Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The share of human genomic DNA under selection estimated from human-mouse genomic alignments.

recently become available for two mammalian genomes, human (Lander et al. 2001; Venter et al. 2001) and mouse (Waterston et al. 2002). This raises the possibility of using comparative genomics to estimate what fraction of the human genome evolves under purifying selection. Lacking genomes of other mammals, this comparative exercise is still in its preliminary stages. However, a rough estimate has been made that ~5% of the human genome is in short segments that appear to be under selection based on comparison with mouse (Waterston et al. 2002). Here, as a basis for future refinements, we present the computational strategy that led to this estimate, providing details on scoring functions, data preparation, and statistical techniques. We also describe stability analyses, control experiments, and tests for the effects of artifacts that were performed to establish robustness of our results, and discuss possible alternate interpretations. Our strategy hinges on three elements: (1) the construction of various collections of short aligned windows of the human genome (e.g., 50 bp)—in particular, a large collection of such windows that are very likely to have evolved neutrally since the divergence of human and mouse (" ancestral repeats, " relics of transposons that were present in the genome of our common ancestor with mouse); (2) the development of a score function quantifying conservation in short aligned windows, and providing a satisfactory " template " for neutral behavior when computed on windows in ancestral repeats; and (3) statistical techniques to estimate and compare the score distributions for genome-wide and ancestral repeat windows, and thus infer an upper bound on the share of genome-wide windows that are compatible with the neutral template. The remaining share of the genome is populated by windows that are too conserved to be modeled by the neutral template, and hence are either evolving under purifying selection, or are evolving neutrally but are experiencing fewer substitutions than nearby windows in ancestral repeats for some unknown reasons. Because ancestral transposons have been inactive since their insertion in the genome of the common ancestor of human and mouse, they are one type of human DNA that is most likely to have evolved free of any selective pressure. The rate of substitution in these sites between human and mouse is similar to, but slightly less than, that observed in fourfold degenerate sites from codons, and covaries regionally with that rate (Waterston et al. 2002; Hardison et al. 2003). …
A synthetic-vision based steering approach for crowd simulation

In the everyday exercise of controlling their locomotion, humans rely on their optic flow of the perceived environment to achieve collision-free navigation. In crowds, in spite of the complexity of the environment made of numerous obstacles, humans demonstrate remarkable capacities in avoiding collisions. Cognitive science work on human locomotion states that relatively succinct information is extracted from the optic flow to achieve safe locomotion. In this paper, we explore a novel vision-based approach of collision avoidance between walkers that fits the requirements of interactive crowd simulation. By simulating humans based on cognitive science results, we detect future collisions as well as the level of danger from visual stimuli. The motor-response is twofold: a reorientation strategy prevents future collision, whereas a deceleration strategy prevents imminent collisions. Several examples of our simulation results show that the emergence of self-organized patterns of walkers is reinforced using our approach. The emergent phenomena are visually appealing. More importantly, they improve the overall efficiency of the walkers' traffic and avoid improbable locking situations.
Sleep disruption, daytime somnolence and ‘sleep attacks’ in Parkinson's disease: a clinical survey in PD patients and age‐matched healthy volunteers

Recent case reports of ‘sleep attacks’ (SA) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) generated concerns about drug‐induced daytime somnolence in this population. However, there are nearly no comparative data on sleep and vigilance problems between PD patients and normal controls. We performed a cross‐sectional survey in PD patients and age‐matched controls using a structured questionnaire on PD history, treatments, co‐morbidity, activities of daily living, habits, exercise, sleep pattern, driving, pre‐existing nocturnal problems, daytime somnolence, episodes of SA and the circumstances in which such episodes occurred. Daytime somnolence was also measured with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). 176 PD patients and 174 controls were included. The same proportion of PD patients (27%) and controls (32%) reported episodes of SA, but these were more frequent in PD patients and occurred more frequently during situations requiring attention (10.8% vs. 1.7%, p<10−3). More PD patients had abnormal daytime somnolence (ESS) and poor sleeping quality (PSQI). The most consistent factor associated with SA was the duration of levodopa therapy and the predictive value of an abnormal ESS score was rather poor (40.7%). Abnormal daytime somnolence and poor sleep quality at night are more frequent in PD patients than in normals. However, SA are reported in both groups, although less frequently in the normals during activities that requires attention.
International Labor Migration Patterns in West Africa

