Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytoskeletal Protein Translation and Expression in the Rat Brain Are Stressor-Dependent and Region-Specific

Stress is an integral component of life that can sometimes cause a critical overload, depending on the qualitative and quantitative natures of the stressors. The involvement of actin, the predominant component of dendritic integrity, is a plausible candidate factor in stress-induced neuronal cytoskeletal changes. The major aim of this study was to compare the effects of three different stress conditions on the transcription and translation of actin-related cytoskeletal genes in the rat brain. Male Wistar rats were exposed to one or other of the frequently used models of physical stress, i.e. electric foot shock stress (EFSS), forced swimming stress (FSS), or psychosocial stress (PSS) for periods of 3, 7, 14, or 21 days. The relative mRNA and protein expressions of β-actin, cofilin and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK-1) were determined by qRT- PCR and western blotting from hippocampus and frontal cortex samples. Stressor-specific alterations in both β-actin and cofilin expression levels were seen after stress. These alterations were most pronounced in response to EFSS, and exhibited a U-shaped time course. FSS led to a significant β-actin mRNA expression elevation in the hippocampus and the frontal cortex after 3 and 7 days, respectively, without any subsequent change. PSS did not cause any change in β-actin or cofilin mRNA or protein expression in the examined brain regions. EFSS, FSS and PSS had no effect on the expression of MAPK-1 mRNA at any tested time point. These findings indicate a very delicate, stress type-dependent regulation of neuronal cytoskeletal components in the rat hippocampus and frontal cortex.
Estimation of infectious disease parameters from serological survey data: the impact of regular epidemics

Serological surveys are a useful source of information about epidemiological parameters for infectious diseases. In particular they may be used to estimate contact rates, forces of infection, the reproduction number and the critical vaccination threshold. However, these estimation methods require the assumption that the infection is in endemic equilibrium. Such equilibria seldom exist in practice: for example, many common infections of childhood exhibit regular epidemic cycles. In this paper, we investigate whether ignoring such cycles produces biased estimates. We apply the methods to data on mumps and rubella in the U.K. prior to the introduction of the combined measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. We conclude that past epidemics have only a marginal effect on estimates, and that standard methods that do not adjust for regular epidemics are valid. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ESCUELA POLITÉCNICA SUPERIOR people detection algorithms based on appearance and motion information

The work presented in this document is focused on the improvement of the people detection task in visual analysis in video surveillance sequences. We have designed and implemented a people detection algorithm based on appearance and motion as discriminative information. Firstly, we have undertaken a study on the state of the art in people detection algorithms targeted to video surveillance scenarios and we have made a classi cation of the di erent algorithms studied. Within this classi cation, algorithms based on appearance use to obtain better results than motion based algorithms, and therefore we have designed and implement an algorithm based on appearance but adding robustness to the detection with motion information. As main result a new people detector have been implemented and integrated into the VPULab system: this new algorithm obtains more reliable results and less computational cost than the previous algorithm implemented by VPULab. Additionally, in order to provide a good performance evaluation of the proposed framework and a comparison with previous work: the design and annotation of a people video/image dataset have been done.
VIPERdb2: an enhanced and web API enabled relational database for structural virology

VIPERdb (http://viperdb.scripps.edu) is a relational database and a web portal for icosahedral virus capsid structures. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive resource specific to the needs of the virology community, with an emphasis on the description and comparison of derived data from structural and computational analyses of the virus capsids. In the current release, VIPERdb2, we implemented a useful and novel method to represent capsid protein residues in the icosahedral asymmetric unit (IAU) using azimuthal polar orthographic projections, otherwise known as Φ–Ψ (Phi–Psi) diagrams. In conjunction with a new Application Programming Interface (API), these diagrams can be used as a dynamic interface to the database to map residues (categorized as surface, interface and core residues) and identify family wide conserved residues including hotspots at the interfaces. Additionally, we enhanced the interactivity with the database by interfacing with web-based tools. In particular, the applications Jmol and STRAP were implemented to visualize and interact with the virus molecular structures and provide sequence–structure alignment capabilities. Together with extended curation practices that maintain data uniformity, a relational database implementation based on a schema for macromolecular structures and the APIs provided will greatly enhance the ability to do structural bioinformatics analysis of virus capsids.
A Topological Model of the Hippocampal Cell Assembly Network

