Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new DP algorithm for comparing gene expression data using geometric similarity

Microarray gene expression data comes as a time series, where the expression level of a gene is recorded at specific time points. Comparing the time series produced by two genes can give us information about the regulatory or inhibitory relationship between the genes. We present a Dynamic Programming (DP) method to compare gene expression data using geometric similarity. We aim to detect similarities and relationships between genes, based on their expression time series. By representing the time series as polygons and compare them, we can find relationships that are not available when the two time series are compared point-by-point. We applied our algorithm on a dataset of 343 regulatory pairs from the alpha dataset and compared them to randomly generated pairs. Using an SVM classifier, we find the optimal similarity score that separates the regulatory dataset from the random pairs. Our results show that we can detect similar pairs better than simple Pearson correlation and we outperform many of the existing methods. This method is an ongoing approach, that can be applied to finding the similarity of any data that can convert to 2D polygon. In the future, we plan to introduce this method as a new classifier.
A mutation in mitochondrial complex I increases ethanol sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

BACKGROUND The gene gas-1 encodes the 49-kDa subunit of complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain in Caenorhabditis elegans. A mutation in gas-1 profoundly increases sensitivity to ethanol and decreases complex I-dependent metabolism in mitochondria. METHODS Mitochondria were isolated from wild-type and gas-1 strains of C. elegans. The effects of ethanol on complex I-, II-, and III-dependent oxidative phosphorylation were measured for mitochondria from each strain. Reversibility of the effects of ethanol was determined by measuring oxidative phosphorylation after removal of mitochondria from 1.5 M ethanol. The effects of ethanol on mitochondrial structure were visualized with electron microscopy. RESULTS We found that ethanol inhibited complex I-, II-, and III-dependent oxidative phosphorylation in isolated wild-type mitochondria at concentrations that immobilize intact worms. It is important to note that the inhibitory effects of ethanol on mitochondria from either C. elegans or rat skeletal muscle were reversible even at molar concentrations. Complex I activity was lower in mitochondria from gas-1 animals than in mitochondria from wild-type animals at equal ethanol concentrations. Complex II activity was higher in gas-1 than in wild-type mitochondria at all concentrations of ethanol. No difference was seen between the strains in the sensitivity of complex III to ethanol. CONCLUSIONS The difference in ethanol sensitivities between gas-1 and wild-type nematodes results solely from altered complex I function. At the respective concentrations of ethanol that immobilize whole animals, mitochondria from each strain of worms displayed identical rates of complex I-dependent state 3 respiration. We conclude that a threshold value of complex I activity controls the transition from mobility to immobility of C. elegans.
Relationships Among Image Congruence, Consumption Emotions, and Customer Loyalty in the Lodging Industry

The authors investigated the relationship between image congruence and consumption emotions and the possible influence of this relationship on customer loyalty in the lodging industry. Overall fit of the proposed model and research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that their model, which links image congruence, consumption emotions, and customer loyalty, was generally supported, whereas the linkage between social image congruence and consumption emotions was not significant. Findings in this study integrate recent work of image congruence into the growing body of research on the role of consumption emotions in forming customer loyalty in the lodging industry.
What Is the Nature of Hedge Fund Manager Skills? Evidence from the Risk-Arbitrage Strategy

Abstract To understand the nature of hedge fund managers’ skills, we study the implementation of risk arbitrage by hedge funds using their portfolio holdings and comparing them with those of other institutional arbitrageurs. We find that hedge funds significantly outperform a naive risk-arbitrage portfolio by 3.7% annually on a risk-adjusted basis, whereas non–hedge fund arbitrageurs fail to outperform the benchmark. Our analysis reveals that hedge funds’ superior performance does not reflect fund managers’ ability to predict or affect the outcome of merger and acquisition deals; rather, hedge fund managers’ superior performance is attributed to their ability to manage downside risk.
Portal venous stent placement for treatment of portal hypertension caused by benign main portal vein stenosis.

