Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance of Pervious Concrete Containing Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) Fibres

The present study investigates the feasibility of adding kenaf fibres (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) in pervious concrete. Pervious concrete is a special concrete designed to possess large quantity of voids for water permeability. Kenaf fibres is selected to be added into the concrete mixture due to the exceptional engineering properties apart from being locally available. The fibres is added at 0%, 0.1% and 0.3% by weight of cement to produce three different batches of concrete mixtures. The density, porosity, constant head water permeability and compressive strength were investigated. Experimental results showed that the permeability is directly proportional to the porosity of the concrete specimens. Maximum porosity of 40% is recorded, corresponds to the maximum water permeability of 6.3L/min. Addition of kenaf fibres at an increasing quantity however caused agglomeration of cement paste, kenaf fibres and the aggregate particles that affect the voids distribution and the compressive strength. Nonetheless, the concrete continue to show steady increment in compressive strength with respect to the testing age where highest strength of 6.8MPa is observed for control mix, followed by 5.8MPa and 4.7MPa, respectively for concrete of 0.1% and 0.3% fibres addition. Considering water permeability as the key feature of pervious concrete, addition of kenaf fibres in the concrete is feasible and could be applied at locations where excessive loadings are unlikely. Therefore, the study can be further extended to reduce the high voids content whilst increasing the compressive strength.
CPRel: Semantic Relatedness Computation Using Wikipedia based Context Profiles

Semantic relatedness is a well known problem with its sig- nicance ranging from computational linguistics to Natural language Processing applications. Relatedness computation is restricted by the amount of common sense and background knowledge required to relate any two terms. This paper proposes a novel model of relatedness using context prole built on features extracted from encyclopedic knowledge. Proposed research makes use of Wikipedia to represent the context of a word in the high dimensional space of Wikipedia labels. Semantic relat- edness of a word pair is then assessed by comparing their corresponding context proles based on three dierent weighting schemes using tradi- tional Cosine similarity metrics. To evaluate proposed relatedness ap- proach, three well known benchmark datasets are used and it is shown that Wikipedia article contents can be used eectively to compute term relatedness. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach is computationally cheap as well as eective when correlated with human judgments.
Bibliography Reverse Engineering Genetic Networks Using the Genenet Package

GeneNet is a package for analyzing high-dimensional (time series) data obtained from high-throughput functional genomics assays, such as expression microarrays or metabolic profiling. Specifically , GeneNet allows to infer large-scale gene association networks. These are graphical Gaussian models (GGMs) that represent multivariate dependencies in biomolecular networks by means of partial correlation. Therefore, the output of an analysis conducted by GeneNet is a graph where each gene corresponds to a node and the edges included in the graph portray direct dependencies between them. GeneNet implements a specific learning algorithm that allows to estimate GGMs from small sample high-dimensional data that is both computation-ally as well as statistically efficient. This approach relies on analytic shrinkage estimation of covariance and (partial) correlation matrices and on model selection using (local) false discovery rate multiple testing. Hence, GeneNet includes a computational algorithm that decides which edges are to be included in the final network, in dependence of the relative values of the pairwise partial correlations. In a recent comparative survey (Werhli et al., 2006) the GeneNet procedure was found to recover the topology of gene regulatory networks with similar accuracy as computationally much more demanding methods such as dynamical Bayesian networks (Friedman, 2004). We note that the approach implemented in GeneNet should be regarded as an exploratory approach that may help to identify interesting genes (such as " hubs ") or clusters of genes that are functionally related or co-regulated, rather than that it yields the precise network of mechanistic interactions. Therefore, the resulting network topologies need be interpreted and validated in the light of biological background information, ideally accompanied by further integrative analysis employing data from different levels of the cellular system. Prerequisites GeneNet is available from the CRAN repository and from the webpage http://strimmerlab.org/ software/genenet/. It requires prior installation of four further R packages also found on CRAN: corp
Effects of chronic lithium administration on renal acid excretion in humans and rats

