Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new authorization model of a case-based complex system applied in enterprise informatization

This paper focuses on the design of authorization module, which serves as one of key links in the developing process of enterprise information management system. Combining the results of foreign literature and practice, the paper starts with the analysis and comparison on three commonly used authorization model, and then proceeds to the development background introduction of enterprise authorization system, which is example-based. An improved authorization model relying on one single authorization table in a complex system is introduced according to the original organizational structure. The classification levels of subjects and objects are redesigned, and the characteristics of GUID data type are brought into full play correspondingly.
Subacute toxicities and toxicokinetics of DA‐8159, a new phosphodiesterase type V inhibitor, after single and 4‐Week repeated oral administration in rats

The subacute toxicities (10 male and 10 female rats at each dose) and the toxicokinetics (5 male rats at each dose) of DA‐8159, a new phosphodiesterase type V (PDE V) inhibitor, were evaluated after single (at day 1) and 4‐week (at day 28) oral administration of the drug at doses of 0 (to serve as a control), 20, 80 and 320 mg/kg/day to rats. DA‐8159 showed a decrease in body weight gain, clinical signs such as chromodacryohaemorrhoea, ptosis and decreased locomotor activity, an increase in WBC number, changes in parameters related to RBCs, an increase in organ weight of the liver, spleen and lung, and finally microscopic lesions such as cholangiofibrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration in the liver, alveolar macrophage accumulation, and inflammatory cell infiltration in the lung, an increase in bone marrow density and extrahaematopoiesis in the spleen. These changes were observed mainly at a dose of 80 mg/kg or above. While some changes were observed at a dose of 20 mg/kg, these changes were non‐specific and transient since this were also observed in control rats. In addition, there was no dose‐dependency in these changes. Based on these results, the NOAEL (No‐Observed‐Adverse‐Effect‐Level) for DA‐8159 in rats was estimated to be 20 mg/kg/day, and the target organs were determined to be liver, bone marrow, spleen, lung and blood cells. After a 4‐week oral administration, accumulation of DA‐8159 was evident at a dose of 20 mg/kg/day, but was not considerable at toxic doses (80 and 320 mg/kg/day). After a single oral administration, the dose‐normalized area under the plasma concentration–time curve from time zero to the last measured time, 24 h, in plasma (AUC0−24 h) was significantly different among the three doses (the AUC0–24 h based on 20 mg/kg/day was 2.33, 7.00 and 4.19 μg h/ml for 20, 80 and 320 mg/kg/day, respectively). Similar results were also obtained from DA‐8164, a metabolite of DA‐8159; the AUC0–24 h of DA‐8164 after dose‐normalized to 20 mg/kg/day of DA‐8159 were 2.74, 5.00 and 1.68 μg h/ml, respectively. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Relation of Capsular Polysaccharide Production and Colonial Cell Organization to Colony Morphology in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a ubiquitous, gram-negative marine bacterium that undergoes phase variation between opaque and translucent colony morphologies. The purpose of this study was to determine the factor(s) responsible for the opaque and translucent phenotypes and to examine cell organization within both colony types. Examination of thin sections of ruthenium red-stained bacterial cells by electron microscopy revealed a thick, electron-dense layer surrounding the opaque cells that was absent in preparations from translucent strains. Extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) material was extracted from both opaque and translucent strains, and the opaque strain was shown to produce abundant levels of polysaccharide, in contrast to the translucent strain. Compositional analysis of the EPS identified four major sugars: glucose, galactose, fucose, andN-acetylglucosamine. Confocal scanning laser microscopy was used to investigate cell organization within opaque and translucent colonies. Cells within both types of colonies exhibited striking organization; rod-shaped cells were aligned parallel to one another and perpendicular to the agar surface throughout the depth of the colony. Cells within translucent colonies appeared more tightly packed than cells in opaque colonies. In addition, a dramatic difference in the structural integrity of these two colony types was observed. When colonies were perturbed, the cell organization of the translucent colonies was completely disrupted while the organization of the opaque colonies was maintained. To our knowledge, this study represents the first description of how cells are organized in the interior of a viable bacterial colony. We propose that the copious amount of EPS produced by the opaque strain fills the intercellular space within the colony, resulting in increased structural integrity and the opaque phenotype.
Direct phylogenetic evidence for lateral transfer of elongation factor-like gene

