Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hybrid initialization for non-convex network localization problems

Solving the distance-based network localization problem typically entails the formulation of an equivalent optimization problem which is either convex but sub-optimal, or optimal (i.e., maximum-likelihood) but non-convex. We show that the non-convexity implied by the choice of an optimal formulation need not be translated onto high computational complexity nor to performance degradation. To this end, we focus on an approach whereby low-complexity optimization algorithms are coupled with an efficient initialization which in turn, is formulated in terms of an Euclidean Distance Matrix (EDM) completion problem under the condition that the network is percolated (as required by Graph-based Completion). The resulting Hybrid Initialization scheme is shown to be sufficient to bring the performance of low-complexity algorithms such as the SMACOF and the NLS close to that of far more sophisticated alternatives such as the SDP.
High‐frequency trading from an evolutionary perspective: Financial markets as adaptive systems

The recent rapid growth of algorithmic high‐frequency trading strategies makes it a very interesting time to revisit the long‐standing debates about the efficiency of stock prices and the best way to model the actions of market participants. To evaluate the evolution of stock price predictability at the millisecond timeframe and to examine whether it is consistent with the newly formed adaptive market hypothesis, we develop three artificial stock markets using a strongly typed genetic programming (STGP) trading algorithm. We simulate real‐life trading by applying STGP to millisecond data of the three highest capitalized stocks: Apple, Exxon Mobil, and Google and observe that profit opportunities at the millisecond time frame are better modelled through an evolutionary process involving natural selection, adaptation, learning, and dynamic evolution than by using conventional analytical techniques. We use combinations of forecasting techniques as benchmarks to demonstrate that different heuristics enable artificial traders to be ecologically rational, making adaptive decisions that combine forecasting accuracy with speed.
Video-based crowd counting with information entropy

As a key indicator of safety, the number of persons in pubic venues is quite important. However, most algorithms require a burdensome training, which is far away from practical application. In this work, we introduce a counting approach with information entropy (IE). Without extracting features or tracking objects, this algorithm greatly simplifies the process of counting. Firstly, the moving objects are segmented by background subtraction. And then interested targets are normalized to avoid perspective effect. Finally, we compute the IE of the normalized images. In theory, the IE is proved to be approximately linear with the number of persons. However, considering the deviation from occlusion, perspective distortion, difference between pedestrians etc., we also make quadratic fitting for higher accuracy. The experimental results show that the accuracy of pedestrian number obtained by IE algorithm is higher than that of the previous research. So, the usage of IE in this field is efficient and practical.
Secrecy and Self-Interest: When Mediators Act Deceitfully

ABSTRACT 3rd party intervention in interstate conflict is a common strategy for mitigating conflict and obtaining a final agreement. However, not all mediations are successful, leading to the development of a rich literature on the mechanisms which decrease the probability of failure in a 3rd-party intervention. Within this literature, some studies examine how a mediator’ behavior and incentives affect the result of the mediation. Virtually all these studies assume that the mediator is virtuous such that peace is the most desired outcome of a conflict for her. However, this study challenges this assumption and contends that a mediator can gain benefit from the conflict between disputants. If this benefit is adequately large to overcome the benefits of peace, then the mediator has enough incentive not to conduct the mediation toward a peaceful outcome. We develop a signaling game model to study this issue formally and test the proposed hypothesis empirically.
Building a complete virtual reality application

The development of a complete Virtual Reality application is a complex activity that requires good knowledge of several time-critical tasks: Computer Graphics, real-time Physics, Haptics and network programming are examples of the components needing to coexist in a modern Virtual Reality system.Each of these building blocks constitutes a research field on its own and a vast literature exists on techniques and algorithms useful to address specific problems; still, from a more high level perspective, only through tight integration and balanced design can a complex framework achieve optimal performances.Having to address such a range of integration issues, the development of a Virtual Reality application can in practice turn out to be a very lengthy and difficult process, where fundamental design choices and their implications should be carefully considered. The choice of the right tools is also very important, as common everyday practice shows how difficult is still to put together a successful and robust system.This tutorial aims at giving an overview of what are the main components involved in the task, how they should interact, and what are the inherent difficulties to place everything together.The tutorial is divided in two parts: The second part will introduce a real-life and recent example of integrated framework, to be used as a reference and base of discussion for the design of the next generation of integrated development environment and their applications.
A phenomenological approach of blogger’s view on cultural distance

