Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction of TV-station ratings based on content recommenders

This paper presents the prediction of TV station ratings considering the user's profile of its audience, received from their settop boxes. It is based on a TV content recommender for groups that uses multidimensional classifications following the TV-Anytime approach. Two applications are presented in order to maximize ratings: an algorithm to configure the TV program schedule of a TV station, and another one that decides in real time between a set of contents which one a TV station should broadcast in a certain moment to increase the audience.
Literacy Development in Deaf Students: Case Studies in Bilingual Teaching and Learning

A bilingual model has been applied to educating deaf students who are learning American Sign Language (ASL) as their first language and written English as a second. Although Cummins's (1984) theory of second-language learning articulates how learners draw on one language to acquire another, implementing teaching practices based on this theory, particularly with deaf students, is a complex, confusing process. The purposes of the present study were to narrow the gap between theory and practice and to describe the teaching and learning strategies used by the teachers and parents of three elementary school children within a bilingual/bicultural learning environment for deaf students. The findings suggest that strategies such as using ASL as the language of instruction and making translation conceptual rather than literal contribute to literacy learning. Findings further indicate that some inconsistencies persist in applying a bilingual approach with deaf students.
Immunochemical localization of vitamin D‐dependent calcium‐binding protein in mouse placenta and yolk sac

A 10,000‐dalton calcium‐binding protein (10‐kd CaBP) has been described in the placentae and yolk sacs of rats and mice. This protein is similar or identical to vitamin D‐dependent intestinal CaBP and these proteins have been implicated in the molecular mechanisms of intestinal calcium absorption and transplacental calcium transport. Using an antiserum to the purified 10‐kd rat intestinal CaBP, the localization of CaBP in the 16–17‐day mouse yolk sac and placenta was studied immunocytochemically with peroxidase‐antiperoxidase labelling and quantified by radial immunodifussion. A high concentration of immunolabelling was observed in the endodermal cells of the intraplacental yolk sac lining the sinuses of Duval. The columnar endodermal cells lining one side of the endodermal sinuses adjacent to fetal vessels contained most of the immunoreactive label. Quantitation by radial immunodiffusion demonstrated a 5.5‐fold higher concentration of CaBP in the portion of the placenta containing most of the intraplacental yolk sac than in the maternal half of the placenta. This demonstration of a 10‐kd CaBP within the intraplacental yolk sac suggests this protein functions to facilitate placental calcium transport and is the first study which directly supports the hypothesis of a functional role for the sinuses of Duval in calcium transport.
Dirty paper coding versus beamforming in multi-user MIMO under OFDM

Consider a two-user MIMO Gaussian Broadcast Channel with two antennas at the transmitter and two single-antenna receivers. While Dirty Paper Coding (DPC) achieves capacity, its practical adoption needs a precise comparison with the popular method of Zero Forcing Beam Forming (ZFBF). In this work, we obtain a simplified expression for the exact difference in sum rate between DPC and ZFBF at all SNRs. Using this expression, we obtain the distribution of the difference under block fading, and show a significant improvement in rate in wideband OFDM transmission by using DPC for only a small fraction of subcarriers.
Cálculo de índice de ilusão fiscal a partir de evidências do efeito flypaper e da ilusão causada pela complexidade da estrutura tributária de estados e municípios

