Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategies Facilitating Software Product Transfers

Globalization of software work has become common in today's market. As part of cost-reduction strategies, many product-focused software companies started shipping their product development to insourcing and outsourcing offshore locations. Unfortunately, moving software products from one site to another isn't always a good business strategy for either the organization or the product. In this article, the authors discuss findings from studying software insourcing transfers at Ericsson, a large software product development company headquartered in Sweden. Their findings suggest that certain product, personnel, and process characteristics can facilitate the execution of an offshore insourcing transfer. On the basis of research conducted together with the company, they share a list of critical factors alleviating transfer difficulties and seven strategies facilitating transition of software work across sites.
Total number of neurons in the neostriatal, pallidal, subthalamic, and substantia nigral nuclei of the rat basal ganglia: A stereological study using the cavalieri and optical disector methods

The total number of neurons within six subdivisions of the rat basal ganglia was estimated using unbiased stereological counting methods and systematic random sampling techniques. Six young adult rats were perfuse‐fixed, their right cerebral hemispheres were embedded in glycolmethacrylate, and a complete set of serial 40‐μm sections was cut through each hemisphere. After a random start, a systematic subset (e.g., every tenth) of these sections was used to estimate the total volume of each subdivision using Cavalieri's method. The same set of sampled sections was used to estimate the number of neurons in a known subvolume (i.e., the Nv) by the optical disector method. The product of the total volume and the Nv by these methods yields an unbiased estimate of the total number of neurons. It was found that the right basal ganglia consisted, on average, of 2.79 million neostriatal or caudate‐putamen neurons (with a coefficient of variation of 0.07), 46,000 external globus pallidus neurons (0.11), 3,200 entopeduncular/internal globus pallidus neurons (0.10), 13,600 subthalamic neurons (0.10), 7,200 substantia nigra pars compacta neurons (0.15), and 26,300 substantia nigra pars reticulata neurons (0.07). © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Diffusion MR imaging in multiple sclerosis: technical aspects and challenges.

SUMMARY Diffusion tensor (DT) MR imaging has frequently been applied in multiple sclerosis (MS) because of its ability to detect and quantify disease-related changes of the tissue microstructure within and outside T2-visible lesions. DT MR imaging data collection places high demands on scanner hardware and, though the acquisition and postprocessing can be relatively straightforward, numerous challenges remain in improving the reproducibility of this technique. Although there are some issues concerning image quality, echo-planar imaging is the most widely used acquisition scheme for diffusion imaging studies. Once the DT is estimated, indexes conveying the size, shape, and orientation of the DT can be calculated and further analyzed by using either histogram- or region-of-interest-based analyses. Because the orientation of the DT reflects the orientation of the axonal fibers of the brain, the pathways of the major white matter tracts can also be visualized. The DT model of diffusion, however, is not sufficient to characterize the diffusion properties of the brain when complex populations of fibers are present in a single voxel, and new ways to address this issue have been proposed. Two developments have enabled considerable improvements in the application of DT MR imaging: high magnetic field strengths and multicoil receiver arrays with parallel imaging. This review critically discusses models, acquisition, and postprocessing approaches that are currently available for DT MR imaging, as well as their limitations and possible improvements, to provide a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of this technique and a background for designing diffusion studies in MS.
Rolling shutter correction for video with large depth of field

Rolling shutter correction has attracted considerable attention in recent years. Several algorithms have been proposed to correct the distortion. Previous methods on rolling shutter correction did not consider depth variations in the scene. In this work, we overcome the limitation of the previous works that the depth of field in the scene is small. We present a correction model for rectifying the rolling shutter video based on the depth maps estimated from the rolling shutter video. In addition, we propose a two-stage optimization algorithm to estimate the temporal camera motion and the associated depth maps. Experimental results show the improvement of the proposed rolling shutter correction algorithm that takes the depth information into account.
Don't Judge Software by Its (Code) Coverage

