Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Healthcare-Associated Infection in Italy Annual Point-Prevalence Surveys, 2002–2004

Objective. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. During the period from 2002 through 2004, a group of Italian hospitals was recruited to conduct HAI point-prevalence surveys. Design. Three point-prevalence surveys. Methods. A total of 9,609 patients were surveyed. Results. The overall frequency of HAI was 6.7% (645 infections among the 9,609 surveyed patients). The most frequent HAIs were lower respiratory tract infections, which accounted for 35.8% (231 of 645 HAIs) of all HAIs, followed by urinary tract infections (152 [23.6%] of 645 HAIs), bloodstream infections (90 [14.0%] of 645 HAIs), and surgical site infections (79 [12.2%] of 645 HAIs). In both multivariate and univariate analysis, invasive procedures, duration of stay, chemotherapy, trauma, coma, and the location of the hospital were all factors statistically significantly associated with the occurrence of an HAL Enterobacteriaceae were the most common isolates recovered in medical and surgical wards, whereas gram-negative aerobic bacilli were the most common isolates recovered in intensive care units. Approximately one-half of all of the patients surveyed were receiving antibiotics at the time of our study; the most used antibiotic classes were fluoroquinolones in medical wards, cephalosporins in surgical wards, and penicillins and glycopeptides in intensive care units. Conclusion. Our study emphasizes the need for implementing further HAI surveillance to provide the National Health System with proper tools to prevent and manage infection in hospitalized patients.
Automatic Detection of Vulnerabilities in Web Applications using Fuzzing

Automatic detection of vulnerabilities is a problem studied in literature and a very important concern in application development with security requirements. Fuzzing is a software testing technique, automated or semi-automated, that involves injecting a massive quantity of semi-random inputs in software in order to ﬁnd security vulnerabilities. Many vulnerability detection techniques need manual analysis from specialized people in order to conﬁrm if there any vulnerabilities. To solve this problem, it was decided to develop a system that automatically detects vulnerabilities in web applications using fuzzing. Detecting vulnerabilities in web applications is diﬀerent than detection in other types of software. This happens because web applications contain many back-end components, that causes speciﬁc vulnerabilities, therefore, it is convenient monitoring these components. This works presents a framework for fuzzing web applications. In this work, monitoring is made inside each web application component. The framework detects a representative set of web application vulnerabilities: SQL injection; remote and local ﬁle inclusion; reﬂected and stored cross-site scripting. Our SQL injection detection mechanism is able to detect even subtle attacks of this category presented recently. We present an experimental evaluation of the framework, using vulnerable code samples and open source web applications.
Diversified Utility Maximization for Recommendations

Consider the problem of recommending items to a group of users subject to the diversity of their tastes. The goal is to recommend a list of items, such that the interests of each user are covered. We cast this problem as maximizing a diversified utility function of the group, the optimal solution of which can be found greedily. We conduct a user study in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Evaluation results show that our method represents an effective strategy compared to various settings in which a convex combination of utility and diversity is maximized.
The complexity of XPath query evaluation

In this paper, we study the precise complexity of XPath 1.0 query processing. Even though heavily used by its incorporation into a variety of XML-related standards, the precise cost of evaluating an XPath query is not yet wellunderstood. The first polynomial-time algorithm for XPath processing (with respect to combined complexity) was proposed only recently, and even to this day all major XPath engines take time exponential in the size of the input queries. From the standpoint of theory, the precise complexity of XPath query evaluation is open, and it is thus unknown whether the query evaluation problem can be parallelized.In this work, we show that both the data complexity and the query complexity of XPath 1.0 fall into lower (highly parallelizable) complexity classes, but that the combined complexity is PTIME-hard. Subsequently, we study the sources of this hardness and identify a large and practically important fragment of XPath 1.0 for which the combined complexity is LOGCFL-complete and, therefore, in the highly parallelizable complexity class NC2.
Activity of the transposon Tam3 in Antirrhinum and tobacco: possible role of DNA methylation.

The transposon Tam3 from Antirrhinum majus can transpose in a heterologous host (Nicotiana tabacum); thus the element is autonomous, probably encoding the specific information required for its own transposition. In transgenic tobacco Tam3 rapidly becomes methylated at its ends whilst adjacent flanking sequences remain hypomethylated. This methylation may account for our failure to detect Tam3 transposition in the progeny of transgenic tobacco. Treatment with the inhibitor of cytosine methylation, 5 aza‐cytosine appeared to induce transposon related activity at a low level. In Antirrhinum methylation also appears to be associated with inactivation of Tam3 copies.
A New Simple Method for Improving QTL Mapping Under Selective Genotyping

