Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aberrant DNA Double-strand Break Repair Threads in Breast Carcinoma: Orchestrating Genomic Insult Survival

Breast carcinoma is a heterogeneous disease that has exhibited rapid resistance to treatment in the last decade. Depending genotype and phenotype of breast cancer, there are discernible differences in DNA repair protein responses including DNA double strand break repair. It is a fact that different molecular sub-types of breast carcinoma activate these dedicated protein pathways in a distinct manner. The DNA double-strand damage repair machinery is manipulated by breast carcinoma to selectively repair the damage or insults inflicted by the genotoxic effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The two DNA double-strand break repair pathways employed by breast carcinoma are homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining. In recent decades, therapeutic interventions targeting one or more factors involved in repairing DNA double-strand breaks inflicted by chemo/radiation therapy have been widely studied. Herein, this review paper summarizes the recent evidence and ongoing clinical trials citing potential therapeutic combinatorial interventions targeting DNA double-strand break repair pathways in breast carcinoma.
The Terminal Immunoglobulin-Like Repeats of LigA and LigB of Leptospira Enhance Their Binding to Gelatin Binding Domain of Fibronectin and Host Cells

Leptospira spp. are pathogenic spirochetes that cause the zoonotic disease leptospirosis. Leptospiral immunoglobulin (Ig)-like protein B (LigB) contributes to the binding of Leptospira to extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, fibrinogen, laminin, elastin, tropoelastin and collagen. A high-affinity Fn-binding region of LigB has been localized to LigBCen2, which contains the partial 11th and full 12th Ig-like repeats (LigBCen2R) and 47 amino acids of the non-repeat region (LigBCen2NR) of LigB. In this study, the gelatin binding domain of fibronectin was shown to interact with LigBCen2R (KD = 1.91±0.40 µM). Not only LigBCen2R but also other Ig-like domains of Lig proteins including LigAVar7'-8, LigAVar10, LigAVar11, LigAVar12, LigAVar13, LigBCen7'-8, and LigBCen9 bind to GBD. Interestingly, a large gain in affinity was achieved through an avidity effect, with the terminal domains, 13th (LigA) or 12th (LigB) Ig-like repeat of Lig protein (LigAVar7'-13 and LigBCen7'-12) enhancing binding affinity approximately 51 and 28 fold, respectively, compared to recombinant proteins without this terminal repeat. In addition, the inhibited effect on MDCKs cells can also be promoted by Lig proteins with terminal domains, but these two domains are not required for gelatin binding domain binding and cell adhesion. Interestingly, Lig proteins with the terminal domains could form compact structures with a round shape mediated by multidomain interaction. This is the first report about the interaction of gelatin binding domain of Fn and Lig proteins and provides an example of Lig-gelatin binding domain binding mediating bacterial-host interaction.
Teacher educators as curriculum developers: exploration of a professional role

Abstract Teacher educators arguably fulfil several roles in their professional context: they can be seen as role models or teachers of teachers, and have additionally been characterised as researchers, mentors, gatekeepers, brokers, and curriculum developers. To address a perceived gap in the literature on the latter role, a quantitative and qualitative exploratory study into educators’ own perceptions of their role as curriculum developers was conducted at a large teacher education department in the Netherlands. Seventy-five educators completed a digital questionnaire. Their responses reveal that the participants generally consider themselves to be curriculum developers, are aware of the responsibilities this professional role entails, and can pinpoint concrete practices in which the role becomes visible. The findings furthermore suggest that educators have been prepared for and develop professionally in this role in a variety of ways, mostly through informal learning with their colleagues at the workplace. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to inform educational practice, policy, and research.
Positional Accuracy Measurement and Error Modeling for Mobile Tracking

This paper presents a method of determining the statistical positional accuracy of a moving object being tracked by any 2D (but particularly radiolocation) positioning system without requiring a more accurate reference system. Commonly for testing performance only static positional errors are measured, but typically for radiolocation systems the positional performance is significantly different for moving objects compared with stationary objects. When only the overall statistical performance is required, the paper describes a measurement technique based on determining 1D cross-track errors from a nominal path, and then using this data set to determine the overall 2D positional error statistics. Comparison with simulated data shows that the method has good accuracy. The method is also tested with vehicle tracking in a city and people tracking within a building. For the indoor case, static and dynamic measurements allowed the degrading effect of body-worn devices due to signal blockage to be determined. Error modeling is also performed and a Rayleigh-Gamma model is proposed to describe the radial positional errors. It is shown that this model has a good match with both indoor and outdoor field measurements.
Examining Contrasting Expressive Content within First and Second Musical Themes

ii Acknowledgments . iv Vita . v List of Tables . vii List of Figures . ix Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Chapter 2: Considerations from Music Theory . 5 Chapter 3: Tests of Contrasting Expressive Content between First and Second Musical Themes . 21 Chapter 4: Perception of First and Second Themes from Musical Scores and Sound Recordings . 57 Chapter 5: Conclusions . 89 References . 95 Appendix A: Evaluation of Barlow and Morgenstern’s Themes . 102 Appendix B: Additional Materials from the Perceptual Study . 127 Appendix C: Participant Scores and Quantitative Indices of Musical Works . 134
Rich periodic motor skills on humanoid robots: Riding the pedal racer