This position paper argues that using code coverage metrics to evaluate the completeness of test cases as prescribed by e.g. ISO26262, is insufficient in a safety context. On the other hand it is impossible to execute test cases that achieve 100% completeness with respect to all possible input data combinations testing all requirements. We propose that existing requirements on code coverage shall be extended with requirements on 100% coverage of the safety requirements. As an example, the paper illustrates how this can be done for the AUTOSAR end-to-end protection library.
Data Mining and Electronic Health Records: Selecting Optimal Clinical Treatments in Practice

Electronic health records (EHR's) are only a first step in capturing and utilizing health-related data - the problem is turning that data into useful information. Models produced via data mining and predictive analysis profile inherited risks and environmental/behavioral factors associated with patient disorders, which can be utilized to generate predictions about treatment outcomes. This can form the backbone of clinical decision support systems driven by live data based on the actual population. The advantage of such an approach based on the actual population is that it is "adaptive". Here, we evaluate the predictive capacity of a clinical EHR of a large mental healthcare provider (~75,000 distinct clients a year) to provide decision support information in a real-world clinical setting. Initial research has achieved a 70% success rate in predicting treatment outcomes using these methods.
Structural basis for the antagonistic roles of RNP-8 and GLD-3 in GLD-2 poly(A)-polymerase activity

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation drives the translational activation of specific mRNAs in early metazoan development and is performed by distinct complexes that share the same catalytic poly(A)-polymerase subunit, GLD-2. The activity and specificity of GLD-2 depend on its binding partners. In Caenorhabditis elegans, GLD-2 promotes spermatogenesis when bound to GLD-3 and oogenesis when bound to RNP-8. GLD-3 and RNP-8 antagonize each other and compete for GLD-2 binding. Following up on our previous mechanistic studies of GLD-2–GLD-3, we report here the 2.5 Å resolution structure and biochemical characterization of a GLD-2–RNP-8 core complex. In the structure, RNP-8 embraces the poly(A)-polymerase, docking onto several conserved hydrophobic hotspots present on the GLD-2 surface. RNP-8 stabilizes GLD-2 and indirectly stimulates polyadenylation. RNP-8 has a different amino-acid sequence and structure as compared to GLD-3. Yet, it binds the same surfaces of GLD-2 by forming alternative interactions, rationalizing the remarkable versatility of GLD-2 complexes.
Academic Confidence and Summer Bridge Learning Communities: Path Analytic Linkages to Student Persistence

Academic confidence cultivated within the context of learning communities may be an important key to student success. This study examined the structural relationships of four constructs on academic performance and persistence for summer bridge learning community (SBLC) and non-SBLC members. Constructs included: 1) student background; 2) academic confidence; 3) desire to finish college; and 4) intent to transfer. SBLC participants ended their freshman year with significantly higher GPAs and returned the following year at greater rates than non-SBLC members. Even though it was found that none of the constructs directly influenced persistence for either group, a significant direct effect of academic confidence on academic performance was found for SBLC members. This study demonstrates clearly that in spite of budgetary constraints, learning community models work; students in SBLCs generally show more positive outcomes (i.e., first year GPA and persistence to year two) than non-SBLC students. The statistical power of structural equation modeling is demonstrated and policy implications are discussed.
In vivo therapy monitoring of experimental rheumatoid arthritis in rats using near-infrared fluorescence imaging

