Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linear extrapolation method of analyzing solvent denaturation curves

The two most common methods of measuring the conformational stability of a protein are differential scanning calorimetry and an analysis of solvent denaturation curves by using the linear extrapolation method. In this article, we trace the history of the linear extrapolation method, review how the method is used to measure protein stability, and then discuss some of the other important uses. Proteins 2000;Suppl 4:1–7. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Increased Prevalence of Mutant Allele Pfdhps 437G and Pfdhfr Triple Mutation in Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from a Rural Area of Gabon, Three Years after the Change of Malaria Treatment Policy

In Gabon, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is recommended for intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp-SP) and for uncomplicated malaria treatment through ACTs drug. P. falciparum strains resistant to SP are frequent in areas where this drug is highly used and is associated with the occurrence of mutations on Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase (Pfdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthetase (Pfdhps) genes. The aim of the study was to compare the proportion of mutations on Pfdhfr and Pfdhps genes in isolates collected at Oyem in northern Gabon, in 2005 at the time of IPTp-SP introduction and three years later. Point mutations were analyzed by nested PCR-RFLP method. Among 91 isolates, more than 90% carried Pfdhfr 108N and Pfdhfr 59R alleles. Frequencies of Pfdhfr 51I (98%) and Pfdhps 437G (67.7%) mutant alleles were higher in 2008. Mutations at codons 164, 540, and 581 were not detected. The proportion of the triple Pfdhfr mutation and quadruple mutation including A437G was high: 91.9% in 2008 and 64.8% in 2008, respectively. The present study highlights an elevated frequency of Pfdhfr and Pfdhps mutant alleles, although quintuple mutations were not found in north Gabon. These data suggest the need of a continuous monitoring of SP resistance in Gabon.
Acquisition-Computing-Execution-Expression (ACEE) A Software Architecture Pattern for Computer-supported Automation and Control Systems

In the domain of Computer-supported Automation and Control Systems (CsACS), an application is used to help human to finish some control tasks. Peripheral devices like sensors gather data from the controlled objects, this data is processed according to the specific control rules. The control decisions (output) have to be produced in form of control signals for the execution mechanisms of the controlled objects fulfilling the tasks. Generally, the control process is real time and automatic. In some situations letting the operators take part in the control process is still required. To build an application in CsACS, the whole contents described above must be taken into account. We also need strategies for flexible support of development and maintenance of an application. The ACEE architecture pattern aims to aid in constructing the application to meet the requirements.
AIL : Programmable and Efficient Failure Testing Framework

With the arrival of the cloud computing era, largescale distributed systems are increasingly in use. These systems are built out of tens of thousands of commodity machines that are not fully reliable and can fail from time to time [1, 2, 7, 10, 14, 15]. Thus, the software that runs on these systems has a great responsibility to correctly recover from frequent, diverse hardware failures. Even if distributed systems are built with reliability and fault tolerance as primary goals [ 6, 7, 8], their recovery protocols are often buggy. For example, the developers of Hadoop File System (HDFS) [ 16] have dealt with 91 recovery issues over its four years of development [ 9]. There are many reasons for this. Sometimes developers fail to anticipate the kind of failures that a system can face in a real setting ( e.g., tolerate crashes but not corruption). Even if all kinds of failures are anticipated, the recovery implementation might be incorrect. There have been many serious consequences ( e.g., data loss, unavailability) of the presence of recovery bugs in real deployed systems [ 3, 4, 5, 9]. To improve the reliability of large-scale distributed systems, failure testing has become a mainstream technique to test software reliability. One major challenge is that the number of combinations of failures to explore is potentially large [ 9, 12]. One direct way to explore this failure space is via randomness. For example, random injection of failures is employed by the developers at Google [4], Yahoo! [17], Microsoft [18], Amazon [10], and others [ 11]. Random fault-injection is relatively simple to implement, but the downside is that it could easily miss corner-case failure scenarios. Thus, there is a need for systematic techniques that can smartly explore the space of failure scenarios and find bugs efficiently. There has been some work that proposes novel techniques for smart exploration of failures [ 12, 13]. They primarily address single failures during program execution. However, large-scale distributed systems face frequent, multiple, and diverse failures. And thus, there is a need to advance the state-of-the-art of failure testing for large-scale distributed systems. In this work, we address the challenges of failure testing by introducing PREFAIL , a programmable and efficient failure testing framework that can can explore failures systematically, including multiple combinations of diverse failures. More specifically, P REFAIL comes with the following features:
Computer support for knowledge workers: A review of laboratory experiments