Genes encoding elongation factor-like (EFL) proteins, which show high similarity to elongation factor-1α (EF-1α), have been found in phylogenetically distantly related eukaryotes. The sporadic distribution of “EFL-containing” lineages within “EF-1α-containing” lineages indirectly, but strongly, suggests lateral gene transfer as the principal driving force in EFL evolution. However, one of the most critical aspects in the above hypothesis, the donor lineages in any putative cases of lateral EFL gene transfer, remained unclear. In this study, we provide direct evidence for lateral transfer of an EFL gene through the analyses of 10 diatom EFL genes. All diatom EFL homologues tightly clustered in phylogenetic analyses, suggesting acquisition of the exogenous EFL gene early in diatom evolution. Our survey additionally identified Thalassiosira pseudonana as a eukaryote bearing EF-1α and EFL genes and secondary EFL gene loss in Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the complete genome of which encodes only the EF-1α gene. Most importantly, the EFL phylogeny recovered a robust grouping of homologues from diatoms, the cercozoan Bigelowiella natans, and the foraminifer Planoglabratella opecularis, with the diatoms nested within the Bigelowiella plus Planoglabratella (Rhizaria) grouping. The particular relationships recovered are further consistent with two characteristic sequence motifs. The best explanation of our data analyses is an EFL gene transfer from a foraminifer to a diatom, the first case in which the donor–recipient relationship was clarified. Finally, based on a reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR assay and the genome information of Thalassiosira and Phaeodactylum, we propose the loss of elongation factor function in Thalassiosira EF-1α.
Generalized textured contact lens detection by extracting BSIF description from Cartesian iris images

Textured contact lenses cause severe problems for iris biometric systems because they can be used to alter the appearance of iris texture in order to deliberately increase the false positive and, especially, false negative match rates. Many texture analysis based techniques have been proposed for detecting the presence of cosmetic contact lenses. However, it has been shown recently that the generalization capability of the existing approaches is not sufficient because they have been developed for detecting specific lens texture patterns and evaluated only on those same lens types seen during development phase. This scenario does not apply in unpredictable practical applications because unseen lens patterns will be definitely experienced in operation. In this paper, we address this issue by studying the effect of different iris image preprocessing techniques and introducing a novel approach formore generalized cosmetic contact lens detection using binarized statistical image features (BSIF). Our extensive experimental analysis on benchmark datasets shows that the BSIF description extracted from preprocessed Cartesian iris texture images yields to promising generalization capabilities across unseen texture patterns and different iris sensors with mean equal error rate of 0.14%and 0.88%, respectively. The findings support the intuition that the textural differences between genuine iris texture and fake ones are best described by preserving the regular structure of different printing signatures without transforming the iris images into polar coordinate system.
Analysis of Smoking Cessation Patterns Using a Stochastic Mixed-Effects Model With a Latent Cured State

We develop a mixed model to capture the complex stochastic nature of tobacco abuse and dependence. This model describes transition processes among addiction and nonaddiction stages. An important innovation of our model is allowing an unobserved cure state, or permanent quitting, in contrast to transient quitting. This distinction is necessary to model data from situations where censoring prevents unambiguous determination that a person has been “cured. “ Moreover, the processes that describe transient and permanent quitting are likely to be different and have different policy-making implications. For example, when analyzing factors that influence smoking and can be targeted by interventions, it is more important to target those factors that are associated with permanent quitting rather than transient quitting. We apply our methodology to the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) study, a large (29,133 participants) longitudinal cohort study. While ATBC was designed as a cancer prevention study, it contains unique information about the smoking status of each participant during every 4-month period of the study. These data are used to model smoking cessation patterns using a discrete-time stochastic mixed-effects model with three states: smoking, transient cessation, and permanent cessation (absorbent state). Random participant-specific transition probabilities among these states are used to account for participant-to-participant heterogeneity. Another important innovation in our article is to design computationally practical methods for dealing with the size of the dataset and complexity of the models. This is achieved using the marginal likelihood obtained by integrating over the Beta distribution of random effects.
The Evolution of Bank Productivity Growth in Indonesia: An Empirical Analysis during 1993-2011.

