Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Building decision trees using functional dependencies

Decision tree (DT) induction is regarded as a representative of traditional approaches to classification rule mining which is an important technique for many data mining applications. Using a heuristic-based local search, DT induction appends attribute at a time to rules in the order of goodness. This method may eliminate some typical structures that several attributes collectively determine the class. Recently, there has been growing interest in the problem of discovering functional dependencies (FDs) from existing databases [[Flach et al.], [Y. Huhtala et al., (1999)], [Lopes et al.], [Novelli et al.]]. Some efficient and scalable algorithms have been proposed. In this paper, we present a new method to build a DT classifier using approximate FDs [Y. Huhtala et al., (1999)]. The new method is different from the traditional ways of building DTs in that it searches composite attributes for individual node of a DT which leads to substantially smaller and more understandable DTs without adversely affecting the accuracy gains. Experiments showed that the new method not only builds more accurate classifiers, but also does this with more compact structures.
Surgical approach to and reproductive outcome after surgical correction of a T-shaped uterus.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to describe the surgical approach to, and evaluate the reproductive outcome of, a T-shaped uterus. METHODS The study included 97 women who were eligible for hysteroscopic surgery, by either monopolar or bipolar electrosurgical instruments. All had diagnostic hysteroscopy 2 months afterwards to assess the success of the procedure and determine whether any synechiae were present. RESULTS Forty-eight women (49.5%) became pregnant after metroplasty. The overall live birth rate per pregnancy before surgery was 0%; for these patients, it increased to 73%, and their miscarriage rate fell from 78 to 27% (P < 0.05). For all 57 pregnancies in 48 women, the ectopic pregnancy rate was 9% (n = 5), the miscarriage rate 28% (n = 16), the preterm delivery rate 14% (n = 8), the term delivery rate 49% (n = 28) and the live birth rate was 63% (n = 36). CONCLUSIONS Hysteroscopic metroplasty improves the live birth rate for women with a T-shaped uterus and a history of primary infertility, recurrent abortion or preterm delivery, although it is not a treatment of infertility.
Visualization, Selection, and Analysis of Traffic Flows

Visualization of the trajectories of moving objects leads to dense and cluttered images, which hinders exploration and understanding. It also hinders adding additional visual information, such as direction, and makes it difficult to interactively extract traffic flows, i.e., subsets of trajectories. In this paper we present our approach to visualize traffic flows and provide interaction tools to support their exploration. We show an overview of the traffic using a density map. The directions of traffic flows are visualized using a particle system on top of the density map. The user can extract traffic flows using a novel selection widget that allows for the intuitive selection of an area, and filtering on a range of directions and any additional attributes. Using simple, visual set expressions, the user can construct more complicated selections. The dynamic behaviors of selected flows may then be shown in annotation windows in which they can be interactively explored and compared. We validate our approach through use cases where we explore and analyze the temporal behavior of aircraft and vessel trajectories, e.g., landing and takeoff sequences, or the evolution of flight route density. The aircraft use cases have been developed and validated in collaboration with domain experts.
TRAM: A tool for transforming textual requirements into analysis models

Tool support for automatically constructing analysis models from the natural language specification of requirements (NLR) is critical to model driven development (MDD), as it can bring forward the use of precise formal languages from the coding to the specification phase in the MDD lifecycle. TRAM provides such a support through a novel approach. By using a set of conceptual patterns to facilitate the transformation of an NLR to its target software model, TRAM has shown its potential as an automated tool to support the earliest phase of MDD. This paper describes TRAM and evaluates the tool against three benchmark approaches.
Fitting oscillating string gas cosmology to supernova data

In string gas cosmology, extra dimensions are stabilised by a gas of strings. In the matter-dominated era, competition between matter pushing the extra dimensions to expand and the string gas pulling them back can lead to oscillations of the extra dimensions and acceleration in the visible dimensions. We fit this model to supernova data, taking into account the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraint on the energy density of the string gas. The fit to the Union set of supernova data is acceptable, but the fit to the ESSENCE data is poor.
Finger flexion force sensor based on volar displacement of flexor tendon

A wearable sensor for measuring finger flexion force based on volar displacement of flexor tendon is presented. The proposed sensor utilizes a principle that the volar displacement of tendon under a pulley depends on both of tendon tension and finger posture when a external compressive force is applied on the pulley. A prototype sensor is built for the verification of the proposed method. Experiments with isometric conditions are performed in 9 different finger postures to observe the response of the sensor with regard to the finger flexion force and finger posture. The results show that the output of the proposed sensor has dependency on both of finger force and posture. This implies that the sensor can be used for measuring finger flexion force when the finger posture and the corresponding sensor response is known. A simulation with simplified model is performed to explain the behavior of the sensor output.
Development of a Methodology forSimulating Seat Back InteractionUsing Realistic Body Contours