There is strong evidence that labor is highly mobile in many developing countries, especially in Africa. The history of the African continent is rich in accounts of various forms of movement across and within national boundaries—promoted by trade, warfare, pastoralism, slaving, natural disasters, and evangelization. Evidence, of fact and in myth and legend, indicates the occurrence of large-scale migrations in the past. The dispersion of Fulani-speaking peoples throughout the northern parts of West Africa is well documented. In addition to such movements, there are the age-old seasonal wanderings of herders seeking water and pasture for livestock. During the present century, the migration of labor to centers of mineral, oil, and industrial production has become one of the most important demographic features of West Africa and the continent as a whole (Adepoju, 1977, 1978; Zachariah and Conde, 1981; Addo, 1974; Little, 1974; Mabogunje, 1972, 1980). The migratory movement of population in Africa is very dynamic and complex; its general features are not well understood, and hence are rarely studied. This paper is an attempt to understand the economic and sociocultural factors that have influenced the character of the international migratory flow of labor in West Africa. The hub of the investigation is to provide an understanding of the patterns of labor migration in West Africa and evaluate the models utilized in the explanation of international migratory trends in the region.
CD200 Positive Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Suppress TNF-Alpha Secretion from CD200 Receptor Positive Macrophage-Like Cells

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) display immunosuppressive properties in vitro and the potential has also been transferred successfully to clinical trials for treatment of autoimmune diseases. OX-2 (CD200), a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, is widely expressed in several tissues and has recently been found from hMSCs. The CD200 receptor (CD200R) occurs only in myeloid-lineage cells. The CD200-CD200R is involved in down-regulation of several immune cells, especially macrophages. The present study on 20 hMSC lines shows that the CD200 expression pattern varied from high (CD200Hi) to medium (CD200Me) and low (CD200Lo) in bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMMSC) lines, whereas umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells (UCBMSCs) were constantly negative for CD200. The role of the CD200-CD200R axis in BMMSCs mediated immunosuppression was studied using THP-1 human macrophages. Interestingly, hMSCs showed greater inhibition of TNF-α secretion in co-cultures with IFN-γ primed THP-1 macrophages when compared to LPS activated cells. The ability of CD200Hi BMMSCs to suppress TNF-α secretion from IFN-γ stimulated THP-1 macrophages was significantly greater when compared to CD200Lo whereas UCBMSCs did not significantly reduce TNF-α secretion. The interference of CD200 binding to the CD200R by anti-CD200 antibody weakened the capability of BMMSCs to inhibit TNF-α secretion from IFN-γ activated THP-1 macrophages. This study clearly demonstrated that the efficiency of BMMSCs to suppress TNF-α secretion of THP-1 macrophages was dependent on the type of stimulus. Moreover, the CD200-CD200r axis could have a previously unidentified role in the BMMSC mediated immunosuppression.
Evaluation of a Conceptual Model of Architectural Legibility

Architectural legibility is the degree to which the designed features of the environment aid people in creating an effective mental image, or "cognitive map" of the spatial relationships within a building, and the subsequent ease of wayfinding within the environment. However, little research has attempted to operationalize legibility by examining the relationship between objective measures of the physical environment, the cognitive map, and observational measures of wayfinding performance. This article empirically assesses the effects of one environmental variable, topological floor plan complexity, on the cognitive mapping and wayfinding performance of 63 participants within three building settings. The study finds that this objective measure of floor plan complexity significantly influences cognitive mapping and observed wayfinding. Given these results, a conceptual model of one aspect of architectural legibility was developed and empirically tested. Path analysis was used to assess the relationship between topological plan configuration, four convergent measures of the cognitive map, and observational measures of human wayfinding performance. Analysis of these data provide support for the conceptual model. The model suggests that the complexity of topological plan configuration influences legibility. The evidence also indicates that the relationship between plan configuration and wayfinding is mediated by the accuracy of the cognitive map.
Dynamic Load Balancing of Parallel SURF with Vertical Partitioning

The demand for real-time processing of robust feature detection is one of the major issues in the computer vision field. In order to comply with the requirements, in this paper a parallelization and optimization method to effectively accelerate SURF is proposed. The proposed parallelization method is developed based on a workload analysis of SURF in terms of various aspects, focusing in particular on the load balancing problem. First, the average parallel workload is divided into identical portions using the vertical partitioning method. Then, the load imbalance problem is further resolved using the dynamic partition balancing method. In addition, an optimization method is proposed together with the parallelization method to find and exclude redundant operations in SURF, thus effectively accelerating the feature detection operation when the proposed parallelization method is applied. The proposed method shows a maximum speedup of 19.21 compared to the single threaded performance on a 24-core system, achieving a maximum of 83.80 fps in a real-machine experiment, enabling real-time processing.
Dynamic evidential networks in system reliability analysis: A Dempster Shafer approach

