protein response is not involved. Rather, the level of protective protein Bcl-2 is critically involved in this DA/Sig-1R knockdown-induced apoptosis. Specifically, the DA/Sig-1R knockdown causes a synergistic proteasomal conversion of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) p105 to the active form of p50, which is known to down-regulate the transcription of Bcl-2. It is noteworthy that the DA/Sig-1R knockdown-induced apoptosis is blocked by the overexpression of Bcl-2. Our results therefore indicate that DA is involved in the activation of NF-κB and suggest that endogenous Sig-1Rs are tonically inhibiting the proteasomal conversion/activation of NF-κB caused by physiologically relevant concentrations of DA that would otherwise cause apoptosis. Thus, Sig-1Rs and associated ligands may represent new therapeutic targets for the treatment of parkinsonism.
Adaptive Control for a Class of Uncertain Nonlinear Systems: Application to Photovoltaic Control Systems

In this technical note, an adaptive control framework for compensation of uncertainties and perturbations that satisfy the matching condition on a class of nonlinear dynamic systems is presented. The proposed method does not need the explicit knowledge of the bound values on the uncertainties, and the resulting compensatory term is continuous. The application of this formulation for maximum power point tracking and unity power factor on grid-connected photovoltaic systems is presented.
Biology and Water Pollution Control

The Gm and In V allotypes of serum are inherited in Mendelian fashion and their existence imposes important constraints on current theories of immunoglobulin synthesis. The incidences of particular factors vary markedly with different population groups, a fact of anthropological interest. In medico-legal investigations allotypes can aid in cases of disputed parentage (both paternal and maternal) and in identifying individuals' bloods. Antibodies to the factors may be found in rheumatoid arthritis and after repeated transfusions and may sometimes be responsible for transfusion reactions. The author of this admirable monograph is a recognized authority, having discovered the first Gm factor in 1956. In eight compact, well-documented chapters he has summarized in a clear and readable style our current knowledge of the genetics of these factors, their evolution and ontogeny, their relation to immunoglobulin structures, the characteristics of anti-allotype antibodies, and the implications of these systems for a variety of problems. In a number of cases conflicting data or claims are subjected to critical scrutiny. In addition to the general discussions the available data on 23 Gm factors and 3 In V factors are summarized in systematic fashion in a series of appendices, tables and distribution maps. The work concludes with an index and some 26 pages of references, cited by full title. The only typographic errors noted were a few misprints of simple English words. This work is highly recommended as a refreshingly concise, authoritative presentation of a field of considerable current interest to clinicians, geneticists, biochemists, immunologists and anthropolgists.
Digital Evidence: Challenging the Presumption of Reliability

Abstract There is a general tendency among courts to presume that forensic software reliably yields accurate digital evidence. As a judicial construct, this presumption is unjustified in that it is not tailored to separate accurate results from inaccurate ones. The authors illustrate this unfortunate truth by the presentation of two currently uncorrected weaknesses in popular computer forensic tools, methods, and assumptions. Some percentage of these forensic software errors (and ones like them) will necessarily have negative effects on parties, whether in terms of faulty criminal convictions or improper civil judgments. The authors argue that the collective value of these negative effects among parties is far larger than the costs of research and development required to prevent such negative effects. Under a purely rational economic approach to the law, this dynamic constitutes an inefficiency to be corrected through the proper application of rules. The authors advance two approaches to cure current defe.
Job Satisfaction of Home Health Nurses

Job satisfaction is a key to the retention of quality nurses. To promote staff retention and reduce costs, nursing administrators need current research on job satisfaction of home health nurses. In a study of job satisfaction of 66 home health nurses, research indicates that the most satisfying aspects of home care nursing include autonomy and independence, close nurse-client relationships, work hours, flexibility in scheduling hours, and satisfaction with peers and supervisors. When nursing administrators capitalize on these job satisfiers, staff turnover is reduced and costs are contained.
Characteristics of the internal anal sphincter and the rectum of the vervet monkey.

1. The physiology of the internal anal sphincter of the vervet monkey was investigated. 2. Strips of sphincter in vitro contracted to noradrenaline and adrenaline; adrenoceptors were mainly alpha‐excitatory. Strips of rectal circular muscle relaxed to noradrenaline and contained both inhibitory alpha‐ and beta‐adrenoceptors. 3. All strips contracted to acetylcholine. After hyoscine or atropine, high doses of acetylcholine relaxed all strips by stimulating intramural inhibitory neurones as relaxations were blocked by tetrodotoxin and hexamethonium. Nicotine and DMPP gave relaxations with similar characteristics. 4. It was concluded that relaxations to acetylcholine, nicotine and DMPP were not adrenergic as relaxations still occurred in strips from sympathetically denervated or reserpinized animals. The block of these relaxations by propranolol and guanethidine was considered to be unrelated to their actions as adrenergic blocking drugs. 5. All strips relaxed to field electrical stimulation (1‐‐5 Hz) through stimulation of intramural inhibitory neurones as tetrodotoxin blocked these relaxations. Adrenergic blocking drugs, prior reserpinization or prior section of the hypogastric nerves did not block these responses. The relaxations were not therefore adrenergic. 6. 5‐Hydroxytryptamine relaxed all strips but was not the transmitter in relaxations to acetylcholine, DMPP or nicotine, nor to field electrical stimulation, as desensitization of strips of 5‐HT did not alter these responses. 7. The circular smooth muscle of the internal anal sphincter had a dense terminal adrenergic innervation which rapidly decreased orad. 8. In vivo, hypogastric nerve stimulation relaxed the rectum but contracted the sphincter. Sacral nerve root stimulation caused an after‐contraction in both rectum and sphincter. In vivo, a close arterial injection of adrenaline or noradrenaline inhibited the spontaneous contraction waves of the rectum, but contracted the sphincter. Both these responses were blocked by phentolamine. 9. It was concluded that the internal anal sphincter is a discrete high pressure zone which was excitatory cholinergic and adrenergic innervations and an inhibitory non‐adrenergic innervation.
Analysis of cycling within a PV sourced battery energy storage system