AIM To evaluate the value of endovascular stent in the treatment of portal hypertension caused by benign main portal vein stenosis. METHODS Portal vein stents were implanted in six patients with benign main portal vein stenosis (inflammatory stenosis in three cases, postprocedure of liver transplantation in another three cases). Changes in portal vein pressure, portal vein patency, relative clinical symptoms, complications, and survival were evaluated. RESULTS Six metallic stents were successfully placed across the portal vein stenotic or obstructive lesions in six patients. Mean portal venous pressure decreased significantly after stent implantation from (37.3+/-4.7) cm H(2)O to (18.0+/-1.9) cm H(2)O. The portal blood flow restored and the symptoms caused by portal hypertension were eliminated. There were no severe procedure-related complications. The patients were followed up for 1-48 mo. The portal vein remained patent during follow-up. All patients survived except for one patient who died of other complications of liver transplantation. CONCLUSION Percutaneous portal vein stent placement for the treatment of portal hypertension caused by benign main portal vein stenosis is safe and effective.
Efficient robot inverse and direct dynamics algorithms using microcomputer based symbolic generation

A method is described for automatically generating FORTRAN code for the inverse and direct dynamics solution of robot manipulators. The method is based on an efficient symbolic generation system for the recursive Lagrangian inverse dynamics formulation. Two variations of the original symbolic generation are used to produce routines for use in the direct dynamics solution. The symbolic generation requires minimal input from the user, takes only a few seconds on a microcomputer, and produces very efficient FORTRAN code having among the lowest computational requirements yet reported in the literature. <<ETX>>
The prevalence and success of outsourcing in Australian public sector organisations

This study explores the prevalence of outsourcing in the Australian public sector and evaluates outsourcing success in respect to the achievement of specific strategic and operational outcomes. The study also examines the association between an integral component of management control systems (MCS), the exchange of information (level of information sharing and level of information quality) between outsourcing partners, and outsourcing success. The results reveal a high level of outsourcing in Australian Government organisations, with outsourcing more prevalent in government business enterprises than government agencies/departments, and least prevalent in local government councils. Outsourcing was highly successful with the three most commonly achieved outcomes being an increased focus on core competencies, improvements in flexibility, and improvements in skills and technology. The results also highlight the importance of an effective MCS, with both the level of information sharing and the level of information quality associated with the success of outsourcing.
Dual-band bandstop filter using single tri-section stepped impedance open stub

In this paper a dual-band bandstop filter using tri-section stepped impedance open stub configuration is presented. Transmission zero positions ( i.e stopbands ) can be controlled by tuning the impedances of the shunt tri-section stepped impedance unit and the series transmission line impedance is used to allocate the transmission poles to sharp the attenuation rate. Design equations were derived using lossless transmission line model. The simulated filter is fabricated using Roger/RT duroid 5870 substrate with thickness of 0.787mm and dielectric constant of 2.33. Good agreement between simulated and measured results is observed.
Postexercise oxygen consumption in trained females: effect of exercise duration.