Dated from the beginning of the twentieth century, fiscal illusion theory refers to the phenomenon by which rulers create distortions about taxpayers' fiscal reality, making it difficult to perceive the price of public services, through mechanisms such as: complex tax system (revenue-complexity), by the taxation of taxes or by the prevalence of indirect taxation (Mill hypothesis); use of government transfers to increase spending rather than tax reduction (Flypaper effect); deferral of expenses for debt or deficits, among others. The elevated level of public indebtedness and the increase in expenses are intriguing elements for the study of fiscal illusion in Brazil. Thus, this research aimed at analyzing the evidence of fiscal illusion in the country, based on the replication of the studies of Araújo (2014) and Araújo and Siqueira (2016), which identified impacts of illusion variables on public expenditures with municipal data for 2010, through the median voter model. The present dissertation uses data from 2004 to 2015 for Brazilian states. With the use of a fixed-regression model with panel data and the use of robust errors, evidence is found of the Flypaper effect and partly of the illusion caused by the complexity of revenue. The study uses the MIMIC model, replicating the methodology of Dell'Anno and Mourão (2012), Dell'Anno and Dollery, (2014) and Vitorino (2016), in order to quantify the fiscal illusion, by creating a ranking between states. Only the variable that regards to the concentration of revenue did not return the expected behavior. In the estimations, the variable related to education level presented the highest coefficient among the causes, being the most representative in the index. A strong correlation was found between the index and the level of wealth and poverty of a society, which deserves attention for future studies. Key-words: Fiscal illusion. Flypaper Effect. Tax structure. Fiscal illusion index. States and municipalities
REVIEW ARTICLE A research strategy for biodiversity conservation on New Zealand's offshore islands

New Zealand's offshore islands are refuges for many threatened species, a high proportion of vertebrate diversity, and the world's most diverse fauna of seabirds. We present key issues and questions that can be used to guide research on the conservation of biodiversity on these islands. Four global reviews formed a basis from which we identified research questions of potential relevance to the management of these islands. The research questions were assigned in the context of nine objectives proposed as a means of achieving ecological integrity. For each of the nine objectives, we then asked what has been achieved in terms of island research and management, and what needs to be achieved in order to meet long-term goals. We used local examples to identify issues and questions specific to the islands of New Zealand. Our analyses revealed two research areas in which current understanding is poor. One is the need to understand ecosystem processes and their resilience to long-term environmental change. The second is the need to define and better understand the consequences of direct involvement by the public in the management of islands, including partnerships between government agencies, tangata whenua (original people of the land - Māori) and non-government organisations such as community groups.
The Fourth International Chinese Language Processing Bakeoff: Chinese Word Segmentation, Named Entity Recognition and Chinese POS Tagging

The Fourth International Chinese Language Processing Bakeoff was held in 2007 to assess the state of the art in three important tasks: Chinese word segmentation, named entity recognition and Chinese POS tagging. Twenty-eight groups submitted result sets in the three tasks across two tracks and a total of seven corpora. Strong results have been found in all the tasks as well as continuing challenges.
The Effect of Cold Storage and Treatment with Gibberellic Acid on Flowering and Bulb Yields of Dutch Iris

Iris bulbs of the varieties Wedgewood and Prof. Blaauvv were injected with 50 or 500 μg. gibberellic acid (GA) before or after cold storage (10° C.) of 18 or 35 days. GA injection accelerated flowering by up to 19 days ; it had little or no effect on length of leaves or flower stem. It was most effective when applied at an early stage after flower initiation.GA injection reduced bulb yield of Wedgiwood plants, and had no effect on, nor increased bulb yield of, Prof. Blaauw plants.GA spraying (seven times at 10-2M of GA) accelerated flowering and increased foliage growth in both varieties. It increased flower stem elongation and reduced bulb yield in Wedgfcwood plants.
On being cool: exploring interaction design for teenagers

This paper describes a suite of studies that investigated 'cool' as it applies to the design of interactive products for teenagers. Beginning with a hierarchy of cool that situated cool across three dimensions of having, doing, and being cool, the studies reported here are described in terms of their findings and the extent to which they confirm the model. The contribution, and potential, of the different methods used, in terms of their ability to describe aspects of the model and the insights gained from the findings, are discussed The work demonstrates that the model was indeed appropriate, and the combination of methods described here goes a considerable distance towards covering the exploration of the design space. For the current construction of cool, a set of key aspects for its design is presented and these concepts are demonstrated in a small example. In terms of understanding cool, it is evident that this is a complex design space; one surprising aspect of the work is an understanding of how to avoid the design of uncool.
Micro and macro models of the sweet receptor.

