Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of the modular multilevel cascade converter based on triple-star bridge-cells (MMCC-TSBC) for motor drives

The paper describes a new family member of the modular multilevel cascade converter (MMCC), with the given name, triple-star bridge-cells (TSBC). It is a direct ac-to-ac power converter with the capability of bidirectional power flow with three-phase sinusoidal input and output currents. Therefore, it is suitable to a medium-voltage motor drive requiring regenerative braking. This paper has an intensive discussion on a general control of the TSBC intended for the motor drive. Theoretical analysis and computer simulation confirm the effectiveness and viability of the TSBC.
Orientation- and scale-invariant recognition of textures in multi-object scenes

This article describes a novel approach to orientation and scale-invariant detection of textured objects in images. It performs both, a segmentation of multi-object scenes and the identification of rotation angles and scale rates of textures in an image by applying a comparison with reference texture features stored in a database. The main novelty of the proposed method is the transform of rotation and dilation into shifts in the feature space by employing a polar-log Gabor filter bank. Texture segmentation and identification of the rotation angles and scale rates have been carried out using symmetric phase only matched filters. The simulation results illustrated highlight the performance of the presented method in an exemplary manner.
A variant of the LRP4 gene affects the risk of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia transformation to Richter syndrome

Richter syndrome (RS) represents the transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) to aggressive lymphoma. Risk factors of CLL transformation to RS are only partly known. We explored the role of the host genetic background as a risk factor for RS occurrence. Forty‐five single nucleotide polimorphisms (SNPs) known to be relevant for CLL prognosis were genotyped in a consecutive cohort of 331 CLL, of which 21 had transformed to RS. After correcting for multiple testing and adjusting for previously reported RS risk factors, the LRP4 rs2306029 TT variant genotype was the sole SNP independently associated with a higher risk of RS transformation (Hazard Ratio: 4·17; P = 0·001; q = 0·047). The enrichment of LRP4 TT genotype in RS was confirmed in an independent series (n = 44) used for validation purposes. The LRP4 protein was expressed in CLL (n = 66). Bioinformatic analysis scored LRP4 rs2306029 as a variant with possible deleterious and damaging variant of LRP4. LRP4 genotyping may help the recognition of patients with increased risk of RS at the time of CLL diagnosis.
An evaluation of the body surface area correction for 51Cr-EDTA measurements of glomerular filtration rate

BackgroundTo interpret 51Cr-EDTA measurements of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) it is usual to correct results for a patient's body size by scaling values to a standard body surface area (BSA) of 1.73 m2. AimTo use 51Cr-EDTA data for a large group of healthy subjects to derive the optimum mathematical function for the body size correction that minimized the variance of the corrected GFR values. This function was then compared with the widely used Du Bois and Haycock BSA formulas to determine which of these two equations provided the better correction. MethodsGFR data for 428 healthy adults (218 female, 210 male) undergoing assessment as live kidney donors were evaluated. The body size correction was assumed to scale as the product of power laws of body mass index (BMI=weight/height2) and height. The corrected GFR figures were fitted to a model in which GFR was constant in subjects below 40 years of age and decreased linearly with age in older subjects. The scatter about the best fitting model was expressed as a percentage of the mean GFR in the younger group and the optimum power law indices derived from a least-squares fit were compared with the values for the Du Bois and Haycock formulas. ResultsThe least-squares fit gave values of 0.444 (95% CI, 0.297–0.590) for the BMI power law index and 1.416 (95% CI, 1.027–1.802) for the height index with a 95% confidence error figure that included the points representing both the Du Bois (Δχ2=1.161, P=0.560) and Haycock (Δχ2=2.524, P=0.283) formulas. For subjects of average height and a BMI in the middle of the normal range the Du Bois and Haycock equations agreed closely. Differences in BMI were found to explain 89% of the variance in the BSA estimates between the two formulas. Compared with the Du Bois formula the Haycock equation gave a 5% increase in corrected GFR in subjects with a BMI of 15 kg · m−2 and a 10% decrease in subjects with a BMI of 40 kg · m−2. ConclusionWithin the statistical errors both the Du Bois and Haycock BSA formulas were consistent with the optimum power law function that minimized the variance of the corrected GFR values for a group of 428 healthy adults.
Value in Informational Capitalism and on the Internet

