Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modular array-based GPU computing in a dynamically-typed language

Nowadays, GPU accelerators are widely used in areas with large data-parallel computations such as scientific computations or neural networks. Programmers can either write code in low-level CUDA/OpenCL code or use a GPU extension for a high-level programming language for better productivity. Most extensions focus on statically-typed languages, but many programmers prefer dynamically-typed languages due to their simplicity and flexibility. This paper shows how programmers can write high-level modular code in Ikra, a Ruby extension for array-based GPU computing. Programmers can compose GPU programs of multiple reusable parallel sections, which are subsequently fused into a small number of GPU kernels. We propose a seamless syntax for separating code regions that extensively use dynamic language features from those that are compiled for efficient execution. Moreover, we propose symbolic execution and a program analysis for kernel fusion to achieve performance that is close to hand-written CUDA code.
Respiratory properties of blood in the harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena

SUMMARY Harbor porpoises are active divers that exchange O2 and CO2 with the environment during a fast single breath upon surfacing. We investigated blood O2-transporting properties, buffer characteristics, Cl– transport via the erythrocyte anion exchanger (AE1), circulating nitric oxide metabolites and hemoglobin nitrite reduction in harbor porpoises with the aim to evaluate traits that are adaptive for diving behavior. Blood O2 affinity was higher in harbor porpoises than in similar sized terrestrial mammals, as supported by our parallel recordings of O2 equilibria in sheep and pig blood. Further, O2 affinity tended to increase with increasing body mass. A high O2 affinity favors O2 extraction from the lungs, but a normal Bohr effect (ΔlogP50/ΔpH=–0.46) gradually lowers O2 affinity during dives (where CO2 accumulates) to assist O2 off-loading to perfused tissues. The true plasma non-bicarbonate buffer value was moderately higher than in terrestrial mammals and increased upon deoxygenation. Plasma bicarbonate was also relatively high, contributing to increase the overall buffer capacity. The apparent Cl– permeability of harbor porpoise erythrocytes was similar to the human value at 37°C, showing absence of a comparative increase in the velocity of erythrocyte HCO –3/Cl– exchange to aid CO2 excretion. The Q10 for AE1-mediated Cl– transport in harbor porpoises was lower than in humans and seemed to match the Q10 for metabolism (Q10≈2). Plasma nitrite, plasma nitrate and hemoglobin-mediated nitrite reduction were elevated compared with mammalian standards, suggesting that increased nitric oxide bioavailability and nitrite-derived nitric oxide could play important roles in diving physiology.
An Obituary for GFR as the Main Marker for Kidney Function?

This publication comments on the recently published findings of a study by Eloot et al. (cJASN, 6: 1266–1273, 2011) that evaluated the correlation between several formulae for calculating estimated GFR (eGFR) and different low molecular weight uremic toxins; eGFRs were based on serum creatinine (SCrea), cystatin C (Cys C), or a combination of both. Unexpectedly, the correlations for the different solutes were highly inconsistent, irrespective of the eGFR formula. On the other hand, the different eGFR formulae gave consistent results per solute. Correlation coefficients for some solutes were low (hippuric acid, p‐cresylsulfate, indole acetic acid, uric acid, asymmetric dimethylarginine) to nonsignificant (carboxy‐methyl‐propyl‐furanpropionic acid). These data point to the fact that eGFR is a deceiving predictor of uremic solute concentration and their biological action; this inconsistency is very likely the result of the impact of other factors affecting concentration, such as tubular secretion, generation by intestinal flora and metabolism.
Nutritional variation in baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit pulp and seeds based on Africa geographical regions

Abstract Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is an indigenous fruit tree associated with the Savannah drylands of sub‐Saharan Africa. Local communities mainly utilize the leaves, pulp, and seeds of baobab as a source of food and for income generation. The present study was conducted to determine the nutritive attributes of baobab fruit pulp and seeds across provenances in east, west, and southern Africa and to determine whether the nutrient content varied with the provenance of origin. Pulp and seed proximate composition and mineral element concentration were determined using the AOAC 1984 methods and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES), respectively. The results showed that there exist significant variation (p < .05) in pulp moisture, protein, fiber, ash, and elemental content among provenances. The highest mean pulp crude fiber (8.68 g 100 g−1 dw) was recorded in Kenya. At country level, Malawi had the highest mean pulp potassium (22.2 mg g−1), calcium (4,300 mg kg−1), magnesium (2,300 mg kg−1), sodium (1,000 mg kg−1), and phosphorus (1,100 mg kg−1) levels. Kenya had the highest mean pulp iron (57.4 μg g−1) and manganese (27.2 μg g−1) content, while Mali had the lowest iron (13.1 μg g−1) and manganese (8.6 μg g−1). At country level, the mean seed calcium content was highest (3,200 mg kg−1) in Malawi and lowest (2,000 mg kg−1) in Kenya. The highest mean iron content of 63.7 μg g−1 was recorded in seeds from Kenya, while the lowest (25.8 μg g−1) was in Mali. Baobab seed mineral and proximate content varied significantly (p < .001) among the selected countries. Overall, baobab fruit pulp and seeds contain significant amounts of nutritionally essential minerals and proximate components but the amounts varied significantly among the selected countries. This variation offers opportunities for selecting provenances to concentrate on during germplasm collection for conservation and domestication of baobab.
The effect of Tyrophagus putrescentiae on Fusarium poae transmission and fungal community in stored barley in a laboratory experiment