The study of the structure–activity relationship (SAR) of sweet molecules has been traditionally based on indirect analyses that have led to several models of the receptor active site, consistent with the shape of many conformationally rigid sweeteners—see, for example, Temussi et al. (1991) and the references therein. Most sweeteners are low mol. wt compounds but a few sweet proteins are also known. Only recently it has been demonstrated that small mol. wt sweeteners and sweet macromolecules interact with the same T1R2–T1R3 receptor (Li et al., 2002), inferring that there is just one sweet taste receptor. However, it is not easy to understand (and show) how low mol. wt sweet compounds and sweet proteins can activate the same receptor. The three-dimensional structure of the receptor has not yet been elucidated, but it is possible to build homology models to shed light on the SAR of sweet molecules. The sweet taste receptor (SR) is a G protein coupled receptor similar to the dimeric metabotropic glutamate m1-LBR receptor (Margolskee, 2002). The similarity between the sequences of the two chains of the T1R2–T1R3 receptor and that of the single chain of the homodimer of the m1-LBR mGlu receptor is sufficient to allow homology modelling and to assume that it has the same general features. Existing three-dimensional SR models (Margolskee, 2002; Temussi, 2002) have been built using, as template, the N-terminal domain of mGluR1 whose crystal structure is available (Kunishima et al., 2000).
Unique word based phase tracking algorithms for SC/FDE-systems

In this paper we consider phase tracking algorithms for single carrier systems with frequency domain equalizers (SC/FDE), which make use of the concept of unique word (UW) blockwise extension instead of the classical concept of cyclic prefix (CP) like it is used for example in OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing). Very similar to IEEE 802.11a like OFDM systems the overall baseband processing performance of SC/FDE systems largely depends on the design of channel estimation and synchronization algorithms. Some of the synchronization tasks are very straight forward, but the algorithm developer has a lot of freedom for the design of the channel estimator, and for the design of the residual carrier frequency offset tracking procedure (which we call phase tracking). In this paper we focus on the design and performance of unique word based phase tracking algorithms, which are being compared with pilot carrier based phase tracking algorithms for IEEE 802.11a like OFDM systems.
Cis,cis-muconate lactonizing enzyme from Trichosporon cutaneum: evidence for a novel class of cycloisomerases in eucaryotes.

The absolute stereochemical courses of cis,cis-muconate lactonizing enzyme (MLE;EC 5.5.1.1) from Trichosporon cutaneum (TcMLE) and chloromuconate cycloisomerase (MLE II; EC 5.5.1.7) from Pseudomonas sp B13 have been determined from 1H NMR measurements. Both cycloisomerases convert cis,cis-muconate to (4S)-muconolactone by a syn lactonization, the absolute stereochemical outcome of which is identical to that observed with MLE from Pseudomonas putida. The regiochemical courses of cyclization of 3-halo-cis,cis-muconates by TcMLE and MLE II have been characterized and shown to differ in a halogen substituent dependent manner, suggesting at least a different active site architecture of the two MLEs. Moreover, the regiochemical preferences of MLE II and TcMLE parallel results previously observed for the nonenzymatic lactonization of the 3-halomuconates at pH 1-6 and in concentrated HCl, respectively, in which alternate mechanisms of cyclization were proposed [Pieken, W. A. , & Kozarich, J. W. (1990) J. Org. Chem. 55, 3029-3035]. Complementary DNA clones encoding TcMLE have been isolated from phenol induced T. cutaneum cDNA using the polymerase chain reaction. The deduced amino acid sequence does not exhibit any similarity to that of MLE from P. putida. It does however, exhibit moderate sequence similarity (21% residue identity, 14 gaps) with 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconate lactonizing enzyme (CMLE; EC 5.5.1.5) from Neurospora crassa, which catalyzes a regiochemically analogous and stereochemically identical lactonization reaction with 3-carboxymuconate. The limited data available suggest that the fungal CMLE and yeast MLE are representative of a unique class of eucaryotic cycloisomerases which have evolved convergently with the bacterial MLEs.
The secreted salivary proteome of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum characterised by mass spectrometry