The selective genotyping approach, where only individuals from the high and low extremes of the trait distribution are selected for genotyping and the remaining individuals are not genotyped, has been known as a cost-saving strategy to reduce genotyping work and can still maintain nearly equivalent efficiency to complete genotyping in QTL mapping. We propose a novel and simple statistical method based on the normal mixture model for selective genotyping when both genotyped and ungenotyped individuals are fitted in the model for QTL analysis. Compared to the existing methods, the main feature of our model is that we first provide a simple way for obtaining the distribution of QTL genotypes for the ungenotyped individuals and then use it, rather than the population distribution of QTL genotypes as in the existing methods, to fit the ungenotyped individuals in model construction. Another feature is that the proposed method is developed on the basis of a multiple-QTL model and has a simple estimation procedure similar to that for complete genotyping. As a result, the proposed method has the ability to provide better QTL resolution, analyze QTL epistasis, and tackle multiple QTL problem under selective genotyping. In addition, a truncated normal mixture model based on a multiple-QTL model is developed when only the genotyped individuals are considered in the analysis, so that the two different types of models can be compared and investigated in selective genotyping. The issue in determining threshold values for selective genotyping in QTL mapping is also discussed. Simulation studies are performed to evaluate the proposed methods, compare the different models, and study the QTL mapping properties in selective genotyping. The results show that the proposed method can provide greater QTL detection power and facilitate QTL mapping for selective genotyping. Also, selective genotyping using larger genotyping proportions may provide roughly equivalent power to complete genotyping and that using smaller genotyping proportions has difficulties doing so. The R code of our proposed method is available on http://www.stat.sinica.edu. tw/chkao/.
A Unified Theory of Tobin's Q, Corporate Investment, Financing, and Risk Management

This paper proposes a simple homogeneous dynamic model of investment and corporate risk management for a financially constrained firm. Following Froot, Scharfstein, and Stein (1993), we define a corporation's risk management as the coordination of investment and financing decisions. In our model, corporate risk management involves internal liquidity management, financial hedging, and investment. We determine a firm's optimal cash, investment, asset sales, credit line, external equity finance, and payout policies as functions of the following key parameters: 1) the firm's earnings growth and cash-flow risk; 2) the external cost of financing; 3) the firm's liquidation value; 4) the opportunity cost of holding cash; 5) investment adjustment and asset sales costs; and 6) the return and covariance characteristics of hedging assets the firm can invest in. The optimal cash inventory policy takes the form of a double-barrier policy where i) cash is paid out to shareholders only when the cash-capital ratio hits an endogenous upper barrier, and ii) external funds are raised only when the firm has depleted its cash. In between the two barriers, the firm adjusts its capital expenditures, asset sales, and hedging policies. Several new insights emerge from our analysis. For example, we find an inverse relation between marginal Tobin's q and investment when the firm draws on its credit line. We also find that financially constrained firms may have a lower equity beta in equilibrium because these firms tend to hold higher precautionary cash inventories.
Great minds think alike. Experimental study on lexical alignment in human-agent interaction

Abstract Based on first results on lexical alignment towards computers demonstrating that human users adapt their word choice to that of a computer, it was tested whether participants will also adapt to a virtual agent within a tutoring setting. In an experimental between subjects design (N = 40) participants were presented with information on three medical topics by a virtual agent either using lay language or technical terms. Results show that participants aligned to the word choice of the agent in both conditions, while there were no effects for perceived competence and likeability. Zusammenfassung Vor dem Hintergrund erster Ergebnisse zum lexikalischen Alignment gegenüber Computern, in denen gezeigt werden konnte, dass menschliche Nutzer sich in ihrer Wortwahl an die des Computers anpassen, wurde geprüft, ob es auch zu einer entsprechenden Anpassung an einen virtuellen Agenten im Rahmen eines Tutoring Systems kommt. In einem experimentellen between-subjects Design (N = 40) präsentierte eine virtuelle Agentin den TeilnehmerInnen unter Nutzung von entweder Laienausdrücken oder Fachbegriffen Informationen zu drei medizinischen Themen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die TeilnehmerInnen sich in beiden Bedingungen an die Wortwahl der Agentin anpassen, es kommt aber nicht zu unterschiedlichen Zuschreibungen hinsichtlich Kompetenz oder Sympathie.
Linear and nonlinear melt-state viscoelastic properties of polypropylene/organoclay nanocomposites

Rheological behavior of polypropylene (PP)/organoclay nanocomposites varying in compatibilizer (PP-g-MA) and organoclay concentration was investigated. The samples were prepared by melt intercalation method in an internal mixer. The wide angle X-ray diffraction patterns and results of rheological measurements showed that the compatibilizer had strong influence in increasing the interlayer spacing. The observed low frequency liquid-like to solid-like transition and apparent yield stress in simple shear flows, along with convergence of transient shear stress to nonzero values in stress relaxation after the cessation of flow experiments, were found to be consistent with formation of a physical network in quiescent conditions which could be easily ruptured with applying low shear rates. The values of stress overshoot strain in flow reversal experiments were independent of shear rate, organoclay, and compatibilizer content. From the results of frequency sweep experiments in different nonlinear strain amplitudes it was shown that extended Cox-Merz analogy was valid in nonlinear dynamic deformations while the shear viscosity showed positive deviation from this analogy with higher deviations at lower shear rates. Results of storage modulus recovery and flow reversal experiments at different shear rates suggested that network structure is reformed with a much slower rate compared to the rotational relaxation of organoclay platelets. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers
Eigenvalues Of Covariance Matrix For Two-Source Array processing