We engage with recent applications of the Marxist “labor theory of value” to online prosumer practices, and offer an alternative framework for theorizing value creation in such practices. We argue that the labor theory of value is difficult to apply to online prosumer practices for two reasons. One, value creation in such practices is poorly related to time. Two, the realization of the value accumulated by social media companies generally occurs in financial markets, rather than in direct commodity exchange. In an alternative framework, we offer an understanding of value creation as based primarily on the capacity to initiate and sustain webs of affective relations, and value realization as linked to a reputation based financial economy. We argue that this model describes the process of value creation and appropriation in the context of online prosumer platforms better than an approach based on the Marxist labor theory of value. We also suggest that our approach can cast new light on value creation within informational capitalism in general.
Parallel Sentence Extraction from Comparable Corpora with Neural Network Features

Parallel corpora are crucial for machine translation (MT), however they are quite scarce for most language pairs and domains. As comparable corpora are far more available, many studies have been conducted to extract parallel sentences from them for MT. In this paper, we exploit the neural network features acquired from neural MT for parallel sentence extraction. We observe significant improvements for both accuracy in sentence extraction and MT performance.
The glasses stereotype revisited: Effects of eyeglasses on perception, recognition, and impression of faces.

In face perception, besides physiognomic changes, accessories like eyeglasses can influence facial appearance. According to a stereotype, people who wear glasses are more intelligent, but less attractive. In a series of four experiments, we showed how full-rim and rimless glasses, differing with respect to the amount of face they cover, affect face perception, recognition, distinctiveness, and the attribution of stereotypes. Eyeglasses generally directed observers’ gaze to the eye regions; rimless glasses made faces appear less distinctive and resulted in reduced distinctiveness in matching and in recognition tasks. Moreover, the stereotype was confirmed but depended on the kind of glasses – rimless glasses yielded an increase in perceived trustworthiness, but not a decrease in attractiveness. Thus, glasses affect how we perceive the faces of the people wearing them and, in accordance with an old stereotype, they can lower how attractive, but increase how intelligent and trustworthy people wearing them ap.
Effective Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Specific CD8+ T Cells Lack an Easily Detectable, Shared Characteristic

ABSTRACT The immune correlates of human/simian immunodeficiency virus control remain elusive. While CD8+ T lymphocytes likely play a major role in reducing peak viremia and maintaining viral control in the chronic phase, the relative antiviral efficacy of individual virus-specific effector populations is unknown. Conventional assays measure cytokine secretion of virus-specific CD8+ T cells after cognate peptide recognition. Cytokine secretion, however, does not always directly translate into antiviral efficacy. Recently developed suppression assays assess the efficiency of virus-specific CD8+ T cells to control viral replication, but these assays often use cell lines or clones. We therefore designed a novel virus production assay to test the ability of freshly ex vivo-sorted simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-specific CD8+ T cells to suppress viral replication from SIVmac239-infected CD4+ T cells. Using this assay, we established an antiviral hierarchy when we compared CD8+ T cells specific for 12 different epitopes. Antiviral efficacy was unrelated to the disease status of each animal, the protein from which the tested epitopes were derived, or the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I restriction of the tested epitopes. Additionally, there was no correlation with the ability to suppress viral replication and epitope avidity, epitope affinity, CD8+ T-cell cytokine multifunctionality, the percentage of central and effector memory cell populations, or the expression of PD-1. The ability of virus-specific CD8+ T cells to suppress viral replication therefore cannot be determined using conventional assays. Our results suggest that a single definitive correlate of immune control may not exist; rather, a successful CD8+ T-cell response may be comprised of several factors.
Classifying Medication Use in Clinical Research