The effect of Tyrophagus putrescentiae on Fusarium poae transmission and fungal community composition was studied in nonsterile barley grain. The experiments included following treatments: control barley without mites; barley containing 10 or 50 mites without preincubation on F. poae (Tp10 and Tp50); barley containing 10 or 50 mites after preincubation on F. poae (FTp10 and FTp50). The number of mites, successful transfer of F. poae, and changes in the fungal communities were examined after 21 d of experiment. Increase of deoxynivalenol (DON) content in the barley was chosen as a criterion of successful F. poae transfer. The preincubation of T. putrescentiae on F. poae increased DON level approximately to 800 and 300 μg/kg of grain for FTp10 and FTp50, respectively. T. putrescentiae population growth in FTp10 was lower than in Tp10, while no difference was found between FTp50 and Tp50. Fungal communities were compared by amplification, cloning and sequencing of ITS fragments, and operational taxonomic units (OTU) analysis. The OTU analysis did not support the transfer of F. poae via mites. From the analyzed clones, only 13 cloned sequences clustered with F. poae in an OTU defined at distance level 0.07. The related clones originated from FTp10, Tp10, Tp50 and control treatments, but not from FTp50. However, the presence of F. poae in FTp50 was confirmed by PCR amplification with specific primers. The observation may be explained by different effect of mite population density, that is, in the high density, (FTp50 treatment) the fungus was overgrazed, while the lower population density (FTp10) supported F. poae transfer.
Coping Styles Among High School Graduates Aiming to Study Medicine in Dealing With Depressive and Anxious Symptoms

Background: Psychological distress, its associated stressors and resilience factors, and the implications derived for the education and training of medical students and physicians have long been the subject of international studies. The study presented here investigated affective symptoms in association with coping styles in the earliest phase of University medical education: high school graduates aiming to study medicine. Materials and Methods: We conducted a self-report survey at a medical school in Germany among high school graduates who indicated being interested in studying medicine at the university's on-campus recruitment day. The questionnaire included validated instruments for the self-assessment of symptoms of depression (i.e., Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9) and anxiety (i.e., Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7), and participants were also asked to rate functional and dysfunctional behavior-based coping styles for symptoms of depression and anxiety. Additional variables addressed were gender, motivation, interest in studying medicine, and parental employment in medicine. Results: Of 400 high school graduates, 346 (87%) completed the survey. More than 40 (12.5%) and nearly 30 (8.4%) reported relevant symptoms of depression (PHQ-9 sum score ≥10) and anxiety (GAD-7 sum score ≥10), respectively. Among the graduates, young women had higher values for symptoms of depression than young men, and one's interested exclusively in studying human medicine tended to have marginally higher levels of symptoms of depression than ones who were also interested in other subjects. Relevant functional coping styles included seeking social support, relaxing, engaging in sports, listening to or making music, and reading books, whereas relevant dysfunctional coping styles included consuming alcohol, abusing drugs, restrictive eating, watching TV, surfing the Internet, and withdrawing and ruminating. Conclusion: The results clarify the burden and associated resilience factors of premedical high school graduates at the earliest phase of their University education. As such, they reveal ways to address educational and supportive services and support the need for further investigation into factors of success in studying human medicine.
Predictive analytics in health care using machine learning tools and techniques

When we have a huge data set on which we would like to perform predictive analysis or pattern recognition, machine learning is the way to go. Machine Learning (ML) is the fastest rising arena in computer science, and health informatics is of extreme challenge. The aim of Machine Learning is to develop algorithms which can learn and progress over time and can be used for predictions. Machine Learning practices are widely used in various fields and primarily health care industry has been benefitted a lot through machine learning prediction techniques. It offers a variety of alerting and risk management decision support tools, targeted at improving patients' safety and healthcare quality. With the need to reduce healthcare costs and the movement towards personalized healthcare, the healthcare industry faces challenges in the essential areas like, electronic record management, data integration, and computer aided diagnoses and disease predictions. Machine Learning offers a wide range of tools, techniques, and frameworks to address these challenges. This paper depicts the study on various prediction techniques and tools for Machine Learning in practice. A glimpse on the applications of Machine Learning in various domains are also discussed here by highlighting on its prominence role in health care industry.
Applications of the Particle Filter for multi-object tracking and classification