Nowadays, complex manufacturing processes have to be dynamically modeled to estimate their reliability. Moreover the results computed with classical methods need to be reinforced by managing the uncertainty. To address these difficulties, this paper presents a new method for modeling and analyzing the system reliability based on dynamic evidential networks (DEN). This method allows modeling the influence of time and uncertainty on the failure and degradation of the system. The DEN graphical structure provides an easy way to specify the dependencies and, hence, to provide a compact representation of the system based on the Dempster Shafer theory. In addition, the DEN formalism is associated to simulation tools that enable an efficient processing for the models. A small system is used to compare the reliability estimations obtained by the proposed DEN model and those obtained by the classical Markov Chain.
P300 intensities and latencies for major depressive disorder detection

Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) may decrease its chances to be misdiagnosed as a bipolar disorder. In this paper, a machine learning (ML) scheme is presented to automate the diagnose process. It is achieved by discriminating the study participants, i.e., the MDD patients and healthy controls based on the features computed from event-related potential (ERP) data. The ERP features such as the P300 amplitudes and the latencies are computed from the study participants at central locations, i.e, Fz, Cz, and Pz. The ERP features are further used as input to the proposed ML scheme. It is followed by rank-based feature selection involving criteria: t-test, receiver operating characteristics (roc) and wilcoxon. For classification purposes, the logistic regression (LR) classifier is utilized. Finally, the P300 intensities are observed significantly higher in the healthy controls as compared with the MDD patients. In addition, the larger P300 latencies are found in the MDD patients as compared with the healthy controls. Based on the differences of ERP features between the 2 groups, the highest classification accuracy is achieved, i.e., 90.5%. It is concluded that the input features such as the P300 intensities and latencies can discriminate the MDD patients from healthy controls based on a single channel ERP data. In conclusion, the ERP features can be utilized to automate the diagnosis of MDD.
Transforming the Almajiri Education for the Benefit of the Nigerian Society

Almajiri or scholars in the Islamic religion has become a matter of sad concern for the North and the Nigerian nation. These children of school age and above roam about the streets in tattered clothes begging scavenging and doing all sort of odd jobs. This paper examined the Almajiri Syndrome in Nigeria, its background, nature, scope, problems and suggesting possible recommendations has to how it can move out of its present precarious situation and probably how it can contribute to meaningful developments in our nation. It was concluded that the government should enforce the 2003 Child Right Act, it was also recommended that, if the almajiri schools are properly funded most of the problems and the quantum of violence being perpetuated all over the country today will be a thing of the past.
Size and Bias Effects of Search Engines: Theory and Experimental Evidence

This paper analyzes equilibrium prices under incomplete and biased information provided to consumers by price-comparison search engines. Theoretical results predict a conflict of interests between users and non users of these engines. More (unbiased) information does not necessarily increase welfare. Experimental evidence supports some of the model’s predictions and rejects others. Data analysis indicates that divergence between empirical and theoretical price distributions can partly be due to systematic effects of agents’ attitudes towards risky choice. Two aspects of such attitudes are identified: a subject’s degree of risk aversion and whether the subject’s choices are compatible with theories assuming dominance. JEL classification: D43, D83, L13.
Roles of Information Technology in Distributed and Open Innovation Process

In the era of open and distributed innovation, Information Technology (IT) must be leveraged by organizations to reach, record and review ideas from internal (eg. employees) and external sources (eg. business partners). IT can support and enable this process, but only when its roles are understood and when properly deployed. Existing research has inadequately established these roles. Using the processvalue- of-IT lens, we apply a two-step exploratory research. First, the integration process is uncovered; second, the roles and potential of IT are discussed. Three distinct conceptual roles have been identified from the literature review and from interviews in 30 US and European companies that successfully collaborate with externals: Understanding and managing sources, Documenting idea history and source interactions, and Distribution and sharing of ideas. Some of the existing and emerging approaches to support cooperative activities (tool kits, idea management software, wikis) have been considered in context to outline opportunities and trends in the era of open, distributed, and IT-enabled innovation.
PowerControl Analysis of Hybrid Microgrid

This paper proposes a method of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) of solar array and a new control method of transferring this MPPT power to the inverter side ensuring the DC voltage stability by using the concept of Space Vector Modeling (SVM) with the assistance of Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS). This technique obtains stable voltage by giving triggering pulse to output power in the inverter. The dissertation also proposes a new coordinated control method for voltage and frequency regulation as well as active and reactive power control of Hybrid Microgrid with solar PV system and wind mill. The speed control of PMSG is made through Pitch and Yaw control of wind turbine. The control of active and reactive power is made through injecting power from grid by storing excess power when available. The voltage frequency regulation is proposed through regulating power from battery by applying triggering pulse. By the combined action of SVM and frequency regulation, amplitude and phase angle are also controlled in the Microgrid. Through the coordinated control of active and reactive power and Voltage-frequency regulation power reliability can be improved and the synchronization of power is also made possible when connected to distribution utility system.
A novel optimal decoding algorithm of multibit multiplicative watermarks