Background: Medication use data are usually collected in clinical research. Yet no standardized method for categorizing these exists, either for sample description or for the study of medication use as a variable. Objective: The present investigation was designed to develop a simple, empirically based classification scheme for medication use categorization. Method: The authors used factor analysis to reduce the number of possible medication groupings. This permitted a pattern of medication usage to emerge that appeared to characterize specific clinical constellations. To illustrate the technique’s potential, the authors applied this classification system to samples where sleep disorders are prominent: chronic fatigue syndrome and sleep apnea. Results: The authors’ classification approach resulted in 5 factors that appear to cohere in a logical fashion. These were labeled Cardiovascular or Metabolic Syndrome Medication, Symptom Relief Medication, Psychotropic Medication, Preventative Medication, and Hormonal Medication. Conclusions: The findings show that medication profile varies according to clinical sample. The medication profile for participants with sleep apnea reflects known comorbid conditions; the medication profile associated with chronic fatigue syndrome appears to reflect the common perception of this condition as a psychogenic disorder.
Enhancement of video on FPGA using guided filter

Image processing is basically needed for the improvement of pictorial improvement for human perception and autonomous machine application also the efficient storage and transmission. In this paper guided filter is proposed for filtering of video. The main purpose of this guided filter is edge preservation and smoothing of video using guidance image as a reference. This guidance image maybe input image from video or any other different image. Proposed guided filter has clear output and mainly in this filter edges of video or image are preserved. Also the implementation of guided filter does not require carrying out convolution in spatial domain like conventional bilateral filter. Because of this fast implantation of guided filter is possible.
Cognitive determinants of fixation location during picture viewing.

This experiment involved the question of where human observers look in a picture. The results indicated that observers fixate earlier, more often, and with longer durations on objects that have a low probability of appearing in a scene (e.g., an octopus in a farm scene) than on objects that have a high probability of appearing (e.g., a tractor in a farm scene). These findings (a) imply a role of cognitive factors in peripheral visual processing and (b) suggest a possible relationship between the nature of information initially acquired from a picture and subsequent recognition memory for that picture.
Answering via Decentralized Search

Expert networks are formed by a group of expert-professionals with different specialties to collaboratively resolve specific queries posted to the network. In such networks, when a query reaches an expert who does not have sufficient expertise, this query needs to be routed to other experts for further processing until it is completely solved; therefore, query answering efficiency is sensitive to the underlying query routing mechanism being used. Among all possible query routing mechanisms, decentralized search, operating purely on each expert’s local information without any knowledge of network global structure, represents the most basic and scalable routing mechanism, which is applicable to any network scenarios even in dynamic networks. However, there is still a lack of fundamental understanding of the efficiency of decentralized search in expert networks. In this regard, we investigate decentralized search by quantifying its performance under a variety of network settings. Our key findings reveal the existence of network conditions, under which decentralized search can achieve significantly short query routing paths (i.e., betweenO(log n) andO(log n) hops, n: total number of experts in the network). Based on such theoretical foundation, we further study how the unique properties of decentralized search in expert networks is related to the anecdotal small-world phenomenon. In addition, we demonstrate that decentralized search is robust against estimation errors introduced by misinterpreting the required expertise levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work studying fundamental behaviors of decentralized search in expert networks. The developed performance bounds, confirmed by real datasets, are able to assist in predicting network performance and designing complex expert networks.
Generating realistic network traffic and interactive application workloads using container technology

Real network traffic is mostly generated by an interactive session between applications, thus we feel that there is a strong demand for a solution capable to reproduce these interactive application workloads. For this purpose, we propose a new strategy for generating realistic network traffic and interactive application workloads using container technology. In this article, we also demonstrate why lightweight container technology is chosen in our strategy compared with virtual machines, which also are widely used in virtualization. Finally, we present some experimental results gathered in the prototype system we have implemented.
EFFECT OF GONADOTROPINS ADDITION TO SMART MEDIUM ON HUMAN SPERM PARAMETERS AND CHROMATIN STRUCTURE DURING IN VITRO SPERM ACTIVATION

