Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Towards Executable Acceptable Use Policies (execAUPs) for email clouds

In this paper, we discuss the potential use of Cloud Computing for hosting and analysis of email. In particular, we are working towards the development of Executable Acceptable Use Policies (execAUPs) that assist organizations in preventing certain kinds of detrimental employee activities. We consider requirements for execAUPs, and outline initial efforts in using Microsoft's Azure as an environment for providing hosted storage for such research.
The Italian educational system: family background and social stratification

The paper is organised as follows. In section 2 we review existing empirical evidence over the lower educational attainment in Italy when compared to other major European countries. Our country is also characterised by low intergenerational mobility, even if recent cohorts face an improved situation. Section 3 discusses alternative explanations of this evidence, taking into account wrong expectations formation, low returns to education and low resources invested in education. These explanations are all disregarded for being unable to explain both low achievement and strong parental dependence. Section 4 provides new evidence on the intergenerational persistence in educational attainment, showing that family income is statistically irrelevant, whereas parental education matters in attending secondary school and university. However, most of the effect of parental education passes through the choice of secondary school (high school versus technical schools), a choice that in Italy is undertaken quite early (when the child is aged 13). Section 5 contains some concluding remarks and discuss some policy options.
Governance Arrangement in the Ethiopian Higher Education System- Moving Towards Quasi-Market?

Inspired by ideological shifts and pragmatic reasons, governments around the world are experimenting quasi-market type of higher education governance. Introduction of (quasi) market elements in higher education (HE) is also justified by its presumed benefits in efficiency among others. This study had Ethiopian higher education institutions as its focal area. In the study all the higher education institutions both public and private were considered. The study had the purpose of examining whether higher education governance in Ethiopia is moving towards quasi-market. Data were collected from policy documents, statistical abstracts and secondary sources. The public higher education institutions were also contacted by phone to collect data on their practices on some aspects of quasi markets. The analytical tool used was four dimensions of higher education supplier sovereignty. All the data were analyzed qualitatively. It was found out that even though it has started the journey, higher education governance in Ethiopia is a far cry from quasi-market. Following this way the government can make better use of quasi market governance are recommended.
Diagnostic errors discovered by CT in patients with suspected stroke

We assessed the frequency of stroke diagnostic errors revealed by CT in 197 patients. In five Patients, CT was an emergency procedure. In the other 192 patients, CT was used to check diagnosis based on routine investigations. All but eight diagnoses (4%) were thereby confirmed. Either hemorrhage was discovered where an ischemic lesion had been suspected (2 cases) or the reverse (3 cases). Disorders other than stroke were found in three Patients—subdural hematoma, hydrocephalus, and suspected tumor. Thus, few but important errors investigations.
The Politics of Dispute Settlement Design: Explaining Legalism in Regional Trade Pacts

Dispute settlement mechanisms in international trade vary dramatically from one agreement to another. Some mechanisms are highly legalistic, with standing tribunals that resemble national courts in their powers and procedures. Others are diplomatic, requiring only that the disputing countries make a good-faith effort to resolve their differences through consultations. In this article I seek to account for the tremendous variation in institutional design across a set of more than sixty post-1957 regional trade pacts. In contrast to accounts that emphasize the transaction costs of collective action or the functional requirements of deep integration, I find that the level of legalism in each agreement is strongly related to the level of economic asymmetry, in interaction with the proposed depth of liberalization, among member countries.
DETECTION OF SPATIAL OUTLIERS IN RURAL COMMUNES OF PODLASIE PROVINCE (POLAND) ON THE BASIS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ATTRIBUTES DETEKCJA JEDNOSTEK NIETYPOWYCH W PRZESTRZENI WŚRÓD GMIN WIEJSKICH WOJEWÓDZTWA PODLASKIEGO NA PODSTAWIE ZMIENNYCH SOCJO- EKONOMICZNYCH

This work presents method of detecting spatial outliers between the rural communes of Podlasie Province (NorthEast Poland). The analyses were conducted using 8 variables which characterize socio-economic conditions of the communes in the year 2002. Statistical analyses were conducted using PCA for reduction of data set and LISA for detection of outliers. On the basis of the analyses 9 communes were classified as spatial outliers.
A history of stressful life events, prolonged mental stress and arrhythmic events in inherited long QT syndrome