With continued demand for “smart” technologies, implementation of hardware such as batteries and renewable energy sources (i.e. solar panels) has become a huge economic undertaking. In order to better utilize these resources and thus maximize their lifetimes, control schemes looking to both maximize the economic/financial gains while also preventing over usage have become even more important. Past works from the authors examined an optimization without placing limits on cycling. Continuing from a software perspective, this work aims to place limits on the battery dispatch specifically relating to the cycling of the storage. The goal is to study dispatches for the battery and grid to see what changes occur while increasing the allowable number of cycles. Work discussed here will eventually be applied within the alternative source lab setup within Drexel's Center for Electric Power Engineering (CEPE).
KLF15 Is a transcriptional regulator of the human 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 5 gene. A potential link between regulation of testosterone production and fat stores in women.

CONTEXT Kruppel-like factor 15 (KLF15) is a newly discovered transcription factor that plays an important role in glucose homeostasis and lipid accumulation in cells. We present evidence for KLF15 as a transcriptional regulator of the human 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 5 gene (HSD17B5) and its potential role in the pathogenesis of hyperandrogenism. OBJECTIVE The aim was to investigate the molecular mechanism of HSD17B5 regulation. METHODS Diverse molecular biology techniques were used. DESIGN AND RESULTS We identified a KLF15 binding site in the HSD17B5 promoter by using luciferase promoter constructs, EMSA, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Overexpression of KLF15 increased HSD17B5 promoter activity and testosterone formation at least 3-fold in cultured H295R cells. Insulin increased KLF15 mRNA expression according to real-time RT-PCR and increased HSD17B5 promoter activity according to luciferase assays. KLF15 overexpression in combination with insulin, glucocorticoid, and cAMP stimulated adipogenesis in H295R cells. In silico and RT-PCR analyses showed that the KLF15 gene promoter undergoes alternative splicing in a tissue-specific manner. Comparison of the HSD17B5 promoter in seven different species revealed that the KLF15 binding site has no human homolog in species other than orangutans. CONCLUSIONS KLF15 is potentially a novel link between the regulation of testosterone production and fat stores by insulin in humans.
Why do wire-array Z-pinches give such a sharp and efficient X-ray pulse?

The Z-pinch is intrinsically unstable to MHD modes, yet the wire array Z-pinch yields sharp and reliable Z-pinch pulses. The physics of the various phases of wire array implosions, i.e. the early heating, melting and vaporization, plasma formation, uncorrelated m=0 instabilities on the wires, inward jetting to form a precursor column and next what appears to be a snowplough-like implosion are studied experimentally, computationally, and theoretically. The X-ray pulse occurs mainly at the stagnation on axis when up to 100keV kinetic energy of the ions is thermalised.
A DESCRIPTION OF SOME LIGNANOLYTIC SOIL BACTERIA AND THEIR ABILITY TO OXIDIZE SIMPLE PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS.

SUMMARY: Bacteria able to decompose α-conidendrin were isolated from three of five soil samples by enrichment on this compound as sole source of carbon and energy. All the isolates obtained were small Gram-negative motile poorly flagellated rods, which were classified as members of the genus Agrobacterium. The ability of these bacteria to oxidize phenolic compounds was examined by manometric studies. From calculations of oxygen uptake, it was concluded that the oxidative rupture of the benzene ring of m-and p-hydroxybenzoic acid by these bacteria could not be explained entirely by the known metabolic paths which lead from these hydroxy-benzoic acids to protocatechuic acid or gentisic acid. It was indicated by simultaneous adaptation technique that neither monohydroxybenzoic acids nor monohydroxycinnamic acids were likely to be formed during the oxidative breakdown of α-conidendrin by these agrobacteria.
The application of web usage mining in E-commerce security

Nowadays, World Wide Web has become a popular medium to search information, business, trading and so on. Various organizations and companies are also employing the web in order to introduce their products or services around the world. Therefore E-commerce or electronic commerce is formed. E-commerce is any type of business or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information across the internet. In this situation a huge amount of information is generated and stored in the web services. This information overhead leads to difficulty in finding relevant and useful knowledge, therefore web mining is used as a tool to discover and extract the knowledge from the web. Besides, the security issues are the most precious problems in every electronic commercial process. This massive increase in the uptake of e-commerce has led to a new generation of associated security threats. In this paper we use web mining techniques for security purposes, in detecting, preventing and predicting cyber-attacks on virtual space.