Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antifungal Compounds Isolated from Smyrnium olusatrum L. Essential Oil, Growing Wild in Cephalonia, Greece. Chemical Analysis and Structure Elucidation

The essential oils (EOs) from the leaves and the flowers of Smyrnium olusatrum L. , growing wild in the island of Cephalonia (Greece), were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS. Fifty nine constituents, which accounted for 90.3% (fl) and 97.1% (lvs) of the oils, were identified. Furanodiene, germacrone and furanoeremophil-1-one were the major constituents in both essential oils; they were also isolated from the flowers essential oil and identified using spectroscopic methods, ie. 1D and 2D NMR, GC-MS. In addition -myrcene (11.7%) and -phellandrene (5.2%) were main constituents in the essential oil of the leaves. The essential oils and the pure isolates were evaluated for antifungal activity against Aspergillus fumigatus, A. versicolor, A. ochraceus, A. niger, Trichoderma viride, Penicillium funiculosum, P. ochrochloron, P. verucosum var. cyclopium by using the microdilution method and proved to possess significant antifungal effect. Among them, (+) furanoeremophil-1-one was particularly active with MIC values in the range of 0.0008-0.125 mg/mL and MFC values of 0.025-0.050 mg/mL and proved more effective than the commercial mycotics ketoconazole and bifonazole used as positive controls.
Atomoxetine for Treating ADHD Symptoms in Autism

Objective: This study systematically reviews the current literature on the administration of atomoxetine for treating children and adolescents with comorbidity on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD. Method: PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar databases were electronically searched to find the published trials on atomoxetine and ASD. Results: Six articles reported the clinical trials of atomoxetine for treatment of ADHD symptoms in patients with autism or pervasive development disorders. Only one study that was placebo-controlled crossover pilot trial reported that it is effective. Atomoxetine may be effective in high-functioning patients with autism or patients with low severity. Those with high severity of ASD may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of atomoxetine. Conclusion: There are not enough controlled clinical trials for showing the efficacy of atomoxetine for treatment of ADHD symptoms in autism. Although evidence suggests potential efficacy of atomoxetine, the current evidences are not conclusive.
GCM, GHASH and Weak Keys

The Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) of operation has been standardized by NIST to provide single-pass authenticated encryption. The GHASH authentication component of GCM belongs to a class of Wegman-Carter polynomial universal hashes that operate in the field GF (2). GCM uses the same block cipher key K to both encrypt data and to derive the generator H of the authentication polynomial. In present literature, only the trivial weak key H = 0 has been considered. In this note we show that GHASH has much wider classes of weak keys in its 512 multiplicative subgroups, analyze some of their properties, and give experimental results when GCM is used with the AES algorithm.
Delay-dependent robust stabilisation of discrete-time systems with time-varying delay

The stability of discrete systems with time-varying delay is considered. New delay-dependent stability criteria are devised, which are dependent on the minimum and maximum delay bounds. An initial analysis leads to a criterion depending on an inequality involving certain matrices that can be freely chosen. By carefully choosing them to reflect the appropriate relationship between states at differing times, a stricter criterion is thereby obtained. Furthermore, new results for delay-dependent robust stabilisation of uncertain systems with time-varying delay are provided on the basis of a linear matrix inequality (LMI) framework. As the conditions obtained for the existence of admissible controllers are not expressed using strict LMI conditions, a cone complementary linearisation procedure is used to find suitable controllers. Finally, the results obtained, including the stability analysis, static output-feedback stabilisation and dynamic output feedback stabilisation are further extended to discrete time-delay systems having uncertain but norm-bounded parameters. Numerical examples demonstrate the validity of the approach proposed.
Indole-3-Carbinol Inhibits Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Growth through Cell Cycle Arrest In Vivo and In Vitro

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a common malignant tumor in the head and neck. Because of frequent recurrence and distant metastasis which are the main causes of death, better treatment is needed. Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a natural phytochemical found in the vegetables of the cruciferous family, shows anticancer effect through various signal pathways. I3C induces G1 arrest in NPC cell line with downregulation of cell cycle-related proteins, such as CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1 and pRb. In vivo, nude mice receiving I3C protectively or therapeutically exhibited smaller tumors than control group after they were inoculated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. The expression of CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1 and pRb in preventive treatment group and drug treatment group both decreased compared with the control group. We conclude that I3C can inhibit the growth of NPC in vitro and in vivo by suppressing the expression of CDK and cyclin families. The drug was safe and had no toxic effects on normal tissues and organs.
On-Line Root Cause Analysis For Nuclear Power Plant Control Rooms