Many research studies report the long-lasting elevation of metabolism following exercise. However, little is known regarding the impact of duration and intensity on this phenomenon, particularly in trained women in whom the time of the menstrual cycle has been controlled. This study examined the effects of a constant walking intensity (70% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max)) on the treadmill at various levels of duration (20, 40, and 60 min) on 3-h recovery of oxygen uptake (VO2). Eight trained (mean +/- SD) (VO2max = 47.6 +/- 3.2 ml.kg-1.min-1) females (mean age = 30.2 +/- 5.0 yr, mean weight = 58.7 +/- 7.6 kg, mean height = 165.6 +/- 7.0 cm) participated in the study. Subjects reported to the lab for a maximal oxygen consumption test and returned on four additional occasions (control, 20, 40, 60 min) in random fashion. Treadmill speed and grade were established to yield the appropriate intensity for each subject. Following each exercise bout subjects sat quietly for a 3-h time period. Variables measured included VO2, minute ventilation (VE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and core (rectal) temperature (Tc). Variables were measured each 15 min of recovery. An ANOVA was used to assess differences due to duration. Excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) was calculated by subtracting the resting VO2 from the absolute VO2 and summing the individual EPOCs during each 3-h postexercise session and comparing these individual values to the preexercise VO2 values. The EPOC was significantly elevated (P < 0.05) in each of the three durations as compared with the control (sitting) and preexercise periods. The total EPOC was significantly higher for the 60-min duration (15.2 l) as compared with either 20-min (8.b l) or 40-min (9.8 l) duration (P < 0.05). This was observed without significant changes in VE, RER, HR, SBP, DBP, or Tc. Additionally, there were no differences during exercise across the three durations in VO2, VE, RER, HR, SBP, DBP, or Tc. These data suggest that exercise duration increases EPOC significantly and that a 60-min duration yields approximately twice the EPOC than either 20 or 40 min.
Cointegration,Causality and Wagner's Hypothesis:Time Series Evidence for Nigeria, 1970-2008

This paper examines the validity of Wagner’s Law of long-run causal relationship between national income and public expenditure for Nigeria over the period 1970-2008. Deploying modern advances in Econometric techniques, such as the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration, vector error-correction method (VECM) and the standard Granger causality test, we found strong support for Wagner’s longrun postulate of causal relationship from national income to public expenditure in Nigeria. However, we also found that there is a short run causal relationship running from public expenditure to national income in Nigeria, in validation of Keynesian theory. The policy implication of our findings is that public expenditure still remains a veritable short run instrument that could be utilized to stimulate economic growth in Nigeria, since national income does not explain short run changes in public expenditure in the country, except in the long run as Wagner’s Law suggests.
TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUATION OF STREAM RESTORATION USING INTERNET AND MAIL SURVEYS

The economic value of restoring Deckers Creek in Monongalia and Preston Counties of West Virginia was determined from mail, internet and personal interview surveys. Multi-attribute, choice experiments were conducted and nested logit models were estimated to derive the economic values of full restoration for three attributes of this creek: aquatic life, swimming, and scenic quality. The relative economic values of attributes were: aquatic life > scenic quality ~ swimming. These economic values imply that respondents had the highest value for aquatic life when fully restoring Deckers Creek to a sustainable fishery rather than "put and take" fishery that can not sustain a fish population (defined as moderate restoration for aquatic life). The consumer surplus estimates for full restoration of all three attributes ranged between $12 and $16 per month per household. Potential stream users (anglers) had the largest consumer surplus gain from restoration while non-angler respondents had the lowest. When the consumer surplus estimates were aggregated up to the entire watershed population, the benefit from restoration of Deckers Creek was estimated to be about $1.9 million annually. This benefit does not account for any economic values from partial stream restoration. Based upon log likelihood tests of the nested logit models, two sub-samples of the survey population (the general population and stream users) were found to be from the same population. Thus, restoration choices by stream users may be representative of the watershed population, although the sample size of stream users was small in this study.
The role of GSH in microcystin‐induced apoptosis in rat liver: Involvement of oxidative stress and NF‐κB

Microcystins (MCs) are potent and specific hepatotoxins produced by cyanobacteria in eutrophic waters, representing a health hazard to animals and humans. The objectives of this study are to determine the relationship between oxidative stress and NF‐κB activity in MC‐induced apoptosis in rat liver and the role of glutathione (GSH). Sprague‐Dawley rats were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with microcystin‐LR (MC‐LR) at 0.25 and 0.5 LD50 with or without pretreatment of buthionine‐(S,R)‐sulfoximine (BSO), a specific GSH synthesis inhibitor. MC‐LR induced time‐dependent alterations of GSH levels in rat liver. Increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and significant changes of antioxidant enzymes including GSH peroxidase (GPX) and GSH reductase (GR) were also observed, particularly at 24 h post‐exposure. The results indicated that acute exposure to MC‐LR induced oxidative stress, and GSH depletion (BSO pretreatment) enhanced the level of oxidative stress. Furthermore, the modulation of pro‐apoptotic gene p53 and Bax and anti‐apoptotic gene Bcl‐2 was observed in 0.5 LD50 group at 24 h, and the alteration was more pronounced by BSO injection before MC‐LR treatment, suggesting that GSH played a protective role against MC‐induced toxicity. Additionally, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) showed that NF‐κB was induced at 0.25 LD50 but inhibited at 0.5 LD50. The above results indicated that the possible crosstalk of oxidative stress and NF‐κB activity was associated with MC‐LR‐induced hepatocytes apoptosis in vivo. Our data will provide a new perspective for understanding the mechanisms of MC‐induced liver injury. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 552–560, 2016.
The Role of the Built Environment in Healthy Aging