Just as their discrete counterparts, periodic or rhythmic dynamic motion primitives allow easily modulated and robust motion generation, but for periodic tasks. In this paper we present an approach for modulating periodic dynamic movement primitives based on force feedback, allowing for rich motor behavior and skills. We propose and evaluate the combination of feedback and learned feed-forward terms to fully adapt the motions of a robot in order to achieve a desired force interaction with the environment. For the learning we employ the notion of repetitive control, which can effectively minimize the error of behavior towards a given reference. To demonstrate the approach, we show results of simulated and real world experiments on a compliant humanoid robot COMAN. We show the initial results of utilizing the approach to control a pedal-racer, a demanding balance toy best described as a hybrid between a skateboard and a bicycle.
Investigating the vulnerability of slip energy recovery converters to voltage dips

Slip energy recovery (SER) drives provide increased efficiency and a cost effective means of speed control for large induction motors. The biggest disadvantage of SER drives is the vulnerability of the rotor circuit converters to power system disturbances, in particular voltage dips. Failure of converter IGBTs as a result of voltage dips can be a problem associated with the use of these drives. The aim of this study is to better understand the vulnerability of rotor circuit converters as a result of voltage dips at the terminals of wound rotor induction motors. The rotor transients developed by a wound rotor induction motor are investigated for a series of three phase and single phase dips. Measurements conducted on a simplified SER circuit are presented showing the transient rotor currents and voltages the converters will experience during a voltage dip. Simulations performed using ATP-EMTP confirm the measured results. The analysis provided in the paper better explains the response of wound rotor induction motors to voltage dips
Crowdsourcing the Aesthetics of Platform Games

What are the aesthetics of platform games and what makes a platform level engaging, challenging, and/or frustrating? We attempt to answer such questions through mining a large set of crowdsourced gameplay data of a clone of the classic platform game Super Mario Bros (SMB). The data consist of 40 short game levels that differ along six key level design parameters. Collectively, these levels are played 1560 times over the Internet, and the perceived experience is annotated by experiment participants via self-reported ranking (pairwise preferences). Given the wealth of this crowdsourced data, as all details about players' in-game behavior are logged, the problem becomes one of extracting meaningful numerical features at the appropriate level of abstraction for the construction of generic computational models of player experience and, thereby, game aesthetics. We explore dissimilar types of features, including direct measurements of event and item frequencies, and features constructed through frequent sequence mining, and go through an in-depth analysis of the interrelationship between level content, players' behavioral patterns, and reported experience. Furthermore, the fusion of the extracted features allows us to predict reported player experience with a high accuracy, even from short game segments. In addition to advancing our insight on the factors that contribute to platform game aesthetics, the results are useful for the personalization of game experience via automatic game adaptation.
Predictive Mapping of Topsoil Organic Carbon in an Alpine Environment Aided by Landsat TM

The objective of this study was to examine the reflectance of Landsat TM imagery for mapping soil organic Carbon (SOC) content in an Alpine environment. The studied area (ca. 3*104 km2) is the upper reaches of the Heihe River at the northeast edge of the Tibetan plateau, China. A set (105) of topsoil samples were analyzed for SOC. Boosted regression tree (BRT) models using Landsat TM imagery were built to predict SOC content, alone or with topography and climate covariates (temperature and precipitation). The best model, combining all covariates, was only marginally better than using only imagery. Imagery alone was sufficient to build a reasonable model; this was a bit better than only using topography and climate covariates. The Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient values of the imagery only model and the full model are very close, larger than the topography and climate variables based model. In the full model, SOC was mainly explained by Landsat TM imagery (65% relative importance), followed by climate variables (20%) and topography (15% of relative importance). The good results from imagery are likely due to (1) the strong dependence of SOC on native vegetation intensity in this Alpine environment; (2) the strong correlation in this environment between imagery and environmental covariables, especially elevation (corresponding to temperature), precipitation, and slope aspect. We conclude that multispectral satellite data from Landsat TM images may be used to predict topsoil SOC with reasonable accuracy in Alpine regions, and perhaps other regions covered with natural vegetation, and that adding topography and climate covariables to the satellite data can improve the predictive accuracy.
Reduced Complexity-and-Latency Variable-to-Check Residual Belief Propagation for LDPC Codes