ABSTRACT This paper is intended to determine the influence of cultural distance on the international destination choices by tourists. We adopted a phenomenological approach and data were obtained from 17 bloggers with structured interview form and evaluated by content analysis. We evaluated the research data as three processes, as pre-travel, during travel and post-travel. We identified a tangible and an intangible preparation stage in the pre-travel process. We observed that an increase in cultural distance caused an increase in the destination obscurity and thus in the mental preparation. We found cultural experience, cultural acquisition and personal change themes during traveling. In the meantime, the increase in the geographic distance influences the cultural distance perception. We determined that destinations that are geographically remote (especially the Asian countries) are also culturally remote and interesting. We proposed a model that cultural distance is a moderator variable between travel motivation and destination choice.
Centrizonal Arteries and Microvessels in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Correct classification of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) liver biopsies is of critical importance and relies on correct orientation to microscopic liver architecture. Centrizonal arteries can cause central zones to be mistaken for portal tracts, especially in the setting of centrizonal ductular reaction, and result in either missed diagnosis or inaccurate staging of NASH. A total of 100 randomly selected biopsies from NASH Clinical Research Network participants (February 2005 to August 2006, fibrosis stage >1a) were evaluated for arteries and CD34-positive microvessels in the centrizonal region. Prevalence of both centrizonal arteries and CD34-positive microvessels was graded as 0 (none in central zones), 1 (1 to 2 central zones with vessels), 2 (<50% of central zones with vessels), or 3 (≥50% of central zones with vessels). Centrizonal arteries and CD34-positive microvessels were present in 40 and 100 cases (40% and 100%), respectively. Arteries and CD34-positive microvessels were more commonly found in central zones in biopsies with greater degrees of fibrosis (62% with arteries in stage 3 to 4 versus 21% in stage 1 to 2 and 70% with microvessels in stage 3 to 4 versus 25% in stage 1 to 2), with increased prevalence of both centrizonal arteries and CD34-positive microvessels correlating directly with fibrosis stage (P<0.001). Ductular reaction was a common finding (55%) in patients with central zone arteries. The presence of centrizonal arteries must be recognized to allow for correct orientation to liver architecture in NASH and, together with the finding of increased CD34-positive microvessel formation in higher-stage fibrosis, suggests a possible association between neoangiogenesis and NASH progression to cirrhosis.
Effect of Acute Blood Loss on Glycosylated Hemoglobin Determinations in Normal Subjects

Nondiabetic adult subjects (N = 12) were studied to determine the effect of an approximately 450-ml acute blood loss upon glycosylated hemoglobin measurements. After blood loss, the hematocrit significantly decreased by week 1 (P < 0.001) and the reticulocyte count peaked by week 2. All glycosylated hemoglobins measured showed significant decreases post blood loss. The nadir was at week 4 for total A1, A1c, and irreversible A1c by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and at week 6 for irreversible A1 by HPLC and A1 by electrophoresis. The mean percent decrease in glycosylated hemoglobins ranged from 4.6% (irreversible A1 by HPLC) to 8.6% (total A1c by HPLC).
Case based analysis in information security incidents management system

The article is devoted to solving the urgent practical problem of determining the strategy for responding to information security incidents with the help of case based analysis. The apparatus of case based analysis is proposed to be used to solve the problem of choosing the strategy for responding to information security incidents. Incidents are compared with classes of precedents on the basis of similarities found in each class. An incident is compared with a specific precedent in the class and its associated response strategy according to the degree of similarity. In accordance with the proposed concept of the analysis of incidents a new algorithm of classification of information security incidents in information systems based on the case and statistical analysis was developed. The developed algorithm differs from the known ones due to automatic selection of the optimal cut-off value using the ROC-analysis. The assessment of the efficiency of the developed algorithm on a set of test data was made.
Resveratrol inhibits proliferation, angiogenesis and induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells

The aim of this study was to examine the antitumour activity of resveratrol in human colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT116 and Caco2) and to explore its mechanism of action assuming that it is by calorie-restriction effect. Resveratrol inhibited the proliferation of colon cancer cells with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) equal to 50 and 130 μM for HCT116 and Caco2, respectively. Caco2 cells appeared with significant time-dependent increase in the glycolytic pathway, a behaviour that was absent in HCT116 cells. Resveratrol (100 μM) significantly decreased the glycolytic enzymes (pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase) in Caco2 cells, while an increase in citrate synthase activity and a decrease in glucose consumption were observed in both cell lines. Moreover, resveratrol downregulated the expressions of leptin and c-Myc, and decreased the content of vascular endothelial growth factor. The apoptotic markers, caspases 3 and 8, were activated and the Bax/BCl2 ratio was increased. The study suggested a promising anticancer activity of resveratrol, calorie-restriction pathway may be one of the driving forces for this activity.
Skeletal muscle pyruvate dehydrogenase activity during maximal exercise in humans.