This study investigates the source of productivity growth in the Indonesian banking sector during 19 years from 1993 to 2011. The industry had been through several periods of reforms, starting from the radical deregulation in the late 1980s, the restructuring period following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, to the consolidation period in the mid-2000s. Using panel data of 101 commercial banks, we explore productivity growth using Malmquist indices complemented with bootstrapping technique of Simar and Wilson (1999) to provide measures of the statistical precision of the results. The Malmquist index provides measures of total factor productivity, efficiency change and technological change. Results show the productivity is progressing moderately and appears to be less volatile towards the end of the period. Furthermore, technological change tends to be the main sources of productivity improvement rather than efficiency change.
Regulation of plant immunity through ubiquitin-mediated modulation of Ca(2+) -calmodulin-AtSR1/CAMTA3 signaling.

Transient changes in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration are essential signals for activation of plant immunity. It has also been reported that Ca(2+) signals suppress salicylic acid-mediated plant defense through AtSR1/CAMTA3, a member of the Ca(2+) /calmodulin-regulated transcription factor family that is conserved in multicellular eukaryotes. How plants overcome this negative regulation to mount an effective defense response during a stage of intracellular Ca(2+) surge is unclear. Here we report the identification and functional characterization of an important component of ubiquitin ligase, and the associated AtSR1 turnover. The AtSR1 interaction protein 1 (SR1IP1) was identified by CytoTrap two-hybrid screening. The loss-of-function mutant of SR1IP1 is more susceptible to bacterial pathogens, and over-expression of SR1IP1 confers enhanced resistance, indicating that SR1IP1 acts as a positive regulator of plant defense. SR1IP1 and AtSR1 act in the same signaling pathway to regulate plant immunity. SR1IP1 contains the structural features of a substrate adaptor in cullin 3-based E3 ubiquitin ligase, and was shown to serve as a substrate adaptor that recruits AtSR1 for ubiquitination and degradation when plants are challenged with pathogens. Hence, SR1IP1 positively regulates plant immunity by removing the defense suppressor AtSR1. These findings provide a mechanistic insight into how Ca(2+) -mediated actions are coordinated to achieve effective plant immunity.
Electronic properties of graphene: a perspective from scanning tunneling microscopy and magnetotransport

This review covers recent experimental progress in probing the electronic properties of graphene and how they are influenced by various substrates, by the presence of a magnetic field and by the proximity to a superconductor. The focus is on results obtained using scanning tunneling microscopy, spectroscopy, transport and magnetotransport techniques.
A hybrid approach for forecasting of oil prices volatility

This study aims to introduce an ideal model for forecasting crude oil price volatility. For this purpose, the ‘predictability’ hypothesis was tested using the variance ratio test, BDS1 test and the chaos analysis. Structural analyses were also carried out to identify possible non-linear patterns in this series. On this basis, Lyapunov exponents confirmed that the return series of crude oil price is chaotic. Moreover, according to the findings, the rate of return series has the long memory property rejecting the efficient market hypothesis and affirming the fractal markets hypothesis. The results of the Geweke and Porter-Hudak test verified that both the rate of return and volatility series of crude oil price have the long memory property. Besides, according to both mean square error (MSE) and root mean square error (RMSE) criteria, wavelet-decomposed data improve the performance of the model significantly. Therefore, a hybrid model was introduced based on the long memory property which uses wavelet decomposed data as the most relevant model.
Role of SHIP-1 phosphatase in trained immunity modulation