This paper proposes some new improved versions of node-wise VCRBP algorithm for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, called forced-convergence node-wise VCRBP algorithm and sign based node-wise VCRBP, both of which significantly reduce the decoding complexity and latency, with only negligible deterioration in error correcting performance.
A 5GHz LC VCO with extended linear-range varactor in purely digital 0.15um CMOS Process

MOSFET varactors with two different threshold voltages are used for extending linear tuning range of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). This method is suitable for VCOs implemented in purely digital CMOS processes where MIM-capacitors are not available and only MOS transistors can be used for tuning element. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated in a 5GHz LC VCO with divide-by-2, output buffer, and integrated low-dropout voltage regulator. The VCO consumes 4mA of current and achieves a tuning range of 4.18–4.94GHz as well as phase noise of −109dBc/Hz at 1MHz from 4.5GHz carrier. The effective linear range has been extended by 38 percent.
Modeling epigenome folding: formation and dynamics of topologically associated chromatin domains

Genomes of eukaryotes are partitioned into domains of functionally distinct chromatin states. These domains are stably inherited across many cell generations and can be remodeled in response to developmental and external cues, hence contributing to the robustness and plasticity of expression patterns and cell phenotypes. Remarkably, recent studies indicate that these 1D epigenomic domains tend to fold into 3D topologically associated domains forming specialized nuclear chromatin compartments. However, the general mechanisms behind such compartmentalization including the contribution of epigenetic regulation remain unclear. Here, we address the question of the coupling between chromatin folding and epigenome. Using polymer physics, we analyze the properties of a block copolymer model that accounts for local epigenomic information. Considering copolymers build from the epigenomic landscape of Drosophila, we observe a very good agreement with the folding patterns observed in chromosome conformation capture experiments. Moreover, this model provides a physical basis for the existence of multistability in epigenome folding at sub-chromosomal scale. We show how experiments are fully consistent with multistable conformations where topologically associated domains of the same epigenomic state interact dynamically with each other. Our approach provides a general framework to improve our understanding of chromatin folding during cell cycle and differentiation and its relation to epigenetics.
Presentation blood glucose and death, hospitalization, and future diabetes risk in patients with acute heart failure syndromes

Purpose The prognostic implications of blood glucose on a wide range of outcomes including early mortality, hospitalizations, and incident diabetes diagnoses have not been fully elucidated in acute heart failure syndromes (AHFS). Methods In a population-based cohort of 16 524 AHFS patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) in Ontario, Canada between 2004 and 2007, we performed a competing risk analysis for 30-day mortality, new diabetes diagnoses, and hospitalization outcomes. Presentation blood glucose concentrations were categorized as follows: 3.9–6.1 [referent], >6.1–7.8, >7.8–9.4, >9.4–11.1, and >11.1 mmol/L. Results Among AHFS patients without diabetes presenting to the ED (n = 9275), blood glucose >6.1 mmol/L (n = 5252, 56.6%) was associated with increased risks of all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR) range: 1.26 (95% CI 1.05–1.50) to 1.50 (95% CI 1.11–2.02)], and cardiovascular death [HR range: 1.28 (95% CI 1.03–1.59) to 1.64 (95% CI 1.16–2.33)]. Among AHFS patients with diabetes (n = 7249), presenting blood glucose >11.1 mmol/L (n = 2286, 31.5%) was associated with increased risks of all-cause death (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.10–2.00) and diabetes-related hospitalizations (HR 1.39, 95% CI; 1.20–1.61). Presentation blood glucose >9.4 mmol/L was associated with increased risks of hospitalization for HF or cardiovascular causes [HR range: 1.09 (95% CI 1.02–1.17) to 1.15 (95% CI 1.07–1.24)] in all patients. With higher presentation blood glucose, the risk of incident diabetes diagnosis increased, with adjusted HRs of 1.61 (>6.1–7.8 mmol/L) to 3.61 (>11.1 mmol/L) among those without the condition at baseline (all P < 0.001). Conclusions Mildly elevated presentation blood glucose was associated with early death, future diabetes, and hospitalizations for diabetes, HF, and cardiovascular causes among patients with AHFS.
Transformative research: personal and societal

