Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Delta intracellular domain mediates TGF-β/Activin signaling through binding to Smads and has an important bi-directional function in the Notch-Delta signaling pathway.

Delta is a major transmembrane ligand for Notch receptor that mediates numerous cell fate decisions. The Notch signaling pathway has long been thought to be mono-directional, because ligands for Notch were generally believed to be unable to transmit signals into the cells expressing them. However, we showed here that Notch also supplies signals to neighboring mouse neural stem cells (NSCs). To investigate the Notch-Delta signaling pathway in a bi-directional manner, we analyzed functional roles of the intracellular domain of mouse Delta like protein 1 (Dll1IC). In developing mouse NSCs, Dll1IC, which is released from cell membrane by proteolysis, is present in the nucleus. Furthermore, we screened for transcription factors that bind to Dll1IC and demonstrated that Dll1IC binds specifically to transcription factors involved in TGF-β /Activin signaling-Smad2, Smad3 and Smad4-and enhances Smad-dependent transcription. In addition, the results of the present study indicated that over-expression of Dll1IC in embryonic carcinoma P19 cells induced neurons, and this induction was blocked by SB431542, which is a specific inhibitor of TGF-β /Activin signaling. These observations strongly suggested that Dll1IC mediates TGF-β /Activin signaling through binding to Smads and plays an important role for bi-directional Notch-Delta signaling pathway.
Large-scale optimization in online-retail inventory management

This thesis studies the related decisions of inventory placement and inventory replenishment in online retail. The placement decision focuses on the selection of fulfillment centers in which to place items, while the replenishment decision concerns the amount of inventory to order for each item. In contrast with traditional retail, a distinctive feature of online retail is the flexibility to ship items to customers from different fulfillment centers. This creates interdependence between fulfillment centers and poses new challenges in inventory management. The placement decision can be formulated as a mixed-integer program. The objective is to minimize the sum of outbound shipping and fixed costs for all the items, while satisfying demand and capacity constraints. The large scale of the problem is due to the size of the fulfillment center network and the number of items. We propose a large-scale solution scheme that aggregates the items, solves a column-based reformulation of the aggregated problem using column generation, and then disaggregates the solution into placement plans for the individual items. The replenishment decision for a single item can be formulated as a dynamic program, in which the objective is to minimize the long-term average of outbound shipping, stockout and holding costs. Its scale and complexity arises from demand stochasticity, inventory dynamics, non-identical fulfillment center lead times, and the integrality of inventory units. We propose approximation schemes that employ simulation to evaluate and optimize parameterized policies. In particular, we design the simulation to estimate gradient-like information, and use the information to enhance the efficiency a random search method. For both problems, realistic numerical examples demonstrate that the large-scale optimization methods produce low-cost solutions in a relatively short amount of time, compared to simple heuristics that do not involve much optimization. We also study the properties of solutions in order to obtain managerial insights on the impact of key factors, including cost parameters, capacity constraints, and lead times.
Impact of Administrative Influence and Support on Use of Internet Technology for Course Delivery

Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) technologies have had an increasingly significant impact on the design and delivery of courses in universities. While not replacing traditional classroom instruction, the internet allows instructors to enhance traditional classroom delivery methods. However, the acceptance of this technology has not been universal. The purpose of this paper is to present the motivations, progress and plans for an ongoing project examining the influence of administrative planning and support on the adoption of Internet and Web technologies in academia. The project is grew out of the results of a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) based study into the factors affecting educator's intentions to adopt internet technologies and from the experiences of internet adoption at two similar universities.
A comprehensive proteome map of bovine cerebrospinal fluid

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is considered as the most promising body fluid target for the discovery of biomarkers for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle. For the recognition of disease‐associated changes in bovine CSF protein patterns, a detailed knowledge of this proteome is a prerequisite. The absence of a high‐resolution CSF proteome map prompted us to determine all bovine CSF protein spots that can be visualised on 2‐D protein gels. Using state‐of‐the‐art 2‐DE technology for proteome mapping of bovine ante mortem CSF combined with sensitive fluorescent protein staining and MALDI‐TOF/TOF MS for protein identification, a highly detailed 2‐DE map of the bovine CSF proteome was established. Besides the proteins mapped by earlier studies, this map contains 66 different proteins, including 58 which were not annotated in bovine 2‐DE CSF maps before.
A one‐carbon modification of protein lysine associated with elevated oxidative stress in human substantia nigra