This paper describes a new technology for analyzing alarm cascades in nuclear power plant control rooms in real-time, thereby making operation safer and more productive. The technology is based on multilevel flow models and a root cause analysis algorithm developed at Lund University and GoalArt. It enables the solution of the alarm cascade problem for full-scale nuclear power plants. In the next few years, we hope to introduce this technology as a technically mature functionality in control rooms for complex systems.
Combined Tractability of Query Evaluation via Tree Automata and Cycluits (Extended Version)

We investigate parameterizations of both database instances and queries that make query evaluation fixed-parameter tractable in combined complexity. We introduce a new Datalog fragment with stratified negation, intensional-clique-guarded Datalog (ICG-Datalog), with linear-time evaluation on structures of bounded treewidth for programs of bounded rule size. Such programs capture in particular conjunctive queries with simplicial decompositions of bounded width, guarded negation fragment queries of bounded CQ-rank, or two-way regular path queries. Our result proceeds via compilation to alternating two-way automata, whose semantics is defined via cyclic provenance circuits (cycluits) that can be tractably evaluated. Last, we prove that probabilistic query evaluation remains intractable in combined complexity under this parameterization.
Analysing Multiple Versions of an Ontology: A Study of the NCI Thesaurus

The detection of changes between OWL ontologies is an important service for ontology engineering. There are several approaches to this problem, both syntactic and semantic. A purely syntactic analysis of changes is insufficient to detect changes with logical effect, while the current state of the art in semantic diffing ignores logically ineffectual changes, which might be of great interest to the user. We develop an exhaustive categorisation of ineffectual changes, based on their justifications. In order to verify the applicability of our approach, we collected 88 OWL versions of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Thesaurus (NCIt), and extracted all pairwise, consecutive diffs. We discovered a substantial number of ineffectual changes and, as a result, argue that the devised categorisation of changes is beneficial for ontology engineers. We devised and applied a method for performance impact analysis (culprit finding) based on the diff between ontologies, and identified a number of culprits between two NCIt versions.
Going Local in Kingston’s Garrisons: Political Science Research in Complex Urban Settings

A principal challenge for political scientists is to find concepts and frameworks to explain complex realities. Often, in developing contexts, it is through informal politics where unique phenomena take place, yet thinking in political science tends to focus, incorrectly, on formal institutions. Empirical data was collected through individual interviews, surveys and focus groups with a total of 307 persons in Kingston, Jamaica. Multiple methods can enhance field work and how we look at power. Qualitative methods, using intersectionality and political ethnography, were appropriate tools given the complexity of getting information from poor Black people divided by political strongholds or garrisons. To study microfinance without looking at identities in the Caribbean region misses the point why some persons are excluded (or self exclude themselves) from microfinance programs. As this study examines the role of informal institutions in Kingston, Jamaica an understanding of how these power dynamics operate requires careful observation and unorthodox methods.
Opinion Mining Techniques on Social Media Data

In the current scenario, at the crossroad of computational linguistics and data retrieval opinions and emotions are more valuable than the subject of the document. Linguistic resources are used to retrieve sentiments and also to classify it. Over the internet, not only the large volume of unstructured data is available but also the large amount of text is also generating day by day in the form of blogs, emails, tweets and feedbacks e.t. c. Text analysis is much more mature than unstructured data. Mining is tough for these types of data because of its noisiness and this is the chief bottleneck for designing text mining system.They suffer from spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and improper punctuations because they are informally written.Opinion mining provides a clear platform to catch public‟s mood by filtering the noise data. It also provides computational techniques used to extract and consolidate individual‟s opinion from unstructured and noisy text data.This paper tries to cover some techniques and approaches of opinion mining process and also highlight comparative study of some techniques.
Focused Search on the Web using WeQueL

Keyword-based web query languages suffer from a lack of precision when searching for a precise kind of documents. Indeed, some documents cannot be simply characterized by a list of keywords. For example, searching for on-line pictures dealing with formula one using only simple keywords with general-purpose search-engines gives imprecise answers. This imprecision is due to the method that considers that a relevant document to a query is one that contains a lot of query keywords occurrences. This method is totally unefficient for poor textual-content documents like pictures, video streams . On the other hand, keyword based languages are often not powerful enough for expressing sophisticated document search like on-line java or c++ tutorials. We propose ” WeQueL ” a multi-criteria query langage for a better characterization of documents. The aim is to increase the precision of document retrieval on the web. In our experiments, we show the gain in accuracy for web document searching using our language.
Financial Leverage and the Leverage Effect - A Market and Firm Analysis