Abstract Transformative researchers have the potential to contribute to both personal and societal transformation. In this article, I argue that the two are intertwined and that personal transformation is a necessary component of research that is designed to support change at the societal level in the form of furthering human rights and social justice. I describe a transformative framework that examines assumptions related to ethics, the nature of reality, epistemology, and methodology that can guide researchers who choose to address both the personal and societal levels of transformation. Ethically, researchers need to examine who they are and who they are in relation to the community in which they are working. This process goes beyond self-examination to a critical analysis of the cultural blinders that might obscure our ability to contribute to positive impacts. I put forth the hypothesis that if we design our research so that it explicitly addresses issues of discrimination and oppression that the probability of personal and social transformation increases.
How Online Social Networks Create Value for Organizations: A Resource-Based Perspective

Online Social Network (OSN) is an emerging communication technology which has increasingly been used. Today organizations are paying more attention to the importance of these networks and are trying to create value with these emerging technologies. Current literature focuses on the information and network implications of these networks at the individual and group levels, leaving the organizational level impact understudied. This study examines how these networks create value for organizations. We propose a model based on Sambamurthy et al. (2003) framework conceptualizing the OSN and explaining how OSN capabilities bring about customer agility through digital options of communication facilitation.
Querying uncertain data in heterogeneous databases

In heterogeneous databases, the user may issue a query to joint two relations in different databases on the keys. However, the keys may be incompatible. The authors extend results on probabilistic query processing to consider joining two relations with incompatible keys. A new approach to identify the 'same' entities in different relations is proposed. Various data and schema conflicts such as missing data, inconsistent data and domain mismatch are considered in the identification process. Probabilistic techniques are used to estimate the sameness of two entities, to process queries, and to estimate the degree of uncertainty for the query results. <<ETX>>
A study on stream assignment method for secure MIMO communication

In this paper, a secure multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication technique based on the singular value decomposition (SVD) is investigated. In a previous work, it has been shown that a secure MIMO communication based on the SVD, where interference signal and confidential signal are assigned to two different streams, can achieve positive secrecy rate. In this investigation, it was assumed that the stream assignment information is available at both the legitimate receiver and the eavesdropper. In fact, random stream assignment has a potential to increase the secrecy rate. Specifically, pilot signal is inserted into the pilot time frame and this is used to inform the stream assignment. If either the legitimate receiver or the eavesdropper decodes the pilot signal incorrectly, the receiver attempts to decode the interference signal in the following data time frame even if there is no information about the confidential signal. Therefore, we propose a signaling technique to expand the difference in mutual information between the legitimate receiver and the eavesdropper which leads to enhanced secrecy. In the proposed signaling technique, correlation between pilot signals in successive pilot time frames is provided. Due to this correlation, correct pilot signal decoding in the current pilot time frame requires the correct pilot signal decoding in the previous pilot time frame. Numerical result shows that the propose method can significantly decrease the mutual information between the transmitter and the eavesdropper which leads to increased the secrecy rate.
Crowdsourcing for Usability: Using Micro-Task Markets for Rapid, Remote, and Low-Cost User Measurements

Collecting user input is important for many aspects of the design process, and includes techniques ranging from informal user surveys to rigorous laboratory studies. However, the costs involved in engaging users for evaluation often requires practitioners to trade off between sample sizes, time requirements, and monetary costs. Micro-task markets, such as Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, offer a potential paradigm for engaging a large number of users for low time and monetary costs. Here we investigate the utility of a micro-task market for collecting user input and measurements, and discuss design considerations for developing remote micro user evaluation tasks. Although micro-task markets have great potential for rapidly collecting user measurements at low costs, we found that special care is needed in formulating tasks in order to harness the capabilities of the approach.
A Theoretical Framework for CustomizableWeb Services Description, Discovery and Composition

In this paper we are interested in offering customizable Web services : we present a theoretical framework for customizable Web services description, discovery and composition. In our approach, each Web service is described at a high level of abstraction and can be seen as a "black box" labeled by its name and input/output parameters. Complementary to this formalism, we define a set of mechanisms for customizable Web services discovery and composition.
Robust localization in cluttered environments with NLOS propagation

In this paper, we propose a robust multilateration algorithm for localizing sensor nodes in cluttered environments where the estimated distances between an unlocalized node and reference nodes with known coordinates may contain large errors due to non line of sight signal propagation. We show that the traditional least squares multilateration is severely affected even if one of the measured distances is erroneous whereas our approach functions properly even if half of the measured distances contain large errors due to non line of sight signals. Our algorithm is independent of the physical layer used to perform ranging and does not require the identification of direct and reflected signals or any prior information about the statistical properties of measurement errors or characterization of the environment where the sensor nodes are deployed.