The regulation of the active form of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDHa) and related metabolic events were examined in human skeletal muscle during repeated bouts of maximum exercise. Seven subjects completed three consecutive 30-s bouts of maximum isokinetic cycling, separated by 4 min of recovery. Biopsies of the vastus lateralis were taken before and immediately after each bout. PDHa increased from 0.45 +/- 0.15 to 2.96 +/- 0.38, 1.10 +/- 0.11 to 2.91 +/- 0.11, and 1.28 +/- 0.18 to 2.82 +/- 0.32 mmol.min-1.kg wet wt-1 during bouts 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Glycolytic flux was 13-fold greater than PDHa in bouts 1 and 2 and 4-fold greater during bout 3. This discrepancy between the rate of pyruvate production and oxidation resulted in substantial lactate accumulation to 89.5 +/- 11.6 in bout 1, 130.8 +/- 13.8 in bout 2, and 106.6 +/- 10.1 mmol/kg dry wt in bout 3. These events coincided with an increase in the mitochondrial oxidation state, as reflected by a fall in mitochondrial NADH/NAD, indicating that muscle lactate production during exercise was not an O2-dependent process in our subjects. During exercise the primary factor regulating PDHa transformation was probably intracellular Ca2+. In contrast, the primary regulatory factors causing greater PDHa during recovery were lower ATP/ADP and NADH/NAD and increased concentrations of pyruvate and H+. Greater PDHa during recovery facilitated continued oxidation of the lactate load between exercise bouts.
Flavivirus Activates Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Signaling To Block Caspase-Dependent Apoptotic Cell Death at the Early Stage of Virus Infection

ABSTRACT Flaviviruses such as dengue virus (DEN) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) are medically important in humans. The lipid kinase, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and its downstream target Akt have been implicated in the regulation of diverse cellular functions such as proliferation, and apoptosis. Since JEV and DEN appear to trigger apoptosis in cultured cells at a rather late stage of infection, we evaluated the possible roles of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in flavivirus-infected cells. We found that Akt phosphorylation was noticeable in the JEV- and DEN serotype 2 (DEN-2)-infected neuronal N18 cells in an early, transient, PI3K- and lipid raft-dependent manner. Blocking of PI3K activation by its specific inhibitor LY294002 or wortmannin greatly enhanced virus-induced cytopathic effects (CPEs), even at an early stage of infection, but had no effect on virus production. This severe CPE was characterized as apoptotic cell death as evidenced by TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling) staining and cleavage of caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Mechanically, the initiator and effector caspases involved are mainly caspase-9 and caspase-6, since only a pan-caspase inhibitor and the inhibitors preferentially target caspase-9 and -6, but not the ones antagonizing caspase-8, -3, or -7 alleviated the levels of PARP cleavage after virus infection and PI3K blockage. Furthermore, Bcl-2 appears to be a crucial mediator downstream of PI3K/Akt signaling, since overexpression of Bcl-2 reduced virus-induced apoptosis even when PI3K activation was repressed. Collectively, our results suggest an antiapoptotic role for the PI3K/Akt pathway triggered by JEV and DEN-2 to protect infected cells from early apoptotic cell death.
Prospective and Retrospective Diagnosis of Barth Syndrome Aided by Next-Generation Sequencing.

OBJECTIVES To establish a genetic and clinical diagnosis in a newborn with fetal-onset dilated cardiomyopathy using next-generation sequencing technologies. METHODS We have conducted the clinical evaluation of the proband and the molecular characterization of his disease by means of whole-exome sequencing. In addition, the clinical evaluation and subsequent genetic screening of five relatives has been performed. This comprises two males with features of left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy, two females suspected of being carriers, and one pregnant female at risk of being a carrier and thereby transmitting the disease to her child. RESULTS We have discovered a novel variant in the TAZ gene by means of whole-exome sequencing. This, together with the performance of further clinical analyses, led to an early diagnosis of Barth syndrome in the proband. The genetic screening of the subject's familial group revealed full cosegregation of the variant with another two affected males and identified several female carriers. CONCLUSIONS The investigation for Barth syndrome must be considered in male babies and young boys with dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular noncompaction. Next-generation sequencing technologies provide an accurate and rapid diagnostic tool in prospectively and retrospectively identifying individuals with this Mendelian syndrome.
Trends in Asian American Racial/Ethnic Intermarriage: A Comparison of 1980 and 1990 Census Data

In this paper, we use data from the 1990 census to compare patterns of Asian American intermarriage with those reported by Lee and Yamanaka (1990). Lee and Yamanaka (1990) used data from the 1980 census to examine patterns of Asian American racial and ethnic intermarriage. They reported that one- quarter of married Asian Americans were outmarried; of these, 90% were married to non-Asians. Variations by gender and nativity were also observed. Women and the native-born were more likely to be outmarried. We expect to see a decline in Asian American intermarriage since 1980 because of high levels of immigration, growth of the Asian population, and increased social distance between Asian Americans and Whites. Our main findings show that: (i) the overall outmarriage rate has declined; (ii) Asian American inter-ethnic marriages (that is, marriages between two Asian Americans of different Asian ethnicities) have increased; and (iii) social distance, measured by an Index of Intermarriage Distance, between Asian Americans and other racial and ethnic groups has widened. We conclude by discussing some implications of the findings for the role of racial and ethnic intermarriage as an indicator of intergroup relations.
Global Proficiency Study of Human Papillomavirus Genotyping