Older adults are a large but very inactive population group. Physical activity, especially walking, has many important health benefits for older adults. This review describes the relationship between walking and health and reviews studies investigating the relationship between the built environment, walking, and health in older adults. Important features of community design for older adults are identified and suggestion for impacting walking behavior is made.
Carbonic Anhydrase Activity in Isolated Chloroplasts of Wild-Type and High-CO2-Dependent Mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as Studied by a New Assay

In an assay of carbonic anhydrase (CA), NAH14CO3 soltution at the bottom of a sealed vessel releases 14CO2, which diffuses to the top of the vessel to be assimilated by photosynthesizing Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells that have been adapted to a low-CO2 environment. The assay is initiated by illuminating the cells and is stopped by turning the light off and killing the cells with acid. Enzyme activity was estimated from acid-stable radioactivity. With bovine CA, 1.5 Wilbur-Anderson units (WAU) was consistently measured at 5- to 6-fold above background. Sonicated whole cells of air-adapted wild-type C. reinhardtii had 740 [plus or minus] 12.4 WAU/mg chlorophyll (Chl). Sonicated chloroplasts from a mixotrophically grown wall-less strain, cw-15, had 35.5 [plus or minus] 2.6 WAU/mg Chl, whereas chloroplasts from wall-less external CA mutant strain cia5/cw-15 had 33.8 [plus or minus] 1.9 WAU/mg Chl. Sonicated chloroplasts from the wall-less mutant strain cia-3/cw-15, believed to lack an internal CA, had 2.8 [plus or minus] 3.2 WAU/mg Chl. Sonicated whole cells from cia3/cw-15 had 2.8 [plus or minus] 7.8 WAU/mg Chl. Acetazolamide, ethoxyzolamide, and p-aminomethylbenzene sulfonamide (Mafenide) at 100 [mu]M inhibited CA in sonicated chloroplasts from cia-5/cw-15. Treatment at 80[deg]C for 10 min inhibited this CA activity by 90.8 [plus or minus] 3.6%. Thus, a sensitive 14C assay has confirmed the presence of a CA in cw-15 and cia-5/cw-15 chloroplasts and the lack of a CA in cia-3/cw-15 chloroplasts. Our results indicate that HCO3- is the inorganic carbon species that is accumulated by chloroplasts of Chlamydomonas and that chloroplastic CA is responsible for the majority of internal CA activity.
Avaliação do impacto do Programa de Reforma Agrária Federal no Ceará: um estudo de caso

Este estudo objetiva avaliar o impacto do programa federal de assentamento agricola no estado do Ceara sobre a sustentabilidade de seus beneficiarios. Para isso, construiram-se indices com dados nao pareados e aplicou-se um metodo de pareamento baseado no escore de propensao (Propensity Score Matching), utilizando dados primarios coletados junto aos produtores rurais beneficiarios e nao beneficiarios. Os resultados da analise sem pareamento mostraram-se bastante semelhantes aos obtidos com pareamento, que apontam a nao efetividade dessa politica publica na geracao de impactos significativos na qualidade de vida, desenvolvimento ambiental e politico institucional para seus beneficiarios comparativamente aos nao contemplados pela politica.
The Determinants of Real Cash Balances in the U.S. Total Manufacturing Sector