Para la realizacion de esta Tesis Doctoral se conto con la financiacion de: Beca BES-2015-072699 (“Ayudas para Contratos Predoctorales para la Formacion de Doctores 2015”) y proyecto SAF2016-79040-R, ambos del Ministerio de Industria, Economia y Competitividad de Espana (MINECO), Agencia Estatal de Investigacion y FEDER (Fondo Europeo para el desarrollo regional); proyecto financiado por la Comision Europea (635122-PROCROP H2020); proyecto financiado por el Consejo de Investigacion europeo (ERC-2016-Consolidator Grant 725091). El CNIC se financia por el MINECO y la fundacion Pro-CNIC, y es un Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa (SEV-2015-0505).
Transcriptional activity associated with meiotic competence in fully grown mouse GV oocytes

The involvement of cumulus cells and chromatin organisation in transcriptional activity was investigated. In addition, the relationship between transcriptional activity and meiotic competence in fully grown mouse oocytes was surveyed. Transcriptional activity was detected in fully grown oocytes in which chromatin did not surround the nucleolus in the germinal vesicle (NSN-type oocytes), but not in oocytes in which chromatin surrounded the nucleolus (SN-type oocytes). Cumulus cells seemed to downregulate transcriptional activity in NSN-type oocytes, since transcriptional activity was 3 times greater in the denuded NSN-type oocytes free of cumulus cells (DO oocytes) than in NSN-type oocytes enclosed in cumulus cells (COC oocytes). Higher transcriptional activity corresponded to lower germinal vesicle breakdown (GVB) competence of fully grown oocytes in culture. Although GVB occurred in nearly all (99%) the SN-type oocytes, it occurred in 88% of COC/NSN-type oocytes (cumulus-oocyte complex with SN-type configuration) and in 61% of DO/NSN-type oocytes (denuded oocytes with NSN-type configuration). There was a negative correlation between transcriptional activity and the capacity of a cell to complete the progression to the second metaphase (MII). In GVB oocytes, the percentage of first polar body (PBI) extrusion differed among COC/NSN-type (81%), DO/SN-type (66%), COC/NSN-type (47%) and DO/NSN-type (29%) oocytes. After activation with 10 mM Sr2+, the frequency of parthenogenetic activation was greater in SN-type oocytes (46.9%) than in transcriptionally active NSN-type oocytes (27.5%). These results suggest that transcriptional activity has a detrimental effect on the competence of meiotic maturation and subsequent activation in fully grown GV oocytes. Alternatively, active transcription in the fully grown oocytes suggests that they are still in the process of synthesising substances required for meiotic maturation and are not yet competent for these processes.
The Manokwari Declaration: Challenges ahead in conserving 70% of Tanah Papua’s forests

The Manokwari Declaration is an unprecedented pledge by the governors of Indonesia’s two New Guinea provinces to promote conservation and become SE Asia’s new Costa Rica. This is an exciting, yet challenging endeavour that will require working on many fronts that transcend single disciplines. Because Indonesian New Guinea has the largest expanse of intact forests in SE Asia, large-scale conservation pledges like the Manokwari Declaration will have a global impact on biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
Hypothalamic germinoma masquerading as superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome.