ABSTRACT Internationally comparable quality assurance of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA detection and typing methods is essential for evaluation of HPV vaccines and effective monitoring and implementation of HPV vaccination programs. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) HPV Laboratory Network (LabNet) designed an international proficiency study. Following announcement at the WHO website, the responding laboratories performed HPV typing using one or more of their usual assays on 43 coded samples composed of titration series of purified plasmids of 16 HPV types (HPV6, -11, -16, -18, -31, -33, -35, -39, -45, -51, -52, -56, -58, -59, -66, and -68). Detection of at least 50 IU of HPV16 or HPV18 DNA and of 500 genome equivalents (GE) of the other 14 HPV types (in samples with single and multiple HPV types) was considered proficient. Fifty-four laboratories worldwide submitted a total of 84 data sets. More than 21 HPV-genotyping assays were used. Commonly used methods were Linear Array, Lineblot, InnoLiPa, Clinical Array, type-specific real-time PCR, PCR-Luminex and microarray assays. The major oncogenic HPV types (HPV16 and -18) were detected in 89.7% (70/78) and 92.2% (71/77) of the data sets, respectively. HPV types 56, 59, and 68 were the least commonly detected types (in less than 80% of the data sets). Twenty-eight data sets reported multiple false-positive results and were considered nonproficient. In conclusion, we found that international proficiency studies, traceable to international standards, allow standardized quality assurance for different HPV-typing assays and enable the comparison of data generated from different laboratories worldwide.
Comparison between B·R·A·H·M·S PCT direct, a new sensitive point-of-care testing device for rapid quantification of procalcitonin in emergency department patients and established reference methods – a prospective multinational trial

Abstract Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is increasingly being used for the diagnostic and prognostic work up of patients with suspected infections in the emergency department (ED). Recently, B·R·A·H·M·S PCT direct, the first high sensitive point-of-care test (POCT), has been developed for fast PCT measurement on capillary or venous blood samples. Methods: This is a prospective, international comparison study conducted in three European EDs. Consecutive patients with suspicion of bacterial infection were included. Duplicate determination of PCT was performed in capillary (fingertip) and venous whole blood (EDTA), and compared to the reference method. The diagnostic accuracy was evaluated by correlation and concordance analyses. Results: Three hundred and three patients were included over a 6-month period (60.4% male, median age 65.2 years). The correlation between capillary or venous whole blood and the reference method was excellent: r2=0.96 and 0.97, sensitivity 88.1% and 93.0%, specificity 96.5% and 96.8%, concordance 93% and 95%, respectively at a 0.25 μg/L threshold. No significant bias was observed (–0.04 and –0.02 for capillary and venous whole blood) although there were 6.8% and 5.1% outliers, respectively. B·R·A·H·M·S PCT direct had a shorter time to result as compared to the reference method (25 vs. 144 min, difference 119 min, 95% CI 110–134 min, p<0.0001). Conclusions: This study found a high diagnostic accuracy and a faster time to result of B·R·A·H·M·S PCT direct in the ED setting, allowing shortening time to therapy and a more wide-spread use of PCT.
Montreal Archive of Sleep Studies: an open‐access resource for instrument benchmarking and exploratory research

Manual processing of sleep recordings is extremely time‐consuming. Efforts to automate this process have shown promising results, but automatic systems are generally evaluated on private databases, not allowing accurate cross‐validation with other systems. In lacking a common benchmark, the relative performances of different systems are not compared easily and advances are compromised. To address this fundamental methodological impediment to sleep study, we propose an open‐access database of polysomnographic biosignals. To build this database, whole‐night recordings from 200 participants [97 males (aged 42.9 ± 19.8 years) and 103 females (aged 38.3 ± 18.9 years); age range: 18–76 years] were pooled from eight different research protocols performed in three different hospital‐based sleep laboratories. All recordings feature a sampling frequency of 256 Hz and an electroencephalography (EEG) montage of 4–20 channels plus standard electro‐oculography (EOG), electromyography (EMG), electrocardiography (ECG) and respiratory signals. Access to the database can be obtained through the Montreal Archive of Sleep Studies (MASS) website (http://www.ceams-carsm.ca/en/MASS), and requires only affiliation with a research institution and prior approval by the applicant's local ethical review board. Providing the research community with access to this free and open sleep database is expected to facilitate the development and cross‐validation of sleep analysis automation systems. It is also expected that such a shared resource will be a catalyst for cross‐centre collaborations on difficult topics such as improving inter‐rater agreement on sleep stage scoring.