A study was conducted to investigate the effect Gonadotropins supplied to culture medium on human sperm parameters and sperm DNA structure during in vitro sperm activation. Thirty infertile patients were included. Semen sample was divided into 3 aliquots. One mL of SMART medium either alone (control group) or supplied with one concentration of Gn (0.25 IU or 0.5 IU) was over layered the pellet, and the three tubes were incubated at 37 o C for 30 min in air incubator. Sperm concentration, motility, grades activity, pro gressive motility, normal morphology and agglutination were assessed pre- and post-activation in vitro. Results of the present study revealed that, percentage, sperm motility, progressive motility, normal sperm morphology and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were significantly enhanced (P<0.05) for both treated groups as compared to the control group post - sperm activation in vitro. Using 0.5IU hormones Gn within SMART medium (G3) was significantly improved (P<0.05) sperm parameters post- sperm activation in vitro as compared to G2 group (0.25IU hormones). Post-sperm activation in vitro significant increment (P<0.05) in the sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) was assessed when using SMART medium enrich with 0.5IU hormones as compared to 0.25IU. The result showed that addition of hormones (GN) to the culture medium enhance sperm motility (%), percentage of progressive sperm activity and normal sperm morphology (%) using centrifugation techniques.
Assessment of cardiac structure and function in patients without and with peripheral oedema during rosiglitazone treatment

Background: Thiazolidinediones cause peripheral oedema, the aetiology of which remains poorly understood. Methods: In a sub-study of a 6-month trial comparing rosiglitazone (Rsg) versus placebo, we compared those with versus without oedema among the 74 subjects treated with Rsg with respect to peak oxygen consumption indexed to fat-free mass (VO2peak-FFM ), cardiac MRI and markers of plasma volume expansion. Results: Almost half (49%) of the Rsg-treated patients developed oedema. Baseline VO 2peak-FFM was not different between those with versus without oedema (25.8 versus 28.2 ml/kg/min; p = 0.22) and declined 5% in the oedema group (Δ -1.3 ml/min/kg; p = 0.005) with no change in those without oedema. Stroke volume increased in both groups (Δ 8.7 and 8.8 ml; p < 0.001 for each); end-diastolic volume increased only in those with oedema (+13.1 ml; p = 0.001). No other cardiac function changes were observed. In both groups, weight increased (3.6 and 2.2 kg) and haematocrit decreased (-3.2% and -2.1%; p < 0.001 for each). In those with oedema, albumin decreased (-0.2 g/dl) and brain natriuretic peptide increased (11.9 pg/ml; p < 0.03 for each). Conclusions: Oedema was associated with a small decline in VO2peak FFM, no adverse effects on cardiac function, and changes in selected measures suggesting that volume expansion underpins Rsg oedema.
Molecular Identification of Pseudouridine-metabolizing Enzymes*