OBJECTIVE To report a case of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) syndrome secondary to hypothalamic germinoma. METHODS We describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic work-up, management, and clinical course of a patient admitted with SMA syndrome who was subsequently found to have a hypothalamic germinoma. RESULTS An adolescent boy was admitted to the surgical ward with progressive weight loss over a 2 year period and postprandial vomiting. He was diagnosed with SMA syndrome based on evidence of proximal duodenal dilatation, extrinsic compression of the distal duodenum, and a narrowed aortomesenteric angle (16°). Investigations performed to exclude thyrotoxicosis unexpectedly revealed secondary hypothyroidism and further evaluation demonstrated evidence of pan-hypopituitarism. Psychiatric evaluation excluded anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed a heterogeneously enhancing hypothalamic lesion, but a normal pituitary gland. Hormone replacement with hydrocortisone, desmopressin, testosterone, and thyroxine resulted in weight gain and resolution of gastrointestinal symptoms. A transventricular endoscopic biopsy subsequently confirmed a hypothalamic germinoma and he was referred to an oncologist. CONCLUSION SMA syndrome secondary to severe weight loss is an uncommon cause of upper gastrointestinal obstruction. While there have been reports of poorly controlled diabetes mellitus and thyrotoxicosis manifesting as SMA syndrome, there are no published reports to date of SMA syndrome secondary to hypothalamic/pituitary disease. Management of SMA syndrome is conservative, as symptoms of intestinal obstruction resolve with weight gain following treatment of the underlying cause. Awareness of this uncommon presentation of endocrine cachexia/hypothalamic disease will prevent unnecessary laparotomies and a misdiagnosis of an eating disorder.
TeleAudiology in the Veterans Health Administration

Objective: To assess effectiveness of TeleAudiology for hearing aid services. Study Design: Retrospective case-control. Setting: Ambulatory Veterans Health Administration and Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). Patients: 42,697 veterans who received hearing aids from January through September, 2014. Intervention(s): TeleAudiology (TA) and conventional in-person (IP) audiology care. Main Outcome Measure(s): International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids (IOI-HA) outcomes data. The IOI-HA is a 7-item survey used to assess hearing aid effectiveness. Scored from 7 to 35 points, higher scores are more favorable. Results: Among veterans nationwide who received hearing aids and completed the IOI-HA survey, 1,009 received TA and 41,688 received IP care. TA and IP groups have comparable mean IOI-HA values (TA = 29.6, SD = 3.9; IP = 28.7, SD = 4.2). Although comparison showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001, t test), principally because of large sample size, the distinction is not clinically meaningful. Subgroup analysis of veterans from San Francisco and six affiliated CBOCs showed 169 received TA and 338 received IP care. TA and IP groups have similar mean age (TA = 74, SD = 9.8; IP = 76, SD = 10.3) and sex distribution (TA male = 100%; IP male = 96%) with statistically significant (p < 0.01, t test) but clinically insignificant differences. Mean IOI-HA scores (TA = 30.7, SD = 3.6; IP = 30.5, SD = 3.1) are not different between groups (p > 0.05, t test). Conclusion: TA and IP encounters to provide hearing aid services to veterans are comparable, as both are highly effective based on IOI-HA results. The noninferiority of TA suggests its adoption to non-veterans may improve access while preserving high satisfaction. Financial impact of migration to TA will require future econometric analysis.
Glaucoma Screening Using the Scanning Laser Polarimeter

Purpose: To determine the ability of scanning laser polarimetry (GDx Nerve Fiber Analyzer; Laser Diagnostic Technologies, Inc., San Diego, CA) to separate normal eyes and those considered likely to have glaucoma in a public glaucoma screening. Methods: A 2‐day public glaucoma screening program was held at two different institutions. Each subject underwent ophthalmologic examination, Humphrey perimetry (24–2 Fastpac program), and imaging using scanning laser polarimetry (GDx) in each eye for allocation into a diagnostic category: normal, ocular hypertensive, glaucoma suspect, or glaucoma. Results from the normal and glaucoma groups were analyzed, using modulation parameters calculated from a measurement band located 1.8 disc diameters from the disc, and selected parameters provided automatically by GDx software. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to depict the sensitivity/specificity relationship at different GDx parameter cutoff levels. Results: Of 200 subjects, 197 were classified; 122 were classified as normal, 23 were classified with ocular hypertension, 30 were classified as glaucoma suspects, and 22 were classified with definite glaucoma. Three subjects had ocular diseases other than glaucoma. The maximum area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for modulation parameters was 0.935, and for the GDx software parameters was 0.901. Conclusions: Scanning laser polarimetry may be useful in glaucoma screening.