Seat comfort is driven in part by the fit between the sitter and seat. Traditional anthropometric data provide little information about the size and shape of the torso that can be used for backrest design. This report introduces a methodology for using three-dimensional computer models of the human torso based on a statistical analysis of body shapes for conducting automated fit assessments. Surface scan data from 296 men and 417 women in a seated posture were analyzed to create a body shape model that can be adjusted to a range of postures spanning those typical of vehicle occupants. A parameterized finite-element model of an auto seat surface was created, along with custom software that generates body models and postures them in the seat. A simple simulation technique was developed to rapidly assess the fit of the torso relative to the seat back. Further refinement of the method will allow prediction of seat surface pressure distribution, which may be usefully related to subjective assessment of seat fit.
Youth Participatory Action Research as Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

In this article, I present the ways in which youth participatory action research (YPAR) provides opportunities for academically rigorous and culturally sustaining pedagogy for immigrant high school students learning English. In a course sponsored by the City University of New York’s College Now program, I introduced students to the principles of critical ethnographic research and then guided them through the creation of a research proposal catalyzed by their own observations and questions of their immediate surroundings. A subset of this class of 15 was then mentored by me through the implementation of their research proposals, from question refinement to methods to data collection and analysis. Throughout the article, implications for teaching and learning for immigrant youth learning English are discussed.
Neonatal androgen‐dependent sex differences in lumbar spinal cord dopamine concentrations and the number of A11 diencephalospinal dopamine neurons

A11 diencephalospinal dopamine (DA) neurons provide the major source of DA innervation to the spinal cord. DA in the dorsal and ventral horns modulates sensory, motor, nociceptive, and sexual functions. Previous studies from our laboratory revealed a sex difference in the density of DA innervation in the lumbar spinal cord. The purpose of this study was to determine whether sex differences in spinal cord DA are androgen dependent, influenced by adult or perinatal androgens, and whether a sex difference in the number of lumbar‐projecting A11 neurons exists. Adult male mice have significantly higher DA concentrations in the lumbar spinal cord than either females or males carrying the testicular feminization mutation (tfm) in the androgen receptor (AR) gene, suggesting an AR‐dependent origin. Spinal cord DA concentrations are not changed following orchidectomy in adult male mice or testosterone administration to ovariectomized adult female mice. Administration of exogenous testosterone to postnatal day 2 female mice results in DA concentrations in the adult lumbar spinal cord comparable to those of males. Male mice display significantly more lumbar‐projecting A11 DA neurons than females, particularly in the caudal portion of the A11 cell body region, as determined by retrograde tract tracing and immunohistochemistry directed toward tyrosine hydroxylase. These results reveal an AR‐dependent sex difference in both the number of lumbar‐projecting A11 DA neurons and the lumbar spinal cord DA concentrations, organized by the presence of androgens early in life. The AR‐dependent sex difference suggests thyat this system serves a sexually dimorphic function in the lumbar spinal cord. J. Comp. Neurol. 518:2423–2436, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Eliminating Leakage in Reverse Fuzzy Extractors

In recent years, physically unclonable functions (PUFs) have been proposed as a promising building block for key storage and device authentication. PUFs are physical systems, and as such, their responses are inherently noisy, precluding a straightforward derivation of cryptographic key material from raw PUF measurements. To overcome this drawback, fuzzy extractors are used to eliminate the noise and guarantee robust outputs. A special type is reverse fuzzy extractors, shifting the computational load of error correction toward a computationally powerful verifier. However, the reverse fuzzy extractor reveals error patterns to any eavesdropper, which may cause privacy issues (due to a systematic drift of the PUF responses, the error pattern is linkable to the identity) and even security problems (if the noise is data-dependent). In this paper, we quantify the issue of leakage due to asymmetry of noise, leveraging the binary asymmetric channel (BAC) model. We further propose to concatenate two BACs to form a symmetric channel, as a solution that is able to eliminate such noise. Finally, we propose a modified reverse fuzzy extractor that does not leak via the error patterns even in the case of systematic drift of the PUF responses.
Chordal Komatu-Loewner equation and Brownian motion with darning in multiply connected domains

Let D = H \ N=1 Ck be a standard slit domain where H is the upper half-plane and Ck ,1 ≤ k ≤ N , are mutually disjoint horizontal line segments in H.G iven a Jordan arcγ ⊂ D starting at ∂H, let gt be the unique conformal map from D \ γ(0 ,t ) onto a standard slit domain Dt satisfying the hydrodynamic normalization. We prove that gt satisfies an ODE with the ker- nel on its right-hand side being the complex Poisson kernel of the Brownian motion with darning (BMD) for Dt, generalizing the chordal Loewner equa- tion for the simply connected domain D = H. Such a generalization has been obtained by Y. Komatu in the case of circularly slit annuli and by R. O. Bauer and R. M. Friedrich in the present chordal case, but only in the sense of the left derivative in t. We establish the differentiability of gt in t to make the equation a genuine ODE. To this end, we first derive the continuity of gt(z) in t with a certain uniformity in z from a probabilistic expression ofgt(z )i n terms of the BMD for D, which is then combined with a Lipschitz continuity of the complex Poisson kernel under the perturbation of standard slit domains to get the desired differentiability.
Implicit and explicit interactions in video mediated collaboration