Lithium therapy's most common side effects affecting the kidney are nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) and chronic kidney disease. Lithium may also induce a distal renal tubular acidosis. This study investigated the effect of chronic lithium exposure on renal acid–base homeostasis, with emphasis on ammonia and citrate excretion. We compared 11 individuals on long‐term lithium therapy with six healthy individuals. Under basal conditions, lithium‐treated individuals excreted significantly more urinary ammonia than did control subjects. Following an acute acid load, urinary ammonia excretion increased approximately twofold above basal rates in both lithium‐treated and control humans. There were no significant differences between lithium‐treated and control subjects in urinary pH or urinary citrate excretion. To elucidate possible mechanisms, rats were randomized to diets containing lithium or regular diet for 6 months. Similar to humans, basal ammonia excretion was significantly higher in lithium‐treated rats; in addition, urinary citrate excretion was also significantly greater. There were no differences in urinary pH. Expression of the critical ammonia transporter, Rhesus C Glycoprotein (Rhcg), was substantially greater in lithium‐treated rats than in control rats. We conclude that chronic lithium exposure increases renal ammonia excretion through mechanisms independent of urinary pH and likely to involve increased collecting duct ammonia secretion via the ammonia transporter, Rhcg.
Analysis of 30-Day Postdischarge Morbidity and Readmission after Radical Gastrectomy for Gastric Carcinoma: A Single-Center Study of 2107 Patients With Prospective Data

AbstractPD morbidity and readmission pose a substantial clinical and economic burden to the healthcare system. Comprehensive PD complications and readmission data are essential for developing initiatives to improve patient care. No previous studies have extensively investigated PD complications after gastric cancer surgery.We investigated the incidence, types, treatment, and risk factors of 30-day postdischarge (PD) complications after gastric cancer surgery.Between 2010 and 2013, data concerning complications and readmission within 30 days of hospital discharge were prospectively collected in 2107 patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery.In total, 1642 patients (77.9%) underwent distal gastrectomy, 418 (19.8%) total gastrectomy, and 47 (2.3%) other procedures. Postoperative morbidity and mortality were 17.4% and 0.6%, respectively, with a mean 8.8-day hospital stay. Sixty-one patients (2.9%) developed 30-day PD morbidity (58 local and 3 systemic complications), accounting for 16.6% of overall morbidity; 47 (2.2%) were readmitted; and 7 (0.3%) underwent a reoperation. The mean time to PD complications was 9.5 days after index hospital discharge. The most common complication was intra-abdominal abscess (n = 14), followed by wound, ascites, and anastomosis leakage. No mortality occurred resulting from PD complications. In the univariate and multivariate analyses, underlying comorbidity (hypertension and liver cirrhosis) and obesity were independent risk factors for developing PD complications.The early PD period is a vulnerable time for surgical patients with substantial risk of complication and readmission. Tailored discharge plans along with appropriate PD patient support are essential for improving the quality of patient care.
The Per Oral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) technique: how many preclinical procedures are needed to master it?

Background and study aim: Per oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a complex technique used in achalasia. Preclinical training is essential but little is known about the number of procedures needed. The aim of this study was to determine the number of procedures required to master POEM in an animal model. Patients and methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted in two swine models at a single institution in Mexico City between November 2012 and October 2014: Group 1 (G1) = 30 ex vivo and Group 2 (G2) = 20 live swine models. POEM was mastered after finishing the five steps without complications. Time, characteristics, and complications were recorded. Velocity of tunnelization and myotomy (VTM) was determined. Ex vivo analysis was done in G1 immediately after finishing POEM and at day 30 in G2. Results: A total of 50 POEM were done in both groups (G1 = 30, G2 = 20). The mean times were 90.17 min (G1) and 89.50 min (G2) (P = 0.92). Myotomy was faster in G2 (21.10 vs 27.97 min; P = 0.009) with a slightly slower tunnelization (40.35 vs 41.13 min; P = 0.86). Myotomy was longer in G2 (9.25 vs 8.83 cm; P = 0.26). VTM between the groups was similar (G1 = 0.159 vs G2 = 0.157 cm/min; P = 0.925). Complications were: mucosotomy (G1 = 18 %, G2 = 8 %; P = 0.430), mediastinal perforation (G1 = 12 %, G2 = 8 %; P = 1.0), and perforation at the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) level (G1 = 16 %, G2 = 4 %; P = 0.149). Seven models in G2 presented minor bleeding and there was one death not attributed to the procedure. Mastery was obtained after 26 cases. Conclusions: We suggest that centers interested in learning POEM consider 26 procedures in animal models to master it before performing it in patients with achalasia.
The Role of User Control in Adherence to and Knowledge Gained from a Website: Randomized Comparison Between a Tunneled Version and a Freedom-of-Choice Version