The focus of system design and evaluation has shifted from increasing computer efficiency to improving human/computer effectiveness. The new emphasis is especially critical when the users of the system are not information systems specialists or clerical support personnel, but highly paid knowledge workers. This paper presents a framework for organizing experimental studies in human/computer interaction and suggesting new research opportunities. The framework is applied to a review of 39 experiments in the areas of database management, decision support, text processing, graphics processing, calculation, and operating systems. Studies are assessed for their coverage of experimental variables and organized according to their findings.
KUNLP system in Senseval-3

We have participated in both English all words task and English lexical sample task of SENSEVAL3. Our system disambiguates senses of a target word in a context by selecting a substituent among WordNet relatives of the target word, such as synonyms, hypernyms, meronyms and so on. The decision is made based on co-occurrence frequency between candidate relatives and each of the context words. Since the co-occurrence frequency is obtainable from raw corpus, our method is considered to be an unsupervised learning algorithm that does not require a sense-tagged corpus.
PREDICTING STUDENT EMOTIONS RESULTING FROM APPRAISAL OF ITS FEEDBACK

Many researchers have shown the effectiveness of affective ITS for supporting student learning. Support provided to students is usually presented through pedagogical agents capable of expressing emotions through facial expressions, gestures and synthesized speech. Dialogue content is important as it contains information that will help the student learn new information, further understand concepts or correct misconceptions. Although these interventions are based on existing theories, there are still cases when feedback may not fit students as they are very diverse and can be in very different contexts. One very important aspect to consider is how students appraise the feedback given by an ITS. By knowing the student’s appraisal of feedback, feedback that is effective and should be retained or replaced can be identified. This research investigates student emotions represented by frustration and excitement values resulting from appraisal of feedback as recognized by an EEG-based device. Frustration and excitement values resulting from feedback appraisal are correlated with feedback from the POOLEIII ITS to create predictive models of these relations. The use of these models will allow future ITS to identify the emotions that result from student appraisal of feedback before it is given, and allow it to perform adjustments on the feedback when necessary.
Residual Texture Based Fast Block-Size Selection for Inter-Frame Coding in H.264/AVC

One of the new features adopted in H.264/AVC is the utilization of flexible block size ranging from 16x16 to 4x4 in inter-frame coding. The aim is to reduce the error due to fixed block size prediction within a macroblock. However, this feature requires extremely computational complexity. In this paper, we proposed a residual texture based fast block size selection algorithm for inter-frame coding. Firstly, we perform a motion estimation (ME) for a macroblock and get the residual; then we predict the block size by analyzing the residual texture. Extensive simulations verify that the proposed method speeds up the block-size selection procedure by 50% without sacrificing picture quality and compression ratio.
Distinct molecular interactions mediate neuronal process outgrowth on non-neuronal cell surfaces and extracellular matrices

We have compared neurite outgrowth on extracellular matrix (ECM) constituents to outgrowth on glial and muscle cell surfaces. Embryonic chick ciliary ganglion (CG) neurons regenerate neurites rapidly on surfaces coated with laminin (LN), fibronectin (FN), conditioned media (CM) from several non-neuronal cell types that secrete LN, and on intact extracellular matrices. Neurite outgrowth on all of these substrates is blocked by two monoclonal antibodies, CSAT and JG22, that prevent the adhesion of many cells, including neurons, to the ECM constituents LN, FN, and collagen. Neurite outgrowth is inhibited even on mixed LN/poly-D-lysine substrates where neuronal attachment is independent of LN. Therefore, neuronal process outgrowth on extracellular matrices requires the function of neuronal cell surface molecules recognized by these antibodies. The surfaces of cultured astrocytes, Schwann cells, and skeletal myotubes also promote rapid process outgrowth from CG neurons. Neurite outgrowth on these surfaces, though, is not prevented by CSAT or JG22 antibodies. In addition, antibodies to a LN/proteoglycan complex that block neurite outgrowth on several LN-containing CM factors and on an ECM extract failed to inhibit cell surface-stimulated neurite outgrowth. After extraction with a nonionic detergent, Schwann cells and myotubes continue to support rapid neurite outgrowth. However, the activity associated with the detergent insoluble residue is blocked by CSAT and JG22 antibodies. Detergent extraction of astrocytes, in contrast, removes all neurite- promoting activity. These results provide evidence for at least two types of neuronal interactions with cells that promote neurite outgrowth. One involves adhesive proteins present in the ECM and ECM receptors on neurons. The second is mediated through detergent- extractable macromolecules present on non-neuronal cell surfaces and different, uncharacterized receptor(s) on neurons. Schwann cells and skeletal myotubes appear to promote neurite outgrowth by both mechanisms.
Predicting Best Responder in Community Question Answering Using Topic Model Method