We describe for the first time a naturally occurring lysine modification that is converted to methyllysine by reduction with sodium borohydride. This modification is ∼1.7 times as abundant in soluble proteins from human substantia nigra pars compacta as in proteins from other brain regions, possibly as a result of elevated oxidative stress in the nigra. Proteins from cultured PC12 cells exposed to oxidative stress conditions also contain elevated levels of this lysine modification. The abundance of the naturally occurring modification is roughly 0.08 nmoles/mg protein in either unstressed brain or PC12 cells. Modification levels remain stable in isolated proteins incubated for 2 h at 37°C in pH 7 buffer. We propose that the endogenous modification is the lysine Schiff base, ε‐N‐methylenelysine, and that lysine modifications may result from a reaction with formaldehyde in vivo. Rat brain contains ∼60 nmoles/g wet weight of formaldehyde, which probably includes both free and reversibly bound forms. Adding ∼35 µm HCHO to PC12 cell growth medium introduces methylenelysine modifications in cell proteins and impairs cell viability. The existence of this post‐translational modification suggests new mechanisms of oxidative stress that may contribute to tissue degeneration, including loss of nigral dopamine neurons during normal aging and in Parkinson's disease.
Truth in Negotiations Act: Getting the Incentives Right

Abstract : The Truth In Negotiations Act (TINA) is a contracting statute that has been put into place in order to protect the Department of Defense s funds by mandating that contractors provide certified cost or pricing data. When cost estimates exceed the TINA threshold ($700,000), and when all other means of negotiating fair and reasonable pricing are not available, TINA ensures that a fair and reasonable price can be determined from the contractor submitted data. Despite its good intentions, TINA remains controversial. Supporters of TINA argue that certified cost or pricing data protects the government s funding: if a later audit shows pricing deviations, the U.S. government can charge contractors penalties and recoup funds if necessary. Critics of TINA, however, argue that TINA does not provide the right incentives to contractors to induce their best efforts. In fact, with certain types of contracts on the contract type spectrum, the contractor and the government both may benefit if TINA provisions are modified to allow for flexibility with certified cost or pricing data. This study proposes to evaluate TINA from an economic view, with a contracting emphasis on investigating incentives that are generated under TINA.
An All-Digital Jitter Tolerance Measurement Technique for CDR Circuits

An all-digital on-chip jitter tolerance measurement technique for clock/data recovery (CDR) circuits is presented. A 6-Gbps CDR circuit with this proposed technique is realized in a 90-nm CMOS process. The measured jitter tolerance by using the testing equipment and the proposed technique correlate within 13 % in the frequency range of 178 kHz ~ 11.3 MHz. The measured peak-to-peak data and clock jitters are 15.56 and 13.3 ps. The power of the CDR circuit is 44.4 mW at a supply voltage of 1.2 V.
Probiotic lactobacilli and bacteraemia in Stockholm

The objective of the present study was to determine the incidence of lactobacilli-induced bacteraemia in Stockholm, Sweden, between January 1998 and March 2004, and to identify the possible presence of probiotic strains. Isolated strains were checked for growth on selective lactobacilli-agar and the biochemical profiles were determined. The lactobacilli strains were further analysed with molecular methodologies to ascertain eventual similarities with the probiotic strains Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei F19 (LMG P 17806), Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFB 1748 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (ATCC 53103). The minimum inhibitory concentrations of selected antimicrobial agents were determined by the agar dilution method. The incidence of bacteraemia cases caused by lactobacilli remained at the same level during the study period and constituted to <1% of the total number of bacteraemia cases each y. L. paracasei subsp. paracasei F19, L. acidophilus NCFB 1748 and L. rhamnosus GG were not identified in any of the samples.
Denoising of hepatic signals with Partial Cycle Spinning

Partial Cycle Spinning (PCS) is a technique that allows denoising of signals with lower complexity than Cycle Spinning (CS). PCS is a simplified version of CS, in which only a subset of the shifts used in CS is used. The results obtained with PCS show some variability depending on the shifts chosen. The quality of the processed signals can be improved by taking advantage of this variability. This paper presents a study of the influence of the choice of shifts on the PCS algorithm for medical signal denoising applications, to be more precise for hepatic signals of ultrasonic origin. The results obtained, both for synthetic signals and ultrasonic hepatic signals, show how the choice of shifts in the PCS algorithm influences the quality of the final processed signal.
Seleção Automática de Exemplos de Treino para um Método de Deduplicação de Registros baseado em Programação Genética