Abstract. An in vivo near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging technique is described for therapy monitoring of ankle joints affected by collagen-induced arthritis, a model of human rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis was induced in rats by intradermal injections of collagen and Freund’s incomplete adjuvant. For in vivo imaging, the nonspecific NIR dye tetrasulfocyanine (TSC) was used. Prior to and after treatment with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, meloxicam, or analgesic drug, tramadol hydrochloride (which served as no-therapy control), normalized fluorescence intensities of each ankle joint were measured. Additionally, each ankle joint was characterized by clinical arthritis scoring and histopathology. Over a 3-week treatment period, a significant difference in disease progression between animals treated with meloxicam and tramadol hydrochloride was detected. A statistically significant improvement in ankle joint pathology from high- or moderate-grade to moderate- or low-grade upon meloxicam therapy, as determined by clinical evaluation, translated into a significant decrease in fluorescence intensity. In contrast, all arthritic joints of the no-therapy control group deteriorated to high-grade arthritis with high-fluorescence intensities in NIRF imaging.
Nonverbal expectancy violations: Model elaboration and application to immediacy behaviors

Nonverbal expectancy violations theory holds that positive violations produce more favorable communication outcomes than conformity to expectations, while negative violations produce less favorable ones, and that reward characteristics of the communicator mediate the interpretation and evaluation of violations. The factors affecting expectancies and the consequences of violating them are reviewed and compared to other models (discrepancy‐arousal, arousal‐labeling, arousal‐valence, sequential functional) employing similar assumptions and mediating variables. An experiment extending the model domain to immediacy violations and to interactions with familiar as well as unfamiliar others had friend and stranger dyads (N=82) engage in discussions during which one member of each pair significantly increased immediacy, significantly reduced it, or conformed to normal levels. Nonimmedicacy violations produced lower credibility ratings than high immediacy or conformity to expectations for both friends and strangers.
Digital Restoration of Archaeological Heritage

Virtual Restoration of archaeological heritage stems from the need to create a clearer and better image of the beautiful historic monuments now in ruins. It gives the viewer a sense and feel of how the heritage originally looked. For this, there are many restoration projects of the major historic sites, paintings etc, going on across the world. Computers have been introduced to archaeology and cultural heritage as tools for promoting scientific work and as electronic aids for providing users with substantial information on archaeological heritage. Small holes and breakages in the monuments/paintings can severely degrade its appeal to viewers. Image restoration is the operation of taking a corrupted/noisy image and estimating the clean original image. In this work, we have proposed a method to automatically detect the defect in the corrupted image using Perona Malik Anisotropic Diffusion and Binary Thresholding, followed by Image Inpainting with Navier-Stokes Method, which have been found to be effective in the art of restoring lost/selected parts of an image based on the background information in a visually plausible way.
Tumorigenicity of hypoxic respiring cancer cells revealed by a hypoxia–cell cycle dual reporter

Significance In this study, we report the finding that a subpopulation of hypoxic cancer cells expressed genes involved in mitochondrial function, sustained oxidative metabolism, and were fully tumorigenic. These findings indicate that, whereas the Warburg effect contributes to the metabolism of growing cancer cells, tumorigenicity does not exclusively depend on it and is not diminished by continued respiration under hypoxia. Although aerobic glycolysis provides an advantage in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment, some cancer cells can also respire via oxidative phosphorylation. These respiring (“non-Warburg”) cells were previously thought not to play a key role in tumorigenesis and thus fell from favor in the literature. We sought to determine whether subpopulations of hypoxic cancer cells have different metabolic phenotypes and gene-expression profiles that could influence tumorigenicity and therapeutic response, and we therefore developed a dual fluorescent protein reporter, HypoxCR, that detects hypoxic [hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) active] and/or cycling cells. Using HEK293T cells as a model, we identified four distinct hypoxic cell populations by flow cytometry. The non-HIF/noncycling cell population expressed a unique set of genes involved in mitochondrial function. Relative to the other subpopulations, these hypoxic “non-Warburg” cells had highest oxygen consumption rates and mitochondrial capacity consistent with increased mitochondrial respiration. We found that these respiring cells were unexpectedly tumorigenic, suggesting that continued respiration under limiting oxygen conditions may be required for tumorigenicity.
TNFα-dependent hepatic steatosis and liver degeneration caused by mutation of zebrafish s-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase

Hepatic steatosis and liver degeneration are prominent features of the zebrafish ducttrip (dtp) mutant phenotype. Positional cloning identified a causative mutation in the gene encoding S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (Ahcy). Reduced Ahcy activity in dtp mutants led to elevated levels of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and, to a lesser degree, of its metabolic precursor S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). Elevated SAH in dtp larvae was associated with mitochondrial defects and increased expression of tnfa and pparg, an ortholog of the mammalian lipogenic gene. Antisense knockdown of tnfa rescued hepatic steatosis and liver degeneration in dtp larvae, whereas the overexpression of tnfa and the hepatic phenotype were unchanged in dtp larvae reared under germ-free conditions. These data identify an essential role for tnfa in the mutant phenotype and suggest a direct link between SAH-induced methylation defects and TNF expression in human liver disorders associated with elevated TNFα. Although heterozygous dtp larvae had no discernible phenotype, hepatic steatosis was present in heterozygous adult dtp fish and in wild-type adult fish treated with an Ahcy inhibitor. These data argue that AHCY polymorphisms and AHCY inhibitors, which have shown promise in treating autoimmunity and other disorders, may be a risk factor for steatosis, particularly in patients with diabetes, obesity and liver disorders such as hepatitis C infection. Supporting this idea, hepatic injury and steatosis have been noted in patients with recently discovered AHCY mutations.
Rethinking Knowledge Management: Strategies for Enhancing District-Level Teacher and Leader Tacit Knowledge Sharing

Grounded within knowledge management (KM) theory and conceptions of tacit and explicit knowledge, this article draws on historical evidence from the Early Years Literacy Project (EYLP), a four-year instructional renewal strategy implemented across 100 schools in a large Canadian school district. The EYLP management approach included a series of interconnected crosscutting committees supporting powerful knowledge-sharing opportunities. The factors influencing tacit knowledge sharing and the unanticipated consequences for program implementation are explored. Finally, the implications of the findings for research and practice related to tacit and explicit knowledge and KM are discussed, along with recommendations for future research and practice.
Current Status and Research into Overcoming Limitations of Capsule Endoscopy

Endoscopic investigation has a critical role in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. Since 2001, capsule endoscopy (CE) has been available for small-bowel exploration and is under continuous development. During the past decade, CE has achieved impressive improvements in areas such as miniaturization, resolution, and battery life. As a result, CE is currently a first-line tool for the investigation of the small bowel in obscure gastrointestinal bleeding and is a useful alternative to wired enteroscopy. Nevertheless, CE still has several limitations, such as incomplete examination and limited diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities. To resolve these problems, many groups have suggested several models (e.g., controlled CO2 insufflation system, magnetic navigation system, mobile robotic platform, tagging and biopsy equipment, and targeted drug-delivery system), which are in development. In the near future, new technological advances will improve the capabilities of CE and broaden its spectrum of applications not only for the small bowel but also for the colon, stomach, and esophagus. The purpose of this review is to introduce the current status of CE and to review the ongoing development of solutions to address its limitations.
Metadata Efficiency in a Comprehensive Versioning File System (CMU-CS-02-145)

Versioning file systems retain earlier versions of modified files, allowing recovery from user mistakes or system corruption. Unfortunately, conventional versioning systems do not efficiently record large numbers of versions. In particular, versioned metadata can consume as much space as versioned data. This paper examines two space-efficient metadata structures for versioning file systems and describes their integration into the Comprehensive Versioning File System (CVFS), which keeps all versions of all files. Journal-based metadata encodes each metadata version into a single journal entry; CVFS uses this structure for inodes and indirect blocks, reducing the associated space requirements by 80%. Multiversion b-trees extend each entry’s key with a timestamp and keep current and historical entries in a single tree; CVFS uses this structure for directories, reducing the associated space requirements by 99%. Similar space reductions are predicted via trace analysis for other versioning strategies (e.g., on-close versioning). Experiments with CVFS verify that its current-version performance is similar to that of non-versioning file systems while reducing overall space needed for history data by a factor of two. Although access to historical versions is slower than conventional versioning systems, checkpointing is shown to mitigate and bound this effect.
Four-year follow-up of larger-diameter implants placed in fresh extraction sockets using a resorbable membrane or a resorbable alloplastic material.