Objective To examine whether a history of stressful life events and prolonged mental stress are associated with arrhythmic events in inherited long QT syndrome (LQTS). Methods Participants who had a molecularly established mutation of KCNQ1, KCNH2 or SCN5A channel and were thus diagnosed as patients with LQT1, LQT2 and LQT3 (n=566), accordingly. The control group consisted of their 614 non-affected relatives. A history of stressful life events was indexed by the major stressful life events. Prolonged mental stress was indexed by vital exhaustion (VE), which was measured with the Maastricht Questionnaire. Results Multinomial logistic regression analysis including patients with LQTS with and without arrhythmic events and the control subjects showed an age- and sex-adjusted association of stressful life events OR=1.15 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.22) and VE (OR=3.33 (95% CI 1.63 to 6.78)) with symptomatic status of LQTS. Symptomatic patients with LQTS had experienced more stressful life events (OR=1.16 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.24)) and the level of VE (OR=3.40 (95% CI 1.44 to 8.03)) was more than three times higher among patients with LQTS with arrhythmic events than in asymptomatic LQTS mutation carriers. The association between stressful life events and arrhythmic events was independent of age, sex, specifically focused medication and LQTS subtype. Conclusions A history of stressful life events and prolonged mental stress are associated with arrhythmic events in LQTS in this large sample of molecularly defined patients with LQTS. It is important for future studies to assess how strong these predisposing factors are for arrhythmic events in LQTS.
A model-based clustering method to detect infectious disease transmission outbreaks from sequence variation

Clustering infections by genetic similarity is a popular technique for identifying potential outbreaks of infectious disease, in part because sequences are now routinely collected for clinical management of many infections. A diverse number of nonparametric clustering methods have been developed for this purpose. These methods are generally intuitive, rapid to compute, and readily scale with large data sets. However, we have found that nonparametric clustering methods can be biased towards identifying clusters of diagnosis — where individuals are sampled sooner post-infection — rather than the clusters of rapid transmission that are meant to be potential foci for public health efforts. We develop a fundamentally new approach to genetic clustering based on fitting a Markov-modulated Poisson process (MMPP), which represents the evolution of transmission rates along the tree relating different infections. We evaluated this model-based method alongside five nonparametric clustering methods using both simulated and actual HIV sequence data sets. For simulated clusters of rapid transmission, the MMPP clustering method obtained higher mean sensitivity (85%) and specificity (91%) than the nonparametric methods. When we applied these clustering methods to published HIV-1 sequences from a study cohort of men who have sex with men in Seattle, USA, we found that the MMPP method categorized about half (46%) as many individuals to clusters compared to the other methods, and that the MMPP clusters were more consistent with transmission outbreaks. This new approach to genetic clustering has significant implications for the application of pathogen sequence analysis to public health, where it is critical to robustly and accurately identify clusters for the most cost-effective deployment of resources.
Excision of the En/Spm transposable element of Zea mays requires two element‐encoded proteins.

An excision assay system for En/Spm was developed in transgenic tobacco. The characteristics of excision and integration are similar to the natural system of Zea mays. In this transgenic model system two En/Spm encoded trans‐acting functions, TNPA and TNPD, are required for excision. A biochemical model for transposition is proposed that might also be applicable to other transposable elements.
User acceptance of a decision-theoretic location-aware shopping guide

We are exploring a class of decision-theoretic handheld systems that give a user personalized advice about how to explore an indoor area in search of products or information. An initial user test in a simple mockup of a shopping mall showed that even novice PDA users accepted the system immediately and were able to achieve their shopping goals faster than when using a paper map of the mall. A key issue is the extent to which spontaneous user behavior can be accommodated within this framework.
Region-Based Current-Source Reconstruction for the Inverse EEG Problem

This paper presents a new method for the reconstruction of current sources for the electroencephalography (EEG) inverse problem, which produces reconstructed sources, which are confined to a few anatomical regions. The method is based on a partition of the gray matter into a set of regions, and in the construction of a simple linear model for the potential produced by feasible source configurations inside each one of these regions. The proposed method computes the solution in two stages: in the first one, a subset of active regions is found so that the combined potentials produced by sources inside them approximate the measured potential data. In the second stage, a detailed reconstruction of the current sources inside each active region is performed. Experimental results with synthetic data are presented, which show that the proposed scheme is fast, computationally efficient and robust to noise, producing results that are competitive with other published methods, especially when the current sources are effectively distributed in few anatomical regions. The proposed method is also validated with real data from an experiment with visual evoked potentials.
Random Packet Inspection Scheme for Network Intrusion Prevention in LTE Core Networks

In Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the security threat posed by malicious users can be reduced by using the traffic detection function (TDF) in the policy and charging control (PCC) system to inspect the packets passing through the Packet Data Network Gateway. However, as the volume of global cellular data traffic continues to grow, it becomes impossible for the TDF to inspect all of the packets. Consequently, more efficient Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) are required. Accordingly, the present study proposes a random packet inspection scheme in which the inspection rate is dynamically adjusted based on the perceived intrusion period of the session. An analytical model is proposed to evaluate the effect of the inspection rate on the intrusion detection rate, inspection cost, and detection latency. The validity of the proposed model is demonstrated through numerical simulations. It is shown that the model provides an effective means of setting the inspection rate in such a way as to maximize the intrusion detection rate, while simultaneously achieving a satisfactory tradeoff between the inspection cost and the detection latency.
Interaction of distinct nuclear proteins with sequences controlling the expression of polyomavirus early genes