This paper uses several case studies to examine the capabilities of the Particle Filter (PF) for multi-object tracking and classification. The first study treats the relatively simple problem of tracking two objects in the absence of any background clutter. The scenario considers a thrusting ballistic missile that expends a lower stage after burnout. The objective is to track both stages using a single PF which contains separate states for the two objects. The second case study involves a more complicated scenario in which a maneuvering air vehicle deploys a series of decoys to confuse the tracking sensor. The problem is made more complex by the fact that tracking occurs in moderately dense clutter background. The PF state vector includes a discrete binary existence state which denotes whether the decoy is present or absent. In addition to measurements of line-of-sight angles, range, etc., the filter is assumed to have available “classification” which are judgments made by the observer as to the origin of each measurement. The classifications are specified in terms of probabilities. The possible objects under track can be the target alone, a centroid of the target and decoy in the case of unresolved measurements, or separate, resolved tracks of both target and decoy.
Personalized Medicine in Pediatrics: The Clinical Potential of Orodispersible Films

Children frequently receive medicines that are designed for adults. The dose of commercially available products is adapted, mostly based on the child’s bodyweight, thereby neglecting differences in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics parameters. If commercial products are unsuitable for administration to children or are unavailable, extemporaneous pharmacy preparations are a good alternative. For this particular population, orodispersible films (ODFs) can be a highly attractive dosage form for the oral administration of drugs. ODFs are relatively easy to prepare in a hospital setting, create dose flexibility, and may suit an individual approach, especially for patients having difficulties in swallowing tablets or being fluid restricted. In this article, various aspects related to pharmacy preparations, clinical application, and preparation of ODFs for pediatric patients are highlighted and discussed.
Green Process: Improved Semi-Continuous Fermentation of Pichia pastoris Based on the Principle of Vitality Cell Separation

The large-scale fermentation of Pichia pastoris for recombinant protein production would be time consuming and produce a large amount of waste yeast. Here we introduce a novel semi-continuous fermentation process for P. pastoris GS115 that can separate vitality cells from broth and recycle the cells to produce high-secretory recombinant pectate lyase. It is based on differences in cell sedimentation coefficients with the formation of salt bridges between metal ions and various cell states. Compared to batch-fed cultivation and general semi-continuous culture, the novel process has significant advantages, such as consuming fewer resources, taking less time, and producing less waste yeast. Sedimentation with the addition of Fe3+ metal ions consumed 14.8 ± 0.0% glycerol, 97.8 ± 1.3% methanol, 55.0 ± 0.9 inorganic salts, 81.5 ± 0.0% time cost, and 77.0 ± 0.1% waste yeast versus batch-fed cultivation to produce an equal amount of protein; in addition, the cost of solid–liquid separation was lower for cells in the collected fermentation broth. The process is economically and environmentally efficient for producing recombinant proteins.
Influence of Pregnancy on the Pathogenesis of Listeriosis in Mice Inoculated Intragastrically

ABSTRACT Pregnancy increases the risk of listeriosis, a systemic disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes. However, there is incomplete agreement on the reasons for this increased risk. We examined two features of listeriosis in gravid and nongravid female mice following intragastric (gavage) inoculation, namely, (i) disease severity (measured by lethality) and (ii) listerial infectivity (measured by liver and spleen colonization levels up to 120 h postinoculation). Two listerial strains of differing serotype (1/2a and 4nonb) were initially employed. Neither strain produced a lethal infection in nonpregnant female mice (dose range, 106 to 109 CFU/mouse), and only the 4nonb strain produced lethalities in pregnant mice (dose range, 106 to 108 CFU/mouse). The 4nonb strain also produced a higher level of liver and spleen colonization than the 1/2a strain following gavage administration. (The two strains showed similar levels of colonization if parenterally administered.) Both strains were equally capable of binding to and forming plaques upon cultured mouse enterocytes. The ability of the 4nonb strain to produce a lethal infection in pregnant animals did not correlate with an increased incidence or level of liver and spleen colonization over that in nonpregnant females. However, the lethality rate did correlate well with the rate at which embryos and their surrounding decidual covering became infected, suggesting that intrauterine infection could be responsible for the increased disease severity in the gravid females.
The impact of technological innovation on product quality: the moderating role of firm size