We quantify the effect of financial leverage on stock return volatility in a dynamic general equilibrium economy with debt and equity claims. The effect of financial leverage is studied both at a market and a firm level where the firm is exposed to both idiosyncratic and market risk. In a benchmark economy with both a constant interest rate and constant price of risk, financial leverage generates little variation in stock return volatility at the market level but significant variation at the individual firm level. In an economy that generates time-variation in interest rates and the price of risk, there is significant variation in stock return volatility at the market and firm level. In such an economy, financial leverage has little effect on the dynamics of stock return volatility at the market level. Financial leverage contributes more to the dynamics of stock return volatility for a small firm.
CMU / SEI-92-TR-007 ESC-TR-92-007 Introduction to Software Process Improvement

While software now pervades most facets of modern life, its historical problems have not been solved. This report explains why some of these problems have been so difficult for organizations to address and the actions required to address them. It describes the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) software process maturity model, how this model can be used to guide software organizations in process improvement, and the various assessment and evaluation methods that use this model. The report concludes with a discussion of improvement experience and some comments on future directions for this work.
Circulating Autoantibodies in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Recognize Human Macular Tissue Antigens Implicated in Autophagy, Immunomodulation, and Protection from Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis

Background We investigated sera from elderly subjects with and without age-related macular degeneration (AMD) for presence of autoantibodies (AAbs) against human macular antigens and characterized their identity. Methods Sera were collected from participants in the Age-Related Maculopathy Ancillary (ARMA) Study, a cross-sectional investigation ancillary to the Health ABC Study, enriched with participants from the general population. The resulting sample (mean age: 79.2±3.9 years old) included subjects with early to advanced AMD (n = 131) and controls (n = 231). Sera were tested by Western blots for immunoreactive bands against human donor macular tissue homogenates. Immunoreactive bands were identified and graded, and odds ratios (OR) calculated. Based on these findings, sera were immunoprecipitated, and subjected to 2D gel electrophoresis (GE). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to identify the targets recognized by circulating AAbs seen on 2D-GE, followed by ELISAs with recombinant proteins to confirm LC-MS/MS results, and quantify autoreactivities. Results In AMD, 11 immunoreactive bands were significantly more frequent and 13 were significantly stronger than in controls. Nine of the more frequent bands also showed stronger reactivity. OR estimates ranged between 4.06 and 1.93, and all clearly excluded the null value. Following immunoprecipitation, 2D-GE and LC-MS/MS, five of the possible autoreactivity targets were conclusively identified: two members of the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) family, HSPA8 and HSPA9; another member of the HSP family, HSPB4, also known as alpha-crystallin A chain (CRYAA); Annexin A5 (ANXA5); and Protein S100-A9, also known as calgranulin B that, when complexed with S100A8, forms calprotectin. ELISA testing with recombinant proteins confirmed, on average, significantly higher reactivities against all targets in AMD samples compared to controls. Conclusions Consistent with other evidence supporting the role of inflammation and the immune system in AMD pathogenesis, AAbs were identified in AMD sera, including early-stage disease. Identified targets may be mechanistically linked to AMD pathogenesis because the identified proteins are implicated in autophagy, immunomodulation, and protection from oxidative stress and apoptosis. In particular, a role in autophagy activation is shared by all five autoantigens, raising the possibility that the detected AAbs may play a role in AMD via autophagy compromise and downstream activation of the inflammasome. Thus, we propose that the detected AAbs provide further insight into AMD pathogenesis and have the potential to contribute to disease biogenesis and progression.
Towards an Understanding of the Influence of Organisational Factors on the Cosourcing Decision

Cosourcing describes a situation where organisations seek to outsource standard services jointly. Such an approach may make services more accessible to SMEs. This paper presents an approach that considers the interplay between universal and organisational factors in the cosourcing decision. The approach is empirically tested with an industry wide case study in the financial services sector. It is concluded that in general cosourcing would appear to offer benefits to SMEs who are not of a sufficient size to realise economies of scale individually. However varied circumstances lead to organisations making different decisions with regard to cosourcing even when faced with prima facie the same opportunity. Furthermore it emerged that there are a variety of cosourcing alternatives available. While this should increase the likelihood of there being a potential fit between what an organisation desires and what is available, it should be noted that not all organisations are likely to have access to all of the cosourcing options.
Actra-a multitasking/multiprocessing smalltalk

The Actra project is investigating future generation industrial computer systems based on the actor or object-oriented metaphor. It is designed to provide an integrated, multi-user, multi-processor object-oriented program development environment for use in medium and high performance industrial applications dealing with complex man-machine systems. Typical areas include command and control systems, manufacturing systems, simulation and intelligent assistants.
Methodological issues with Sampling Strategy