The interaction between cellular factors and polyoma virus (Py) DNA was investigated by using a gel retention assay. Nuclear extracts from various cell lines (NIH 3T3, NIH 3T6, LTK-, F9) contained proteins that formed specific and distinct complexes with Py B enhancer fragments of either wild-type or F9-1 mutant origin. The presence of an excess amount of other well-characterized DNA sequences, including the Py A enhancer, the murine sarcoma virus enhancer, and the simian virus 40 enhancer-promoter region, did not interfere with this protein-DNA interaction. However, a fragment previously defined as containing the lymphotropic papovavirus enhancer shares the binding of some common factor. This observation, in combination with the results of retention gel assays at different Mg2+ concentrations, indicates the interaction of several nuclear factors and Py DNA. The assay systems that were used allowed a distinction between some factors on the basis of their different biochemical and sequence requirements. The contact sites of these complexes were mapped to the B enhancer region of Py with Bal 31-derived mutant restriction fragments and ExoIII nuclease and are compatible with the functional domains determined in vivo.
The two faces of Nordic management? Nordic firms and their employee relations in the Baltic States

This study examines Nordic management styles in union and non-union industrial enterprises in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) through case studies of nine Nordic subsidiary companies, based on on-site interviews with management and employees.1 This analysis construes the ‘Nordic model’ of management style as ‘bargained constitutional’ or ‘sophisticated consultative’, following Purcell and Ahlstrand's (1994) matrix of management styles in the highly unionized countries of origin, characterized as coordinated market economies. The case studies reveal that in the Baltic liberal-market environment, Nordic employers exhibit a variety of management styles, ranging from sophisticated human relations or paternalistic relations styles in non-union contexts, to an adversarial bargained style or modern paternalistic style in unionized subsidiary firms. The Nordic model's ‘bargained constitutionalism’ only occurs in those cases in the sample in which Soviet-era trade union structures survive, or where an in-firm union has fought for recognition and collective bargaining.
Multi-objective optimization of an Interior PM motor for a high-performance drive

This paper shows the results of the optimization of an Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) motor for a high performance drive. A multi-objective is considered in the optimization process, mainly considering two motor capabilities. The first objective is the maximization of the torque density of the motor. This means that the torque is maximized for given external dimension and for given current density (i.e., given electric loading). The second objective deals with the sensorless detection of the rotor position. A technique based on the high-frequency signal injection is considered. The IPM motor has to keep the capability to be sensorless detected when it works at any load. In particular, such a capability has to be verified along the trajectory of the Maximum Torque per Ampere (MTPA), that is, the rotor has to exhibit a proper differential saliency (typically not lower than two) along all the MTPA trajectory, including overload operating conditions.
Neuronal calcium sensor 1 and phosphatidylinositol 4-OH kinase β interact in neuronal cells and are translocated to membranes during nucleotide-evoked exocytosis

Neuronal calcium sensor 1 (NCS-1) belongs to a family of EF-hand calcium-binding proteins and is mainly expressed in neurons and neuroendocrine cells, where it causes facilitation of neurotransmitter release through unknown mechanisms. The yeast homologue of NCS-1 has been demonstrated to interact with and regulate the activity of yeast phosphatidylinositol 4-OH kinase β (PI4Kβ). However, in neurons and neurosecretory cells NCS-1 has not unequivocally been shown to interact with PI4Kβ. Here we have compared the subcellular distribution of NCS-1 and PI4Kβ and investigated whether they are capable of forming complexes. In neurons, both proteins are widely distributed and are present in perikarya and, to a lesser extent, in nerve terminals. A consistent portion of NCS-1 and PIK4β is cytosolic, whereas a portion of both proteins appears to be associated with the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex. Very small amounts of NCS-1 and PI4Kβ are present in synaptic vesicles. Our results further demonstrate that in neurosecretory cells, endogenous NCS-1 and PIK4β interact to form a complex that can be immunoisolated from membrane as well as from cytosolic fractions. Moreover, both proteins can be recruited to membranes when cells are treated with nucleotide receptor agonists known to increase polyphosphoinositide turnover and concomitantly induce exocytosis of secretory vesicles. Finally, in PC12 cells overexpressing NCS-1, the amount of PI4Kβ associated with the membranes is increased concomitantly with the increased levels of NCS-1 detected in the same membrane fractions. Together, these findings demonstrate that mammalian NCS-1 and PI4Kβ interact under physiological conditions, which suggest a possible role for NCS-1 in the translocation of PI4Kβ to target membranes.
Calfed: An Experiment in Science and Decisionmaking