I. Introduction, 173. — II. The setting of the problem, 174. — III. Specifications of the model, 175. — IV. The empirical results, 180. — V. The adjustment properties and forecasting performance of the model, 187. — VI. Conceptual experiments, 189. — VII. Conclusions, 193. — Statistical appendix, 194.
Dual-Wideband Bandpass Filter Using Short-Circuited Stepped-Impedance Resonators

A compact dual-wideband bandpass filter featuring two controllable passbands is presented and experimentally validated. The proposed filter uses shorted stepped-impedance resonators to achieve dual-wideband bandpass capability and to minimum size. Design curves are given for the filter design. It is found that the frequency ratio of the second to first band has a wide achievable range. An experimental circuit is fabricated and evaluated to validate the design concept. The measurement results correlated well with the simulation results.
Healthcare Prediction Analysis in Big Data using Random Forest Classifier

An infrastructure build in the big data platform is reliable to challenge the commercial and not- commercial IT development communities of data streams in high dimensional data cluster modeling. The knowledge discovery in database (KDD) is alarmed by the development of methods and techniques for making use of data. The data size is generally growing from day to day. One of the most important steps of the KDD is the data mining which is the ability to extract useful knowledge hidden in this large amount of data. Both the data mining and healthcare industry have emerged some of reliable early detection systems and other various healthcare related systems from the clinical and diagnosis data. In this paper propose the enhanced data mining algorithm for healthcare application. It consists of three steps they are anomaly detection, clustering, and classification. In this classification algorithm use the random forest algorithm for accurately predict the patient result from a large amount of data. Finally, our experimental result shows our proposed method can achieve more accuracy result.
Molecular imaging to track Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonisms: New imaging frontiers

Molecular imaging has proven to be a powerful tool for investigation of parkinsonian disorders. One current challenge is to identify biomarkers of early changes that may predict the clinical trajectory of parkinsonian disorders. Exciting new tracer developments hold the potential for in vivo markers of underlying pathology. Herein, we provide an overview of molecular imaging advances and how these approaches help us to understand PD and atypical parkinsonisms. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Computational Biology in the Cloud: Methods and New Insights from Computing at Scale

The past few years have seen both explosions in the size of biological data sets and the proliferation of new, highly flexible on-demand computing capabilities. The sheer amount of information available from genomic and metagenomic sequencing, high-throughput proteomics, experimental and simulation datasets on molecular structure and dynamics affords an opportunity for greatly expanded insight, but it creates new challenges of scale for computation, storage, and interpretation of petascale data. Cloud computing resources have the potential to help solve these problems by offering a utility model of computing and storage: near-unlimited capacity, the ability to burst usage, and cheap and flexible payment models. Effective use of cloud computing on large biological datasets requires dealing with non-trivial problems of scale and robustness, since performance-limiting factors can change substantially when a dataset grows by a factor of 10,000 or more. New computing paradigms are thus often needed. The use of cloud platforms also creates new opportunities to share data, reduce duplication, and to provide easy reproducibility by making the datasets and computational methods easily available.
Factors Affecting Environmental Behavior in Micro-enterprises

The study assesses conditions and variables affecting environmental behavior in small service family firms, and questions the relevance of SME and small business studies for micro-enterprises. All Jerusalem laundry (61) and motor vehicle repair (46) firms were surveyed, because of their aggregate environmental impact, spatial distribution, and literature on intervention programs. A key finding was the lack of correlation between environmental awareness and action. However, despite limited social and government pressure and support services, traditional micro-enterprises undertook significant environmental actions when feasible, almost regardless of owner attributes or motivations. Micro-enterprises responded selectively to non-environmental government agencies in frequent contact. Market opportunities include contractual relationships with large companies requiring professional (hence environmental) standards, and new efficient or environmental equipment and products. There was little or no market pressure and few niche markets. Firms that adopted environmental measures returned to illegal practices when environmental agencies withdrew subsidies.