Nine proteins secreted in the saliva of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum were identified by a proteomics approach using GE‐LC‐MS/MS and LC‐MS/MS, with reference to EST and genomic sequence data for A. pisum. Four proteins were identified by their sequences: a homolog of angiotensin‐converting enzyme (an M2 metalloprotease), an M1 zinc‐dependant metalloprotease, a glucose‐methanol‐choline (GMC)‐oxidoreductase and a homolog to regucalcin (also known as senescence marker protein 30). The other five proteins are not homologous to any previously described sequence and included an abundant salivary protein (represented by ACYPI009881), with a predicted length of 1161 amino acids and high serine, tyrosine and cysteine content. A. pisum feeds on plant phloem sap and the metalloproteases and regucalcin (a putative calcium‐binding protein) are predicted determinants of sustained feeding, by inactivation of plant protein defences and inhibition of calcium‐mediated occlusion of phloem sieve elements, respectively. The amino acid composition of ACYPI009881 suggests a role in the aphid salivary sheath that protects the aphid mouthparts from plant defences, and the oxidoreductase may promote gelling of the sheath protein or mediate oxidative detoxification of plant allelochemicals. Further salivary proteins are expected to be identified as more sensitive MS technologies are developed.
Service provision for people with schizophrenia

Background The aim of this study was to provide information on patients' current service use which could inform future decisions on service planning and resource allocation. Method Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, who had received in-patient care in the previous five years, were identified from the Lothian Case Register. Information was obtained from 193 subjects. Patients' service use over a six-month period was examined. The costs incurred in service provision were determined. Results Patients differed markedly in their use of services. This was not found to be related to their mental state. Average care costs were high. In-patient care accounted for most of the overall expenditure. Conclusions There is considerable variation in the services used by patients with schizophrenia and in the costs incurred in service provision. When planning services it is therefore important that detailed information on the patient population is available if resources are to be allocated cost-effectively.
A novel 4-D hyperchaotic four-wing memristive system

A new 4-D memristive system is presented in this paper. The peculiarity of the model is that it displays a line of equilibrium points and it has hyperchaotic dynamics in a particular range of the parameters space. The behavior of the proposed system is investigated through numerical simulations, by using phase portraits, Lyapunov exponents and Poincare sections. Also, its circuital implementation on SPICE confirmed the memristive system's expected dynamics.
Architecture Solutions to E-Learning Systems Using Service-Oriented Cloud Computing Reference Architecture

E-learning systems are moving away from monolithic applications towards more open, flexible components, capable of interoperating with other learning components. In spite of the diversity of learning environments, there is a lack of uniformity regarding their basic functionalities. Thus, the establishment of core functionalities represents an issue to the development of learning environments. In a different but related perspective, reference architectures have emerged as an alternative for promoting reuse of design expertise and facilitating the development of E-learning systems. Reference architecture increases the scalability, flexibility and availability of e-learning systems. The objective of this paper is to provide an architecture solutions to personalized e-learning systems using Service-Oriented Cloud Computing Architecture (SOCCA). SOCCA proposes high level designs to better support multi-tenancy feature of cloud computing The proposed architecture is called namely SOCCAPES, is designed to support maximum scalability and high service levels through virtualization and an optimized management environment. It enables new levels of scalability while providing a very cost-effective modular solution.
Texture characterization of carotid atherosclerotic plaque from B-mode ultrasound using gabor filters