Community question answering (CQA) services provide an open platform for people to share their knowledge and have attracted great attention for its rapidly increasing popularity. As the more knowledge people provided are shared in CQA, how to use the historical knowledge for solving new questions has become a crucial problem. In this paper, we investigate the problem as predicting best responders for new questions and tackle the problem from two perspectives, one is from the asker of the new question, and the other is from the question itself. We propose two supervised topic models, Asker-Responder Topic Model (ARTM) and Question-Responder Topic Model (QRTM) for both two perspectives by tracking people's answering history as background knowledge. Our experiments show that the two supervised topic models can effectively predict best responders for new questions in CQA without any additional works and have significant improvement over the baseline method.
Online bin packing with cardinality constraints revisited

Bin packing with cardinality constraints is a bin packing problem where an upper bound k \geq 2 on the number of items packed into each bin is given, in addition to the standard constraint on the total size of items packed into a bin. We study the online scenario where items are presented one by one. We analyze it with respect to the absolute competitive ratio and prove tight bounds of 2 for any k \geq 4. We show that First Fit also has an absolute competitive ratio of 2 for k=4, but not for larger values of k, and we present a complete analysis of its asymptotic competitive ratio for all values of k \geq 5. Additionally, we study the case of small $k$ with respect to the asymptotic competitive ratio and the absolute competitive ratio.
Layout efficient and high performance circular spiral inductors for multilayer multichip modules

A simplified technique and analytical expression is proposed to generate layout-efficient coplanar circular spiral inductors and to accurately predict their length, and hence performance, in multilayer multichip module technology. Using the new layout generation technique and developed closed-form expression, circular spiral inductors are designed and modelled with remarkably high performance and miniaturization using multilayer photoimageable thick-film technology. Measured results shows inductance values from 0.6 nH to 30 nH for one to 8 turns. The quality factor (Q) for small value inductors is better than 100. The 30nH inductor measures only 1.3mm × 1.3mm × 0.7mm and demonstrates the highest level of miniaturization in ceramic-based multilayer multichip module (MCM) technology.
The effect of learning style and method of instruction on the achievement, efficiency and satisfaction of end-users learning computer software

This research examines the effect of end user learning style (as measured by the Kolb Learning Style Inventory) and method of instruction (lecture based and computer based) on end user learning outcomes, i.e., achievement, efficiency, and satisfaction. The end users were college students learning to use a word processing package. The results suggest that computer based training is more effective than the lecture method except for Assimilators, who appear to learn equally well under either method. Limitations of the study require these results to be replicated before being widely accepted.
Control and Development of the Autonomic Nervous System in Posthatch Broiler (Gallus gallus domesticus) and Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus)

Heart rate is tonically regulated by the two branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS); parasympathetic activation decreases heart rate while sympathetic activation increases it. Previous studies on the ANS in chickens have focused mainly on embryonic development, but it is largely unknown what happens in the weeks following hatching. The present study focused on the development of the autonomic nervous system in 2 and 5 week old broiler and Red Junglefowl (RJF). Since broilers are less fearful, less stressed and less active than their wild ancestor RJF, a possible domestication effect on the sympathetic nervous system was investigated by evaluating both physiological and behavioural responses during stress. I found that the heart is mainly under control from the sympathetic nervous system in 2 and 5 week old broiler and RJF as propranolol significantly decreased heart rate during baseline and stress conditions while injection of atropine had little or no effect on baseline heart rates. When the adrenergic tone was blocked, heart rate still increased during stress, more so in 5 week old birds than in 2 week old birds. This suggests that some other physiological regulatory mechanism with fast recruitment is involved in the stress response and it matures in the weeks following hatch. No differences in behaviour between broiler and RJF were observed when the sympathetic nervous system was blocked. As both breeds show similar responses, a domestication effect on the ANS from these results cannot be confirmed.
Distinct Transient Outward Potassium Current (Ito) Phenotypes and Distribution of Fast-inactivating Potassium Channel Alpha Subunits in Ferret Left Ventricular Myocytes