Background Internet-delivered interventions can effectively change health risk behaviors and their determinants, but adherence to these interventions once they are accessed is very low. Therefore, it is relevant and necessary to systematically manipulate website characteristics to test their effect on website use. This study focuses on user control as a website characteristic. Objective To test whether and how user control (the freedom of choice to skip pages) can increase website use and knowledge gained from the website. Methods Participants older than 18 years were drawn from the Dutch Internet population (in June 2011) and completed a hepatitis knowledge questionnaire. Subsequently, they were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) a tunneled version of the website with less user control; (2) a high user control version of the website where visitors had the freedom of choice to skip pages; and (3) a control group that was not exposed to the website. Participants completed (1) a questionnaire of validated measures regarding user perceptions immediately after exposure to the website (except for the control group), and (2) a hepatitis knowledge questionnaire after one week to test whether participants in the experimental groups only clicked through the website or actually processed and learned its content. Server registrations were used to assess website use. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) using all available data were conducted to determine whether user control increases website use. Structural equation models (SEM) using all available data were constructed to test how user control increases website use—a latent variable derived from number of pages visited and time on website. Results Of the 1044 persons invited to participate, 668 took part (668/1044, 64.0%). One half of participants (332/668 49.7%) were female and the mean age was 49 years (SD 16). A total of 571 participants completed the one-week follow-up measure regarding hepatitis knowledge (571/668, 85.5%). The findings demonstrate that having less user control (ie, a tunneled version of the website) had a negative effect on users’ perception of efficiency (F1,452 = 97.69, P < .001), but a positive effect on number of pages visited (F1,452 = 171.49, P < .001), time on the website (F1,452 = 6.32, P = .01), and knowledge gained from the website (F1,452 = 134.32, P < .001). The direct effect of having less user control appeared to surpass the effect mediated by efficiency, because website use was higher among participants exposed to the tunneled version of the website in comparison with those having the freedom of choice to skip pages. Conclusions The key finding that visitors demonstrated increased website use in the tunneled version of the website indicates that visitors should be carefully guided through the intervention for future intervention websites.
Modeled sensitivity of upper thermocline properties to tropical cyclone winds and possible feedbacks on the Hadley circulation

The sensitivity of upper thermocline properties, and global climate, to tropical cyclone (TC) winds is examined using global ocean and atmosphere general circulation models. We combine seven years of global, satellite‐based TC wind records with a standard surface wind input data set derived from reanalysis, and we apply idealized factors to TC winds in order to model the ocean's equilibrium response to increases in TC intensities. We find TC‐induced vertical ocean mixing impacts upper thermocline properties, such as temperature and mixed layer depth, and the effects are amplified for increasing intensities. The model's ocean heat transport is also affected, but only when TC winds are increased substantially compared to present‐day values. Atmospheric model simulations show altered ocean temperature can lead to changes in the mean Hadley circulation. Results suggest increased TC activity may affect global climate by altering the ocean's thermal structure, which could be important for large scale ocean‐atmosphere feedbacks.
Application of information diffusion in social networks: Verifying the use of web/blog topology entropy as an indicator for real world impact

In this work, measures of information diffusion across the community structure of Internet blogs are examined for early dynamic characterization potential of events that may lead to real-world violence. Social media topology is observed through focused crawling of web pages and blogs related to incidents of provoked social upheaval, and our introduced Community Entropy Ratio (CER) is used as a proxy for information spread. We introduce a blog topology that contains both explicit relationship via hyperlinks and implicit relationships via lexically relevant author co-comments. We then show how CER performs on two real-world topologies by tracking dispersion over time of various lexical terms. We then compare the CER results with the known truth for the timelines of the events and show where the metric succeeds and fails in providing an initial indicator. While there are some data volume concerns, the metric correctly identifies one of the case studies as having a high potential for eventual violence.
The effects of mesial temporal and cerebellar hypometabolism on learning and memory

The effects of mesial temporal (MT) and cerebellar hypometabolism were studied using measures of verbal, visual and motor skill learning. Twelve patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy who showed asymmetrical mesial temporal lobe hypometabolism on [18F] fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) were given tests involving 4 consecutive learning trials and a 30-min delayed recall trial. Delayed recognition was also assessed for the words and designs, and skill transfer was evaluated for mirror drawing. Compared to 9 normal control participants, patients with more marked MT hypometabolism on the left had impaired delayed recall of words and patients with more marked MT hypometabolism on the right showed impaired learning of novel designs, but normal retention over delay. Patients were not impaired in their mirror-drawing performance. The findings for MT hypometabolism correspond well to those obtained in other studies where patients have been classified on the basis of side of hippocampal atrophy or temporal lobe excision. (JINS, 2001, 7, 353–362.)
Interpolation based unitary precoding for spatial multiplexing MIMO-OFDM with limited feedback