In this paper we report the results of a study comparing implicit-only and explicit-only interactions in a collaborative, video-mediated task with shared content. Expanding on earlier work which has typically only evaluated how implicit interaction can augment primarily explicit systems, we report issues surrounding control, anxiousness and negotiation in the context of video mediated collaboration. We conclude that implicit interaction has the potential to improve collaborative work, but that there are a multitude of issues that must first be negotiated.
Deciphering the molecular basis for nucleotide selection by the West Nile virus RNA helicase

The West Nile virus RNA helicase uses the energy derived from the hydrolysis of nucleotides to separate complementary strands of RNA. Although this enzyme has a preference for ATP, the bias towards this purine nucleotide cannot be explained on the basis of specific protein–ATP interactions. Moreover, the enzyme does not harbor the characteristic Q-motif found in other helicases that regulates binding to ATP. In the present study, we used structural homology modeling to generate a model of the West Nile virus RNA helicase active site that provides instructive findings on the interaction between specific amino acids and the ATP substrate. In addition, we evaluated both the phosphohydrolysis and the inhibitory potential of a collection of 30 synthetic purine analogs. A structure-guided alanine scan of 16 different amino acids was also performed to clarify the contacts that are made between the enzyme and ATP. Our study provides a molecular rationale for the bias of the enzyme for ATP by highlighting the specific functional groups on ATP that are important for binding. Moreover, we identified three new essential amino acids (Arg-185, Arg-202 and Asn-417) that are critical for phosphohydrolysis. Finally, we provide evidence that a region located upstream of motif I, which we termed the nucleotide specificity region, plays a functional role in nucleotide selection which is reminiscent to the role exerted by the Q-motif found in other helicases.
Ginsenoside Rb1 increases insulin sensitivity by activating AMP-activated protein kinase in male rats

Although ginseng has been reported to ameliorate hyperglycemia in animal models and clinical studies, the molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. We previously reported that chronic treatment with ginsenoside Rb1 (Rb1), a major component of ginseng, significantly reduced fasting glucose and improved glucose tolerance in high‐fat diet (HFD)‐induced obese rats. These effects were greater than those observed in pair‐fed rats, suggesting a direct effect of Rb1 on glucose homeostasis, and this possibility was confirmed in the present study. In lean rats fed standard rodent chow, 5‐day treatment with Rb1 significantly improved glucose tolerance and enhanced insulin sensitivity. Notably, those effects were not accompanied by reduced food intake or changed body weight. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, rats fed a HFD for 4 weeks were treated with Rb1 for 5 days. Subsequently, euglycemic‐hyperinsulinemic clamp studies found that compared to vehicle, Rb1, while not changing food intake or body weight, significantly increased glucose infusion rate required to maintain euglycemia. Consistent with this, insulin‐induced inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis was significantly enhanced and hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose‐6‐phosphatase gene expression was suppressed. Additionally, glucose uptake was significantly increased in skeletal muscle. While proximal insulin signaling was not changed after Rb1 treatment, increased phosphorylation of TBC1D4, a downstream target of AMPK signaling, appears to be a key part of the mechanism for Rb1‐stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. These findings indicate that Rb1 has multiple effects on glucose homeostasis, and provide strong rationale for further evaluation of its potential therapeutic role.
Making Giant Unilamellar Vesicles via Hydration of a Lipid Film

This unit describes protocols for making giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) based on rehydration of dried lipid films. These model membranes are useful for determining the impact of membrane and membrane‐binding components on lipid bilayer stiffness and phase behavior. Due to their large size, they are especially amenable to studies using fluorescence and light microscopy, and may also be manipulated for mechanical measurements with optical traps or micropipets. In addition to their use in encapsulation, GUVs have proven to be useful model systems for studying many cellular processes, including tubulation, budding, and fusion, as well as peptide insertion. The introduction of enzymes or proteins can result in reorganization, leading to such diverse behavior as vesicle aggregation, fusion, and fission. Curr. Protoc. Cell Biol. 40:24.3. 1‐24.3. 13. © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A Spectroscopic Study of Blue Stragglers in M67

Abstract Spectrophotometric observations of the complete sample of twenty four blue stragglers (BSs) in the old galactic open cluster M67 (NGC2682) have been collected, using the Guillermo Haro Observatory in Cananea, Mexico. All the calibrated spectra were re-calibrated by the Beijing Arizona Taipei Connecticut (BATC) photometric system which includes fluxes in 11 photometric bands covering ~3600–10000 Å. The goal of the current work is to provide observational constraints on spectral properties of BSs by determining the effective temperature (Teff) and surface gravity (log g). The overall results, obtained by applying the flux fitting method, indicate that Teff and surface gravities of BSs in M67 are fully compatible with those expected for main sequence stars.
Inhibition of VCAM-1 expression in the arterial wall is shared by structurally different antioxidants that reduce early atherosclerosis in NZW rabbits.