Abstract : This report begins with a survey of narrowband direction-finding algorithms in element space. Then it discusses a simple stress measure to direction-finding algorithms applied to scenarios with two sources. Eigenvalue weighting appears in some noise subspace methods, in parametric signal subspace fitting methods, and in nonparametric subspace adaptive nulling beamforming. For a two-source array-processing scenario, normalized large and small eigenvalues are reduced to forms depending only on a real triplet. Presented also are some easy-to-remember formulas that enable one to exercise 'back-of-envelope' assessment of scenarios. The small eigenvalue is shown to diminish qualitatively and quantitatively for two arrival scenarios increasingly stressed with high temporal and/or spatial correlations. The special case of equal-strength signal arrivals also important in low angle radar tracking, shares many rich structures. The equal-strength case also has several additional unique features for signal eigenvalue ratio which is important in direction finding.
Validation of a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test Score in Heart Failure

Background—Cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPX) responses are strong predictors of outcomes in patients with heart failure. We recently developed a CPX score that integrated the additive prognostic information from CPX. The purpose of this study was to validate the score in a larger, independent sample of patients. Methods and Results—A total of 2625 patients with heart failure underwent CPX and were followed for cardiovascular (CV) mortality and major CV events (death, transplantation, left ventricular assist device implantation). Net reclassification improvement (NRI) for the score and each of its components were determined at 3 years. The VE/VCO2 slope was the strongest predictor of risk and was attributed a relative weight of 7, with weighted scores for abnormal heart rate recovery, oxygen uptake efficiency slope, end-tidal CO2 pressure, and peak VO2 having scores of 5, 3, 3, and 2, respectively. A summed score of >15 was associated with an annual mortality rate of 12.2% and a relative risk >9 for total events, whereas a score of <5 was associated with an annual mortality rate of 1.2%. The composite score was the most accurate predictor of CV events among all CPX responses considered (C indexes, 0.70 for CV mortality and 0.72 for the composite outcome). Each component of the score provided significant NRI compared with peak VO2 (category-free NRI, 0.61–0.77), and the score provided significant NRI above clinical risk factors for both CV events and mortality (NRI, 0.63 and 0.65 for CPX score compared with clinical variables alone). Conclusions—These results validate the application of a simple, integrated multivariable score based on readily available CPX responses.
Big Data with Cloud Computing: an insight on the computing environment, MapReduce, and programming frameworks

The term ‘Big Data’ has spread rapidly in the framework of Data Mining and Business Intelligence. This new scenario can be defined by means of those problems that cannot be effectively or efficiently addressed using the standard computing resources that we currently have. We must emphasize that Big Data does not just imply large volumes of data but also the necessity for scalability, i.e., to ensure a response in an acceptable elapsed time. When the scalability term is considered, usually traditional parallel‐type solutions are contemplated, such as the Message Passing Interface or high performance and distributed Database Management Systems. Nowadays there is a new paradigm that has gained popularity over the latter due to the number of benefits it offers. This model is Cloud Computing, and among its main features we has to stress its elasticity in the use of computing resources and space, less management effort, and flexible costs. In this article, we provide an overview on the topic of Big Data, and how the current problem can be addressed from the perspective of Cloud Computing and its programming frameworks. In particular, we focus on those systems for large‐scale analytics based on the MapReduce scheme and Hadoop, its open‐source implementation. We identify several libraries and software projects that have been developed for aiding practitioners to address this new programming model. We also analyze the advantages and disadvantages of MapReduce, in contrast to the classical solutions in this field. Finally, we present a number of programming frameworks that have been proposed as an alternative to MapReduce, developed under the premise of solving the shortcomings of this model in certain scenarios and platforms. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2014, 4:380–409. doi: 10.1002/widm.1134
Functional Role and Immunocytochemical Localization of the γa and γb Forms of the Na,K-ATPase γ Subunit*