It is widely accepted that the hippocampal place cells' spiking activity produces a cognitive map of space. However, many details of this representation's physiological mechanism remain unknown. For example, it is believed that the place cells exhibiting frequent coactivity form functionally interconnected groups—place cell assemblies—that drive readout neurons in the downstream networks. However, the sheer number of coactive combinations is extremely large, which implies that only a small fraction of them actually gives rise to cell assemblies. The physiological processes responsible for selecting the winning combinations are highly complex and are usually modeled via detailed synaptic and structural plasticity mechanisms. Here we propose an alternative approach that allows modeling the cell assembly network directly, based on a small number of phenomenological selection rules. We then demonstrate that the selected population of place cell assemblies correctly encodes the topology of the environment in biologically plausible time, and may serve as a schematic model of the hippocampal network.
Stress induced a shift from dorsal hippocampus to prefrontal cortex dependent memory retrieval: role of regional corticosterone

Most of the deleterious effects of stress on memory retrieval are due to a dysfunction of the hippocampo-prefrontal cortex interplay. The role of the stress-induced regional corticosterone increase in such dysfunction remains however unclear, since there is no published study as yet dedicated to measuring corticosterone concentrations simultaneously in both the prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (dHPC) in relation with memory impairments. To that aim, we first showed in Experiment 1 that an acute stress (3 electric footschocks; 0.9 mA each) delivered before memory testing reversed the memory retrieval pattern (MRP) in a serial discrimination task in which mice learned two successive discriminations. More precisely, whereas non-stressed animals remembered accurately the first learned discrimination and not the second one, stressed mice remembered more accurately the second discrimination but not the first one. We demonstrated that local inactivation of dHPC or mPFC with the anesthetic lidocaine recruited the dHPC activity in non-stress conditions whereas the stress-induced MRP inversion recruited the mPFC activity. In a second experiment, we showed that acute stress induced a very similar time-course evolution of corticosterone rises within both the mPFC and dHPC. In a 3rd experiment, we found however that in situ injections of corticosterone either within the mPFC or the dHPC before memory testing favored the emergence of the mPFC-dependent MRP but blocked the emergence of the dHPC-dependent one. Overall, our study evidences that the simultaneous increase of corticosterone after stress in both areas induces a shift from dHPC (non-stress condition) to mPFC-dependent MRP and that corticosterone is critically involved in mediating the deleterious effects of stress on cognitive functions involving the mPFC-HPC interplay.
Moment-Based Techniques for Image Retrieval

In this paper we analyze some shape-based image retrieval methods which use different types of geometric and algebraic moments and Fourier descriptors. Moments have been widely used in pattern recognition applications to describe the geometrical characteristics of different objects. They provide fundamental geometric properties (e.g. area, centroid, moment of inertia, etc.). We consider various description techniques: Hu, Flusser and Taubin invariants, Legendre and Zernike moments, Generic Fourier Descriptors (GFD). The set of absolute orthogonal (i.e. rotation) moment invariants defined by Hu can be used for scale, position, and rotation invariant pattern identification. Flusser' s complete set of invariants appears as a particular case, with invariance only to rotation. The Taubin's affine moment invariants introduce the concept of covariant matrix. Legendre moments are based on orthogonal Legendre polynomials and are not invariant under image rotation. Zernike moments consist of a set of complex polynomials that form a complete orthogonal set over the interior of the unit circle. GFDs are derived by applying a modified polar Fourier transform on shape image. We have applied the retrieval methods on a collection of images chosen from MPEG7 database. The image retrieval performance of each method is described by the precision-recall graph. In the paper we propose a novel approach that combines the described techniques after a coarse partitioning of the image dataset by their morphological features. The proposed approach provides much better performance than each method described above.
Software process data quality and characteristics: a historical view on open and closed source projects

Software process data gathered from bug tracking databases and version control system log files are a very valuable source to analyze the evolution and history of a project or predict its future. These data are used for instance to predict defects, gather insight into a project's life-cycle, and additional tasks. In this paper we survey five open source projects and one closed source project in order to provide a deeper insight into the quality and characteristics of these often-used process data. Specifically, we first define quality and characteristics measures, which allow us to compare the quality and characteristics of the data gathered for different projects. We then compute the measures and discuss the issues arising from these observation. We show that there are vast differences between the projects, particularly with respect to the quality in the link rate between bugs and commits.
Feature extraction of SSVEP-based brain-computer interface with ICA and HHT method

For the problem of extracting feature of steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) system efficiently, a method based on independent component analysis (ICA) and Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, Band-pass filter is applied to preprocess the electroencephalograph (EEG) of SSVEP. Secondly, the independent components are acquired from filtered signals with ICA. Thirdly, HHT is applied to decompose the independent components to obtain the intrinsic mode function (IMF) needed. Finally, frequency domain analysis is applied to analyse IMF. The experiments show that the proposed method is feasible in feature extraction and the noise can be removed.
Statistical Approaches to the Fat Tail Problem for Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation

If a cumulative density function estimated from dichotomous choice data has an unrealistically fat right-hand tail, mean willingness to pay (WTP) will be overestimated. Truncating the range of integration results in a lower-bound estimate of the true mean WTP. A normalization procedure proposed by Boyle, Welsh, and Bishop (1988) unnecessarily depresses the estimate further. A new statistical approach is presented that allows a best-guess estimate of mean WTP. Because this estimate involves extrapolation beyond the range of the data, it tends to be highly variable.
NON-NATURALLY NATURAL, PARTIAL, GENERIC HULLS AND FINITENESS

Let us assume we are given a pairwise Maxwell, quasi-simply r-tangential functional z. Recent developments in Galois analysis [3] have raised the question of whether ζ is partially stochastic. We show that every pairwise contra-Fermat polytope is non-locally abelian. Is it possible to extend everywhere irreducible, Kronecker rings? It was Poisson who first asked whether almost surely Kronecker algebras can be extended.
Spectrum Analysis of Wireless Electromyography in Water and on Dry Land: A Single Case Example

Recent developments in wireless capture of muscle activity signals have improved the freedom of motion and the ease of use. Nevertheless, no study has examined the quality of wireless electromyographic technology during water activities. In this study the performance of a surface electromyography (SEMG) wireless system on dry land and in water was compared. Tibialis anterior muscle activity of 1 subject while contracting against a resistance of 84 Newton (N) was measured in 2 conditions: using a wireless (KINE) system with waterproof taping on the pool deck and submerged. Analysis of the raw signal showed acceptable ratios of 37 to 44 decibel (dB) between rest activity and the force activity at 84 N in both conditions. The total spectrum analysis and short term frequency analysis showed that no filtering occurred in either of the two conditions as frequencies were picked up in the entire spectrum. Spectrum analysis of rest activity or of the force buildup showed no spikes indicating any pickup of noise. The wireless system produced clean results and submersion and as a consequence recollection from the memory of the unit did not cause additional noise. Furthermore, the wireless system provided a satisfactory signal-to-rest activity ratio of approximately 40 dB and a range of 4 millivolts (mV). The KINE EMG units provided a valid means to analyze muscle activity during swimming while permitting unrestricted movement and ease of use.
Classification analysis of authorship fiction texts in the space of semantic fields

Abstract The use of naive Bayesian classifier (NB) and the classifier by the k nearest neighbours (kNN) in a classification semantic analysis of authors’ texts of English fiction has been analyzed. The authors’ works are considered in the vector space the basis of which is formed by the frequency characteristics of semantic fields of nouns and verbs. Highly precise classification of authors’ texts in the vector space of semantic fields indicates the presence of particular spheres of the author’s idiolect in this space which characterizes the individual author’s style.
Emerging Liquisolid Compact Technology for Solubility Enhancement of BCS Class-II Drug

Diazepam possesses potent anti-epileptic, anti-anxiety activity and also indicated for the treatment of insomnia. It is very slightly soluble in water and shows poor dissolution. Presently, liquisolid compact technique is found to be used extensively as one of the successful tool to enhance the solubility and dissolution of various poorly soluble drugs. The principle focus of this study is to formulate Liquisolid compacts of Diazepam to enhance its dissolution rate. Here, liquisolid compacts are fabricated using different non-volatile solvents and converting them into acceptably flowing and compressible powders for efficient compact tablet production. The solubility studies are carried by dispersing the drug in various dissolution enhancing agents (nonvolatile solvents) such as Polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400), Polyethylene glycol 600 (PEG-600), Propylene glycol, Tween 80, Span 80 and Glycerol. The drug solubility is comparatively high in PEG-600, which is selected as suitable vehicle for the formulation and its further study. The formulations are made by using different ratios of Drug and PEG-600, then by the addition of diluents like manitol, microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel pH-101) and lactose as carrier materials and other excipients to optimize the direct compression process. The prepared blends are subjected to the pre-formulation studies and the compressed liquisolid compacts are evaluated for the physical parameters such as uniformity of weight, hardness, diameter, thickness, friability, disintegrention, content uniformity and in-vitro dissolution. The FTIR and DSC analysis are performed to confirm the compatibility and stability of the drug with the excipients.
RecoMMobile: A spatiotemporal recommender system for mobile users