We previously established that probucol decreases basal expression of VCAM-1 in the aorta of WHHL rabbits and inhibits the up-regulation of VCAM-1 expression that normally accompanies atherogenesis. To determine whether this effect is shared by other antioxidants in vivo, we now investigated whether a structurally unrelated antioxidant, vitamin E, also inhibits arterial VCAM-1 expression and whether the degree of VCAM-1 inhibition correlates with the reduction of atherosclerosis or the antioxidant protection of LDL. Atherogenesis and VCAM-1 mRNA and protein were determined in four groups of NZW rabbits (n = 6;-8) fed 0.5% cholesterol alone or supplemented with 0.1% vitamin E, a low dose (0.04;-0.075%) of probucol yielding the same degree of antioxidant protection of plasma LDL as vitamin E, or a high dose (0.5%) of probucol, and in normocholesterolemic rabbits. After 81 days, extensive atherosclerosis and a greater than 4-fold up-regulation of VCAM-1 mRNA was seen in rabbits on high cholesterol diet, mostly in the intima. Treatment with vitamin E, high-dose probucol, and low-dose probucol significantly decreased VCAM-1 mRNA by 49.0, 74.9, and 57. 5%, respectively, and reduced atherosclerosis in adjacent segments of the thoracic aorta to a similar degree as reported by previous studies. Immunocytochemistry confirmed that lesions of antioxidant-treated animals also contained less VCAM-1 protein. Neither the degree of VCAM-1 inhibition nor the extent of atherosclerosis correlated with the degree of antioxidant protection of plasma LDL.In summary, treatment with structurally unrelated antioxidants conveyed different degrees of antioxidant protection to plasma LDL but significantly reduced VCAM-1 expression in vivo and inhibited atherogenesis. This is consistent with the assumption that antiatherogenic effects of antioxidants may in part be mediated by interference with oxidation-dependent intracellular signaling.
Brain metabolic profile obtained by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy HMRS in children with Down syndrome.

PURPOSE Down syndrome (DS), or trisomia 21, is one of the most common autosomal mutations, with mental impairment as the constant symptom. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1HMRS) allows evaluation of this metabolism in DS children. The study objective was the morphological evaluation of the brain in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assessment of the metabolic profile obtained by HMRS in children with DS. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 34 children, including 14 with DS, aged 7-17 years. All of them were patients of the Department of Pediatric Neurology and Rehabilitation, Medical University of Białystok, and of its Outpatient Clinic. Age-matched healthy children (n = 20) served as control. MRI scans of the head were performed in DS children using a 1.5T MR scanner in standard conditions, in three planes (saggital, axial and coronal), in T1, T2, PD and FLAIR series. HMRS investigations were also conducted to assess metabolic changes in the frontal lobes. Such metabolites as Glx, NAA, Cho, ml and GABA were determined in both temporal lobes with reference to the internal marker Cr. Results were compared to the control group. RESULTS The MRI revealed no structural changes in children with DS. We found a decrease in Glx/Cr, NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr and ml/Cr ratios in our DS patients as compared to the control group. The differences for the first two markers were statistically significant. However, no differences were found between GABA/Cr ratio in the two frontal lobes in patients with DS as compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS Our findings seem to confirm the abnormal metabolism of stimulatory amino acids with developmental disorders and "precocious brain aging" in children with DS.
Pollen Preference for Psychotria sp. is Not Learned in the Passion Flower Butterfly, Heliconius erato

Abstract Heliconius butterflies are known to maximize fitness by feeding on pollen from Gurania sp. and Psiguria sp. (Cucurbitales: Curcurbitaceae), and Psychotria sp. (Gentianales: Rubiaceae). This specialization involves specific physical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations including efficient search strategies in the forest to locate pollen host plants, pollen removal, and pollen external digestion. Reducing pollen host plant search time is crucial to out-compete other flower visitors and to reduce exposure to predators. One way in which this can be achieved is by using chemical cues to learn from experienced foragers in roosting aggregations. Similar strategies have been documented in bumblebees, where inexperienced individuals learn floral odors from experienced foragers. Behavioral experiments using plants preferred by Heliconius erato suggest that pollen preference in H. erato is an innate trait and consequently learning of chemical cues at roosting aggregations is unlikely.