We would like to draw your attention to the following three methodological issues. The first issue is about the use of the word “prospective” by the authors in the title of the study. The title of an article provides a glimpse of not only the topic discussed but also about the methodology used to achieve the result. Accordingly, readers might either choose to stop by, or forego reading the article. Using the word “prospective” in the title gave an impression as if the study has enrolled certain patients from ICU with skin manifestation, and have followed them over a period of time for an outcome analysis. However, what the study has actually done was approached a patient, identified the dermatological manifestation, if any, which became the outcome variable. Moreover, at the same point of time, assessed probable risk factors, such as multimorbidity, duration spent in ICU, in addition to sociodemographic variables, from the hospital information system for that particular patient. This procedure was repeated on consecutively recruited patients between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2014. None of the patient was actually followed-up which is a prerequisite of “prospective study. ” Thus, it appears that by using the term “prospective” the authors perhaps desired to reflect that the recruited patients consecutively as they were admitted to the ICU. The title of the study thus should have used something like,. “done using a cross-sectional study”. while, in the methods sections, sampling strategy should have described the “consecutiveness” of study participant recruitment.
Phorbol myristate acetate: a mitogen selective for a T-lymphocyte subpopulation

Phorbol myristate acetate (pma) is a potent mitogen for human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) comparable to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in potency. Inactivation of PHA-responsive lymphocytes by 5'- bromodeoxyuridine and light treatment left the PMA response intact and nice versa. Experiments separating lymphocytes by rosetting with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) demonstrated that the PMA-responsive lymphocytes segregate with those that have a high affinity for SRBC to a greater than PHA- or concanavalin A (Con A)-responsive cells. These results indicate that a PMA-responsive population in human peripheral blood resides within the T-lymphocyte population and appears to have a high affinity for SRBC and to be distinct from that responding to PHA and Con A. PMA may be useful clinically to assay the size and function of the high affinity or "active" rosette population.
List homomorphisms and retractions to reflexive digraphs

We study the list homomorphism and retraction problems for the class of reflexive digraphs (digraphs in which each vertex has a loop). These problems have been intensively studied in the case of undirected graphs, but the situation seems more complex for digraphs. We also focus on an intermediate ‘subretraction’ problem. It turns out that the complexity of the subretraction problem can be classified at least for large classes of reflexive digraphs; by contrast, the complexity of the retraction problem for reflexive digraphs seems difficult to classify. For general list homomorphism problems, we conjecture that the problem is NP-complete unless H is an ‘adjusted’ interval digraph, in which case it is polynomial time solvable. We prove several cases of this conjecture. The class of adjusted interval digraphs appears interesting in its own right.
A Factor Analytic Study of the Ability to Spell

THURSTONE’S statement (1948) that the “ability to spell seems to be quite independent of most other abilities” seems inconsistent with findings that spelling is correlated with numerous measures : visual perception, auditory acuity and discrimination, pronunciation, attitudes toward spelling, interests, habits, general intelligence, vocabulary, age, and education. Reviews of these studies have been made by Horn (1960), Spache (1941n, 1941b), and Williamson (1933). Other studies have shown that personality or temperament is related to spelling achievement (D’Heurle, Mellinger and Haggard, 1959; IGefer and Sangren, 1925; Schoncll, 1036). Guiler (1929), RIoore (1937) , and Northby (1936) found that the mensure of spelling achievement is dependent upon the format or style of spelling test used. Support of Thurstone’s view was found in a factor analysis of spelling in which a “general spelling ability” factor was identified (Ihoell and Harris, 1952). However, n-eaknesses in this study prevent its findings from being conclusive. All 20 measures which were analyzed mere obtained from only tn-o tests which leads to the possibility of spurious factors (Guilford, 1952). Furthermore, since only spelling measures mere employed, no information was available as to the relationship of spelling to other abilities. The present study was designed with tn-o purposes: to investigate the relationships between spelling ability and other kinds of variables, and to determine whether spelling tests of different formats varied in their factorial composition.
Usenix Association 10th Usenix Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation (nsdi '13) 143 Yank: Enabling Green Data Centers to Pull the Plug

Balancing a data center's reliability, cost, and carbon emissions is challenging. For instance, data centers designed for high availability require a continuous flow of power to keep servers powered on, and must limit their use of clean, but intermittent, renewable energy sources. In this paper, we present Yank, which uses a transient server abstraction to maintain server availability , while allowing data centers to " pull the plug " if power becomes unavailable. A transient server's defining characteristic is that it may terminate anytime after a brief advance warning period. Yank exploits the advance warning—on the order of a few seconds—to provide high availability cheaply and efficiently at large scales by enabling each backup server to maintain " live " memory and disk snapshots for many transient VMs. We implement Yank inside of Xen. Our experiments show that a backup server can concurrently support up to 15 transient VMs with minimal performance degradation with advance warnings as small as 10 seconds, even when VMs run memory-intensive interactive web applications.