The increasing popularity of smart mobile devices, that are opulently equipped with various sensors and permanently connected to the Internet, has made context-aware services a telco mainstream. Very popular group of context-aware services are location-based mashups — intelligent services that combine user location with other location-related data to provide users with an added value. This paper presents the RecoMMobile system that enables real-time location-based recommender service for products offered by a retail store chain to mobile users. Additionally, the RecoMMobile system is also a social recommendation tool because it allows users to forward recommendations to their friends by connecting with the Facebook social network.
On Relative Property (T) and Haagerup's Property

We consider the following three properties for countable discrete groups $\Gamma$: (1) $\Gamma$ has an infinite subgroup with relative property (T), (2) the group von Neumann algebra $L\Gamma$ has a diffuse von Neumann subalgebra with relative property (T) and (3) $\Gamma$ does not have Haagerup's property. It is clear that (1) $\Longrightarrow$ (2) $\Longrightarrow$ (3). We prove that both of the converses are false.
The Role of Self-determination Factors for Relationship Development between Customers and Service Providers

Relationship Marketing has been dealt with as an effective strategy to sustain customer loyalty in many previous researches. It seems to be essential that organizations should make efforts to develop a successful relationship between the organizations and the customers. However, a customer's voluntary efforts are also needed to strengthen the relationship meaningfully. Relationships are built on the foundations of mutuality. In other words, a customer’s efforts are necessary for relationship development, as well as an organization’s efforts. Hereby, the role of customers for the development of a relationship with an organization has been overlooked in many previous researches so far. This research is based on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to explain the role of customer motivation in the process of relationship development. We started by using SDT to confirm the psychological side of relationship development in customer aspects. Thus, we chose customers who have experienced either a medical or beauty service recently. Then, this paper verified the path relationships between self-determination factors(autonomy, perceived competence, relatedness) and relational factors(shared responsibility, affective commitment, relationship strength). It suggested that customer’s roles in psychological parts be inevitable in developing the relationship. Additionally, we examined the differences in service types. According to the results of this study, self-determination factors have positive effects on the relational factors through “relatedness”, one of self-determination factors, which was shown as a mediating variable in this study. As mentioned above, we examined the difference of path relationships in a different service type. It showed that the path value from the “autonomy” variable to the “relatedness” variable was higher in beauty services than in medical services, while the effect of the path from the “relatedness” variable to the “relationship strength” variable was stronger in the medical service. This can be explained by the 'Integrated Regulation' theory claimed by SDT researchers. In conclusion, this paper has several marketing implications on customer acquisition and retention. For service providers, they should recognize the fact that a customer's perception of self-determination factors can generate tangible and intangible performance in relationship development.
Diversified Ranking Algorithm Based OnFuzzy Concept For Large Graphs

The main goal of ranking web pages is to find the interrelated pages. This interrelation of pages is represented as weighted graph. Ranking nodes on graphs is a fundamental task in information retrieval, data mining, and social network analysis. Many existing diversified ranking algorithms either cannot be scalable to large number of nodes due to time and memory requirements or reasonable diversified ranking measure. Graph-based algorithms are stationary distribution of the random walk on the graph. Diversified ranking measure was proposed for large graphs to identify the relevance and diversity among nodes. This measure is a nondecreasing submodular set maximization problem. To solve this problem an efficient greedy algorithm was developed with linear time and memory requirements, and the size of the graph to achieve near-optimal solution. This paper presents a system that provides users with personalized results derived from a search engine that uses link structures. The proposed system uses fuzzy document retrieval (constructed from a fuzzy concept network based on the user’s profile) that personalizes the results returned from link-based search engines with the preferences of the specific users. Experimental results show that the developed method is scalable for large graph with linear time and space complexity and it has considerable efficiency in determining the rank of web pages.
The Effect of Prayer on Patients' Health: Systematic Literature Review

There is increasing interest regarding prayer in healthcare. Prayer is an activity related to spirituality and religion. Positive outcomes have been identified regarding spirituality in health. This study aims to investigate the effects on patients’ health of using prayer. A systematic literature review was conducted in May 2015 and updated in November 2015. Electronic and international databases were searched and the inclusion criteria were based on PICOS: (Population) patients of any age and any clinical situation, (Intervention) all types of prayer, (Comparison) ordinary care, (Outcomes) any health change, (Study type) randomized clinical trials. Neither timeframe nor limitation in language were considered. A total of 92 papers were identified and 12 were included in the review. Prayer was considered a positive factor in seven studies, and several positive effects of prayer on health were identified: reducing the anxiety of mothers of children with cancer; reducing the level of concern of the participants who believe in a solution to their problem; and providing for the improved physical functioning of patients who believe in prayer. Prayer is a non-pharmacological intervention and resource, and should be included in the nursing holistic care aimed at patients’ well-being.