O grande volume de informacao disponivel em meios digitais tem preocupado administradores de grandes repositorios de dados, tais como bibliotecas digitais e bancos de dados de grandes corporacoes. Atualmente, e possivel estabelecer uma relacao entre a qualidade dos dados presentes nos sistemas de uma organizacao e a capacidade damesma prover servicos de qualidade a seus clientes, resultando em um grande investimento por parte de empresas e instituicoes governamentais no desenvolvimento de metodos eficientes para a identificacao e remocao de replicas. Por ser uma tarefa queexige muito tempo e poder de processamento, os metodos propostos devem obter bons resultados da forma mais eficiente possivel.Recentemente, tecnicas de aprendizado de maquina vem sendo utilizadas para lidar com o problema de deduplicacao de registros. No entanto, elas exigem exemplos, normalmente gerados manualmente, para a realizacao da etapa de treino necessaria para o aprendizado dos padroes de duplicacao do repositorio de dados. Isto dificulta autilizacao dessas tecnicas em diversos casos, devido ao custo exigido para a criacao do conjunto de exemplos de treino. Esta dissertacao propoe uma abordagem que utiliza uma tecnica deterministicapara sugerir automaticamente exemplos de treino para um metodo de deduplicacao de registros baseado em programacao genetica (PG). Experimentos utilizando dados sinteticos mostram que e possivel utilizar conjuntos de treino bastante reduzidos para se gerar mais rapidamente as funcoes de deduplicacao, sem uma reducao significativana qualidade das solucoes geradas, mesmo em repositorios de dados com elevados niveis de dificuldade para deduplicacao. Alem disso, foi realizado um projeto fatorial para mensurar o grau de dificuldade para se deduplicar repositorios de dados, identificando as caracteristicas que podem afetar a utilizacao do metodo de selecao de exemplos detreino para a deduplicacao de registros baseada em PG.
Putting the Resource-Based View of Strategy and Distinctive Competencies to Work in Public Organizations

A key to the success of public organizations is their ability to identify and build capacity, particularly their distinctive competencies, in order to produce the greatest value for key stakeholders. This article grounds this proposition in the resource-based view of organizations and presents a method for identifying and making use of distinctive competencies in the form of a "livelihood scheme"-a business model appropriate for the public sector-that links distinctive competencies to organizational aspirations and goals. The case of a major public sector training and consultancy unit that is part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service is used as illustration. A number of conclusions are offered in the form of a set of propositions tied to the resource-based view and related research issues. The results contribute to both public strategic management theory and practice.
A High-Efficiency GaN HEMT Hybrid Class-E Power Amplifier for 3.5 GHz WiMAX Applications

This paper represents a high-efficiency class-E power amplifier (PA) using a 10-W GaN HEMT for WiMAX applications of 3.5 GHz. The compensation elements to cancel parasitic components of a packaged device are used for an ideal class-E operation. The harmonic-suppression network using open-stub transmission lines is employed to obtain high output power level and high efficiency. For a 3.5 GHz continuous wave, the measured results show that a peak power-added efficiency (PAE) of 72.1% with a gain of 10.5 dB is achieved at an output power of 40.5 dBm, which delivers a drain efficiency of 79.2%. All harmonic components are suppressed below -57.1 dBc over a whole output power range. The PAE over 60% and the output power level over 40 dBm are maintained in 200 MHz bandwidth.
Application of Metabolic PET Imaging in Radiation Oncology

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a noninvasive imaging technique that provides functional or metabolic assessment of normal tissue or disease conditions and is playing an increasing role in cancer radiotherapy planning. 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET imaging (FDG-PET) is widely used in the clinic for tumor imaging due to increased glucose metabolism in most types of tumors; its role in radiotherapy management of various cancers is reviewed. In addition, other metabolic PET imaging agents at various stages of preclinical and clinical development are reviewed. These agents include radiolabeled amino acids such as methionine for detecting increased protein synthesis, radiolabeled choline for detecting increased membrane lipid synthesis, and radiolabeled acetate for detecting increased cytoplasmic lipid synthesis. The amino acid analogs choline and acetate are often more specific to tumor cells than FDG, so they may play an important role in differentiating cancers from benign conditions and in the diagnosis of cancers with either low FDG uptake or high background FDG uptake. PET imaging with FDG and other metabolic PET imaging agents is playing an increasing role in complementary radiotherapy planning.
Optimal dietary inclusion of organically complexed zinc for broiler chickens

1. The aim of the present study was to determine the optimal content of organically complexed zinc (Zn) for broiler chickens. 2. Five different Zn and manganese (Mn) dietary contents from organically complexed supplements including a control diet containing 15 mg Mn and 20 mg Zn/kg diet, were randomly fed to one-day-old Cobb broilers (each treatment had 6 replicates of 4 birds) for 35 d. Body weight and feed intake were recorded weekly. At the end of the experiment, two birds from each cage were killed and their right tibia were collected to measure bone size, strength and mineral contents. 3. Body weight gain and total tibia copper (Cu), iron (Fe), Mn and Zn contents increased linearly with supplemental Zn and Mn intake. The optimal Zn requirements for broilers at 1–14 and 14–35 d of age were 58 and 68 mg/kg diet, respectively. 4. Supplementation of Mn and Zn had no effect on tibia bone width and strength, but increased tibia length. 5. In commercial practice, organically complexed Zn may need to be supplemented during the entire period of production at a higher content than NRC recommendation but it is not necessary to exceed 70 mg/kg diet.
Individuals’ Long Term Use of Cognitive Behavioural Skills to Manage their Depression: A Qualitative Study