PURPOSE The aim of this randomized study was to evaluate and compare the long-term success rates of cylindric, screw-type titanium implants with a larger diameter (5.9 mm) that were placed in fresh extraction sockets in association with resorbable bone substitutes or a resorbable membrane. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty-three partially edentulous adult patients, selected from among those treated in 1997 and 1998 at the San Raffaele Institute in whom 1 or more implants had been placed into fresh posterior mandibular or maxillary sockets, were included in the study. A total of 111 implants were placed, 36 in mandibles and 75 in maxillae. Fifty-six implants were placed in combination with resorbable hydroxyapatite (HA group) and 55 with a resorbable membrane (MR group). Intraoral radiographs and follow-up examinations, including verification of implant stability via the Periotest, were carried out at second-stage surgery 3, 6, 9, and 12 months later; and then annually up to 4 years after placement of the definitive restoration. The radiographic examination was conducted by means of a standardized procedure to verify osseointegration. RESULTS There was 100% attendance at the follow-up examination after 4 years. At second-stage surgery, which was performed after 4 to 6 months' healing time, none of the implants showed any signs of mobility, peri-implantitis, or bone loss. Two implants failed in the MR group, one at 3 months and one at 9 months after placement; 1 implant failed in the HA group at 4 months after placement. After 4 years, the implant success rate was 97.3% (108 of 111 implants were considered successful). The success rate did not differ significantly between the HA group (98.2%) and the MR group (96.4%). DISCUSSION The use of larger-diameter implants served to minimize the anatomic discrepancies that would have evolved when substituting a molar with a standard-diameter implant. According to the accepted criteria for success, the 5-year success rate should be at least 85%; therefore both methods may be considered satisfactory. CONCLUSION Implants placed in combination with a resorbable allogeneic material or with a resorbable membrane provided predictable long-term results when restored with a fixed partial denture.
Human Recombinant ACE2 Reduces the Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy

OBJECTIVE Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most common causes of end-stage renal failure. Inhibition of ACE2 function accelerates diabetic kidney injury, whereas renal ACE2 is downregulated in diabetic nephropathy. We examined the ability of human recombinant ACE2 (hrACE2) to slow the progression of diabetic kidney injury. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Male 12-week-old diabetic Akita mice (Ins2WT/C96Y) and control C57BL/6J mice (Ins2WT/WT) were injected daily with placebo or with rhACE2 (2 mg/kg, i.p.) for 4 weeks. Albumin excretion, gene expression, histomorphometry, NADPH oxidase activity, and peptide levels were examined. The effect of hrACE2 on high glucose and angiotensin II (ANG II)–induced changes was also examined in cultured mesangial cells. RESULTS Treatment with hrACE2 increased plasma ACE2 activity, normalized blood pressure, and reduced the urinary albumin excretion in Akita Ins2WT/C96Y mice in association with a decreased glomerular mesangial matrix expansion and normalization of increased α-smooth muscle actin and collagen III expression. Human recombinant ACE2 increased ANG 1–7 levels, lowered ANG II levels, and reduced NADPH oxidase activity. mRNA levels for p47phox and NOX2 and protein levels for protein kinase Cα (PKCα) and PKCβ1 were also normalized by treatment with hrACE2. In vitro, hrACE2 attenuated both high glucose and ANG II–induced oxidative stress and NADPH oxidase activity. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with hrACE2 attenuates diabetic kidney injury in the Akita mouse in association with a reduction in blood pressure and a decrease in NADPH oxidase activity. In vitro studies show that the protective effect of hrACE2 is due to reduction in ANG II and an increase in ANG 1–7 signaling.