Innovation and quality are essential for sustainable competitiveness in today’s business world. Despite extensive theoretical discussions about the relationship between innovation and quality, few studies explore the observable effects of technological innovation practices (TIPs) on product quality. This paper aims to empirically investigate the impact of TIP on product quality, considering the moderating effect of firm size. A conceptual model linking product innovation practice, process innovation practice, normal quality (NQ), attractive quality (AQ) and product market performance is proposed. The model is tested using survey data from 201 innovative Chinese manufacturing companies. The results reveal that TIP does indeed positively influence both AQ and NQ. Firm size moderates the relationship between TIP and AQ. The study contributes to a better understanding of how different-sized Chinese firms can utilise innovation practice to improve product quality and market performance.
Corynebacterium ulcerans from Diseased Wild Boars

Two Corynebacterium strains were isolated from lymph nodes of wild boars showing severe alterations caused by caseous lymphadenitis. The wild boars came from different districts in southern Germany; one was found dead, the other had been shot. The two Corynebacterium strains obtained were both positive for phospholipase D. Further analysis of biochemical profiles did not allow unambiguous differentiation between Corynebacterium ulcerans and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy as well as partial sequencing of the genes for 16S rRNA and RNA polymerase beta subunit (rpoB) clearly identified both strains as Corynebacterium ulcerans. The tox gene for diphtheria toxin (DT) could be detected in both porcine isolates by PCR. Partial DNA sequencing of this tox gene showed significant differences from sequences described for other Corynebacterium ulcerans strains and a higher degree of similarity to that of Corynebacterium diphtheria. Production of diphtheria toxin could not be detected. These results indicate that wild game could be a reservoir for zoonotic Corynebacterium ulcerans.
Business Model Innovation: Past Research, Current Debates, and Future Directions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide state-of-the-art knowledge about business model innovation (BMI) and suggest avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review approach was adopted with thematic analysis being conducted on 92 articles. Findings The body of knowledge for this concept is in its infancy and is highly fragmented. This study therefore attempts to consolidate this fragmented knowledge. It reveals dominant themes, establishes coherence, and identifies conflicting arguments in the current literature. It also points out gaps in the research and highlights new directions for research. Research limitations/implications This study analyzed articles that were found based on a systematic literature review approach. Practical implications This study identifies some fundamental issues that managers need to understand regarding BMI. Originality/value The main value of this study lies in its synthesis of the current knowledge of BMI.
ICP22/IE63 Mediated Transcriptional Regulation and Immune Evasion: Two Important Survival Strategies for Alphaherpesviruses

In the process of infecting the host, alphaherpesviruses have derived a series of adaptation and survival strategies, such as latent infection, autophagy and immune evasion, to survive in the host environment. Infected cell protein 22 (ICP22) or its homologue immediate early protein 63 (IE63) is a posttranslationally modified multifunctional viral regulatory protein encoded by all alphaherpesviruses. In addition to playing an important role in the efficient use of host cell RNA polymerase II, it also plays an important role in the defense process of the virus overcoming the host immune system. These two effects of ICP22/IE63 are important survival strategies for alphaherpesviruses. In this review, we summarize the complex mechanism by which the ICP22 protein regulates the transcription of alphaherpesviruses and their host genes and the mechanism by which ICP22/IE63 participates in immune escape. Reviewing these mechanisms will also help us understand the pathogenesis of alphaherpesvirus infections and provide new strategies to combat these viral infections.
Teacher Beliefs in Introducing Cooperative Learning approaches in Classroom Practice at a High School in Japan

Cooperative Learning (CL) is possibly one of the central approaches that utilize pair or group activities to bring pragmatic situations to language classrooms. However, it is not systematically taught in teacher training courses. Many working teachers have to learn through a trial and error process in their daily classroom practice. This case study is a qualitative research account of the changes in the beliefs of a high school teacher who implemented CL three years before, comparing his beliefs and practices, and analyzing how they changed. Seven video-recorded lessons were observed and four interviews were conducted. It was discovered from the interviews that the key to change was his active participation in teachers’ peer groups. The result was that he unintentionally and unconsciously changed not only his role, but he also further elicited students’ active engagement, converted his classroom into a space of festivity, and also provided students with an increased sense of self-actualization.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines: Established models and rationale for selection

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines are important preclinical models in the search for novel and targeted therapies to treat head and neck cancer. Unlike many other cancer types, a wide variety of primary and metastatic HNSCC cell lines are available. An easily accessible guide that organizes important characteristics of HNSCC cell lines would be valuable for the selection of appropriate HNSCC cell lines for in vitro or in vivo studies.