Spatial multiplexing with linear precoding is a simple technique to take advantage of the high spectral efficiency provided by multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and it can be simply implemented over frequency selective channels by using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). This requires channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter in the form of the precoding matrices for all OFDM subcarriers, which can be achieved using feedback. To reduce the feedback requirements, this paper proposes a new precoding method incorporating quantization of a fraction of precoding matrices followed by a special interpolation at the transmitter. Since the precoding matrices are unitary, a new interpolator is proposed on the space of unitary matrices for which the outputs are also unitary. The parameters of the interpolator are optimized based on a mean square error (MSE) or mutual information criterion. Simulations show that performance near that of complete CSI can be achieved with a reasonable amount of feedback.
Predictive Modeling of Video Packet Delay in IP Networks

This paper studies linear prediction algorithms for packet-delay modeling. A detailed examination of the delay traces collected from video streams encoded at different bitrates, suggests that autoregressive (AR) models can exploit the correlation among the delay samples and produce the best estimates in terms of the mean-squared error criterion. Simulation results show that AR prediction can reduce the average prediction-error power significantly as compared to the exponentially-weighted moving average prediction as well as the recursive weighted median filtering. This is a promising result since many layers in the multimedia communication protocol stack, e.g., rate control, error control and network adaptation, can greatly benefit from accurate packet-delay prediction.
Toxicity following accidental ingestion of Aconitum containing Chinese remedy

Various species of Aconitum are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. These plants are known to contain highly potent cardiotoxins. A 22 year old Chinese male accidentally ingested a herbal liniment prepared from Aconitum with near fatal results. His ventricular tachyarrhythmias responded to standard treatment in cluding the use of i.v. magnesium.
On Nominal Regular Languages with Binders ? Extended version

We investigate regular languages on infinite alphabets where words may contain binders on names. To this end, classical regular expressions and automata are extended with binders. We prove the equivalence between finite automata on binders and regular expressions with binders and investigate closure properties and complementation of regular languages with binders.
FVPM simulation of a single-particle scratching surface

This article investigates the benefits of using Finite Volume Particle Method (FVPM) to simulate grinding process. This meshless particle technique employed to simulate the specimen behaviour is a variant of the well-known Smooth Particles Hydrodynamics (SPH). Indeed, FVPM method has been successfully used for the simulation of elasto-plastic material deformation induce by silt impacts. The presented analysis is based on the simulation and experimentation of a single particle damaging a specimen. The numerical approach is coherent with the literature. Both simulated and measured damage geometries have been compared. The presented results consist in a first step toward simulating more complex surface finishing operations and towards producing industrially relevant outcomes.
A Practical Perspective on Latent Structured Prediction for Coreference Resolution

Latent structured prediction theory proposes powerful methods such as Latent Structural SVM (LSSVM), which can potentially be very appealing for coreference resolution (CR). In contrast, only small work is available, mainly targeting the latent structured perceptron (LSP). In this paper, we carried out a practical study comparing for the first time online learning with LSSVM. We analyze the intricacies that may have made initial attempts to use LSSVM fail, i.e., a huge training time and much lower accuracy produced by Kruskal’s spanning tree algorithm. In this respect, we also propose a new effective feature selection approach for improving system efficiency. The results show that LSP, if correctly parameterized, produces the same performance as LSSVM, being much more efficient.
Architecture for Cooperative Prefetching in P2P Video-on- Demand System

Most P2P VoD schemes focused on service architectures and overlays optimization without considering segments rarity and the performance of prefetching strategies. As a result, they cannot better support VCR- oriented service in heterogeneous environment having clients using free VCR controls. Despite the remarkable popularity in VoD systems, there exist no prior work that studies the performance gap between different prefetching strategies. In this paper, we analyze and understand the performance of different prefetching strategies. Our analytical characterization brings us not only a better understanding of several fundamental tradeoffs in prefetching strategies, but also important insights on the design of P2P VoD system. On the basis of this analysis, we finally proposed a cooperative prefetching strategy called "cooching". In this strategy, the requested segments in VCR interactivities are prefetched into session beforehand using the information collected through gossips. We evaluate our strategy through extensive simulations. The results indicate that the proposed strategy outperforms the existing prefetching mechanisms.
RAPD: a database of recombinantly-produced antimicrobial peptides.

We have developed the Recombinantly-produced Antimicrobial Peptides Database (RAPD) to house relevant information on recombinant approaches to generate antimicrobial peptides. Key information stored in the database, which is extracted from published experiments, includes expression host, fusion strategy, release method and yield for individual peptides. Bibliographic data directly related to each particular case are also available. RAPD allows easy comparison of the relative popularity and efficiency of different strategies, and can thus be used as a guideline for future production of similar peptides. The database is freely available at http://faculty.ist. unomaha.edu/chen/rapd/index.php.