Abstract The CALFED Bay-Delta Program is one of the largest environmental restoration projects in the United States. The complexity of the ecosystem in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the involvement of various agricultural, municipal, and environmental interests demand a sophisticated science-based management approach. What progress has been made so far? How can the role of science be adapted so that it is relevant and credible in a policy forum?
NEW USES OF MEMBRANE FILTERS I

Bacterial populations growing on the surface of membrane filters may be transferred easily from one solid medium to another without disturbing the spacial relationship among members of the population. Schubert (Deut. med. Wochschr., 76,1581, 1951), Dittrich (Experientia, 7, 431, 1951), and Bornschein, Dittrich, and Horhe (Naturwisenchaften, 38, 383, 1951) have taken advantage of this technique to confirm the spontaneous orgin of mutational events by using membranes in a modification of Newcombe's spreading experiment (Nature, 164, 150, 1949). In the present investigation the spontaneous mutation rate of Esherichia coli, strain B/r, to streptomycin resistance was determined by transferring hydrosol asay (HA) type membranes2 containing successively larger populations to media containing streptomycin and observing the concomitant increase in the number of developing resistant colonies. Bacteria were removed from stock (Albimi) agar slants and suspended in diluting fluid (0.1 per cent tryptose (Difco); 0.5 per cent NaCl) to yield an approximate concentration of 10 cells per ml. A 5 ml aliquot of this suspension was drawn through a sterile membrane filter held in a filtration unit' similar in principle to a standard Seitz filter. In each of the 5 separate experiments, 50 replicate populations were im-
High‐throughput nucleoside phosphate monitoring in mammalian cell fed‐batch cultivation using quantitative matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

Current methods for monitoring multiple intracellular metabolite levels in parallel are limited in sample throughput capabilities and analyte selectivity. This article presents a novel high‐throughput method based on matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (TOF‐MS) for monitoring intracellular metabolite levels in fed‐batch processes. The MALDI‐TOF‐MS method presented here is based on a new microarray sample target and allows the detection of nucleoside phosphates and various other metabolites using stable isotope labeled internal standards. With short sample preparation steps and thus high sample throughput capabilities, the method is suitable for monitoring mammalian cell cultures, such as antibody producing hybridoma cell lines in industrial environments. The method is capable of reducing the runtime of standard LC‐UV methods to approximately 1 min per sample (including 10 technical replicates). Its performance is exemplarily demonstrated in an 8‐day monitoring experiment of independently controlled fed‐batches, containing an antibody producing mouse hybridoma cell culture. The monitoring profiles clearly confirmed differences between cultivation conditions. Hypothermia and hyperosmolarity were studied in four bioreactors, where hypothermia was found to have a positive effect on the longevity of the cell culture, whereas hyperosmolarity lead to an arrest of cell proliferation. The results are in good agreement with HPLC‐UV cross validation experiments. Subsequent principal component analysis (PCA) clearly separates the different bioreactor conditions based on the measured mass spectral profiles. This method is not limited to any cell line and can be applied as a process analytical tool in biotechnological processes.
Optimum ratio estimators for the population proportion

The problem of the estimation of a population proportion using auxiliary information has been recently studied by Rueda et al. (Estimators and confidence intervals for the proportion using binary auxiliary information with applications to pharmaceutical studies, J. Biopharmaceut. Statist. 21 (2011), pp. 526–554), which proposed several ratio estimators of the population proportion and studied some theoretical properties. In this paper, we define a new ratio estimator based on a linear combination of two ratio estimators defined by Rueda et al. (2011). The variance of the new estimator is calculated and it is used to obtain the optimum value into the linear combination in the sense of minimal variance. Theoretical and empirical studies show that the suggested ratio estimator performs better than alternative estimators.
Hospital policy on appropriate use of life-sustaining treatment

ObjectiveTo describe the issues faced, and how they were addressed, by the University of Toronto Critical Care Medicine Program/Joint Centre for Bioethics Task Force on Appropriate Use of Life-Sustaining Treatment. The clinical problem addressed by the Task Force was dealing with requests by patients or substitute decision makers for life-sustaining treatment that their healthcare providers believe is inappropriate. DesignCase study. SettingThe University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics/Critical Care Medicine Program Task Force on Appropriate Use of Life-Sustaining Treatment. ParticipantsThe 24-member Task Force included physician and nursing leaders from five critical care units, bioethicists, a legal scholar, a health administration expert, a social worker, and a hospital public relations professional. InterventionsNone. Measurements and Main Results Our specific lessons learned include a) a policy focus on process; b) use of a negotiation and mediation model, rather than a hospital ethics committee model, for this process; and c) the policy development process is itself a negotiation, so we recommend equal involvement of interested groups including patients, families, and the public. ConclusionsThis article describes the key issues faced by the Task Force while developing its policy. It will provide a useful starting point for other groups developing policy on appropriate use of life-sustaining treatment.