Pseudouridine, a non-classical nucleoside present in human urine as a degradation product of RNAs, is one of the few molecules that has a glycosidic C-C bond. Through a data base mining approach involving transcriptomic data, we have molecularly identified two enzymes that are involved in the metabolism of pseudouridine in uropathogenic Escherichia coli, the principal agent of urinary tract infections in humans. The first enzyme, coded by the gene yeiC, specifically phosphorylates pseudouridine to pseudouridine 5′-phosphate. Accordingly, yeiC– mutants are unable to metabolize pseudouridine, in contrast to wild-type E. coli UTI89. The second enzyme, encoded by the gene yeiN belonging to the same operon as yeiC, catalyzes the conversion of pseudouridine 5′-phosphate to uracil and ribose 5-phosphate in a divalent cation-dependent manner. Remarkably, the glycosidic C-C bond of pseudouridine is cleaved in the course of this reaction, indicating that YeiN is the first molecularly identified enzyme able to hydrolyze a glycosidic C-C bond. Though this reaction is easily reversible, the association of YeiN with pseudouridine kinase indicates that it serves physiologically to metabolize pseudouridine 5′-phosphate rather than to form it. YeiN is homologous to Thermotoga maritima IndA, a protein with a new fold, which we now show to act also as a pseudouridine-5′-phosphate glycosidase. Data base mining indicates that most eukaryotes possess homologues of pseudouridine kinase and pseudouridine-5′-phosphate glycosidase and that these are most often associated in a single bifunctional protein. The gene encoding this bifunctional protein is absent from the genomes of man and other mammals, indicating that the capacity for metabolizing pseudouridine has been lost late in evolution.
Structure-biological activity relationships in triterpenic saponins: the relative activity of protobassic acid and its derivatives against plant pathogenic fungi.

BACKGROUND Triterpenic saponins from Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. and Diploknema butyracea JF Gmelin were evaluated for in vitro antifungal activity against four phytopathogenic fungi. The study of the structure-antifungal activity relationships of protobassic acid saponins was widened by including semi-synthetic derivatives. RESULTS Diploknema butyracea saponins exhibited significant antifungal activity against three fungi (ED(50) 230-455 microg mL(-1)), whereas S. mukorossi saponin was effective against two fungi (ED(50) 181-407 microg mL(-1)). The n-butanol extract after preparative HPLC separation provided two saponins from D. butyracea saponin mixture: 3-O-[beta-D-glucopyarnosyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-16-alpha-hydroxyprotobassic acid-28-O-[arabinopyranosyl-glucopyranosyl-xylopyranosyl]-arabinopyranoside (MI-I), and 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-glucopyranosyl-glucopyranosyl-16-alpha-hydroxyprotobassic acid-28-O-[arabinopyranosyl-xylopyranosyl-arabinopyranosyl]-apiofuranoside (MI-III). The single saponin extracted from S. mukorossi saponin mixture was identified as 3-O-[O-acetyl-beta-D-xylopyranosyl-beta-D-arabinopyranosyl-beta-D-rhamnopyranosyl] hederagenin-28-O[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-beta-D-rhamnopyranosyl] ester (SM-I). Monodesmosides resulting from the partial degradation of hederagenin and hydroxyprotobassic acid bisdesmosides exhibited significant reduction in antifungal effect. Further removal of sugar moiety yielded complete loss in activity. The antifungal activity of the triterpenic saponins was associated with their aglycone moieties, and esterification of the hydroxyl group led to change in antifungal activity. CONCLUSION Sapindus mukorossi saponin, which is effective against Rhizoctonia bataticola (Taub.) Briton Jones and Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. , can be exploited for the development of a natural fungicide. A sugar moiety is a prerequisite for the antifungal activity of triterpenic saponin.
Incorporating Guest Preferences into Collaborative Filtering for Hotel Recommendation

Collaborative filtering (CF) has been widely used as a filtering technique because it is not necessary to apply more complicated content analysis. However, it is difficult to take usersâ preferences/criteria related to the aspects of a product/hotel into account. This paper presents a method of hotel recommendation that incorporates different aspects of a product/hotel to improve quality of the score. We used the results of aspect-based sentiment analysis for guest preferences. The empirical evaluation using Rakuten Japanese travel data showed that aspect-based sentiment analysis improves overall performance. Moreover, we found that it is effective for finding hotels that have never been stayed at but share the same neighborhoods.
In search of the optimal iron chelation therapy for patients with thalassemia major

Despite the fact that iron chelation therapy has been available for more than forty years, iron cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of death in patients with transfusion dependent anemia. [1][1],[2][2] In the last decade, however, such deaths have been significantly reduced. [2][2]–[5][3] This