Background: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aims to teach people skills to help them self-manage their depression. Trial evidence shows that CBT is an effective treatment for depression and individuals may experience benefits long-term. However, there is little research about individuals’ continued use of CBT skills once treatment has finished. Aims: To explore whether individuals who had attended at least 12 sessions of CBT continued to use and value the CBT skills they had learnt during therapy. Method: Semi-structured interviews were held with participants from the CoBalT trial who had received CBT, approximately 4 years earlier. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: 20 participants were interviewed. Analysis of the interviews suggested that individuals who viewed CBT as a learning process, at the time of treatment, recalled and used specific skills to manage their depression once treatment had finished. In contrast, individuals who viewed CBT only as an opportunity to talk about their problems did not appear to utilize any of the CBT skills they had been taught and reported struggling to manage their depression once treatment had ended. Conclusions: Our findings suggest individuals may value and use CBT skills if they engage with CBT as a learning opportunity at the time of treatment. Our findings underline the importance of the educational model in CBT and the need to emphasize this to individuals receiving treatment.
Voice over IP Mobile Telephony Using WIFI P2P

Voice telephony over mobile is currently supported at a cost using service provider such as GSM, or using IP service provider at cheaper cost. The purpose of this research is to design and implement a telephony program that uses WIFI in p2p (Peer-to-Peer) or WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) as a means of communication between mobile phones at no cost. The system will allow users to search for other individuals within WIFI range and to establish free p2p voice connections, or to establish virtual connection through Access Points (AP), as well as giving the option to user to use GSM in the case of no WIFI connectivity is available. The system will use a novel algorithm to convert mobile number into IP address and use it as a mean for contacting other mobile over p2p or AP using WIFI technology. The software will use a correlation between current address books available in mobile phones to convert phone numbers into IP addresses. The system will allow user to make voice conversation, sending SMS (Short Message Service) as well as MMS. Inbox and outbox services, message delivery reports, and message drafts will be used for SMS and MMS management. The current system will only allow for one call per connection, and no call waiting, or conference calls. The first step of this research and development is to resolve the technical issue regarding mapping of the mobile user’s phone number to a unique IP address in order to avoid IP collision, centralized control, and user configuration. In addition, voice call will be supported using WIFI to allow mobile phones to communicate free of cost to each other through p2p or through AP
Impact of Agri-environmental Schemes on Farm Performances in five EU Member States

Agri-environmental schemes (AES) of the European Union are the most important measure in terms of share on the public budget for Rural Development. Although the farmers uptake of AES is expected to strongly impact even farmer’s behavior, in the literature the attempts to investigate this impact are scarce. Our study applies a difference-in-differences propensity score matching estimator in order to perform a comparative analyses of the effects of AE measures on farmer’s practises and economic performances across five EU Member States. Results show differences in the AES effects across country as well as differences across farmers of the same country according to what extent the farm income is dependent on the AE payment. Our analyses suggests that the AE payment in Spain is not enough to compensate the large drop of the per hectare income after participation and the AE uptake does not seem to promote effectively environmental-friendly farm practises. In France and Italy the sustainable practises of farmer participants lead to an income foregone that is not fairly compensated by the AE payments. Only in Germany and UK the AE payments seem to compensate the income loss that results from changes in farmers production choices.
Data-driven Methods for Fault Localization in Process Technology

Control systems at production plants consist of a large number of process variables. When detecting abnormal behavior, these variables generate an alarm. Due to the interconnection of the plant's devices the fault can lead to an alarm flood. This again hides the original location of the causing device. In this work several data-driven approaches for root cause localization are proposed, compared and combined. All methods analyze disturbed process data for backtracking the propagation path.
Accounting and Accountability in Fiji: A Review and Synthesis

This paper reviews accounting and accountability research in Fiji. The review is based on 47 papers published since 1978 in accounting refereed journals, professional journals, edited book chapters and theses and other refereed journals outside accounting. In addition to categorisation of the reviewed papers according to accounting topics, theories and methods of data collection, some themes to which the papers could be related are discussed. Financial reporting/accountability research is the most popular research in Fiji followed by new public management research, with sustainability accounting research the third most popular. The paper's findings suggest some directions for future accounting research in Fiji and where the data can possibly be sourced for such research. We conclude that more research is needed in the Fijian context that focuses on accounting and the state, performance auditing, indigenous accounting, SMEs and accountability.
Lecture 2 : Subgradient Methods

In this lecture, we discuss first order methods for the minimization of convex functions. We focus almost exclusively on subgradient-based methods, which are essentially universally applicable for convex optimization problems, because they rely very little on the structure of the problem being solved. This leads to effective but slow algorithms in classical optimization problems, however, in large scale problems arising out of machine learning and statistical tasks, subgradient methods enjoy a number of (theoretical) optimality properties and have excellent practical performance.