The γ subunit of the Na,K-ATPase is a member of the FXYD family of type 2 transmembrane proteins that probably function as regulators of ion transport. Rat γ is present primarily in the kidney as two main splice variants, γa and γb, which differ only at their extracellular N termini (TELSANH and MDRWYL, respectively; Kuster, B., Shainskaya, A., Pu, H. X., Goldshleger, R., Blostein, R., Mann, M., and Karlish, S. J. D. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 18441–18446). Expression in cultured cells indicates that both variants affect catalytic properties, without a detectable difference between γa and γb. At least two singular effects are seen, irrespective of whether the variants are expressed in HeLa or rat α1-transfected HeLa cells, i.e. (i) an increase in apparent affinity for ATP, probably secondary to a left shift in E 1 ↔E 2 conformational equilibrium and (ii) an increase in K+ antagonism of cytoplasmic Na+activation. Antibodies against the C terminus common to both variants (anti-γ) abrogate the first effect but not the second. In contrast, γa and γb show differences in their localization along the kidney tubule. Using anti-γ (C-terminal) and antibodies to the rat α subunit as well as antibodies to identify cell types, double immunofluorescence showed γ in the basolateral membrane of several tubular segments. Highest expression is in the medullary portion of the thick ascending limb (TAL), which contains both γa and γb. In fact, TAL is the only positive tubular segment in the medulla. In the cortex, most tubules express γ but at lower levels. Antibodies specific for γa and γb showed differences in their cortical location; γa is specific for cells in the macula densa and principal cells of the cortical collecting duct but not cortical TAL. In contrast, γb but not γa is present in the cortical TAL only. Thus, the importance of γa and γb may be related to their partially overlapping but distinct expression patterns and tissue-specific functions of the pump that these serve.
Bug localisation through diverse sources of information

Many approaches have been proposed to address the problem of bug localisation - taking a bug report and recommending to developers the possible locations of the bug in the project. However, these can often require significant up-front work from developers, and are not widely adopted. Furthermore, those techniques which do not require this up-front investment are often far from accurate, and do not take advantage of all of the information that they could. We propose a technique for combining information from multiple, novel sources of information about a project and a bug, and use this to recommend bug locations to developers. We also identify how this technique could be used to create a low-effort tool for bug localisation, with the aim of increasing developer adoption. We evaluate the technique on 1143 bugs in three open-source projects, and find that it can be used to increase the number of bugs where the first relevant method recommended to developers is the top result from 98 to 132 and in the top-10 from 271 to 322.
Sale Rates and Price Movements in Art Auctions

The failure of many paintings to sell in art auctions indicates the presence of reserve prices set by sellers. This paper examines the relationship between sale rates and price surprises over time in art auctions. Using data on contemporary and impressionist art, we show that while sale rates appear to have little relationship to current prices, there exists a strong positive relationship of sale rates to unexpected aggregate price changes, which is reminiscent of a Phillips curve. As a result, sale rates provide a useful quantity indicator of the strength of the art market. The data also indicate that sale rates revert to "normal" very quickly following a price surprise. We estimate an empirical model to measure normal sale rates. We also find evidence that the reserve price is set on average at about 70% of the auctioneer's low estimate, as published in the auction catalog.
Structure in Approximation Classes

The study of the approximability properties of NP-hard optimization problems has recently made great advances mainly due to the results obtained in the field of proof checking. The last important breakthrough proves the APX-completeness of several important optimization problems and thus reconciles "two distinct views of approximation classes: syntactic and computational" [S. Khanna et al., in Proc. 35th IEEE Symp. on Foundations of Computer Science, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, 1994, pp. 819--830]. In this paper we obtain new results on the structure of several computationally-defined approximation classes. In particular, after defining a new approximation preserving reducibility to be used for as many approximation classes as possible, we give the first examples of natural NPO-complete problems and the first examples of natural APX-intermediate problems. Moreover, we state new connections between the approximability properties and the query complexity of NPO problems.
Measuring lift quality in database marketing

Database marketers often select predictive models based on the lift in the top 5%, 10%, or 20%. However, dierent models may be better at dierent thresholds. Absent a good cost function, or when multiple cost functions are possible, we want a measure that helps to compare models by looking at the entire lift curve. In this paper, we propose such a measure, called L-quality, which indicates how close the lift curve is to the random and perfect models. We also examine the practical issues of computing L-quality from discrete quantiles available in a typical lift table.
Investigations of viscoelastic liquid cooled actuators applied for dynamic motion control of legged systems

To significantly improve actuation technology for legged systems, we design, build, and empirically test the viscoelastic liquid cooled actuator (VLCA) for use in a robotic leg. Unlike existing actuators, VLCAs excel in the following five critical axes of performance, which are essential for dynamic motion control of practical legged robots: energy efficiency, power density, impact-resistance, position controllability, and force controllability. In this paper, we explain design details with respect to the five criteria, and present results from our extensive study of a variety of viscoelastic materials. Position controllability and power density are experimentally evaluated by demonstrating dynamic motion with a single leg testbed, custom-built using VLCAs. In the experiment, the testbed shows 6.1 rad/s maximum velocity and 240 Nm maximum torque while accurately executing the commanded motions.