Texture analysis of B-mode ultrasound images of carotid atheromatous plaque can be valuable for the accurate diagnosis of atherosclerosis. In this paper, Gabor filters were used to characterize the texture of carotid artery atherosclerotic tissue. B-mode ultrasound images of 10 symptomatic and 9 asymptomatic plaques were interrogated. A total of 40 texture features were estimated for each plaque. The bootstrap method was used to compare the mean values of the texture features extracted from the two groups. After bootstrapping, the mean value and the standard deviation of the energy estimated using the Gabor filters was found to be significantly different between symptomatic and asymptomatic plaques in the first scale of analysis and for all orientations. In addition, a number of texture features that correspond to larger resolution scales were found to be significantly different between the two types of plaques. It is concluded that Gabor-filter-based texture analysis in combination with a powerful statistical technique, such as bootstrapping, may provide valuable information about the plaque tissue type.
The effect and safety of anacetrapib in the treatment of dyslipidemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Anacetrapib may be a new treatment option that has a cardiovascular benefit for the management of dyslipidemia. Objective: The aim of our current study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect and safety of anacetrapib in the treatment of dyslipidemia. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library database from their inception to 5 October 2017, with the terms: ‘anacetrapib’ and ‘placebo’. From 287 initial citations, 10 studies including 34781 patients with dyslipidemia were included in the final systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: Pooled results showed that anacetrapib significantly increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) [weighted mean differences (WMD) 53.07, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 46.79 to 59.36] and apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI) (WMD 53.44, 95% CI 45.72 to 61.16). Our study also showed that anacetrapib significantly reduced low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD −32.99; 95% CI −37.13 to −28.86), Non-HDL-C (WMD −39.19; 95% CI −52.22 to −26.16), triglycerides (TG) (WMD −9.97; 95% CI −10.54 to −9.41), apolipoprotein B (ApoB) (WMD −22.55; 95% CI −28.56 to −16.54) and lipoprotein a [LP(a)] (WMD −13.35; 95% CI −18.31 to −8.39). Our results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in all the following adverse events between the anacetrapib group and placebo group: [hepato-toxicity (OR 0.90, 95% CI: 0.75 to 1.07); musculoskeletal injury (OR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.88 to 1.15); drug-related adverse event (OR 1.00, 95% CI: 0.96 to 1.05); drug-related withdrawn (OR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.08)]. Conclusions: Although further studies are needed, our findings clearly offer support to the use of anacetrapib in the clinical management of patients with dyslipidemia.
Biased allosteric modulation at the CaS receptor engendered by structurally diverse calcimimetics

Clinical use of cinacalcet in hyperparathyroidism is complicated by its tendency to induce hypocalcaemia, arising partly from activation of calcium‐sensing receptors (CaS receptors) in the thyroid and stimulation of calcitonin release. CaS receptor allosteric modulators that selectively bias signalling towards pathways that mediate desired effects [e.g. parathyroid hormone (PTH) suppression] rather than those mediating undesirable effects (e.g. elevated serum calcitonin), may offer better therapies.
The GlnR Regulon in Streptococcus mutans Is Differentially Regulated by GlnR and PmrA

GlnR-mediated repression of the GlnR regulon at acidic pH is required for optimal acid tolerance in Streptococcus mutans, the etiologic agent for dental caries. Unlike most streptococci, the GlnR regulon is also regulated by newly identified PmrA (SMUGS5_RS05810) at the transcriptional level in S. mutans GS5. Results from gel mobility shift assays confirmed that both GlnR and PmrA recognized the putative GlnR box in the promoter regions of the GlnR regulon genes. By using a chemostat culture system, we found that PmrA activated the expression of the GlnR regulon at pH 7, and that this activation was enhanced by excess glucose. Deletion of pmrA (strain ΔPmrA) reduced the survival rate of S. mutans GS5 at pH 3 moderately, whereas the GlnR mutant (strain ΔGlnR) exhibited an acid-sensitive phenotype in the acid killing experiments. Elevated biofilm formation in both ΔGlnR and ΔPmrA mutant strains is likely a result of indirect regulation of the GlnR regulon since GlnR and PmrA regulate the regulon differently. Taken together, it is suggested that activation of the GlnR regulon by PmrA at pH 7 ensures adequate biosynthesis of amino acid precursor, whereas repression by GlnR at acidic pH allows greater ATP generation for acid tolerance. The tight regulation of the GlnR regulon in response to pH provides an advantage for S. mutans to better survive in its primary niche, the oral cavity.