This paper presents a novel optimal watermark decoding algorithm of multibit multiplicative watermarks using Bessel k form of density function (BKF). In the proposed algorithm, the wavelet coefficients of detail subband are assumed to obey BKF, the classical spread spectrum watermarking is used for watermark embedding, the optimal multi-bit watermark decoding comes down to a maximum likelihood (ML) detection. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm obtains the optimal watermark decoding.
Homeobox B9 induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-associated radioresistance by accelerating DNA damage responses

Homeobox 9 (HOXB9), a nontransforming transcription factor overexpressed in breast cancer, alters tumor cell fate and promotes tumor progression and metastasis. Here we show that HOXB9 confers resistance to ionizing radiation by promoting DNA damage response. In nonirradiated cells, HOXB9 induces spontaneous DNA damage, phosphorylated histone 2AX and p53 binding protein 1 foci, and increases baseline ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) phosphorylation. Upon ionizing radiation, ATM is hyperactivated in HOXB9-expressing cells during the early stages of the double-stranded DNA break (DSB) response, accelerating accumulation of phosphorylated histone 2AX, mediator of DNA-damage checkpoint 1, and p53 binding protein 1, at DSBs and enhances DSB repair. The effect of HOXB9 on the response to ionizing radiation requires the baseline ATM activity before irradiation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition induced by TGF-β, a HOXB9 transcriptional target. Our results reveal the impact of a HOXB9–TGF-β–ATM axis on checkpoint activation and DNA repair, suggesting that TGF-β may be a key factor that links tumor microenvironment, tumor cell fate, DNA damage response, and radioresistance in a subset of HOXB9-overexpressing breast tumors.
Achtsamkeit («Mindfulness») als Therapieprinzip in Verhaltenstherapie und Verhaltensmedizin

Mindfulness as a Treatment Principle in Behaviour Therapy ‘Mindfulness’ is defined as paying attention in a certain way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgementally. Historically, mindfulness practice was developed in Buddhist meditation practice. In the last two decades, mindfulness-based elements were integrated into cognitive-behavioural treatment. In the present article, mindfulness as a therapeutic principle is presented and parallels and differences between cognitive-behavioural treatment approaches and mindfulness are outlined. Several approaches of cognitive behaviour therapy and behaviour medicine that incorporate mindfulnessbased elements are discussed. These approaches include ‘mindfulness-based stress reduction’ according to J. Kabat-Zinn, ‘mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression’ according to Segal, M. Williams and J. Teasdale, ‘dialectical behaviour therapy for borderline personality disorder’ according to M. Linehan as well as the use of mindfulness-based elements in the treatment of substance abuse according to A. Marlatt. Empirical work supporting the efficacy of these approaches is reviewed. The article concludes with a discussion of further research implications.
Sequential Pattern Mining: Optimum Maximum Sequential Patterns and Consistent Sequential Patterns

The concepts of optimal maximum sequential pattern and the consistent sequential pattern are introduced to describe the wholesome characteristics of the sequential pattern mining problems. And a mathematical model and two algorithms are constructed to determine the optimal maximum sequential patterns and the consistent ones. The methods efficiently decrease the influence of noisy data, and have less candidate patterns than apriori-like methods. And to be more important is that the obtained sequential patterns are consistent.
Accuracy of Clinical Diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease and Clinical Features of Patients with Non-Alzheimer Disease Neuropathology

Summary:Neuropathological examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis of possible or probable Alzheimer disease (AD) in 90 of the first 100 patients who came to autopsy at the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. In 10 cases, postmortem brain examination did not confirm AD but revealed variable patterns of neuronal loss in neocortex and limbic structures without amyloid deposits. The most common pattern of degeneration was relatively isolated hippocampal sclerosis (HS). Despite the finding that the 10 patients with non-AD neuropathology were ill for less time and were less cognitively impaired at study entry than those patients with definite AD, they had shorter survival times and showed equal behavioral disturbance at study entry (on a standardized measure). The clinical case reports included here suggest early and progressive prominent behavioral disturbance and other indexes of rapid illness progression in three of the four HS patients and two other non-AD patients. We conclude that the criteria of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Association for possible or probable AD are highly accurate and that misdiagnosis is most likely to occur early in the course of illness and in patients with prominent behavioral disturbance or other atypical features