The biophysical characteristics and α subunits underlying calcium-independent transient outward potassium current (Ito) phenotypes expressed in ferret left ventricular epicardial (LV epi) and endocardial (LV endo) myocytes were analyzed using patch clamp, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and immunofluorescent (IF) techniques. Two distinct Ito phenotypes were measured (21–22°C) in the majority of LV epi and LV endo myocytes studied. The two Ito phenotypes displayed marked differences in peak current densities, activation thresholds, inactivation characteristics, and recovery kinetics. Ito,epi recovered rapidly [τrec, −70 mV = 51 ± 3 ms] with minimal cumulative inactivation, while Ito,endo recovered slowly [τrec, −70 mV = 3,002 ± 447 ms] with marked cumulative inactivation. Heteropoda toxin 2 (150 nM) blocked Ito,epi in a voltage-dependent manner, but had no effect on Ito,endo. Parallel FISH and IF measurements conducted on isolated LV epi and LV endo myocytes demonstrated that Kv1.4, Kv4.2, and Kv4.3 α subunit expression in LV myocyte types was quite heterogenous: (a) Kv4.2 and Kv4.3 were more predominantly expressed in LV epi than LV endo myocytes, and (b) Kv1.4 was expressed in the majority of LV endo myocytes but was essentially absent in LV epi myocytes. In combination with previous measurements on recovery kinetics (Kv1.4, slow; Kv4.2/4.3, relatively rapid) and Heteropoda toxin block (Kv1.4, insensitive; Kv4.2, sensitive), our results strongly support the hypothesis that, in ferret heart, Kv4.2/Kv4.3 and Kv1.4 α subunits, respectively, are the molecular substrates underlying the Ito,epi and Ito,endo phenotypes. FISH and IF measurements were also conducted on ferret ventricular tissue sections. The three Ito α subunits again showed distinct patterns of distribution: (a) Kv1.4 was localized primarily to the apical portion of the LV septum, LV endocardium, and approximate inner 75% of the LV free wall; (b) Kv4.2 was localized primarily to the right ventricular free wall, epicardial layers of the LV, and base of the heart; and (c) Kv4.3 was localized primarily to epicardial layers of the LV apex and diffusely distributed in the LV free wall and septum. Therefore, in intact ventricular tissue, a heterogeneous distribution of candidate Ito α subunits not only exists from LV epicardium to endocardium but also from apex to base.
F ¨ Ur Mathematik in Den Naturwissenschaften Leipzig Hierarchical Quadrature for Multidimensional Singular Integrals Hierarchical Quadrature for Multidimensional Singular Integrals

We introduce a method for the evaluation of singular integrals arising in the dis-cretisation of integral equations. The method is based on the idea of repeated subdivision of domains. The integrals defined on these subdomains are classified. Each class can be expressed as a sum of regular integrals and representatives of other classes. A system of equations describes the relations between the classes. Therefore the approximate value of the singular integral only depends on the accuracy of the calculation of regular integrals.
Derived semantics for some programming language constructs

The constructs of a simple programming language are introduced and described informally in terms of values and side-effects. A translator is defined which translates the language into flowcharts for a simple machine. The action of the machine in executing a flowchart is defined. A proof is constructed that the effect of translating and executing any program can be expressed solely in terms of the value and side-effect of the program. During the course of constructing the proof, formal definitions of the concepts of value and side-effect are derived in order to make the proof rigorous. Correctness of the implementation involves checking that the definitions derived in the step above are an acceptable formalization of the informal description given in the first step.
Evaluation of a Group Behavioural Family Intervention for Families of young children with developmental disabilities

Twenty-eight Australian families took part in a trial of a group behavioural intervention for families of young children with a disability. Fifteen families completed the ‘Group Stepping Stones Positive Parenting Program’ with the remainder allocated to a waitlist condition. Before and after the trial period all parents completed measures of discipline style, parental adjustment and child behaviour. Post-intervention, treatment group parents reported using more behaviourally focused responses to their child’s behaviour, reported less interparental conflict, and increased sense of parenting efficacy. Reliable individual improvement was more frequent among treatment group families for discipline styles, parental conflict and intensity of challenging
Nonrigid Registration of 2-D and 3-D Dynamic Cell Nuclei Images for Improved Classification of Subcellular Particle Motion

The observed motion of subcellular particles in fluorescence microscopy image sequences of live cells is generally a superposition of the motion and deformation of the cell and the motion of the particles. Decoupling the two types of movements to enable accurate classification of the particle motion requires the application of registration algorithms. We have developed an intensity-based approach for nonrigid registration of multichannel microscopy image sequences of cell nuclei. First, based on 3-D synthetic images we demonstrate that cell nucleus deformations change the observed motion types of particles and that our approach allows to recover the original motion. Second, we have successfully applied our approach to register 2-D and 3-D real microscopy image sequences. A quantitative experimental comparison with previous approaches for nonrigid registration of cell microscopy has also been performed.